Picasso

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Mdfrisco

Still playing catch up here…

We had such a warm summer. Actually the heat is pretty much expected since we moved inland from where we were, but it has been SO humid, which makes it seem much worse. Needless to say I am thankful for air conditioning (not necessarily the bill though!) We did have some nice ordinary warm days, and on those days I tried to come up with a fun outside activity. Jake has been getting in touch with his creative side during arts and crafts at Preschool so on this August afternoon when I said lets go paint, he was all for it! I put some paper on the art easel that my mom got him and put some paint in some cups and gave him some sponge paint brushes. Actually it was finger paint, but we’ll keep that our little secret, I wasn’t up to the task of cleaning up after a finger painting activity so I told him to use the paintbrushes.

This is the look I get when I ask them to look and smile at the camera…seriously mom can’t you see we are busy here…

At first he was keeping the red on one side and the blue on the other, I kept encouraging him to mix it up.

Which gave us a lovely shade of purple

Then he decided that it needed some chalk to liven things up

And I love the look on Dylan’s face in these pictures.

He was so proud of his work

Then he started telling me all about the colors he was using. This one is red…

And this one is blue…

Just look at that face…with or without paint splattered on him, I think he is one handsome dude!

And my plan to keep things relatively “less messy” started to backfire when he began wiping his face with hands that had paint on them.

And it was then that he realized that he was getting paint all over him, and for being a rambunctious little boy, he does not like his hands to be dirty/sticky.

When he started coming at me (and my camera) with those paint covered hands, wanting me to get it off of him, I knew this activity was over and it was time for me to get this little Picasso cleaned up.

Month Four

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Mdfrisco

This month was a bit of a challenge…he was still his cute smiley self, but nighttime sleep became a bit of a battle. It was more like a series of short naps all night long. Which was frustrating because he was sleeping so good the previous month and we got spoiled.

For naps I put Dylan down on his side or tummy to sleep and he really likes it and sleeps better. But at night since I couldn’t keep an eye on him while I was sleeping, I was still putting him down on his back, because of my fear of SIDS. He got used to sleeping on his side/tummy for naps and came to prefer it, at the end of this month, he started waking up at night frustrated because he couldn’t roll over onto his tummy yet. So I bit the bullet and started putting him to sleep on his tummy at night, and he slept great, for a little while…then he started waking up again…

He wasn’t waking up to eat or play, but because he is so strong and is now on his tummy, he really began discovering his mobility. He was scooting, squirming and wiggling his way around his crib at night and gets himself wedged into a corner and can’t get himself out. So I have to go in his room and readjust him and move him back to the other end of his crib which buys me a little time (and sleep) before he gets himself stuck again. I remember this phase with Jacob and I can’t wait until he truly masters rolling around by himself so this phase will be over, and we start getting some sleep again. Since he is so big, sometimes I think I forget that he is really just a few months old and feel like he should be acting older. When I get frustrated about his nighttime sleep habits, I often find myself reminding myself that “he is only 4 months old!”

During his awake time he is still our happy little boy. He is really starting to discover what his hands can do and reaches for things. He started sticking his tongue out all the time and continues to grow like a weed. By the end of this month he grew out of his 6 month clothes and into 9 month clothes!

He had his 4 month check up and his pediatrician was very pleased with his progress. He weighs 18 lbs 2 oz (97th percentile), he’s 27 inches long (89th percentile) and his head circumference is 16.5 inches (52nd percentile). Overall his pediatrician said he is indeed a big, strong, healthy boy and he is proportioned well with his height and weight. He got his shots and didn’t flinch with the first one and then cried for about 10 seconds with the second one.

Here are this month’s weekly photos

Week 14 – so my idea of taking pictures in the morning before daddy leaves for work to get the smiley baby look backfired on me this week, he was tired and just wanted to go back to sleep (hence my previous mention of our lack of sleep).

