Growing

So many things are growing around the Tudor House... here's a list:

The garden! A neighbor gave us a few iris rhizomes the other day. This is the same neighbor that agreed to take our extra rose bushes back in March, so it seems we have a bit of a plant exchange going on. The irises have been added to the garden that borders our back deck. (Three of the rose bushes were relocated here as well.) I'm so proud that this garden is finally taking shape and looking presentable. The lilac bloomed beautifully in early May. Now the rose bushes are at it (only the ones that weren't transplanted). I'm hoping to finally transplant many of the perennials that I started from seed this spring into the garden this weekend. They have grown like crazy under the lights in our basement. Here's hoping they do as well outdoors.

The kids! Emma and Tyler are both growing like weeds. Emma weighs more than 12 pounds according to our bathroom scale. The accuracy of this measurement is supported by the fact that she's also growing out of the 0-3 month sized clothing. She's taken on a pleasantly plump appearance which we find adorable. She has periods of time that she's actually awake now. She likes to spend them kicking her feet and watching her big brother. Speaking of the big brother, Tyler is learning to dress himself. He can take his clothes off without a problem and does a great job pulling a t-shirt over his head. He still needs a bit of help pulling his pants all the way up and getting his shoes on the correct feet. Socks are his nemesis. He doesn't know it yet, but in a few weeks he is going to experience an intense week of potty-training while Steve is on vacation from work. Keep your fingers crossed for all of us!

Oh Deer!

Yesterday, while returning from a fishing tournament, Steve had a little run-in with a deer. The deer ran all the way across I-490 (4+ lanes of highway traffic) and into the side of his car while he was merging onto the highway. Tyler was with him, thank God he was on the passenger side of the car. No one (except the deer) was hurt. The deer jumped into the back window on the driver's side, after first hitting the driver's side mirror. Then it hit the back quarter panel and left a few dents. The window was completely shattered. Tyler was shaken up quite a bit by the whole thing as he had the best view of the event. His comments about the accident are: "the deer jumped into Daddy's car and the glass broke. The deer didn't look both ways. I don't like deer. The deer scared me. The deer hurt three of us: Daddy, Tyler, and green blankie." Yes, green blankie was involved (and seems to be taking on imaginary friend status), but Mommy used her laundry skills and saved the day. Tyler has also decided that the song "It's Not Easy Being Green" is about the blanket.

Now we have to wait until Monday to get an estimate for the car and see what the insurance wants to do. It's a 2001 Chevy Prism, so there's not a lot of difference $$-wise to the insurance company between repairing it and totalling it.

Progress

Thought I'd post an update on how we are doing. Emma is now two weeks old. She's doing really well, growing really fast and becoming less jaundiced all the time. Her first week we had to go to the doctor's office three times to have her weight and bilirubin checked. On Monday she was down to 6 pounds 15 ounces. Tuesday she gained one ounce, back to 7 pounds but her bilirubin was still increasing. By Friday she was at 7 pounds 11 ounces and the bilirubin level was decreasing. Seems she is going to have a similar growth pattern to her brother after all. Now we won't go back to the doctor until she is two months old.

We were told about a research study going on at the University of Rochester Medical Center while we were in the hospital when Emma was born. They are studying vitamin D levels in breastfeeding moms and their infants. After getting the OK from our pediatrician we have decided to be a part of the study. We'll go over to the Clinical Research Center once a month for six months to have our vitamin D levels measured and our progress monitored. We'll keep you posted on the findings.

Tyler is doing REALLY well with his new status as the big brother. We're all amazed at just how easily he has made this transition as he is usually very opposed to any change, no matter how small. We were all prepared for Tyler to have some major meltdowns over the appearance of his new sister. Instead he seems to love his new role. He is already quite protective of her and will remind everyone (including his parents) to "be careful with Emma because she is a baby." He gets quite concerned if Emma gets upset (which thankfully is a rare occurrence) and does everything he can think of to make her feel better - turn on lullaby music, sing the ABC's or a number song to her, say "it's OK, Emma" and then inform me "I think she needs some mommy milk." It's really quite cute to watch him with her.

A Day Out with Thomas

We went to the "Day Out with Thomas" Event at the Medina Rail Road Museum on Saturday. What fun! Tyler had a lot of fun playing with the toys at the train tables. Then it was time for the big event - a ride on the train pulled by Thomas the Tank Engine. For those in the know: we rode in "Annie", which is the passenger coach closest to Thomas. We all had a great time.

in our seats aboard "Annie"

Tyler and Emma in the stroller

Daddy and Tyler as conductors of the railway