Disney on Ice and Playing in the Snow

So I’m not so good at this blog-more-than-once-a-month thing. I’m trying out Windows Live Writer to see if the ease of this program will help me stay on top of things…. I’ll let you know how it goes ( like you won’t be able to tell on your own).

Anywho, (I said that in a sing-song voice if you couldn’t tell….) We’ve done many, many things since Halloween and my last post, but Micah is still talking about the fun we had at Disney on Ice. We were lucky enough to get free tickets (thanks Jess!!!) to this amazing spectacle. Micah was plastered to the plexi-glass railing the e.n.t.i.r.e. first half, then I bought her some light-up Minnie Mouse toy during intermission that I paid way too much for occupied her for most the second half.

The stars of the show, the epitome of anything Disney- Mickey and Minnie Mouse… or if you’re Micah they’re pronounced Mickey Bice and Mimi Bice.

Here’s Micah playing outside today… so cute in her little hat!!

When I was getting the pictures off my camera this evening she kept saying, “ Cheese, mommy? Cheese?” Then she would do this… cute, eh?

And just because this may be the only post until June… I’ll leave you with this little nugget of pure sweetness. It’s Micah reading a story to Aaron out of her Elmo Potty coloring book. If you listen carefully you’ll here her say amen in the middle of it…. so she might’ve been praying for him, too. Who knows with that girl.

Pumpkins and Rock-Stars

This was a low-budget Halloween for the Tooley's. I can't justify spending a ton of money on costumes that will be worn only once... so Micah was a rock-star and Aaron was a pumpkin (Ok, so he wore a pumpkin shirt. Whatever.)

Last year we participated in the neighborhood costume parade and decided to make that our tradition. This year Aaron didn't really participate... he was more of an accessory to my mommy costume.

Daddy and his little rocker girl-

Pumpkin Train!

A couple weeks ago Micah and I rode the pumpkin train with April, Josh, and Meg. After an initial period of wanting off the train Micah was able to enjoy the ride.... with some snacks and bribery :)


We were dropped off in the middle of a corn field that some local FFA kids had converted into a combo pumpkin patch/petting zoo.


Micah's favorite part of the day? The rabbit with elmo eyes. (We're working on the saying the word "RED" .... she's not quite there yet.)


She liked the hay maze, too. Mostly because I couldn't chase her through it due to the pumpkin I was carting everywhere.


It was a beautiful day spent with my precious little girl.

Aaron is 3 months and Micah is crazy

I'm baaaaaaaaaack! Sorry about the delay, peeps. Life got a little crazy there for a second, but I'm back in control now. Here's the problem- I had to go back to work. BOOOOOOO.

I managed to not really get any good pictures of Aaron for his 3-month session. Big surprise. The more I plan the worse the results. Here's what I managed to get-






Micah has never liked bananas. She'll take a couple bites until she realizes she didn't really want it to begin with. So last night my dad came over for dinner and Micah insisted that she needed to have "bites" of the banana she spotted on the counter. My dad suggested we put some peanut butter on it to see if she would eat more of it. We did and she liked it. If you know my dad you know that he likes stir things up. He asked Micah if she wanted some mustard, joking of course. She said yes and then pointed to the spot on her plate where she wanted it. Seeing what she would do I gave her a little.

Yes, my friends, she dipped her banana in the mustard. And ate. every. last. bite.

Even the mustard.

My babies and their friends....

One of my best-est friends, Emily, was in town this week with her 1-year-old little man, Harrison. You met him for the first time in this post. Sheesh! Time is flying by I can't believe it's been a year already! I'm so excited for Em and her hubby, Brian. They're expecting their second little man in March!

Micah, Aaron, and I spent some time hanging out with them and with Brittany and her little man, Griffin, who you met for the first time in this post.



We cleverly arranged them from oldest to youngest- Micah, Harrison, Griffin, and Aaron. The 2 middle boys hated sitting still-- and Aaron just wasn't happy.

We had such a great time getting all of our kids together-- however its not really the same kind of great times we shared as nursing students in college, but times change I suppose.

This next part is for my mother, mother-in-law, and grandma. They've been complaining about not having any current pictures of my children. So here you are. Just 3 simple steps to get them on your computer-
1. Click on the picture to open it in a new window.
2. Right-click on the picture and select 'save image as'.
3. Select the location you would like it to go on your computer and press ok!

The faces of Aaron

Fish Face

Big Eyes!

Pure cuteness.

A new blog!!

I'm so excited to introduce my brand-spankin'-new blog!

www.injensfreetime.blogspot.com

Get excited! Add it to your favorites, bookmark it, link it to your blog, and tell your friends!! Just don't forget to check it out!!

Growing and getting loud!

The Tooley household, like most households with children, has been LOUD lately! After about 5 weeks of a blissfully peaceful existence, Aaron decided to make some noise-- and he didn't stop until yesterday. After about a week of non-stop fussing I had nearly lost my mind. I didn't hesitate to take him to walk-in hours on a Saturday morning to insist on something for reflux. Good thing the doctor agreed with my diagnosis. He's doing much better now.


