Brothers

One of my favorites from Fall!

Soccer Mania

Well, we have attempted soccer for the second time this year. We had a great experience with a group in West Jefferson. And then learned that Tucker was old enough to play closer to home. So, we are trying that this fall. Tucker is playing on a team for 4 and 5 year olds (many of whom are now 6). Tucker loved playing in the spring but it was very low key and we never really played a "game". This go around is much more official and harder for Tucker. But he is doing well. He struggled at first in terms of the first couple of weeks of practicing. We even left one practice because he wouldn't go out on the field- all he wanted to do was look for things and explore! So, we left! But since games have started, things have been much better. He stays with the group as they run after the ball and cheers for his team when on the bench (or plays in the bushes with other kids). Most days we have to talk him into going to soccer- he says he gets too tired- but once he is there, Tucker has a blast! Must say, we are looking forward to soccer coming to a close next week. We will enjoy being able to just come home and play here at home on Mondays and Thursdays.

This picture shows how Tucker is more interested in the dirt pile than the soccer ball! :)

A great picture of Tucker and one of his new friends he has made playing. Tucker is the goalie!

5 months

Yes... I we missed our 4month update for Thomas! Let's just say that life has happened! But in a great way! We are loving every moment! Thomas has changed so much in the past month! He is full of personality and wants to see everything! Especially big brother!

We had a great 4 month check up. Thomas weighed almost 16 lbs and was close to 26 inches long (if my memory serves me correctly at this point). He was right on track! We were given the green light to start some "social" eating. This meant just introducing him to solids and cereal and helping him to know what to do with his mouth! Let's just say he has caught on very quickly! He is still nursing but then twice a day we add in food (typically cereal in the morning and food at night- unless introducing something new). He loves carrots and sweet potatoes. Not so big on peas. Loves apples and seems to enjoy bananas (we just started testing those out this week). Not a huge fan of cereal but once we start mixing it with other food, we think he'll be ok! So far so good in terms of no reactions! The peas were a bit harder to get used to but I think he was fine after a couple of days.

Thomas has become a rolly polly and is rolling all around. He started rolling belly to back around 2 months and then right at 4 he started rolling back to belly. And now he is just all over the place. He likes to scoot too! You put him in one place and you will find him in another! Definitely ready to move! When on his belly, he tries lifting his bottom and pulling his knees in! We'll see where this takes us! Definitely not ready to be chasing two little boys!!! But we know it won't be long before Thomas is crawling after brother!

Thomas' Baptism

Our family was very blessed to be able to celebrate the baptism of Thomas last month! We had family and godparents join us at our church as Pop King was able to baptize our sweet boy! We have been very blessed to find a new home in our new church! They have welcomed us with open arms and even hosted a reception after church! Then we all headed back home for lunch with all our family! Thomas was surrounded with lots of love that day! Just a few pictures to share- it was a busy day and only got a few shots! Never even got a family picture!

Thomas wore the baptismal gown that is 98 years old- it was made for Katie's grandmother and has been worn by all in the family- so far 4 different generations!

Tired boy

His baptism with Godparents and dear friends, Marc and Jennifer.

With Pop King ( a photo to go in with the gown- the gown is kept in a special box and has photos of most of the baptisms! Neat keepsake and traditon!)

First Day of 4K

Finally Found a Frog

Tucker has had a Diego frog habitat for a while now but no tadpole or frog to go in! Well, that changed one night this summer when a sweet little frog came to the wrong house! Found him on our den window and gave him a new home for a few days!Thankfully we were able to convince Tucker to let Froggy go!

3 months

Our little man turned 3 months this past week! He is growing too fast! Thomas' little personality is starting to come out. Squeals and a few giggles are starting to emerge. His eyes follow you everywhere-especially Tucker. He smiles when he sees love! Thomas is starting to bat at toys that dangle in front of him as well as hold on to a ring or rattle that is placed at his hand.

Thomas is sleeping well most nights. He occasionally wakes in need of his passy and on some nights an earlier dose of milk. But most nights he sleeps from 9 or 10 til 4 or 5. Mommy is thankful for that!

We went for a brief visit with the doctor this week to have Thomas' weeping eye checked out. He has had it since birth and just looks yucky. But we know it will work its way out. Just wanted to make sure we weren't getting infected-especially since we don't go for well baby for another month. Yet, we discovered just how much our baby boy is growing... 14lbs 7oz!! Has gained two more lbs this month! Thinking he is getting some good milk!

