2 months old

Seriously...where does time go? My baby is already over 2 months old! Life with 2 kids is a lot more hectic, but we sure do love this little guy. Carter is a very good baby (keeping my fingers crossed) and usually quite happy. He smiles easily and likes to coo a lot and is even starting to giggle a little. He doesn't cry too often, and even when he does, it's not a very loud cry and sometimes we don't hear him until he gets really worked up. He's starting to sleep for longer periods of time, so mama is enjoying the extra sleep. He typically falls asleep around 8 or 9 and then I feed him again between 10-11 before I go to bed and he sleeps until around 3:30-4:30 (5:15 this morning!!but I'm not holding my breath). Unfortunately, he thinks it's time to wake up at 6:30 every morning, and as anyone who knows me can attest to...I don't do mornings! So, I do my best to cuddle with him in bed and try to help him fall back to sleep. Usually he falls asleep about the same time that Sam is waking up! Luckily our bedroom is next to the livingroom so my very independent 4 year old lets mommy get some extra sleep while he watches good ole' PBS and eats goldfish crackers. :) Currently, Carter's eyes are blue! Brown eyes dominate my family, so I'm so curious to see if his will stay blue or not. Brian and my Grandpa Frego are rooting hard for those baby blues to stay. Alot of people are commenting that he's looking more and more like Brian too. I still see a lot of similarities between the boy's baby pictures, but if those eyes stay blue, then I think he'll probably look like his very handsome daddy. :)

He's not a real cubby baby, but you just gotta love those sweet baby rolls. I estimate that he now weighs over 11 pounds.

I adore watching him sleep...so precious.

Sam is such a good big brother. I can't wait to see these two interact as Carter gets older, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have my hands full with two boys!

A healthy happy heart!

Today Samuel had a check up appointment with his cardiologist, Dr. Lee (one of the most fabulous, genuine men I know). After a 30 minute ultrasound, Dr. Lee commented that "Samuel is truly amazing!" He had me in tears as he explained that it has been a "pleasure" for him to watch Samuel grow up and basically defy all the odds that were stacked against him at birth. We thank God for leading us to Dr. Lee and Dr. Bove (the surgeon at U of M) that have been instrumental in repairing Sam's heart and allowing him to be the carefree and VERY ACTIVE little boy that he is today. We honestly never expected him to be so full of life and I have to constantly remind myself that his energy is a huge blessing. In addition, Sam's blood/oxygen saturation levels were holding strong at 97% (as I've mentioned before, after his last surgery, the doctor's said is would be good if he could hit 90%). Again, God has been so good to us! To celebrate the great report, Sam and I stopped by the Meijer gas station for a big ole' donut. Am I a good mom or what?! :)

1st Day of Preschool

My handsome little man had his first day of preschool today. Where does time go? Wasn't it just yesterday that he was my baby and now he's all grown up with a big boy backpack ready to go to school! It was a very bittersweet day. I knows he's ready for it all, but am I?

Samuel was very excited about his first day of preschool, but mostly because his daddy got to attend as the parent helper. I have to admit, I was a bit jealous that he got to go rather than me, but I'm so glad that Sam has such a great daddy to look up to. He thinks the world of Brian and mimicks his every move (scary!).

Here's Sam getting ready to walk in the doors of his preschool classroom. He's so darn cute with that big boy backpack!

Here's Sam with his teacher "Miss Deb". His name was chosen to help with an activity requiring him to dress a felt doll in the appropriate clothes for today's weather. Apparently he was quite shy and not at all excited about all eyes being on him in front of the entire class (hum, wonder who he gets that from?)! Eventually, with the help of Super Dad, he warmed up and did a great job!

Feeling more in his element, Sam had a great time meeting new friends at "playtime".

Overall, it was a good first day and Sam says he wants to go back again on Friday.

I guess it's the beginning of the end and I'm going to have to learn to just let go...

Easier said than done.

Go BLUE!

