June & July updates

Man, I'm not doing so well at this blogging and photo uploading thing. I USED to be quite efficient. Ha. Now it takes me days/weeks to accomplish the simplest of tasks :)

Here we go...

June in a nutshell: 10 day trip to OC & SD to visit Huefners, friends, & Larabees, we had our dining room reconverted into a 3rd bedroom (original 1947 layout) to accommodate the kiddos, Scarlett started ballet, Great Grandma Isabel came to visit,  and Scarlett went to Patrick's wedding in Grass Valley with Larabees & Mimi/Boppy which gave Jeremy and I a whole weekend alone (Grady doesn't count since he's a piece of cake)!

Huefner gals

 Strands beach walk

Uncle Ev and his fan club

Mission Bay with the cousins!

GG Isabel comes to town

And comes to watch Scarlett's 1st ballet class

Scarlett goes away for a wknd with S & H

Siblings!

July in a nutshell: I had a girlfriend-overnight to Healdsburg Hotel & Spa with Michele (amazing!), had a mellow 4th off bbq & pool with the Bluffs, we celebrated our 5th anniversary, with a fun night in the city, we finally bought and built a full sized crib for Grady, Scarlett had her 2nd haircut (VERY exciting for her), and this weekend we are headed "glamping" in Santa Barbara with the Petaluma camping group.

Twins!

My patriotic duo

An attempt for a family photo, G wasn't having it

First bro/sis bath

Family tea party!

S & G playing in G's new crib ;)

Grady

 3 Month Photo

 

4 Month Photo

What he's up to: Grady is still a mellow man. He LOVES to watch Scarlett, eat (a chow hound), sit in his bumbo chair, obsessed with his pacifier (another one?!), roll over (in his crib nightly, yet will never perform for us still!), and thankfully is finally awake more so we can actually do stuff. He just lost all his hair in the past few weeks (except for a stylish ring around the back) so we are wondering what color it will come back in as?!

Sleep: He is an excellent sleeper- naps 3 times a day, goes to bed now at 6pm (He couldn't make it til 7pm anymore!) with a dream feed at 10 (that we are weaning him off of), a squack around 4 or 5am (when he rolls over and panics) which we usually ignore, and his latest wake up time this week has been 7:45am. This kid is awesome. We will definitely have more thanks to his amazing-ness ;)

Personality: Happy, smiley, chatty (coos and sings all day long to himself), sweet, and loves to be cuddled

Everything else: We had a feeding problem after our last post. His weight check at the end of May showed weight LOSS. Long story short, after tracking my milk supply (pumping exclusively for 5 days) & 2 blood panels, we realized that my milk supply had been cut in half (probably a result of antibiotics from mastitis which I had just recovered from) and Grady was basically starving. Of course my mellow man would never scream or cry like all other starving babies, so we had NO idea. He was put on a "feed him, feed him, feed him" plan. We took those instructions very seriously- Grady went from 10.3 lbs (5%) to 14.9 lbs (30%) in 4 weeks! YAY! Our ped was very happy! His percentile was 60% at birth, so we are on the right track of getting him back to "normal"! I am still pumping exclusively (groan!) since I never got my milk supply back to normal, although it is better thanks to some herbs from Whole Foods and milk makers cookies- yum.

Last 4 mo check-up was:
head 60%, length 25" (47% and grew 3"!), and weight 14 lb 9 oz (30%)



 

Scarlett

What she's up to:
Talking non-stop STILL.I swear she says 10 new words a day. Today was, "I want to cut my strawberries in half myself." Literally. She loves playing with Hazel in the backyard by herself. The two of them love to get into trouble together- you never know who was the instigator ;)
Lately, when I've tried to leave Grady at home with Jeremy or a sitter so we can do something by ourselves, Scarlett gets very upset. "Grady come! Grady come!" I think she's finally used to having him around.  

