Panera Date

The Friday night before Ben was born, I spent the evening on a very special date with my Sweet Luke. Sean had a buddy in town for their fantasy football draft, so I took Luke to the mall to walk a bit, I was having contractions all afternoon, ride the carousel, and have dinner at his favorite, Panera. I had a feeling our little one was going to arrive that weekend and wanted to cherish this special time with Luke. We had a great little date, walking through the mall, checking out all the animals at Scheel's, riding in the bulldozer, and topping it off with his favorite meal at Panera, Peanut butter and jelly. I even splurged and let Luke indulge in a candy cookie. We had a great little night out together, all the while having contractions, not knowing that Sweet Little Ben would be making his debut the very next day!

Luke enjoying his PB&J from Panera during our little dinner date

TWO

Luke at TWO years old!!! He sure keeps our lives full of life and lots of laughter!

Sweet Little Ben at two weeks old (9.17.11)
We had Ben's two week appointment on Friday, September 16th and we are happy to report this little guy has surpassed his birth weight by an ounce! He is a great eater, happy baby, and sleeping like crazy:) We have forgotten how much newborns actually sleep. Ben has give us a few great nights of sleep already with five hour stretches. However, we have also had our fair share of nights where we are up partying like rockstars! I have been nursing him around 7pm, then wake him for a dream feed around 9:30 or so, then he goes back down until 2 a.m or so. The problem lies when it is time to go back to bed after the 2 a.m feeding. He doesn't fuss, he just lays and stares at me with his beautiful blue eyes. Then when I do lay him down, he makes noises like you wouldn't believe keeping me up until nearly the next feeding at 5:30 or so. Ben may soon inherit the nickname "lil dolphin" because he sounds like one at all hours of the night, he might be the noisiest sleeper! We are enjoying life with our two sweet boys and I love watching Luke love on Ben and acknowledge him all the time. When Luke wakes in the morning, he immediately asks for Ben! Ben lost his umbilical cord this weekend, on his two week birthday so he received his first full bath tonight and much to our surprise, did extremely well. I was expecting a lot of screaming because he absolutely hates it when I give him a sponge bath with no-rinse solution. But overall, he did really well. So far, he is taking a pacifier but each day I feel like he is rejecting it more, which is exactly what Luke did. Ben has found his thumb and loves to suck on his fingers. We are adjusting to our life with a busy toddler and a newborn. We are thankful for the beautiful weather because we take lots of walks and spend lots of time outside burning up Luke's energy! Our house is full of laughter as Luke is quite the ham these days. We are absolutely out of this world thankful for the addition of Benjamin David to our family!
Here are Ben's stats from his TWO week check up:

21 1/4 inches long (2o inches at birth) which puts him in the 75th percentile for height
7 lbs 13 oz (7 lbs 12 oz at birth) 50th percentile
head measured 14 1/4 inches which puts him in the 45th percentile

My Little Hawkeyes

Luke & Ben ready for Iowa Football

Luke's inaugural fishing trip

Monday night Sean took Luke on a special trip to Scheel's to buy his first fishing pole, none other than Toy Story, or as Luke's says it "Buzz Pole". Sean and Luke took a little walk down our subdivision to a small little pond for some fishing, and Luke had the time of his life. Sean was overly impressed at how well Luke did fishing and following directions. After I got Ben down I ran outside to pick up some toys on the front yard and saw Sean and Luke hand in hand walking home from fishing, it was pure sweetness. When Luke walked in the door he had the biggest smile on his face, gave me a big hug, and told me caught "one bish"! These are priceless moments:) I love watching my boys together!

Luke 1st cast
"check it out dad, I'm fishing"

Going after the prize fish

Luke's 1st fish!

Checking out his big catch!

Luke turns 2!!!

