One Month Stats Compared

I can't believe it has already been one month since Eli was born.  Geez, how time flies.  We went to the doctor yesterday for his one month check up.  Here are his stats:

Weight: 12lbs (95th percentile)
Height: 22in (75th percentile
Head: 15in (50th percentile)

When I got home, I was thinking about how much he had grown in just 2 weeks!  (keep in mind, he is a serious pig!!)  Anyways, I wanted to see what Owen's stats were at a month old.  Here is what I found:

Weight: 10lbs 12 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 23 3/8in (95th percentile)
Head:  15in (50th percentile)

It is like they are complete opposites!  Don't get me wrong, they are both big boys, but Owen was so long and Eli is such a chunk!  I love seeing the differences!  I can't wait to see what Eli's little personality is going to be like!  Here are some pics of both boys at one month!
                                                                                  Eli

Owen 

We love playdates!!

I am enjoying being home so much! It is going to be difficult going back to work in 4 weeks! Last week we had 2 playdates! One day Eli and I had a playdate with Kellie and Baby Tripp. (Not sue if you can really call it a playdate since all they do is sleep!!) Eli and Tripp are only 3 days apart! They are going to be great friends!Then later in the week, I braved taking both boys out by myself for the first time! We met Kristi and Allie Claire at the mall to play and have lunch! Things were great! Owen and Allie were so cute together! They walked around the mall holding hands most of the time! It was so stinkin' cute! I think Owen has officially found his future wife!!:)

Adjusting to life with 2...

Things have been going great around the Dlabaj household, but boy have things changed! My sister always told me, "One is like one...two is like ten"!! Was she ever right! James and I are learning how to manage the 2 boys! Thank goodness there are 2 of us. When I have been with both of the boys by myself, I have struggled to try and keep both happy. I am thankful that Owen is so laid back and pretty self sufficient because it seems like the minute I start to do something for Owen (change his diaper, make lunch, etc) Eli needs me! Woo...it is exhausting, but I am loving every minute of it! It is amazing to me just how different my 2 boys are. I thought when I was pregnant with Eli that surely he won't be that different from Owen, oh but I was wrong! Owen was such an easy baby...we were very spoiled!! He pretty much slept and ate as an infant. He was NOT a fussy baby at all. He slept through the night at 6 weeks. Eli sleeps well at night as well. He gets up one time, usually sometime between 4-5am. I am very grateful that both my children were good sleepers! But...Eli is not as laid back as Owen. When he wants something, he wants it NOW!! He goes from completely content to screaming his head off in 1 second!! His entire body turns red and he breaks out in a sweat because he is so mad! He has a serious temper, much like both of his grandfathers!!:) Another funny thing about Eli is he is a serious PIG!! I often worry that I am over feeding him. He is eating like 30-35oz a day already. That is crazy to me. I try to hold out giving him, but he starts screaming, sucking his hand, shaking his head and it is obvious he is hungry. He is completely happy as soon as I give him a bottle. I have come to the conclusion he is just a pig!! We go to the doctor next week, and I am going to discuss this with him!!

As for me, I am feeling good. This recovery has gone much more smoothly then after I had Owen. The only issue I had this time around, was I broke out in hives due to some kind of allergic reaction to some medicine I was given in the hospital. At least, that is what the allergist thinks. He thinks I was allergic to the penicillin. I don't know. The hives have finally gone away after taking steroids. I still get kind of itchy at times, but I am not sure if it is in my head, or if they are coming back. We shall see. Something else on my mind these days, is getting my body back. I thought after 1 child was bad enough, but things are way different this time. I am considering doing a boot camp or something. I am terrible at motivating myself to work out, so I figure if I have someone yelling and screaming at me I will actually do it. And, if I am going to dish out the money for it, I HAVE to go. I just need someone to make me do it and not let me stop just because it hurts. I am a wimp and won't push myself. I don't do anything until it hurts!! Hopefully, a boot camp will start my journey to get back (well not back, really never was) in to shape (or at least help to get rid of this stomach)!! Wish me luck.

Bye, Bye Gigi

Well, today my mom left to go home. It has been a very sad day as we have all really enjoyed her being here with us! Especially, Owen. He loves his Gigi so much and really wanted to go back with her on the airplane! Today we had Eli's 2 week check up. He weighed 9lbs 14 oz (70th percentile) and 21 1/2 in. long (85th percentile). Such as sweet hunk of love! I can't believe he is already 2 weeks old! Sleeping is still going very well...he is usually doing a 6-7 hour stretch at night, which I am completely grateful for!!:) Here are some pics from the last 2 weeks!

