First Crush

On Saturday, while we were visiting at my parent's house, I mentioned to Logan that it was Zabuton's birthday tomorrow. 

My Dad asked Logan, "Do you know how old I'm going to be?"

Logan thought long and hard for a minute, and then said,

Eighteen!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night, we went out to dinner for my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Zabuton!) with my parents, my brother Zane and his girlfriend Norma.  At the end of the evening, Logan got very excited telling Norma all about the latest iPad games he is addicted to (Angry Birds, Where's My Water?, Fruit Ninja and Cover Orange).  He asked Norma and Zane several times if they wanted to come over to our house to play with him, but we said it was too late and they'd have to come visit another time.

So, Logan asked about Norma all morning today.  I finally texted Zane to see if they'd come over - Zane replied that he'd check with Norma.  I told Logan this, to which he said,

I think she'll say yes.  Because I like her, and she's beautiful.

And THEN he says,

But don't tell anyone Mom, because it's a secret!

Awwww.  His first crush!  :)

Mama's Day

A few pics I pulled up from Mother's Day three weeks ago.

A lazy Sunday morning in bed with my boys (the best time of the day!) Both boys are holding onto their dragons - so cute!

The boys were taking turns sitting in Logan's sofa chair - we decided it was probably time to buy one for Callum

See, this just can't be comfortable!  ;-)

My mom's birthday also happened to fall on Mother's Day this year so we met up with my parents and Zane for dinner in Palo Alto

All decked out in their Hawaiian gear (they just got back from a trip to Hawaii)

Callum was fascinated with the mirror (behind Jon)

Swords, lightsabers or eating utensils?  Hard to say.

Or perhaps drumsticks  :)

Callum getting comfy with Uncle Zane and Zabuton (while I scarf down my dinner!)

I think next year will be 50 years that they've been together.  A fantastic couple to model after.

Happy Birthday Mom! And, Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mothers out there!

Oh what fun it is to ride...

Yesterday I got this silly idea in my head to purchase last minute tickets to ride the Holiday Train of Lights through Niles Canyon today. I had heard about the event through the parents email alias at my work, and heard it was great fun for the kids but to act quick because it sells out super fast.

Luckily, they actually had a number of seats left for today's ride! I think partly because it just began (it starts the day after Thanksgiving) and partly because I chose the earlier (twilight) time. I'm actually glad we went on the earlier train - even though it wasn't dark enough to really feel the impact of all the pretty lights, they were still fun for Logan and honestly, the train ride was much more scenic for all of us since we could actually see the valley throughout the ride!

Also, since there weren't too many people on our train, we had plenty of room to spread out and Logan got his own seat (I didn't actually buy him a ticket, so technically he was supposed to be in one of our laps. mwahahahahaa!). It also meant we got a cozy indoor car instead of one of the outdoor cars, which was good since it was RAINING and COLD!!! Whew!

Brrrr!!!

Enjoying his own big boy seat

Hey this is a family site Kai!

Logan absolutely LOVED it. And the rest of us had a great time too! (My parents and brothers all joined us).

Logan was pretty much glued to the window the entire time - he wasn't even interested in Santa who came by for a quick snapshot. :) He enjoyed walking back and forth between cars but wasn't as crazy about going to the outside car (I think it was too cold, wet and "fast" for him being that close to the outdoors and tracks).

On our way back home, Logan commented to me, "This is the biggest train I've ever seen!" It was pretty cute.

If only you knew how hard a family pic is to get these days...

After the train ride, we all had dinner at a local Burmese restaurant (supporting our local business on Small Business Saturday!) and thankfully, both boys did fairly well, considering how tired they were and how late it already was.

All in all, a great rainy holiday Saturday with the family! :) For more pictures from the day, visit here.

Palace of the Legion of Honor

Callum and I are out with my parents to view the second half of the Impressionist exhibit (Impressionist Paris: City of Light). A fun day outing but MAN it is freezing in the city today!!

Visitors Galore

We continue to have visitors in and out of the house! Grover has found a new resting spot to keep an eye on the gaggle of humans invading his space ;-)


Friday, my Aunt Pammie drove down for a quick visit with me, the two boys (I kept Logan home from school), and my parents. We didn't take any pics or even hang out at the house - just grabbed lunch at a nearby delicious new spot my parents found, and caught up on family gossip. Still, it was great to see her and have her spend time with (mostly Logan) the kids! :)

After our visit, I headed back to the house for nap time. It was a FIGHT to get Logan down for a nap, but he finally succumbed, thank goodness. I then spent the afternoon hanging out with Callum and visiting with neighbors, enjoying the gorgeous weather on our front porch.