Week 15 – then he was back smiling with his tongue sticking out

Week 16

Week 17

Fourth of July

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Mdfrisco

For the past few years it has kind of been a tradition to spend the 4th of July on the Bay with some good friends of ours who live there. Before we left we took some patriotic pictures of the boys with some flags that Justin bought for Jake to hold while he marches (one of his favorite things to do around the house now).

Then we headed to the bay. It was a fun day of food, games and friends. If you are a regular on this blog then you will probably recognize Jacob’s friend Kennedy, born only a month apart, these two have shared lots of fun times together over the last two and a half years. It had been a little while since these two saw each other though and they picked up right where they left off. They got ahold of some flags and started walking down to the water. My heart melted when I watched them and I knew I needed to capture this sweet moment.

They just stood there on the sand right where the water came in and waved their flags,

pointed to things out in the water,

discussed something very important,

laughed and marched around,

and they were the cutest all American kids on the beach!

Julia and I took our traditional picture with our newest babies who are 4 months apart.

And here are the boys in their matching camo shorts.

That night after getting the boys in bed, we walked out through our backyard onto the golf course and met up with our friends (who are also now our neighbors) and watched the fireworks. It was pretty cool since we could see two different shows from the comfort of our own home. Next year I think I may try to master taking good pictures of fireworks…

Father’s Day

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Mdfrisco

Justin’s family came to celebrate Father’s Day with us. I thought it was the perfect time to get the Frisco men/boys together for a picture. These days it takes a bit of work and coaxing to get Jacob to cooperate for a picture, so Justin was working on getting his giggles going by throwing him up into the air.

And then we went for it…With a two year old and a baby, this is as good as it’s going to get, but I think they are pretty cute and I love seeing all these generations together!

I am truly thankful for this man and everything he does for our family. He is such a blessing and a great daddy to our two boys.

And I had to post this picture too because I love Jacob’s smile and Dylan looks like he’s getting ready to punch his big brother (which I am sure will be happening a lot over the years with these boys)!

Month Two

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Mdfrisco

The fact that I am getting a post out about Dylan’s second month on the week he turned four months old, tells me I am getting somewhere and making progress…It also tells me that I have two more months of stuff to get caught up on…and I can’t believe he is four months already! Okay, time to rewind time again.

The second month Dylan really started packing on the pounds and putting on the baby chunks. Even though he was not due back to his pediatrician until July, we ended up there in June for Jacob (when Dylan was 6 weeks old). So while we were there I asked the nurse to weigh Dylan since it was obvious that he was gaining weight and I was curious how much he weighed, and the answer was 11 lbs 14 oz. When we went back for his two month follow up he was a whopping 14 lbs and 11 oz and grew to 24 inches long! His pediatrician said he checked out great and then he got his shots, during which he cried for about 30 seconds then was back to his smiley self.

He grew out of his 3 month clothes and started sporting his 6 month clothes. For a little guy who got a slow start at the beginning he is definitely making up for it now! In fact, we had a family wedding to go to when Dylan was 5 weeks old and he had gone through a growth spurt a few days before. When we were getting ready to leave for the wedding I realized that the outfit I bought for him to wear was a bit snug and it took some work to get it on him, I actually had to cut some slits in the arm holes to keep from cutting off the circulation in his arms! Later that evening when changing his diaper, I couldn’t get his clothes off of him. I ended up having to borrow some scissors from the front desk of the hotel to cut him out of the outfit! Thankfully, I had some extra clothes with me for him to wear!

Dylan really started to coo and smile with recognition.

Around 6 weeks, he started loosing his hair and new hair started growing in. So far he still has pretty blue eyes and dark hair, I am hoping it stays that way.

The best part about this month is at the beginning he was sleeping longer stretches (5-6 hours) at night and by the end of month 2 he was sleeping through the night! I am praying that he will be as good of a sleeper that his big brother was/is.

We started giving Dylan a bottle every once in a while, to give me a break and to give Justin some one on one time with Dylan.

