Andy's milestones (December 2007)

December 15, 2007 You are 7 days away from being 8 months old

You are pretty sick right now. You have had a constant ear infection for the last 8 weeks. You are on your 5th round of antibiotics, and you’ve had a shot of Rocephin. You got the shot last Friday and it was so sad. It was so painful for you. You cried big crocodile tears. We have an appointment with the ear, nose & throat doctor on Monday – they are going to evaluate you for tubes. You are on your 5th antibiotic while we wait for the doctor’s appointment. You were so sick last night – now you have a barky cough. It’s so sad for you to be so sick. I hope you get better soon!
You are almost 8 months and I can’t believe it. I don’t know where the time has gone. I am so sad that you are getting so big so fast. You are such a joy. So cute, laughing, cooing, talking, giggling – all the time. You are the happiest baby by far. So sweet and cuddly.

You are sitting up, rolling all around. If we put you on your stomach – you get your feet under you and try to move. I don’t think it will be long before you’ll be crawling.

You wear size 4 diapers, size 9-12 months clothes (a little tightly – 12 months is best for you), drink 8 ounces of milk, eat baby food 3x day. You are on stage 2 foods – you don’t like meats, cereals – and now you are leaning more towards the fruits rather than food. You like orange vegetables better than green.

You are sleeping through the night – but you wake up many times a night to have your pacifier put back in your mouth. Either mommy or daddy sleeps in the room w/you.

Benjamin adores you. He loves to sit in the floor and play with you. He dotes over you whenever he has the chance. He talks to you like you are a person and loves to play with you. William – he loves you too. He’s concerned about you, but only really wants to play w/you if someone else is giving you attention. William & Ben call you Andrew and mommy & daddy call you Andy.

You clasp both your hands when you are excited – like you are signing milk w/both hands. It’s the funniest thing. You have done that for quite sometime now. You kinda twist your hands at the wrist and sign milk. Very cute – but we’re not sure what it means.

We introduced a few signs, milk, eat, more, bath, diaper change… I think you’ve produced milk – but it could be the wrist twisting thing – not sure.

2007 Christmas Card!

Merry Christmas from the Wilke's!

Front of our card:

Back of our card:

Andy's milestones (November 2007)

November 2, 2007 - You had your 6 month check-up
You got your 4 month shots, but not 6 month b/c you were sick at your 4 month check-up and couldn’t get your shots.
Weight: ________pounds
Height: _____ inches long
Head Circumference: __

November 24, 2007 I went to get you from your nap. I held onto your hand and barely tugged and you and you sat up. This was on Saturday and that week you got stronger and stronger – until the next Saturday you were sitting up completely on strong and on your own.

Andy's milestones (September 2007)

September 10, 2007 – you had your 4 month check-up
You didn’t get your shots b/c you were sick.

Weight: 17 ½ pounds
Height: 25 ¾ inches long
Head Circumference: 17

Andy's milestones (July 2007)

July 1, 2007 You slept 12:15 am – 6:15am. Yea! We are almost there.

July 2, 2007 You slept 10pm – 7am. Yea! You are awesome.

July 7, 2007 You have consistently slept from 10pm – 7am all week. Finally – mommy gets to rest. Thank you sweet baby.

July 12, 2007 Your first time in a swimming pool – at our neighbor’s house - neighbor’s house – the Kratz’s. You didn’t like it too much. You were kinda shocked by the water.

July 23, 2007 First time for you to go into the childcare at the Gym (Lifetime Fitness). Mommy went and worked out and put all 3 boys in childcare.

Monday, July 23, 2007 - You are 3 months old today
· You are sleeping from 9pm-6:30am. Sometimes even from 8pm-7am. You are a pretty awesome sleeper.
· Still trying to figure out your naps. I know you have a long nap in the morning – usually around 8:15-8:30, and you sleep for an hour. But still trying to figure out the other naps during the day.
· You are beginning to wear 3-6 months clothes. You can still wear some of your 0-3 months, but they are getting tight.
· You drink 5 ounces at a feeding. Sometimes a little more, but not too often.
· You are a very happy baby. You wake up laughing and smiling and you do it all day.
· You love for people to talk to you and interact with you. It makes you so happy.
· You are still wearing size 2 diapers. Although I may move you up to size 3 – so I can buy them at Sam’s. Sam’s only sell size 1-2, and then 3. Size 1-2 is too small, so I’ve been buying them at Wal-mart. But I may move you up a size, so I can get them at a discount : )
· You hold your head up so well.
· You are trying to sit up. If we lay you on your back, you try to sit straight up. Not there yet – obviously, but it won’t be long.
· I haven’t been giving you prevacid regularly, but I really need too. You still choke and cough when you eat. I’ll call the doctor and start that back up – I guess. Just hate to start you on any medicine.
· You recognize mommy & daddy from a distance.
· You have found your hands, and they are always in your mouth.
· I think you may be teething. You are really drooling and constantly chewing.

