Welcome Baby Austin!

Lauren and John welcomed Austin David into the world on Monday morning. She did great and he was ready to greet the world! She progressed very quickly and he was out with only a few pushes :) What a sweet precious baby boy - he is too adorable. Sweet little lips and cute nose :) They are doing great and just enjoying time with their new addition.

Me holding Logan's BFF :)

Presh!

I could eat him up -beautiful!

Trey with the little man

It is amazing how tiny they are when they greet the world. He was a pound less than Logan - but still. I don't remember Logan being that tiny which is insane because he is only a month old! Logan will look like a little chunk next to Austin when they first meet - so neat how they grow so much the first few weeks and year. Wow. I cannot believe we both have babies - it seems like we were just getting into high school and graduating college and getting married - whoa where does time go? But I love this new phase in my life - I was born ready to be a mom and I am loving every minute. (well except the 1-5 am minutes where there is no sleep for Logan or Mommy) :)

Welcome to the world Mr. Austin! We love you and can't wait to watch you grow!

Life with a Little One...

I cannot believe its almost been a month! It does seem like he has been here forever - but yet a whole month sounds crazy! We have been dealing with major exhaustion at the Gould household for a couple of days. Who am I kidding - a few weeks! The past couple of days Logan has been awake all night - and today he did not disappoint. He was awake from 10 pm last night until 4 am this morning! And he would doze off for a few minutes then wake back up. He ate so much too - growth spurt maybe? Then this morning he didn't sleep until 11 am - so we are beyond exhausted! I am just not used to this lack of sleep. I hope it will get easier - we'll see. I took a nap for a couple of hours earlier, and now Trey is sleeping before work. My saint of a mother is coming over to watch him tonight and let me sleep - bless her!

This picture it soo precious - Miss Soph watching out for her baby brother. Awwww


He likes to play in his crib - staring at his name. He doesn't sleep in it yet - but I think he is liking it more every day!

We went to dinner to celebrate my Dad's birthday - Grammy and Mr. Logan

Proud Grandaddy and Logan

Happy Parents!

I am using this blog as a memory keeper - so I wanted to record some of the things Logan is doing so I won't forget :)

He loves to eat and is a great eater! He drinks 3-5 oz every 3-5 hours. He does love to sleep too - its just a matter of when. He will sleep a 4-6 hour spurt typically twice a day, but not always at night. He moves and stretches and makes all sorts of noises in his sleep. It is too funny.

He loves having his hands near his face and this can be a problem when he is trying to eat. He knocks the bottle away almost every time. :) He grunts and coos and makes a noise that sounds like a little horse! He is a vocal baby during eating, burping, and sleeping. I always think he is about to wake up - but then he tosses and stretches and goes right back to sleep.

He LOVES his Nap Nanny - this was one of the best gifts and recommendations! (if used properly per the warnings) He does like to spend time in his swing and bouncy seat. He will sleep in his bouncy seat for naps.

He likes his soothies but won't keep them in his mouth for very long. He hasn't grasped the hold onto it concept - also his little hands knock it out of his mouth almost every time.

He hates having his diaper changed and onesies too. He hates bath time right now also. Hopefully he will love it when he gets older. :)

He does great in the car - puts him to sleep every time and he has been so pleasant at restaurants. As long as he isn't dirty and hungry - he is a laid back baby. We haven't heard a serious scream yet either. We are holding our breaths waiting for that to come. He cries during changes and baths - but never the blood curdling scream.

He is such a little joy - precious in every way and definitely worth the lack of sleep. We love our little man!

Happy 3 Weeks Logan!