He really has been an easygoing baby and adapting to whatever situation he is in, going with the flow and sleeping whenever he needs sleep, including during the middle of mom trying to pay bills.

And I leave you with the weekly photos for month 2…

5 weeks

On this day Jake wanted in on the action. So here are a few extras…

6 weeks

7 weeks

8 weeks

Dylan’s newborn photos

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Mdfrisco

From a photographers standpoint you want to take newborn photos sometime in the first 11 days of their life, before they start getting any baby acne, dry skin or become too alert and it gets hard to do those sleepy pictures. Well the first 11 days of Dylan’s life were kind of chaotic and full with us being sick and the whole remodel/move thing. I kept trying to pick a date and something would come up and we would postpone it, again and again and again. Finally, after we actually moved, I was determined to get these pictures done before Dylan was a month old. So on his 3 week birthday our wonderful photographer came over to our house about 10 minutes before the flooring guy arrived to start laying our hardwood floors. They both worked around each other and got the job done, so now we have some beautiful pictures of our newest boy and a few with big brother too!

And since the flooring was not installed and the entire house was concrete we couldn’t move our furniture in, except in two of the bedrooms where we had carpet. So the only place we could all sit together for a picture was on the blow up mattress we were sleeping on until the flooring was finished in the master.

Month One

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Mdfrisco

The first month was such a blur. Dylan was so good through it all. He rarely cried, except when you changed his diaper, he choose to let the world know he was alive and well during those diaper changes, regardless of what time of day or night it was. I found myself silently apologizing to our neighbors during those middle of the night diaper changes. During that month a nasty sickness went through our household. The day we came home from the hospital with Dylan, Jacob started throwing up. He never had a fever, runny nose, cough, etc…just every time he ate or drank something he would throw up. That lasted for about a week with him. Just a couple days after he started getting sick, I got it. It only lasted for 24 hours with me. Then Justin got it, he had it for a while. Then my mom got it and it was only 24 hours with her. Then Jake got it again for 24 hours. It was a vicious cycle of sickness, and for people who very rarely get sick, it was quite a curve ball thrown at us in the middle of our remodel/move/newborn baby life. During that time we were also taking Dylan to his check up appointments. The doctor was concerned at first because he didn’t seem to be gaining back the weight he lost as fast as he would have liked. Dylan was 8 lbs 3 oz at birth and at his first check up 3 days later he was 7 lbs 11 oz. His second check up 4 days after that he was 7 lbs 6 oz. Then 3 days later at his next check up, it started going back up when he weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz. Although the weight loss is completely normal at the beginning, I think maybe Dylan may have had a touch of the sickness that was going around, and all the stress with the remodel/move, it took a little longer to get a good nursing routine down, so it took a few extra days for him to start packing on the pounds. Two weeks after he was born (and the day we moved!) Dylan had his circumcision and he weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. A week later at his circumcision follow up appointment he had gained a pound and weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz. His doctor was very pleased with his progress and said we didn’t have to come back until his 2 month check up. Through all of this Dylan was a trooper! Since the day he was born he has been proving how strong he is, his pediatrician noticed the same thing.

I love this picture of my boys snuggling the day we came home from the hospital.

After Dylan’s first bath

He has never been a fan of being swaddled and has been sleeping like this from the beginning.

The first few weeks are just a big cycle of sleep, eat and poop, with some brief moments of alertness and smiles. I am not one to take pictures of poopy diapers or breastfeeding so here are some of my favorites of him sleeping, snuggling or awake.

I know it was pretty ambitious of me to take weekly photos of Jacob during his first year, and I am so glad I did. It is fun to look back on those pictures and see the gradual change in him. My mom asked me if had planned to do the same for Dylan. “Yes, I am!” was my reply. So I started the weekly pictures. I kept the same giraffe but replaced Jacob’s blue elephant with a brown woolly mammoth for Dylan.