That evening the Children's Discovery Museum had a special "Members' Only Night" to showcase two new exhibits of theirs: Bob the Builder - Project: Build It and Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures in Action. We invited my parents along to check it out and Logan absolutely LOVED it. We're going to have to return because these two exhibits were really up his alley. :)

Mix and match the tools!

"Watering" the plants with Zafu

Zabuton (with Callum), Daddy and Zafu looking on at all the craziness and fun (the place was PACKED!)....

Callum can't wait for his day to get in on all the action.

Practicing Downward Facing Dog.

Getting ready for the next boarding season! ;-)

Exploring out on the lawn in front of the museum.

Balancing and walking with Zabuton (I love this shot!).

BOO! He was playing a hide and seek game with me and my father (notice way down at the other end). He'd hide on one side of this wall and then peek out at the other end. I caught him here by surprise. :)

Suuuuuushi!

I don't know about this Mom....


Huh, not bad.


Hey, it's like spaghetti. Only, not really.


My dad's been wanting to try a Japanese restaurant out that's near our house, but we never get around to doing it. So, Thursday after our day up in the city, we drove back home to pick up Logan and decided to grab some dinner since Jon was going to have a late night at work anyway and I could use the help with the boys.

The food came out and let's just say I was shocked. As in S-H-O-C-K-E-D at how much Logan ate and how well he did!! We've tried feeding him Japanese food before, but without any luck. This time, he was all game and it was awesome. He ate a ton of edamame, two inari (sweet tofu and rice sushi), a tiny bite of agedashi tofu and then a bowl of udon noodle soup. WOOHOO! I'm hoping to go again really soon so he can remember everything he liked and ate and so we can keep up this trend. :)


As dinner was winding down, so were the boys. Throughout dinner I was sitting on one end of the table with Callum while Logan was at the other end, in between my parents. But, after our meal, Logan was really interested in sitting with me. So, because he'd done so well, we decided to swap kids - having Logan move over to my side of the table and me handing Callum over to my dad.

Logan immediately got upset! It turns out, apparently, he not only wanted to sit with Mommy, but he wanted to sit with his baby brother too! So, I took Callum back and held him while Logan - all on his own - wrapped his arm around Callum and leaned into me hugging us tight. My dad tried getting a few shots but they're all with my iPhone, so they aren't the clearest.


It's moments like these that I just love being a mom of two.

The Connally Clan

Can't you tell I'm trying to catch up? I have so many old pics to show you, so many stories I've been saving. And, instead of working out while Callum is napping, which is what I should be doing, I'm sharing them all with you now. ;-)

As I mentioned in a past post, my Uncle Jim (my dad's brother) and Aunt Vickie visited from New Mexico and met the little dude. While here, my cousin Shawn (Uncle Jim's oldest) and her two boys Kindy and Arlo (who Logan admired), also visited.

Here are a few shots from my dad's camera, that I really enjoyed.

Kindy is 14 years old and already 6'2" people. Six fucking foot two!

Da Boys: Kindy (holding Callum), Arlo and Logan.

My dad's two (of three) great nephews and my uncle's two great nephews. :)

I realize it's a blurry shot but I still like it. The only one we got of the two brothers together.

Look at my Dad holding Callum.

Now look at Uncle Jim holding Callum.

Think those two old men might be related? You should hear them talk or see them roll their eyes. It's like they came from the same mother. It's uncanny.

One week old

I can't believe it's already been a week! On the other hand, I also sometimes find myself thinking, wait, it's only been a week?!?!

Time has flown by as we've adjusted to the newest member of our family. But, the labor, delivery, birth and time spent at the hospital all seem a distant blur in my memory now. Funny how labor will do that to you. :) I definitely need to scribble down a few notes about the day of labor, before I completely forget everything!


Because Callum was born in a different hospital from Logan, our regular pediatrician didn't get to see him the first day he was born. So, his first check up with Dr. Safir was actually earlier than usual, last Friday morning.

While waiting to see Dr. Dave, I decided to cut Callum's fingernails, since I hadn't yet done that and they were so super long that he was already cutting his face anytime he grabbed it. :(

Unfortunately, I cut the tip (or two) of his fingers, which threw him into a raging fit. Jon immediately grabbed him from me, scolding me for being so extremely cruel and practically amputating our newborn. I told him to relax. I did it with Logan when he was a newborn too. It's like the required initiation into our family.

Jon failed to see the humor in that comment.

