First Boat Ride

This past Friday night, we got together with our good friends Sabrina and Marc for an impromptu cookout and boat ride. Luke and Olivia have never been on a boat, so we weren't sure how they would like it. We decided to take them out after dinner for just a few minutes. That way if they didn't like it, we could come back to their house easily. Luckily, they loved it! Luke especially loved going faster and feeling the breeze on his face. His smile was priceless. It was a perfect evening and the sunset was just beautiful.

It was lots of fun and we look forward to many more boat rides this summer. Check out Marc and Sabrina's trusty boat companions, Molly and Ella.

15 Month Pics

After my all day photography class, we decided to try to put some of my brief knowledge to the test and see if we could take some 15 mth pics of the babies. We just hit the walking trails in our neighborhood and hoped for the best. I still have LOTS to learn about lighting, flash, exposure, etc, but we got some cute shots nonetheless. Most of them haven't been edited too extensively, so just imagine how great they would look with some fancy software edits =). I had to compress the images so they would upload, so some of the quality is lost.

Friends from Atlanta

This past weekend, our friends Joni, Mark and 15 month old Charlotte came to visit from Atlanta and we had SUCH a fun time. They arrived Friday afternoon and the babies started playing together almost instantly. Eveyone shared their toys nicely and got along very well.

Saturday was a very busy day. The guys, along with Mark's brother Brad and friend Marc, went to the driving range while us girls stayed behind with our little ones. After lunch, we loaded up the cars and headed for Discovery Place Kids for the afternoon. Just as we were pulling into the parking deck, a nice lady informed us that they were closed because of a water main break. Uh, oh...plan B. We decided to go to nearby Birkdale Village to walk around for a bit and let the babies play in the grassy area. The guys went to a local pub to watch the UNC game in OT while we let the Luke, Olivia and Charlotte play in the grass. The babies had some much fun "talking" to the people as they strolled past while they munched on some cheerios. Around 5pm, we headed for home so we could get ready for dinner. Joni made us homemade chicken pot pies-what a treat for us! Playtime, bathtime, and bedtime and then it was time to watch some basketball. Too bad NCSU didn't make it past the first round, but that's another story...

Sunday we went to brunch at the Knife and Fork and then to the park for a bit to enjoy the beautiful weather. Then sadly it was time for them to head for home. We had a great time and look forward to Joni visting with Charlotte sometime when Dan is in Japan.

On the road again

Well, it looks like Dan's travel schedule is ramping back up again. He is off to Philadelphia next week for a few days and then the inevitable...back to Japan. He is going to do a 2 week gone, 4 week home rotation indefinitely, but probably for at least 6 months. The good news is the weather is getting warmer so Luke, Olivia and I can venture outdoors more often. It is also easier (in certain ways!) now that they are walking. But we'll still miss him lots. We will be sure to make the most of our family time when he is home, especially on the weekends. Now, time to plan some fun things for the spring/summer...

Just a cute pic

I didn't really get a good pic of Luke and Olivia on their first birthday together, so I put them in their shirts again for Take 2 and presto:

A cute pic of them.
Together.
Smiling.
Standing still.
Cue applause for success!!!

15 Mth update

Luke and Olivia are 15 months old today. I know I say this a lot, but I just can't believe it. Now that they are walking 100% of the time now, they love to play at the park and at Discovery Place Kids. They color pictures (with washable crayons, of course!), build things with blocks, give hugs when asked, point to body parts (belly buttons are their favorite), imitate us and most of all, laugh a lot =). They are just so funny, and I love watching their facial expressions. The world is still so new to them, but they are figuring out more and more about it everyday.

We had their 15 mth appointment and shots today. Luckily they only had to get 1 shot each. Olivia didn't cry a bit and Luke only cried for a few seconds. We found out Luke has an ear infection and is cutting all 4 molars. Poor fella! He has also had some dry patches on his skin so we are going to try some prescription lotion and see if it helps. Olivia is also cutting teeth but not molars quite yet. I think babies should be born with teeth because it hurts so much. Otherwise, they are healthy and right on track. Here are their measurements from today:

Luke
23.4 pounds; 35%
30.75" long; 46%
Head circumference: 47.25cm 56%

Olivia
18.4 pounds; 2%
29.75" long; 25%
Head circumference: 44cm 8%

Biltmore House

Dan and I got 1 year passes to the Biltmore House in Asheville, so this past weekend we decided to check it out. We also got some free passes so our friends joined us along with their 9 mth old son, Grant. Dan's folks (Maumaw and Paupaw) cames as well. Even though it was really crowded (over 7,000 people) and really windy, we had a wonderful day.

We left around 10am in the hopes that Luke and Olivia would take a nap in the car. Olivia got the memo and fell fast asleep. However, Luke stayed awake until almost 11:30am. We got to Asheville around noon, so Luke got a solid 30 minute nap. We were worried he would be really cranky during the day, but both babies were troopers all day. After a quick lunch, we were off for our 1:30pm appointment time to tour the house. We spent about 2 hours in the house and then headed off to the courtyard for some snacks and shopping. Since Luke and Olivia had been in the car for 2 hours and in the strollers for another 2 hours, they were MORE than ready to run around for a little bit. Our friends left for an early dinner, and we went to the winery with Maumaw and Paupaw. There weren't any tour times left, so we wandered around for a bit before heading off to dinner ourselves.

