My Lovebug

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Quantity, Not Quality.

I have a bunch of cute photos from my point-and-shoot camera. The problem is that the camera is quite old and although I have cleaned it thoroughly a number of times, it just takes awful photos. As an aspiring photographer, I take pride in nice pictures, but these ones are just too cute not to share. So please excuse the awfulness and enjoy!

Carter opening his new 4-wheeler at my dad's.

Aunt Candi and Kaleb. 

My mother-in-law with her newest grandbabies,

Brooklyn and Kaleb.

Miss Brookie is all smiles these days...

...and she just loves her bears!

Steven and Carter playing with Woody and Buzz.

They have so much fun together.

Why we don't tell Carter to say "cheese", LOL!

Best friends.

Things have been pretty crazy around here. We are still adjusting to being a family of 4. I think my disability makes things a lot harder to get used to, but we are doing well. Steven has been amazing. When I need help or time to myself, he is right there to say "Go. Take your time." He has been such a blessing.

Brookie is doing great. She had her 2 month well-visit yesterday and is right on track. She now weighs 9 pounds, 3 ounces. She is eating about 4 ounces per feeding now. She is almost out of her newborn clothes and after this pack of newborn diapers is gone, we will be moving on to size 1. I cannot believe how fast my little girl is growing. Right now, I am in the process of switching her from the Gumdrop Pacifiers to Tommee Tippee Pacifiers. They are significantly different in shape and feel, but I think she'll be able to keep them in her mouth without them popping out, which is a problem with the Gumdrops. Its taking her a little bit to adjust to the feel, but I think she'll be fine and it will be better for her in the long run.

Carter has been a little sick these past few days. He was supposed to have his 2 year well-visit with Brookie yesterday, but was running a low-grade fever, so he has to go back next week. We've been giving him Tylenol and lots of fluids, so I'm sure he'll be good as new in no time! This afternoon, he and Steven have been working on the 4-wheeler, so I am sure he'll ride a bit later. Pictures to come! He's so cute in his little helmet!

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend...pretty soon the snow will be falling!

The twins I always wanted...

I was uploading photos of Brooklyn the other day and was completely shocked. I always wanted twins, but I never expected them to be born 2 years apart...

Isn't that crazy?! They were both roughly the same age in these pictures. Brooklyn just has lighter eyes, less hair, and her features are a bit more feminine. It still baffles me when I look at this!!

So, my baby is officially 2 years old. I still remember the day he was born...like it was yesterday. I am so in love with him and I couldn't be more proud of the little man he has become. I am truly blessed to be his mommy and I am so thankful that I get to watch him grow. 

October 29, 2008

October 29, 2009

October 29, 2010

We are back in NY this weekend because my nephew Kaleb was born on Sunday! My sister-in-law is my new hero. She labored for about 2 days straight after being almost a week past her due date. She was admitted to L&D and continued to labor all day on Sunday. We arrived at the hospital around 2:30 pm. She was fully dilated and began pushing around that time. 2 hours later, doctors decided to do a c-section because the baby was just too big. After 2 hours of pushing!!! She did such a great job. I couldn't have been more proud of her...and my brother-in-law. He was an amazing coach! Kaleb was born via c-section shortly after 5pm. He weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet him because it was Halloween and we had to take Carter trick-or-treating. But we did visit the following evening.

Halloween was fun, but it was absolutely freezing. We didn't get a chance to dress Brooklyn in her costume, but I did manage to snap a picture of Carter on my phone after we got back in from trick-or-treating. 

I plan on dressing them back up once we get home so I can get them in the studio for a Halloween/birthday shoot. Until then, here are a few more randoms from our week.

Isn't my family beautiful?? I may be biased, but I think they're absolutely perfect!

Little of this, little of that.

It seems like my updates are few and far between these days. Life is just so hectic, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Here is a bullet list of what's been going on around the Butchino home! Sorry for the lack of pictures...I accidentally left my point-and-shoot at my dad's. I do have a few from Steven's phone though...

Brooklyn had her 1 month well-visit last week. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Everything looks great! She is now taking 4 ounces every feeding.

Steven shot his 2nd deer of the season. It's a big 8-point buck and it is currently at the taxidermist being mounted. I am very proud of him!

Carter has been given most of his birthday presents early because we just couldn't wait! From Steven and I, he got a fish tank, remote control cars, Matchbox cars, and a helmet for the 4-wheeler my dad is having shipped here this week. From my mom, he got a Radio Flyer tricycle, and from Steven's mom, he got his jumpy-jump that I posted about last week. We will still be giving him stuff on his actual birthday, but that is only because I will be waiting until the last minute to go shopping again!

After a year of fighting with the flooring company over all of the bubbling in our laminate floors, they have finally agreed to replace them all. We have to choose a new color because the one we have now was discontinued. We are thinking of going for a dark cherry look. 

Last night we took Carter to a haunted hayride/festival. We had a blast! Carter went on his very first pony ride and loved it!

I got the kids' Halloween costumes from the Disney Store when we were in NY. Carter will be Mickey Mouse and Brooklyn will be Minnie.

Tomorrow is my sister-in-law's due date. My very first nephew, Kaleb, should be making his appearance any second!

Steven is waiting to hear about a job with the county that he interviewed for. Please keep him in your prayers.

Someone broke into my van and our garage this week. Luckily, they were spooked by something and didn't end up taking anything. We called the police and they came and dusted for prints, but we will probably never find out who it was. Lesson learned...we now lock up and leave our outside lights on at night. 

I think that about does it! We will be making a trip to NY as soon as my sister-in-law goes into labor, then I will stop and get my camera back from my dad's. I am so scared to use my Canon for personal photos because if it breaks, I have no back-up for photo shoots. No worries...I'll have my P&S back within a week or so!

Pictures...but not many words!

This is kind of a quickie update. I don't have much time, but I wanted to post a few more pics of our NY trip as well as some of Carter with his birthday present from his grandma. It arrived today and we had it waiting for him when he woke up from his nap.

A Complicated Emotion.

I am having some really weird issues since Brooklyn was born. It actually didn't start until a couple of weeks ago, but it is very intense and I am not sure how to deal with it. I am having major regret and even guilt about having my tubes tied. I really thought I could handle this type of "second guessing" myself...but it is hitting me hard. I know that it is not safe for me to have more children. I know that I almost died giving birth to Carter and that Brooklyn's delivery was a tight-rope walk that could've been fatal as well. I know that I have my "perfect family" with one boy and one girl. So, why am I feeling this way?  I don't know...maybe it will pass with time.

We decided to make a surprise trip to NY to see Steven's family. We are heading home tonight, but had a great time. We did lots of visiting, shopping, and we even went to a petting zoo yesterday. We had so much fun! It was such a fun trip and we are feeling refreshed! Now we are going back to Ohio...just to return within the next few weeks when I will be becoming an AUNT!! My sister-in-law, Breanne, is 38 weeks along and will be delivering my very first nephew Kaleb any time now! I am so excited!!

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the petting zoo. I have some of Brooklyn that I will upload as soon as we get home. It seems like I haven't taken many of her, but I assure you that I will have you on Brookie overload very soon!! Her grandma bought her lots of new dresses and we have some packages waiting for us at home with hats/headbands in them!!