"Christopher Smiles"

I had to copy this picture from Grandpaparazzi's Neighborhood blog, because it is a documentation of a wondrous event that is hard to capture on film!

In case you don't regularly visit Grandpaparazzi's Neighborhood

Here are some links of interest to Penna family fans!

It's All About the Baby


Saturday Activity

Hallelujah!

Christopher slept from 8pm to 3am last night. In his crib.
A Christmas miracle indeed.

A couple more

All Christopher

Brothers

Here's what you want

Pictures.

Overhead this morning ...

While John was in the bathroom:

"Don't call me 'Potty,' I'm a child of God."

Birthday Excitement

Well, I'm 39 now. Undeniably middle-aged... It's not as painful as I thought... Or maybe I am still in denial.

It has been an exciting day so far. Today is the first day I drove the car on my own. After Tony took John to school, Christopher and I went to Goodwill on our own. He slept the whole time in his car seat on the cart. I got a couple of shirts for me and one for John. Then I got a chicken sandwich at Burger King.

I got a nap in the afternoon.
We also went to Monterrey's for dinner and I had nachos and a margarita. We came home and had pink birthday cake.

Very big day!

The four of us at JCP

Well, we only got about 11 shots from this photo session at JCP. John decided to show his ornery side... Even with Mimi and Pa's help, he was out of control... Oh well. We're trying to meet that challenge, fortunately, the orneriness is still less frequent than the cooperativeness...
Anyway, here they are:

Pictures from before Twohy's arrival

Just a couple...

Diaper cake from the shower in Greenville



John cutting paper


John trick-or-treating in downtown Clemson


The traditional "Bump" picture.

Getting to know you

Today is Christopher's two-week birthday. We are starting to get to know him a little bit.
His most prominent characteristic so far is his tummy troubles. He is a "spitter." Mostly just little spit-ups with the occasional two-teaspooner thrown in, but today I got a "projectile" spit right in the face... One of those special joys of being a mom!
He is also a drunken frat boy of noises. He grunts, farts, hiccups, and burps regularly.
However, he is SO easygoing so far. He sometimes frowns a little bit when John gets in his face, but normally just goes on with whatever he is doing... usually sleeping. He is also a sleepy baby, which is ok, but it means that we have to wake him up all the time to feed and have to tickle and bother him to get him to stay awake.
He doesn't cry much so far, just when he has gas pain, which is just about every feeding. We are learning to use Mylicon in the most effective manner.
He just started rolling over onto his side today.
He likes being held, of course, but doesn't mind resting in a swing or bouncy chair.
He sleeps in the bouncy chair. He stays inside the swaddle longer than John did. Christopher wakes up still swaddled sometimes, and John would fight to get one of his arms out in about 2 minutes...
Christopher is very vocal during sleep, which makes it difficult sometimes to tune him out while we sleep. He does sleep in his own room at night, which is an amazing miracle to Tony and me.
He did gain weight at his first checkup, but not as much as Feiste would like so we are on 8 prescribed feedings a day and we have a followup on Monday. Hopefully he will be on a better weight gain curve, so I don't obsess... Or rather, so I can stop obsessing on this particular topic!
He is very sweet, and has Tony wrapped around his little finger already!

Settling in

I'm glad to report that we are very close to having our new routine in place. Christopher has a feeding schedule that allows mom and dad to get "some" rest. Mommy feeds and daddy burps. Daddy has re-learned his technique for swaddling and can get Christopher to sleep within 2 minutes. John gets plenty of time with Christopher and gets to hold him at least once a day. We're still learning just how gentle John needs to be and how close to Christopher's face he can get. Since Christopher sleeps so much, John gets plenty of mommy and daddy time. Mommy gets plenty of rest and daddy gets housework done after everyone is in bed (roughly 9-11pm).

After the trials we went through with Penna Baby #1, this is a breeze (so far)!

Words from the last piece of the puzzle

Well, here I am, finally having a chance to weigh in. Because you know I'm the busiest member of this new menage (NOT).
I am having a lot of trouble adjusting to how "normal" Christopher is. He eats for about 45 minutes, with lots of burping, then goes right to sleep for about 2-3 hours, then wakes up ready to eat again. That's pretty much it. I always say that I can't remember much about this stage with John, but it seems like there was a LOT more drama. Bouncing, walking, fretting, going to the doctor every day, etc.