July 27, 2007 You have your first cold. Everyone’s been sick and you are pretty snotty, and have been for about the past 4 days.

Ben's milestones (June 2007)

Today is June 20, 2007

I can’t believe you are five years old today. Wow! Where has the time gone? At 5 years old – you do so much.
· You speak clearly 100% of the time
· You are very smart and you think about things a lot
· You wear size 5T – 6 clothes
o Still not wiping your own butt. You do try, but that’s only about 2% of the time. You prefer for mommy or daddy to do it.

Andy's milestones (June 2007)

June 1, 2007 I am starting a routine tonight – or at least trying. - 7pm - Bath, pajamas, book, bed… let’s hope it works

June 1, 2007 You are holding your head up so well. When I lay you on the floor – you completely lift your head up. When I hold you over my shoulder – you hold your head up too. So strong and sweet!

June 1, 2007 You are watching us more. Your eyes are focusing more and started to be observant of what’s around you.

June 6, 2007 Routine didn’t go so well….

June 15, 2007 You smiled at me today and I KNEW it was meant just for me. It melted my heart.

June 17, 2007 You laughed out loud and smiled really big. You love to laugh and smile.

June 20, 2007 You had your 2 month check-up today
Weight: 13.6 pounds
Height: 23 inches
Head:

Dr. Betty says you are doing wonderful. You are holding your head up and keeping it up very well. She was quite impressed. You are also laughing out loud and both are 4 month old tasks. Yea for you!

At 2 months you are – June 23, 2007:
· Holding your head up very well and keeping it up for a long period of time
· Smiling a lot
· Following us w/your eyes
· Laughing out loud
· Drinking 4-5 oz. every 3-6 hours. You are kind of all over the place w/feedings. You aren’t on a set schedule at this point.
· You are wearing 0-3 months. The shorts fit you – but the onesies are getting tight, so we’ll have to go to 3-6 months soon.
· You are wearing size 2 diapers
· You are still waking up every 3-4 hours to eat. Although last night (June 22, 2007) – you went 6 hours w/o eating
· You take most naps in the swing. Which I hope to break this week (June 23, 2007) will Daddy’s in Myrtle. You sleep in your crib at night and I sleep on a twin bed in your room.

June 23, 2007 Bad news is: I started you on prevacid today
We aren’t sure if you have reflux or the swallowing Issue that your William had. We are hoping the prevacid Will clear it up. You choke during feedings, gag after feedings, and make a loud gasping noise sometimes during feedings. Dr. Betty is hopeful that it is reflux.

July 22, 2007 You went 6 hours w/o eating at night. Woo Hoo!

June 23, 2007 I am going to try to start the routine again tonight hopefully it will go well for us.

June 25, 2007 The first time you met your Oma. She came to visit and stayed w/us while Daddy was in Myrtle Beach golfing.

Andy milestones (May 2007)

May 2, 2007 You threw up or spit up a whole lot. We were worried about you. We called the doctor and they told us to keep an eye on you, but that babies do that if they have a gas bubble.

May 2, 2007 You had your first sponge bath today. Ben & will watched as Daddy took pictures. You were kinda fussy. I don’t think you like being cold so much.

May 3, 2007 Today you’ve been burpy and spitting up some. I hope you don’t have reflux like Will or any of his other issues. We’ll talk to Dr. Betty next week at your check-up.

May 8, 2007 Your circumcision ring and your umbilical cord both fell off today. It was a big day!

You had a 2 week check-up w/Dr. Betty May 9, 2007

Weight:
Height:

May 26, 2007 You are sleeping for 5 hour stretches. Yea! Hopefully you’ll start sleeping through the night soon – I’m really anxious for a good nights sleep.

May 30, 2007 You are taking 4-5 ounces of milk right now.

Andy's milestones (April 2007)

April 30, 2007 You had your first doctor's appointment w/Dr. Betty. They did a weight check on you. You are 7.13 pounds. Dr. Betty says you look great and everything is great with you. Dr. Betty says that you could be prone to all the medical issues that William had. Your dad and I are worried about that, but hopefully – you will be ok and not have to deal with all that he did.

