Nice aim ????

We had a visit from the Home Health Nurse on Sunday. This is standard through John Muir and we really enjoyed her. She checked Alex and myself, all things checked out well.

About 15 minutes into the visit and in mid-conversation... I see it coming...out of the corner of my eye...the ball...SMACK!...right into the side of her head.

I didn't know whether to apologize or give Max a pat on the back for having such good aim. I apologized. She laughed (she did pediatric nursing for years). He clapped for himself. Luckily the ball was soft.

We decided we would start taking pictures of all of Max's 'new big brother stunts' he pulls. I'll post them as we catch them.

Let the games begin!

It's a BOY!

We are so happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful baby boy.

Alexander Thomas Mrazek

joined our family on August 18th, 2009.

He weighed 9 lbs 1oz and was 20 1/4 inches.

He's so SMALL! I know, you all think I'm crazy. But compared to his brother, this one is TINY! Everything went very smoothly. I was able to walk myself into the OR, talked my way through the surgery and felt like I was in recovery for no reason. I felt great and was ready to get the ball rollin'!

These pictures are from camera phones, transferred via Facebook. I'll get the real ones up soon. Alex is a sweet baby who loves being held and cuddling. He has pretty steel blue eyes and looks around a lot, when awake. He has a sweet little face and his is absolutely ADORED my his big brother. Max can't get enough of him and is always looking around for "babiesh" or "Aches". I really can't stop kissing him, hugging him, staring at him, touching him, holding him...

After his first bath, the nurse gave him a little Mohawk.
Welcome to the family, Alex. We are all so in love with you. We are lucky to have you here as a part of our family. We can't wait to watch you grow!

Dear Max,

You have no idea what is going to happen to you tomorrow. I have no idea how to break it to you. It may take you a few days to figure out and possibly longer to understand. But, please do not think we are cruel because we are doing this to you. Daddy and I love you very much and hope you understand why we have to change things.

We loved having you as our little boy. Our only little boy. We took many many pictures and wrote about you and video taped you. We cherished every moment. You will always be our first big boy.

Again, please don't be angry with us. We put a lot of thought into this and Daddy and I both feel this will be a good decision on your behalf. It may not feel like it for many years, but one day you will understand.

Tonight, you go to sleep as an only child. Tomorrow........ you become........ a..... BIG BROTHER!

I'm going to go watch you sleep now. And when you start screaming at 3am to come into our bed, I will squeeze and cuddle you tighter.

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy

P.S. I don't know what happened to your forehead. This picture was the first I saw of it this evening. This happens to you a lot.

P.P.S. That thing on your upper arm is a tattoo. Daddy put it there. It's a mean, tough skull with guns. The other arm has sparkles that says "Hottie"...we're trying to keep you balanced.

P.P.S.S. And say good-bye to your crib (soon).

Water Park

We learned recently that Vacaville has a great water park!!! We only made it twice this year but it was worth it. Two big pools, two water slides (for the big kids and adults) and a perfect tot area. There are lifeguards all around (and are REALLY on top it it) monitoring all activity. They aren't afraid to pull kids out that are breaking the rules.

The tot area is perfect for Max. The deepest area is a foot deep and there is a play structure with fountains and a little water slides too. I think you have to be under 3 1/2 feet tall to play in this area. So it's nice that the little guys get their space to play too. Max really likes it...unless it's too "Cohd" (Cold).

Looking forward to next year!

Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend last weekend filled with house guests and a family wedding. All fun stuff!

Friday night Erik's sister, Nicole, and her two kids arrived to hang out for a little while before they were off to the rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately, Brian (Nicole's husband) couldn't make it last minute due to a mountain biking accident. We missed you Brian! Get well soon!

Max LOVED having his cousins here. It was like instant playmates all weekend long.

Here is Max copying Vivian and Ethan while coloring. He really likes to do what the older kids do, even if he is still too small to understand. They all made pretty pictures for our house! Max saw Vivian coloring on the magnetic board so he had to find the mini board. He plopped himself right next to her and started drawing, just like her.
Saturday was the wedding of Erik's cousin, Rebekka. Gail arrived that afternoon and I'm pretty sure she was in heaven with all of her gandkids in once place!

Vivian was the flower girl and it was fun to watch her get ready. She practiced her walk down our hallway over and over again. Her hair was done so nicely with curls bouncing. She looked like a little princess in the dress her Mom made for her.

Everything was going smoothly before the wedding and I was able to meet Erik's Uncle Joe (Gail's brother and the father of the bride). It was so nice to finally meet more of Erik's family. They are so kind and always remember Max. The camera wasn't working that well for the ceremony (or reception) so here are the best of the blurry and dark photos.

Again, before the wedding, Max was great. He was being cute and he was entertained. That lasted about halfway through so we missed some of the ceremony. Rebekka was an absolute STUNNING bride. She truly was glowing throughout her day. Tom is a really lucky guy!




I couldn't capture Vivian walking down the aisle but here she is sitting in front of us after her "job" was done. She did great!

This was taken at the reception of the sweet bride and groom. They live just minutes away from us (in Davis) so we hope to see them soon. They planned a perfect wedding and we all had such a great time!

