October 2010

Happy James- 6 weeks old

Chloe's BFF's Christian, Allen, and Gavin at the Pumpkin Patch. They have know each other since they were babies!

Chloe with her pumpkins that Grandpa carved for her

Chloe and happy James

Chloe

James' trip to the pumpkin patch with Mommy and Me class

James (7 weeks old)

Going to a Halloween Party as Cinderella

Cinderella and Tinkerbell

3 Cinderella's and 1 Tinkerbell

Camping Trip in Julian with Gavin

James' first camping trip (2 months old!)

8 weeks old

On our way to another Halloween Party

Chloe and Allen

James' Halloween party at Mommy and Me class dressed as a pumpkin

9 weeks old-very strong lifting head and chest

Pumpkin Patch in Julian

At the pumpkin patch

Pumpkin patch

Julian Mining Company panning for gemstones

Julian Mining Company

Julian Mining Company

Halloween night- Chloe -Snow White and James- Pumpkin

Going out Trick or Treating with friends

Chloe gives this Halloween a big thumbs up!

Matt went back to work in the middle of October so it was very difficult for me to get adjusted to having two kids at home all day and figuring out how to leave the house with two kids. Matt and I made an effort to spend individual time with Chloe. Matt took her to see Disney on Ice as her last special day out with daddy. I was able to take her to the pumpkin patch with her friends and out to lunch. Because of this extra attention, Chloe had a difficult week at preschool the same week he went back to work. She didn't want me to leave her and would cry every day. Luckily she has great teachers that were very supportive and the next week she was back to normal. We were very busy with Halloween festivities this month. Chloe seemed to really understand what was going on this year for Halloween and was so excited that she would be getting candy. She decided that she wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween, but for Halloween night decided that she really wanted to be Snow White instead.  Halloween night was a great time for her with her friends. Her favorite candy was nerds and a lollipop and by the next day Mommy and Daddy mysteriously lost her candy so she forgot about it. I was finally able to get Chloe to take naps again by the end of the month because we were back to our busy schedule again.

James really seemed to grow a lot this month. By the end of the month he was 12 pounds and very smiley, happy, alert, very talkative, lifting up his head and chest from his tummy, and found his hands. He sucks on his hands a lot. He was 2 months old this month and we took him on his first camping trip! We went with Chloe's best friend Gavin and his family to Julian (about an hour from San Diego) for the weekend. It was very cold at night, but I think James was the warmest because he was wrapped up tight and slept right next to me. He was sweating when he woke up the next morning.

The highlight of the month was taking the kids to Julian to the pumpkin patch and then the Julian Mining Company. Since the temperature in Julian is a little colder, it really feels like fall there. Chloe loved mining for gems at the mining company!

September 2010

Chloe and James (1 week old)

Me and Chloe at the Botanical Gardens in Balboa Park

Chloe on the Carousel with Nana

Nana and Chloe at the Railroad Museum

James 2 weeks old: his first day of Mommy and Me class

 

Chloe's Preschool Picture

James (about 3 weeks old)

Chloe loves holding her new baby brother

Ice Skating class

Ice Skating

James comes along where ever we go

James is very strong holding up his head

James 4 weeks old and about 9lbs

Grandpa and Grandma Gilbert first meeting James during their visit to San Diego

Pumpkin Patch with Grandpa and Grandma

Pumpkin Patch

James (5 weeks old) and Chloe at the Pumpkin Patch

September was a whole month of adjustment for us all. Matt was lucky enough to have 7 weeks off from work for paternity leave so we were able to spend a lot of time as a family. Chloe really missed the one-on-one attention from Nana, so Matt took over with Chloe taking her to Sea World, ice skating, gymnastics, ballet, mommy and me class, and to the park while I was at home with the baby. It was also a month of Chloe not taking naps I think because she was afraid she would miss out on something. By the end of the day she is exhausted and frustrated so we started giving her quiet time in her room to play. I don't want her to give up her naps just yet:) We decided to put her in preschool for an extra day so she is going 3 half days a week. Chloe loves holding James and is so great with him. She doesn't want me to take a picture without her in it, so there are very few pictures of James by himself.

James continues to grow! At his 2 week checkup he gained 12 oz from his last visit, so he is now gaining weight well and eats almost every hour. I took him to his first Mommy and Me class at 2 weeks old, the same class Chloe did for 3 years. His first day of class was picture day so we had his picture taken. He went to the zoo for the first time this month and started smiling when he was about 3 weeks old. He continued gaining weight steadily and by the end of the month at 5 weeks he was just over 10 pounds. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit James at the end of the month and he loved being held all of the time and talked to. We were even able to leave him a few nights with Grandma and Grandpa while we went out since he will take a bottle well.  James doesn't like to sleep by himself in his bed at night time. He we will take naps during the day in his swing, but at night he likes to sleep in bed with me because he is cozy. Other than that, he is a very easy going baby. He is very content going places with us. I think he knows he has to keep up with our busy lifestyle!

Welcome James! August 24, 2010

Our family before the delivery (Me-39 weeks and 2days)

Me and James after c-section  

Matt and James

Birth Video: James David Gilbert 7lb 9oz, 19.5 inches, born at 2:28 pm on 8/24/10

Chloe meeting James for the first time

Very sleepy

Nana holding James

Video: Rocking with Daddy

Our new family of 4

Proud big sister

Getting ready to leave the hospital

Chloe's tap recital

Dance Recital Video

James 5 days old

James is finally here! On August 24th, James David Gilbert was born at 2:28pm by scheduled c-section. He was 7lbs 9oz and 19.5 inches long. The birth story was pretty uneventful-scheduled repeat c-section (since Chloe was an emergency c-section). I never went into labor, so at 39 weeks and 2 days I went to the hospital and then a little while later James was here! There were no complications, James was very healthy and pink. I was able to hold him after he was born in the recovery room which I never was able to do with Chloe. After 2 days of being in the hospital, I was feeling ready to go home. It was so nice to have my mom here helping us around the house and with Chloe for the week after James was born. He has been a very easy baby, sleeps a lot, eats very well and often! Chloe loves her baby brother very much. She was excited to be able to have James and Nana come to her first tap recital. James went to the doctor for his first check up and lost a little weight (he was down to 7lbs), but it is normal for babies to lose a little weight. After going back to the doctor the following week, he had gained his weight back again plus a little bit.

Here are a few more videos after the birth:
James getting weighed
James getting checked out