Brothers

Love <3

6 weeks and family time!

Well we have been keeping busy!  Life is definitely not dull with two boys.  Nolan provides us with endless entertainment with his growing imagination, play, and commentary.  The boy sure is a chatter box.  He also continues to love on his little brother, a little too much at times, but I'd rather have this than him not wanting Lucas around.  Lucas continues to grow like a weed.  Today Lucas and I both had doctor's appointments.  I was excited to see how much he weighed because 2 weeks ago at the breastfeeding support group he weighed almost 11 pounds.  Today he weighed in at 12lbs 9oz. and is 24in long!  That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and 95th for weight!  Nolan definitely was not this big at this age and was always in the 20-25th percentile for both height and weight (he's now up in the 50th).  Besides growing, Lucas continues to be a great sleeper.  He's started to have some 5 hour stretches at night, which is awesome for me.  He is also becoming more alert and interactive.  It is fun to lay on the floor with him during tummy time and watch his different facial expressions.  We've even had some smiles (none that I've been able to capture on camera yet..).

I have also survived two full days alone with the boys (and many Monday and Tuesday evenings while Kevin is at private practice).  Nolan is continuing to go to daycare but daycare was closed last week so I had the boys all to myself on Thursday and Friday.  I even survived an 8am-bedtime day alone with the boys on Friday.  Lucas being such a calm baby definitely makes these times a lot easier than I anticipated they would be.  Now I have had some "pull out my hair" moments but overall it's been a lot of fun.

In other happenings we recently enjoyed time with my siblings, their significant others and my mom.  My brothers had only seen Lucas on Skype so it was fun for them to finally meet him and to see Nolan again.  We spent one night all together at my mom's before heading to Michigan for our extended Gingrich family reunion (GGG).  We hadn't had a family reunion like this since 2004 so it was wonderful to have everyone together again and to meet all the new family members that have been added through marriage and birth over the last several years.  We were especially excited to meet Jordan, my cousin's son who was born 18 days after Lucas (Jordan's older brother Tyson was born 11 days after Nolan!! :)).  We had a great time!

Here are some pictures from our family time together:

Aunt Rach

Excited to go see family!

Little cousins playing Minute to Win it game.  So much fun!

Family photo

Nolan looking at frogs in the pond...yes, he did fall in!

Nolan loved the nature center and spent HOURS in there looking at the turtles, birds, snakes, etc.

Buddies :)

GGG variety show

Nolan totally captivated by the music

Proud uncles

So sweet.  Snuggle time with uncle jonny

Puzzle and cousin chat time

Rach, Jon, Jeff, and Britta with Lucas

Nolan and his buddy Tyson holding hands and walking to breakfast.

Me and Lucas with Carrie and Jordan.  I think Lucas and Jordan are going to be best buds like their older brothers are.  

Me and the boys with my cousin Allison and her son Samuel (they live in England)

Cooking with Uncle Jeff

Bath in Grandma's sink 

1 Month!!!

Where does the time go?  Lucas is one month old and growing, growing, growing!  Lucas and I went to the breastfeeding support group on Monday and he weighed 10pounds 12ounces...that's 3 pounds in 4 weeks.  I am already putting clothes away and he is comfortably wearing 3 month clothing.  He still has his red hair and is a calm baby.  He and I are starting to get into our routine and the evenings that Kevin has private practice and I'm home alone with both boys have been going quite well.  I'm so glad that I am able to take 12 weeks off of work to enjoy little Lucas and also have extra time with Nolan.  

Here are some pictures that Kevin took today:

Sweet Brothers

2 and 3 weeks

Quick Update and Photo Shoot Pictures

Lucas is growing and changing so quickly.  Hard to believe he will be 3 weeks tomorrow.  Friday after meeting Kevin for lunch I took Lucas to the PCC to meet some of my coworkers and to have him weighed.  According to their scales Lucas is already a whopping 9lbs 10oz!!!  He sure likes to eat.  He hasn't been sleeping as long at night (likes to wake-up every couple of hours to...EAT), but he is still very calm.  Nolan seems to still be doing well with the transition.  We have been having some issues with Nolan's sleep with him not wanting to go to bed without us staying with him, waking up at least once in the middle of the night, and he is waking up earlier and earlier.  Hopefully this will resolve quickly! :)  Nolan continues to be very sweet with Lucas and gets really excited when Lucas is awake and appears to be looking at him.  Nolan is a great big brother.

Kevin is now back to work at both jobs.  I have had two nights at home alone with the boys this week while Kevin was at private practice and we all survived.  Lucas and I also survived our first two days home by ourselves this past week.  I have been able to get naps in while he sleeps and have also been able to stay up on some chores.  I told Kevin that our house will actually be clean with two kids....until I go back to work.

We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us with Kevin's sister and her husband from Colorado coming to visit on Wednesdays through Sunday.  Kevin's mom, younger sister, and dad will also be around for parts of that time as well.  Then the following week we will be taking our first trip as a family of 4 up to Camp Amigo for the Gingrich Family Reunion, also known as the GGG (Great Gingrich Gathering).  Our last GGG was in 2004.  We are looking forward to seeing family, introducing Nolan and Lucas to more of the family, and meeting all of the other babies that have been born over the last several years.

I would like to end this post with some pictures that Kevin took of Lucas this week.