9 lbs 5 oz

Taylor had his 2 week check-up today. He weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces and measured 21 1/2 inches long. At his 3 day check-up (July 18) he weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces so he's put on 14 ounces in 12 days. Yay! Dr. Boelter said he's just perfect and she has no concerns. She also said he's so cute. I agree. :)

Taylor's 2 week birthday

Taylor is 2 weeks old today! I can hardly believe it. These first two weeks have gone really well for all four of us. He is a wonderful baby and we're enjoying him so much! The adjustment to life as a mother of 2 has been intense but I'm getting it figured out and I know it'll get easier as we figure out a routine.

Just a few fun facts about Taylor:

• He looks like me! I took a look at my baby pictures and he really does look a lot like me.
• He flaps his arms when he's getting frustrated. I wish I could explain that better but it's the cutest thing. I know he's about to have a fit when his arms start to flap.
• He is a pooper! I'm glad his plumbing is working so I won't complain.
• He has "showered" me during numerous diaper changes already! The washing machine runs often!
• He is a grunter! He grunts whether he's happy or sad, sleeping, pooping, needing to burp, etc, etc!
• He's still wearing newborn clothes but I don't think they'll fit him much longer. He's getting longer and we'll find out how much he weighs at his 2 week check-up in the morning.
• His dark hair seems to be lightening up already. I'm so curious what his hair will do.
• He's pretty content. What a blessing! No signs of colic - praise the Lord!!!
• He's getting his nights and days figured out. He's awake most of the morning - around 8 to Noon - give or take a cat nap or two. And then he sleeps the day away! At night he's up every couple hours to eat. He's done a couple 3-hour stretches. Most of the time he goes back to sleep pretty quickly but he seems to choose one feeding to be awake for about an hour or so. I can live with that.

My grandma Elaine was here to meet Taylor on Wednesday, July 23rd. I wish I'd been able to get her reaction to him on video. She just gasped and stared at him for at least a minute. It was a precious moment!

Lily sharing jewelry with her baby brother. It's hard to see in the picture but she put some bracelets and earrings on his lap. :) She is an awesome big sister! She gives him lots of kisses and she's been really gentle with him so far.

Beautiful eyes

2 weeks old!

My children

A mother of two

Introducing...

Taylor Andrew Becker

8 pounds 14 ounces

21 inches

July 15, 2008

12:42 pm

Lily and her baby brother

Me and my children

Our first family photo!

Last day as a mother of one...

A radiant, glowing mama from the front

Another angle of the baby belly

And another angle of the belly. Notice my stretch marks - I wear them proudly! A small sacrifice for such a huge reward! Can't wait to hold my bundle of joy!

Wow - I can't believe this is it! This is my last day as a mother of one. Ever. It boggles my mind. Life with Lily Elaine has been so good and I have really enjoyed having her all to myself for three years. What precious, priceless memories I have with my firstborn. Her little brother is going to join us tomorrow and I can't even begin to fathom the adventures I'll experience as a mother of two!

We're going to the hospital at 6:30 tomorrow morning. I'm going to be induced but since I'm already dilated 3 cm I'd like to ask them to try breaking my water before starting me on pitocin. I think pit is the pits! I didn't like it with Lily and I'd be thrilled if I could avoid it this time around. Either way, please be praying for a fast, smooth delivery and a healthy baby boy! And we'd love your prayers for big sister Lily - that she will bond with her little brother right away and love him from the start. Pray for all of us to adjust to our new life as a family of four!

I can't wait to announce Baby's birth! We'll keep you posted. Check back for updates...

Week 40

The average birth weight for babies born at 40 weeks is about seven pounds, eight ounces and the average length is about 21 inches.
There are a number of surprising physical characteristics you may notice upon Baby’s arrival. You may not have realized the extent to which your hormones can affect your baby at this stage. Because of the presence of your hormones in your baby's system, your baby's genitals (scrotum in boys and labia in girls) may appear enlarged. Your baby boy or girl may secrete milk from the tiny nipples. This is another hormone-related occurrence that should disappear in a few days and is completely normal. Finally, hormones may cause some "infant acne" pimples on your baby's face. These, too, will disappear within a month or so of birth.
* Although many moms think of a baby's skin as "perfect," it can be very sensitive. When your baby is born, it's normal for her to have skin discoloration; blotchy, dry skin; or even rashes.
* Baby's trip through the constricting birth canal will temporarily mold her tiny head into a cone shape; this will round out within a few days of life.
* Babies are capable of crying at birth, but they are born with an underdeveloped tear duct system. You may notice that tears don't appear until one to three months of age.
* The umbilical cord between the placenta and fetus may be up to two feet long at birth. After the cord is cut, a remnant will remain attached to the baby's abdomen. It will drop off within the first month (verybestbaby.com)

I can't believe we're at this point. This pregnancy has seemed to drag on and on but now that it's almost over I can hardly believe it. Just 7 days to my due date! I'd love for him to come any day. I'm at the point where I feel huge and I'm ready to walk normally again and be able to sleep on my back! :) And I'm just ready to finally meet my baby boy! I'll keep you posted!

