E's First Award

Last June I was approached by a man at a Steubenville on the Bayou Youth Conference who placed his hands on my belly and said "I have a plan for your baby". At first I was taken aback. I was like "ummmm ok" (nervous smile). We both went our separate ways and at the end of the conference we met again. He explained to me this "plan". Without knowing our history or our baby, he wanted Easton to be the Pro Life Baby for the Houma- Thibodaux Diocese for 2012!!!! I was thrilled we were asked, but I didn't know if this man would really "find me" once Easton was born. Well sure enough, a week after he was born Mr. Kell hunted us down and reminded us of the award he wanted Easton to have!!!!

For those of you who don't know, the Pro Life movement is very important to Trevis and I, especially after the loss of our first baby. Trevis marched with the Knights of Columbus in Baton Rouge this year for the March for Life and we intend to bring Easton in the following years (he didn't go this year because of the bad weather).

The Pro Life Mass was held this weekend, January 28th and Easton was "center stage". My heart overflowed with love for my perfect man as he was brought before the congregation as the representative of the lives we are trying to save with this movement. As the priest lifted Easton in the air, my eyes welled up with tears. I'm so proud of him and he's only 3 months old. For me, Easton represents all that's actually "right" in this world. There was a reception afterwards that the KC's held and everyone was able to hold and enjoy Easton. It warms our heart as parents to witness the joy this baby has brought to so many and continues to bring.

Easton, Mommy, Daddy, and the KC Honor Guard after the Pro Life Mass. The man in the purple hat, right over Trevis' shoulder is Mr. Kell who granted Easton this opportunity.

First Illness

On Sunday, January 22nd we experienced our first "what the heck is wrong" moment. Easton had been congested and "not quite right" all day. At first we assumed a reflux exacerbation but after increasing his reflux meds, a steam bath, and countless other remedies didn't work, we knew we had something much more involved. Our friend, who also happens to be an ENT, saw him at home Sunday night and began antibiotics for some fluid he noticed in his right ear accompanied by a post nasal drip, but suggested we see our pediatrician during the week. We began a humidifier that night and hoped for the best. At 430 the next morning, I woke up to Trevis walking the halls with our poor child. He sounded like a freight train and had his eyes closed because he was so tired. But he couldn't stop wiggling around and trying to find a spot in his dad's arms conducive to him BREATHING! If there is anything I want to avoid it's watching my child struggling to breathe. As a parent you feel helpless and want to do everything in your power to make it better. I went psycho with the saline nasal drops and bulb syringe, trying everything in my power to remove anything blocking his nasal passages. To no avail. A trip to the pediatrician that day revealed that Easton had RSV. BLAH!!!! For anyone unfamiliar with this diagnosis, it's a lower respiratory viral infection that affects adults and children but is worse in children because of their tiny airways. Many children are hospitalized for this and that is NOT something we were hoping for for our 3 month old. Breathing treatments began every 4 hours, continued with the antibiotics and found new sleeping positions for Easton, often in our arms because that's the only way we could get him sitting straight up to breathe. Trevis stayed home from work 3 days and I stayed 2 days and by Wednesday our little guy made a great turn around. His lungs were clear at the doctor and everything left was just upper airway and nasal. 1 week later and he's down to 2 breathing treatments a day and sleeping in his own bed, back in his "normal routine". He's out of the sitter for another week for contagion reasons but he's doing great!!!!

Easton was a champ at breathing treatments! It didn't faze him at all. This is him and Daddy getting a middle of the night treatment. Yes Mr. E wants to hold his own treatment. Those little hands are constantly "going" and anything placed in their midst is immediately grabbed.

Happy little breather

These treatments didn't mess with his playtime...Played right on through them. We are so lucky he took to these well!

Side view of "treatment land"

Just a boy and his dog

Anyone that knows our families knows we are HUGE dog people so it was interesting to me when I was pregnant to watch Kota lay on my belly and enjoy "listening" to the sounds his little brother was making inside. When we brought Easton home from the hospital, Kota was fine with it. He didn't love it or hate it either way. He ignored Easton unless Easton cried at which he would come running to Trevis and I and "whine" until we got up and tended to Easton. As Easton has grown so has his love for Kota. Easton can be fussing and completely unhappy and the minute his eyes catch Kota he's smiling and laughing. One of Easton's favorite things is when Kota licks all over him which Trevis and I try to keep at bay. This is a glimpse into the lives of these two!

