Behind in Blogging

I am sooo behind in blogging and posting pictures. This is on my mile long "To Do List." I really thought I would have tons of time now that I am a full time stay home mom, that has proven not to be the case. There is always toys to be played with, diapers to be changed, laundry to fold, hugs and kisses to be given, dinner to get started, dishes to put away, pumping or nursing to keep little bit fed, more toys to play with and books to read, errands to run, appointments to be made, appointments to get to, family to see and spend time with, and a husband who could use a bit more of my attention! So I am very behind in blogging, but this is the weekend before our anniversary, so I will be putting the blogging, laundry, shopping, appointments, phone calls, and dishes on hold to give the love of my life 100% of my time. The boys are going to Mimi and Papa's to play with lots of toys, to get lots of love, snacks, and more hugs and kisses. On Monday I will get back to all the things that keep me from blogging and that night before I go to bed I am going to make an appt. with computer to post about the latest Harris Happenings!

Austin 3 Month & Logan 20 Month Pictures

Logan and Austin love their ya-yas (pacifiers). If Logan can't find his ya-ya you can hear him going around the house saying "ya-ya where are you?" Then when he finds it he says "I see it there's ya-ya." So Sweet. I love hearing him talk. If Austin doesn't have his pacifier he goes and finds it and puts it in his mouth. He will say "baby's ya-ya" as he gives it to him.











Logan loves his baby brother. He is always kissing, hugging, holding his baby. He can say his name (sounds like Aussie). He makes his voice high (like when I talk to Austin) and says "hi baby" or "its ok baby." Austin loves to watch Logan and smiles and now even giggles at Logan which then cracks Logan up. I love watching these two together!





Picture of Austin and his apnea machine





Logan and his crocs with fur (LOVE THEM) for the winter of course - he likes to take pictures too!



Look at this baby - SOOOO CUTE!

Austin in the hospital

We have been staying at Children's Hospital of Atlanta since Wednesday. Let me start at the beginning.
Wednesday - we went shopping with Daddy and then over to Mimi and Papa's house to go out to eat. After Austin ate, Mimi was holding him and all of a sudden he was limp and unresponsive. We had to gently shake him and blow in his face to make him take a breath. It was very scary. However I thought it was just a fluke. I took the boys home after we ate. I put Logan to bed and then fed Austin. After Austin ate I put him in the boppy and he became unresponsive again. After getting him back, I called the pediatrician who directed that we take Austin to the nearest hospital NOW. So Brian and I left the sleeping Logan with my parents and rushed to Gwinnett Medical Center's Pediatric ER. Once there the doctor told us he would be admitted (at Children's Hospital) for observation. They did blood work, put an iv in, and called for an ambulance - a big yellow one from the Children's hospital. I rode with Austin and Brian followed.
We got to CHOA (Children's Health care of Atlanta) at 2am. By 4am the doctor (resident) came in and got info on Logan. I asked that the metal crib be taken out and a bed be brought in for Austin and I to sleep in. By this time Brian went home to get some rest before opening the restaurant.
Thursday - I was alone at the hospital with Austin all morning while his vials were taken and he was monitored. He had to have an X-ray after the pediatric doctor came in to see what was going on. On the way to x-ray Austin couldn't breath and had to be put on oxygen (he had a little O2 mask - it made my heart sink). This was a special x-ray where he couldn't eat for three hours prior and he had to drink some white chalking stuff. We could see the fluid going down on the x-ray. The technician said he had really bad reflux (you could see the liquid go back up his esophagus. After that the pediatric nurse came in to talk to me. My mom-in-law came in at this time so she was able to listen also. The doctor thought Austin had malrotation (the intestines were backwards causing reflux) and would need corrective surgery for the birth defect. She told us that the surgeons would have to look at the film and get back to us later that evening.
My mom came with food, Brian came with stuff for me to change and shower, my dad came with Logan to visit, my brother Kevin and his girlfriend Amy came to see Austin, and then Brian's dad came to spend time with Austin. We really didn't know what was going on. A lot of tests were run, a lot of people in and out taking care of our sweet baby. After everyone left I went to the computer lab at CHOA and looked up malroation.
We spent Thursday night in the hospital again.
Friday morning began with an x-ray at 6:30,another one at 9 (this time looking at his heart - again heart sinking), Meg had to attend a CPR class in order for Austin to be released. When I came back from CPR, the doctor had been in to talk to Brian. Turns out Austin has really bad reflux causing him to be in pain and the acid to close his airway. She put him on a liquid form of prevacid for the reflux. He does not have malrotation (thank god). We then met with a company called Life Touch who gave us an apnea machine to keep Austin hooked up to. It will alert us if he were to stop breathing or if his heart rate was dropping.
We were discharged Friday afternoon at 1:00pm. It is good to be home. Lots of laundry to do!
We are very blessed that Austin is for the most part ok. It was hard to see him get an IV, ride in an ambulance, have an EEG on his head, all the x-rays of holding him down, and not knowing what was going on or what was going to happen. However, Brian and I both said we were lucky, we were able to walk out of the hospital with our baby. We saw a lot of families and children that have been at CHOA for a long time and some that may never leave. It is heart wrenching to see the children in the hospital beds or being wheeled around in their wagons with shaved heads, bandages, by worried, sleep-deprived parents. We hope we never have to go back there and will pray a little longer tonight, thanking God for taking care of Austin and praying he looks after of all the children and parents at CHOA.
We had some wonderful nurses. Thank you to Kimi, Michelle, Mindy, and Hwoit who made sure we had everything we needed to be comfortable and that Austin was thriving under their care. Thank you to Dr. Taylor, the ped doctor at CHOA who took such good care of Austin. She took her time doing a range of tests on Austin to rule things out. Thank you to our own ped, Dr. Peralstein. She is the best; from her Johns Creek office, she took all of my phone calls and updates from the CHOA doctors. We will see her Monday to talk about seeing a GI specialist for Austin. Thank you to my mom and dad for taking such great care of our first baby, Logan. He had sooo much fun with Mimi and Papa. Thank you to all four parents for staying with us, asking questions we didn't think of, and being a great support system. Lastly, thank you God for watching over our family and taking care of our babies.