Smoothies and Hard Boiled Eggs

What a day we have had in terms of food! Tucker loves the Handy Manny book, Oscar's House of Smoothies. Everytime we borrow this book, we seem to have to make smoothies non stop! Well, today that was very true! We made the usual with strawberries, blueberries and either a strawberry yogurt or a strawberry/banana yogurt. Yummy and very healthy! We enjoyed it for lunch, along with a hard boiled egg (a new favorite). Well, by dinner time, Tucker was ready to make another smoothie. In this story, Oscar is opening up a new smoothie shop but has to come up with one last flavor. He ultimately comes up with a Peanut Butter/Banana smoothie. And of course this would be the smoothie Tucker was wanting to try. After trying to convince him otherwise, I caved and sow we tried it out. Can't say it was horrible but not exactly a great smoothie combo! And of course, he had to have another hard boiled egg! Lots of protien and fruits today! Thinking we'll stick to just regular smoothies in the future!

Smoothie MustacheMaking the first smoothie

Drama is a part of Life!

Yesterday, Tucker attended his last session of Children's Theatre for the summer! He had a great time going with his cousins, Abby and Sarah. The interest started when Tucker went to see Hansel and Gretel with his preschool! Then, as a way of getting out and about once Thomas arrived, Tucker went with Abby, Sarah, Grandma and Aunt Chele to see The Little Red Hen! They loved it and decided it was necessary to go back! So, they each have been reading Jack and the Beanstalk as a way of getting ready to go and see the production. They had a great time! Tucker has really done a great job of comparing the plays to the books! Both The Little Red Hen and Jack and the Beanstalk were definitely different from the books! Reading comprehension practice here! :)

A few extras...

July started off with a bang as a busy month- starting with the 4th of July! We all feel like we are finally unwinding and getting ready for school to start up (YES, this mommy is ready for that!). Here are a few extra pictures from July. We were able to visit with lots of family! We were excited to see the Weiss gang from St. Louis as well as Ryan and Peter McCormick from across the world! Only missing Aunt Bev and Katie Mae! It was great to catch up with Ryan and Peter. Tucker loved having Ryan here and wouldn't leave the poor thing alone! We loved having Peter to catch up with and visit! Once a year or two is not enough for us!

Ryan and Thomas (Ryan was great with him)
Birthday boy actually on his birthday morning!

Family pic from the 4th (it was a bit windy on top of the parking deck)

Baby brother! 2months old on the 4th of July

A Four Year Old

Our four year old! We might have posted this picture before but this picture definitely describes Tucker these days. He is all about the outdoors- camping, hiking, going on animal rescues, finding dinosaur bones (tree limbs and sticks) in our yard, playing with Woody girl (our cat), and helping Daddy in the garden. Tucker also loves his cars and Toy Story toys. He is has a full imagination and is constantly up to something. These days he is becoming more and more independent... Mr. I Can Do It Myself! And if he can't he gets so frustrated and mad because he doesn't want to ask for help... yes, a bit stubborn! And at the same time he is so loving. He LOVES Thomas and can't be around Thomas without wanting to kiss him or touch him or rub his head (to the point if I was Thomas I'd say, "Leave me alone!!"). Tucker will randomly tell us he loves us or ask for a hug or kiss. He is very affectionate and likes to show his love for you! He is full of life, energy and curiousity. Just as all four year olds should be! He still loves playdough, loves to paint, has discovered wet erase markers and loves them, has an office that changes location (from his closet to the corner in his room) and is obsessed with scotch tape, and thinks he can do it all! We continue to work on writing our name (that is like pulling teeth). He knows all his letters and some of the sounds but writing them is another story. Tucker just doesn't care to write or color much. He'll color with markers more than anything but would prefer to just play and never write! We are hoping this changes soon! He still loves his books and loves to be read too. He is very interested in what the words say and how you spell something. Wants to read and is definitely on the right track for that.

And he thinks he is five! Or he is trying to convince us he is because his cousin is five and friends will be five soon! He seriously wanted five candles on his birthday cake- that was a battle in itself! A funny one at that!