They catch sight of each other...

Kota sniffs out his brother. Note my hand on his collar holding him back. If this didn't happen he would be licking E all over!

Both of their ultimate happiness...

When Easton becomes mobile I can only imagine what kind of "adventures" these two will get into!

Swimming in the BIG TUB!

As we mentioned in a previous post, Easton's favorite time is normally spent in the bathtub. That being said, we thought it'd be a great idea to take Easton "swimming" in our garden tub. Needless to say he LOVED it. Though I know we won't bathe him there EVERY night, I think we've found our special "treat" for him for now :)

Trevis sat with him in the tub (note the hairy legs) as the "lifeguard on duty"

E loves sitting in the bumbo to splash in the water however he doesn't weigh enough yet to hold it down so Trevis had to hold it in the water!

What's wrong with this picture?

Easton has really been enjoying standing and "jumping" on mommy and daddy after he has his bottle. His bouncy chair was fun but we think our big guy is "over it" because he easily gets bored and wants to be picked up so he can "jump" and stand. Since Easton is holding his head up well and maintaining "body control" pretty well, Trevis and I decided to put together his jumper and see if Easton was up for the challenge.

The seat swivels 360 degrees so Easton was FASCINATED by each of the "activity zones". He wouldn't even look at Trevis and I for pictures he was so "intrigued"!

Then Trevis and I looked down......

Well the box DID say 4 months 25 lbs and our little guy is 3 months and 12 lbs..... Maybe he'll grow into it by his 1st birthday :)

Until then.... We think he's enjoying it for now :)

Easton's first laugh!!!

Pa-Chip (Parrain Kyle) comes to visit alot during his lunchbreaks and after work during the week. Easton has become very accustomed to Pa and his antics and enjoys "cutting up" with him. Well, this Tuesday (1/10/12) Kyle was playing with him and talking to him on the couch and Easton all of a sudden let out this deep belly laugh!!! Kyle started laughing back at him and Easton continued to laugh!!! We were all sitting there reveling in this new feat and then I remembered that a good momma would catch this moment on video!!!! So I grabbed my camera and started to shoot... only to find that Easton wouldn't laugh again for me. He continued to play with Kyle though and it's just too cute not to keep on video. I see many more boy adventures ahead for these two... complete with belly laughs :)

The Babysitter's Club

Easton started at the sitter during the week of his 3 month birthday. We are SO blessed that my Aunt Donna (Mimi Donna as we call her) will be watching Easton. There's nothing better than knowing your child is being cared for and loved on almost as much as you do, when you're not with them.

Before Easton, Mimi's youngest were twin 1 1/2 yr olds. There are also some 2-4 yr olds that are there during the week. We were so excited by this because we definitely wanted Easton to be use to other children and sharing and all the things that come along with socialization of a child. During my maternity leave we took a few trips to Mimi's during the day to introduce Easton to the other kids. They loved staring at him and would sit around me and ask to "pet him". How cute right? By the second trip to Mimi's the girls had all named their baby dolls "Easton". It certainly made this Momma's heart warm and at ease!

Day 1: 640 Am- I call Trevis to ask him how it's going so far since Trevis' plan was to be giving Easton his bottle for 630 AM and to leave the house at 7 AM. What I get on the other end of the phone is "HEY!!! I'M RUNNING LATE!! I'M ONLY CHANGING HIM NOW- NO BOTTLE YET!" At that I hung up and laughed hysterically to myself saying "Live and Learn and then get Luvs" (effective marketing!) Trevis called me back at 720 AM to report that our package had been delivered to Mimi and that all seemed well before he left. Day 1 at the sitter proved "gut wrenching" for Easton as we had just switched him to his Infant formula from his Newborn formula. When I picked him up Mimi said he had been having bad gas all day and stomach cramps :( so we worked out a new solution which included Gentlease formula and a return to the Mylicon gas drops. Easton must have been EXHAUSTED from the bad tummy day because when he got home he took a 2 1/2 hr nap without MOVING and I had to wake him up for his night-time bottle!!

