Hey Everyone!  

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

  Life has been generally really good.  Eliot had his one month check up.  He's 22 3/4 inches and 11 lbs 11 oz.  He managed his shots well, although we're pretty sure he had a bad reaction to them...or something else.  Anyway, it was definitely a reaction.  For about three days he went from nursing every 2 hours for 20 minutes, to nursing every 3-4 hours for a few seconds-a few minutes, and spitting up much more than usual.  I guess distress would be a good word for the state I was in.  sigh...  Now a week later, he's eating like a champ again.  Thank goodness!

 Our sleeping beauty.  We've moved him to his own room!...which means that at least Anthony is getting a better night's sleep.

 Ira is loving Eliot!  Though somedays I feel like I have to play the role of bodyguard.  A horrifying/hilarious example would be the other day, when Ira began composing an "Eliot Song."  In a monotone voice he started singing "Eyes, ears, mouth, hands..." When I turned around he was pointing to each appropriate lyric on Eliot, so I kept doing dishes.  Until Ira got stuck on the word, "body, body, body, body..." when I turned around again I found him repeatedly hitting Eliot in the diaper!  Not crotch punches!  Eliot wasn't responding at all, so I guess they were gentle punches?  Most of the time, Ira's been extremely gentle and kind to Eliot, with only a punch in the diaper here and there.

 It looks like Ira is kissing Eliot, but he's really roaring at him.

 Interesting.

 I think we got ourselves a smiler!

Since we set up Eliot's room with the pack-n-play, Ira's been spending more time in it that Eliot.  For some reason, he absolutely loves it.  Maybe for the same reason that autistic children, and cattle about to be slaughtered like small enclosed spaces?  Anyway, I heard Ira giggling and found he and Eliot "hiding."

 I think Ira must be socially deprived.  He woke up from his nap yesterday, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Friends coming over?"  A phrase we hear often these days is "Play with me!"  Here's Eliot trying.

The only way I'm getting a chance to write this post, is this awesome "Busy Box."  Thanks Hopkinsons!

We looked at cousin photos, so Ira knew who drew which picture.  He then hugged and carried them around the house for a while. He knows cousins are the best kind of friends.

This is my latest attempt at cake decorating when we took a couple of new(er) moms in the ward dinner.  Thanks for giving me the inspiring me Camille! I did it pretty hastily.  But I'm going to try the butterflies again this weekend allowing some more time. 

The job hunt is happening.  I guess it would be safe to say that options are beginning to present themselves.  We'll know where we're going to end up in a couple of weeks to a couple of months.  Eee!  I can't wait!  O.k.  I better take a shower while I still can!  Love you guys!

Familaversary

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend. Marriage really gets a bad rep. these days, but it is awesome. We celebrated as a family. First we went out to a little Pakistani 'Fish & Chips'  restaurant we have been eyeing since we lived here last time. We then took Ira and Eliot to the volunteer Firefighter fundraising carnival. 

If you can't tell Ira is a little stiff and stoic. He was sad when we left, so I can only assume he was having fun.

below are some pictures.

 They had a great assortment of rides for little kids. Ira finally got to feel like he was driving a car! 

 A rare smile before the ride started.

 He was pretty excited to ride the horse.

 This is the more typical expression he had most of the night. Quite the contrast to the other kids who were pure energy with their hands flailing and screaming.

Life is Carousel, I'm glad I get to ride it with my best friend.

Earth Day

Didn't have time to post this last week.

 Being a new dad (again) is awesome.

 Twins - Thanks Camille for the matching pillow cases.

 Me and the boys

 Last Saturday we went to an Earth Day fair.  They had a ton of stands and live music, but Ira preferred the park. 

 Ira liked this toy, unfortunately he still has a ways to go before he's big enough.

Sharon's Earth Day cake.