1 week

2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks

Mother’s Day

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Mdfrisco

This year Mother’s Day was extra special with the arrival of Dylan just 3 days before and my mom was still here and my Aunt Heidi and grandma came over to meet Dylan and spend the day with us.

It was not anything fancy, just a day spent together, with some yummy snacks, a little champagne and the joy of seeing Oma with her newest great grandson.

I’ve learned a lot from my mom and grandma over the years, growing up. But now that I am a mom myself I really appreciate these women for who they are and all they have done and I couldn’t ask for better role models.

I can only hope that I will be as good of a mom to my boys as they have been.

Dylan’s story

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Mdfrisco

It is kind of crazy how drastically different the stories are about how our boys came into this world. With Jacob, everything was new uncharted territory for us, there was a lot of anticipation and wondering about the unknown. This time around, I felt more confident and knew what to expect having been through the labor and delivery process before, except I didn’t, because it was completely different.

On April 30th I had a check up with my OB and I was telling her that I was ready to have this baby and my time with my mom here to help was running out. So we talked about being induced if he didn’t come by his due date. We looked at her schedule and called the hospital for availability and scheduled an induction for May 6th (3 days after my due date). I left that appointment feeling better since we now had a plan, if nothing happened before, then I knew that we would be having a baby on the 6th.

A few days later on May 4th, the contractions I was having were getting more intense and more frequent. I was one day past my due date and I wanted to get checked out and see what was going on. So Justin and I went to triage and they were pretty busy, but we didn’t have to wait too long before getting checked in. They hooked me up to the machines and monitored me for an hour. I was 2.5 cm dilated and was having contractions every 3-5 minutes, but they just were not doing anything. The nurse told me that I had the option to walk around for 2 hours then come back and see if anything changed, but at that moment I was not in “active enough” labor to be admitted. We didn’t want to waste time walking around the hospital since I was doing plenty of walking up and down the stairs at home and walking around during all of our errands. So we went home.

The contractions continued, on May 6th, induction day, I got a phone call at 6:00 am from the hospital telling me that they were so busy and instead of coming in for my induction at 9:00 am, to call them at 9:00 am to see what time I should come in. When I made the call they told me that they were full with women who were in active labor and I was put on standby but not to expect any availability before noon. By then I was getting frustrated because “my plan” to have this baby kept getting delayed. My OB’s office called and said they were working with the hospital to see what they could do to get me in. As the day went on with no increase in labor and no phone call from the hospital telling me to come in for my induction, I started realizing that it wasn’t going to happen that day. At 6:00 pm my OB’s office called to tell me that my induction had been pushed back to Friday, May 8th.

The good thing about my induction being postponed was the next day I was able to go to the Mother’s Day brunch at Jake’s preschool!

I even got my big belly in the teeny tiny preschool chairs and had quiche, fruit and bagels with Jake while admiring the place mat, coffee cup, and crafts he painted and made for me. Then after realizing I had a miscommunication with my cleaning lady and she was not coming that day as we thought, my mom, Justin’s mom and I cleaned our house before we had to go back and pick Jake up from school. See what I mean about the whole walking/moving around vs resting up for baby…there was no resting going on. That night after dinner I had some spotting and my contractions were still going at it, so Justin and I went back to triage.