Hearing Christopher's little baby noises, I do remember John was much more vocal, and he also did a lot of the little "squeaks" that Christopher does. I remembered that we called him "Squeaker." It's interesting how starting to get to know Christopher reminds me of how John was when he was a baby. And how big he is now!!!

Christopher has been so reliable, there is talk of Tony and I going out this weekend while my parents are still here.

I am freaked about them leaving, but we'll work it out like normal.

John is enjoying Christopher, he looks at him with lots of wonder and happiness, and gives him stuffed animals, his own Bees, his car toys, and little stuffed toys. He loves to rub his head while I am feeding him and asks lots of questions. He also says "I am very gentle with Twohy" or "with babies." Thankfully Christopher is very tolerant, or oblivious, so we don't have to rein in John too much.

We add Keats back into the mix on Thursday, Mimi and Pa leave Monday or Tuesday, and then we are left to our own new, expanded family unit.

Saturday update

Mom and baby continue to do well. Christopher/Chris/Kit/Kip (we're not sure yet exactly what we're going to call him-perhaps we'll just stick with Twoey) has lost about 10% of his birth weight, so we might have to supplement with formula, but they're still going to let us go home tomorrow. We did a Skype session with John today so he could see Christopher. John is very excited to meet his little brother!

Side-by-side comparison

John Michael, 6/25/06

Christopher Anthony, 11/6/09

Christopher Anthony Penna

And a short video

This was shot when Twoey was about 30 minutes old in the nursery. He is on a table under a heat lamp. The wire taped to his chest completes a feedback loop that maintains his body temperature without overheating.

More Twoey

In this last shot, his hearing is being tested. Daddy was impressed by the lights that flashed whenever a tone was played.

Introducing Twoey!

Twoey arrived today at 12:44pm. He's 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19.25" long. Mom and baby are both doing well. Mom is a little slow to recover, so we haven't been able to officially decide on a name, but we do have one picked out.

He has a little bruise on his lower lip, which they think is from bumping against one of Juliet's ribs during the c-section. Other than that, he's perfect!

The week of

Well, Twohy's scheduled arrival is this Thursday, three days from now!
I started to catch a cold yesterday, and John has been alternating between whiny and rambunctious... Tony is just tired as usual, and holding us all together.

We got a lot done yesterday, but there's a lot still on my list...
I'm taking Wednesday off for last minute stuff, and my parents get here Wednesday afternoon or evening.

I'm losing my motivation to keep us all motivated to get stuff done... I guess I should look at it as a good lesson for the control freak in me. However, I would rather just get everything done...

Some insight into me (Juliet)

For those of you who know me but not my family, check out this link to my Dad's blog. I think it reveals quite a bit about my family and its charming (?) quirkiness.

School Update

John is doing much better for the school drop-off. He doesn't whine long about going to school, he walks right in, and today he hugged me before I left, rather than crying and clinging to my leg.
Tony has been taking him on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and picking him up on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think that helps all of us a lot...
So, that was about 4-5 weeks for the transition. Not bad. Have to cement that in my brain so I remember for the next time there's a big transition. I think we have one coming soon, I just can't remember what it is... Hmmmm...

Mommy decided it was that time again!

I decided to squeeze in one last photo shoot before Twohy arrives in person.
So here they are, courtesy of JC Penney's as usual...

Surprise!

Tony and a bunch of our friends surprised me (and John) with a shower for Twohy today! Evidently he had been planning it for about 2 and a half months, and this was the one weekend that would work with everybody's show schedules! I think it timed out perfectly. It was just the "pick-me-up" I needed to get me through the last week and a half...
There are no pictures, but there might have been. Before we left our house this morning, I was packing everything up (we combined the trip with a photo session at JC Penney's) I thought, "maybe I should take the camera." Then "Why would I need a camera for a photo shoot?" I have to learn to obey these little compulsions...

The party was great and it's always nice to be amongst loving, caring, and fun friends! Thanks to Shannon for the idea and the hosting!
Thanks to Diane for the beautiful diaper cake. (John was fascinated with it in the car on the way home. He took pictures of us using the dog on top!)
Thanks to the Egans and the Li-Bleuels for making the drive up to Greenville from Clemson.
Thanks to Mae for being such a good helper and co-hostess to the other kids.
And thanks, I think, to Katie and Matt for the yummy real cake!

Of course, kudos to Tony, for once again proving that he is the best husband in the world for me. ('Cause you know there were so many clamoring for the job...)

Don't Tell John

I wanted to check to make sure that no one had purchased "Fred" from the movie "Cars" yet... I'm going to try to get one on eBay for Twohy to "give" to John for a big brother present...

