Our Little Man

Last Friday night we decided it was time to move Matty into the nursery and out of our room at night. Eric made fun of me when I teared up as I stood up to walk to the nursery. "He is just going upstairs not away to college!" He stayed up there Friday night and has been back in our room since then : ) I mean look at that face. Wouldn't you like to look over and see that when you wake up in the middle of the night?? We are going to attempt to move him into his room again this Friday. So I guess we will enjoy this last night with him close by....

Matthew Booger Boo

Matthew - Colicky Baby! Matthew - Happy Baby!

It seems we have turned the corner with Matthew. Hooray! He definitely still has his mad moments, but they are getting fewer and farer between. We have also figured out his "combination." The key is that he has to be facing out. He hates not seeing everything that is going on! When he gets mad, we walk with him facing out and walk and bounce. It takes a lot of coordination but we have it down pat. He really is generally pretty happy now. He has a beautiful smile. He likes to stick his little tongue out between his gums when he smiles. It is just precious. He also is babbling quite a bit. We have another talker on our hands!

He has grown so much. He is twice his birth weight now. I swear he put most of it on the last couple of weeks. I guess Christmas did a number on him too! He is really strong too. He rolled over for the first time when he was a little over 2 months. I never know where I will find him when I get him out of his crib. He likes to take my hands and pull himself into a sitting position. I think he may sit, crawl, etc earlier than usual. What a new experience for us!

We continue to struggle with him taking a bottle. He is quite stubborn. We know he can do it because he has before. He just chooses not to. He is going to need to someday because this Mama needs to be able to leave the house alone for more than an hour!!

Ella, My sweet Girl

I am so thankful God blessed me with my sweet girl, Ella. Sometimes I am very thankful that He only blessed me with one sweet girl when she is throwing herself on the ground in one of her 2 year old moments : )

She is a girl of extremes. My favorite thing to hear is he to say "I low Choo Mama" (I love you Mama) One of my least favorite things to hear her screech is "Watch Barney!!!!!" She has developed quite the little personality. The other day I was a little brain dead and she told me that I needed new batteries. Where does she come up with these things????

Ethan is Candle Boy!!

Christmas was a fun time for Ethan. For a boy that is OBSESSED with candles, Christmas is.... well like Christmas for him! He had his grandparents pulling candles from all around the house to sit in front of him while he ate. The whole family would join together to count to 3 after each meal to blow them out. He handled us taking down all the decorations and his precious candles much better than I thought. Now if he can't find something then he just nods his head and says it is in storage.

He was spoiled rotten by the family and Santa. He and Ella got a kitchen complete with a grill like Daddy's. They love it! They can't wait to get upstairs to play with it every day after breakfast. Of course he calls his jar of peanut butter and jelly his candle, but anyway....

Whew! Christmas is over!

Again I have fallen way behind on my blogging. In an attempt to get caught up, I am going to do a post on each kiddo. But first, I will do a quick one about Eric and I. (Of course I know most just look at this blog for the pictures of the kids!)

As much as I love love love Christmas. I am glad it is over. We had a wonderful Christmas, but it is exhausting with kids! Amy, Dan and the girls came a spent a few days with us. We really enjoyed the visit. We also made a couple of trips to Paris to Nana and Papa's. We had fun playing with all the cousins.

Now I am getting back into the routine at home with the kids. Well actually we are still trying to figure out the routine! But we are getting closer every day. I completely underestimated how hard it would be to take care of all 3 by myself. The most challenging times are meal times and nap times. It never fails that Matthew wants to eat when I am trying to get breakfast or lunch together for Ethan and Ella. I have learned to listen to his cries and the kids have learned to enjoy Lunchables more! Matthew's morning and late afternoon naps are also tough. It is hard to help him wind down for a nap when Ethan and Ella are running about. But we are figuring that out too.

Eric was only able to take a week off at Christmas because he started a new job last Monday. He is now a Senior Finance Manager at Emdeon Inc. I really don't know anymore about what he does every day than I did before. But I do know that this is the direction he was wanting to take with his career. We are so thankful that God provided this opportunity for him. So far he seems to like it. Of course most of his co-workers were still on vacation last week! The only drawback is the long commute but we can certainly deal with that!

