One Month Joey

Joe Mike is what his daddy calls him & Joey is what I call him, but our favorite name for him is what Johnnie calls him, Ba-beee! He had his one month baby well check up today & everything was great. 60th % for height, 50th % for weight & 25th % for head circumference. He lifts his head already & has good muscle tone. Say what you will, but those Bolander boys are strong little guys.

This month has gone by very quickly. Joey has started sleeping better at night, but is still eating all day every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. He has a really fussy period of nonstop crying every evening but throughout the day we occasionally get a happy "coo" sound out of him. He smirks as he's falling asleep (pictured below) & snorts when he's hungry.During walks, Joey usually sleeps while his brother points things out like birds & cars to him.

He spends about 10 hours a day awake eating, crying, bathing, swinging, doing tummy time, playing on his mat & just melting his mama's heart! Happy 1 Month Joey!

16 Months

Now that Johnnie is 16 months old as of yesterday, we ask ourselves how we will be able to discipline him when he is constantly making us laugh. After his morning nap today, Rick went in to get him. Johnnie, with a pacifier in his mouth & 1 in each hand had his arms up in the air & was dancing around the crib. When he saw his daddy he threw the pacifiers all over the room before putting his arms up in the air to be picked up. Seriously, how could you punish a baby when you're too busy laughing at him?He can say 30 words & sign 8 words. He can now point out tons of body parts when you ask him where they are, but his favorite is still the nose. He thoroughly enjoys having books read to him (his favorite is Where is Baby's Mommy?) & can entertain himself in his crib reading books to himself.Last night we had a rare evening out (with our almost 4 week old) attending a wedding of a really good friend of Rick's. Thanks for a great night & congratulations Matt & Alexa!

Bath Time

Bath time in our house has become a time we all cherish. Johnnie likes to sit in the water with ALL of his toys, splashing around, dancing & just enjoying all the attention he gets while in the tub. He is in the phase where he enjoys trying to put things together... stackable cups, blocks & recently he has been trying to put the basketball shaped washcloth inside the faucet protector because the opening is round.

Bath time usually consists of getting all his body parts & hair washed as soon as he enters the tub so that when he decides he's all done at least he's clean. Well when daddy gives the bath, Johnnie gets buckets of water poured over his head & face, sometimes making him smile or giggle & other times causing fits of tears.Now that Joey has lost his umbilical cord scab we can continue the tradition of evening bath with him. We have found that it's a nice way to end the day & a good cue for Johnnie & now Joey to know that bedtime is quickly approaching. I was beginning to think that Joey would be getting sponge baths forever but he FINALLY received a real bath this week. We learned our lesson & this time around we had enough wash cloths ready to cover his whole body so he stayed warm. He only cried a little, but he seemed to enjoy the warm water passing over his body. He also stayed very awake making my picture taking very easy. After his bath & baby massage we wrapped him up & just lay in bed looking at him. He seemed so relaxed & just happy. So relaxed in fact that he peed in the towel on our bed.

Happy 3 Weeks little guy!

2 Weeks

Already lifting up your head when we hold you on our shoulders. Enjoying your daily walks. You look calm in the swing, but you only last a few minutes before you start crying. You are very alert when you are awake . (Here you are wearing the gift my dear friend's mom gave you. Thanks Sharon.) This morning I took the time to take some 2nd week photos & loved the photos so much that I decided to use them for your announcement. Here are the pics we didn't choose for the announcement.

Ow-Side

Johnnie pulls the curtains back & peers outside all throughout the day. Then he looks at whoever happens to be in the room & says Ow-side. It's his attempt at saying outside but he doesn't quite say the "t" yet. On this particular beautiful & sunny winter day we went out to play in the small amount of leaves that fall off our tree on the front lawn. He enjoyed inspecting the leaves & stomping through them. As you can see in the photo, when Johnnie is really happy he sticks his tongue out. Hope you're getting to enjoy the ow-side too.

One Week

It's hard to believe a week has already gone by since baby Joey came into our lives. Having basically two babies in the house makes life interesting & keeps us busy. Johnnie is a little jealous when Joey is being held but he does seem to love him already (as much as any 15 month old can love). In the morning if they are both awake Johnnie likes to climb up on the bed & greet Joey with a morning smooch & now Johnnie has another face to point body parts out on. When Joey is asleep Johnnie really enjoys all the attention he still gets from everyone. He loves when grandpa plays the tickle game.Now on to my one week update. This is the 1st picture installment for Joey's scrapbook. I did it for Johnnie & now of course I'm doing it for Joey. I take at least 1 picture a week & document anything new going on in his life. During the day Joey whimpers if he's cold or hungry & he sleeps well. BUT at night he gets really fussy & gassy & refuses to sleep more than a few hours all night. I'm sleepy but I just keep reminding myself that my baby will only be a newborn for a short time & I don't want to miss out on any of his moments... happy, sad, fussy, intense, or goofy! Happy one week my blue eyed baby boy! I also wanted to thank Katie & Wallis for bringing us dinner the other night. Delicious & a nice break from having to prepare dinner. Too many people to list to thank for the flowers, gifts, & calls. We really appreciate your kindness! Oh & as a side note... Sara (would link to your blog if you had one :-) I finished all the biscotti. Yummy!

Going Home & Settling In

We are all home now trying to settle in & get used to our new family of 4. Joey & I were discharged from the hospital last night around 5pm. I wanted to be home in time to put Johnnie to bed. I have decided that 3 nights away is too long. When I walked in, he came right over, looked up at me & said "mama".

Here is Joey dressed & ready to head home. I originally brought the same outfit for him to wear that Johnnie wore, but he was a little longer & it didn't fit so he wore Outfit #2 instead.We couldn't wait to see Johnnie's reaction to his brother (if he would even notice). As soon as we put Joey's carseat down in front of him, he pointed at him, leaned down to try & kiss him & said "baby". Daddy held both his boys so Johnnie could get a better look. I think he was looking for his belly button. Just looking at this photo makes all the pain of surgery & heartache of being away from home worth it. Today I was able to take this photo of both boys laying next to each other. Johnnie has always seemed so small to us, but now he seems so big. Here he is with his pacifier in his mouth & Joey's in his hand (& the battle for possession has already begun). Looking at them brings such joy & reminds me how much I love my life.

Happy New Year 2008

Here I am heading out to the hospital on New Year's Eve ready to meet our new baby!
Our surgery started out later than planned but all went well. About 10 minutes in to the surgery, Dr. Nelson announced that we were about to meet you. A couple seconds later (at 12:41pm), we heard your cry. The most beautiful high pitched little cry. They put you on my chest & the doctor took our family photo.Here is our little guy. Joseph Michael Bolander (JOEY). He was 7lbs 1oz & 20" long. He is doing great. Nursing & sleeping well.

Check back often to see updates of our boys!