Happy Birthday Andrew "Andy" David Wilke!

I had a scheduled c-section for your delivery. The night before I started feeling contractions. Although I thought it was Braxton Hicks. The next day your dad and I went to the hospital for your delivery and w/the monitors hooked to my stomach, I started feeling discomfort. The nurse asked if I was ok, I told her I was feeling discomfort, she looked at the monitor and said “you are having a pretty big contraction and they are coming 5 minutes apart.” She said that we would have had you that day even if you weren’t scheduled. So … it was your day after all.

You were born at 12:28 p.m. and you weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces. Your dad and I thought you were going to be much bigger (close to 10.5 pounds). But we were happy for the size you were.

You were beautiful when you came out of my tummy, and both your dad and I thought you looked like your big brother William. In recovery, you nursed well and didn’t have any problems. Throughout the next 4 days at the hospital – I nursed you, and you did well also.

You had a few visitors: Granny, Uncle Christopher, Uncle Bubba, Aunt Erica, Miesa Murphy, Jennifer Craig, Aunt GoGo, Emily Coley, and of course your big brothers – Ben & Will.

Your big brothers were so happy to see you. Ben more than Will – b/c he’s older. He wanted to take care of you and hold you. He loves you so much. He says “he’s the big brother and it’s his job to take care of you and Will.”

We didn’t decide on your name until a few days before you were born. Again, as with your older brothers – it’s the only name we both liked that we could agree on … but I think it suits you great!

After the first few days – you had lost weight down to 7.13 pounds. When we left the hospital you were 7.5 pounds.

You came home on April 26, 2007 and you were wearing an Old Navy onesie and pants. The onesie had a tiger on it, and the pants were orange & white striped.

Ben's milestones (January 2007

Today is January 8, 2007. I have been so bad at journaling for you. Today has been kind of a tough day for you. We had to take you to the ER this morning b/c you have had a high fever since yesterday morning. Your temperature was 104.4. They tested you for strep and the flu and both were negative. They say it’s a virus and will go away. It had gone down by the time we got to the ER (99.5). But, after the Tylenol wore off – it was back up to 102. I’m so worried about you. You are such a trooper though. You know you are sick and you are taking it easy and resting.

You are doing so much at this stage and age. You are like a miniature man. You talk so perfectly, and you ask lots of questions. You are curious and want to know how everything works.

Some of your characteristics are:

· You are so very empathetic. If someone around you is upset, you get upset and want to fix it. You want to make sure everyone gets something, that no one is left out.
· Although William can bug you in the greatest way – you love him dearly. You take such good care of him. You give him lots of hugs and kisses. You told me today that he was talking so well, and that he said to you “Yea, Benjamin is home.” You absolutely love it when he calls you Ben or Benjamin. It makes you so excited that he can talk so well and can communicate w/you.
· You are a care-taker. Anytime we are around someone who has younger siblings, you hold their hand, you walk w/them. You are always so concerned about them.
· You go to Preschool at “The Ark Preschool” Monday-Thursday from 9-2. You love it there and you love your friends. Well … most of them. You say one girl – Audrey is mean and is a bully. It upsets me that she gets to you so much, but hopefully you can tell her to stop being a bully and start defending yourself.
· You are so emotional – that you get your feelings hurt easy. You try to be nice and make everyone feel good, that sometimes you don’t speak up or defend yourself the way you should.
· You are wearing a 5T or 6 in clothes.
· You finally stopped wearing pull-ups at night (December , 2006). Your pull-ups were always dry, you just liked wearing them. Maybe to be like William – not sure. But we finally were able to convince you to wear underwear to bed.
· Mommy & daddy still have to wipe your butt. You tell us you’ll do it when you are 10.
· You love to pretend and use your imagination to play. You got an Imaginex Castle for Christmas, which you love to play w/daddy and pretend to fight.
· Your favorite shows on TV are; Jimmy Neutron, Scooby Doo, Spongebob Squarepants, Tom & Jerry. You will watch JoJo’s Circus and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse b/c they are William’s favorites.
· You can write your name; you are learning to write all of your letters; you are sounding out words, and trying to figure out what letter they start with; you know your 1st, middle and last name as well as William’s (3) names; you know tons of words in Spanish and love to speak it; you can count to 50.
· You are starting to love to draw. You never were real interested as you were younger – but now, you enjoy sitting at the table and drawing w/daddy.
Mommy called today to check on Kindergarten and how we start to prepare to enroll. I can’t believe that this year, you will go to Kindergarten.