Trip to Chicago with a stop in the QCs

Yesterday we just got back from a vacation to Chicago with a stop in the Quad Cities along the way!  It was a great trip and we really enjoyed ourselves.  I can not believe everything that we accomplished!!  I will give a rundown of the highlights!

Last Friday we left Kansas City and headed for Davenport.  We went to the Mississippi Valley Fair and Payton loved it!  On Saturday I got together with some friends for dinner and drinks.  Then on Sunday we headed to Chicago.  We went straight to Navy Pier and rode on the huge ferris wheel.  On Monday we woke up early and headed downtown for a tour of Wrigley Field (I had gotten Justin tickets for a tour for his birthday this past summer).  The tour was a lot of fun and it was really neat to listen to all of the history.  After our tour we went to the Field Museum and the Aquarium.  Payton really enjoyed the dinosaur bones!  Then, after they closed we went to Millennium Park, which is a nice park right downtown with lots of neat sculptures and such.   It was a very productive and exhausting day!  Tuesday we went to the Museum of Science and Industry, which was one of the big highlights!  There was so much to see and do there and tons of things for Payton to play with.  We stayed until the last possible minute and could have spent a few more hours there!  After the museum we drove around to check out Chinatown and Michigan Avenue and then went out to eat and had some authentic Chicago style pizza.  It was yummy!  Then on Wednesday we checked out and started the 10 hour drive home!  The drive actually wasn’t bad and we made a few stops along the way to play.

So overall we had a great trip, but it is always good to be home.  (Except for unpacking and the mounds of laundry that I am still doing)!  

 

Easton 2 months

Last week Easton had his 2 month checkup and shots and it doing great.  Here are his stats:

Height: 23 inches, 50% (19 inches at birth)

Weight: 12lbs, 3 oz, about 60% (8 pounds, 5 ounces at birth)

In comparison, Payton was 11 pounds, 6 ounces and 22 1/2 inches at two months.

He is getting to be so much fun!  He smiles alot and is really starting to get a personality.  And, he even started sleeping through the night this week! 

 

Easton at 2 months:

Not much new....

I don't have anything super exciting to report on, so i uploaded a bunch of pictures instead! (Easton Kinnick and Summer albums) One of the few highlights of the last couple weeks is that Payton got a trophy at his last TBall game!  It was an interesting season as he was really not interested in it all when he started, but by the end of the season he really seemed to enjoy it and understand the game a little more.  Another highlight is that my Grandma flew up from Florida just to meet her newest Great Grandson!  She sure doesn't act like she is 86 years old!!  Last week the four of us went to Crown Center and shopped at the Crayola store and ate at Fritzs.  It is an old fashioned burger place where they bring you your food on a train.  So Payton always enjoys that!  Then we went to a new place called the College Basketball Experience and Hall of Fame and Justin and Payton had a blast!

Easton is doing great and becoming quite smiley!  He has some reflux issues, but once we got the proper meds and all of that worked out, he has became so happy!  He is even starting to make a noise which sounds like a laugh.  So he has been really fun to interact with.  He has his two month appt next week, so we will then see how much he has grown!

 

  

 

 

Busy, Busy!

We have been busy, busy, busy lately!!  The boys are both doing great and we are adjusting to our new life with a newborn in the house!  Life sure is different with two kids around!

Easton:  It is hard to believe that he is almost a month old!  Four weeks ago today he was born!  He has already changed so much.  When he was born he looked so much like Payton, and now he is starting to look like his own little person.  He is awake so much more and getting more expressive with each day.  At his one-week checkup he was at 8lbs 3 ozs, just 2 ounces shy of his birth weight.  They usually like them to be back at their birth weight by two weeks, so they said he was doing great and doesn’t need to go back until his 2 month checkup.  So far he has been a really good baby, he only really fusses when he is hungry or has gas pains.  He loves to take a bath and to curl up on our chests to nap. 

Payton:  Payton just finished his first two weeks of swimming lessons this year and will do two more weeks later this month.  He just loves swimming.  Our pool in our subdivision is finally finished and he and Justin go there all of the time.  He has enjoyed being a big brother and likes to help me with Easton.  

What we have been up to:  Easton has had a pretty eventful first couple of weeks!  A couple of weekends ago, uncle Jeremy came down for a visit and we went to Paytons Tball game.  Then, last weekend we had a birthday party for one of Paytons friends at the Childrens Farmstead.  Last week we attended a Royals game.  The league that Payton plays ball for had a special night at the Royals where we could get discounted tickets, so we couldn’t pass up a chance to go!  This past weekend we went to Iowa for our annual 4^th of July trip.  We had a WONDERFUL time!  Payton had so much fun.  He actually sat in the driveway when we got home and told me he was going to sit there until we went back!  He loves to stay in hotels, so he thought that was a blast.  The first day we went and saw Grandpa Gene so he could meet Easton and see Payton again.  Later that day we went to my friend Erins house and some of my friends and their kiddos came over.  It was great to see them and watch the kids play together.  On the 4^th, it rained all day, so the fireworks in Dixon got postponed.  We were so bummed, but we went to Dixon anyways and met up with some family.  It was great to hang up with all of them and I don’t know if I have ever seen Payton have so much fun.  Luckily they had bought some fireworks, so we still got to see a little bit.  The boys both did great on the trip.  Payton watched movies or played his video games the entire trip and Easton pretty much slept the whole trip.  Preparing to go though was a huge task!  I forgot how much stuff you need to take with you when you have a new baby!!  I am thinking we will not be taking as many trips as we normally do for a while!

