Like Mother Like Son

It's true. I sucked my thumb when I was a baby and up until first
grade. Now Brent is finding comfort via thumb sucking too. With all
he's been through these past 4 months, I can't seem to pull that thumb
away from him. If it makes him happy right now,... Let's just hope
we can break the habbit well before his first grade year. smiles.

Backtracking to Uncle Brian's Visit

Uncle Brian flew out last week (just before the Smith family and Auntie Sara came) for a visit and to help me with the kids. After a week of Brent and Amber and myself being sick, I was more than ready to have some company and help. :-) Brian did awesome in taking care of the kids. I think they wore him out though. :-)

Auntie Sara Visits From Germany

Auntie Sara was able to catch another medical flight from Germany to Walter Reed (in D.C.) over the weekend. It was wonderful to have her in our home along with the Smiths. We all had a nice time together. Auntie Sara, Lucas and I, and Uncle Owen even got to go bowling while G'ma
and G'pa watched the kiddos.

G'pa and G'ma Smith and Uncle Owen

This past weekend G'pa and G'ma Smith, and Uncle Owen came down from PA. It was SO great to have them visit. Uncle Owen leaves for Belize (working for Peace Corps) next month, so this was likely the last time we will see him for the next 2 years.
Auntie Sara also got to visit from Germany for the weekend. Pictures of her to come.

Penn Stater

Feeling The Love

Brent was feeling the love this weekend as most of the Smith family was visiting (along with Naomi's sister Sara). More pictures are on route.

When To Use A Remote Flash

I let Amber hold one of my remote flash units and she had fun "setting it off" by pushing the buttons. Little did she know that i was triggering it remotely while getting this cute picture of her :-)

Talking On the Phone

Future Convertable Girl

Touchdown

We missed the Superbowl because of all the snow, but at least we had our own little referee to give us the play by play.

Brent's Health

Brent saw the Pediatrician this morning. The report was that Brent has "turned the corner" on the road to better health. Brent will continue with nebulizer treatments throughout this week, with the hope that he will be close to 100% health by the weekend. We are so thankful for this speedy turnaround in his health. We really appreciate everyone's prayers!

Why We Were Playing With Tape

So the reason we were playing with painters tape is that Dad was working on painting the 1/2 bathroom (that is the last room that needs work).

Brent On The Nebulizer

This is what our weekend has looked like. Brent seems to be managing the congestion better, but we will get a better update in the morning at his doctors appointment.

Fun With Tape

No one knew that painters tape could be so much fun :-)

Prayers for Brent

As many of you are aware Brent was diagnosed with RSV yesterday. This is really serious for any baby under 6 mo. of age, and especially for him since he had lung issues at birth. The doctors are concerned for Brent and want to keep a close eye on him. The Doc prescribed nebulizer treatments (at least 3 times a day) for him, and nasal spray. Hopefully those things, along with continued nursing and sleeping elevated with the humidifier running, will help nip this in the bud. Brent has a follow-up appointment on Monday morning, but if things get any worse over the weekend, we will be in sooner. Typically RSV will run its course for a few weeks before it is completely gone. Hopefully we only have to do neb treatments for a few days though. ...we shall see.

Bean Bag Chair

We have been reworking out basement a bit, and were able to get a beanbag chair that folds out into a queen sized bed as well as a new TV to replace the bulky one we had previously. Amber seems to have liked our choice, especially if she gets to watch "Finding Nemo" :-)

Hanging Out

Amber and Brent just hanging out. Brent isn't sure about the color of his chair though :-)

Amber Wanted Some Pictures Too

More from Brent's Photoshoot

Similarities

Taking some picture of Brent the other day in his "Argon ST Prototype" shirt brought back some memories of doing the same thing with Amber. So i pulled back some old pictures to show you how much they really do look like each other. Amber was 2 months old in these pictures, and Brent is just over 3 months (2 months from his due date).
AMBER:

BRENT:

BRENT:

AMBER:

Some Eyes

Everyone always comments on Amber's eyes (Brent's are going to be a close second) so I thought i would highlight an example :-)

More Snow Pictures

Ok, so here as promised are a couple more pictures from the aftermath of the storm.

Snowfall total around 30 inches

So i don't have any new pictures yet, but wanted to give you an update on the snow. I don't have an exact number for where we live as there are so many places with drifts and piles from shoveling that it is difficult to tell exactly how much fell. The weather service recorded 34.2 inches for Dulles Airport which is a little bit north of us, so i am estimating a bit less then that for our house. I think just about 30 inches fell from Friday to Saturday night and i am hearing reports of another snow storm for Tuesday through Wednesday. I am planning on getting some pictures today, so hopefully i will get a chance to post some of them later on.

Happy Superbowl Day

Happy Superbowl Day from our future quarterback.

For Our Friends in the Southern Hemisphere

These are for our friends in the southern hemisphere who are enjoying their summer ;-) These pictures were taken Saturday morning as i attempted to get a head start on shoveling us out. The weather report says to expect another 5-8 inches of snow today.