Handy Sam

3 Weeks Old

Little Jack is three weeks old today! We are finally getting the hang of life with two little ones and some days I can't remember what it was like without him here. He has been such a good baby and is so sweet just like his big brother. Contrary to the looks of this picture, he has been staying awake more during the day and I love his big dark eyes - they are so pretty! His jaundice is starting to work its way out since we have increased his number of feedings each day and I think that has given him some more energy and a little less of a suntan. :) Sam is still so glad he is here and continues to love on him constantly. I do miss my long stretches of sleep but I enjoy our snuggle time in the middle of the night and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The house is quiet and it is just the two of us - precious time that I take to thank the Lord for two healthy children. We have certainly been blessed and I am so thankful!

Christmas Time is Here!

It seems like the month of December always goes by too quickly. We like to have plenty of time to enjoy our Christmas decorations so we usually go get a tree and start decorating during the week of Thanksgiving.

Wednesday night we went to the Farmers Market on Old Fannin Road and picked out our tree. Sam wasn't so sure about the little Santa they had there but he was a good sport and posed for a quick picture. :)

After we got our tree inside it was time for Daddy to bring down the tubs of decorations from the attic. Sam kept thinking all of the boxes were full of things to play with and we had to explain that most of them would just sit around our house or hang on the tree.

We took a break from decorating on Thanksgiving Day and started back today. Sam was in charge of the lights! ;)

As we all know, untangling lights can be exhausting so he took a break and enjoyed a sucker.

Our Elf on the Shelf, Fred, showed up this morning and supervised our work from the dining room light fixture. We are looking forward to having him around for the next few weeks!

Jack's First Thanksgiving

Not only was today Jack's first Thanksgiving but it was also his due date. I sure am glad that he decided to spend this Thanksgiving in my arms instead of my belly. We have so much to be thankful for this year and his presence has been an excellent reminder of that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Boy

2 Week Checkup

Dressed and ready to go meet Dr. Sherwood!

We were so thankful Jack got a great report from Dr. Sherwood at his two-week checkup today. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 inches long. He slept through most of our visit since I told him he didn't have to worry about any shots this time. :) She was pleased with his growth but wanted us to continue waking him up during the night to eat every 3-4 hours since he was still a little jaundice. She also commented that she thought he was going to look a little different than his big brother! We go back to see her January 3rd for the dreaded first set of shots - poor guy!

2 Weeks Old

During Jack's second week of life we have been working on seeing more of this...

instead of this!

Last Monday night, the 14th, I laid sweet Jack down around 11 p.m. and didn't hear from him until 6:45 the next morning. When I rolled over that day and looked at the clock I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so excited for a long stretch of sleep and wondered if this would continue. Tuesday afternoon, the 15th, we had our first appointment with Dr. Saenz at the Mississippi Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic and found out that long nights of sleep were not in our near future after all. She determined that all of Jack's facial bruising from delivery was making it hard for him to shake the jaundice, which in turn caused him to sleep a lot and to be a lazy eater. She suggested that I feed Jack every two hours during the day and every three hours during the night in hopes of flushing out the bilirubin and getting rid of the jaundice. We left our Tuesday appointment with quite a task ahead of us! Friday the 18th we went back to see Dr. Saenz for a weight check and Jack had not only gained a substantial amount in such a short period but he was much more alert and eating great. What a difference a few days made!

I was so glad to get Dr. Saenz's help and know this will make things better going forward. Jack is still such a sweet baby and I love when he looks up at me with his big, dark eyes. We are still having fun trying to figure out who he looks like. I see many similarities between him and Sam but also some features that I think are definitely going to be different. I can't wait to watch him grow in the coming weeks and develop a personality. We love you, Jack!

So Proud

Sam loves building with Legos and was so proud of the tower he and his daddy built together!

Cute Cousins

Didi and Easy were brave enough to take on an extra little boy for a while today and we certainly appreciated it. While Sam was away having fun with Banks, I was able to rest and recharge my batteries after almost three weeks of 4 a.m. feedings!

I don't know if my heart will be able to take it when these two are sitting in a real car one day!

They played trains...

kept an eye to the sky for "tomatoes" (tornadoes)...

and went cruising through the neighborhood in the jeep.

Easy brought Sam home after lunch and many tears were shed. Sam wasn't ready for the fun to end but I promised him they could play again another day very soon. A big thank you to Didi, Easy, Banks and Hayes for inviting Sam to play - he had a great time!

Sleepyhead

Special Time with Daddy

Adam came home from work early today and surprised Sam with a trip to the park - just the two of them. The look on Sam's face when Adam walked in and asked him if he wanted to go play was priceless. He was so excited to get to spend some one-on-one time with Daddy at one of his favorite places.

Silly boy!

We have been making every effort to make sure that Sam continues to feel special even though things are a little crazy while we learn to adjust to life with a toddler and a newborn. He was all smiles when they got home and I think this adventure was just what he needed!

Bedtime Boys

Muscle Man

"Cheer-O's" are the Best!

1 Week Old

Time flies when you are having fun with two little boys! A week ago today we welcomed Jack into our family and have enjoyed every minute with him.

We went back to Woman's Hospital on Friday the 11th for Jack's outpatient weight check. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. (his discharge weight) and still had some jaundice in his face caused by the bruising from delivery.

The jaundice has made him a little extra sleepy these days. His favorite place to snooze is on Daddy's chest.

He also wore his first piece of Rebel gear this week and I think he looks good in red and blue!

I have had the most fun watching these two boys together. Sam loves to hold Jack and has been so patient and understanding when I haven't been able to pay him as much attention as usual. I know he is probably disappointed that all Jack does is eat and sleep, but I have been reminding him that it won't be long before they will be running and playing ball together. Lots of fun times ahead!

