Sunday, March 30, 2008

Ready for the warm weather!

Today we got outside for a little taste of SPRING and went for a walk on the Mountain Division Trail - it was beautiful outside!! I think it's about 50 degrees but the sun was really warm, not a cloud in the sky!! Pam, Jon and the twins joined us for the walk!



Ray & I are both starting to work out (me walking and Ray doing a program called P90-X, it's a hard core 90 day program that entails a variety of exercising & nutrition) So hopefully in the next few months we'll be buff and in great shape!!! :-) I got on the treadmill and walked 2.1 miles the other day and nearly passed out. I know - PATHETIC! But it lit a fire under my butt and made me realize that I need to get moving on this training for this 39 mile walk. When we got home from the walk with Pam & Jon, Ray hopped on his bike and was out for about an hour and then when he got back I went out again for another walk!! Talk about motivation!!

Here's Max working out on the treadmill ;-)

And just a few pictures taken this past week of the boys...


Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Easter...a few days late


We had a nice Easter...that is until it was all over. Max came down with some AWFUL bug (or too much candy...we're not quite sure which) and ended up throwing up in the afternoon at Memere and Peperes and then again TWICE in the car ride home. I'll spare the details but it was not a pretty sight! YUCK!! The vomiting continued until about 2:15am. It was heart wrenching watching the little guy dry heave for hours upon hours. He couldn't keep anything down, not even water. But by mid morning he was able to keep applesauce and water down and then by dinner he was back to his old self and ate a full dinner!

We started our day at home where Max and Mason got their easter baskets (play dough and a baseball glove were a hit) We then headed to Grandma and Papas house with Lori, Garrett, Alex and Blake for a egg hunt outdoors in the snow! Then it was up to Augusta to visit with Memere and Pepere to have an indoor egg hunt and a yummy ham dinner!

Max searching for eggs in the DEEP Maine snowbanks at Grandma and Papas...

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Quick update...

Well I'm defintely not as good as I'd hope I would be at updating this! The boys are great! Mason went to the Doctor's on Wednesday and weighed in at a whoopin' 10lbs 11oz! He's a healthy little guy - all looks good! Max was "Star of the week" at daycare (which made him feel very special!) and spent a day/night up in Augusta with Memere and Pepere where he had lots of fun!


Here are a few recent photos of the boys:


This week I was alone with the boys (Ray was in Maryland Monday-Friday for work) so I told Max that when I showered that he needed to watch Mason. When I came out of the shower this is what I saw...HOW CUTE!!


Since I had the camera out I started taking some random pics and just happened to snap it when Mason was smiling in his sleep!! PRICELESS!!







Tonight we had dinner at Pam & Jon's along with Kelly, Harley and their little one Kasey. So nice to see them...here are a few photos of the kids...

Brady:

Nathan & Kasey:

Kasey & Max...the newest lovebirds :-)

Tomorrow we have an insanely busy day...Easter here at the house, then Easter at my parents late morning, along with my sister and her 3 kids and then up to Augusta we go for the afternoon with Ray's parents and Aunt & Uncle...I'll be sure to post photos of the BUSY day!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Sorry it's been a while since I updated...here are a few recent photos we've taken over the past 2 weeks!
A day in the life of Mason Arbour...

Max found this while we were cleaning out a closet...
CUTEST BOYS IN THE WORLD...
Saturday we took the boys to the Boat Show at the Civic Center and Max was in 7th Heaven!! (Mason too with all the lights!) We stayed for over 2 hours and he went in and out of each boat at least 2-3 times! He was a big fan of the $234,000 cabin cruiser - HA, right...keep dreaming kiddo! How about a dingy or a canoe?
Mason:
Mason has been a dream baby...I'm just waiting for it to take a turn. He eats great, he sleeps well (only gets up once a night for a quick 15 minute feeding and then goes right back down), he rarely if ever cries, and his overall demeanor is amazing. He's very laid back, mellow and doesn't seem to be phased by much! Did I mention he's a cute as a button!?!?!
Max:
Again, how did we get so lucky?!?! Max has been AMAZING since the day we brought Mason home. He just adores his little brother and is always giving him kisses, reading stories to him, singing him songs and telling him how much he loves him. People told me and I read that he may go through some funky phases where he'll act out for attention and act out...if anything he's been just the opposite. He asks to help out and hasn't had any breakdowns or tantrums...BUT again, we are prepared for this to happen any day. However, have our fingers crossed that things will remain as they have been the past two weeks.
Ray & I were able to get away and have some adult time this weekend. We went to his annual faternity dinner at the Sable Oaks Marriott Saturday night. We only were out for a few hours but we're able to see some friends we haven't seen in a while and have a few drinks! My first in over 10 months...it defintely took the edge off. It was nice to see everyone!
All in all things are going AWESOME!
I'll be updating in the next few days!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Bath time!

