Jack hit a milestone too! (wink, wink)

After the attention Davis received for his first smile... Jack Everett (quite coincidentally) learned to wink for the first time that same day. Here are some pics he requested that I take of his new skill. Just to help you out, the eye that is "open" is his right eye.

At the house during the day, if Jack gets excited about something, he begs me to "take a picture and put it on the computer so Daddy can see it!" Winking was certainly no exception.

(Being an HR Mom, I finally had to explain to Jack that we cannot send e-mails to Nana and Daddy all day because it's a misuse of their company resources. Those of you who know me know that I am not kidding.)

Anyway, feel free to ask Jack Everett to wink for you next time you see him. HE really likes to show off HIS new tricks. Davis, on the other hand, hasn't smiled again since Wednesday.

Smilestone

On Monday, I received my weekly e-mail from ParentCenter.com kindly advising me that Davis was scheduled for an important milestone - his first smile. I hate the word milestone. I think the word itself elicits unnecessary pressure - on Moms and on their kids. Milestones are meant to be rough benchmarks... averages... mere approximations... However, upon receiving the e-mail, I did think, "Jack was smiling by this age. I wonder if Paige's baby is smiling. She's Davis' age."

Whether internally or out loud at a play date, there seems to be this ongoing comparison. It's a compulsion to keep up with each other, and to keep up with the benchmarks. I don't think we MEAN to do this to each other, but as mothers, we just can't seem to control ourselves. If I had a nickle for every time someone has asked me, "When did Jack start walking?" or "How old was he when he started crawling?" or "When did he cut his first tooth?"... I would be able to use all those nickles to buy a big fat parenting book about milestones.

Although we KNOW these are just approximations, it seems to give us some sort of relief or satisfaction when our little one reaches a milestone early... or at least a little earlier than a friend. I mean, I am quite sure that Jack's early teeth-cutting was strictly a result of my supreme parenting skills.

Putting too much stock in these milestones can also cause undue worry. If our little ones don't locate their chatterboxes by 18 months, we worry about speech delay. I have to admit, there have been times I have seen other kids Jack's same age passing him up in some sort of developmental stage (for example, catching a ball or pedaling his bike) and have immediately thought, "Hmm, Jack's behind in that area... I probably need to work on that." I do not want my children to feel this sort of pressure.

Most importantly, I want Davis to grow and develop without being compared to his big brother. Near the end of my pregnancy, I would catch myself saying things like, "Jack didn't kick as much as this baby does." Lately, I have said, "Wow, Jack slept through the night at six weeks and Davis is still up every three hours." I will not make this a habit. I do not want them to be competitive when they get older, and I do not want these thoughts to distract me from enjoying and cherishing each little "first" with Davis - whenever it happens. I will be thoughtful and intentional about this, and hope others in the family will join me in this effort.

Jack is a very unique little guy, advanced in certain areas and behind in others. Davis will have his own gifts and talents, and his own delays and struggles. I want to celebrate these things as they reveal themselves and allow him to take his time when they don't. Davis deserves a mother who inspires him and encourages him to be the little man God designed HIM to be - at his very own pace.

In the meantime, guess who smiled for the first time Wednesday. Guess who felt a tiny bit relieved.

Davis meets The Lynch Mob!

Meemaw, Jack Everett and I took Davis on his first road trip to meet the rest of the Lynch family in Houston. Davis was just 4 1/2 weeks old, but was a trooper on the trip. I was a bit nervous about the timing of it all, but Meemaw and Jack were super patient as I successfully breastfed Davis in public in the gift shop at Frank's Diner, in the car at the Shell Station, and on a bench in the restroom at Buccee's Truck Stop. Yes, breastfeeding in public is as glamorous as I remember.

I got to see Trey and Tiffany's new home and the boys and I stayed there for the first time. It was so nice. They have done a ton of work on it and it looks awesome. Every room looks like an HGTV "Reveal." We also got to spend time with Trey's best friend Mike, his wife Cristina (one of my cyber-sisters) and their three precious kiddos. We played a couple of rounds of "Nemo Go Fish." The kids really enjoyed it. I am not sure who had more fun - Big Mike or little Michael. On a side note, we also played "Old Maid." I don't remember this from childhood, but that game takes FOREVER. It is the Monopoly of children's card games. We finally had to just cheat to get it over with. I was proud of Jack Everett. He lost every single game we played, but was a really good sport about it. It was nice to see him maturing.