I still can't believe that we created these beautiful boys! We are so blessed...

We miss you already Gigi! Hurry up and come back to Texas! We love you!

Welcome Eli Charles Dlabaj

Well, our sweet baby boy has finally arrived! He joined us on August 2, 2009 at 11:55pm! He was 9lbs 4oz, 20 1/2 in long.

I was scheduled to be induced the next because my doctor knew he was already a huge baby! Eli had amind of his own though...he wanted to come earlier! I started having contractions on Sunday, August 2nd, at about 4:30pm. I had kind of felt different all day that day, but wasn't sure what was going on. We had plans to go to dinner at Babe's at 5:00 with James' family for his sister's bday. before leaving for Babe's I told James that I thought just he, Owen, and my mom should go that I was starting to have contractions and they were like 5 minuted apart. James (being such a man) said "Brittany you are fine...you have to eat...so you might as well go!" I hesitantly agreed to go, thinking maybe the contractions would stop because I had been having Braxton Hicks off and on for several days already. We left for Babe's, and the bumby ride down Garland Rd. the contractions became a little stronger (not hurting though) and little closer together (4-5 min apart) We got to Babe's ordered our food and the contractions again became stronger and closer together. I finally looked at James and said "I think I need to go call the doctor, my contractions are 2-5 minutes apart". I called the doc and he said it was time I get to the hospital, especially considering this was my second baby! We rushed home, grabbed our half packed bags (we thought we would have time to finish packing that night), met my brother in law so that Owen could go to my sisters' and out the door we went!

We arrived at the hospital at about 7:00pm. We got checked in, the nurse checked me and I was only at a 3. The contractions were still happening every 2-5 minutes, but were not consistent. She said they would monitor me for 30 minutes and decide whether or not to send me home. Well, they decided not to because the next time she checked me I was at a 4 and the contractions were really beginning to become painful! The doctor (not my doctor :( the doctor on call) came in talked with us about the delivery and discussed the option of a c-section because Eli was so big. He told us all this scary stuff that can happen when delivering a large baby. It really made me nervous because my dr had never discussed this with us...he was confident I could deliver a big baby since Owen was also big! Anyways, he said we would try to deliver Eli but could possibly end up in a c-section. So, we just sat around for a while. The nurse came in to check me at about 10:00pm and I was between a 5 and 6 and was in a lot of pain. She ordered my epidural. Got my epidural at 10:30, and when they finished the nurse suggested that James and I get some sleep. James got his cot all set up to get some rest and just as he laid down at about 11:00pm I turned to him and told him that I was not feeling right. I told him that I was feeling A LOT of pressure and I shouldn't feel anything...after all I had just gotten the epidural! Of course James responded with "Oh Brittany...you're fine...go to sleep!" (are you seeing a pattern here??) I decided to call the nurse disregarding James need for sleep. She came in, checked me and I was at a 10! She couldn't believe it! She called the doctor...I pushed 4 times and Eli made his debut! It all happened so fast, I couldn't believe he was already here! I thought I would be in labor all night and that I would have him early the next morning! Nope, he was bound and determined to arrive on the 2nd of August!!

Big brother, Owen came first thing the next morning to meet his Bubba! He ran in the room, jumped up on the bed and kissed Eli! He kep saying "my bubba, Eli"! It was the sweetest thing in the whole world! He was genuinly excited to meet his baby brother!
Since being home, things have been great! My mom is staying with us, helping out, and boy have I needed it! Life is MUCH more busy with 2! Eli is doing great...he is only waking up 2 times at night and goes right back to sleep! I am really not losing much sleep so am feeling good as well! I better go...duty calls...but hopefully can post more pics from the hospital and our first week home tomorrow! By the way...did I mention how much I love my life?? I am truly blessed with all my boys!

My Birthday and Potty Training

Ok, I have a couple of posts to catch up on!



On June 22, I turned 28. I can't believe that I only have 2 years left until I join the 30s club. That is crazy!! For my bday, we went to dinner at Trulucks with my Dad and Pennie! It was so yummy! We ate tons and tons of crab! Here is a pic from that night. Don't mind the big huge belly I have going on in the pic!!

Next topic: POTTY TRAINING.