Eric rocking it out on the Wii with his nieces, Elizabeth & Madeline, and nephew, Houston. He really needs to brush up on his Hannah Montana!

Two Months old already??

As I type, I have 1...2...3 babies sleeping all in their very own beds! VICTORY!!! If I can just swing this once in a while, then I stand a very good chance of being a sane mommy.

Monday we had Matthew's 2 month check up and vaccinations. The check up went very well. He weighs 10 lbs 4 oz now and is in the 10th percentile. So it seems as though he will be a little tike like his big brother and big sister. Dr Betts was very pleased with his growth. We talked a little bit about his "temper." It appears that he does have colic : ( Fortunately though, colic peaks at 2 months and usually goes away between 3 and 4 months. So we are almost there! He handled the 4 shots like a champ. He cried barely a minute, then slept the day away.

I made a new slide show with some of my favorite pictures from the last few days. Enjoy!

I'm not even gonna try.....

I'm not gonna even try to catch up. Here is a picture from Thanksgiving. We had a great time. Grandma and Papatch came from Missouri to stay the week with Mimi and Papa. It was so good to see them. We have so much to be thankful for in their lives in particular! Amy, Dan, Emily and Meg came in from Texas too. I don't think Ethan or Ella quit laughing or running around the whole time they were here. Boy were they let down when we didn't wake up to go play over at Mimi and Papa's this week! Just boring old Mom : )

I will Survive : )

I have officially survived my first week all by the lonesome with the kids. Alright....it was only a 3 day week, but I did it!!!! I have to say that there were some hairy times, but all in all we did pretty darn good. In fact, we even ventured out of the house to go shopping yesterday. Apparently Costco is very entertaining to a couple of 2 year olds who have been couped up (and their mommy for that matter)!

Yesterday my arms started aching and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Was I have flu-shot sympathy pains for Eric?? Then I picked up Ethan and realized what it was. My how your arms forget what it is like to pick up 2 kids over and over all day. Oh and the little one really likes to walk and bounce. We do that in circles several times a day. It is pretty entertaining because Ella and Ethan will follow along behind me doing the same thing : ) It is the new Greer exercise routine. Too bad it doesn't work as well as sit ups. Still planning on getting to those someday......

I Low Choo!!

Oh my sweet Ella Girl. I just had to share a couple of stories about my adorable daughter.

The other night when Eric was bathing the kids he called me to come in there. Ella was holding her Ernie and Elmo tub toys up to her chest and acting like she was nursing them. Like I said - such the little mommy!

While I was driving down the road I heard Ella singing "I low Choo Buddy" (I love you Buddy). I looked in the rearview mirror and she was holding his hand and swinging it back and forth. They both were grinning from ear to ear.

How did I get so lucky???

Long Over Due!

I am a bad blogger. I have blogged in my head many a times over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately it has either been at 2 am while I am nursing Matty or another time when I don't have the time or energy to post. We have been busy with getting our 2 year & 1 month pictures made,Christmas shopping, playing, eating, some sleeping, and just getting plain big! So in an effort to get up to date quick, I am going to post like I used in my GE days......Bullet Points!!

Ella

* Officially a 2 year old. Sometimes I think she is a cross between a 2 year old and a teenager. She is completely bi-polar. One moment she is kissing and telling you she loves you, then next it is an endless string of "No's." She has started putting herself in the corner. Nothing seems to deter her at this point.....prayers are welcome and appreciated : )

• * She is loving being a big sister. She constantly asks/demands to "Look at Baby Matthew!" Then she has to kiss his cheek, eyes, nose, eyebrow....you get the picture!

* The La Leche League would be proud of this someday mommy. She has taken to nursing her Elmo and Cookie Monster toys in the bathtub! I would love to get a picture and post, but I am afraid we would get in trouble ; )

* We had a close call with Ella last Friday. She ran 100mph right into a corner and busted her forehead open. Fortunately our neighbor Dr Carl came over and patched her up without any stitches. She is tough as nails. She cried at first because it hurt, but then just cried because she wanted Mommy to throw away the shoowey paper towel that I was pressing on her head to stop the bleeding.

