Monday, August 27, 2012

Week 123

Remember in the beginning of the summer when Ryan called that train video company for a catalog?  Well it finally came in the mail this week.  He was so proud and happy to receive mail and that it came because he made the phone call.

During the week I drove the kids (my three and my brother's two girls) up to my mom's house for a couple of days.  Ryan asked me to take some pictures of him with his "BFF".  This is one of my favorites from our "photo shoot".



Ryan always has a pretty good appetite, but especially so when he is in the upstate air.  He's grown so much these past two months.  He looks much older than a newly turned 6 year old.  His body is lean and muscular, and of course he is so tall!  Here are some pictures of Ryan this week that make my heart skip a beat when I see them.  He has come so far the past couple of years!

Practicing for soccer season

Helping papa fix the lawnmower.  It looks like he knows what he is doing!

Mower fixed and time for all of the kids to take a spin!

Look at that lean and strong physique!

Doing a great job swimming in the deep end of the pool.

Speaking of the pool, the kids played several games of "Simon Says" with nonna and then I decided to spice it up a little.  Simon Says...

I love the end of this video when all of the girls jump in but Ryan waited to watch nonna and make sure she was okay.  I think it is so cute and shows Ryan's sensitive caring side.

Fun with cousins during a weekend visit.


Amelia's 8th Birthday Party

As a teacher I never thought I'd say this, but this is the first time as a mom that I can't wait for this school year to begin.  My kids are in desperate need of getting back in to a routine.  And they need some separation from each other and me!


DC

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Week 121



My three angels




Ryan loves having Jack around, except maybe when he is crying.  We explained to him that all babies cry, especially when they are uncomfortable and getting their diaper changed.  When Jack cries, Ryan often covers his ears, or leaves the room.  

About five minutes after Ryan went to bed the other night, he came back downstairs holding a book.  He was anxious to show us a picture in it and said to us, "Look, this baby doesn't cry when he gets his diaper changed."  : )  And indeed, the baby in the picture is smiling!



Jack enjoyed his second bath.  Ryan was happy Jack didn't cry this time!

Jack- three weeks old
 On Friday, Ryan came up to me and gave me a hug.  He was crying.  When I asked him why he said that he was sad because he missed Helen and that she didn't get to meet Jack.  It's been raining the past two days but this week we'll go out to Helen's grave site with Jack to say hello.  I hope this will make him feel a little bit better about it.

Saturday the 11th was my dad's birthday, but it also marked the two year anniversary of Ty Campbell's cancer diagnosis.  We've been following Ty's story for almost the entire two years now and it is heartbreaking, yet inspiring at the same time as you watch this little boy fight the fight.  It makes me feel grateful for all we have and when I hear my children claim, "This is the worst day ever!" when they don't get their way, I tell them how lucky they are and how much worse their day could really be. I know they don't understand now, but one day they will. Here is a link to the video posted for Ty's 2 years of fighting cancer.  I will show this to Ryan and Julia and we will say a prayer for Ty.  Please do the same.
Ty Campbell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZhYasnXf_I&feature=youtu.be

DC

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Week 120

It was another busy week adjusting to life with Jack.  We took Jack to our friend's house for dinner for his first outing, and also to nonna's and papa's house for his first trip upstate.  I was glad to do it, especially for Ryan and Julia.  It gave them an opportunity to play and swim with their cousins, who were also visiting nonna and papa. 

An early birthday celebration with papa.

Julia went to dance camp again this week so it was just me with my boys.  Since Ryan had been home all week he was excited to get out of the house a bit and have a play date with our neighbor's son. He had so much fun that he didn't want to come home.  Our neighbor planned to walk him back over when it was time for them to leave and go somewhere, but Ryan didn't want to go so she called us and Phil went over to get him.  We had forgotten to tell her that Ryan will need timed warnings when it is time to go.  Without the "5-minutes-to-go" and "2-minutes-to-go" warnings, he has difficulty stopping what he is doing to make an immediate transition.  

During the week we planned Julia's birthday party.  Julia asked me if it was going to cost $5 and I told her it would be more than that.  Ryan ran and got his wallet, and pulled out two $10 bills and gave it to us.  He said that he wanted to help pay for Julia's birthday party.  Where does he get this stuff from??? Too cute!


The kids enjoy watching The Olympics on TV

No fear!

Enjoying his remote control car/submarine 

Jack's first trip upstate... happy to be in the country air!

Julia lost her 2nd tooth!

Nonna with her grandchildren.

