Thomas Tidbits...: March 2014

March 31, 2014

Birthday Girl

It's been a whirlwind, sleep deprived 3 weeks. I forgot what life is like with a newborn... add a very active toddler into the mix, and we are spent by 5:00 pm. Needless to say, we're already planning our first adult only vacation post Fisher. We love them, we really do;)

Fisher is a growing boy! He gained 2.5 lbs in 2 weeks, so he's definitely got the eating business down. On the other hand, we battle acid reflux and general neediness on a daily basis. Poor little guy is constantly uncomfortable unless he's splayed on top of my chest... hence my lack of blog posting.

Aunt Katie helped us out for about a week, and then Justin's parents stayed with us for 5 days. Top that off with Mom coming down every spare moment she has off work. I can't imagine not having the extra hands on deck. It really DOES take a village! We've also been incredibly lucky with friends dropping off meals every few days.

In the midst of Fisher joining the family, we celebrated Eleanor's 2nd birthday. She really got into the birthday spirit and dutifully sang happy birthday to herself at the top of her lungs as she "winded" down for nap each day in her crib.

We celebrated her actual birthday with dinner at our house with Nana, Bama, Papa, and The Beadles (neighbor friends). The evening was off to a good start until Eleanor sliced her finger on corrugated cardboard while opening a present. She was instantly upset by the blood and the pain... poor thing. So, in order to create a diversion/distraction, I insisted that we blow out candles and eat cupcakes before dinner. That did the trick... you'll see her not-so-happy birthday song below.

We celebrated with Eleanor's girlfriends in true hippy Austin fashion - a yoga birthday party! We had 3 girlfriends and their parents join us for yoga + breakfast + birthday celebration. We all had a blast at The Little Yoga House with our favorite yoga teacher, Abby.

We took Eleanor in for her 2 year check up and Fisher in for his 3 week checkup at the same time (thanks to Bama and Papa accompanying us). Here are the stats:

Eleanor:
Height: 33" - 28%
Weight: 23 lbs - 9%

Fisher:
Height: 21" - 48%
Weight: 9 lbs, 10 oz - 62%

We did a newborn/sibling photo shoot when Fisher was 10 days old. Here's the sneak peek - I can't wait to see the rest later this week:

http://www.ellabellaphotos.com/blog/2014/03/baby-brother-austin-newborn-photographer-ella-bella-photography/

Off to see a SXSW show at Whole Foods.

I feel like she's already a teenager with her accessories.

New mail delivery. Eleanor rides to the mailbox and carts the mail to the house.

First FaceTime with Bama and Papa as a family of four.

Eleanor loves sleep so much that she like to pretend to sleep. She insists that everyone "playing" has a blanket and pillow.

This is Fisher's favorite position. Literally 99% of the day (and night!).

Same position, different chest.

Eleanor loved having Aunt Katie back as her partner in crime.

One of the few moments she sits still... she looks so angelic;)

You can really tell how blonde our little guy is here.

We hit the gym to burn off some energy...

Great Great Aunt Sally comes to visit Mr. Fisher.

Daddy looking calm, cool, and collected.

First bottle down! It took Eleanor 11 weeks. Brother wins!

Birthday girl - how is she 2 already??

Grocery shopping

Play doh from Grammy and Jack was an instant hit!

I missed E being able to sit on my lap in the last trimester. Love the snuggle time when I'm not strapped down to brother.

Sad birthday girl after a gift opening wound. She called the BandAid a "hat for my finger."

Add some pre-dinner sugar and all is well again!

Thomas Boys

So fun having Bama and Papa in town - 2 extra sets of hands was a major bonus.

So this is how I roll these days...

Eleanor had her weekly yoga class on her actual birthday - can you tell how happy she is? Miss Abby gave her a special bindi from India to commemorate the day.

Fast forward 1 week to the yoga birthday party. Daddy and Eleanor pre-party, waiting for guest to arrive.

Abby with Hadley, Audrey, Eleanor, and Nora.

Parent participation made for a fun morning. First post baby workout! If you don't consider my daughter's daily shenanigans a workout.

Meanwhile, Nana takes care of Fisher at the yoga studio...

You can't see, but the kiddos are in the middle of the parachute going for a ride.

And we hide!

Sweet Hadley Greager, the youngest of the bunch at 19 months.

Itsy bitsy spider on the wall.

Last year, a sugar free muffin/cupcake, this year a donut cake...

Party favors

March 14, 2014

Introducing Fisher Boyd Thomas

And just like that... we're a family of FOUR! Fisher Boyd Thomas joined our family on March 6, 2014 at 3:38 am. He weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 20.5". We were instantly smitten with our beautiful and healthy son!

I actually had 2 days of false labor before the real labor began in the middle of the night. 4 hours of labor and 7 minutes of pushing later, along came our little charmer. It certainly beat the 14 hours of labor and 4 hours of pushing with Eleanor. Justin and I were stunned at how quickly everything happened. My only regret is that my epidural didn't set in until AFTER Fisher was born.

Brother looks a lot like Eleanor as a newborn but has blonde hair and long fingers and toes (no extra phalanges or skin tags like me and E). While Eleanor was an energetic being from the moment she was born, Fisher is super reserved but very particular. He's a lover and is happiest when he's being held and sleeping. I can already tell that he's going to be our sensitive child;)

We were so lucky to have our nanny (5th family member) stay with Eleanor while we were in the hospital. We were anxious for Eleanor to meet her baby brother as soon as she woke up the morning he was born. Laura brought her to the hospital, and we were so proud at her reaction... sheer joy and pride with her new big sister role. Honestly, I'm not sure there's anything sweeter than seeing my two children together for the first time. Eleanor insists on constantly kissing him and snuggling with him, and whenever she's away from him for more than an hour, she dramatically exclaims, "Oh brother, I MISSED you!!"

So far, the transition to life as a family of four has been fairly smooth. Mostly, in part, to the non stop food delivery from family and friends. AND Nana being here to help with various kid wrangling/cleaning/cooking and Aunt Katie arriving on Wednesday to do much of the same. I think it's fair to say that parenthood mellowed me a bit, so the second time around has been easier. Less anxiety, lower expectations, more help!

Justin took a week off of work, which has been so helpful. We plan to soak in his last few days of paternity leave with some basketball and SXSW.

Thanks to everyone for the calls, emails, texts, gifts, etc. Excuse me for my delays in responding as we navigate this new chapter, but know that we are incredibly grateful to have such an amazing support system!

PS - For those of you who are wondering about the name... We really wanted to incorporate Fisk (mom's maiden name) into our son's name, but Fisk Thomas didn't really work phonetically. So, we looked up the meaning of Fisk, which is "Fisherman." Hence, Fisher. And Boyd was Justin's maternal grandfather's name. Though I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Boyd Manning, I've heard so many wonderful stories about his character, and we're proud to have our son share his name.