Newspaper profile

I wasn't going to post there was a profile piece in the paper on me yesterday. I certainly wasn't expecting to see a photo of us taking up over half a page. I've had so many comments on the article the past 2 days it's been overwhelming. The photos of our family were terrific. Debbie Miller did a great job writing the piece and she made me very proud of my family. They are more than I have ever deserved.

If you are a subscriber to the Democrat-Gazzette you can follow this link to read the article.

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2010/mar/28/paying-it-forward-20100328/


Newspaper portrait

Playing with Noah

Smiling little girl

Campbell used to smile a lot in her sleep but now she does it a lot while she's awake. Her best smiles are in the morning time. She also likes to watch everything going on. She's perfectly content laying on her play mat as long as people are in the room for her to watch. She especially likes to watch Noah. When he comes (I should probably say crashes) into the room, it's like everyone else stops existing to her. He's really starting to warm up to her too. This morning while I was getting ready for work I caught him laying beside her, holding her hand, and whispering to her. I'll have to remember these moments when they are 16 and 13 and fighting like dogs :)

Here's a picture Jenna sent me this morning after I'd left for work.


Click on photo to open.

Great holiday

You know how I hate to blog when we are out of town (well you do now). I have just a touch of paranoia about being robbed I guess. The fall out is I got out of the habit of posting. I had done pretty good since Campbell was born but not so much lately. So here we go.

We had a great 3 week holiday. Christmas with a three year old is so much fun you'd almost have a whole herd of kids. Not to mention the fact that we had A WHITE CHRISTMAS. Of course, Noah had no idea how special that was. He just said, "Eh." It's funny how just last year his cousin Jana was being driven over the state to try to see snow since she had never seen it and Noah is so bored by snow it elicits an "Eh."

Santa brought him a John Deere Gator for Christmas. He wanted to ride right away but I convinced him to wait for it to warm up. I think we'd still be waiting if I'd held to that. Eventually I shoveled the driveway off and made him a loop through the garage. He was out there maybe 3 minutes before he told me his cheeks hurt and he went in.

We did the south Arkansas tour with stops in Texarkana and ElDorado. We were gone 6 days and although it was great to see everyone it was about 1 day too long to be away from home. The best part of being gone was all the willing help we had with Campbell. In ElDorado, Magga and Holly took turns with her through the night so we were able to catch up on some rest.

Highlights of the tour:
-Seeing little Finley-I hadn't seen her awake since the day she was born
-Seeing Holly pregnant-the changes in her are so dramatic, at times she doesn't seem like the same person-it's awesome what the power of love can do
-Watching Noah and Jana together. They love each other in such a profound way. I grew up with cousins like that and it is awesome to see them develop that type of bond
-Gumbo-enough said
-Amanda and Sarah coming over to Texarkana before Amanda flew back to Portland

Lowlights of the tour
-The drive down. Campbell was good for the most part but we had to drive on so much ice it took about 7 hours to get to Texarkana. Towards the end Noah wanted to fall asleep but his new big boy booster seat just wasn't comfortable so the last 45 minutes was basically him crying.
-Campbell had a stomach bug almost the entire time. She was spitting up and had diarrhea although she acted fine. We were really nervous she'd dehydrate and have to be hospitalized but she kept on eating (every hour) and wetting diapers so she pulled through fine
-Grandparents went way overboard. Not really a lowlight but worth mentioning it was a little over the top-Magga I'm looking at you :)
-Mamaw Rotton being sick and not getting to see Campbell.

We got back without a hiccup. Tried to hook up with Bradford. I haven't gotten to see him since his surgery but our timing was just off. It was good to be home.

Noah's little buddy, Banks, lives about 4 houses down and he got the exact same Gator for Christmas so we spent a few days watching them terrorize the neighborhood like a Gator gang. They are pretty funny.

The 3rd week of snow and ice was brutal. It was too cold for any outside play and we only have 1 4-wheel drive vehicle. Most places were closed and we were all a little stir crazy. On Wednesday, Noah's preschool opened. I think they knew there were some toddlercides about to happen if they didn't open. I'm all for a snow day, but a snow week?

Things are back to "normal" now. At least they are back on routine. Noah has been an absolute angel the past two days. It's amazing how good a schedule is on his life. Campbell's doing good too. She slept last night from 11:30 to 5:30 this morning!!!!!! That actually deserves a few more exclamation points but you get the idea.

Nervous about tonight and after

We've had a lot of help lately. Jenna's mom as here last week to help Jenna out during the day so she could catch up on sleep. Last weekend I pulled Friday and Saturday night shifts so Jenna wouldn't be so worn out.

This week, Magga has been here and she pulled all overnight shifts. She also helped out a ton since I had Komen meetings Monday and Tuesday night.
But.....she leaves today. I'm sure Jenna and I will pull the same shifts-Me til midnight and then after 6/Her midnight to 6-but now I'm not sure she'll be able to keep up with her rest without the support there. I'm sure we'll get along fine. It's what we signed up for after all, I'm just a little nervous because we've had it pretty good so far.

