One Week

Time goes by too quickly. I can't believe that Actaeos has already been with us for a week. Actaeos is an easy baby. He only nurses every four hours or so, and the rest of the time he sleeps. He isn't bothered by noise (which he have lots of at our house) or movement. Costas continues to be a great big brother. He always says, "Your baby is so special." He likes to cuddle with Actaeos and touch his face. He also likes to share his toys. Costas asked me why Actaeos doesn't play with the toys and I said that he doesn't know what a toy is yet. Costas looked at Actaeos and said, "It's to play with silly." We are so happy to have two boys now.

Actaeos Arrives!!!!!

On Thursday night, Costas, Tom, and I went out to dinner, then played a round of miniature golf. Costas and I went to bed at 9:30. I woke up at 1am having contractions and back pain. The next hour the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. Tom went to bed to get in a quick nap. By 2:45am the contractions were really close together so we headed for the hospital about a half hour later. We arrived around 3:30am and I was dilated to 7cm. The contractions were really close and the back labor very intense. At 5:45am I felt like pushing so the doctor came to the room. I pushed two times and Actaeos arrived at 5:54am. He weighed 7lb. 7oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long.

Tom went to get Costas at home. Costas was so cute around the baby. At first he acted shy, then he came over and gave the baby a present. Costas was so gentle. He kept touching and kissing the baby. Costas went to preschool and Tom went home to get some sleep. They came back after school. We left the hospital at 9pm that night.

Actaeos is a quiet baby so far. Costas has been great with him and doesn't show any signs of jealousy. So far everything has been wonderful!

Fair

The three of us went to the Fair yesterday. The weather was perfect. We started with the Egyptian exhibit then on to the reptiles, which Costas always enjoys. We stopped at the livestock next. Costas didn't really say much about the animals, but he seemed to be watching what was going on. There was a section devoted to baby animals which were so cute. Some lambs were born on site that very morning. Next was panning for gold which was nice, but Costas didn't really know what we were doing. On to fishing with real fishing hooks that are barbless (and baitless). No luck catching a fish, but Costas enjoyed it. Next was the pirate ship and fort. Costas played there for a long time. Finally, we headed to the carnival rides. Costas went on the bumper cars, two roller coasters (kid-size), some dragon thing that spun around, and the Ferris Wheel. Everything was a hit. On the way out, Costas had a giant ice cream cone. He fell asleep on the way home and ended up sleeping almost 13 hours. When asked the next day what he liked best, he said, "the pirate ship and roller coaster." We will definitely go back next year.

Apple Picking

I really wanted to go apple picking since it was so fun in New Hampshire. Unfortunately, no place around was offering it. Then I discovered that the kids in our church were going up to the monastery, which is about 45 minutes away, to pick apples. We had fun but it definitely wasn't New Hampshire. The apples were really small and the grass is yellow, not green. The upside is that the apples were free and we still had fun. Afterwards, Costas had fun playing with the kids on the playground.

Pumpkin Carving

We bought a pumpkin on Monday to carve. It was lots of fun, even though the pumpkin is already moldy and sunken in from the heat. We will just have to go get some more pumpkins! (That means more yummy pumpkin seeds, too!)

May The Force Be With You

Costas chose his own costume again this year. Darth Vader was his choice, along with a lightsaber. Since we bought costume last week, Costas has worn it everyday. Mostly at home, but also to speech and on one of our walks. He likes to stand on the couch and jump off while swinging his lightsaber. He also will swordfight with anyone willing (not me).

Zoo

Costas and I went to the zoo today. We have a membership and we were going quite often in the winter and spring, but we hadn't been there all summer. This is the last week of the stingray exhibit where we could touch the stingrays so I wanted to make sure that we went to that one again. But the favorite exhibit is always the reptile house to see the geckos. We usually end up going around the whole reptile house four times before Costas is ready to go. There are lots of animals there including elephants, tigers, and giraffes but the geckos continue to be the big hit.

In His Own Bed

Costas has been sleeping in his own bed for about 2 weeks now! He loves his Spider-Man sheets that he chose himself. His bed is next to ours, so he is able to get reassurance in middle of the night if he needs it, which he rarely does. For the first few days, he didn't even want me to read him a story because he was so excited to sleep in his bed. Now there is room in our bed for the baby.

Anxious baby?

I went for my doctor's visit yesterday and was informed that I was 1 cm dilated and partly effaced. I am just beginning my 35th week. The doctor said that the baby may come sooner than later. But, I've heard of women who were dilated the same amount for a long period of time. Time will tell. I really prefer an October birthday; not a big fan of September for some reason.

School is still fun!

Costas is having a great time at school. The kids paint everyday, which Costas loves. There is lots of outside playtime, which is also fun for him. Today he told me, "I like my school, all of the kids, and I like my teachers." I'm also getting time to get some errands done, but that won't last once the baby is here.