DC


Sunday, July 29, 2012

Week 119


Getting adjusted to our growing family

Jack has been home from the hospital for a week now and we're all getting used to the change around the house.  Ryan and Julia love having Jack around but it did take some time to get them back into a routine.  I'm grateful it is summer time and our days are more relaxed and laid back as we aim to get into a routine that works for all of us. And we are so appreciative for all of the help we received these past 10 days from our family and friends, from keeping Ryan and Julia busy to bringing us food and also visiting to keep us company.

 Here are a few photos from the week and a video of Ryan singing Jack his version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Jack, one week old






Our first family photo


DC


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Baby Jack

Jack Philip Campbell was born on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 1:58 pm.  He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.








When I look at this picture it is difficult to hold back the tears.  It touches my heart to see how proud Ryan is to be a big brother.  I've never seen him smile so much and so genuinely like when he looks at and talks about Jack.
Proud Big Brother

I think it was tough on Ryan these past few days not having Phil and I home.  Phil is the one who I can rely on, and Ryan relies on, to bring him out of a meltdown.  He had a few while we weren't home and also our first day back.  Even though he was mostly around close family members, he acted up more than usual, probably because of the changes going on around him and being a little off schedule.  He worries so much about things that his nerves got the better of him.

But at the same time, Ryan has also matured so much over the past four days.  His conversations with me are unlike any I've had with him.  He asks all sorts of mature questions about Jack and about my experience in the hospital.  For example, one morning when we called home to see how things were going he asked me if I slept well the night before.  Caring about someone else's feelings, and asking them about them, is a big step for Ryan.  

The kids were very excited to welcome their little brother home and made him special cards.  Video: 
Welcome Home Baby Jack




Julia, Alyssa, Amelia, Jack, and Ryan

DC


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Week 118 - Get ready for baby!!!

This is the blog entry I started for week 118.  I added a little to it each day, ready to post this weekend.  Since we've had some major developments today, I'm posting this early.  Our next blog will be a baby update!  

Over 39 weeks pregnant and no baby yet!  If there isn't any action in the next couple of days it looks like I will be induced in the middle of this upcoming week.  My good camera has been packed away in my hospital luggage for the past two weeks so I haven't been taking many pictures.  But I have taken my old camera out and am forcing myself to capture some of these pre-baby moments and do have a couple to share this week.

First, we'll start with the baby bump at 39 weeks:

And now for a super cute story about Ryan.  With Julia at dance camp during the day all of this week, it has been just Ryan and I hanging around the house, trying to keep busy.  It was so hot and humid outside, and I was happy that Ryan was okay with staying indoors and keeping occupied.  We did manage to get out a little bit with a play date with a friend, a visit to the library, and some grocery shopping.  On one of our outings I took Ryan to a store where we usually buy a lot of his GFCF food.  While I was packing the groceries he asked if he could swipe my credit card.  He then proceeded to pick up the electronic pen, and asked, "Do I write your name or mine?"  I told him that it was my name and the lady at the counter told him that he could write it for me.  I asked him if he needed me to spell "Dawn" for him and he said no.  Here's the picture of the credit card terminal screen and the receipt that printed out.  The cashier and I both had a good chuckle when we saw them!



I think I'm getting bigger each day! 

Photo taken by Ryan, who kisses my belly everyday and says he loves me and the baby!
The above photo was taken just about 2 hours before my water broke at home.  Within an hour, and with the help of amazing family and friends, I was transported to the doctor's office to meet Phil, and the kids were taken care of with food and babysitters for the remainder of the day.

At the office it was confirmed that my water had broken and I had begun early stages of labor.  I was admitted into the hospital to spend the night where my contractions can be monitored.  They were very irregular through the night and I didn't sleep much.  But my pain was manageable without pain meds but I was given something to sleep.  I took it at 11 and was up at 1:30.  Hmm...  The doctor will be here to check me in the morning to see if it is necessary to help the contractions along so that this baby comes within the 24 hour window of my water breaking.  That is all of the news I have for now.  It looks like July 19, 2012 will be our new baby's birth date!

We called home to Face Time with the kids before they went to bed and the first words out of Julia's mouth: "Did you have the baby?  What does it look like?"  I think I am most looking forward to Ryan and Julia putting on their special shirts and coming to visit me and meet the new baby tomorrow!

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  Check back in a day or two for a full update on Baby Campbell!
DC

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Week 117

No baby yet!  My pelvis has tilted, causing me extreme back pain.  It is very difficult to get up out of bed, rise from a seated position, sit for too long, and just move around in general.  Something similar happened when I was pregnant with Julia, however when my pelvis tilted, it also separated and I was placed on pain killers for two weeks prior to being induced a couple of weeks early.  Xrays after Julia was born showed that the pelvis did fuse back together, but crooked, and I knew getting into this that I would again run into complications during the last couple months of the pregnancy. The fact that my pelvis has not separated yet, at 38.5 weeks pregnant, in my eyes, is short of a miracle.  Not that having it tilted, pressing up into my lower back is pleasant, but I know all too well how much worse this can get.