Here's a pic from this morning. This is her Dr. Evil look with the one eyebrow arched. If she could just get her pinky finger to her mouth.

Settling in

We're settling in to a little bit of a routine at the house. I bathe Noah and get him down while Jenna goes to bed. Then I feed Campbell her 11PM bottle and then Jenna is doing the 2ish and 5ish feedings. Campbell is still a good eater. She's up to 2 1/2 oz every 3-4 hours. She wimpers instead of crying when she's hungry. It's pretty cute. She's not sleeping as soundly as she did the first week but she's still asleep 15 hours a day. We've had a few times where she's been awake. Like really awake for over an hour, but mostly she sleeps and grows. Noah is even settling down into his big brother role. We caught him singing "Jesus loves me" the other night to her but when I went and got the camera and made him do it again he was silly instead of sweet.

Life with a little girl

Yesterday as we got the tree down, I was struck by the specialness of what is just normally a yearly chore. I told Chad my heart was so full it actually hurt. Looking at Chad working on the tree, my son happy in his Buzz Lightyear costume, and my healthy baby girl sleeping like an angel was a beautiful sight. I feel so blessed.

Campbell is doing great. She is a little piglet. I think we are already going to have to up her intake to 2.5 or 3 ounces. Two just doesn't seem to be enough for her. She went to the doctor this morning for a color and weight check. All was good. She is almost back to her birth weight. She cried the most I've ever heard this morning at the doctor when I had to strip her for the weight check. She does have a set a lungs, but I am glad she doesn't use them too often.

Noah is doing fine with his little sister. He went back to school this morning and I think the regular routine will be good for him. Plus he won't be wearing his Buzz costume, which I was sure was going to rot on his body this weekend! Last night, we caught Noah kneeling down by Campbell singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. It was a sweet moment that we tried to reproduce on video, but was lost. Noah also woke me up yesterday by telling me excitedly that Campbell "miled" at him.

Life is good as a family of four. I'm excited about celebrating the holiday season this year. I have so much to be thankful for and will enjoy being home with my newest blessing.

Home Sweet Home

We got home yesterday afternoon about 1. The pediatrician and Jenna's doctor both gave the all clear and we were out of there. We got home with all our stuff and got everyone settled in.

After awhile, Noah and I went up to Nick and Leslie's house for Thanksgiving dinner for a couple of hours while Jenna's parents stayed with the girls. It was nice to have so much family around and Leslie was the perfect host. Noah even got to wear home Jackson's old Buzz Lightyear costume and he's beside himself. He already has it back on this morning.

Last night was a pretty good night. So far so perfect baby. We're digging the non-breast feeding since we don't have to wake her up for feedings. She slept one stretch of over four hours last night. I know that may not last but we never even had a two week break in period with Noah. He just never slept.

I tried posting this last night but our site had its first downtime in its history. If it had happened 2 days ago it would have been bad.

We're home and settled in so give me a call if your in the area and want to stop by. Love you guys.

A family of four

I had to share this picture. Magga took it right before leaving us for the night. Right before this picture, Noah was helping his Momma hold Campbell and she was looking so hard at him. I said "She wants to talk to you Noah." He got very solemn and leaned down to her face and said "What do you want to talk about Campbell: Batman, the Ninja Tuttles, or Wobin (Robin-the boy wonder)?" We were rollin.

Good night with good baby

Campbell had a pretty good night. She would fuss about every 2 hours so I had to entertain her for 30 minutes before feeding her. She's up to 35-40 mL. The pediatrician has already made rounds this morning and everything is still perfect.

Jenna's doing great. She's got all the tubes out and actually got up and showered a little bit ago. She's up and we've had a good streams of visitors so far. She's fed Campbell a few times and Campbell slept a few hours in Jenna's lap. We've had a good morning so far. Thanks so much for all the messages, gifts, flowers, and such. Love you guys.

Visitation and Room

Okay we are in Room 31 at Willow Creek. Campbell goes to see the pediatrician at noon and she'll be down at the nursery for awhile. Jenna's sleeping right now and probably will be for most of the afternoon. I figure she'll be up for light visitation this evening but I'm sure she'll have more energy tomorrow. If you want to come up though, feel free to come see the new woman in my life.

When you come, remember that I like Reese's cups and Macanudo Portofino cigars. You won't be hard pressed to find me. I'm the one strutting around like a peacock.

Noah and Campbell

Noah has had a big morning. He's excited about Campbell but he's more excited about everybody being here. He's surrounded by grandparents and he is loving every minute of it. He wore his 'Big Brother' shirt and the banner his preschool class made for him yesterday. He was the first to greet her out of surgery and he has worn a huge grin.

But all things come to an end and the combination of getting up at 545 AM and all the excitement finally wore off for him. His interest started to wane so Magga and Mamaw Rotton took him home to play for a little bit, but not before we were able to catch him being sweet to his baby sister.