Alexander's twin

Seriously, I look down at Kai and I am transported in time to five years ago, looking down at my first little one. They're distinguishable only by disposition. I imagine that, just to boggle our minds, they'll end up looking the most different from each other. Strangely, although Alexander and Jack didn't look much alike as newborns, pictures of Kai could actually be mistaken for either one of his brothers. It's a good thing both are/were adorable! :)

Dad's day at Preschool (by Dad)

Not 4 hours after Kai was born... I, along with the other children's dads, attended Dads' day at Alexander's preschool where we got to see first-hand what a typical day at preschool for our little ones looks like.

After free-play and circle time (where all the Dad's legs fell asleep as we sat on a little rug with our underlings) we got to tally the laps as the kids enjoyed the beautiful weather on their bikes and scooters for the annual St. Jude's trike-a-thon.



Xander finished after 30 minutes with 66 laps!



Afterward we all went inside to enjoy a Dunkin Donuts and Juice snack before returning to class. Wiser now, I and the other Dad's leaned rather than sat, to prevent our legs from falling asleep again.

The kids then proceeded to present us with Dad awards (They also made us gift coasters)... Miss Jackie read each aloud to the group and then the kids got to turn them over to us.



If you can't read the words, mine says "I love Dad because he makes all the funny faces in the house, and he tickles me."

All in all, it was exciting to be a part of and we all had a great time. I really enjoyed sharing that special moment with my Xander and hope to have many more like it in the future.

Living Room Camping

Alexander had a good report from preschool today and Justin promised him camping! So, for a special treat, the boys were allowed to eat pizza in the living room in front of the TV. Then Alexander was given the choice of making a "table-tent," or using the real camping tent, and he chose the "table-tent" option, which Justin set up in the living room for him. There's just enough room for Alexander's sleeping bag in there and he is oh-so-cozy. Justin's under there with him right now, reading his stories with the special camp reading light!

Kai

Kai has arrived!

Tuesday night (the 13th), while we were waiting to leave for my induction scheduled for 1AM, I started having contractions. I thought they were just more Braxton Hicks contractions, but when they didn't go away after several hours, I started timing them in the car on the way to the hospital, around 11PM. There were a few errant ones, but they were pretty consistent at seven minutes apart. I started to get hopeful that I was really going into labor on my own, but I didn't quite believe it yet. I was anxious to hear what the doctor would say when I was admitted.

We arrived at the hospital and I was put on monitors and the doctor checked my cervix a little after midnight. I was already 3cm dilated, so we were able to skip the first half of the induction! That put us about 8 hours ahead of schedule. They did end up putting me on some Pitocin to speed up the contractions a bit, and I labored through the night. Around 3:30AM I got my epidural.

At around 7:15AM, the doctor checked me, broke my water, and I was completely dilated and ready to push whenever I was ready. But since I was not yet feeling the urge to push, she said we could let the baby "labor down," or come down the birth canal a bit on his own. However, just minutes later I felt ready to push. The nurse asked me to wait a few minutes while she checked her other patients, and I said okay, but within another couple of minutes I couldn't wait any longer, so I buzzed her back to the room. At about 7:25, I told Justin, "This baby is coming out soon. Before 8:00."

The nurse came back into the room and I pushed a few times. When she could see the baby's head, she called for the doctor. I pushed for about a half an hour (and it was the only part of the entire labor that was extremely painful), and at 7:56, there was Kai, perfect in every way. He was 9lbs 6oz and 21 3/4 inches long. He has a lot of black hair and blue-gray eyes. He looks a lot like Alexander did, but with a little less cheek.

This is his first picture and his first bath:

Here we are about to attempt breastfeeding for the first time. He latched right on and was immediately a pro.

I had Justin stay with me for a few hours, and then I pushed him out the door so that he would be able to attend Dad's Day with Alexander at his preschool. Kai was a great baby while at the hospital and we were able to go home Thursday night. We got home after the boys were in bed. Friday morning, when Alexander woke up, he opened my bedroom door and, upon seeing Kai sleeping on my chest, he gasped. "Mommy! Kai is so cute!" he said. And he is.

(BTW, Blogger has changed the way to upload/format pictures and I haven't figured it out completely but wanted to get pics up, so....)

Random Updates!

Alexander has pink eye, just like he did the week before Jack was born. He is in good spirits and much better at getting his medicine put in than he was 2.5 years ago. This time I only hope I can manage to avoid catching it from him!

Jack continues to impress his speech therapist, excluding the time she came while PopPop was here and all Jack wanted to do was play with PopPop. He starts his Getting Ready for Preschool class in a couple of days.

Kai will be here in less than a week! At last check, he seemed quite comfortable where he is, with no signs of intentions to vacate, but vacate he shall. The induction is scheduled for April 14th, starting at 1AM. I can't wait to meet him!

Justin just accepted a new position at his same company. It's a level up from where he is now and is of more interest to him. We're VERY, VERY proud and excited!

I am just trying to avoid the pink eye!!

Another boy with a vocabulary

Sometimes I wonder how typical Alexander's vocabulary is for a 5-year-old. We happen to know a good many very verbal and articulate 5-year-olds that are on par with Alexander, so it's hard to tell where any of them would fit on a national average. In any case, I do love to hear the variety of words that Alexander comes out with. Somehow it makes me feel like I am doing at least something right with him.

From this morning....
Alexander: I think the baby [doll] wants to sit in this chair so she can look in the mirror and admire herself.

Later, while making our little friend Talia giggle...
Alexander: I think I am making her become obsessed with me!

From the other day, while watching his dad play a video game...
Alexander: Dad, you should have avoided that.