Boys' weekend in

This is pretty much all we did while Megan was out of town this weekend.

Pumpkin Day

We went to Legare (pronounced LaGree) farms to visit their pumpkin patch and take a hayride. We were glad to have Erin along, too. Jack had a great time, and of course he's ready to go back "tomorrow."

a spooky craft project

We were planning to go to a pumpkin patch today, but it got to be too late after nap time kicked in. So while trying to think of a different special activity, Granma and Pop suggested a Halloween craft. We didn't end up doing the one they suggested, but we got out some party cups, some construction paper, tape, and flashlights to make spooky projectors and glowing faces. we ended up with a jack-o-lantern projector (seen in the video bleow), star projectors, and a couple silly/scary faces that just glowed.

Little Ninja

Jack & Ben 8.21.2010

The Boys Together. John Robert really loves his "Baby Brudder" except when he cries. We are working on that.

A Morning at the Beach

Jack thought it would be fun to go to the beach. We agreed, and invited Olivia to join us. We went early and left by lunchtime. It was a very pleasant outing.

X-rays

Megan noticed a soft lump or "bubble" of fluid on the back upper right side of Benjamin's head during his first few days home. The doctor took a look at it during his 1-week appointment, and scheduled a follow-up appointment for a week later. There had been no change by the follow-up appointment, so he ordered an ultrasound of the area to see what more we could find out.

The ultrasound showed the pocket of fluid, but we didn't learn much more from it. So the doctor ordered an X-ray to check for any problems with his skull. That decision alone was a relief, as Megan had come home from the ultrasound imaging appointment wishing that we could see how the bones were arranged.

So at 20 days old, Benjamin had his first X-rays.


And I got to wear my second special hospital get-up on account of Benjamin.

After reviewing the X-rays, our doctor called to say that they looked normal. He thinks the "bubble" may be a result of Benjamin being stuck during delivery, and expects it to simply go away over time.

UPDATE: After a week or two the bubble had dissolved and we could no longer feel anything abnormal in the spot on Ben's head.

10:57 AM Jul 3 via Twitter

When Megan went in to the hospital yesterday, I notified friends and family with a promise to post regular updates via Twitter.com as I knew there were lots of interested parties, but that our ability/desire to contact and respond to everyone individually would be limited. Below are said tweets.
UPDATE: I embedded the images and added some tweets up through his official naming on July 4.

1:07 PM Jul 2nd via Twitter for iPhone
No baby yet, but Meg isn't leaving the hospital until he gets here (tomorrow).

6:57 PM Jul 2nd via Twitter for iPhone
At hospital now with Meg for the duration. Brought her a cheeseburger.

Friday, July 02, 2010 7:05:10 PM
Going to move to another room soon. Hopefully one with more space to move around in.

Friday, July 02, 2010 7:10:20 PM
A "no epidural" (read: blood-curdling) scream from down the hall. Staff says "We're waiting for her to clear out so you can have the room."

Friday, July 02, 2010 7:27:05 PM
Jack & Gege are visiting. Jack told all the midwives how he peepeed in the potty. The gal who delivered him is here.

Friday, July 02, 2010 8:35:04 PM
All hooked up in the new room. Starting pitocin in just a moment.

Friday, July 02, 2010 9:56:54 PM
Just chillin' and keepin' the lights and Meg's blood pressure low.

Friday, July 02, 2010 11:23:28 PM
Trying to get some shut-eye.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:56:54 AM
Meg's been having contractions every couple minutes. She rates the pain 7/10. Reducing pitocin drip to slow the progress and let her sleep.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 4:40:26 AM
Dealing with irregular and painful contractions. Amniotic sac bulging, causing increased pain.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 4:41:07 AM
Preparing to start epidural.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 4:49:38 AM
8 cm. 100% effaced. -1.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:30:52 AM
I'm watching the monitor, and these contractions are off the chart.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:31:19 AM
Epidural is in!

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:43:21 AM
Because of possible scarring from her back surgery, there's a chance the epidural won't be effective on one side or the other.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:44:40 AM
She said there's still pain on her right side, but the epidural may not have fully set in yet.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:45:21 AM
She's already doing much better with the pain, though.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:47:54 AM
15 minutes of down time. Lights off. Meg is already snoring.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 5:49:17 AM
...and breathing through contractions.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 6:11:35 AM
Getting ready to start pushing in a few moments. Grabbing the opportunity to rest first.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 7:15:18 AM
Water broke. Meconium.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 7:23:06 AM
Going to wait another 15 minutes to let the kid come down on his own a bit.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 7:36:25 AM
Starting to push now. See you on the other side.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 8:28:33 AM
The kid is facing up. Taking a 30-min break to both let him "labor down" and see if he'll roll over for us. Meg is on her side.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 9:07:10 AM
Back at it.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:05:52 AM
Stubborn kid.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:06:41 AM
C section time.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:11:05 AM
Preparing for the Caesarean section now. The baby was still face up. He has lots of dark hair--which made the vacuum fail.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:12:45 AM
Megan and baby are both doing great. We're going to get the baby out while he's healthy and string, and while Meg has the energy.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:13:58 AM
Correction: The baby is not a string. But he is strong.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:32:14 AM
2nd anesthesiologist of the day is working his magic.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:33:48 AM
I get to wear a neat white jumpsuit in the OR.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:42:43 AM
They're wheeling my wife away. Hope they come back for me soon.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 10:52:07 AM
I'm going in. See you on the other side (again).

Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:13:02 PM
Welcome, Benjamin.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:14:55 PM
Benjamin. Born 7-3-2010 10:57 am. 8 lb 4 oz. 19.5 inches long.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:17:20 PM
Mother and baby are doing fine.

Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:19:22 PM




Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:46:57 PM
Chillaxin. Ben had 25cc to eat and is resting comfortably. Meg is recovering well.



Saturday, July 03, 2010 3:33:54 PM
Ben gave Jack a couple gifts today.


Saturday, July 03, 2010 6:22:49 PM
At home with Jack, trying to get some rest. Neither of us got enough sleep today, so we're going to hit the hay early.

Sunday, July 04, 2010 8:54:56 AM
Hangin' out at the hospital with Ben in my lap. He's so calm and looks so healthy.

Sunday, July 04, 2010 10:08:43 AM
Of course, Ben waits until I take his diaper off to evacuate.

Sunday, July 04, 2010 2:23:24 PM
Circumcised and named: Benjamin Anderson Bocksnick.

Jack's 3rd Birthday

I want to embed the video here, but even the smallest YouTube embed setting is now too wide for this Blogger template... until I get that figured out, follow this link to watch some video from Jack's 3rd birthday party:
UPDATE: fixed the template and embedded the video:



Painting the playhouse was a great success!

SNOW!!

It snowed in Charleston overnight! This morning, we got to throw snowballs and make snowmen (or nosemen, as Jack calls them). Hooray!

It's actually the neighbor's snowman in the picture. Jack drew a lot of inspiration from it.