Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!
Life has been awesome with two kids! It’s hard work of course, but we couldn’t be happier with our two little minions! We keep life really simple, and aren’t really going out much yet since Melanie’s pretty small and I honestly am so lazy to go out with her. Staying home all day really doesn’t bother me as much as it might with some other people.
I do try to get out of the house on a daily walk, or go shopping. Melanie is on a pretty good schedule of up-time in the morning and sleeping in afternoon, which allows me to do some cooking, exercising, or take a nap. When Vincent gets home we have a lot of fun playing together and by the time bedtime comes around for him, i’m pretty beat, even though as i reflect on the day it seems i hardly do anything at all, especially without my normal full-time day job (of which i will be going back to in May)!
A couple weeks ago, my friend Christina gave Vincent a picnic playset, which he loves pretending to use.
So one nice weekend afternoon we decided to make a real picnic out in our backyard. Dad made us turkey and cheese sandwiches, along with chips, apples, and juice.
It was so much fun to eat outside. Vincent was mostly up walking around the backyard, but he did manage to eat most of his meal amazingly enough. Melanie was not too happy to be outside in the shade and wind, however.
We didn’t have a picnic basket so we used a reusable bag.
The weather has been warming up, so we pulled out the kiddie pool. Vincent absolutely loves going under the stream of water and dousing himself.
He was having fun pouring water out of the tub as well.
Vinny loves music and to sing songs. Our recent favorite is “Where is Thumbkin” — he copies the motions when Jeff sings it except he uses his index finger instead of his thumb.
At bedtime, another favorite is “I’m a Little Teacup”. At first he would use his same arm to form the handle and the spout, but now he knows to use them both. Of course “tipping over” makes him giggle!
And this past weekend, we wondered if he knew how to play “Hide and Seek”. Jeff said he thought they played at daycare, so we decided to give it a go. Vincent is so funny, because first of all, he can’t count or speak really, so when he is “counting” he is saying random gibberish, but you do know that he is playing because he is sort-of covering his eyes, and then his “ready or not here i come” is also said in gibberish.
“Hiding” for him means, huddling down on all fours and covering his eyes, or just standing out in the open and laughing as we try to “find” him in all the wrong spots. Like the little kid he is, his laughter gives him away, even if he weren’t standing out in plain sight!
Getting Vincent to eat his dinner has been a challenge but lately its been getting a bit better. The foods he will eat now seem to be spaghetti with tomato sauce, hot dogs, beaners and weiners, turkey/cheese sandwich, and mexican rice. Most all fruits are still his friend though he doesnt like applesauce anymore.
We went to a birthday party about a month ago and we had to leave before the cake was cut, which left him crying the whole way home. So we baked up a batch as he took his afternoon nap, and decorated them when he got up. “upcakes’are his favorite!
Playing with shadows in the afternoon light. Pretty amazing stuff!
Vincent is starting to slowly talk more. New words i’ve noticed”
– Stuck
– Light/Dark
– “Ahnee” which is his word for “orange”
– Owl
– Apple
– Milk
– Firetruck
– P.U. (Stinky/yuck)
He can also say Melanie’s name but sounds more like “Menanie”. When he comes home from daycare, he immediately asks “Menanie??” and holds out his hands asking where she is.
We’ve taught him how to “fist bump” and make funny character noises while holding his nose.
After bathtime, he loves to come out with his lion towel and pretend that he is a lion by “roaring” to scare us. This started off when the grandparents where visiting, so he would come out and scare everyone in the living room. Now it’s just us, so he will come find Butters, me and Melanie to “scare”. He thinks he’s being really scary, but to me it’s just so cute!
Another part of nighttime routine is doing Simon says. He loves standing on one foot (or trying to because he normally falls over). He is in love with his firetruck PJs and one night he was “simon says rub your belly” and noticed he wasn’t wearing his favorite pjs and flipped out!! They were dirty and stinky and had to be washed!
He loves his flappy books and pop up books. He could read forever it seems and gets upset when it’s time to go to bed. His “bedtime routine” consists of a lot of “rituals” and every week it seem something “new” is added to it! It’s fun, but time consuming, so we might have to start limiting all that play right before bed.
I am so thankful for my life and am trying to enjoy they little moments everyday. Vincent is at such an exciting age at which they are learning about so many things around them. At every stage in their childhood i seem to always simultaneously wish they stay young because i’m enjoying them so much — but at the same time can’t wait to see them grow up!
With having Melanie, I am definitely less “stressed out” about being a new parent and am able to enjoy and look forward to all the milestones she will achieve in her first year. Having children is such an amazing adventure!