Let me know!
Thanks!

Zany spanks.

I mean "Many Thanks" to all those who helped us meet our goal of $750 for the Little Hearts team of the American Heart Association Low Country Heart Walk.

We really appreciate the support you gave them. We know it's because you love us!

We'll be back to badger you next year!

Whirling down

It's Sunday afternoon at 4:30.

We made it to the fair yesterday, leaving at 11:30, getting there about 2pm. We walked around and saw the Oconee State Park exhibit and the midway and rides. He liked watching the big rides, and then we went to look for some that were more our speed. We started with a toddler fun house thing. You walk up some stairs, climb up a net, walk across a suspension bridge and slide down a long tube. We did that one together. Then I finally convinced him to try one on his own. He didn't love it, but he didn't cry and try to get off...
Then he rode another that he REALLY liked. Or maybe he was just flirting with his riding partner.

We walked over to the petting zoo. They also had elephant rides, which we watched but he said he didn't want to go on. He liked it when the sheep, goats, and llamas tickled his hands.

Obligatory tractors made an appearance of course.

We rode the carousel together.

I'm sorry to say that we did not see the racing pigs, although they were there. We did not eat anything deep-fried. He mostly stayed in the stroller so I didn't worry about him getting lost in the crowds. It was cloudy and cool, and we got sprinkled on a couple of times.

All the ride operators seemed to be 18- to 20-year-old foreign guys. Not sure from where. Australia, I guess, because one person was talking about how very cold it was (57 degrees).

We left about 6, I think, and got home about 8:45. It was a good day, very few meltdowns (by me or John).

Today, Sunday, I was very beat from yesterday, and wanted to get some of the house cleaned up for Tony and get the car cleaned out from our mini road trip. I did laundry and dishes, John played with toys, and then we spent an hour and a half in a mommy-pre-schooler blinking contest over cleaning up a puzzle. He finally conceded, but I helped him with the pieces. While I was waiting, I got two loads of laundry folded and put away and the upstairs vacuumed... He mostly just ran around trying to get my attention...
We didn't make it to the rock museum open house. We did sweep the driveway and he sprayed some plants and a brick wall. He also cut a lot of paper today. That's his favorite.

I have pictures of the fair. I'll post them tomorrow when I'm less tired.
Tony is on his way home now and should be here around 9pm.

Documentation of the Whirl

Last night (Thursday), we ended up going to "Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up." Actually, the title was not descriptive, it should have been called "Big Bird Flounders on Career Path" or something. It was more about how BB couldn't decide what to do, but ended up helping everyone put on the big pageant.

It went very well. John seemed to have a good time. As usual for anything new, he spent most of the time very seriously taking it all in. He asked questions about the mirror ball and studied the moving lights very closely. Whenever Grover, his favorite, came on, he would look over at me with a big grin on his face to make sure I saw too.

After intermission, the show was too loud for him, but I covered his ears and that helped. I managed to get out of there only spending $3.50 on a soda, which he took one sip of... (he wanted milk, but of course that's not a usual at a basketball arena concession stand.)

The pre-show announcements noted that there was no sound or video recording, and I thought it was weird that they didn't mention photographs until I realized that the whole show was peppered with flashes from people taking pics of their kids enjoying the show. Some of the people on the floor actually got to pose with the monsters during the show... It was a whole new world of theater for me.

I only got a couple of shots.









Today (Friday), the plan was to go to "Boo at the Zoo," trick or treating at the Greenville Zoo. I had a meltdown while I was trying to get John to pick up his toys before we left, primarily because I forgot the cardinal rules of calm parenting. You can't hurry a toddler and getting John to pick up his toys is an act that requires creativity, calm, patience, and fortitude... all of which I was running low on...
Anyway, we walked Keats, got loaded into the car and got there about 6pm. Only to be greeted by a great big sign that said "MEMBERS ONLY NIGHT CANCELLED." No explanation, no apology. I was p---'ed off, as were the other 100 or so families that showed up.

But after the initial soupçon of disappointment, John had a great time climbing at the playground nearby. He watched "Chicken Run" in the car and we stopped at Sonic on the way home. Main mission accomplished (distraction).







Tomorrow's plan is the State Fair in Columbia. I was hoping to get on the road early to make it for the 2 for 1 ride time from 9am to 1pm. We'll see. My legs are killing me and the laundry is really, I mean REALLY, piling up...