I am terrible at it! We have been working on potty training for the past few weeks and it just hasn't gotten any better. Owen will go "teetee" in the potty everytime I put him on the potty, but he never tells me himself that he needs to go. It is pretty much that I have to get lucky and take him in time before he goes in his pull-up or he goes in his pull-up! It doesn't seem to bother him whether or not he goes in the potty or in his diaper. I have tried rewarding him with M&Ms each time he goes in the potty. He loves the M&Ms, but still won't tell me when he needs to go. Is he just not ready?? Am I just not doing it correctly? I don't know what to do, but nothing has changed in like 3 weeks. I need help...maybe some ideas or just reassurance that maybe he isn't ready yet. I feel like a failure at this point! HELP...

Happy Father's Day...

to the BEST Daddy in town!! I just love watching James with Owen! He truly is an amazing father and it makes me love him more and more each day. Who could have ever thought that was possible?? Happy Father's Day James! We love you!

I am back...a year later!

Wow, it has been a long time! So much has changed in the past year. Time just got away from me this past year and blogging was put to the side. I am officially back and hope to do a better job of documenting our life!

Well, I am sure most of you know the biggest change in our lives this past year is that we are expecting baby boy #2...otherwise known as Eli Charles Dlabaj! I am 33 weeks pregnant at the moment and August 5th can't get here soon enough. We are so excited to meet our new little bundle of joy, yet still have so many things to do to get ready for his arrival! This sonogram was last Wednesday...I was 32 weeks and he is already weighing 5 pounds!! My doctor told me that I just grow "big" babies and that he expects Eli will be over 9 pounds! (Please pray that he comes early...I don't think I can survive the birth of a 9 pounder...Owen was big enough!) Here is a profile pic of our little sweetie, or should I say BIG sweetie?!?

Other updates from the past year:

-I went back to work...started out the 1st two weeks of school teaching 4th grade then got moved to 5th grade.

-5th graders are WAY different than 3rd graders!

-Graduated with my masters in August, completed my administrative internship, passed my Principal certification test, and applied for Assistant Principal jobs.

-Made it into the MISD pool of AP candidates, went on one interview, going to be teaching 4th grade next year! (Oh well...I will try again next year)

-Owen turned 2 and moved out of the crib into a big boy bed!

-Owen amazes us each and every day with the things he is learning! His vocabulary has just shot through the roof! We were worried for a while that he would never say more than "Momma, Dada, juice and no"!

-Owen began daycare...well, in-home daycare. He loves his Sweet Lila and all of his friends!

-Owen is OBSESSED with Thomas the Train! We talk about "choo-choo's" ALL day, every day! We even went to Thomas the Train LIVE at Nokia!

-James and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! So much has changed in the past 5 years! It amazes me to think of people we used to be compared to who we are now.

-We still own our lot in Heath, but aren't planning on building until next summer.

Life is good! It has been one crazy, busy year for us! I am sure this upcoming year will be just as crazy, but I am vowing to keep up with this blog! Welcome back to my life with my soon to be 3 boys!!!!:)

Bon Voyage!

So, I have been rushing around here like chicken with my head cut off for the past few days. We leave tomorrow for Canada and we will be gone for 27 days! Do you know how much prep work there is to get 2 adults, 1 17 month old baby, and house full of dogs ready to leave? (we are not taking the dogs by the way) It is A LOT of stinkin work to try to remember every little thing! I am exhausted now! This might be absolutely terrible, but I have been so stressed about the whole plane situation with Owen. A 17 month old is just not going to want to sit in our laps for 4 hours on a plane. So......I talked with several friends with kids and I was given the advice of BENADRYL! Well, I was hesitant and nervous about giving my child medicine he doesn't need, but I have decided to do it. Everyone told me to do a test run since on some kids it has the opposite effect. I felt even worse doing that, but I gave it a test run today and IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!!!(don't worry, I won't be knocking my child out all the time...only tomorrow for the plane) Wish us luck! Hope everyone has a great 4th of July! We will miss it this year since Canadians really don't celebrate American Independence! Hopefully I can post some pics from up there to let everyone know how our trip is!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow! The month of June has flown by! We have had so much going on this month! I am ALMOST officially done with school! My last class is Monday...I am so excited! I took Comps mid-June and am still waiting to hear the results. Cross you fingers everyone...it was HARD! If everything goes well I will GRADUATE in August! Yea for me! I am so ready to be done! After spending many dreadful hours of studying for comps came Father's Day. James had a great day! He is such a great father and boy oh boy does he love his little man! They have so much fun together! Here are some pics of the two of them:

James and Owen (2 weeks old)

5 months old

16 monthsAfter Father's Day came my birthday! I have to tell you...it is really quite boring turning 27. 27 just wasn't one of those birthdays that you look forward to. I usually love my birthday, but this year it was just like "Oh, 27, huh...not much to it"! I had a great birthday though. Owen and James made things very special for me! Here is a pic from my BIG day!

