Happy Thanksgiving 2010

The week of Thanksgiving we got hit with COLD! Temperatures in the teens and SNOW!! We had a cozy group of 6. Our little family, Grandma and Uncle Jon. What a fun time!

Mike built this great snowman!

Jon and Mike were in charge of smoking the Turkey. We used Apple wood. This time it took a lot longer than usual to smoke. By the time we ate, they were using flashlights to check it...about 5:30 p.m. :)

Decker got himself comfortable in Cody's bouncer chair, with his pacifier and blanket while watching Toy Story while he waited for dinner...

Cody in his Christmas Bear jumpsuit...

Practicing sitting up in his Bumbo
A tired Decker after dinner...This one is one of my favorites...doesn't Cody look like a little angel?Mike resting after going shopping on Black Friday at 3;30 a.m.

Brotherly Love

*******Decker and Cody*******

Cody's Blessing 11/7/10

Our little man was blessed on November 7th. He wore the same outfit that Decker wore with Booties that Great Grandma Wood made and this blue and white baby blanket that Great Grandma Hancock made.

It was a beautiful sunny day! The meeting was sweet. It was a great day-- Mike and I shared our feelings for our family and the gospel and how grateful we are to be able to be together as a family FOREVER. Friends in the Circle: Bishop Folsom, Michael Lewis, Heath Mason, Mike Wood, Larry Cook, Rob Schmalle and Steve Mason Our good friends, Jen, Rob and their son, Logan came. He wanted to "touch baby".

Cody doing his Archer move in his blessing outfit.

To see Cody smile on this special day go to this link on Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/user/jegamble2001#p/a/u/0/c6uFSsnm7VU

Cody 1 month Check up

(Monkey picture in Blue--2 weeks old; Brown outfit is one month)Cody at 1 month and Decker at 1 month.

Stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 12 oz (90-95%)

Height: 22 1/4 inches (75 - 90%)

Head Circumference: 15 3/4 (90 - 95%)

(It's hard to not compare Decker's growth to Cody's, but it's pretty opposite...Decker was on the other side of the teeter totter being in the 10 -25 percentile in his weight and height.)

Sleeping: He sleeps a lot during the day--usually in the swing when Decker is not occupying it, or in the bouncer seat...At night, he sleeps in his bassinet next to our bed. He goes to bed between 11 and midnight and then he wakes up to eat about every 2-3 hours. It seems like during the night he spends a lot of time grunting and trying to pass Bowel movements. This keeps both Mike and me awake at night. So, I'll just bring him into our bed to sleep and he seems to sleep much more soundly with us. Though this is uncomfortable for us. We need to always consciously remember that he is there and we can't just stretch out.

Eating: He nurses every 2 - 3 hours. We usually sit in the Glider rocker. When you nurse on your right side, you like to look up and I think you're looking at the framed picture of Christ holding a lamb behind me. Sometimes I need to cover your head, so you're not distracted so you don't pull.

He started cooing to me and smiling at me during his 3rd week. He smiled while he was sleeping before this, but not in response to me. :) We got his smile on video when he was 4 weeks old. Grandma Wood says he smiles with his eyes, it's so big!

He focuses on our faces and always seems so alert. Everyone comments how much they think he looks like Mike and how alert he is. They think he looks older than he is.--Probably all your hair and alertness gives the illusion that you're not a typical infant. :)

And if you're wondering where he got all that light red hair?!....

First Encounters

During this pregnancy, Decker referred to my tummy as "baby". He also referred to everyone else's tummy as baby...dad's, his own, grandma's. He loved to put his "baby" up to my "baby", skin to skin. He loved to lay his head on my "baby" and give him zerberts too. It was very sweet. I have video of him doing it with Mike, but Mike doesn't want that one to go public. LOL :) Here's some pictures of him with Mike's "baby" and my "baby". One day, my tummy was grumbling. I told Decker it was the baby making that noise. We laughed and laughed about that. It was so loud and it kept going on and on. It was pretty funny!
So on Saturday night, when we went to the hospital, and we left, Decker told everyone that we were going to the hospital. We thought it was so cute that he could tell people where we went and he seemed to understand what was going on.
On 10.10.10 Sunday at 1100 a.m., Grandma Wood brought Decker to the hospital to meet the new little brother he'd heard so much about.
Decker climbed up onto my bed with me and as I introduced him. Decker pointed out his eyes, mouth and nose. I asked him if he wanted to hold Cody and he said "yes". So I put Cody in his lap. Cody made a couple of cries and Decker started to push him away. He was done holding him.

For the rest of their visit, Decker was checking out light switches, the blinds in the windows, the chairs, the machines and anything else he could get his hands on. Mike blew up a rubber glove into a balloon--- he had fun hitting that into the air and drinking out of my super sized water bottle and straw.
We took Cody home on Monday, October 11th at about 3:00 p.m. Decker had his own introduction he'd been waiting to make: Buzz Lightyear.

I love this serious look on Decker's face. It's like he's saying 'Hi, I'm the Big brother."

I'm writing this about a month after we brought Cody home. Decker sure likes his brother. Some of the things I remember:

--Decker came into our bedroom where I was nursing Cody. Decker asked," Where's Cody?" I told him I was feeding him. Decker looked under the bed, behind the nightstand...it was pretty funny.

--Now many mornings Decker's first words are, "Where's Cody?" He likes to climb up on the bassinet and peek over the edge and touch him.

--Decker likes to sit at Cody's swing and read to him from his favorite books. His favorites these days are his Cars, Spiderman, Toy Story and Go Dog, Go books.

--Decker tells me Cody is crying and smiles and giggles when he hears Cody pass gas.

--Decker likes to sit in Cody's swing and will also attempt to sit in there with Cody. He pushes the swing and says, "Weeee".

--He'll ask to hold Cody several times every day and wants to kiss him. He's proud of his little brother and calls him "Baby Co ee"

--Today, Decker was holding Cody and he bent over and touched him nose to nose and said, "Noses"....something I've always done with him. So sweet!

--Cody's blanket was in the wash, so I thought I would borrow one of Decker's for the day. I had left the room and when I came back in I found Decker trying to pick Cody up off his blanket and pull it out from underneath him all at the same time while saying, "MINE. MINE." I've learned my lesson...Toddlers don't like to share... :) Not yet anyways...

Needless to say it has been fun watching Decker with his new brother and I'm sure there are many instances that I've forgotten and will have to write about as they come to me. For now, Decker adores his new younger brother.