I can't believe we didn't take a single picture of the kids or the rest of the Lynch family. I was on vacation, and apparently so was my camera. I took like six pictures the whole trip. Totally not like me!

We did experience a new important FIRST while we were there. I have been trying to get Jack Everett to swim with arm floaties all summer and he wouldn't even try them. Well, Aunt Sandy had SPIDERMAN floaties, which apparently did the trick! Here he is swimming with floaties for the first time, in the pool with Aunt Tiffany. It was so much fun to watch him growing up before my eyes.

Aunt Sandy had all kinds of pool toys. Jack kept them lined up quite nicely.

While Aunt Sandy treated Tiffany and me to pedicures, Davis stayed home and snuggled his Meemaw.

The trip was great, but I sure missed Jeff - and his help! Having two kids is SO much more work, especially on the road. We were there three nights, and had like seven bags. For such a relaxing weekend, I sure was tired when I got home.

Jack's 4th Birthday, Episode 3 of 3

Last, but certainly not least... We celebrated Jack's actual birthday on August 2nd with a Batman party at Pops and Mamaw's house. Mom and Jeffry decorated like crazy, and Jack absolutely loved it. There were Batman banners, Batmans (Batmen?) hanging from the ceiling, Batarangs to shoot around the house and even little bats sprinkled on the sidewalk leading to the front door. He was super excited before he even entered the house.

The party doubled as a "Meet Baby Davis" party for rest of the family on Mom's side. I just love this picture where my sweet big brother Trey sees his newest nephew (19 days old) for the first time.

My beautiful Grandmama holding her great-grandson for the first time since visiting him in the NICU. I hate it that I did not get any pictures of my Aunt Mani or Uncle Steve with Davis.

Jack was glad to see his cousin, Brandon Lee, who also just turned 4. Having the two little ones has made our family holidays and events so much more fun.

Looking less like a toddler and more like a big kid in this preppy outfit from Kayla.

The Bat Bunker!



This was the first time Jack could eat ice cream at his birthday party! Since he has outgrown his cow's milk allergy, we have found a type of "real" ice cream that is safe for him. I actually cried when we started singing and I saw him having a normal birthday dessert. We have come such a long way.

Wow, for being such a musical family, this singing sounds pretty terrible.

A whale of a tale...

Jack Everett loves the story of Jonah and the Big Fish. He has the book here at home, another version at Mel's and at Nana's, but his favorite is a 30-minute VHS movie from a classic Bible Story Series. The movie is animated, and Jonah is telling a young boy "Mokee" his story.

I have watched it with him several times, assuming most of the terminology and language is over his head. I asked him to tell me the story of Jonah this morning and was totally amazed at the detail and phrases he remembered. Looks like we may have to really talk over some of the themes of the story.

Notice how he switches from 1st person to 3rd person often. When telling the story, he suddenly becomes Jonah. While telling the story, he cannot sit still... he is such a boy. As a result, my hand-held camera can't stay focused on him. The annoying clicking sound is my camera auto-focusing.

This story turned out MUCH longer than I anticipated so I had to post it on "YouTube" in order to download it. Please comment if you have trouble viewing it.

My favorite part is at 3:30 on the video... "Where do you live? Who do you obey? What God do you worship?... What have you DONE? My name is Jonah. I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord and God who made the sea and the world."

God gave us these children so that we may raise them up to learn about Him, worship Him and spread the Good News about Him. I was again amazed at how much our children are taking in every day. Much more than we often realize. They are so capable of learning and retaining the messages they receive. I was reminded today what a responsibility it is to make sure they are receiving the right messages - about following God's direction in their lives... about His love.

Davis is 6 weeks old today!

This is one baby who sure likes to be held.

I know this chick sure does.

Jack is "the Daddy of Baby Joey." Baby Joey was my beloved Cabbage Patch doll from childhood. Yes, I was a tomboy even then with my BOY doll. Anyway, Jeff and I have to make Jack take HIS baby out of the dark blue bouncie seat to let OUR baby lay in it. The light blue one is a little big for Davis. Jack gets frustrated and ensures that Davis and Joey take turns.