 

Now we are home and I am looking forward to some quite time and enjoying my time off of work with my family.  Next week my grandmother from Florida is coming up to meet her newest great grandson! 

 

(Updated albums: Easton Kinnick and Summer 2009)

 

Easton Kinnick Schulte

He is finally here!  We have waited a VERY long time for this day!  He was born on Tuesday, June 9 at 12:34pm.  He was 8 pounds and 5 ounces and 19 inches long.  Everything with delivery went pretty smooth.  We went in Monday night to be induced first thing Tuesday morning and ended up going into labor during the night.  So I never needed the pitocin the next day.  We had a few issues with the epidural (it stopped working completely for about 1 1/2 hours) and had to be redone, but other then that, it all went very well.  (Not fun at all during that 1 1/2 hours).

We are home now and doing great.  He sleeps alot and we have to wake him up to eat.  Which is the other thing he does a lot of! 

Payton is doing great.  The first day he came to see us at the hosptial he was pretty reserved and shy.  I think he was completely overwhelmed by the entire situation.  But by the next day he was totally different.  Payton has always been like that.  It takes him a little while to warm up to things and he has to do it on his own terms.  He was pretty funny the next day at the hospital.  I was up and walking around and he must have noticed that I still didn't look like my old self, because he said, "Why is the baby back in your belly."  LOL!  I had to tell him that he was out of my belly and it will take mommy a while to look normal again.

Now that we are home, Payton is very possessive of Easton.  If we are talking to loud, he tells us that we have to whisper as to not wake him up.  Or, if Easton is fussing, Payton will run up to him and tell him that it is okay, because his big brother is here.  He also like to sing him songs and read to him his books.  He has decided that he does not like the dirty diapers though!  If I am changing one, Payton will walk around holding his nose and start gagging!  He can be pretty dramatic when he wants too!

 

I am really looking forward to being home for the next 12 weeks and bonding with Easton and geting to spend more time with Payton.  I know it is going to fly by and be over before I know it.  So I am trying to treasure every possible moment with my boys.  

 

I will try and add posts and pictures frequently, but it may not be as often as I would like because we are kind of walking around in a sleep deprived stuppor around here!

Waiting and waiting and waiting.....

The house is spotless, the bags are packed, nursery all ready, now we sit and wait.   I don't wait patiently very well.  So, I have scoured the house and painted lots of odds and ends things!  I did find out last week though that I will not go past my due date.  So if this little guy doesn't come on his own by then, I will be induced.  So now I at least have a final day!  I am more then ready! We are just ready to meet him and start our new family of 4. 

The nice warm weather though has kept us busy lately and kept our minds off of waiting.  The new pool in our subdivision opened last weekend, so we got a chance to go and Payton loved it!  He loves to play in the water.  Its a good thing too as he starts swimming lessons again this year in two weeks.  He also had his first TBall game this saturday.  They look so cute in their uniforms!  They are all so little! The games are interesting because there is no score, and no outs.  Each child bats each inning and even if they get out, they get to stay on the base.  So I don't know if you can really call it a game, but it is pretty amusing.  Payton did really good the last practice, but had problems paying attention at the game.  It was hard for the kids though because it was hot (94 degrees) and they had never played in a game setting before.  So we will see what happens next weekend.  I have a feeling he and daddy will be practing some more this week.  I have still been busy working and will continute to work through next week. 

 

I probably will not have another post until after this little guy arrives!  So then I should have lots of updates and pictures!

 

( I have updated lots of albums recently, I think the Summer 2009, Spring 2009, Pregnancy and Ultrasounds and Belly picts).

35 weeks and spring time fun!

We are now just past the 35 week point!  Which means that there is less than 5 weeks to go.  And if I happen to go into labor anytime after the next week and a half or so, they will not try and stop it!  I am now going to the doctor once a week.  We have completed some refresher childbirth and breastfeeding classes and Payton has taken his sibling class.  It was nice to go to these refresher courses.  Even though we have gone through it before, it was nice to hear some things again and from a  different perspective.  Payton did great at the sibling class.  I see a teachers pet in my future!  He was very into the class and answered all of the teachers questions, and even a bunch that she didn't ask! This week we had an appointment at the hospital to get preregistered and get a lot of paperwork filled out.  So it looks like we are almost ready!  The next thing on our list is to pack our bags!  Not only do I need to pack a bag for Justin and myself, but I also need to pack one for Payton!  He will be staying with Grandma Joy while we are in the hospital.  She will be taking him to/from school and to visit us at the hospital.   We really want to keep his life as normal as possible during this transtion period.  Luckily, my mom knows our routine and his schedule and the rules that we expect him to follow.  So, that takes a huge amount of stress off of our shoulders by knowing that he will be able to follow pretty much the same routine with her.  It is going to be crazy enough for him having a sibling after being an only child for 4 1/2 years, we don't want to also make things chaotic for him at home.  He is still very excited to have a baby brother and talks about him constantly!  The other day he told me that he was going to teach his brother to go potty in the potty, but since he would be small he would have to hold him over the potty so he didn't fall in!

 

Besides getting ready for baby, we have been enjoying the nicer weather.  We have been able to play outside a lot.  Payton starts TBall practice next week, so I am sure that will be interesting!  Justin is thrilled and went and bought him a bat and a fancy tee.  He can hit pretty well, but is not really into listening to the directions.  So lets hope he does better with the coach then with daddy!  He has also been really into playing school lately.  He will 'read' to us, the cats, or his animals and even call on us as if we are in class. 

 

This is Payton sort of playing basketball (the neighbors were mowing, so sorry for the load noise):

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