He is a growing boy! Went to visit our favorite doctor for the second time in a week (Thomas first...wanted each boy to have his own appointment so I could focus on them) and we received a great report! He remains in the 95th percentile in weight and height (46lbs and 43 inches). He was so proud that he was able to potty in a cup like Mommies and Daddies do (yes, he learned of this with a couple of OB appointments). He had great blood pressure (wasn't too sure of this one but was ok once he realized it would just hug his arm) and had great conversations with Dr. Huie (told him all about his garden with Daddy and the pumpkins he was planting- then asked if Dr. Huie had a garden and told him he should). But when it came to any kind of prick or shot, Lord help us all! It started with the finger pricking. I have never heard Tucker holler and cry like he did. Poor kids in the area were all probably scared to have their finger pricked after that! We then had quite an adventure with shots. I jokingly asked the nurse if she was strong and from there, let's just say we had backup! Mommy held the arms and hands while another nurse held his legs. And the entire office and waiting room most likely heard my child! BUT, after all was said and done, no more shots til 6!!! And Mommy felt so bad she promised in the midst of all the crying two new Cars cars at the store afterwards! Needless to say, we are not fans of shots around here and Mommy is a sucker for crying! :)

So we enter his 5 year of life on this Earth with a bang and can't wait to see what the year has to bring for our wild but wonderful four year old!

Two Months and Growing

Two months and growing very quickly! We visited with our favorite pediatrician today. We love seeing Dr. Huie. And even more, we love hearing good news about our baby boy. Thomas gained two pounds this past month and grew an inch and 1/4. So, he is now 12lbs 7oz and is 23 3/4 inches long. He is definitely growing in many ways! We have seen so many changes in him over the past month. His little personality is starting to come out. Thomas has started smiling. In fact, we are convinced he knows the word smile already! Such a smart boy! :) All you have to do is smile really big and in a squeaky, high-pitched southern voice say "Smile," and you will get a good smile! See... he knows the word (I also firmly believe he understands the word milk). He also smiles just on his own and at random things like the ceiling fan, his newest friend! Thomas has also discovered his hand. One night we awoke to him smacking down on his little fist. Must say it is pretty cute to hear him chewing away on his hands. Thomas likes to talk to us. He is talking more and more- lots of "oooos" and "aaahs". Getting in those vowel sounds. And finally, he can roll over from belly to back! We are working on tummy time as much as we can. Some days we get it in and other days we don't. Thomas has always had great head strength and can keep his head up when he is over our shoulder (his favorite postion). So, we didn't do much tummy time to begin with. Then, guilt took over this Mommy and I started worrying that I wasn't doing as much with Thomas as I had with Tucker, so we have started having daily tummy time!

I wouldn't say that we are totally on a schedule yet. With Tucker, we were able to easily get on a schedule. But now, I must say, Thomas tends to be more on Tucker's schedule than on his own. I think once school starts back up, Thomas will be able to get on more of his schedule. Right now, he tends to eat his last evening meal around 9 or 10pm. He then sleeps til 3 or 4 or 5 depending on the night. He can sleep through the night but we aren't pushing it yet. Then he awakes again around 6 depending on what time he last ate. He then might sleep or might not- depends on if brother is up bothering him or if he is wanting to stay awake for a bit. But he will typically nap in there again before lunch and after. Then come afternoon he tends to have a good stretch of staying awake. By dinner time though, he is worn out and naps again (with much help) and naps on and off during the evenings. Of course all of that is on a good day! We still deal with some fussy times in the evening but feel it is more of being over tired than anything else. Poor boy tries to sleep but his active brother can sometimes alter that sleeping. Plus, Thomas LOVES Tucker and likes to watch what he is doing!

Thomas also had an appointment with an ENT last week. We had his tongue checked out and have decided to have it clipped come 6 mos. Even though he is growing and doing well with his eating, we worry of what the future could bring in terms of Thomas' self image and speech. So, with the advice of a wonderful ENT, we are going to have his "tongue tied" tongue clipped in a few months. Will keep you posted on that as we get closer to time.

Below you'll find a few shots from the past few weeks! The boys on Father's Day

Bath time

Floor gym time

LOVES the musical star on his floor gym! He gets so excited!

Happy 4th Birthday, Tucker James!

The birthday boy- 4 years old!
Making a wish!

Jumping with Abby and Sarah Catherine

Craziness with cousins!

Partial family photo

Exhausted little brother!

He had a busy day with lots of family to hold him!

6 weeks and Growing

Finally more pictures have been uploaded! Took me a while to figure out how to upload from our new camera. Not that it is super difficult- just difficult finding time now. For instance, it has taken me all afternoon just to complete this blog. While trying to upload and comment on here, I took various phone calls, nursed Thomas twice, got him to sleep once and almost again until a big brother awoke, convinced a brother to use the potty, helped brother with a portrait of Thomas, started chopping stuff for dinner, convinced brother to not climb on the counter to get a sucker, rearranged an "office" in brother's room, and started a load of wash! Talk about muli-tasking! And that is what life has become but we wouldn't trade a bit! Just a time of transition! Thomas is growing well! At his 1 month check up (at 5 weeks), he weighed 10 lb 9.7 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches (he had grown 2 inches due to the pediatrician measuring him in at 20 1/2 inches two days after leaving the hospital). He is nursing great and starting to sleep longer at night. Two nights ago he went from 10:30 to 5am! Wonderful night of sleep for Mommy and Daddy! He is having trouble at times with his tummy. We thought colic but our doctor doesn't think so. He seems to think it is just Thomas' digestive track needing to mature some as well as a few other factors. So, some days are longer than others. But we are getting there! More to come soon!