Just chillin'... you can't tell from the pic that his feet are always slightly suspended in air over the bouncie.

In a cute elephant outfit from Evan. (Emily, can you believe your little man was ever that little?)

My pride and my joy.

His sleep pattern has straightened out quite well. He eats every four hours through the night, and every three hours during the day. However, Saturday night while Jeff and I snuck away to Travis' birthday barbecue, I had Mom feed him his 5 oz bottle of breast milk and top him off with 2 oz of formula.... It was the first formula he has had since he was in the NICU at three days old. Lemme tell ya, that boy slept from 9:30pm to 4:00am! I couldn't believe it! 6 and a half hours!! Talk about temptation. Well, we went straight back to nursing the next night, and he very quickly adjusted back to the 4-hr routine. *sigh

We take it week by week, and are pressing on with the nursing, incredibly encouraged that it is going so well, and especially pleased that he is showing no signs of allergic reaction to date.

Jack's 4th Birthday, Episode 2 of 3

Aunt Mel and the Griffin family threw a Bowling Party for Jack when Davis was just 8 days old. Jeff and I were home with the baby, and Jack enjoyed even more attention being showered on him. He had a blast.

Before the party, in his new outfit from Miss Emily.

Jack celebrating. After all, he is number 1 at essentially everything... just ask him.

He loves his Uncle Greg, who taught him how to bowl like a big boy.

Aunt Mel found these awesome Wall*E masks and - voila! - instant party theme. Jack loved it.

Lacey gave him his beloved Incredible Hulk jammies.

"Everyone say Wall*E!"

Thanks, again, Aunt Mel for helping to make Jack's birthday extra special!

Jack's 4th Birthday, Episode 1 of 3

I finally compiled all of the pics from Jack Everett's 4th birthday parties. Yes, parties... plural. Two days before Davis' scheduled entry into the world, we had a party at the playground with Jack and some of his closest friends.

Mommy is proud of his Jello cake. Super cute, and super easy!

We cannot believe our baby is already four years old. It's even harder to believe I will only have him home with me for one more year!

Here I am, 9 months prego, chasing after the birthday boy. (And I thought I was tired then?!?!)

Will, Jack, Grant and Alli Jean -- Time to sing!

As any mother of boys knows: You can NEVER have too many Hot Wheels.

The Batman craze continues!

We were thrilled that Lawton Marie, his friend since birth, was able to make it to the party from Fort Drum, New York!

I was so glad that we had the party before Davis was born. Jack had a great time, and had lots and lots of new toys to keep him busy during the baby commotion that followed.

"Hey, that's MY line!!"

You can't help but laugh when you hear your exact words from the mouths of your precious offspring.

Heard within the past three days in our house:

"Mommy, I am making you a pretend sangwich. You need to sit in your seat and be patient."

"Here is your backpack for school! Have fun at school, Mommy! Member your manners and I packed you some bug spray."

"Mommy, listen to me because I just want to say this one time. Mommy. Mommy. Look me in the eyes."

"Daddy, stop erupting me and just let me finish."

"Hips Hips Hooray!"

As expected, Davis' hip ultrasound went really well today. Aside from pee-peeing on the exam table, Davis was a little champ, only fussing when they maneuvered his hips into uncharted angles.

The Pediatric Radiologist said the hip bones, joints, and sockets are "perfect!" The range of motion/stiffness problem is with muscles, ligaments, etc. which is very reassuring.

He will submit the results to my pediatrician with whom I will further discuss the next steps regarding exercise and massage therapy, and he will determine whether Davis would benefit from bracing his legs for a short time. We are optimistic that this won't be necessary.

The scan was performed at the same Radiology Center as Jack Everett's initial GI Scan at 10 months old. The toys, wallpaper... it was all exactly the same... (Didn't look like the toys had been cleaned since, but that's not important.) It brought back memories to those uncertain times when we were truly at square one with Jack, checking for the cause of his apparent "severe reflux."