Erin and Stephen's Wedding

The weekend of Lily's birthday we took a trip to Illinois for my cousin Erin Crabtree's wedding. We took off on a beautiful Friday morning. About halfway there we got a phone call from my aunt and uncle who were also on their way to the wedding and were a couple hours ahead of us. The Interstate and lots of other roads had been closed due to flooding and they told us emphatically NOT to come the same way and to find an alternate route. Let's just say that phone call was the beginning of a frustrating trip across the state of Wisconsin, through Osh Kosh, Fon du Lac and Milwaukee, and then down to Illinois. What should have taken about 7 hours took 11 hours. We had also planned to stop in Walworth to see our friends Dave and April but because of all the road closures/detours we couldn't get there. Thankfully, we had just bought a DVD player for the car. It turned out to be such a life saver and kept Lily from getting as agitated as we were. When we finally got to our hotel that night she ran the halls many times and I was happy to let her do so after being cooped up in the car all day.

The wedding was beautiful and it was fun to see so many Crabtree relatives. They're spread all over the country so it takes an event like a wedding to bring them all together. There were only 3 cousins - Nate, Sarah and Krista - and one uncle - Tom - missing. We took a big family photo (see below).

The day of the wedding was Lily's 3rd birthday so the three of us had a mini celebration in our hotel room. And we ate at the Food Court in the mall with Grandma, Grandpa, Mandi and Bryan.

After the reception we drove to another hotel near Peru, Illinois. The next morning we got to see my grandma Adele and grandpa Curt. Lily met them for the first time which was really important to me. My grandma has dimentia and didn't know us but it was so good to see her and we took some pictures that I'll really treasure. She is still spunky and has her sense of humor. I have so many wonderful memories of my grandma - playing cards at their cabin, helping her make lunch, hearing her sing as she did things around the house, listening to her pray, laughing - lots of laughing because she's so funny, and lots more. It's difficult to see her in her deteriorating health but I'm so thankful that she's a believer and that one day she will be perfect!

From there we drove to Bettendorf, Iowa to see Andy's brother Dave and his family. Lily had an absolute blast with her cousins. They have a daycare in their home so it is toy heaven and Lily played non-stop when we got there. She didn't get a nap that day and was exhausted by bedtime. It was really nice to see them and we appreciated their hospitality!

We headed home the next morning and only had one road closure to deal with. The flooding in Iowa was pretty bad too. We saw lots of flooded fields and farms that looked like islands. It was a memorable trip! And being 8 months pregnant made it interesting too. We took a few more potty breaks than we probably would have otherwise. :)

Her new "toy camera". She had been asking for one. :)

Lunch at the Libertyville Mall

The Beckers

Stephen and Erin

The Crabtree Family

4 Generations

Lily got to meet my grandma Adele for the first time

14 days to go...

Isn't this fun? I saw one like it on another blog. It would have been cool to have found it at the beginning of this pregnancy but oh well. :)

Week 39

Even as late as the 39th week, there is one part of your Baby's body that hasn't quite finished developing: the two soft spots on your baby's head called the fontanels, where the skull bones haven't yet joined together. These areas allow the flexible skull bones to bend, without damaging the brain, as Baby travels down the birth canal. Because of the strength of the contractions during labor, many newborn heads look elongated or cone-shaped right after birth. The bones will return to their round shape within a few days after birth. During Baby's first year the skull will harden; by 18 months, the soft spots on Baby's head will have completely disappeared.
Other last-minute developments continue:
* Baby's skeleton continues to develop. Your baby now has 300 bones (about 100 more than an adult does, since some bones fuse together as the child grows). verybestbaby.com

14 days until my due date! My next dr. appt. is tomorrow morning so I'll find out if we're making any more progress. :) I really feel like we're about as ready as we can be. On Sunday we went to Andy's parents' house to pick up our car seat, swing, exersaucer and high chair. So now there's even more baby stuff around the house which is exciting. This little one is about to join our family!

Yesterday my friend Kara did a wonderful thing for me. She took care of Lily all day so that I could run errands and spend a day getting projects done. It was such a blessing! I ran errands and shopped, got the oil changed in the car and washed it, did a load of laundry, got some stuff ready to go to Goodwill, cleaned a toilet, put a coat of paint on a night stand for Lily, watched a little Wimbledon and checked my email, and took a shower. It was such a productive day and it was SO NICE to know that Lily was being so well taken care of and having a great time with her buddy Nathan. She even napped at their house and that went well too. I can't thank Kara enough for that gift! I was able to do so much more than I could have if I had been dragging Lily along, getting her in and out of her car seat and trying to keep her from getting bored. And I was able to save time by not having to make lunch for her or put her down for her nap. When I try to get things done around the house with her here a part of me feels like she's being ignored or neglected so it was so freeing to know that she was having such a good day. Thanks so much, Kara!!!

Another fun thing about yesterday is that our friends Lucas and Eir were in town. Eir had to be here for a board meeting today. They came to the softball games last night and then we went out to Applebee's afterward. It's always so nice to see them. We miss them a lot and really feel blessed that we've seen them as often as we have since they moved last summer.

I'll keep you posted about baby!