Logan is 3 weeks old today! I cannot believe how old he is and yet how little time has passed. It feels like he has been in our lives for a couple of months! He is still a laid back baby - he loves to sleep and eat! He sleeps really well during the day - at least 2 4-6 hour stretches and lots of little naps. Most of the time during the day we have to wake him up to eat. Night has been a challenge - but that is very normal. I try to tell myself that when I am up from 9 pm until 4 am with not a wink of sleep. On a very positive note - at least he isn't screaming or crying during the waking hours - thank goodness! I know it could be MUCH worse. And it could still happen - he could still develop Colic or just start crying at any time. I am holding my breath to see if that will happen. But maybe not - and I will be perfectly okay with that too ;)
But so far, the only time he cries is when he is being changed or he is dirty. He will get fussy when he is hungry but as soon as the bottle is near his lips he lunges at it and drinks like a champ. He makes all these little grunts and noises during meal time - it is too cute!!
Trey has been such a huge help - I had a little breakdown the other night when I had been up all day without a nap and he was looking like he was not going to sleep at all so I started crying from lack of sleep and exhaustion from crying over Bella. Not to mention the emotions and hormones of just giving birth and trying to produce enough milk and pump it out - whew! It got the best of me. So he took him in the living room and let me sleep all night. He even woke me up every 3 hours with my pumping stuff so I could pump and go back to sleep. What a good Daddy and Hubby!!
My mom has also been a lifesaver - she has watched Logan several times for me to run errands and for us to go on a date night and out to dinner with friends the other night. She has also come over to spend the night with me and keep Logan so I could get some sleep. Thanks Mom!! You have been more help than you will ever know! :)

Mr. Sleepy Head...

His scrunchy/mad face - this is the same face he made during the 4 D ultrasound - hilarious!

Miss Sophie has really been too funny - she is obsessed with Logan. We can't quite figure it out - she wants to be near him at all times and she loves to kiss his feet when he is in his bouncy seat. Here she is standing next to his swing just hanging out.

Here she is laying on a pillow next to him on the couch - she will lay and watch him sleep for hours.

This is the best pic of her - she has her little nose laying on the nap nanny watching over him. It is too sweet. I guess her mothering instincts are kicking in. We weren't sure how she would act and I am so glad she is loving him rather than growling and barking at him. Of course we aren't leaving him alone with her, ever, because after all - she is a dog. You never know. But I think these two might just be BFF before too long :)

Tired Daddy and Logan - so sweet

Tummy time! He likes it for about a minute or two - maybe less :) You gotta start sometime!

We are so thankful for this happy healthy baby boy. He has really been a blessing since Bella passing and Sophie definitely helps keep my mind from wandering. We are going to give Logan his first official bath tonight since the cord fell off yesterday - yay! I will take pics and post them soon. I will try to update the blog more than once a week - esp with photos since he is growing so quickly. I think he is filling out more and is fitting into his 0-3 clothes better.

We are playing the waiting game for Mr. Austin to arrive - Lauren had an appt today and it should be any day now - hopefully this week/weekend! If not, definitely next week. We can't wait to meet you Austin Simmons!!! :)

If Tears Could Build a Stairway...

I'd walk right up to doggie heaven and bring you home again. Oh how my heart hurts. Aches. We lost our precious Bella last night. She has been having a rough few months and definitely few weeks. She had an enlarged heart and her trachea was collapsing both of which are very common in Pomeranian's. Even though she had a tough couple of weeks we never imagined it would lead to her death. She was breathing very hard and had a rattling sound which sounded like fluid in her lungs yesterday. We knew the Vet would just keep her overnight again to monitor her so we decided to see how she felt the next morning since she did eat her dinner the night before and she seemed alert when you called her name. Trey and I took Logan out to dinner with his family one last time before they went back to Texas. We were only gone 2 hours. We came home and she didn't come to greet us when we walked in the house so I went looking for her. I found her in my closet laying down and I called her name and clapped my hands. When she didn't look up or respond I immediately knew something was horribly wrong. I screamed and ran outside to find Trey. He ran in and went in to check on her. At the same time, my mom came in the house and she knelt beside her and couldn't find a heartbeat. I feel sick just typing those words. How did this happen? We left and she was alive - not doing great, but alive and seemingly alert.

It has been one of the hardest days of my life. She was my first baby - my furry child, my Bella. She was almost 9 years old - October was her birthday. She had so much life left to live - but her little body couldn't keep up with all the health problems.


I have been in a haze all day - moping around. Grieving. It hurts so bad. The pain is so intense that I can barely catch my breath. I wanted to post a few pics from her little life. She was loved by many - and will forever be remembered in photographs and by our memories. She was the best dog - such a little joy.

Me and my adorable girl - isn't she photogenic? And gorgeous!

she LOVED her bones/treats!

Pretty girl - I swear she really understood what we were saying to her. She would cock her head side to side when we talked to her.

Love this pic. So glad we have it.

Chilling in her crate

She loved walks and adored her Daddy :)

I always dressed her up for Halloween - what a cute little pumpkin!

This is the last picture we have of our sweet girl. This was taken the day before yesterday. Thank goodness I have this photo. I don't really know why I even took it - I was busy snapping shots of Logan and she was right there so I got a shot of her. Precious memories.