After getting checked out and monitored, I was still only 2.5 cm dilated and my contractions were the same, just not progressing. This time they were not as busy and since I was past my due date the doctor wanted me to stay at the hospital and walk around but she didn’t want to admit me to labor and delivery yet. So we were told to walk around for 2 hours and come back. I was ready to have this baby and didn’t want to go home only to come back the next day for my induction, or run the risk of them calling me to tell me not to come in for my induction because they were busy. I had my foot in the door and I was not taking it out! So we walked…we went up and down every hallway, we looked at all the pictures on the wall and read all the plaques next to the pictures. We explored the “Suzy’s Zoo” artwork on display in the hallway leading into the NICU, which reminded me so much of my Grandma since she used to write notes to me on Suzy’s Zoo cards all the time. Since it was late, the coffee cart was closed and when we asked the reception desk if there was somewhere Justin could get a cup of coffee they said there was not. When we were walking away, one of the ladies ran after us and said she would get Justin a cup from the doctor’s lounge, another point for Mary Birch, we love this hospital! We rode the elevator between floors and smiled and nodded at the same people we passed countless times. As we walked we talked, it was kind of nice since Justin and I rarely have 2 hours of uninterrupted time, away from home and all the distractions to just talk. Twice we stopped to sit down and rest, my back was killing me. After the second time we sat down it was about 10:15pm and we got up to walk out the last 15 minutes of our 2 hours and my water broke! Hallelujah! I was so happy and we quickly made our way back to triage. After getting changed and hooked back up to the machines, they checked me and said I was still only 2.5, maybe 3 cm dilated. We started the admitting process and they took me up to Labor and Delivery. Justin’s parents arrived at our house to take over with Jake and my mom came to the hospital. Since the contractions were still tolerable and I was not that far dilated I decided not to get the epidural right away. We turned off the lights and laid down to try and get some rest (finally that rest that everyone keeps talking about!) Only it wasn’t too restful for me…It wasn’t long before my contractions started getting stronger and more intense. Finally I told Justin to get a nurse because I was in pain and wanted the epidural. The nurse checked me and I was 7 cm dilated, she told me that the anesthesiologist was tied up in a double emergency cesarean section and would not be able to get to me for another 30-45 minutes. At that point my contractions were coming fast and furious and shortly after I felt the intense need to push. I told my mom to get the nurses again and when she opened the door they were all huddled around my monitor outside the room waiting, they knew it was coming. They came in and bustled around the room getting everything ready. I kept thinking, no you can’t get things ready yet, I haven’t had my epidural yet! Then they started coaching me through the pushing process. After a few pushes, one of the nurses told me that his heart rate was dropping with every contraction so they needed to get him out asap and she left to get the doctor. Then the anesthesiologist walked in and I was never so happy to see anyone in my life. He apologized that I had to wait and said he heard I wanted an epidural and I said yes! Before he could say anything else the lead nurse walked in and said, sorry no time, the doctor is on her way and we are getting this baby out now. The anesthesiologist wished me luck and reassured me that I was in good hands and left. I looked at Justin and my mom and said I don’t want to do this without an epidural! But I really didn’t have a choice. I don’t remember all the details after that since it happened pretty quickly. But basically the doctor showed up, she attached a suction cup to his head and after a couple of pushes, he was out. The cord was wrapped around his neck, that is why his heart rate kept dropping. From the time I started pushing to the time he was born was only 30 minutes, it felt a lot longer than that! They put him on my chest and we snuggled for about an hour and a half before they took him to check his stats.

Before the doctor left she congratulated me saying that I was part of an “elite group” to have a baby naturally, I don’t think I responded to her, I was in shock. Looking back on the process, I am kind of amazed at what happened. It was not my choice to have a delivery without an epidural, but it really was not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course at the time I thought this was the worse it could get, I was scared, in pain and everything was happening so fast and I was screaming. In fact, I do remember yelling “get this baby out of me!” during one of my contractions. And Justin was convinced he was going to have to see an orthopedic surgeon to repair his hand. No matter how many times he tried to get me to hold on to the rails on the bed or the nurses were trying to get me to grab my thighs when pushing, it was his hand that I had a death grip on. If I had gone into this wanting to do a natural birth, I’m sure it would have been completely different. I probably would have taken the classes that teach you about meditating and focusing on something (other than your husband’s hand) and breathing techniques and I would have felt more prepared. Then maybe it wouldn’t have been the frantic frenzy that it was. About a week and a half later, when talking about my delivery, I remember the word that my mom and Justin used to describe it was intense…That it was…but it was all so worth it…

The result of all the waiting, the contractions, the walking, the intense delivery was the perfect addition to our family. Dylan Luke was born on May 8, 2015 (on a rainy day, just like his brother) at 4:57am. He was 8 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. All 10 fingers and toes and a healthy set of lungs. He is such a blessing and we are in love with this little man.