My parents have been watching Ryan and Julia the past four days.  I miss them tremendously but I know that  they are having much more fun running around and going in the pool than they would have had being stuck at home, indoors, with a mom who is waddling around in pain.  This is their summer vacation too, and they deserve to enjoy it.  It is amazing that my mom has used her four days off in a row, something that happens rarely, to take on the challenges of watching my children.  My dad is a trooper too.  It is he who patiently includes Julia in everything he does outside since she is our little farmer girl, and gets up early with the kids to prepare them breakfast, taking extra care to follow Ryan's diet.

On the day they left I asked Ryan if he was going to miss me.  He immediately replied, "No", and after thinking about it for a second said, "There are pictures of you up there that I can look at."  He was obviously saying it to convince himself of this rather than for my benefit, because halfway through the sentence is lips started to quiver and his eyes welled up with tears.  He brought his arm up to his eyes so that I wouldn't see him cry.  I hugged him tightly and told him I would call him everyday.  "Mama, can you call me four times a day?"  I love how he still often calls me "Mama".  So precious!

One of Julia's favorite activities up at nonna's and papa's house is to go outside on their swing.  Here is a picture of her at Easter time during one of her many visits to the swing:


 Knowing how much Julia loves the swing, my dad spent all of last week building another one from scratch!  Amazing!!!  Now we just have to figure out how to get it transported to our house.  Julia can't wait to help paint it and she is so excited that she has her very own swing now.
Our new swing!
Earlier in the week Ryan was playing with his trains and while doing so put on a video about trains.  At the beginning of the video there was a phone number that you can call to request a catalog of videos and train toys from the company out in Michigan.  Ryan repeatedly asked me if we could call, so I dialed the number and asked the person who answered if she could mail us a catalog.  I gave her Ryan's name and address and his face was beaming the entire time.  However, after I got off the phone, waiting for a catalog did not seem to be enough for Ryan.  He wanted to know if we could go visit the place.  I explained to him that it is far away and we have to take an airplane there and would need to save our money for the tickets.  He said, "Money, no problem, I will share from my wallet."  About 10 minutes later I hear him pick up the phone and press redial to get the lady back on the phone.  Normally I would make him hang up the phone, but I was curious as to what he would say.  When the lady answered the phone I hear him say, "Hi, this is Ryan again.  When we come visit there, will you show me around?"  He then tells her a quick story, which I couldn't understand half of what he was saying.  I then hear him thank the lady and say bye.  When he gets off the phone I asked him what her response to his question was and she said, "Sure, of course".   I've noticed that Ryan has been a lot less shy talking to strangers.  Phil and I couldn't believe how many conversations he started with our server at a restaurant last week, I was shocked that he would pick up the phone and call a stranger, and my mom says that he was telling all sorts of stories to a nurse in the hospital where she works.  I'm glad he is becoming less shy, and also more confident in his speech.  I think there were times where he would shy away from conversations because not everyone would understand what he was trying to say.  Sometimes that still happens when he gets overly excited and tries to tell a story too fast, but for the most part you can carry on a conversation with him and he really enjoys it!


DC

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Week 116


As most pregnant women just days from delivery do, I got up in the early morning hours to use the bathroom.  I returned to my cozy bed to find...

Poor mommy- kicked out of her own spot!  It's not evident in the picture, but Julia is down at the foot of the bed sleeping horizontally across where Phil and I would have had our feet had she not pushed them out of the way in the middle of the night to make her own cozy sleeping area.

Hot weather means time for a haircut.  Ryan was very willing to sit still while I gave him a haircut (for a lollipop of course!)  This wasn't an ordinary haircut... it was a semi-buzz.  His hair hasn't been this short in a long time.  He loved how it looked and had a huge smile on his face when he looked in the mirror.  When I asked him how he wanted it he said, "flat".  I'm assuming this is what he meant since he dislikes having his hair stick up all over the place when he wakes up in the morning.  Here's the new look:






DC







Sunday, July 1, 2012

Week 115

First week of summer vacation.  Ryan spent a few days at camp with Julia as she finished up her last week at Young Hearts.  It gave me a chance to get things ready for the baby.  Clothes are washed, nursery is ready, baby products are out of storage and set up.  We are ready!

We ended the week with a few days up at nonna's and papa's house since we'll need to stay close to home for most of July in anticipation of the baby coming.  The kids, as always, had a lot of fun:








DC