Monitor

Eric made a drawing that looked like a rainbow with all of the lines red. I asked him what it was and he said "That's Ellie crying on the baby monitor."

Sweet Baby James

At 9 weeks old James is 11 lbs 8 oz. and 23.5 inches tall. He has grown 4 pounds since he was born. He is still nursing every 2-3 hours which is tough for me but I know he needs it. He is a sweet baby who loves to be held and being warm. He likes the swing, has no interest in toys yet. His favorite calming activity is staring out the window or going outside. He likes to be carried around in the Baby Bjorn and taking baths.
The ortho (Dr. Zimbler) thinks James may need a few casts like Eric had because he is too strong for his brace and can move his foot inside it. Whatever happens we know how great Eric's foot turned out so we aren't too worried.

Finally Some Sleep

James is on a more normal schedule these days, so there is some sleep to be had. Unfortunately I am up doing stuff until after 12 every night, so I am always tired.

Eric's Special Night

The Celtics are in the playoffs and Eric is getting into watching sports more. Lately he has been watching baseball and basketball, understanding the names, and memorizing the players by number. He know every member of the sox and most of the Celtics. Today I told him that if he behaved and took a nap, I'd take him to watch the Celtics at Jon and Lindsay's place, because i knew they'd watch. So he did what we told him and then asked about it and clung to me all afternoon, waiting for the game to start. We went over to watch and he pretty much paid attention the whole time. As the game went on, he got more interested, and by 11:15pm he was jumping up and down in front of the TV yelling "score" when they made a shot, and even during replays. Even though they lost, he didn't stop cheering until we left. Even in the driveway and the ride back, he was talking sense. At one point he reminded me that "college kids go to bars" and told me he already knows everything. Now let's see if he sleeps any later than 6:30 tomorrow.

Science Museum

Took E&E to the museum today while the house got cleaned up. They of course loved it and dragged me all over, never spending more than 30 seconds looking at the same thing. I got us tickets to the butterfly exhibit and the 3-d theater, both of which were fun. Ironically the most iteresting thing all day was the magnetic bead art, wich wasn't really scientific. I had to make excuses up just o leave than station. We had a snack, ran up the musical staircase, weighed ourselves on Jupiter, then left. So far the membership seems like a good idea.

1st Sleepover

Tonight we went to Lindsay and Jon's to celebrate Lindsay's 26th bday. We put their PJs on before we left and Andrew joked that we'd pick them up tomorrow. The kids liked the idea and so they stayed over on a mattress. They had sooooo much fun and didn't miss us at all (sniff sniff.) Lindsay and Jon are great babysitters... of course the kids cam home spoiled and wanting a dog :) The kids can't stop talking about how much fun they had. Thanks again guys!

Boy Wonder

Eric never ceases to amaze us. Today we were playing on the computer and not only did he take over using the touchpad mouse, he was able to navigate through the entire webpage and reached the highest level of the puzzle game he was playing. Then he amazed us even more by reading numbers like 752, 345, 621.. all of the scores in the game.

All 3 Sleeping

As a mom of 3 I don't have much time these days. Amazingly, all 3 are asleep, fed and bathed. I can finally have my tea and I feel accomplished having swept the floor, put the toys away, and set the coffee pot for tomorrow. Lots of caffeine these days. Having 3 kids is so rewarding and I really feel like James has been a perfect addition to our family. I was very scared and am still overwhelmed on an hourly basis but I actually do have peaceful times like now. Maybe I can squeeze in a shower before James wakes up... big maybe :)

Ellie's Typical Phone Call

Hi (Kate, Enrique, Nannie, Denise and Linda, Grandmom, etc)
I'm doing good.
My mom's doing good.
My dad's doing good.
Eric's doing good.
My baby named James is doing good.
Bye.