It's Offical - I am a SAHM!

Today I met with my principal to discuss the resignation process. I am resigning to stay home with our children. Brian and I made the decision together. It really is the best thing for our family. I always knew I would stay home at some point, but this soon is a blessing. So my maternity leave ends next Wednesday, if my replacement has started I will have to return for a few days. However by the end of January I will be released from my contract. My Principal was so gracious and supportive. She even told me that when I was ready to return to teaching to look her up and she would help me get a job. So maybe when the boys go to school I will go with them!!! So play dates, story time, swimming lessons, MOPS, here we come!!!
Oh - and I am going to help Brian do some data entry for the pub in the comfort of our home. I still need some play money:)

Christmas & New Year

We had a wonderful holiday season. I will be posting pictures very soon. It was a lot of fun with Logan this year and baby Austin was such a sweet boy as usual!

Uh-Oh

Uh-Oh is what Logan says when he gets hurt and he certainly got hurt. Tuesday night Logan was playing in the kitchen while I was cleaning up dinner. He wanted to play in the drawer where we keep the knives. I told him "no, no." This set off my sweet boy. He became very angry at mommy and decided to throw himself down on the ground to show me how mad he was. Well on his way down, he kicked the door jam with the top of his foot. He cried a lot. Even with comforting he was crying. I thought he was tired so I took him to bed and was laying with him as he was calming down. However he wanted his sock off, and he kept saying "uh, oh." He then starting pulling at and pointing to his foot and he was screaming in pain. Brian came in and we tried to have him stand on his foot, and he would not put any weight on his hurt foot. We really knew that something was wrong. After talking with both sets of parents we decided to wait until morning to take Logan to the pediatrican rather than heading to the ER late at night. It was not a good night for any of us. In the morning Logan was even worse off. I was able to get an early pediatrican appt and my mom met me there to help. The doctor wanted him to have an x-ray, an appt we already had for later that afternoon with Dr. Cullen (an orthopedic doctor, friend of the family). Logan ended up having a small break in the bone leading up to his big toe. He could have gone without a cast, but the doctor felt that he would be more comfortable and heal faster in a cast. Our sweet little boy has a little green cast from his toes to his knee. It is a sad sight. At first Logan was crawling everywhere, then he figured out how to walk with a cast and now he is running with a cast! We are hoping we can get it off sooner than later, he is still very uncomfortable. This is going to be a fun Christmas for him - he loves to open presents and always says "WOW." We want him to be a happy boy on Christmas morning, so we will see what the doctor says on Monday.