Everything else: Dancing (ballet is the highlight of our week), going potty on the big toilet all by herself now (no more yucky plastic potty that I had to empty and clean) going on the big girl swing at the park, singing songs fully with perfect lyrics (Twinkle Twinkle, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, etc.), able to be left in the nursery at church without panicking, and most of all, she is REALLY good at pretending. We play "Dr. Lee" (her pediatrician) DAILY with the handy dandy doctor kit from godmommy Allie. Two is sure busy!

A Two-Year old and a Two-Month old!

April & May Update

 

This is going to be short and sweet :) Both kids are sleeping right now and time is of the essence!
The past 6 weeks have been so fun. Scarlett loves her little bro, we had a Nonni visit, all our King/Larabee cousins came to visit, Scarlett turned 2, we hosted her bday party, Grady turned 8 weeks, and I celebrated my bday on Mother's Day! Busy busy!

Grady Update: 8 weeks

(One month photo that I forgot to post earlier)

      Two month old boy!

What he's up to: cooing, smiling A LOT, watching everything around him

Sleep: G is a great sleeper just like Scarlett. He's waking up once a night to nurse around 5/6am. So right now I'm getting about 6-7 hours of straight sleep! Awesome!

Personality: He is still easy going. Loves to be held, fed, or looking around in his bjorn bouncer or activity mat. He hates the car seat (just like his sis did). I carry him in the Ergo most often so I have 2 free hands to help Scarlett at the park, etc.

Everything else:  He is eating every 3 hours during the day. We just had his 8 week check-up which involved 3 shots. He was NOT happy about that :( He is weighing in at 10 lb 8 oz and 22.5" long which is 17% and 18% in size/length....MUCH smaller babe than S was! But, he's happy which is all that matters. We go back in 3 weeks for another weight check.

Scarlett Update: 2 years

 

What she's up to: TALKING non-stop (latest funny saying, "Mom, I want appetizer!"), running everywhere, reading books any chance she can, getting more and more comfortable with the water at Mimi & Bop's pool, playing with any big girl that she meets, becoming more and more brave & independent (if that's possible?!), and is pretty darn silly too (likes to pretend to be a superhero with the Knueppel brothers which involves pan lids as shields and bandaids as superpower buttons. Ha.)

Everything else: We had a great gymnastics bday party for S! Imagine 17 kids running around a gym? And then imagine them hyped up on cookies and cupcakes after?! Quite the sight.
Scarlett also went to the pediatrician with Grady for her 2 year appt. She's weighing in at 32 lbs (95%) and measuring 35.5" (96%). She also got a shot and a blood test, both of which she DIDN'T CRY FOR! Amazing what a lollipop will do :)



 
  

 

Happy almost summer!
Love,
the kings!

Life with 2!

Two kids is BUSY! All I can think is, "What the heck was I doing with all of my free time when we just had one?!" Laundry, dishes, nursing G, playing with S....those are my four most frequent daily events! Jeremy was home for a week which was awesome. Now it's back to "normal" with just me and the kids.


Grady 2.5 weeks
Favorite thing to do: SLEEP (about 19-20 hours a day! Crazy!)

Personality: Mellow like his dad :)

Newest Tricks: Tracking with his eyes, watching Scarlett when she entertains him, curls his lips like he's about to smile

Weight: today's appt he weighed in at 9lb 4oz (up from 8lb 8oz birth weight, and 8lb 0oz hospital discharge weight) which is 60%. Head and length will be rechecked in two weeks.

Physical Looks: Jeremy's exact replica. I orginally thought he and Scarlett looked so much alike when he was born, but after a few weeks I admit I was dead wrong. Grady is long and lean, has Jeremy's nose, chin, and mouth....and bascially NOTHING of mine! Ha. Jury is totally out on the eye color- they look like a dark grey/brown so who knows!

Simiarities with Big Sis Scarlett: raspy voice (Okay, that's the one thing they both got from me), pacifier obsession, tummy sleeper, and hip dysplasia (see below. Ugh!)

Scarlett 23 months
Newest Tricks:  Speaking in "complete" sentences! "What you doing, mama/daddy?" "I want go outside." Or as she said today on our way out of the Pediatrician's office, "Bye bye, kids!" to all the other children in the waiting room. This one is still a major chatterbox.