Go Blue! The Wolverines got their first win of the season this past Saturday, despite what looks to be a frustrating rebuilding season. Whatever the outlook, you can be sure to find the Frego/Beckham family parked in front of the TV at Grandma and Grandpa Frego's house every Saturday this fall. It's a family tradition that we all look forward to. We are especially looking forward to a new style of football, thanks to the hiring of a new head coach, Rich Rodriguez. The old school days of Schembechler/Carr are gone! We'll give the Wolverines a one year grace period to adjust to the new philosophy, but next year we expect big things! In the meantime, we'll just enjoy another fall season of college football, including all the antics involved in a typical Sat. afternoon ... approx. 14 people packed into Grandma and Grandpa's livingroom to watch the big game; Mya and Sam wrestling on the floor; dad yelling at the ref's or coach or whoever he can point a finger at to place blame for another idiotic Wolverine screw up; Grandma shuffling in and out of the kitchen to replentish the coffee table buffet of fabulous snacks; Brian falling asleep at 1/2 time and most of the 3rd quarter; and of course, Grandpa leaving the room anytime the Wolverines blow another big play! :)

I couldn't resist this picture of our little Diva Mya...wearing her Wolverine poncho, accessorized with the perfect floral purse! :)

First smiles

Carter has been smiling for a couple of weeks now and is starting to make cooing noises too...it's so cute and I love his sweet smile. He is especially happy when his tummy is full. Typical male!

Gotta love that spit up all over his shirt!

1 month old already!

I can't believe that 1month has gone by already since our little Carter Jacob was born. He is gaining weight like a champ...I stood on the scale with him and it was 9 lbs. heavier! If my calculations are correct, he has probably already gained almost 3 pounds! His newborn clothes are too tight and he's starting to fit in 0-3 months clothes. Carter is very much a cuddler and likes to lay on either mine or Brian's chest to fall asleep. We try to put him down in his crib before he actually falls asleep, but most of the time he starts crying shortly thereafter and we end up holding him until he's sound asleep. He has big problems keeping the pacifier (a.k.a. "pipe") in his mouth. It's a pain to keep popping it back in, but sometimes it's the only thing to keep him from fussing and crying. He has also developed a lovely case of baby acne, but he's still a cutie and I think he's going to look a bit like Sam. He has the same nose and mouth as Sam (takes after mommy), but his eyes are shaped differently (more like daddy's). He makes a lot of the same expressions that I remember Sam making, but has very light colored eyelashes and eyebrows...different from Sam's dark, thick eyebrows/lashes. When he raises his eyebrows, it caused his forehead to crinkle into "bulldog wrinkles" just like his daddy! It makes me laugh. Also similar to Brian (& Sam), he has big hands and feet...so we're hoping our boys turn out tall or they're going to be very oddly proportioned!

Overall, it's been a pretty good first month (I've only had 2 major meltdowns!) Typically Carter falls asleep around 11:00 and sleeps until 3:00 a.m. (sometimes earlier, sometimes later). Then he wakes up again around 6:00 a.m. After this, mommy really wants to go back to sleep, but Carter often does not. So...I end up snuggling with him in my bed and generally we both fall back to sleep until Sam joins the snuggle fest at 7:30. (my favorite time of day) :)

Here's some pics from the last month...

Moments after birth

Proud papa

Relieved mama

Carter's 1st visitors...Grandma Judy & Sam

Samuel refused to hold Carter at the hospital. Since then he has adjusted nicely and is a great big brother, but he still prefers not to hold him. He loves to be a helper and bring me diapers and burp clothes when I'm busy. He's even becoming a pro at popping in the pipe because he hates it when Carter cries. The other day he commented to me, "Mom, I'm sick of putting in this darn pipe! It doesn't help anyway!" :)

Grandma Judy

Grandpa Ron & Grandma Judy

Grandpa Sonny & Grandma Ellen

Uncle Jon, Aunt Jen & Cousin Mya

Uncle Alex

Aunt Haley

Great-Grandma & Grandpa Henne & Rudy Kleinheksel

Great-Grandpa & Grandma Don and Arlene Frego

Staci, Nina, and Maya

Dave, LeAnne, and Anna

Our new nephew...Owen Louis!

On August 11, Jon, Jen and big sister Mya, welcomed new baby Owen Louis to the family! He is so precious and cute. Our little Carter and him are only 1 month apart and will have so much fun growing up together and probably causing lots of trouble. :)Baby Owen

Jon, Jen, and Owen (minus Mya)

The Beckham family and Owen

Cousins...Owen and Carter

I can't believe that Carter has already grown this much! Owen weighs 7 lb., 6 oz. and Carter was 6 lb., 9 oz. at birth and he's only a month old! Wow, has he grown or what?!