Dreams do come true

On Wednesday, December 17 Brian signed papers to take over 49.8% of the Loafing Leprechaun. He now owns two irish pubs. He has always dreamed of owning a bar/resturant and that dream has come true. Brian works hard and he really knows the buisness. We are excited and looking forward to the future and reaping the benefits of being buisness owners! Congratulations Daddy! We love you and are very proud of you. XOXOXO Meaghan, Logan, and Austin



Duluth Pub

Alpharetta Pub

2 Month Comparision

I love to see how similar our boys are. Here are the stats for each at their two month well check:
Logan - weight: 10lb 12oz; height: 21 3/4in
Austin - weight: 12lbs; height: 22in

Looks like Austin is a little bit bigger than Logan was at 2 months. It must have something to do with all the time he spends eating! Time for the picture comparision (incase you can't tell, Austin is on the left in both sets of pictures).


They both smile the same - their eyes always sparkle











They both have those chunker cheeks!

Austin is 2 Months Old!

I can not believe how quickly time is passing. On December 15, Austin turned 2 months and Logan turned 19 months old that same day. We are having a great holiday season with both boys. I keep saying I want time to stop - these are the best days. In a month from today I will be back at work. I know it is only 80 school days until the end of the year and until I am home permanently.
Austin's well check went great. He is a big boy weighing in at 12 lbs! He is so responsive and really getting good at holding his neck steady. He smiles all the time. The only time he cries is when he wants to eat - which feels like every hour! We are loving having another baby in the house. He is such a good baby. Sleeping wise he only wakes up once a night to eat. I can handle that!
Here are some recent pictures of the boys (only one with Logan, he isn't up for taking pictures these days...):

Austin sleeping baby








My sweet boys infront of our tree


Chunker Cheeks


So smiley!


Tired boy

Logan is Talking!

Logan is talking up a storm. I can actually have little conversations with him. He answers questions, asks questions, and is using words in sentences. Here are some of the things he is saying:
When he can't find me he'll say "Where did she go?"
When he finds me he says "Where did you go?"
When looking for his pacifier he says, "Where is ya-ya (pacifier's name)?"
When he finds his paci he says, "I find it."
He refers to our dog Dakota as "good girl" - he actually calls all dogs that!
If I say, I will do it, Logan replies "I do it."
He always wants to know "who is it?" when someone calls or is at the door
Today as Brian was leaving for work he said, "Bye dada Bye"
Some other favorites:
Brush teeth
Baby
Bebe (Barney his favorite)
Of course he has great manners saying dank you for everything and he is starting to say please (pees). When he wants a snack, he goes to the cabinet and pulls out cheerios and asks for a bowl for his cheerios.
I could go on and on, he brings so much joy to our lives. He is such a happy boy, his voice and smile melt my heart daily. He is definitely all boy. Climbing, jumping, throwing...Yesterday my friend Elizabeth came over with her son Elijah, who is 4 months younger than Logan. Logan was definitely showing off, climbing on the ottoman and jumping, climbing in the fireplace (which he has never done), using toys as weapons. I said no more in those two hours than I say in an entire day! They had a lot of fun playing. Logan was a bit rough and I pretty sure he learns that from his daddy and uncles!
Logan is also very sweet and loving. When he wants to give a kiss, he takes out his paci and comes over - it is the best. He used to give open mouth kisses. Just this week he is figuring out how to pucker up! He loves to cuddle when he is tired and still rubs our ears for comfort! Logan loves Austin. He kisses the baby, wants to hold the baby, shoves Austin's paci in his mouth, wants to carry the baby, if Austin is crying Logan is saying in his own way "Austin cry." I love this little boy sooo much. Sometimes I climb into his toddler bed (or if he has crawled into our bed) and hold him - I feel like the mom from the book "Love you Forever." I look at Austin and he is so small compared to Logan now. One thing I know for sure, time goes by so quickly. I am really cherishing every moment (even the not so good ones) with my boys.
Logan is my baking helper as we bake cookies for Christmas!