Here are a few photos from the past month...

Smile?! Beginnings of one but most likely a gas smile! Yet, just this week, Thomas has started to smile at us- nice and wide! Takes over his whole face! LOVE it!

Chill bumps after bath!

Took awhile for his embilical cord stump to fall of. Finally at about 3 1/2 weeks it came off! Daddy is looking forward to baths in the tub like he did with Tucker.

Floor gym time. We have started giving Thomas some "activity" time. The first time he laid on his mat, he had great expressions. We are working on tummy time even though he has one strong head already.

Monkey Toes!!

Love his feet. We have an ultrasound picture of one of his feet. We knew they would be big! It is fun comparing the two pictures!

Love this picture (although I didn't focus well). It pretty much sums up our days. This picture was taken after church. Mommy was attempting to get some birth announcement pics and Tucker just had to be in it and popped right in front! We are definitely starting to see some jealousy and need for more attention -especially when we are tending to Thomas. But it is all out of love. Tucker loves, loves his baby brother!

Hold On to Your Hat

All Momma has to say about this adventure is someone needs a bicycle helmet on for this! keep telling Daddy that! This is all Daddy and Tucker!

A few more... What am I saying?.. There will be lots more!

Just a few pictures that were left on one camera from the hospital. Still have a few more to upload from our new camera. First bath at home- please ignore the clutter! After this picture, I had to do a major clean up of clutter! Although it just keeps reappearing!

One of my favorites from the hospital- Daddy and Thomas!

Our second night, Thursday, in the hospital proved to be the roughest. Little Thomas was a hungry boy who wasn't getting enough from Mommy. It took us most of the night to figure out that we needed to pump and give him as much extra as we could. Needless to say this is how we made it through the night. None of us slept (well, Thomas in our arms) until about 5 am. It was definitely one of those days/nights!

One Week Down, A Lifetime to Go!

Well, we have already failed at keeping this blog up to date for those of you following! Hopefully this will change as we continue to get settled. We have had a wonderful first week with Thomas. We were excited to leave the hospital on Saturday around noon. We were more than ready to get home with Thomas and reunite with Tucker. A week away from our big boy was way too long. We often commented how something was constantly missing from our day- our Tucker. Of course the way home seemed like it was turning into "a three hour tour." We had to stop to get a surprise at Sam's (Harris finishing up my mother's day present of a new camera), stop at Target to get my prescription filled of pain meds just in case (and thank the Lord, they were not needed), something to eat for Harris and I, and the best part of all, Tucker. Then drive home an hour! But we finally made it home! By evening we were all exhausted and discovered that Tucker was running a temp. We discovered his fever after he had been all about visiting and loving on Thomas. Definitely made Mommy a bit freaked out! All I could imagine what Thomas starting with fever and having to go to Children's. Tucker seemed to feel fine (had been running around and acting normal) but just spiked temp. Same thing occurred on Sunday. He went all day with out a temp and then spiked again in the afternoon. So we called our doctor and ended up taking both Thomas and Tucker in to see Dr. Huie a day ahead of schedule. Tucker tested negative for strep but definitely had some kind of throat virus. Thankfully, he was fever free all of Monday and seems to be on the mend! Making Mama feel a bit better! Thomas had a great check up as well. He had gained 1.2 oz since Saturday. He handled his pricked foot very well and impressed Dr. Huie with his muscular strength (this was after Tucker almost broke the strep test in half as he tried knocking the nurse's arm away from him- yes, we raise strong boys). Thomas seems to be on the right path to gaining back his birth weight. He had only lost 9 oz in the hospital. So, to help him continue gaining, he is nursing every two hours during the day and every three at night. Can we say welcome to the dairy farm?? Tucker will ask me if I am milking Thomas- more like milking Mama! It can be exhausting. Especially getting used to waking up at night. But getting better each day. And totally worth it! I have read somewhere that these first few weeks are to be just about loving on your baby and feeding them to help them gain weight! Well, we are definitely doing that! It has been wonderful having Harris home this week. He was able to take off last week while in the hospital and this week. He has been the awesome Daddy/husband he always is! He has totally taken on handling Tucker, which has been great for the two of them! They are getting in some good bonding time! Plus he is taking great care of Mama! He makes us breakfast in the morning, dinner at night if we aren't eating a provided dinner, baths for both boys, and encourages me when needed! I can't praise him enough! But for those of you who know Harris, this is who he is! I knew how lucky I was the day I met him, the day I married him and still do! We are not looking forward to next week. It will be a week of survival here- Harris returns to work. It will be hard for him as we know he will be missing his boys (and Mama). It will be hard for the boys and me as we try to get into a routine of some kind. But it will work out and we will survive! We'll just be hunkering down for a bit- at least until Wednesday when I can drive again! Whoo-hoo!