Uncle Pat Visits, Big Sur Adventure
Uncle Pat came to visit this weekend. The boys planned a day at the beach. Here they are before they left. Mel and I stayed home (In fact she slept the ENTIRE 6-7 hours or so that they were gone!)
First they stopped in Monterey for some Gianni’s Pizza. Then an hour drive down to Big Sur.
They had a good time racing in the sand, playing catch, and burying each other.
It was a short visit but lots of fun for the boys!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the McGirr’s! Since Jeff is 1/2 Irish, that makes the kiddo’s 1/4th Irish (the other 1/4 is German, and 1/2 is Japanese from their Momma). I bought a cute outfit for Melanie — well actually two! She had a “My First St. Paddy’s Day” sleeper, which i paired with a headband my friend Bonnie bought for her (it is too big but at least we can use it next year!) and then a longsleeve onesie with a sequined 4-leaf clover.
It’s hard to get a cute photo of her “smiling” since she’s not actually smiling yet! But she still looked cute in her green. This onesie also had a matching floofy skirt when i was buying it at the store, but too bad they did not have it in her size! Oh well, would have likely been a waste of money, since she’d just wear it for the photo.
When Vincent came home from daycare, him and I went to the park. They were having baseball practice and he wanted to join in because yesterday, the field was empty and dad had showed him how to run the bases and hang out in the dugout. He put up a fit when i told him he couldn’t go. He had fun running around in the playground but put up another fit when i told him it was time to go home and eat our dinner. Cried the whole walk back! Welcome terrible twos. I made Corned Beef in the slow cooker, along with potatoes, cabbage, and carrots. Tried to get Vincent to try some, but he said “Noooo”.
At least we snapped a good picture sporting our St. Patricks’ Day green! <3 my Irish boys!
Baby Melanie is 1 Month Old!
Because of the short month of February, Baby Melanie turned 4 weeks as well as 1 month on the same day. She had her well baby check-up and is gaining weight and looking good despite having a little cold. My parents where here visiting for a couple of weeks and my mom was sick, so i think maybe she got it from her. Then Vincent got sick, then i got sick! Seems that we get sick every month or every few weeks in this household. Hoping the warmer weather will be in our favor.
Anyway, Melanie’s stats are 9 lbs, 12 oz (75%), 21.25″ long (50%), and 37.3 cm head circumference (50-75%). She nurses well, despite her making a kind of annoying “clicking” sound with her tongue (doctor said its fine as long as she is not hurting me). She seems to have a pretty good routine of sleeping at night and only getting up every 2-3 hours to nurse, then awake in the morning time from about 8-11, sleeps all afternoon, then up for a short while again when it is dinner time, then back to sleep! Of course she varies on this schedule, sometimes getting up from 2am-4am, which is not fun for me! But really no complaints here. She seeming only cries when she wakes to eat, and when she is feeling gassy/has to poop. Haha! Pooping is hard work i guess when you’re little.
Melanie was pretty good at lifting her head when she was only a day old. I haven’t doing as much tummy time as i probably should, but i do put her on my chest and see how far she can lift her head up, and she can go a few good seconds. I’ll work on this more and see how she progresses this month.
I notice she is already favoring her right side of her head when she is sleeping, and you can see how her head is beginning to become lopsided. Jeff and I are super paranoid about her getting a flat head because of what happened to Vincent when he was an infant. Don’t want to make the same mistake twice! So we are trying to prop her up to lean on her left side when we can.
I’ve been trying to balance my time between Vincent and the baby, though right now it is pretty hard to do both especially when i have to nurse Melanie at pretty specific times. But whenever i am not doing that, or comforting her, i do try to play with Vincent and be sure he knows i still love him! I try to get up every morning to get him dressed for daycare — take off PJs, change his diaper, pick/put on clothes, feed the cat, watch some TV while putting on his socks and shoes, then get his snack ready for the car ride to daycare. Dad has been taking him and picking him up after work.
As far as Vincent’s temperament with the new baby, overall he’s doing great. He has tried to push her off of me while i was nursing her once. He often wants me to go somewhere with him when i am nursing, and i try to explain to him that i can’t — but he won’t take no for the answer. Luckily, Jeff will usually come to see what he needs.
I’ve watched both kids by myself all day on Monday of this week, because Vincent was getting over a cold and thought better to keep him home. It wasn’t too hard to balance — though i did want to go run him outside, and wanted to keep baby inside at the same time which only worked for a little bit since Melanie started fussing.
Butters has been demoted to third fiddle now. Poor guy. He seems to have a case if the meows in the afternoon and it drives me crazy. He has been caught snuggling in Melanie’s bassinet (both when it’s empty and when she’s in it!) and her bouncer.