Since Mary Birch was so busy the past few days with all those babies being born, they didn’t have any overnight rooms available, so we ended up at Sharp Memorial next door. We were quite the parade of orderlies, nurses, me in a wheelchair holding Dylan, my mom and Justin with all our bags walking through back hallways, underground tunnels between the hospitals and staff elevators to get to our room. That evening, my mom brought Jacob to the hospital to meet Dylan.

The next morning Justin’s family came

I was recovering nicely and Dylan was doing well so we only had to stay one night. We had a checklist of tests and and things that needed to get done before we could leave, including the hearing test, which Dylan passed with flying colors (thank you God!)

After getting our discharge checklist completed we went home, to the other crazy part of our lives, packing up our house, sickness and moving…More on that to come.

If there is one thing I’ve learned about my body after two deliveries is after my water breaks, things tend to happen really fast. And after this time around, IF we decide to have a third (that is a BIG if) I’ve learned not to wait to get the epidural after my water breaks. Of course things would probably be completely different that time around too!

And I leave you with more pictures of our sweet boy.

40 Weeks

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Mdfrisco

I never dreamed I would go past my due date. The old wives tales always say that you are late with your first babies…Jacob was 11 days early. So I assumed I would be early with my second as well. We had it all planned out, my mom booked her flight to come 2 weeks before my due date to ensure she would be here in time, Justin was telling clients during meetings that he was “on call” and would have to excuse himself if I called, we had the diapers stacked up, hospital bags packed, babysitting arrangements made for Jake and we were ready should he decide to come early. But God and baby had other plans…my due date came and went, and they decided he would stay snuggled in my belly.

Those last few weeks of my pregnancy I had a lot of pain, there was so much pressure and it was really hard for me to wrangle Jake and get him in and out of the car, I couldn’t even pick him up. I ended up getting down to his level when he wanted to be close to me, then I had a hard time getting up off the floor! I was so thankful that my mom was here to help with the heavy lifting (Jake)! I was having lots of Braxton Hicks during my 3rd trimester which turned into contractions during the last few weeks. There were a lot of them, but no consistency to them.

The remodel on our new house was underway (I will do another post about the house). Justin, my dad and crew were breaking down and rebuilding our house. Everyone kept saying to me, I hope you can get some rest before the baby comes. I laugh when I think about that time! Instead of sitting on the couch with my feet up, visiting with my mom, enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, playing with Jake and “resting”, my mom and I were running around like crazy trying to get as much done as we could before the baby arrived. We picked out flooring, paint, cabinets, took endless trips to Lowes and Home Depot and took meals over to the new house to feed the crew. As well as doctors appointments, dropping off/picking up Jake at preschool, packing up our house and making endless phone calls, emails and lists. The entire time through those weeks I kept thinking it would be any day…any minute…every time I would have a contraction, and I was having them often at this point, while driving, walking down the aisles of Lowe’s, while eating, etc… I would think, okay, is this it? It rained a couple times during those weeks and Jacob was born on a rainy day, so whenever it started raining I would wonder if that would be the day? And he actually was born on a rainy day! This time it was past my due date, not before. Random strangers in public kept asking me when I was due and when I told them I was X number of days past my due date, their eyes got big and it seemed like they got nervous around me like I was going to go into labor that very second. A cashier at Home Depot practically ushered me out the door when she found out I was 3 days past my due date, she was telling me how the employees there are very helpful for lots of things, but delivering babies is not their specialty!

Even though it was really hard and uncomfortable, it was nice having that bit of extra time to get things done for the house before he arrived. As usual, God knew what he was doing. I just never dreamed I would go past my due date…

Here is the last belly shot, at 40 weeks.

The Frisco Project

Adventures in life, pregnancy, friendships, family & a little photography

Category Archives: Life