Pig Tails Bring Big Smiles

Merry - Land

Lillian meeting the bride to be for the first time.

We just returned from our first vacation as a family of four.  Lillian and I were very important members of the bridal party for my best friend, Amanda's wedding.  I was Matron of Honor (Amanda and I have been friends since I was 4 years old) and Lillian was the flower girl. 

Lillian walking down the isle with Mom.  It was a little too scary to walk alone!

Mr. & Mrs. Luksis with their bridal party.

We had such a great time, as you can imagine traveling with two babies is a little challenging!  We got a lot less sleep while staying in hotels.  Jak was a perfect travel companion, sleeping anywhere and letting EVERYONE hold him.  Lillian on the other hand, is at the age where sitting still on a plane is challenging, staying in strange hotel rooms is hard and "performing" for so many strange faces got old fast.  Thank God Amanda invited all the Hanous to her wedding because Mike and I needed the help!

Aunt Casey feeding Jak while Mommy gets her make up done in the background.  Jak was the only male allowed in the brides room before the wedding, what an honor!

Mr. & Mrs. Luksis on the "party bus"

Friends for life....Kelli, Amanda and Courtney

While on the east coast, we were able to sneak in a trip to the beach!  We got lucky and had warm weather on our last day in Ocean City, Maryland.  Gramma and Opa Hanou were smart enough to book us rooms at a hotel with an indoor atrium for the not so great beach days.  The lobby had live parrots, fish and turtles, hours of fascination for Lillian! 

Lillian playing with Colton and Thomas while the UD girls got to catch up briefly in Bethany Beach, MD

Courtney, Jen & Megan....just a few of the Kent Hall girls.  Has it really been 17 years since we first met?  So great to see them!

Gramma and Daddy having a little cloudy day fun.

Feeding the seagulls from the balcony of the hotel.

First touch of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sea air makes for great napping conditions.

Chasing a beach ball with Daddy.

Lillian enjoyed the sand this trip, unlike when we were in the Cayman Islands 6 months ago.

Lillian chowing down at Harris' Crab House, she knows good food when she sees it!

Jak at 2 Months

 We just came from Jak's 2 Month check up.  He's more than doubled his birth weight!  Our "little" guy is catching up quite nicely, weighing in at 9 pounds 4.5 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches.  He's on the charts! Jak rolls his head side to side when he's on his tummy and actually rolled over for my mom last week.  He was laying on his arm and pushed himself right over!  Way to go Jak-a-roo!

Jak & Lil

Lillian still loves to hold her little brother.

Life in the Kerschen house is busy but we're loving every minute of it!  Lillian keeps us moving!  She is so used to daycare and playing with other kids that staying home with just mom can be boring.  We spend our days having playdates with neighbors and friends, going to storytime at the library and of course, going to the playground.  It's even fun just going shopping!

When Lillian isn't using the stroller Aunt Casey came up with a shady place for Jak to nap!

Jak is growing so well.  He is over 7 pounds now and alert for much longer periods during the day.  He finally fits in the baby Bjorn and is happy (or should I say tolerant) of being dragged around where Lillian wants to go. 
Here is a synopsis of what each kid is up to these days:
JAK:

• Loves his tummy time!  Unlike Lillian, Jak likes being on his tummy, he curls his legs up underneath him and sucks on his hand. 
• Also unlike his sister, Jak likes to be swaddled.  It really calms him and helps him sleep.  (which helps us sleep!)
• We're pretty sure Jak is going to have brown eyes.  They still have a dark blue halo around the outside but his eyes are already turning dark like me and Mike's.  (Guess I won't have to fix the red eye in all his pictures like I have to for Lillian!)
• Jak rarely cries (also unlike his sister!!!) He sleeps in a bassinet right by our bed and wakes me every 3 - 5 hours by grunting and snorting.  He eats, burps and goes right back to bed.  But if he doesn't burp...he gets fussy and can't go back to bed.  So we do our best to make sure he gets the gas out right away!  

LILLIAN:

Handmade rocking chair from Grandpa Cooper.  Lillian and all her playmates love it!

•  Chase Airplanes  Even when we're in the house, if Lillian hears an airplane she points to the sky.  If we're outside, we drop what we're doing, pick her up and run to see if we can find the plane.  She gets so excited she kicks her legs up and down in the air.  
• Wave to her shadow  Daddy taught Lillian how to wave to her shadow.  It's the cutest thing! Sometimes she gets so excited she waves with both hands, flapping them up and down in the air!
• Watch Lawn Mowers  If she hears a lawn mower we have to run outside for that too.  Several neighbors have lawn mowing services and the landscapers know us well by now!  
• Say Cheers When we're eating or drinking together, Lillian likes to clink cups and say cheers.  She even does it with Jak and his bottle.
• NO! One of Lillian's uglier traits.  Like most toddlers, NO is a favorite word of hers, but unlike other kids, Lillian also points her finger and sternly says...NO!  We're trying hard to break her of this habit (but its kind of hard not to laugh).
• Ffff Ffff Ffff - Lillian likes to blow on her food to cool it off, sometimes even food that isn't hot!  She makes the "F" sound and repeats it 3 times (always 3 times!!!)  
• Shoe Lover - Lillian already has a "thing" for shoes.  It's one of her favorite words to say.  She knows she can't go outside without them and outside is where she always wants to be (even at 6 in the morning!).  
• Shopping Bags - The reusable shopping bags are stored in a drawer under our kitchen sink.  Since we can walk to the grocery store we have a tendency to go a couple times a week.  A couple weeks ago, I told Lillian, "Let's go, we're going shopping."  Next thing I knew, she came around the corner carrying the shopping bags.  It's become our thing.  Sometimes she gets the bags out all by herself and says "Bye" pretending to go shopping on her own.   