I’ve been trying to go on walks around the neighborhood to get back in to shape. I really hate “watching what i eat” and much prefer to eat whatever i want and exercise it off. I am anxious to fit back into my clothes but at the same time pretty lazy and often times pick a nap over a walk!
I can’t believe Melanie is already a month old! I am looking forward to seeing her smile (not really doing that yet — only sleep or gas smiles) and coo at me.
I enjoy spending my day with her. She loves to cuddle and i love to just stare at her! Before you know it i will be back at work juggling 2 jobs and 2 kids!
Happy Girls Day!
Almost forgot about March 3rd being Girls Day — a Japanese Holiday celebrating girls. Traditionally you display dolls for girls day. My family had a few for us growing up. Maybe next year we can get one for a Melanie.
This year Grandma Jerrie bought her a Hello Kitty. I like how Melanie’s yellow sleeper outfit and blanket sort of look like a kimono!
Grandparents Visiting for Melanie’s Birth
My in-laws and my parents were both here around the time of Melanie’s birth. Here are some photos!
Thanks so much to all of them for visiting us and for the help with Vincent, and especially my mom who cooked all of us dinner almost every single night!
My sister was also here for a very brief visit before I delivered Melanie.
Jeff’s parents will be moving here soon! They’re finalizing a home purchase just a few minutes from our house. It will be so nice to have family close by.
Melanie’s First Bath
Melanie’s cord fell off so we were able to give her her first real bath. She did cry as soon as we took her clothes off, but once we got her clean, and she was laying in the water, she seemed pretty calm!
She looks cross-eyed in this photo, but newborns are often like that because their eyes focus independently still. 🙂
Maternity Photos for Baby II
Back in January, at 37 weeks pregnant, we took family portraits with my coworker’s husband Nick Lovejoy (Studio Lovejoy) out in Toro Park in Salinas. We wondered how Vincent would behave, and he did pretty good but he could have done better! He didnt’ smile too much (he barely ever does whats asked of him it seems!), and at one point insisted on carrying his yellow sippy cup! But besides that, he did the most you would hope for. Here are some of our favorite shots.
You can see the rest of the shots on my Flickr page.
Welcome Baby Girl Melanie!
We are so pleased to announce the arrival of our sweet little girl, Melanie Yasuko McGirr! She was born on Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 6:11am, weighing 7lbs, 11oz, and measuring 20in long. My labor lasted a total of 2.5 hours from the first contraction to delivery. We’re glad we made it to the hospital in time!
The previous night, i had decided to go to bed at 8:30pm because i was so tired. Normally, i go to bed around 11pm. Earlier in the day, i went to the gym and spent an hour on the elliptical and did some weight training. When i came home, i showered, cleaned around the garage a bit, then sat my ass in front the TV for the remainder of the afternoon. Since my mom has been here, she has been cooking us dinner every night! And my in-laws have been picking Vincent up from daycare. It was nice to sit back and relax! After dinner, we put Vincent to bed, and said our goodbyes to the McGirrs, wondering every time if this would be “the night” i go into labor. Luckily it was! At 5 days post-due we were all pretty ready.
At 3:30am, i woke up feeling some light contractions. While i have been having Braxton-Hicks, i haven’t had them for close to a week now, so i was excited that this finally might be it. I timed them and the first few were about 6 minutes apart for a minute long. Then they became shorter in duration but closer together at about 2-3 minutes apart for 30-45 seconds. I started to get my stuff together, and after about 45 minutes, I woke Jeff up and told him i was having contractions. He wondered if he could sleep just a bit more, and I told him it was his choice, but i was going to stay up! He decided to get up, make coffee, warm up the car and get ready to go. Meanwhile, i called the hospital and asked if i should come in, even though i pretty much wanted to jump in the car and go already. They didn’t sound too sure, but said to come in just because i am post-due and was scheduled to have an NST later that day.
The contractions at this point were not terrible. They were getting stronger surely, and I had a few that i really need to breathe through in the car. We arrived at the hospital at 5:23am. I know the exact time because they closed the main entrances to the hospital from 12 midnight to 5:30am for security reasons, and when we got there i was mad because we had to go in through the ER department instead! Haha! It wasn’t a far walk, but at this point, i was having contractions closer and closer together and i had to stop and breathe through all them. I even had to walk up a small flight of stairs! I think i had 3 or 4 contractions just walking the short distance from the car to the labor and delivery department! Jeff kept asking if i wanted a wheel chair, but i said i was ok.