Luke turned 2 on Sunday, September 4th and we made sure to celebrate!!! We had a very eventful weekend in our family, but if there is one thing for sure, we made sure we had a very special day for Luke. Luke and Sean came down to the hospital early Sunday morning to kick of the birthday boys day! We opened gifts, the "four of us" and enjoyed our family time together. Grandpa and Grandma Merrick came late that morning to meet Ben and spend sometime with Luke. After his afternoon nap, Sean brought Luke back down to the hospital where all of his Bop, Nannie, and his Einck Aunts & Uncles greeted the birthday boy!!! We enjoyed watching Luke open up his presents, sang happy birthday, and then enjoyed pizza and cupcakes in the family lounge area. Luke had so much fun having his dear family spend the day with him, and all the attention.
Our lives have been completely overjoyed by the presence of our busy boy Luke and each day is as exciting as the day before. Our house is so full of life with Luke running around, I can't imagine what occupied our days before he was born. Luke is growing leaps and bounds hitting the 85th percentile in weight and 75th in height. He is becoming more and more of an independent little boy, often stating "Me this, Me that", wanting to do most things on his own. His vocabulary is expanding hourly...repeating everything, and loves to make any animal noise he can. He has become quite the Hawkeye fan, and runs around cheering "Let's go Tawks"! Luke is quite the emotional athlete, showing lots of emotions if he doesn't hit the baseball far enough or catch the football, saying "Oh No" and slaps his thigh! There are so many highlights I could go on forever...this little boy is full of life, energy, and loves to make people laugh! I love his outgoing, friendly personality. Luke has started his school up again, going two mornings a week and he enjoys his time at "tool" very much. Happy Birthday to our Sweet Luke, you have brought so much joy and energy to our lives and fill our hearts with pure love. We love you more than you can imagine and love that you make us laugh every day.
Here are a few pictures of Luke's Day, September 4, 2011.

Luke opening up his gift from Uncle Mitch
Sean brought Luke down early Sunday morning so I could see the birthday boy and he could open his gifts from us. He crawled into bed & cuddled with me and we watched his favorite TV show, Backyardigans, on the iPad.

Luke opening up his gift from Miss Judi

Uncle Nate reading Luke one of his new books

Opening up his Hawkeye shoes to match his Nike running outfit and Hawkeye tshirt from Bop and Nannie

A Birthday Song book that sings and lights up from Bop and Nannie

"Look at who is turning 2"

Luke modeling his new Hawkeye bibs from Miss Judi

Introducing Benjamin David Merrick

Our family is thrilled to announce the arrival of our sweet little boy Benjamin David Merrick. Ben entered the world last Saturday afternoon at 12:15 weighing 7 lbs 12 oz, measuring 20 inches long. Today, September 11th, is my due date, but sweet little Ben wanted to meet us one week early!!! We have thoroughly enjoyed our family time together this week, and I am so thankful that Sean was able to take the time off to spend the entire week home with me and our two sweet boys. It was so important for us to spend this time together as a family of four and we have really enjoyed it, and are adjusting well. I started having contractions Friday afternoon, I spent the afternoon with Luke, we went to dinner at Panera while Sean and his friend golfed, and just enjoyed our night together, all the while having very consistent contractions. When it was time to go to the hospital, after spending several hours in labor, it was confirmed that we had a gymnast on our hands, little Ben decided to flip to a breech position sometime between my appointment the prior Monday and Saturday. Ben entered the world very shortly after his breech position was confirmed. He took our breath away when we first met him, and my first remark was that he was a spitting image of his big brother Luke. Our sitter brought Luke down to join our family that afternoon when he woke from his nap! It was a moment I will never forget, seeing my sweet little boys meet each other for the first time. I envision all the great memories these two will share together and become best friends over the years. I am having a hard time not being able to be as active with Luke and mostly missing picking up my big boy due to the restrictions from the c-section. We have found a way for me to put him to bed in his crib unassisted, a step ladder! Luke loves crawling in and out of his crib like a big boy! I am looking forward to picking Luke up and running after him again, but for now Sean has taken over 100% and I am so thankful. I have some blog posts to catch up on, one very important one, Luke's 2nd birthday that we celebrated on Sunday, September 4th! We had an eventful weekend with the birth of Ben and the celebration on Luke turning two! We love our boys so much and are enjoying adjusting to a family of four. Thank you for the many phone calls, visits, texts, cards, gifts, and for those of who have shared meals with us, we are ever so thankful and feel completed overwhelmed with the kindness and well wishes from so many.

