Another pound, a swing and a few more pictures...

Bean and Jackson saying hello

Smiley Boy!

As of Thursday Bean is now 11 lbs. 5 oz.! That means he's had a 9 oz. gain in one week. 6 oz. in one week is "acceptable" so we are doing great! We will have our two month appointment on Thursday, which is Daddy's birthday. Lane will have to get a shot, have his weight and length checked and everything else looked over. No big plans for Daddy's birthday, just dinner out at Lava grill, his favorite asian cuisine restaurant. We tooks some very cute pictures today, some rare shots of Bean with Mommy!

We did have major progress yesterday: Bean fell asleep in his swing! Getting him in the swing was tricky, he hasn't really liked it in the past. I swaddled him first and stuck him in while "shhh-ing" (reminds him of the feel and sound of the womb) and he was happy as a clam. After a 20 minutes or so I put him upstairs in his co-sleeper and he napped for several hours.

Heavy, Two month old Bean...

Bean is two months old today, can you believe it?!! He's been a busy bean, here's the skinny:

• He now recognizes his daddy and gets real excited when Jason gets home from work. Lots of smiles and laughing as daddy talks to him. It's the cutest thing you've ever seen.
• He's laughing and smiling all of the time during his alert periods of the day. (See pics below)
• If I put him on his tummy for tummy time he can now flip himself back over onto his back. He's not really a fan of tummy time.
• He's "talking", lots of baby babble and cooing.
• His eyes follow the dogs and cat as they walk around him and he tries to look for them if he hears them bark or meow.
• He REALLY enjoys listening to classical music and will lay on his back and listen to Vivaldi for 30 min or more while he gets in his "workout". In fact, he has a preference for faster movements of the pieces and will smile and laugh during them! Amazing! His "workout" is flailing his arms and legs in the air.
• He is a good companion for me while running errands, he curls up in his Moby sling and sleeps for most of the time.
• He is now sleeping some nights for a 4 hour stretch, usually from 12 - 4 am, then he goes back to his every 2 hour feedings. We are getting much more sleep around here! Daddy is A LOT less crabby. LOL!
• He weighs 10 lbs 8 oz!!!

Getting sleepy in my sling...

Gus sleeping next to "his" baby
chubby monkeyWant to see more? Go to:

http://lifeofcake.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8EasXLho2ZsRS&notag=1

So, we have decided to get a different car, the civic has 98,000 miles and only two doors. Having only two doors is more challenging than I thought it would be. Crawling in and out of the backseat with him proves to be difficult. So, I've put a poll up for y'all to vote on our next vehicle of choice. You can probably guess that I'm the one who wants a 08 Honda CR-V, EX-L and daddy of course wants the used BMW 3 series. Keep in mind this will by my mommy mobile for several more years. Or if you have a suggestion please leave me a comment.

The CR-V

The 2006 BMW 3 series

Lots of important visitors....

Hello to all...



We've had lots of important visitors over the past couple of weeks and baby Lane has lots of new tricks too. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Giles (mommy's grandparents) stopped in for a visit on their way from Tucson back home to Peoria, Illinois. We loved seeing them!

Happy Sleeping boy with Great Grandma

This is Great Grandma's secret baby hold. She can stop a fussing baby and put him to sleep in seconds. No joke!!

We were also SO excited to see Grandma Roxanne and Grandpa Brown, who came from Richmond, Virginia. They are MOVING here!! So now all of Lane's grandparents on his daddy's side will be here in Texas. Grandpa Brown has just started a new job and Grandma Roxanne is looking for the perfect house.

Adoring Grandmother

Proud Grandfather

So Lane has been very busy growing in his fifth week. He smiled at mommy and daddy on Saturday for the first time and it wasn't just gas! We got about 3 big grins out of him as we stood in front of the mirror talking and making faces at him. Here is a picture of that big, toothless grin!

Cutest baby in the world!!

Here are some other fun pics. He loves to play on his changing table.

Don't I look cute in my cloth diaper and yellow plastic pants?

Cloth Diapering has been going great! He has never has diaper rash with the cloth, where as when I put him in disposables I have noticed it on occasion. It's hard to remember to wash them in time but we're getting into the habit.

Future boxer???

Look at these great pictures from tummy time. It's amazing to me to see how high he can lift his head now!

Despite trying to recover from a cold we are doing well around here. Lane hasn't been weighed in a few weeks but the last time we went to the doctor he was 7 lbs 14 oz so I'm guessing he's around 9 lbs now, if he's been gaining like he should. Daddy has noticed how his arms get tired after holding him for a while, so either daddy needs to go to the gym or Baby has been putting on the ounces!!

Finally, an update...

Well, I really am going to try to be better about updating the blog but the days are really flying by now that Lane has arrived. A spare minute is hard to find.

First some pictures because I know you are all dying to see some new ones.

We had some professional pictures taken by Marquette of Simple Treasures Photography, she also took my maternity shots. Lane was not too happy about having pictures taken naked at less than two weeks old (as you can see below) but we are sure glad we had them done. She is such a fantastic photographer!

Here are a few:
And on to photos we have taken:

A few candids

Nana Dawn came to love on Lane

Daddy and Lane (his "mini-me") taking a nap together.

Lane and Moose

Grandpa John admiring sweet Lane

Bath time wasn't such a big hit.

Ah, I like this bath seat better...

Napping with daddy again...

Lane LOVES to stretch out when he wakes up. He is quite dramatic about it, lots of squeaks and stretching of both arms and legs for several minutes. Adorable.

Lane, Mommy and Gina, our doula who came to visit and talk with us about Lane's delivery.

Lane and Mommy

Tummy time earlier today, he can really move!