Ethan


* Ethan is loving his new tricycle his Nana and Papa got him for his birthday. He is an expert at keeping his feet and hand right where they are supposed to be. He could ride up and down the block all day.

* My heart is breaking because my precious boy has already found his first girlfriend.....Tinkerbell. His eyes light up and he grins from ear to ear every time he sees her!

* Ethan has really enjoyed looking at all the toy catalogs that have come in the mail. He can now name a number of characters he never knew before by sight - Superman, Batman, Indiana Jones, Iron Man. Eric is so relieved he has been more interested in the superheros than Barbie!

Matthew

* Today Matty is 6 weeks old. I have read this is the height of fussiness for babies. Let us hope! I am kidding. He is actually very good, but he does have stretches of extreme fussiness. We didn't really experience that with E2, so this is a new one for us.

* Over the last week he has started to smile. You have to be quick to catch him. It is absolutely adorable. I can't wait until it becomes more of a habit! I have tried to catch it on camera, but the darn delay makes it impossible!

* He has also started to try to babble a little. This happens even less often than the smile, but is worth the wait. He really works up to it, then a big burst of "ga-ga" comes out real quick. What will I do when I have 3 chatterboxes? Go deaf I suppose!

* Matthew has had quite the tour of Nashville (or Bellevue at least!) Since he has me on the boobie leash, he goes out with me where ever I go. He is very easy going in the car and when I am running errands. We went to vote, get the flu shot, Target, grocery shopping, and we even took him Christmas shopping yesterday at Opry Mills. Now I see what it is like for most people after they have kids! We just holed ourselves up for winter after E2 were born. I didn't even want to think about how I would handle them both. And of course we were extra cautious due to their prematurity.

Mama & Daddy

* Eric is excited to go to the Vandy game this Saturday. I am excited for him too. He has earned a game! I am going to a movie on Sunday with my sister in law.....I can already taste the popcorn!!

* I go in for my 6 week check up on Tuesday and then I am off!! Big Kid lifting and sit ups here I come!! Well....at least the first part!

* This is also the last scheduled week I have for help from Nana or Mimi. Oh it has been so nice to have them! I am sure that I will still get lots of help when I need it, but it is time for me to give it a whirl on my own. I am pretty nervous about it, but I am sure we will survive. Someone once told me as long as they were all fed by the end of the day, I could count it as a success. We'll see......of course she has one child. And she never said anything about me eating!

Trick or Treat!!

We had a fantastic Halloween this year. Ethan and Ella dressed like clowns....quite a stretch for them! Their Nana had made the costumes for Houston, Madeline and Elizabeth when they were the same age, so they worked perfect for them. Matthew just wore a Halloween sleeper that just about swallowed him whole.

Their cousins came over to go trick or treating with them too. The girls were rock stars and Houston was Iron Man. We just hit a few houses on our street, but it was a lot of fun. The kids weren't exactly sure what to think about all of it. They never said "Trick or Treat" even though we practiced it all week. But they did make me a very proud Mama when they said "Thank you" after they got their treats. Ethan also got a kick out of all the Jack O Laterns. As I have mentioned, he has an OBSESSION with candles. He made sure he pointed all the candles to all the neighbors.

I look forward to next year when they will get into Trick or Treating even more. Maybe I will have enough time and energy to come up with an original costume from the whole brood. Just Maybe.....

Big Kids!

Just a quick update from the sleep deprived Greer Household : )

Matty G is a sneaky little booger. The first few nights he slept pretty long stretches, ate, and went straight back to sleep in his bed. Eric and I thought "This singleton full-term baby thing is CAKE!!!" It still doesn't hold a candle to the complete mayhem that followed Ethan and Ella's birth, but he is getting there! The last week he has discovered that getting fussy gets a lot of attention. And it he does it enough in the middle of the night then he earns a spot on Mommy or Daddy's chest to sleep on! Fortunately he is also absolutely adorable so it makes it a lot easier to deal with.

All the kids went to the doctor in the last week to get check ups. I wonder if we will ever have kids that are over the 20th percentile. Matthew is in the 5th percentile at 6 lb 10 oz. Ethan is in the 3rd at 22 lb 14 oz (oh yeah and his 2nd bday outfit is a 12 - 18 months!) And Ella is our over achiever in the 14th percentile at 23 lb 14 oz.