Micah has enjoyed helping me out-- she's such a little mommy. With any noise that Aaron makes she is convinced he needs his "pacies" and won't hesitate to try to force one into his mouth. Which can only make the situation better, right?

Everything I do my little helper is right by my side, helping me keep track of the baby. I think she thinks he's going to wander off and never come back. I almost have to tape her down just to keep her out of the bathtub while I bathe him. He takes the chaos well, I must say.


As you can see, Aaron is starting to look more like his daddy everyday... blue eyes and hairline included. At his 1-month check-up he weighed 10lbs 10oz (65th percentile) and was 22.25in long (66th percentile). I'm sure he's over 12lbs now since his cute clothes are finally starting to fit. I love the outfit he wore to church this morning! (Thanks to Aunt April and Uncle Josh for the shirt!!!)

My little 2-ring circus.

I've decided not to send out birth announcements-- mainly because I'm not satisfied with the results of my several attempts to get some baby pictures. Sorry to all of you running to your mailbox every afternoon hoping to see some adorable pictures of my child. I'll show you what I've been able to get-- they're still cute, but not the drop-dead-gorgeous baby photos I had envisioned.




Adjusting to life with a second child hasn't been the circus I had thought it would be. Don't get me wrong- I definitely feel like I'm running a zoo sometimes, but I chalk that up to the crazy 2-year-old living with me. From the moment Micah's little eyelids open in the morning she is ready to go bye-bye. And, while she was an only-child, we usually did have some place to go or something to do. Now that her little brother has entered the scene she can't seem to understand why we're not conquering all the end-of-summer-sales at the Castleton Mall.... oh, how I wish we could!!! Playing with "bubblef" and going to the park are only fun the first 15 minutes, or however long it takes Aaron to realize he is hungry.... again.

The last 4 weeks and been a whirlwind- a little stressful, but a lot of wonderful. My baby boy has gained a little over 2 pounds already!! He weighed 9lbs 11oz a couple of days ago and is starting to outgrow some of his newborn clothes. He's looking like a little man- complete with a beautiful pair of blue eyes to compete with his sister's.


Speaking of that little girl- here's what Aaron thinks of her....

Another big day!

As planned, the nasal cannula was discontinued early this morning. Feedings went really well during the night-- so well that I only got about 3 hrs of sleep. The IV nutrition was discontinued late this morning because of his great breastfeeding. I was able to give Aaron his first bath, unfortunately I was alone at the time so I wasn't able to get any pictures. After his bath he was upgraded to a normal crib-- clearing the warmer out of the room. YAY!!



Micah was able to visit again today- this is her 4th time seeing her new brother. She is thrilled with the baby. I asked her what the baby's name was and she quickly replied, "ELMO!". Too bad the birth certificate is already filed.



Aaron is finally our normal baby. I can't begin to imagine how families cope with NICU stays lasting weeks and months. Our 7-day tour was quite enough. We anticipate going home Saturday afternoon-evening sometime.



Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers for our family and our precious baby boy. I truly believe that without our faith this small bump in the road would not have passed so smoothly.

And he's off!...

Big day for Aaron- he's off the vent and breathing on his own!!! And doing great, too! In fact, he's almost off everything! Shortly after he was extubated, the doctor discontinued one of his umbilical lines, leaving the other in place for him to continue to received the antibiotics. Then, about 30 minutes after that was out I got to feed him! He did wonderfully breastfeeding, picking up right where he left off on Saturday. I couldn't be more proud of my little man. As you can see in the picture, he still has on a little bit of oxygen. If you ask me, it's such a small amount I don't think he really even needs it-- his nurse agrees with me. That should be gone by the morning.

The plan now is this--

**Antibiotics for another 3 days.
**Eat
**Sleep
**Pee and poop.
**Get circumcised.
**Pass hearing screen.
**Watch fireworks from NICU window.
**Go home and live happily ever after.

Drew's Turn on Cloud 9

Aaron continues to do very well. His chest xray is much improved again today, however it still is showing some crud in the lower parts of his lungs. Dr. Hertz decided to given him one more day on the vent to wean the oxygen he requires. Right now he is at 25%- the goal is to be at 21% tomorrow so they can take him off the vent at that time. Once he's off the vent Dr. Hertz would like to see him skip the tube-feedings and go straight to breastfeeding. Yay!! I'm so sick of bonding with my breastpump- I'm ready for my baby!!

Drew got to hold Aaron today for about on hour- this is only the second time he's been able to hold is son. I know it was therapeutic for both of them. True to the Tooley name, Aaron didn't waste any time pooping while in daddy's arms. This is quite a feat considering the kiddo hasn't eaten for 2 days.


I was able to take a few pictures of Aaron this morning- his swelling seems to have reached a peak. All of the nurses and Dr. Hertz say that on day 3 babies start to get rid of all the excess fluid they've been storing.








Micah came to visit her little brother yesterday- she loves that baby. In fact, that's the only word she says the entire time she's here, "Baby. Baby? Wuv baby." What a great big sis!