As I type this he is laying next to me asleep

And now on to what we've been up to for the past few weeks. Daddy was home for paternity leave for a week and we enjoyed our first week together as a family. Nana Dawn, aunt Michelle and cousins Jacob and Caleb came to visit and brought us a tasty dinner that was much appreciated.

Grandpa John and Moose (my parents) came to visit Lane and we tearfully said goodbye to Moose today. Dad was here for a week and mom stayed for over two weeks to help us get adjusted to life with our new baby. The help was much appreciated! Meals were cooked, clothes washed, and middle of the night rocking sessions were given. So now we are on our own officially!

Lane is a very healthy boy and is finally past his birth weight. We went to Dr. Robert, our pediatrician, today and he is up to a healthy 7 pounds 14 ounces, 10 ounces more than his birth weight. Yay!!

Breastfeeding has been difficult for me and Lane but I am happy to say that after two sessions with Kay, our lactation consultant, we have it down. Luckily we have been able to exclusively breastfeed, with no formula supplemented, which was my goal. Lane likes to feed every three hours and I am happy to say he is waking me on his own now, I was having to set an alarm clock to wake and feed him before.

Nights have been hit or miss lately. Sometimes he will feed and then go right back to sleep and sometimes he decides 2:30 am is party-time and he will not settle down. I'm trying to get to bed by 9 pm so that I can gear up for his early morning alert period. Hopefully he'll outgrow this stage soon.

More updates to come.

He's finally arrived and we are in LOVE!!!!

Well the newest member of Cakes Corp has finally arrived! Lane Holland was born on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at 1:49 pm. He weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. and was 19.75 inches long. He has been a really easy baby in his first six days of life, we are so very lucky to have him.

Jason and I were a little shocked that he decided to make an appearance eleven days early, especially since most first time moms go in to labor PAST their due date. The funny (or not so funny part at the time) was that I went into labor at 2 am and Jason had returned from work that night at 1 am because he was trying to get a big report done before the baby showed up. He still needed one more day to finish it but Lane decided not to give that time to him! Poor guy, he was pretty exhausted the next day and for days to come as we adjust to our new little one.

Labor was, well, labor. I was able to deliver Lane without any pain medication which was my plan. I wanted him to come into the world without having any exposure or side effects of medication. My hard work paid off because he was wide awake and alert just as soon as he came out. He scored a 9 (out of 10) on his apgar! I did require surgery after the delivery but I am recovering. It was worth it to have this sweet boy.

It really is uncanny how much he resembles his daddy! They have the same chin, eyes, forehead and lips. I haven't figured out yet whos nose he has though. He has my long fingers and toes though. It's funny because everyone warned me that he might not fit into his newborn clothes for very long but Lane barely fits into them! I told his daddy he needs to run out and buy some preemie outfits. His weight is normal but he's so long and skinny he's swimming in the newborn clothes.

Here are some pictures for you to compare. The first one is of Jason and the second is Lane and Jason.

Lots of news to share...

BIG NEWS ALERT!!! Jason got a promotion at work!!! We were surprised and excited about the news because he wasn't up for a review until June and has only been in this position for six months. Needless to say, he has been working so hard and doing such a great job that they promoted him to ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE!!! This could not have come at a better time.

Wow. Can you tell I'm impressed? He deserved this big time!

Things have been busy here at Cakes Corp. I can't believe it's been 38 + weeks.

I'm feeling great minus the usual end of pregnancy things (swollen feet and ankles, heartburn, having to get up numerous times during the night!) It's funny though because I still manage to have enough energy to get through the day.

I had a chiropractor appointment on Wednesday and was thankful for an adjustment. I have been seeing a Webster Certified Doctor, which means she specializes in treating pregnant women. My chiro is also training to be a Midwife so I get lots of great info from her each week. Here is more about Webster Technique:

"Performance of the Webster Technique involves analysis of the relationship of the bones of the pelvis, and correction of aberrant biomechanics through the use of a light force chiropractic adjustment of the sacrum (Step 1). It also involves analysis and relief of specific abdominal muscle tension or spasm (Step 2). Both steps are intended to relieve the musculoskeletal causes of intrauterine constraint that may lead to cesarean section delivery."

So she told me this week she thinks our little cupcake is in the seven pound range and he's dropped even more. Apparently he is going to come out with a nice conehead too, his head is already behind my pubic bone. I had to warn daddy in advance on that for sure!

Tomorrow I will go for my weekly Midwife appointment. Looking forward to meeting the fourth Midwife in the practice. Any of the four of them could possibly be on call when I go into labor so it will be nice to have met all of them beforehand.

So now we must play the waiting game!

Here is a picture of Gus in what he thinks is he new cat bed.... Bad boy. I don't think he'll be there much when there's a crying baby sharing it with him.

Promise to post belly shots soon...

Time is flying...

Hello everyone!

I can hardly believe that in less than a month we will have our little one! Wow. The nursery is really coming together. I was truly spoiled by my in-laws at a shower hosted by Jason's Aunt Roz and cousin Lori this weekend. We received many much needed gifts and are so lucky to have such a giving, caring, and LOVING family in which to welcome this baby! It was great to see everyone and have a Reeves family reunion. Thank you to all!!!

Today we went and picked up our carseat (a huge thank you to Grandmother Reeves!) and will spend tomorrow attempting to install it in the truck. Once that is done I will really feel ready for this baby to come.

Here's a picture of it for you. A fun fact for you: Recaro makes racing seats, if you know Jason you know why we had to have this one...

I had maternity photos taken recently and Jason and I were really excited about how they turned out. We ordered quite a few. Here is a taste of them for you.

I'm not too fond of my expression in this one but I love her artistic style.

This is our favorite one! Love how she captured the moment.

If you are interested in seeing more of them email me and I'll send you the link.

Off to eat dinner and continue my nesting...