We arrived at the front desk, and was greeted by our nurse. We got a real delivery room this time (yes!) and so i changed very quickly into my gown and the monitors, and hopped into bed to get checked. Suddenly the contractions were getting pretty hard to deal with! The nurse checked me and couldn’t feel my cervix, only my bulging bag of waters. She was surprised, and went to get second opinion. They were shocked to find i was “only a smile” (pretty much fully dilated) and ready to start pushing. They called the doctor right away and prepped me for delivery.
Here we go again! The last time i delivered, the hardest part was waiting for the doctor to arrive so that I could push. So this time, i swore to myself i’d allow much more time so that my doctor could be here when i was ready! I don’t know how many contractions i had before the doctor got here, but it was very intense! They hardly allowed for me to regroup myself. My body was pushing the baby out on it’s own! Jeff at one point asked about pain meds for me, and the nurse was like, it’s way too late, she’s having this baby in the next 10 minutes whether the doctor gets here or not! Uh oh…
Luckily my doctor walked in the door just in time. He broke my water straightaway, and they told me to push. Here came the head! She let out a big cry. They stopped to check for a cord, no cord, one more big push, and there she was, with her hands up by her face. She let out another good cry. Jeff said “it’s a girl” and “she’s so beautiful!” Aghhh… i was so relieved! Man did it hurt pushing her out! But at least it was quick and i got the job done! They cleaned her off a bit and then placed her on me. Jeff and i counted her fingers and toes and decided on her name. She was moving her tongue furiously and wanted to nurse right away, but they had to finish stitching me up first. I ended up with a second degree tear, which is better then my third degree with Vinny even though she was a full pound heavier than him.
Melanie nursed on one side for over an hour! She went to town! After she was finished, they weighed her and gave her a bath (of course she did not like that very much), and got her footprints. Jeff noticed a little hickey on her left forearm, and the doctor said it was likely from her sucking on her hand, or perhaps the fast delivery and it rubbing against a bone on the way out. We figured it was the former, since she loves to suck!
Jeff let family know that Melanie was here! My in-laws, my mom and Vincent all came to meet her later in the morning. Vincent pointed to her and looked a little confused or worried. (Later we would discover he was actually sick with a double ear infection). He didn’t seem very interested, ate my banana from food service, and wanted to play with my iPhone! He did say “uh oh” when the baby started to cry, which i thought was cute.
We stayed in the hospital for one night and went home on Valentine’s day afternoon. The nurses were all very nice and had a pleasant stay.
My friend Patti and her son Evan visited and brought us a stuffed doggie, and a few cute girl going home outfits, (and some Pizza My Heart for lunch!) since i had only brought a gender-neutral hand-me-down.
She was perfectly quiet on the ride home!
So far, Melanie has been a wonderful baby. She nurses great, sleeps soundly and is on a pretty good 2 hour eat-sleep schedule. She barely opened her eyes in the hospital, but it seems as the days go on she’s getting more “awake” time.
The first few nights home, she preferred to sleep with me in our bed, but now she is okay sleeping in the pack n play bassinet.
She is sleeping 2-3 hour stretches at a time, and she only really cries or hollers if she has to poop! Its rough being a newborn!
We started to take some portraits of her in the sunroom, but it’s so bright she can barely open her little eyes! She’s got more hair on her head than Vincent did when he was born, but her eyebrows and eyelashes are a bit less filled in than his.
We took her to the doctor on Monday (President’s Day) for a weight check and she was already gaining a few ounces from her weight at discharge from the hospital. She weighed 7 lbs and 5oz.
Our first outing together as a family was out to Claremont Park. Vinny played with Dad while i held Melanie in the shade.
Vincent has been a great big brother so far. He always wants to say hi to the baby or give her a blanket or hat or pacifier.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sourskittled/12753791575″ thumbnail=”medium_640″ overlay=”true” size=”large” group=”” align=”none”
He has been pretty understanding if mommy can’t go somewhere or do something if i am nursing her. He tries to be gentle by only touching her blanket instead of mauling her face. Couldn’t really ask for more from a toddler.
We have had a few visitors (Bonnie, Kyle and their daughter Charlotte) and lots of gifts for baby girl! I am excited to buy some girly clothes!
We are so glad Melanie is finally here! We can’t wait to watch her grow. She completes our family!
Vincent’s First Barber Haircut
Vincent got his first real haircut at Great Clips today! Prior to this, Jeff has been trimming it at home, but we figured he is old enough and his hair is definetly long enough for a real trip to the barber!
When we drove over there, he wanted to hold his ball and stuffed giraffe, so he held that the entire time getting his haircut.
He was very cooperative and didn’t put up any sort of fuss until the electric clippers came out — then he was a little scared but he hugged into daddy and got through it fine.
A lollipop for his good behavior!