Biggest Thrill: We talk about Scarlett going to school in September A LOT. She seems quite excited about "no mommy/daddy" at school and having a teacher and friends :) Pretty cute. Other obsessions, the park, especially going "so high" on the swing, kindergym, music class, and playing at Boppy & Mimi's house.

Favorite Toy: After visiting me in the hospital and tagging along to a few of Grady's pediatrician appts, Scarlett is obsessed with "ouchies" and doctors. Allie came to visit and brought Scarlett the most perfect gift- her own doctor kit. She examines her dollies and stuffed animals daily, along with Hazel and myself. Today when we were at the pediatrician for Grady's weight check, she asked Dr. Lee to check her legs. Too funny.

Biggest Challenge:The first week of being home with Grady, Scarlett's tantrums hit an all-time high and Jeremy and I were about to jump ship. The tantrums were about the silliest things- food, socks, etc. But, after her routine went back to normal last week (daycare Tues/Thurs, playdates, daddy back to work, etc.), she actually seems to be doing 100% better- using big girl words, avoiding whining (with lots of warnings) and less tantrums. Keep your fingers crossed!

Biggest Highlight: Scarlett adores baby Grady. She loves to kiss his head, put his paci in his mouth, "shhhh" him nicely when he's crying, and asks to hold him countless times a day.  I hope this sweetness continues!!

Always checking out what Grady is doing

Swim time at Mimi & Bops

"Nursing" her dolly

First family photo (poor G is tucked away in the carrier)

Scarlett was NOT happy to meet the Easter Bunny! ha.

Mimicking daddy by carrying dolly in her backpack

Being silly with Grady in her tent

Quick Hip Update for those of you that didn't hear the news...

We had our 2 year follow-up appt for Scarlett's hips last week with the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at UCSF. Grady also had his hips sonogrammed, since he has a sibling with hip dysplasia.

Scarlett's left hip moved into "normal" range (barely, but we'll take it) although her right hip did not. Her right hip is still at 26 degrees (the highest it should ever be is 24 degrees to avoid surgery). Because life is crazy (keep reading, you'll see why) we postponed making a decision for hip surgery until she turns 3. There is a 95% chance she will have to have it, but maybe there will be a small little miracle that her body will self correct :) I can hope, right? The recovery is 6 weeks in a cast with no walking. BRUTAL.

The sonogram for Grady showed that both of his hips have shallow sockets. So, he was fitted in a Pavlik Harness yesterday (remember that pink thing Scarlett wore for 3 months?!). There are 11 straps and he must remain in it 23 hours a day (1 hour given for bath & clothing change). The harness pulls his legs up at a 90 degree angle in the "froggy" position to force the ball and socket into each other and deepen the sockets with constant pressure. It's a BIG pain- diaper changes, nursing, and  even cuddling Grady are very ackward with the harness, but it's life for the next 12 weeks. He will follow the same drill Scarlett did-- Re-sonogram in 6 weeks, xray 8 weeks later to determine the prognosis/need for another cast/harness?,  and final xray at 2 years old to see if the hips made further progress to avoid surgery...

Sporting his navy blue harness (hidden well with a navy onesie and baggy pants!)

Onto me....
Well, since I'm the mother of two pediatric hip patients, I also become a patient. So I had a standing pelvic xray too. I found out what I kind of always knew (since my mom and grandma both had total hip replacements)- both of my hip sockets are shallow. My right hip is at the lowest degree without needing hip surgery- was told to wait that one out until it becomes problematic. The left is  undeniably a problem. So, sometime in the next 1-8 years I will need to have my right hip socket carved out and/or resurfaced to avoid further problems down the road. I am last on the train for hip treatment...so more updates on that when we are ready for me to have a 3 month recovery on crutches. Not anytime soon!

Okay, that's enough about us. Wishing you all a blessed Easter this weekend and a wonderful spring!
Lots of Love...
the kings!