Sweet Bella. Your Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, and Grandaddy miss you more than you will ever know. We loved you so much - thank you for being the little light in our lives and the pitter patter next to our feet.

This New Life

Every day with a new baby is a total adjustment. Your normal routine quickly becomes anything but normal and you shift your life and daily activities to fit this new little person. The lack of sleep is the first thing I noticed (and still notice) but its amazing how little sleep you can function on to take care of a human life. You would think you needed 14+ hours to have the energy but nope. A simple 2-3 will suffice. :)

Trey about to take a nap with Logan

Sweet little angel

Trey's mom with Logan - he loves his Gi Gi!

Trey's sister Michelle with Logan - they are in town visiting and we have enjoyed spending time with the family.

We had our first bath - well sort of. The cord has not fallen out yet (I am working very hard to get that sucker out!) but we did a sponge bath and I don't think logan liked it very much. He really doesn't like to be naked and hates having his diaper or clothes changed. Poor kid. I think he will grow into baths and learn to love them as time goes on!

In his bouncy seat - lovin life!

Trey and I went on our first date night on Friday which was really wonderful. My parents watched Logan and we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and to see Inception which was amazing! Definitely worth a watch. It was a nice evening out and we are so grateful to have grandparents so close.

We also took Logan to his first restaurant for a late lunch with Trey's family over the weekend. Luckily he slept the whole time! That made mama and daddy very happy :) We went to Outback last night for dinner with them and he did great - except poor thing had a massive pee and it leaked all over his outfit and car seat. The only thing I didn't bring was a change of clothes so he went naked (with only a diaper) back to the table. We had a blanket to cover him and it is the dead of summer - thank goodness! There is no way this boy would freeze in this weather. :)

Getting ready to leave the house is definitely another HUGE adjustment. Its crazy to think that I have to get myself ready - and this little person. That's alotta work! Also trying to make sure we have enough time before we need to be somewhere has been a challenge. I think I have done pretty well - but Trey has been here to help too. One day at a time - whew!

We are getting used to this new life - in some ways it feels like he has been here a month. And then we remember he is only 2 weeks old! Oh my! He fits so perfectly in our life that we forget we've only known him 14 days - wow. Isn't that something? Of course when his birthday is around the corner I will be saying "where did the time go?" :)

1 week old already!

I cannot believe Logan is already a week old - where does that time go?? He is doing beautifully - just as laid back as he can be which has been so nice for Trey and I to get used to having a baby in the house. He is easing us into this new parental role. Thanks precious Son :)

My parents came over and brought dinner a couple of days ago and this is the first picture of my Dad holding/feeding Logan. How sweet is this? Logan loves his Grandaddy already!


We've been up to this...


And a little of this...


But mostly a lot of this...


Yesterday was quite a day. Logan was somewhat a night owl and mama only got 1-2 hours of sleep max. I let Trey sleep as much as I could before I asked for help once I was about to pass out from sheer exhaustion. He got up with him and let me sleep for a few hours - ahhhhh much needed rest! I definitely miss my old friend Sleep. Anyone that knows me is aware of how much I love to sleep - and can sleep. 9-12 hours a night if possible. And more on weekends. So this is a huge shock on my system to only get 2-3 hours here and there. Whew! But I am adjusting pretty well I think.


Also yesterday, Logan managed to soil 3 - yes 3 - changing pads! Luckily I purchased another 2 to bring our total to 4. He peed on himself once, peed out of his diaper as I was fastning the other side, and then pooped a few times on the 3rd pad. Wow. All in one day! It is so funny how when its your child - you don't even notice the pee or poop. Its like it doesn't phase you at all - or at least not yet. :)

My favorite thing so far is his little grunts and coos during feeding. He is too cute and so funny with the noises that he makes. I will try to catch it on video and maybe figure out how to post it on our blog. (with a little help from The Hubby)

We had newborn pics on Tuesday and they went wonderfully! Logan did great - he cried a little in the beginning when he was naked but quickly settled and fell asleep. Can't wait to see the pics!

We have our 1st Doctor appt for him. It is so weird that we have this little person we are fully responsible for and it is our job to make sure he gets to his appointments, etc. Wow. Reality sets in right about now. I filled out the birth certificate info yesterday and it hit me again - he is really here! Life is sweet :)