Here is Gail and her brother, Uncle Joe. I really love this picture of them.

During the dancing portion of the reception, Uncle Joe dedicated a song to his wife, Aunt Susie, and invited all married couples to the dancefloor. Max and Ethan had just fallen asleep and cuddled up with Grandma Gail. So Erik and I hit the floor. It was a sweet song and we really enjoyed watching Uncle Joe and Aunt Susie dance together.

After a few minutes Erik and I decided that I could possibly dance the baby out. Our attempt failed, but it sure gave us a good time. The kids all had fun dancing and I think Vivian outlasted all the adults!

Thank-you all for such a fun evening!

Meal-meal

I thought I'd try a little video of Max this morning while he was eating breakfast. He talked about the "Meal-meal" (oatmeal) that daddy was making the whole time it was cooking. He was eating it up until I got out the camera. (Also notice the "eeeeese" is him saying cheese, which he does every time he see's a camera. "Moon" is spoon and "Nana" is banana. I'm slowly catching onto his lingo). I haven't had much luck with posting videos, but it looks as if this one worked. Enjoy!

All lined up!

Max's favorite thing to do lately is line up his toys. Cars are always in lines, front to back or side to side. He gets really proud of himself when he does this too. In the picture below it was water bottles. I'm trying to post a video of his little fit when one water bottle wouldn't stay in place, but it doesn't seem to be working. So the latest with the pregnancy...ahhhh.....11 days left!



I had all of my appointments this week and they all went well. The kiddo is still moving all around, and the head is back down again. They did a estimation of the weight. At 37 weeks, 2 days they said it's about 8 lbs 9 oz. Their reaction, "Wow, it's probably going to be a big baby!" My reaction," Eh, that's nothin'!"



I lost another 2 lbs so now I've gained a total of 7 lbs. I'm not complaining, I need to lose weight. Do I think this is the best time to lose it? Not really. But my doc isn't concerned. I'm losing from other parts of my body, not the baby's. Only one more week of appointments and then it's delivery week! Yahoo!

-Update

-All things have been smoothed out. Luckily I was feeling a little sassy when I met with my Dr. today. He fed off it and gave it back to me.

-I'll be having 2 non-stress tests a week now, one will include an ultrasound to measure fluid and fetal weight. And I will continue to see my OB once a week. Jeesh. Luckily I coordinate two visits so I will only have to drive to Walnut Creek twice a week. Blah.

-The fluid levels are looking good, baby is now breech.

-Couldn't see much in the ultrasound today.

-I lost another 3 lbs. Not to worry, I have plenty to spare. My OB said I'm looking like a "regular pregnant woman should at this point". As opposed to the whale I was with Max.

-S/he is still kicking the daylights out of my stomach. The techs couldn't believe it again. In fact, it almost kicked one of the monitors off my stomach today. I swear s/he will break its own water just from kicking and punching.

-Start insulin tonight, finally. The pharmacy really screwed that one up.

I think that's it. Until next week.

Another day.

We met with the Good Witch today. I'm so glad they had another one in hiding. Finally. What a HUGE difference. She explained everything to us like we were adults. All the pros and con's of insulin. All the risks. She was very kind and even smiled! Wow! She was encouraging and positive and she understood why I would doubt injecting something into my body. She was excellent! Erik and I both left feeling very good about this situation. What a relief. I'm glad we waited another day.

Insulin starts tomorrow though. There have been some pharmacy issues. Eh, what's another day.

My doctor has called me twice. I haven't returned his calls though. He can sit on it for a bit. He's now concerned that I was too upset and wants to know how I'm feeling. Eh...he can wait another day.

Max's updates

Here's another "Grandma" post. Just some new ones with Max. We got to hang out in Napa the other day to "babysit" Riley and Payten. The day flew by and Max had SO MUCH FUN with them. Riley is just 2 months younger than Max so they are little buddies together. Payten is a little diva.

I commented about Max looking out the window at our old house. He found a new lookout point. He jumps as fast as he can when he hears any truck or loud car (garbage truck). He loves watching the world through the window.

Flashlights. All of our flashlights are running out of batteries because this little guy is obsessed. It will entertain him for a while. I can't say 'a long time' because nothing entertains him for a long time. But he always goes back to it.

We got him a little table at Ikea and he loves it. Well, he loves the chairs. He loves pushing them around the house and climbing on and off them. We set up his paper and crayon set, which he likes. Thank goodness for baby wipes. So far they have cleaned crayon off the walls, couch, toys, floors and shower doors. We're learning patience and he's (not) learning what he can and can't do. Who's the boss around here?

He learned the letter "M". Sort of. Every letter or word is the letter M. He loves to sing and hum to himself and all of a sudden started talking. He says bye, please, hi, hi dad, hi mom, no, book, water, milk, most family names and most things he can repeat back to us. Not all of them are clear but we can make out what they mean and it makes it easier to "talk" with him.

He's been a little grouchy lately (reflecting off mommy, I suppose) and we are still working with him sleeping through the night. He's only slept three complete nights since we moved. I hope he adjusts soon.

Other than that he is doing great and we are so lucky to have such a cute and funny little boy!