new bed

Five successful nights in the big boy bed! It's still just a mattress on the floor, but we figure he'll get used to sleeping without the rails of his crib and if he falls out of bed, he won't fall far. I found a great bed frame for him at a garage sale, and all we have to do now is sand it and paint it and it's going to be super cute in his room. By the way, I figure anyone who looks at this blog is as in love with this boy as I am, right? Wait that is impossible. No one can love him as much as me. That's the beauty of being his mum, right? I get to love him the most? Because, man, I love this boy. Okay, here he is in bed:

As you can see, all the essentials are there. He's got his rainbow blankie that he sleeps with every night, and Lionel is behind him. (I think that is Lionel #2. Original Lionel and Lionel #3 are in the corner. Yes, he has three Lionel's. It is his favorite night time stuffed animal and his auntie went to great lengths to find him more Lionel's on eBay.) Also featured is Stinky Marie (calico cat that looks like our very own June Bug.)
We are in the middle of transforming his room from baby to big kid! It's pretty exciting. And he is having so much fun playing with this toys in his room. I'll post more pictures when we get it more put together. For now he is mastering sleeping in the big boy bed all night long. And so far, he's awesome at it!

life is good

This is the kind of handsome I live with every day! Aren't I lucky?

Preschooler

I didn't think it was possible that our round-headed gurgling little baby would ever turn into a preschooler, but somehow it happened. Although I have always dreamed of the day he would look like this:

And here's an action shot:



Isn't he handsome?? Please note, those pictures aren't from the first day of school. First day of school pictures looked like this:

And this:

I swear he wasn't unhappy, he just didn't want his picture taken. First drop-off was a little rough, but soon he discovered that his new school had (A):

His best friend Leo! (Isn't he handsome too??)

And (B):

Roads to build!

Is there anything you can't accomplish with your best friend and train tracks? Seriously, life is good.

After things settled down postpartum-ly (I think I just made up that word), and we made our rounds visiting family, it was time for me to head back to work and curtis to start school! And I must say the boy is great at school! He was soooo ready for it. Our daycare situation was great, but he had just outgrown it.

He loves his new school. Although getting him out the door in the morning isn't always easy, but that's not really a big change. There have been a few tearful drop-offs and pick ups, but for the most part he can't wait to play with his friends. Besides Leo, his old daycare friend Mikey is at preschool too. It's pretty perfect. We've been told they have formed a bit of a tricycle gang.

Since starting preschool he:

• Comes home super dirty - paint and glitter on face and clothes and shoes filled with sand. I swear his shoes must produce sand or something.
• Has been invited to a new friend's birthday party at a really cool place called "Pump it Up". One of the funnest birthday parties ever!
• Takes naps at preschool without a diaper!! (Yay! And at home too)
• Brings home the cutest art projects (okay there are a lot of papers with just a couple of scribbles of crayon, but there are some really cute things too)
• And starting this week he is sleeping in his own big boy bed!
• Oh, and today is silly sock day AND picture day. We have been practicing how he is going to smile all week. So, if all goes to plan (and why wouldn't it?) get ready for some really handsome wallet-sized school pictures.

Happy Birthday Babies

Lauren and Nicholas!!

The twins are here! Aren't they the sweetest things ever? I'm a bit late getting this posted, but Nicholas James and Lauren Brooke Vissman came into the world on July 22. Lauren was 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches and Nicholas was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long. (that's almost 15 pounds of baby if anyone is counting). They came out with two of the most beautiful gurgle-ey screams as healthy as could be. I'm so happy to have been able to carry them full term (38 weeks, 4 days) and that they didn't have to spend any time in the NICU and got to go to their parents right away.

The pregnancy went better than I could have ever hoped for. I was healthy and didn't have any complications. I was hoping to attempt a vbac delivery, but at 38 weeks I wasn't showing any signs of labor. We decided that a cesarean was the best/safest option. So it was scheduled and we prepared to go to the hospital at 6 am on the 22nd for the surgery. Unfortunately when I called that morning to make sure they had room for us, they had to push us back to later in the day because they had a lot of births that morning. Like we weren't all nervous enough! But at least we got to go back to sleep for a bit.

When we got to the hospital every thing happened pretty fast. My sister and Dave were there, of course. And so was Andy, my mom and Grandpa Coy, as well as Dave's dad and step mom. When it was time to go into the OR, Andy got to be there with me the whole time. We tried to get my sister in as well, but they would only allow one other person. The babies came out really fast - Nicholas was born first and his sister Lauren came out one minute later. They cried right away and everyone working on me just kept saying how big they were and how healthy and great they looked. Andy got to go be with the babies and cut their cords and take pictures and video and somehow still rub my head. It felt like they were in the OR with us forever and I kept thinking "Take those babies out to meet their parents!" It seemed like it took forever for them to go to the nursery, but it was probably only 15 min. or so.

My sister and Dave got to be with the babies right away after they went to the nursery and andy stayed with me while they finished me up. Everything went really well. My sister got to bring the babies to me while I was in recovery and both babies latched on and breastfed a little bit.

Everyone at the hospital was sooo great - they were really accommodating to us and our situation. We got our own room and my sister stayed with me the whole time. The babies breastfed like little champs right away. They kept us up a lot the first night and we ended up sending them to the nursery the second and third night so we could get some sleep - it really helped.

The c-section was harder on me than I thought it was going to be. I was in a lot of pain, but finally got my medication under control and felt much better. I'm healing more and more every day and feeling really good now.

The babies are finally home in Boise and hopefully settling into their new home! I miss them already. They are so sweet and cute and I can't get enough of them. And they are really good at keeping their mom and dad up at night. (Good work babies). Curtis and I will be going to visit them soon and we are so excited!

Baby Nicholas!!

Waiting for our room to be ready

I love this picture
Proud mom and dad
All snuggled up
Curtis love his babies. He couldn't stop smiling and giggling when he met them for the first time.

Last belly pics before the babies arrive

So here are the last belly pictures of me before the twins were born. By my last doctor's appointment at 38 weeks I was measuring 60 weeks pregnant. My belly had a LOT of baby in there!!

Waiting to go into surgery!!
Night before the babies were born - we all went out for dinner. Needless to say, no one got a lot of sleep that night!

kite flying

the boy is three

Somehow, Curtis is three. I can't believe he' s this old already. Our little tiny baby is a big boy now. And he is not shy about it. He says: "I'm three! I'm big!"

We haven't been planning much for his birthday because everything has been up in the air with the twins birth. I haven't known how I would be feeling and how much I could do to prepare for a big party. Luckily the babies are still comfy in my belly and Curtis didn't have to share his birthday with anyone. My energy has been super low, but we managed to pull off a very last minute party with a few good friends. Thanks to everyone that helped out to make it a great birthday for Curtis. He had so much fun. The only thing he wanted for his party was cupcakes! The great friends and presents and food were just a bonus.

We love you Curtis James. You bring such sunshine into our lives every morning with your sweet face. Happy third birthday little boy!