pre-crawlers (approx. 2 months)

Noah:




Zach:

nine weeks of another cuteness

  

  

  

bath time

healthy boy

Our newborn is already two months old! It's amazing how time flies by. Zach is such a treasure. He now blesses us with huge smiles, decent chunks of sleep, and lots of coos. Noah's still infatuated by him, and now Zach is starting to enjoy watching his big brother - especially when he decides to dance and run around the living room.

We just had Zach's two month well-baby check-up today. He's a big boy at 13lbs. 9oz. (90th percentile) and 23.5 inches (75th percentile). His head is also at the 90th percentile. Everything looked good from the pediatrician's point of view. We met with a new doctor today since our insurance is changing at the beginning of the year, so it was interesting to get to know a new face. Time will tell if we choose to stay there or not. He also got his first vaccine shot. He wasn't happy about it, but it did mean that he took some really good naps this afternoon.



We also discussed some of his ongoing medical "issues." A few weeks ago, we had some tests done at Seattle Children's Hospital. We discovered that he no longer has a cyst in his heart, but that he does have a hole in his heart. This hole is relatively common (1 out of 4 infants has it), and that it normally goes away after the first year. We will have a follow-up echo done when Zach is a year old. We also found out that he surely does not have a left kidney. This condition is called renal agenesis. Consequently, we will be meeting with a nephrologist (kidney doctor) in coming weeks to make sure that everything is fine with his one functioning kidney. For all practical purposes, it seems to be doing just what it is supposed to (after all, I am changing a lot of diapers!), but they would like to monitor him on a yearly basis. They also would like to see a VCUG before they meet with him initially, but I'm doubting the necessity of the procedure.

Thankfully, people that are missing a kidney live perfectly normal and healthy lives. A lot of people don't even find out they have renal agenesis until they are much older and have an ultrasound for some other purpose. Zach's a very healthy and happy boy. It is exciting to watch him grow (and grow... and grow...). Happy two-month birthday, Zach!

musical rooms

Zach is a loud boy. He slurps when he nurses and snores when he sleeps. Because of the latter, I couldn't sleep well when he was sleeping in the bassinet beside us. So a couple of weeks ago, we moved him into the pack n play that we already had set up in the living room. This worked great since I could still hear him when he needed me, but didn't hear all the little grunts and groans that he made in his sleep. However, now as he's getting older and more aware of what is going on around him, he wasn't taking good naps because Noah kept waking him up with normal Noah activities. Finally, I had enough of it. So at 6 weeks old, Zach was put in his very own bedroom! We are converting the guest bedroom into another baby bedroom. It will still have the bookcase in it, but everything else will be his. The futon frame went away to craigslist; the mattress into Noah's bedroom as a reading pad.

Here's how it looks!

Before:


After:


Noah likes his new space!

brotherly love

of what came before

Last weekend, we were blessed to have Alisha's grandparents visit. They had come up for a vacation in Vancouver, and so we got to see them before they flew back out from Seattle. It was exciting to see them especially since they hadn't yet seen their most recent great-grandchild (their 13th!).





Thanks for the visit! We enjoyed it a lot!

pumpkin hunting

Today we went to The Fairbank "Hands On" Farm in Lynnwood for pumpkin hunting. It was our first time taking Noah to a farm, and he loved it! We got to see pygmy goats, geese, chickens, turkeys, pigs, and of course pumpkins! We picked out some good ones to take home (pumpkins, not animals). Here are some pictures from our time there...





Zach slept through the entire trip.

walrus

Phil: "Noah, are you a walrus?"
Noah: "Yah"
Phil: "Nooooo.... Noah. You aren't a walrus. You're a boy! Noah, are you a boy?"
Noah: "Yah, Walrus!"

(This conversation happens at least once a day!)

fall indoor playground

Noah and I are very excited that the indoor playground is open again. It was closed for the summer, but opened up again for the fall. We've already gone a few times even though it's only been open for a couple of weeks.

Here is Noah enjoying himself:






He's really into "Thomas the Tank Engine" right now.


Zach also is having fun either watching the kids...


or taking a nap!


Aren't they cute?

impromptu photo shoot

Zach is six weeks old already! I can't believe it. I thought I'd share an impromptu photo shoot we had of him after one of his (many!) diaper changes. He loves to coo and smile. Enjoy!