Following tradition, a pic of Callum wrapped up in the blanket that my mom and aunt were brought home from the hospital in, and every other child born on my mom's side of the family, since then.

Thankfully everything looked great during his checkup. Callum is a strong muscular little guy who's very aware of his surroundings. Unfortunately, just like Logan, he has some weight gain issues. We knew this could be a possibility but I was really hoping it wouldn't be. However, he weighed 6lbs, 13oz, which is about a pound under his birth weight (in just 4 days!) and, given my history of battling a low milk supply, Dr. Safir wants us to be more aggressive this time around.

So, we're back to supplementing again. UGH.

We've been given the weekend to see if we can turn his weight around and get it back on the upward trajectory. We'll go in again tomorrow morning to do another weigh in and see. We've been instructed to continue breastfeeding and supplement 2-3 times a day. Dr. Safir knows I'm pumping in addition to nursing, and said to definitely use whatever breastmilk we have expressed first, before moving to formula. But, if we're out of breastmilk, then onto formula we go.

I supplemented with formula for Logan and he has turned into a wonderful kid (if I do say so myself!). And yet, the news still shook me emotionally. I had a rough couple of hours after the doctor's appointment, coming to terms with the news.

So, what am I doing?

I've spent the entire weekend with either a baby or a Madonna-looking S&M device attached to my boobs, to try and stimulate my milk supply as much as possible. So far it seems to be working, since we haven't yet had to break into the can of formula to supplement Callum's meals. But GODDAMN it's exhausting and hard work.

I'm basically nursing Callum every ~2-3 hrs during the day (he seems to be able to go longer at night so we're feeding him every ~4 hrs, or whenever he wakes up, to take advantage of the much needed sleep). After I nurse, for about 20-30 minutes, I then pump for another 20 minutes (we rented a hospital grade pump to help).

I also called my OB, and put in a request for a prescription of domperidone, a hormone supplement meant to help boost my milk supply. We'll see if that helps any as well (I didn't know about this option when I had Logan, since the drug is still pretty new in the States, and wasn't readily available then...)

We've spent Callum's first week getting to know his little squeaks and squirms - when he needs to burp, feed, or poop. He and I just got out yesterday afternoon to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we had this weekend for a short walk - it was quite lovely and he stayed awake the entire time, obviously taking in all the new sounds we heard, along the way.


His little umbilical stump also fell off yesterday, which seems so much earlier than with Logan! But very cool since it's one of those first big milestones that you look for during the first weeks of your newborn's life. :)

Jon and I are still re-learning all the newborn parenting tricks of the trades that we have long forgotten from Logan's days.

We've also had plenty of visitors of course. Callum has already met several of our close friends. My parents have visited quite often (most notably my dad since he sets his own hours), which has been helpful, especially during the week when Jon is out running errands and I need someone to just hold Callum so I can pump, shower, or God forbid, take a piss. ;-)


Jon's brother Aaron happened to be in town for work these past two weeks, so he, Jon's sister Catherine and husband Danny, all visited this weekend as well which was great.


Aunt Catherine also made a beautiful cake to welcome baby Callum into the family! :) (Thanks again Cat!)


Many have asked how Logan has adjusted to the arrival of his new baby brother. And I'm pleased to report, so far, so good! He had a good, but rocky time, with my parents while Jon and I were in the hospital. He definitely missed us, even though he enjoyed the extra attention and spoils that my parents gave him. You could tell since, he was literally SINGING, when he woke up the first morning we were all home together as a family again. Jon and I chuckled as we listened to his random notes bellowing out from his room - he spent a good 15 minutes just lying in his bed performing his greatest hits. It was clear he was happy to be home again, in his own bed, and with his Mommy and Daddy just across the hall.

One thing we've noticed since Callum was born, is how much BIGGER Logan now seems to us. He truly is the BIG kid in the family now! :)

Since then, Logan's been very curious about Callum - I'd say more so than when at the hospital. At first he called Callum "Mommy's baby brother", but now he's identified with Callum as his own baby brother. He joins us in bed in the mornings and asks where his baby brother is every time - and when he sees Callum, he softens his voice to this squeaky little baby voice and says "Hi baby brother" while petting Callum's head really softly. He also likes to lay his face down close to Callum's face or top of his head, smiling when Callum's downy soft hair "tickles him". He has helped Daddy feed Callum a bottle of milk, watched while I nurse (at first he thought Callum was "eating you Mommy!") and tries to give Callum a pacifier anytime it drops out of Callum's mouth.

His interaction with Callum has been the most adorable thing ever and we love it. :)