Well, we are leaving for Canada in one week! We are so excited for a vacation! It is much needed. Wish us luck on the 4 hour plane ride with a 17 month old! Should be fun...

All of a Sudden...

All of a sudden I am becoming really freaked out about going back to work. Not that I am freaked out necessarily, but I am getting sad about leaving my baby boy. I have had such an amazing year with him and I can't imagine not spending my days with my little man. The count down is on and I have just realized, I guess, that I only have like 2 1/2 more months to be home with him. And everyone knows how fast the summers fly by. Next week I have to take my comprehensive exams so that I can graduate in August, so Owen is going to stay with Miss Lila for three days next week. That should give me a taste of how it will be in August when he starts staying with her everyday. :( I know he will be fine, but it just makes me sad that my time at home with him is quickly coming to an end! By the way...for those who don't know I am going to be back at Mackey, teaching 4th grade!

My Little Sports Enthusiast

OK, so I don't know if it is just a boy thing or what, but my child is OBSESSED with all sports related materials. He has always loved all his balls, throwing them catching them, etc., but now he has learned to hit them. He first started with a baseball bat. Now he loves to hit balls with his golf club and his hockey stick! I don't know, but I think I am going to have a pro athlete of some sort on my hands!!! We are going to start him in hockey as soon as he turns 3 (yes we checked, they start them at 3...crazy right?), but until then we are going to look into soccer! We are also looking for some swimming lessons and maybe a little gymnastics for the summer! James isn't too excited about the gymnastics, but I think it will be fun for him at 18 months! Here are some shots of my little guy in action!

This is a video of Owen playing with his golf clubs for the first time! He is a one handed golfer right now, but Daddy is trying to teach him how to use both hands! I am thinking we might have a future Tiger on our hands...what do you think?

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day was just wonderful! Here are some pics from the day...

On Saturday we took Owen to Taste of Addison for some great food and fun!

Owen thought he could drink this big cup of lemonade just like he drinks out of his sippy cup!!

Needless to say it ended up all over him!!

This is a video of Owen jammin to the band playing at Taste of Addison! Turn on your sound...

BIG boy, BIG buy!!

I just wanted to share some stats with everyone that Owen recieved at the doctors on Monday! He is 29.5lbs which is in the 94th percentile for his age and he is off the charts in height! He is 33 1/2 in. tall! My big boy just keeps growing and growing! Since he is now so mobile with the walking and all, we are having so much fun! It is like a whole new big wide world out there for him! He doesn't care to be carried much any more, hates to be in the stroller, and doesn't last long at restaurants in the high chair!! He wants to be down, exploring the world! I am starting to become extremely concerned with how we are going to handle a 4 1/2 hour plane ride to Canada in July! This is what he did the last time he rode on a plane at 2 months old...

I have a feeling it won't be quite that easy this time around!!:)

I also wanted to post a pic of our new lot that we bought in Heath! We are so stinkin' excited about it! We are going to live right down the street from my sister, Denise! (Literally, a one minute walk in the same neighborhood!!) Owen will be so excited to be able to see the girls anytime! He just lights up everytime he sees them! We plan to start building our new house sometime in late fall/early winter, so I am assuming we should be in it by late summer of next year! (Gosh, that seems so far away) Oh well, I have to learn to become patient, I guess! Here are some pics of Owen and his cousins, Megan and Liv (soon to be neighbors)!!!

This is my 10 year old niece, Megan! She is one awesome basketball, volleyball, and softball player! My little athlete!!

This is my sweet little Olivia! She is 7 years old and the best reader around!

He's FINALLY walking!!!!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS: OWEN IS FINALLY WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He took his first few steps on April 2nd and since then it has become more and more each day! Now, he is pretty much walking everywhere! It is so stinkin' cute! I have a feeling that he will be running from me very soon! Look out.....

Here is a video so everyone can see him in action! This was today at the park. We met Allie Claire and Kristi there to play. They are really cute together and boy do they wear each other out! So sweet!!

I also had to post the sweetest picture of Owen and his Papaw!