... The Backyard is 95% done!!!

So, most everyone knows that when we moved into our house all we had for a backyard was a big dirt pile (and a couple weeds) since the house was new construction. Some of our neighbors had the builder landscape their backyard, but we knew that we wanted something a little more to be able to entertain and to be able to add on to it later on. So this summer we tackled the backyard. The original plan was for us to do most of the work ourselves but we were going to start working on it in March. Well... Sebastian had different plans, so we contracted all the this phase out. We had our good friend (and talented landscape designer) Jarrod Zehner (http://www.backyardcustoms.net/) and his crew come transform our backyard. They did an amazing job and it was done in just under 2 weeks. The only item remaining for this Phase of the backyard is to have the patio cover installed - the posts are set, but because of the size of the patio cover, it won't be done being manufactured until early next week. So, in 1 week from today that will be installed and I will post new pictures again. In this phase we brought all of the gas, electric and water back to various spots in the backyard so that in the future we can add a hot tub, outdoor kitchen, fire pit and waterfall. We don't have to do everything, but the groundwork is there. Anyways here are the pics of how it looks now during the day and at night...

Before pic... blah...

After pics during the day... only thing left is the top of the patio cover and the post covers

Nighttime pics... Jarrod did some amazing lighting but these pics just don't do it justice. You'll have to see it in person to really appeciate the lighting!

And we already have flowers... hopefully I can keep them all alive :-)

It's been a while!!! Here is our summer lowdown...

So, it has been a while since the last post, sorry for that! We have been extremely busy these past couple of months! From out of town trips to in town guests and then the doctors trying to figure out some GI issues with Sebastian, we have not had much down time. Here is a quick snippet of our summer:

In the middle of June, we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday here at the house with some family and friends. The next morning we packed up, along with my parents, and headed down to the bay area to see my Aunt and Uncle. We had a blast, but the little guy had some tummy issues still.

The following Wednesday we were able to get in to see the pediatric GI specialist and she found that Sebastian had a partial bowel obstruction which she was able to immediately take care of, which was great because we were heading out that afternoon to head to Albuquerque, NW for Mark's cousins, Amber, wedding. The main concern with the doctor was that if the obstruction happened again, we would have to look more into the structure and test the nerves in Sebastian's GI tract to make sure everything is working as it should. Well, about 2 weeks after that appointment, things started to get bad again. But at that point in time we couldn't quite tell if it was due to the other trifecta that we had going on with him: he had his 4 month shots, developed an ear infection and started teething... fun times. But we called the doc anyways. They had him in for a barium enema (but they used a substitute for the barium) and xrays. So far they were able to rule out Hirschsprung's which was their primary worry. They found that he has an ileus but they are not too concerned with that at present. Mark takes him in next week for another follow-up since I am going back to work tomorrow! Ahhh!

Anyways, so we went to Albuquerque which was a lot of fun, although it was very windy! The wedding was beautiful and it was great to see everyone again, although nobody seemed interested to see Mark and I, only Sebastian. We know where we stand :-) Then we celebrated the 4th with my cousins and their little ones and had a great BBQ, pool time and our own firework show. Sebastian slept through that. He loves to sleep!

The following weekend, myself, my mom, and Sebastian packed up and headed off to Vegas to see my brother, sister-in-law, Jaime, and my nephew, Allan. It was a great time, but it was HOT down there! We were able to see Jaime's family and had a great time catching up with everyone. Allan is getting so big and is a ball (or Tasmanian devil) of energy.

A week later, Mark's parents came into town to stay a couple weeks and spend some time with Sebastian. While they were here we had work done on our backyard to turn it from a dirt pile to something more than we imagined (it's going to be completed today outside of the cover going on the patio - that happens next week); went to San Francisco, Tahoe and held Sebastian's baptism. It was a great two weeks but it went by all to fast! It was sad to see them leave early this morning.

Tomorrow I head back to work, 5 months went by in a blink of an eye, and we will see how that goes. I have mixed emotions about returning, as most working-moms do, but I am confident that everything will work out as it should. Yesterday, I chopped my hair off. She cut 8 inches off and it is now just above my shoulders, and we brought it back to my "new" natural. Pregnancy my it go darker and redder so, I am just going with it... I'll put up pictures of it soon...

Anyways, here is the part that you are all waiting for... pics...

Sebastian - 3 months old... "Don't look at me when I'm sleeping"

3 months old - playtime

3 1/2 months old - swimming in Albuquerque

Cooper & Amber at their wedding

4 Generation pic - Mark, Sebastian, Ed & Del

Allan playing at a park near our house

Me Sebastian & Cathy at Hard Rock in San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

On the way home from San Fran - eating his fist... his favorite "toy"

5 months old - snoozing at Bob & Lori's after taking a swim

Before pic of backyard

Holes dug - setting the posts for the patio cover

Posts set - 3 feet down...

Concrete in...

Palms & trees in...

Next up is all of the plants, lights and grass... more pics to come once that is done :-)

It's been a while...

So it's been a while since our last post, things have just been a little hectic. I thought I'd sneak in a post here before things get even more hectic!