Pick a Ball...Any Ball!

Rebel Fan

Mimi & Mammy Come Visit

First Bath at Home

Tonight we gave Jack his first bath at home. We can't put him in the real tub until his cord falls off in a few weeks so we just did a sponge bath on the kitchen counter. Sam was very interested in what I was doing and wanted to help. He went and got a stool and stood next to me the entire time.

I had to work quickly because he was NOT a happy camper.

Sweet, clean boy...ready to be left alone!

Daddy's Boys

Baby Jack is Here!

For the past few weeks I have been doing my best to stay off my feet and rest in an effort to keep baby Jack in as long as possible. Because he has been trying to misbehave, I have had to go to the doctor every few days for checkups. I went to see Dr. Cole Monday morning the 7th around 8:30 a.m. only to experience an appointment very similar to the one I had the day Sam was born. It didn't take long for her to tell me that I was in active labor and it was time to head over to Woman's Hospital to deliver my sweet boy.

When I got to the hospital around 9:00 a.m. they sent me straight to Labor & Delivery Room 1 and things moved very quickly from there. I did have enough of my brain working to remember to ask Adam to snap one last picture of the bump - boy had it grown over the last 37 1/2 weeks!

Sweet Chelsea was the official videographer for Sam's birth and did such a great job that I had her on standby so she could do the same for Jack's birthday. I was so glad she could make it on such short notice!

Big Brother Sam arrived at the hospital with Lili not long after we got checked in and settled. He and Banks ate Chick-fil-a in the cafeteria to help pass the time.

I'm guessing they also kept all of the others entertained while they waited. :)

They finished up with my epidural around 11:30 and my sweet Sam came back to give me one more hug before it was showtime.

We also had our last picture taken as a family of three.

Labor progressed quickly after I got my epidural and after three good pushes Jack Williams Milner entered this world at 12:11 p.m. on 11/7/11. His loud cries were music to my ears and I couldn't wait to see his sweet face.

For nine long months we had all speculated as to whether he would look like his big brother or not and I couldn't wait to check him out and give him lots of kisses!

Happy and relieved to have him in my arms!

After we got all cleaned up, Adam went out to get Sam and bring him back to my room to meet baby Jack. It was a sweet, sweet moment to see my two boys together for the first time. Jack was still crying some and Sam wasn't quite sure what to think of that. He couldn't stop staring at him!

Time to introduce Jack to the rest of the family!

Poor little guy, he better get used to all of those cameras in his face.

We were so lucky that Didi was able to take care of Jack after he was born. She went with Adam to the nursery to weigh him and held him up for everyone to get a better look. My big boy weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz!

After they weighed him they brought him back to my room to do a private transition. She measured him and he was exactly the same length as Sam - 20 inches. He also got his first shots and a bath. He was feeling much better after that! It was so nice not to have to be away from him for very long and even better to know he was in such good hands.

Sam was so excited to come back to the room and see him again. Notice the cute sticker on his shirt that Didi made for him with Jack's footprint. So neat!

Susie was such a good labor and delivery nurse. She was so sweet and took excellent care of me.

My favorite nurse!

Once Didi finished with Jack he was all cleaned up and ready for us to love on him. Lili had to come check him out!

And then it wasn't long before she got her hands on him.

Then Shuffie wanted a turn....

and so did Sarah.

Our sweet friend Angie painted this precious canvas for us to hang on the door of room 116.

Once we got settled in our new room we were finally about to get comfortable and start playing dress-up with Jack.

We were still trying to figure out just who he looked like!

Sam went home with Adam mid-afternoon on Monday to take his nap and when he got back Jack was dressed and ready for visitors. Didi brought him over to us and Sam got to hold his brother for the first time.

LOVE

THESE

BOYS!!

After some hugs with his little brother, Sam got to open the gift that Jack brought for him. It was a bear lovey that was holding a baseball - Sam's favorite ball!

Dr. Cole came by later that day to check on us. She is such a sweet lady and I was so happy that Jack waited until a weekday to make his arrival so she could be there to do the delivery.

Didi finally got some snuggle time after all of her hard work!

And then Easy came by and brought the cousins, Banks and Hayes.

Jack put on his little brother shirt...

...and was ready to have his picture made. They all four had matching shirts that were precious. I sure love all of these boys!

After everyone left for the night it was finally Daddy's turn to love on Jack.

He also gave me this beautiful citrine necklace - Jack's birthstone. I'm a lucky girl to have that sweet man as my husband.

Sam loved coming to visit Jack while we were in the hospital...

...but when he woke up Wednesday morning, the day we were bringing Jack home, he had a few things to do to get ready. He went to his "man box" and pulled out these two toys to put in Jack's room so he would have something to play with.

Wednesday was a happy day for all of us - we would all be back together again under one roof.

I love the way Sam is looking at Jack in this picture. He loves his brother!

We were so glad that Didi was working on Wednesday and was able to discharge Jack from the nursery.

Bundled up and ready to go home!

We accumulated quite a bit of stuff during our two night stay at the hospital but luckily we had a cute little helper to push the cart out to the car.

As we were driving down Lakeland Drive Sam was talking to Jack and telling him what he saw out the window. It wasn't long before Sam reached down and held Jack's hand the rest of the way home. What a good big brother!

Of course Rusty had to sniff all over this new playmate we were bringing home to him.

We also had a cute little surprise from Lili & Shuffie waiting in the front yard.

Our new family of four!

Welcome Home, Baby Jack!

We are so thankful that Jack is here and home with us. He is such a sweet baby and Sam is absolutely loving being a big brother. I can't wait to watch these two grow up together. I know they will bring much laughter and joy to our home!