Mason had his first bath yesterday and actually liked it! I remember Max's first bath and he screamed the whole time....Mason actually seemed to enjoy it!


Max and I went to the Maine Gymnastics Academy open gym last night which he LOVES! It's a gym that has tons of trampolines, foam block pits to jump into a slide that drops you into a foam pit. After that I took him to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream! It was nice to have a little one on one with him. Ray took him to Home Depot this morning for the "first Saturday of the month" Kids Workshop...yeah, whoops - it's the second Saturday! Luckily the folks a HD gave Ray a couple kits so Max and Ray are working on building it now at home!



Mason's been sleeping GREAT! I hate to even say that because I don't want to jinx myself but Thursday he slept from 1am-7am and then last night he slept from midnight to 6:30am! I'll take it and hope it continues!!



In other news: CONGRATS to my friend, Julie and her soon to be husband, Jerry on their engagement last week while on vacation in Lake Tahoe!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

MASON LEWIS ARBOUR

March 3, 2008
6:50pm
9lbs. 9oz.
21 1/4 inches long

At last, he's finally here and we could not be happier!

So the BIG arrival day started at about 8:30 when Ray & I dropped off Max at daycare (we want to keep his schedule as routine as we can) and then my mom was going to pick him up. We arrived at the hospital at about 9:15am and got checked right in. We were shocked, we had books, magazines, cards, etc because we thought for sure that we would be waiting for hours. But luckily that wasn't the case...well so we thought. I got into my room at literally 9:35 and got in my lovely hospital Johnny and then sat and sat and sat. At least we had a nice view from my window of Mount Washington!
10am:

5pm:

Finally at about 12noon they started the potosin. At this point I was still 3cm and 80% efface from my Friday Doctor's visit so I didn't make much progress over the weekend. I was hoping this would really kick in but it didn't. At about 3pm they checked me again and I had made little to no progress, which was frustrating. I asked if breaking my water would be an option and they said absolutely. So about 1/2 hour later (I think between 3:30-4pm) they came back and broke my water. Within 5-10 minutes I felt like I entered into a whole new world! The contractions were coming fast and FURIOUS and were only about 2 minutes apart. I endured about an hour, maybe 1 1/2 hours, of these but then just couldn't take it anymore and asked for the epidural. Instant relief!!

About 30 minutes after my epidural was placed, about 5:15-5:30pm the checked me again and I was 9cm but they baby was still a little high so they wanted to give it another 45 minutes or so to allow him to get lower. At 6:15 they came back in and it was go time! I was fully dilated and ready to push. From about 6:15-6:40 I pushed somewhat casually (The Doctor's and nurses weren't in their "delivery scrubs" as of yet) Then at about 6:40 I pushed through about 3-4 contractions and voila - here he was! I never want to give anyone the impression that giving birth is easy, because it most certainly is NOT, but I have to say I am SO FORTUNATE to have had two uneventful and quick deliveries!

Here are a few photos about 20-30 minutes after having him:

And now were home and doing great! Max is loving his little brother!

Max is back in daycare as of Thursday. We're trying to keep his schedule as consistent as we can and keeping him with his buddies at daycare, allowing him to have preschool and outside play time is so important to him and something I can't do with a newborn. It was hard for him to have me leave, knowing that I wasn't gong to work and that I was going home. It killed me to see him looking out the window at me when I pulled out of daycares driveway!! But I know the tears will dry up and he'll have a great day with his friends!
Having two children is like I never really imagined. I guess you can't until you have them. Kind of like when you have your first you can't totally understand what it's like to be a parent until your day comes. It's the same for having multiple kids. You want to do the best for your kids and seeing them hurt , sad, upset, etc is heart wrenching. It brought tears to my eyes to see him sad as I pulled out of daycare and all I really wanted to do was go back in and scoop him up and take him home with me but I know that him staying there is what in his best interest. I can't provide for him the activity level that he needs right now having Mason here with me and tending to his needs. However, once Mason gets a little bigger and adjusts to the outside world a bit more I am absolutely going to have special days with Max where I will leave Mason with my Mom and take Max someplace special just the two of us. He deserves my undivided attention and I will make it a point to make it happen. I think I'm going to get him enrolled in swimming lessons again and I'll go in with him this time so he'll have me exclusively as well. More motivation to lose this weight!!

Here are a few photos of the boys taken over the last day or two!

Will be updating this as I can!

Before I was a Mom...

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.