It's amazing to reflect on how far we've come since that day we took our first-born little baby in for testing. We had no idea that day how much our lives were about to change. We have come so far - three years and dozens of appointments later - rejoicing as Jack is slowly outgrowing some of his most severe food allergies.

God has been so good to our boys!

Behind the scenes of Week Five

We interrupt this precious display of brotherly love for a behind the scenes caption... About one millisecond after this picture was taken, we accidentally bumped Davis' forehead into Jack's lower lip causing him to get really mad and start crying. His busted lip is still healing.

This weekend, in an attempt to squeeze in some napping of our own, Jeff and I allowed Davis to sleep WAY too much during the day. I have been paying the price over the past, well, 72 hours. Now I know what Moms mean when they say "He has his days and nights mixed up." Let's just say Davis and I both watched "The Color Purple" last night, in two-hour installments ... once at 1:00 am, and again at 4:00 am.

Here's Davis wearing a big-boy collared shirt. It swallowed him up but sure was cute.

Thanks to Jeff's leadership, we made it to church Sunday for the first time as a family of four. I was looking for every excuse to stay home one more week, but it was great to see our church family again. When we got there, we both eyed the "Expectant Mother" parking space we had grown to love over the past 36 Sundays. We exchanged glances and I finally said, "I think if you are still wearing maternity pants, you can still park here." That was enough to convince him. We left Davis in the nursery during the service (can you believe it?!) and he did great. I even nursed him in the Mother's Room while we were there. I guess leaving the house with two kids is possible after all.

"WaaaH!" I think we can say with confidence that his little lungs have fully recovered!

Big Brother test-driving the bouncie seat. Davis is just now able to lay in it. Good thing the weight limit on this thing is 40 pounds.

I called in for reinforcement yesterday in the form of my niece Lacey. We spent the day holding Davis, with all the lights on, bouncing him around, uncovered - trying just about anything to keep him awake. Despite our best efforts, this photo was taken during one of the very few instances his eyes opened ALL DAY!


Jack snuggling Davis, wearing his Incredible Hulk PJ's from Lacey. The pant legs hang about four inches past his feet, but do not seem to slow him down. When he sleeps in them, he wakes up all sweaty in the morning, but does not care - he absolutely loves those things. In this pic, he is still wearing them at about 4:00pm. We do the best we can!
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Jack Everett talks non-stop all day long. I mean, all day long. If there is even a moment of silence, he repeats something he just said, or searches for something nonsensical to say to fill the silence. He is EXACTLY like I was growing up (well, and sometimes am now.) So, I realize I deserve it but that does not take away from the fact that it wears me out. So, over the past few days he has told me (and anyone who will listen) how super funny it is that Nemo says, "Mount Wanna-hock-a-loogie." It was funny the first, oh, ten times.

Fast forward to yesterday... In an attempt to video tape Davis' legs to record how stiff they are, Lacey and I asked Jack to be quiet for about 40 seconds. As you will see (hear) from the video... he simply could not do it. I have included a transcript below:

“Lacey, Lacey, you are not going to believe this word I heard on my Nemo CD. It is…" (Lacey: "Shhh... wait just a second.") "I am going to tell you what it is REALLY fast. It’s… It’s uh… I forgot what it is." (Lacey, very softly: Is it “Wanna-hock-a-loogie?”) "It’s not… It’s not Wanna-hock-a-loogie!...”

I finally just stopped recording and started cracking up.
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The lack of sleep has finally caught up with me. There just aren't enough hours in a day.

I mean, when is a Mom supposed to BLOG if she spends her time doing things like showering and brushing her teeth!?

Papa's Pinkies

Jeff's dad, Jarrell, after whom Baby Davis is named, had very unique hands. His fingers were swollen at the knuckles, thinner at the fingertips, and his pinkies were both bent. Crooked, really. I remember holding his hands on many occasions marvelling at how similar they were to Jeff's hands. We held Jarrell's hands for days before he died and commented on how we would all miss those gentle, unique hands.

Well, Davis Jarrell was about six or seven hours old when we were first able to visit him in the NICU and take time to really examine his little body. It took no time for me to notice his hands, and then his precious little pinkies - bent... just like his Papa's.