Sebastian is growing like a week and is just under 11 lbs. We need to get out paper here at home and measure his length, but it wouldn't surprise us if he is up to 23 inches in length with how he's been growing. He has been doing great, just has some tummy or GI issies that we are going to a specialist in the next week or so to have them figure out. We'll update on that once we know more.

In the next week or so Sebastian will have a lot of firsts. This weekend is my father's 60th birthday so we are having some people over for dinner, Sebastian's first dinner party. Then on Saturday morning we are loading up the car and driving with my parents down to the bay area to see family. Sebastian's first road trip. Next week, we pack up again, but this time we fly to Alberquerque to Mark's cousin Amber's wedding - Sebastian's first flight and hotel stay. Cross your fingers that all goes well!

Anyways, a week ago we had Sebastian's 3 month pictures and here are some of my favorites.

The serious thinker

Watch out here I come

Go Giants!

Family & Mother's Day

We had Grandpa Jim &Grandma Cate in town over Mother's Day weekend. It was Grandma Cate's first time on a plane in 14 years and we are so proud that she made it through all of her flights! It was not easy for her, but she had her grandson waiting for her at he airport when she arrived! Here is the proof that she made it :-)

On Mother's Day we got together with my family and had some time to lounge around at home - which means that Sebastian was held by Grabdma or Grandpa all weekend long and only put down at night to sleep. I have spent the last week de-programming him from being held 24/7, but it was worth it to be able to have themn out here. Here are some more pics from the weekend...

Baby Kayla

Grandma Cate and my cousin Kate's son, Wyitt

  

The three little ones, Wyitt, Kayla & Sebastian

Me and my little boy :-)

Sebastian trying to crawl off of the boppy but showing great head control!

Doctor Update

We went to the doctor today for Sebastian's 2 month appointment. He is really growing! He has actually made it onto the percentile charts now which is much better than our 2 week appointment (which was actually at 4 weeks old). He is in the 2nd percentile for height & weight, but if they corrected it to his actual due date (4/10) he is in the 55th percentile. He is now 8 lbs 12 oz (we were all hoping he just hit the 8 lb mark, so he beat all of our expectations) and is 20.5 inches long. He gained almost 3 lbs in the 4 weeks since his last visit.

His digestive system issues are just due to his prematurity and will get better as he gets older. Mark and I just have to touch it out until then, but they do want me to stay off of dairy and soy for a while longer. But I can have chocolate, strawberries, eggs and nut products now!

We also got the green light to let him sleep through the night (or however long he will sleep) and to be able to take him to public places. Mark and I are excited to be able to go back to church and to not have to tag team errands anymore since we couldn't bring him into stores. Perfect timing for Grandma Cate and Grandpa Jim to come into town on Saturday to visit!

Here is a little picture comparison of how he has grown in the weeks that he has been home:

3 1/2 weeks old

8 1/2 weeks old

Sebastian is 2 Months Old!!

Where does the time go? Sebastian is two months old today and has been home for almost 6 weeks! The time certainly flies by!! We go in for his 2 month appointment tomorrow morning (boo to shots!). Sebastian is doing good for the most part but over the last week and half has developed some sort of complication. The doctor isn't sure if it something to do with his digestive system possibly not developing as fast as the rest of him, a food allergy, reflux, extreme gas, or just an immature digestive system that he will grow out of. Unfortunately, preemies are more susceptible to all of them. To help diagnose whatever is going on the doctor had me eliminate dairy (already eliminated this over Easter weekend), soy products, nut products, strawberries, chocolate, bell peppers, and eggs from my diet since the are common food allergies. If they determine that it is a food allergy they will have a schedule that I follow to re-introduce the foods in order to figure out what food allergy it is. So, that's what we have been up to... trying every trick we know to soothe him and ease some of the pain. Mark and I are probably more traumatized than he is.

When we doesn't have those issues going on he is a happy baby and progressing as expected on the developmental milestones. He is developing great head control as well. He is up to 21+ inches and probably 8+ pounds. We will find out tomorrow morning.

So, what else has been going on? Here is a little recap:

Over the weekend we got together with our friends, Heather & Jason, and their two kids, Wyatt and Cammie. It was great to get together with them and we will be having many more summer BBQs with them. They are expecting another little boy in June so Sebastian will have another playmate!

Back in January, we found a daycare provider for when I return to work in August. Unfortunately, in March, she fell ill and is no longer able to provide day care. So, we returned to our search. We are happy to say that last Friday, we found a new in-home daycare (and preschool) that we like and they even had an infant spot available (their first new opening in 3 years). Luckily she is even closer to our house than our original provider and is comparable in cost. We are very lucky on that count!!

Mark has been focused on getting everything ready to break ground soon on our backyard. We are putting in an expansive covered patio and full landscaping so Mark has been working with our good friend Jarrod to get everything going. This week we will be signing all of the contracts, putting down the deposits, and getting the permit process started. We should be able to break ground in 2-3 weeks!! Woohoo!

So, that's about it for us. We have just been enjoying the sunshine and BBQing for dinner most evenings. We are going to the Daughtry concert this Friday and are excited to have Mark's parents coming into town this weekend from Iowa to visit Sebastian (cuz we know the real reason isn't to see us :-P).

Until next time, here are some pics of Sebastian enjoying the mobile on his pack'n'play.