Charlie's First Month

He's filling out in the cheeks!

Our rug matches Charlie's hair and his shirt.

Grandma Linda is here for two weeks to help us out -- much appreciated!

Zadie admiring her brand-new brother.

In the hospital to pick up Charlie, less than 24 hours after we got the surprise phone call!

Charlie turns five weeks old tomorrow (right?). Minus the big scare with the pyloric stenosis, Charlie is doing just great. He was so teensy tiny when we brought home and at first he had trouble gaining weight because he was vomiting, so now it's great to see him chug-a-lug. He weighed 6 lbs 6 oz at the time of his surgery and then exactly one week later he weighed 8 lbs 4 oz.

Although not nearly as beautiful as Kim's photos, here are some from Charlie's first month with the family. We love him and are so happy he's here -- even if he keeps us up at night!!

Charlie Gets Sick...and Then Better!

I haven't been very good about blogging lately, partly because our lives have been busier but even more so because the space bar on our keyboard at home came off and it's pretty frustrating to write more than one sentence. But Tori brought out our old laptop and I wanted to update about some crazy stuff that has happened in the last week.

Charlie started vomiting about 80% of his feedings and ultimately the doctors decided that he had a condition called pyloric stenosis. Basically a stomach muscle got too thick and wasn't allowing the milk to go down to his intestines (or at least that's what I understood). So I left the house at 8:30am one day to take him to the doctor, who then sent me to an x-ray place, and then the next thing I knew I was driving him to the hospital for emergency surgery.

Luckily the surgery is pretty straight-forward and this won't be something that will ever bother him again. He's not vomiting any of his meals now and he's doing great. As the doctor pointed out, three-week-olds don't really use their stomach muscles so the recovery is pretty easy.

Having said all that, seeing your little baby with a tube down his nose and an IV in his hand is AWFUL. And he couldn't eat for the whole day prior to the surgery and then for six hours afterwards. I felt so badly for him. But he did really well and Tori and I took turns staying the night with him in the hospital and holding him in our arms all night long.

So it was a very scary experience, but the good news is that Charlie has been back home for a few days now and is doing great. Hooray for that!

Introducing...Charlie!

After much discussion, we have settled upon a name. Charlie Wilson K. (I don't like to use my last name on the blog, but you all know it). Everyone in our family has the same middle and last name.

I like it. It's boyish and likeable, just like Skip. I think it will suit him nicely. Tori and Zadie still really love the name Ozzie, so that will continue as a nickname, too.

And although former Congressman Charlie Wilson is/was a little bit controversial, I think he's an intriguing character and I like that he's from East Texas! He also wrote my dad a letter when he got home from Vietnam.

And here are some more great photos of CHARLIE!!

A New Baby!

I haven't updated this blog about some very important news. A county social worker called to let us know that Skip's birth mom had another baby and of course we said YES, we'd love to bring him home. We had told the social workers not to call us about any kids UNLESS Skip's mom had another baby.

We weren't expecting the phone call this soon and were totally unprepared, but I want this sweet child to know that the occasion of his birth caused great excitement and hooting and hollering! Despite having less than 24 hours to comply with the county's requests for us to buy a bassinet, a new bed for Zadie and to outfit our house with locks on the cupboard, we were anxious and excited to bring our new baby home!!

So this sweet child was born on September 20th and we picked him up at California Hospital downtown around noon on September 22nd. His birth parents named him Ryan Michael, but we are still working on our own name for him (there are a few names in the running). The nurses told us that his birth parents were very upset that they couldn't take him home, but the county would not allow it because of their past histories (I just want to be clear that he is very much wanted and cared for!).

This situation is a little more complicated than Skip's but we sincerely hope that we will be able to keep him forever. He is a very good baby and has a sweet disposition. So far I would say that he is the best baby of the three! He doesn't look much like Skip, but ironically I think he looks a bit like Zadie at the same age. He only weighed 5 lbs, 12 oz at birth, so he is still pretty tiny.

Zadie is very excited to have another little brother and Skip is very interested but not clear on what is happening. As for the moms, we are sleep-deprived and a little befuddled about how to make three kids under three work, but we are also very much in love with our new baby.

More information to come...thank you to Kim for the beautiful photos!

Skip's First Words

Before I forget, I should announce that during a trip away Skip started saying his first two words. The first was "Mama" and then "ball." I'm working on him to learn "Mommy," but so far no luck and I remember it took Zadie a while to learn that.

I can't find any blog posts I wrote about Zadie's first words or when that happened. I think it must have been "mama," too.

Zadie Is Back in the Fold

I guess I never exactly announced it on here, but we're home from China! We had a great trip and of course there is so much to say about that, but I don't know where to even begin.

So I'll write instead about coming home to see Zadie. We got home on Tuesday and on Wednesday Zadie was delivered home around noon. We were at work but we met up for lunch and had lots of hugs and kisses. We were very excited to see her and, although we Skyped with her a fair amount while we were away, we really missed her.

I could tell that she was happy to see us and Skip, but it was also obvious how hard it was for her to leave my parents' house. She broke down in tears a few times crying for my mom. I can't really blame her for that since I know she had a great time and she was sort of living in paradise and as an only child all that time. I would have had hard time, too.

Now she's back with us and adjusting to having a little brother who rips her puzzle out of her hands and likes to wrestle. And also to authority figures who aren't quite as permissive in the food and drink department. But we're trying to take it easy on her and I was proud of Tori for letting her have PB and J at lunch and strawberry lemonade -- and letting her eat her fruit first.

We missed you Zadie and are so excited to be reunited!

Zadie The Storyteller?

When do kids start telling stories? I don't know what the typical age is for that, but I've never heard Zadie tell a story. That's why this story from my dad totally amused me. This is taken from a family email he wrote last week:

After dinner and after our night swim, we gathered around a big fire at the firepit. When it got dark Denise asked me to tell some stories. I thought of a good one and started "When I was a little boy at the ranch..." That's as far as I got before Zadie interrupted me and started to tell some doozies about when she and her brother and her Moms were at the ranch. She told stories about riding horses and a pig (yes, riding a pig). Before long Izzie interrupted Zadie and trumped her with even taller tales. The two of them got into a story telling competition. Half the time they were both talking at the same time. I felt like I was sitting by a campfire listening to Clay Wyatt talk [family member notorious for talking up a storm]. I couldn't have been prouder. Denise and I laughed till we cried. Sophie is a listener. After my opening sentence I was too. No one alive could compete with Izzie and Zadie's stories last night. When we put them to beg they were still talking a blue streak (just like Clay).

And here's one more story my mom sent me a few days ago:

Today we went shopping and she got a new pair of shoes, a "Hello Kitty" t-shirt that she couldn't live w/o (because it had sparkles on it), and butterfly wings that she "needed". When we got home, she put on the butterfly wings and asked if she could fly now. I said she would have to try. So she ran around the yard flapping her wings trying hard to fly. She didn't get off the ground, but it wasn't from a lack of trying. She thinks the wings are great and she is napping with them on as I type this. She also got 2 pairs of new shoes and wanted to sleep in them. She asked me, "Do you ever sleep with your shoes on?" Her bed is crowded right now with her wings, sea turtle, a dog that was a gift from Auntie Kim, and a new outfit for Skip. For some reason she wanted to sleep with all of this.