Our Family Update

Hola again,

Here is what has been happening in the Carroll household! :)

Miss Mia is getting big and very active to say the least. She is non stop when it comes to talking and can remember things very very well! She loves to play in her playroom with her babies and boots her monkey...oh and can't forget Rudolph (who needs back surgery...the stitching came undone and have to take it back to Build A Bear store at the mall). She also likes to put on our shoes, a bib, a pail as a hat and push around her stroller...it's too funny! Mia likes to watch her baby Einstein videos still and also Dora and Blue's Clues.

Mia is a crankster though lately due to a virus she got last week. She's been very irritable each morning since Turkey Day practically but got better yesterday. The doc said she has hives b/c of a virus her body is trying to fight off. He said as long as she is not running a fever and eating well, then there is no need to be alarmed. He said it should run its course for about a week and then go away...let's hope it does! She sleeps fine though thankfully and sleeps about 10-12 hours at night.

Food wise, Mia is not too bad of an eater although she is picky like her daddy. She likes your usual snacks such as pretzels, golf fish and crackers. Lately though she's been asking for marshmallows b/c she saw them in our hot choclate! haha! She actually had them a few mornings last week due to her uncontrollable crying (b/c of her hives). We had no idea what to do...she was hysterical until she asked for marshmallows! We gave her some and she calmed right down thankfully! We felt so badly but had to do something. Now we don't usually give her that for breakfast, Mia is usually a rice crispies or cheerios kind of girl, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes! :)

As for Mr. Keegan, he is getting big to say the least! He is prob 13 lbs and length wise, he's pretty long for his age I'd say. He'll be 14 weeks this Friday and I really don't know where the time went to! Keegan loves to goo and repeat what I say or try to at least, loves to suck his lower lip, roll from belly to back (did it for the first time a couple weeks ago), play with his hands in front of his face, smileeeeeee a ton, play on his playmat and watch the bubbles on his bouncer. He's not too much of a pacifier baby and neither was Mia but will take it sporadically. He also notices us a ton more and loves to focus on us when we are up close. His smiles are priceless and so is the time that we spend with him and Mia.

Sleep wise, welllll he's doing a ton better at night thank god! As of last week (at almost the 13 week mark), he slept 8 hours for a few nights in a row! I was in heaven!! I never knew how good that much sleep felt until I didn't get it for 13 weeks! It was a very hard 13 weeks w/ no sleep but it was worth it for him. He'll now go b/t 7-8 hours for the first stretch and then another 3 hours before getting up at 8am. Nap wise, they are much better than they were a month ago! I'll place him in his crib, awake, after about 2 hours after he gets up. He'll cry for a bit (swaddled), but will eventually fall asleep on his own (or with my help of patting his chest which he loves) for about 35 mins before he wakes up crying a ton. I'll try to get him to go back by patting his chest which sometimes works but other times, I'll just get him up. I'm not sure why he wakes up after 35 mins each time though? It's like he knows when it's 35 mins and starts crying...weird!

Milk wise, he still nurses from me for about 40 mins total every 3 1/2 hours. I put him on that schedule almost two weeks ago and he has been doing well. He can take up to 5 oz in a bottle or more like he did today (took 6). He may be going through a growth spurt but who knows.

Keegan was very cranky today b/c he didn't poop at all...couldn't get it out! Poor guy! We tried everything we've been told to do except pear juice...didn't have any but am getting some tomorrow. He was very tired too b/c his naps weren't long at all so that's prob why he was also cranky. I just hate seeing him upset...it breaks my heart. He's fine now though but I don't look forward to when he does poop...watch out!

Other than that, Keegan is doing much better than he was a month ago and is so much more interactive! He had his first Turkey Day last week and spent it with my family and Josh's parents and Aunt and Uncle which was a lot of fun. We def had a great feast!!

Josh and I are doing well too and are used to do handling the duties of 2 kiddies. It's def a ton harder than I thought it would be but it gets easier as time goes on. I'm used to our routine and love having them on a schedule...it helps us all! We also love just playing with them and seeing them together. Having two kids is a lot of fun but a lot of work too. I don't know how my mom did it with 4..I ask her that every day! haha!! I don't think I will be having 4 kids, maybe 3, but nothing any time soon. We're very much happy (and busy!) with our 2 little kiddies whom we just loveeeeeee so much! What did we do without them all these years?! :)

Oh I'm slowly getting back to my pre-prego weight...got about 7-9 lbs to go! I fit into a size 5 pair of jeans on Turkey Day which I was happy about but I got a bit to go before my other size 5's fit. I haven't joing a gym yet, don't know when I'll find the time to do so, but I have to! I need to get back in shape and so does my hubby! haha!! We were so active out in Cali and I realllllllllly miss that aspect of our cali life. I hope to get that back eventually. Anywho, I'm going to either join a gym or find a way to exercise at home. Either way, it's going to happen!

That's it from our family...sorry it's a novel, but that's me! :) I love to write! Hmmm, good business idea! haha!! Check out our pics when you can (on the right hand side of this page under Carroll Family Pictures!

Hope you all had a nice Turkey Day! I can't wait for Christmas! We plan on going Christmas Tree shopping this weekend along with getting our family pic taken in a couple weekends. Fun stuff!

Stay tuned for our next family update next month!

Love,

Cathy, Josh, Mia and Keegan