Benjamin David Merrick

Born Saturday, September 3rd 2011

12:15 pm

7 lbs 12 oz 20 inches long

Our two sweet boys!
Luke loving on little Ben

Ben looks so much like his big brother Luke

Our 1st picture as a family of FOUR

Luke opening up his present from Ben

My two sweet boys! I am so blessed:)

Luke and Ben on Luke's birthday!

Bop and Nannie (Grandpa & Grandma Einck) with their two grandsons

Meeting Ben for the first time. My parents arrived Sunday afternoon to meet Ben and Celebrate Luke's birthday. They were hosting my brother's wedding reception the day Ben was born!

Nannie and Ben

My siblings: Nate & Debbie, Bryan & Kate, and Mitch all came to visit on Sunday after celebrating Nate & Debbie's wedding reception in Waukon Saturday, the day Ben was born!

Uncle Bryan & Aunt Kate

Uncle Nate & Aunt Debbie

They were home celebrating their wedding reception in Waukon. We were bummed to miss the reception but so happy they were home for the weekend and got to meet Ben!

Uncle Mitch meeting Ben

Grandpa & Grandma Merrick with Luke and Ben

They came to visit Sunday morning and meet Ben for the first time.

Tuesday, September 6th, heading home! Ben and I were very eager to get home, we were discharged by noon on Tuesday and got to enjoy our first afternoon at home!

Proud Big Bro Luke was happy to have us home!
I was so happy to see his sweet face open the door for us when we arrived, the days in the hospital seemed so long and I missed Luke so much when he wasn't visiting.

39 weeks...WOW

39 week bump tracker

Wow, I can't believe we are at 39 weeks, 14 days longer than I was pregnant with Luke, which has made these past 14 days seem like eternity. I am feeling well, other than large and READY! I was really hoping this was the week that our sweet little one would arrive, we are ready! Unfortunately this little one wants to hang out a little longer than mommy would like and keeps kicking at me to make sure I am aware of his/her presence. I have been walking a lot, and when I say a lot, I say a lot for me. I am putting in 3-5 miles a day, hoping it helps progress this baby, but also just to get out and move. Each day I wake I wonder if "today will be the day", but I have stopped wondering and wishing. I am actually at the point of acceptance that when this little one decides its time, he or she will let me know!!! We are enjoying our days with Luke and still trying to get our arms around the fact that in the very very near future our life with be filled with double the joy and love! I am very excited to see how Luke will welcome his new sibling, whenever that day arrives.

I am very disappointed that we are not able to make it back to Waukon this weekend for my brother and sister in laws wedding reception. Timing is not on our side...that is for sure:( I love my family dearly and cherish any and all opportunities we have to spend together. So to say it kills me not to join my whole family this weekend to celebrate such a special milestone, is an understatement. When I realized on Monday after my doctor appointment that it did not look likely, it brought me to tears. I have secretly hoped and prayed every hour that this baby would hurry up and arrive just so we could be there. Well, we ran out of time...we are going to have to forgo attending the weekend fun:( I know they will all have a great time, and I will try hard to not think about all that we are missing out on.

Aside from my severe disappointment about missing my brothers wedding reception, I am hanging in there. My doctor did write me a prescription for Ambien yesterday, so I was finally able to enjoy a good sleep last night. I have been so uncomfortable that I had been getting 45 minute increments of sleep, which wasn't cutting it when I have to work and care for a toddler the following days. This sweet little baby is really making its mark...I think it is going to take a few months to recover my severely bruised rib caged.

I am really hoping that you do not see a 40 week post from me, rather a "welcome baby merrick" post in the very near future!