We ate at a southern cooking restaurant, and not long after we got there a bus full of teenagers showed up. A group of 6 girls sat at a table next to us, and Luke really showed off for them. It was adorable! I wish we could have gotten a picture of our little man flirting with the girls. Our little ladies man =) After we were done with dinner, we changed Luke and Olivia into their pj's and headed for home. Luke passed out almost immediately and Olivia dozed off not long after we were on the road.

We are going to try to go again in April/May during the festival of flowers and spend the night next time. We still want to check out the petting zoo and garden area. It was a very full day to say the least, but we had a great time and look forward to our next visit.

Fun with Food

Now that Luke and Olivia are pretty much eating what we eat, mealtime has become a messy adventure. We are teaching them to eat with utensils, but until they master using them their fingers and hands are the next best thing. Spaghetti is particularly messy, but they absolutely love it. And they would much rather feed themselves than have us feed them. Independence starts so early, doesn't it?

Luke's first haircut...and Happy Valentine's Day!

The day has come for Luke's first haircut. He needed a really good trim around his ears and in the back, and the front was getting a little long as well. I wasn't brave enough to attempt a full haircut at home, so off to Snipits we went. I had already researched some "kid friendly" salons and Snipits got good reviews and was pretty close to home. Also, we knew there was a Coldstone Creamery right around the corner for their Valentine's Day/first haircut treat.

Let's just say Luke did not like his first haircut experience AT ALL! The lady that cut his hair was very fast and patient, and said little ones tend to cry because it can be a scary experience. Snipits is so cutely decorated, complete with bubbles, bright colors and a TV with cartoons. None of that helped ease poor Luke's fears, though, and he cried the entire time. Even cheerios or Daddy's cell phone couldn't help his worries. The haircut lasted less than 5 minutes, and once we scooped Luke up out of the chair he was a happy little camper once again. We saved some of his hair for his baby book and scrapbook and he also got a certificate of bravery. So cute! Then it was off for some yummy strawberry ice cream and lots of kisses from mom and dad.

Olivia did great sitting in the stroller and just taking it all in. Her first haircut is coming, but it will probably be awhile before we traumatize her as well. We actually had to go back once Luke's hair dried so she could take a little bit more off of the top. Luke stayed in the stroller this time but he still wasn't happy. He looks like such a little man now and I'm proud of him for being so brave.

Here are some pics from Luke's first haircut:


A "before" pic with mommy

A "before" pic with daddy

Oh, the trauma!

Even cheerios didn't help

An "after" pic but before Luke's final trim on top

Today is also Valentine's Day. Typically Dan and I don't do much for the day, but we wanted to do a little something for Luke and Olivia. We got them little miniature sock monkeys to match the ones in their cribs and they had a special spaghetti dinner (it had to be red, of course!). They also got lots of cards and little presents from MauMaw, PauPaw and Grandma. There's a lot of love in the Bartlett house!

Another first

Well, another first for the Bartlett house-an ear infection for Olivia. She wasn't getting better during the week, so I decided to take her to the doctor today so we didn't end up in the ER again, especially with the weekend coming up. Dr. Colyer took one look into her right ear and said yes, it's an ear infection. After waiting almost 2 hours to get a prescription filled (the office calling it into the right pharmacy would have helped!), we are home with our first round of antibiotics. Here's hoping for a restful night of sleep all around.

Middle of the night trip to the ER

It was bound to happen; a middle of the night trip to the ER. Once we got home from Atlanta, Luke and Olivia seemed like they were getting a little bit of a cold. We pretty much expected that would happen, especially after being around so many people and babies. The last time we went to Atlanta we all came home with a stomach bug so a cold is a step up, right?

Wrong.

Monday night neither Luke nor Olivia were feeling great, so we gave them a bath and tried to put them in bed a little early. Luke went to sleep pretty easily but Olivia was fighting it until after 9pm or so. Once she fell asleep, Dan and I thought they were tucked in for the night. But around 10:30pm, Luke woke up with a terrible, barking sounding cough. We got him out of bed, settled his cough, and put him back in bed. A few minutes later it started again. We decided to bring him into our room so we could keep an eye on him. He would settle for a few minutes, but then his nasty cough would start again. About midnight, I took Luke downstairs to the recliner thinking that sitting him upright would help. About 12:30, his coughing got MUCH worse and he had lots of trouble breathing. I was halfway upstairs to get Dan and he was already getting dressed for us to go to the hospital. So we got Olivia up (she was so confused) and put them both in the carseats. Off we went...

We got to the hospital about 1:15am and they got us admitted fairly quickly. Thankfully Olivia was sleeping at this point so we could both focus on Luke. They got his oxgygen levels and had us wait for a doctor to come to our room. After about 45 minutes, the doctor came in, listened to his lungs, checked his ears and sent us for an x-ray and RSV test. She was pretty sure Luke had croup and the x-rays were just precautionary. The RSV test came back negative (whoo hoo!), and she gave Luke a steriod and breathing treatment to help his symptoms. Apparently croup is very common and the cough is what scares parent to death. Croup causes an inflammed trachea, hence the reason for the barking cough. It is completely viral, highly contageous, and there isn't much we can do other than the standard humidifier, tylenol and liquid steroid. We left the hospital about 4am, which by this point Luke was fast asleep and Olivia was up and ready to party. Once we got home, neither baby settled down very well, leaving Dan and I to make some VERY strong coffee Tuesday morning! We are so happy it wasn't anything more serious, and after several late nights in Atlanta and several late nights in our future, we are two tired but thankful parents.

Here is a pic from the hospital at about 3:30am. Notice Olivia is now wide awake and Luke is fast asleep!