The kids are still doing remarkably well with the transition with Matthew. Ella loves her "Baby Matthew" or "Baby Goodness" as she calls him. We have to watch her a little close because sometimes she is too affectionate : ) Ethan still is just vaguely interested in him. I am sure once he starts moving around and being more interesting, then Ethan will be more interested in him!

We can't wait for Halloween tomorrow. We have been knocking on doors in the hallways and practicing all week! I will try to be more timely about updating with Trick or Treating pictures.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan and Ella!!!

Last Friday we celebrated Ethan and Ella's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe my babies are getting to be such big kids! We had such a great time. Eric got home early from work so we could all play together. We had cake, played on the new swing set, and opened a couple of presents. Ethan got a Tonka Garbage Truck (one of his many obsessions) and Ella got a Abby Cradabby.

On Sunday we had a big family birthday party where Mimi & PaPa, Nana & Papa, and Uncle Jamie, Aunt Amy, & the crazy cousins came. We had such a good time celebrating with the family.

I changed the slide show on the side to show some of our favorite birthday pictures. Enjoy!

Off to try to relax for a minute at least..........

The Greer Three Ring Circus

Well in the last 10 days, the Greers have become a Three Ring Circus literally! Luckily I am a fan of the circus and the chaos that reigns there. Here is a quick update on our circus troop......

Ethan, the eldest ring, is warming up to the idea of being a big brother. When he first came to the hospital to see us, he was more interested in the buttons on my bed than his baby brother. We weren't sure if he even noticed Matthew until he said "Bye Matthew" as he rolled out the door. It took him a couple of days, but he has started to pay more attention to him. This picture is how he likes to greet Matthew. (We are limiting the WWF air time in our house from now on!)

Ella is really taking to being Big Sister. She has really gotten into her dolls and playing like she is a little Mommy, so she is up for the task. She is also thoroughly enjoying all the baby stuff around. Of course she thinks it is all for her!

Matthew is adjusting to life outside the safe womb and into the Greer Family Circus well. He is a very good baby. He eats, sleeps, and poops like a good boy. He really had us fools the first few days when he slept 4 and 5 hour stretches at night. We thought that this was CAKE!! He has since remembered that he is a newborn and is waking up a little more frequently. We aren't complaining though. It is still so much easier this go round! I am really excited because we have been able to master nursing. I wasn't able to nurse Ethan or Ella since they were so weak from being premature, so it was something I really wanted to be able to do with Matthew. It has been really special to be able to bond with him this way. Not to mention WAY easier than messing with formula and bottles. Cheaper too!!

Eric enjoyed taking most of last week off to spend with us at the hospital and at home. He has had a big deadline at work, so I know it wasn't easy to do. Ethan and Ella have enjoyed having a little more daddy time. One disadvantage to my nursing is that he has to wait until after meal time to get to snuggle with Matthew. Although he hasn't really complained about the lack of snuggle time at 3 am : )

As the ringmaster of the Greer Family Circus, I am doing about as good as I can be! My recovery from the C Section has been better than expected. The first few days were tough and I was thankful for my extended hospital stay. Now I am off all my pain medication and am getting around pretty well. I am excited to get back my driving and light exercise priviliges next week.

Eric and I have been so thankful to our family for all of their help. They have been so generous with their time. Nana & Papa and Mimi & PaPa have taken turns giving Ethan and Ella some extra lovin. This has helped enormously with the huge transition in our family. They are going to keep helping regularly for the next month or so until I am completely recovered from the C Section. (I cannot lift them until 6 weeks post op) I figure/hope/pray that by then they will be comfortable with everything and it will make things a little easier. I do ask for your prayers though. I am a little anxious about making sure that I am making all my precious babies feel as special as they are.

Welcome Matthew (aka Peanut!)

The day we have been waiting for all these months finally came yesterday. We finally got to meet our little Peanut!