James Drew Gregory

On Monday, March 24, Andrew stayed home from work to help out with the kids. We took them to music class and the park and then spent the afternoon napping. At 4:30 I started having contractions 5 minutes apart. i called the hospital and they said to come in so Lindsay came over to take care of Eric and Ellie. We went to the hospital at 6pm.
When I got to the hospital I was dilated 4-5cm and was thrilled to hear we weren't going home! They guessed he would be born close to midnight. I did get an epidural and they broke my water. Dr. Terrazi was the doctor on call and he was great. After 4 hours I started pushing at 10:00 and James was born at 10:30. We spent most of my labor reading a baby name book and finally decided on James.
It was the first time I didn't have stitches or tears so I am having a much better recovery. Since James was born so late I stayed 3 nights. Andrew and I even got to have a "date" in the hospital, he brought us dinner and a movie.
James is an adorable baby with fine light brown hair and a cute dimple on one side. He barely ever cries and has been sleeping pretty much since birth. Eric and Ellie have adjusted great so far and can't get enough of him.
We are so happy with the new baby and how smoothly things have been. Can't give enough credit to Andrew, he really has taken on a lot of taking care of Eric and Ellie and the the house.

Eric Turns 4

We had Eric's party at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum which turned out great! The kids and I made a green snake cake with a bundt pan. Eric had a bunch of friends, some from school. They had time to look around the museum and then had a snake/turtle demonstration. The big hit of Eric's bday was the real turtle from Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Jon which he named "Mack" after the Cars movie.

Climber.... scary!

I still can't believe what eric did this morning... we let him go downstairs to play and he got a chair and put a stool on top of it to climb onto the hutch and get a pack of snakes for his bday party from the very top! we found out after the fact and he showed us exactly what he did... so no more solo play downstairs anymore!

The Big ?

So today Eric asked me "How do moms get babies in their tummies?" For now he was okay with "when they really want to have a baby they start to grow one in their tummy." Can't wait to see what he asks when his baby brother is actually here!

Our Names

Ellie calls us by our first names when she wants our attention. She calls me Anrew.

Contractions

Today I was having contractions so I went to the hospital. I was dehydrated from being sick so the IV stopped them. The baby is healthy and happy and kicking away. Now if only we could find a name for him. 8 more weeks but who's counting :)

Xylo-phone

Ellie loves musical instruments. She was playing with a xylophone and asked me "Is this a piano Mom?" I said "No that's a xylophone" so she said "Oh" and picked up the stick part of it and held it to her ear and said "Hello..Dad"

Christmas Vacation

We have had such a fun Christmas vacation. The week before Christmas we had 2 snowstorms so the kids finally got to make their first snowman. (Andrew's first too!) Andrew's mom was here for a week and it was awesome to have her here. We went to the Museum of Science and the Rainforest Cafe and did lots of Christmas shopping. Every morning they would come down the stairs and see if Grandmom was up. Luckily she's an early riser.
The kids were so excited on Christmas morning. The favorite gifts this year were clothes and a stroller for the Tricia dolls, cars for Eric, Tinkertoys, a Dora Lego house, and puzzles. Andrew and Eric have been puzzle addicts this vacation. They did 4 ocean puzzles (500 pieces each) that they are going to hang up in Eric's room.
We also went bowling with Dad and the kids. Ellie calls it "balling" and was more impressed with the snacks but Eric really got into it.
Andrew and I went away overnight and Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Jon took them to the Children's Museum and the mall.

I Like My New Bed Dad!

That's all Ellie keeps saying over and over. She is very excited because she just moved from a crib to a toddler bed and Eric is in a twin bed. They were so adorable, jumping up and down and arranging their new big beds.

Let it Snow

Today we had our first big snow of the season... about 8 inches. When I picked Eric up at school the first thing he did was to try to catch the snowflakes with his tongue. Ellie is very excited about her pink flowered snow pants, she was no problem to get geared up to go outside. Eric, the more cautious one, was not too happy about putting on snow pants but finally came outside with us. They both took turns shoveling and loved stomping in the snow. It is supposed to snow again this weekend so we'll have plenty of time for a snowman!

Personalities

i thought I would write about the kids' personalities so I can see down the line how much they stayed the same from 2 and 3 years old.

Eric at 3: very smart, amazing memory, loving, stubborn, huge vocabulary, talkative, comfortable with adults, rough on the playground, tentative about trying new things, lets Ellie take the lead, very good with numbers and letters
loves: singing, animals, vehicles, stories, building towers and pyramids, puzzles

Ellie at 2: very smart, talkative, loving, sweet, notices how people look (i. I like your shirt mommy), girly: loves purple, pink, bracelets, dresses, artisitic, go-getter, adventurous, has no fear, very friendly
loves: crayons, baby dolls, stories, dancing, building with blocks