Lillian telling the dogs "NO!"

Lillian waving to her shadow

First joint bath for the kiddos

Goodbye Young Friend

Everyone who met Oliver loved him.  Even when he barked at people walking by and woke your baby or peed on your furniture you couldn't help but forgive him.  Casey & Rob drew smiles and attention from strangers everywhere they took him - everyone loved him.  In his three short years of life, Oliver melted everyone's hearts.  The biggest temper tantrums from Holden, Everett and Lillian could easily be solved at the mention of his name. Even Lillian at 15 months old could easily say "Allilar".  When I couldn't get her shoes on or she'd fuss about getting in the car, all I had to say was, "Do you want to go see Oliver?".  She'd jump up, nod yes and say "Allilar".
Oliver had a liver condition that was diagnosed last week.  Casey and Rob had brought him to the vet countless times, had dozens of blood tests and finally had a diagnosis.  Oliver had Liver Shunts, curable by surgery.  Despite their best efforts to save him and allow him to live a healthy (but short) life, Oliver didn't come out of the anesthesia well.  He was suffering multiple seizures and had to be put down today.
He will be missed, he had an impact on people much bigger than his little size.  We love you buddy....

Thank God For Family!

My parents just left after a two week stay!  Grandma Kerschen went home on Wednesday, August 22nd and Gramma & Opa Hanou came in on Sunday, August 26th.  Most of our friends felt sorry for us, believing the old adage "Fish & Company start to stink after 5 days".  But they don't know just how sick I was!  I truly needed the help!  Lillian is an active little girl and she demands lots of love and attention right now.  I know it's hard to imagine a Courtney without energy but trust me - I could only keep up with Lillian for short periods of time these last few weeks!  Having my parents here for my 3rd and 4th week of recovery was a blessing!  For some reason, my pain was severe and intense that 3rd week.  I returned to the doctor thinking something must be wrong, I shouldn't feel this bad still.  But they explained that my delivery was not a typical cesarean - I'd been through a lot and I needed to give my body 8 - 10 weeks to recover.  Well, hearing 8 - 10 weeks of recovery snapped me right out of my funk!  There was no way I was going to be sick my whole maternity leave!  My pain was cut in half that very afternoon....mind over matter right???
Lillian is old enough now that she really was able to form a bond with her grandparents.  It is so much fun to watch her interact with them.  When I talk to my mom on the phone now, Lillian wants to "talk" too.  Today after I hung up, Lillian walked over and pointed to a picture of Gramma.  So smart!

Gramma with her 2 youngest grandkids (doesn't Jak look like a doll?)

On top of trying to keep up with a 16 month old Lillian, Mike and I are adjusting to being up several times a night again.  Jak is a remarkably good baby, he gives us 3 - 4 hour stretches of sleep every night (his sister was up every hour or two!). He rarely cries, he makes little snort and snuff sounds to let us know he's hungry. 

Lillian still thinks Jak is the best toy we ever got her (it's a close tie with the Ipad though!)

While Gramma and Opa were out visiting, Uncle Severin and Aunt Colleen came for a long weekend too.  They were able to share their good news that they are expecting a baby mid-April of next year!  Casey and Rob are expecting end of February so the "Hanou" Clan is ecstatic!  We have baby fever!

After our picnic in the mountains the big cousins ran and played for a while.  Lillian loves to keep up with Holden and Everett (with help from Opa and Uncle Severin!)

Best picture of the big cousins we could get!

Practicing their rock climbing moves

Opa and Uncle Severin always have to work on a project when they're on vacation!  They installed a new light above the sink in the guest bathroom - no more showering downstairs and coming upstairs to apply makeup ladies!

Speaking of makeup - Holden is applying lipstick to Lillian in this picture!

Everett LOVES his cousin Lillian so much.  But he rarely gets any time with her when Holden is around!

Gramma & Opa Hanou with their 8 children, 4 grandchildren and two grandkids on the way!

 

Jak at 1 Month

The NICU nurses were right....Jak is not a normal "weak white boy".  The NICU staff is used to caring for white baby boys who are born early and weak.  However, since Jak was born early to benefit me not him, he is thriving just as they predicted.  He has gained over a pound and a half and grown two and a half inches in his first month of life.  Last week at a check up, he weighed in at 5 pounds 14.5 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.  By now he's well over 6 pounds! 

The Kangaroo sitting beside Jak is a gift from Grandpa Kerschen.  Since Jak is named after Grandpa Joe (Joseph Allan Kerschen), Grandpa thought it would be clever for him to have his monthly picture taken with a kangaroo, since we call their young "Joey's"...get it, Jak's a little Joey too!  Hopefully Jak will be able to sit up better in his 2 month picture and the Kangaroo and baby will be more visible!  Thanks Grandpa, it arrived just in time!

Here's a picture of Lillian at 1 Month for comparison....

She was equally tiny and look at her now!