On Sunday morning I woke up with what I thought was an upset stomach. I attributed it to the 2nd helping of Eric's yummy chili he made the night before. I struggled to get ready for church but was determined to go since I knew it was our last week to go as a family for a while. It wasn't until I was sitting in Sunday School that it hit me that maybe I was having really strong contractions and not an upset tummy! We rushed to get the kids when we were let out and hurried home. Mom and Dad came over to watch the kids while Eric and I headed to the hospital. It didn't take them long to determine that I was having strong contractions about 4 minutes apart.

By 3:12 I was in the OR and Matthew was born at 3:34. He was 6 pounds and 3 ounces of cutie patootie baby boy! He has lots of thick, curly brown hair. He loves to clasp his little hands together like he is praying. It is absolutely adorable : )

We appreciate all of your support and prayers all these months as we have been preparing for his arrival. I will post more soon. Right now I am going to eat my first real dinner!!

In one week.....

In one week and roughly an hour we finally get to meet our baby boy! My C Section is scheduled for next Thursday at 7:30 am. We still simply cannot believe we are making it all the way to the end. I think the next week will be one of the longest in my life : )

We are going to focus the next week on getting ready for Peanut and enjoying our last days as a family of 4. I have asked Mimi and Papa to babysit on Friday night so Eric and I can go to dinner by ourselves for the last time in probably a few months. And I think a trip to the zoo is in order this weekend with the kids!

By the way......nearly 38 weeks now......running around after the kids......shhh even picking them up......walking about an hour each day.....eatin Mexican food.....and still not dilated a bit!

"Peanut" - The Self Fulfilling Nickname

We started to call the baby "Peanut" pretty much immediately when we found out I was pregnant in February. Our original plan was to not find out the sex and I couldn't stand to think of us ever calling the baby "it." Well it seems that our little nickname is quite appropriate for our little guy!

When I went to the OB on Wednesday, the doctor measured my belly as she does every visit. I was still measuring the same I had for the last 3 weeks so she wanted us to have an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. Fortunately everything was fine. He is just a little tike! He is measuring about 5 lb 6 oz now. We were able to see that he has a lot of hair on his head too. It also confirmed again that the kid has abnormally large feet. Below is a picture of his chubby little toes : )

When Dr. Blake checked me, she found I still wasn't dilated at all. We have really been surprised by this. After all the restrictions, we never dreamed that I would be doing so well. I have started to wonder if all the restrictions were even that necessary. But it really doesn't matter. Peanut is healthy and that is all that matters!

Well I NEVER thought I would be here!

September 19th, 2008. I am 36 weeks pregnant. Still at home. Going on week #2 of running around after 2 nearly 2 year olds pretty much on my own for the first time in 10 weeks. And not dilated ONE BIT!!

We joked that this would happen. After all the precautions we took, we would then make it all the way to a scheduled C-Section at 39 Long Weeks. Now without doubt, this is by far the best situation for Peanut. We are actually going to see what a nice, plump Non-NICU-livin baby is like! But I am not gonna lie. I am over being pregnant. I have felt every minute, hour, day of the last 36 weeks for sure! A little dilation.....just a fingertip....would be so satisfying : )

I took some things for granted with my last pregnancy. Who would think that there were positives to just being on bed rest for 12 weeks in the hospital?? Here are a few I can think of:

Rest: One of the comments I hated the most when I was in the hospital was "Enjoy your rest while you can! You won't get to when you have your twins!" I only heard that 10 times a day. Anyone who has been on bed rest in the hospital knows that is is anything but restful. You have people coming in and out of your room at all hours of the day and night. You have absolutely no privacy, so good luck getting any rest! That being said. I wouldn't mind a day in bed even if it meant having a person come in every hour to stick me, take my blood pressure, or stick a thermometer in my mouth!

Lack of Mirrors: The only mirror that I had in my hospital bathroom was a little one above the sink. Since I am so short I could only see from the neck up. In fact, the first time I saw my full body was in a dressing room a week after I had Ethan and Ella. The mirror in our bathroom seems like a funhouse mirror!

Lack of Movement: Since I was on bed rest, I didn't have to move around much. I pretty much laid down and got up occasionally to go to the bathroom and that was the extent of my activity. I never knew how hard it would be to drop something and have to bend over with a bowling ball sized belly to pick it up again. Or how it would be to try to sqeeze between the dining room chair and china cabinet and not be able fit. Hell I was in a handicapped room with nice wide doors. I could have gained 200 pounds and still fit everywhere!