Day 2-4: Trevis settled into his morning routine and wasn't stressed at all in the mornings with the feeding/changing/ dropping off routine. Easton settled into his new formula much better and the gas and tummy issues ceased. However, one day when I went to pick him up, Easton was sitting in the living room on Mrs. Donna's lap with all the other kids sitting around them (imagine storytime position with Easton looking at them as if he were telling them a story). Easton was LOVING all of the faces looking at him and when I took him from Mrs. Donna and walked into the other room (out of view of the other kids) he started to cry!!! Wait!! That's not how that was supposed to go at all! He was supposed to think Mommy was the best for coming to get him everyday but instead I'm the villain for taking him from his friends!!!! I was buckling a crying Easton into his carseat when the other kids walked in the room to see why their buddy was crying. As soon as they came into view for Easton to see, he stopped crying!!! I guess our little one has warmed up to his new friends quicker than we realized. This mommy and daddy certainly have happy hearts :)

Daddy Daycare Day #1

With the ringing in of the New Year it meant only one thing for me- return to work. As much as I was looking forward to being around some adults during the day, I wasn't looking forward to leaving my little man at all! Daddy stepped in though and wanted some "Easton and Daddy" time before he started at the sitter. On Day 1, Daddy sent Mommy pictures and videos at work, leaving Mommy not feeling so overwhelmed by the separation. When I got home all was well. Easton was SURELY loving it because instead of feeding him every 3 1/2-4 hrs like he had been getting, Daddy was feeding him every 2-2 1/2 hours!!!! I knew something was up when Trevis said "He's been spitting up alot today". Hahaha. Day 2 brought Easton back into his normal feeding routine and lots of Daddy and son playtime throughout the week. On Sunday I even caught Trevis telling E "Man.... I'm going to miss not hanging out with you during the day this week"! It's certainly been a very fast 13 weeks home with our little one but we have cherished each and every moment of it!

This is the picture Trevis sent me at work. I think he's saying "oh yeah Mom...I'm having a BLAST with Dad! And so is my tummy :)"

Who Dat!!! Destroy Detroit!

Our little one has shown a fascination with football on TV, though we think it's more to do with all the colors moving across the screen than it is with the male gene expression. With Round 1 of the playoffs, he had to be dressed for the occassion :) Thank you for the awesome onsie Aunt KiKi (my college friend Kristen Hode!).

The onsie says "I want to be in that number!"

Workout Buddy

I started back to running in the middle of December. Dakota used to be my running partner until he decided to cut in front of me one day at the end of the jog which sent me toppling across the sidewalk on a main thoroughfare! So lately I've been solo..... Until that is, we got a jogging stroller from a friend of ours. Trevis had been wanting to join back in some cardio so now we take Easton along for the jog. He loves it it seems. He either falls asleep from the gentle vibrations or stays awake and just "takes it all in". We jog for 30-45 min and he stays "quiet" (non crying but often talking to us) the whole time. We see plenty of family time outside in our future with this new development.

The blue blanket on the side of him is to keep him "propped up" until he can gain some weight and fill in the stroller! This is at the end of the run.

Rub a Dub Dub Just a Splashin in the Tub!

Easton has come to LOVE bathtime! We can't decide if it's the nakedness, the warm water washing over his body, or his love of kicking in the water that has him so mesmerized by this nightime routine. I used to keep a warm washcloth over his belly to keep him warm while I was washing other parts of him but he has now decided that that is his "chew toy" (maybe we should limit him and Dakota's playtime huh?) and he grabs it off as soon as I put it on. Our man gives us plenty of smiles during his bathtime and it's become an activity that mommy and daddy certainly love to spend with him :)

Note the green washcloth "chew toy"

Dry time! He actually loves this part too because he stares at himself in the mirror and talks to his reflection!