God is so amazing. I love kissing Davis' little fingers, remembering how much Jarrell means to us and hoping to raise Davis to know what an honest man of God he was. I hope he is always proud of his name... and of his crooked little pinkies.

Chin up, Tony

Jack was about to perform another one of his "super cool tricks" in the living room, so Jeff paused the Cowboys game. When he paused it, we had to laugh at Tony Romo's face.

We just hope this is not a sign of things to come for the 'Boys this season.

One-month follow-up for our growing boy!

Davis had his one-month follow-up yesterday and the doctor was thrilled with his growth since his visit just three weeks ago.

Here he is, on his way to the doctor in both pics. He is starting to fit a little better in his carseat and his coloring is much better.

(8/14/2008)

Big Boy is now weighing in at... 8 and a half pounds!

We are excited that he is growing and I really needed the confirmation from the doc that the breastfeeding is going well and providing Davis the nutrition he needs. When Dr. Purnell said, "You get an A+, Mom!" I almost started to cry.

He is, however, going to take a closer look at Davis' hips as they are still very stiff and he definitely prefers his little legs pulled up tightly to his body. We had expected that he would have some hip stiffness from his breech positioning in the womb, but had anticipated that these joints/muscles would have worked themselves out by about two weeks of age.

Dr. Purnell ordered a hip ultrasound to make sure that Davis' hips are in socket and that the joints, etc. have formed properly. He imagines that everything is okay and that Davis will simply need continued exercise, massage, and "physical therapy" at home (i.e. stretching, tummy time, etc.) to straighten them out. If his hips are out of socket or are slipping in and out of socket, Davis will be given a brace to wear to keep them in place. Interestingly, when a baby's hips are out of socket, it is painless, so that's comforting. It also explains why Davis doesn't complain while we are stretching him out and maneuvering his legs.

Jeff and I are glad Dr. Purnell is being cautious and thorough but really feel like Davis' little hips will just work themselves out with time.

In the meantime, it is Baby Calisthenics at the Griffin house!

Fly me to the Moon!

Jeff and Nana took Jack Everett to see the new 3-D movie Fly me to the Moon last night after work. He was due for some special time (without Brother) and has been wanting to see "that new movie where the spaceship "flies the flies" to space!"

Here are some cute pics from the evening.

I wondered if Jack would keep the 3-D glasses on the whole time and Jeff said he did great.

On a funny note.... I packed Jack a "movie bag" to include the basics: pillow, blankie, juice cup, lollipop, and a snack baggie of Lucky Charms. This morning when I was unpacking it, I had to laugh when I saw the baggie full of just oat cereal - no marshmallows. Glad he enjoyed the nutritious snack!

Davis' first playdate!

Davis was finally introduced to our play group, in Boerne at Laura's house. I was surprised we even made it, but not at all surprised that we made it there without the camera.

Thankfully, Julie wrote about it in this blog entry:

http://allijean.blogspot.com/2008/08/our-newest-little-friend.html

We look forward to many many more playdates as he gets to know his dear little friends. Poor Alli Jean - play group consists of HER and SIX boys!

She doesn't seem to mind, and still manages to get them to play with dolls.

Davis is 4 weeks old!

Here are some highlights from another awe-filled week:

I couldn't wait to put my boys in these adorable towels.

Jack loved taking a bath with Brother. Look at Davis' full milk belly!

All clean!

Time for a photo shoot in our matching "softies!"

He didn't stay awake for long. Baths are exhausting for babies (& Mommies too!) Jack kept saying, "Baby Davis is not smiling. He keeps sleeping in the picture!" I had to remind him that Baby Davis doesn't even know how to smile yet.

Taken last night on Mommy's pillow. This boy is such a good sleeper... just like his Big Brother was.

We were all four playing on our bed trying to keep Davis awake, but as you can see, it wasn't working. He still needed to change into jammies and eat one last meal before bed. He had his own agenda.

Taken this morning while we were trying to get a "1 month" pic with Davis and his Teddy Bear.

Life with two is bringing me so much joy. I don't want to miss a single moment and am nostalgic about every little thing. When Davis does something for the first time I remember when Jack did that same thing, and then think about how this is most likely my last little one.

Man, there is no time for laundry when each day is so full of such simple treasures.