Temperature Control: I never knew how true it was about it being absolutely awful to be pregnant in the heat of the summer. Granted I was last time too, but it was in the "comfort" of the hospital. I cranked the air down as low as it would go. Once I was put on mag, Eric brought his dorm fan to my room. I had that baby on high aimed right at my head until the babies were born. My poor visitors had to dress in layers to keep warm! Now I actually have to pay for my air conditioning bill, so sadly I can't set the thermostat on 60 degrees. And although I am happy I get more than a 15 minute wheelchair ride outside each week, it wasn't fun when it was 90 + degrees outside!

So here we go on another week. I have told Eric is is not allowed to tell me I can't do anything if I have made it this far without dilating. I am still another week away from starting to sprint around the block.....

One Last Honey-Do*

This weekend Eric started to tackle my last big thing on his pre-Peanut Honey-Do List. Not really anything that big...... just to build the kids' birthday surprise.....a swing set! We thought that would be the perfect gift for them since they love to swing and slide. And with a newborn, going to the park may be something pretty tough for us to do. Going to the backyard, on the other hand, it right up our alley!

Yesterday Mimi and PaPa came over to have a work day and watch the VOLS play on TV. The kids really had fun trying to help Daddy and PaPa with the swing set. They got a lot done yesterday in spite of the heat and football breaks. Unfortunately it won't be done this week since Ike decided to come visit us today. Looks like we'll have another weekend of swing set building in our future!

*I reserve the right to reneg on this at any time I see fit.

Super Nester!

After 67 weeks of pregnancy between Ethan, Ella, and Peanut one fact has become apparent. I stink at being pregnant. My doctor even says so! It may actually be written in my 5" thick file in her office. I mean come on....I spend half of the time on some type of bed rest. I have killed a small forest of trees with all my EOB's I get from the insurance company. It literally has taken the whole family to help with child care, house work, and to keep me in good supply of comfort food.


Well I have officially found one part of pregnancy that is meant for me. There is one phase of being pregnant that I absolutely ROCK at. It is made for an often described "anal-retentive" person. Yes - I am SUPER Nester!!!!


Saturday night I woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. Suddenly it hit me. I don't have to stay in bed anymore!!!! So I got up and off to work I went. I worked on an art project for Peanut's room, surfed the net for Ethan and Ella's birthday presents, went through all of Ethan and Ella's fall clothes to see what they still need. When I went back to bed at 7, Eric asked what I did. I didn't get much of a reaction when I told him. When he got up and saw all the paint supplies, etc, he knew I wasn't joking and immediately came to tell me I was crazy. I told him that this was a clinical condition and he couldn't give me any grief! In the last few days I have finished Ella's baby book, planned Ethan and Ella's birthday party, shopped for their presents, reorganized cabinets & closets, and got stuff ready for our church consignment sale.




Ella decided to help Mommy when I was cleaning out her closet. At one point she had on her swimsuit, her new tennis shoes, and her favorite Monkey robe from her cousin Melissa! She was so proud of her style! Ethan didn't want to put anything on. In fact, he went through a "britches strike" most of yesterday. Good thing he has such a cute bootie : ) Of course when I pulled out the camera, he had to come over and saw "Cheese!"

I am so excited to be able to do all these little things that will help make our house ready for when Peanut comes home. Sure we would have been fine if the house was a wreck, but I am thankful that we don't have to. Now maybe I will feel like I can relax a little when we are all finally at home together......right ; )

Speaking of all of us being together. We had a good check up yesterday. I am 50% effaced, but I haven't dilated yet. Unfortunately we had a little scare with his heart again that landed me in the hospital for a couple of hours. Everything is ok. They were concerned because his heartrate was dropping and speeding up. They wanted to make sure he was getting enough oxygen and that there wasn't any cord compression. After monitoring me, they decided he was fine and sent me on my way. I have another appoitnment next Wednesday and feel confident that we can make it until then. I am officially done worrying about when Peanut is born. Of course every day we can keep him in my belly is better, but we are in a good place now. Now we are just ready to meet the little guy!