Here are just two pictures. I need to upload a few more from our old camera and learn to upload from the new one! I'll try and tackle that tomorrow or this weekend!

Thank you for all your support and prayers the past nine months and week! We couldn't have done it with out all our family and friends!

Big brother being in charge. Tucker holding Thomas before we learned he had a fever. He was so excited to hold him and love on him. He had missed Thomas!

Tucker giving Thomas his first bottle. This was much sooner than we would have liked but I started pumping in the hospital to help Thomas until my milk came in. Tucker loved getting to do this!

Happy Birthday, Thomas Alexander!

Finally an update! Daddy failed on his job of updating! He decided that this blog was way more complicated then our old website (completely not true)! As many of you know, our sweet baby boy was born yesterday morning at 7:20 am. Wow did it go fast! We arrived at the hospital at 5 am to be taken to a prep/recovery area for c-sections. We were the only planned one to we had the area to ourselves. By 6:15, I was being prepped for my epidural and it was being administered by 6:30. Very efficient and very quick! Before you knew it, the doctor had come in to check on me and everyone was getting "dressed" for the OR. I was taken in at 7 and as Harris was brought into the OR, Thomas was almost on his way out! Amazing! As he arrived, Thomas had a great set of lungs and even grabbed onto a blanket that was going to be used for him and wouldn't let go! Strong boy from the start! He is a big boy, like his big brother! He weighed in at 8lbs 5 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. After an hour in recovery (seemed like eternity though), we were taken to our room where Big Brother Tucker came to meet his new little brother! Tucker loves his brother. He does a great job of holding him, wants to love on him and talks about how cute Thomas is! When we call to check on Tucker, he is already asking where is Thomas! Hope this bond lasts for eternity! Thomas is doing really well! He is definitely still enjoying his sleep (as we all need to right now). His sleep is more important to him than his nursing. But this morning he had one of the best feedings yet! We have a feeling once he gets going with nursing, he will be a great eater! I am doing well too! After a day full of meds and being quite sleepy, I have started off the day great! Was up early ready to shower and get out of the bed! Harris is being great husband, caregiver and Daddy. Here are a few pictures from yesterday. You can count on more to come! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers! Harris has been great about reading the emails to me or letting me know of texts and phone calls! It is wonderful to have such an amazing support network during these times! Thank you!!!! Thomas Alexander Rhodes
VERY proud Big Brother!

First photo with Thomas

Welcome to the world, Thomas Alexander!

Family of 3... til tomorrow

Well, so we have come upon our last day as a family of three. This day (and days leading up) have been filled with many emotions. Excitement, relief, joy, suspense, and of course a bit of anxiety. We are so excited to meet our newest addition tomorrow morning, May 4th. We have been waiting for this little one for almost two years now. We started our journey of wanting a little brother or sister for Tucker back in the summer of 2009. Little did we know what the journey was ahead. But we do know that God was in control and there was a plan for our little one to arrive tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring relief to us in many ways. One for sure will be the physical relief of being 39 weeks pregnant! :) There is definitely some truth to as you get older your body handles pregnancy different. And poor Harris has dealt with way to many sleepless nights due to a body pillow being thrown over a big hump (me) as I would try to "flip" over. But I must say, overall this has been an easy pregnancy for us til now. And I would like to know who isn't physically miserable at 37-39 weeks pregnant! But in the end it is all worth it to meet our sweet Annie or Thomas tomorrow! We all have ideas of who is coming out (Tucker now believes he will have a baby brother but says he'll love a sister too). You'll have to stay tuned to the blog to see who arrives! Harris did a great job of keeping you all informed when Tucker arrived (yes, at one point he was blogging as I was contracting at 4 am). I am sure he'll have time to start filling you in as we arrive at 5 am tomorrow to get prepped for our repeat c-section. We will use this blog to also share the first pictures of our family of 4! Keep us in your prayers as we welcome Annie or Thomas and celebrate the miracle of life! Easter 2011