Sharon is still trying to perfect the sphere cake. She made this one out of rice crispies, which worked well, until they decided to fall apart. The world exploded. We didn't get an after picture. We took it to our Sunday school class and told them that if they didn't take care of the earth it would end up looking like the cake.  Fortunately, kids don't seem to care what their sugar looks like when they eat it.   

Happy Late Easter!!!

Anthony did a great job summing up the birth of Eliot.  The only addition I would make is that Anthony was the best coach a girl could ask for.  He was my supportive, massaging, cheerleader through every contraction. I couldn't have done it without him.  In fact, he was so good that the midwife was very hands-off.  She didn't need to step in much at all until I started pushing, I think because she could see that Anthony had everything covered.  

So, back to Easter.  I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

I love this face.  Ira's trying really hard to balance the egg while attempting to smile for the picture. 

Mmmm.  Easter Breakfast.  Ira passed up his cinnamon roll for a bowl of jelly beans. 

The day before Easter, Grandma, Ant, and Ira went to the Danbury Railway Museum to ride the Bunny Express.

I'd be freaked out too Ira.

Hanging out at home.

Brother bonding?  And we were wondering if Ira would regress. 

Ira absolutely adores Eliot.  Sometimes to the point where it's hazardous to Eliot's safety. 

 Mom and Dad were lifesavers!  Ira had a blast with them, and I cried when they left.  

Hope everyone is doing well.  Next post, I'll try and keep the pictures to a select minimum.  I just can't help myself. 

Eliot Spencer Quinn

Our spring blossom has sprung! It's a boy so I don't know how welcome the analogy is, but we'll go with it.

The labor went well, below are the cliff notes from my perspective, for full details you can call and chat with Sharon, she would love it.

Name: Eliot Spencer Quinn
Weight: 8 lbs. 15 oz.
Height: 20.5 inches



Tuesday April 3rd, 2012
4:30 AM - About the time early labor started, this is when Ira woke up and Sharon couldn't get back to sleep.
10:00 AM -We already had an appointment with the midwives so we went in for that, they said it could be labor, but contractions weren't consistent enough to warrant staying. Probably still early first stage labor.

So we went to Costco and stocked up on food and treated ourselves to a Costco lunch.

~ 3:00 PM - Contractions became more consistent at about 5-6 minutes apart, Sharon got more focused. Del and Mary Lou arrived from PA to help out with Ira. - Perfect timing.

~ 6:45 PM - Checked-in to the CT Childbirth and Women's Center - They are amazing! Sharon described it as 'Heaven'. The midwife was supportive as was the nurse on duty that night. - Dilated: 5 cm
~ 9:15 PM - Waters broke (literally burst) - Dilated: 9 cm
~ 9:30 PM - Second Stage Labor started - big pushes
~ 9:50 PM - His head came out slow and after a few pushes the rest of his body was not following. The midwife sternly commanded Sharon to flip out of the sitting position she was in and to get on her hands and knees. One of the babies shoulders was stuck against her pelvis, known as shoulder dystocia. We had an anxious few seconds, that seemed a lot longer, as the skilled midwife did a few maneuvers and the baby was born.

9:54 PM - Official birth time.

He didn't look good after coming out, you can see he is still getting all his color.
The flash didn't help either.

Cheers to mom! Sharon did really well.

Happy new father

We are all home, healthy, and happy.

Ira has been taking well to the new addition. He was a little hesitant at first, but he now affectionately calls it 'My(his) Baby' after some bonding time this afternoon.

Ira was his usual observant self when we first got home, not sure what
to make of the new baby.

He warmed up fairly quickly after he was able to get some alone
time with one of us.

A proud older brother.

Ira loves holding Eliot.

Some good bonding time...
may he always be so gentle and protective...

Thank You Mary Lou for being here with us! 

Ira and Eliot have taken well to Mary Lou.

Celebrating Eliot's birthday with a yummy cake.

She has been a huge help as we start to adjust our lifestyle for a family of four.

I don't know how Sharon is going to survive the three of us.