Who looks like who?

I was looking through my iPhoto pictures and wanted to compare these two pictures... after we all have been discussing who Julius looks like.
I happen to think he looks like his Daddy, but Pat says he has facial expressions like my Dad.
I think we can all look at these two pictures and see who Julius looks like...
P.S. The top picture is Savannah and the second is Julius.

A morning with Julius...

While Pat and Savannah were sleeping this morning I took a few pictures of Julius. He's such a sweet little boy.. only cries when he's hungry, needs a diaper change or wants a little attention.
The last few pictures of Savannah coming up to get in the shot...

Freelancing again...

I got my first post-Julius freelance assignment on Thursday and am officially a freelancer again. Hopefully Pat and I can juggle watching the kiddies around my interview schedule... it was hard enough with Savannah and I certainly don't expect it to be easier with two kiddies.
I came home from Heather's yesterday and found an email from Score, a Charlottesville non-profit group that gives advice to people going into business for themselves. They were trying to locate me in the hopes of doing some freelance writing for them.
I was honored to have made such an impact when I interviewed one of their volunteers several months ago... and hope this will lead to work from other groups.
Please wish me luck as I go back to freelancing (not just with the work, but with keeping my brain straight) ... with our crazy economy and times not so good for the newspaper business, our little family can use every dime we can get.

Feeling better...

I wanted to let you all know the kids are feeling a little better (although they still have some congestion). I took Savannah to the pediatrician yesterday just as a precaution and there was no sign of chest congestion or an ear infection... the nurse listened to Julius' chest and he was clear also.
Of course, my poor babies sound terrible at night as they wheeze...it's not exactly the way I expected to start my spring.
The doctor said it might be another week before the congestion is gone, but the worst is over... hopefully. He said we could return to our normal routine and be around other people... so I took Savannah over to see Brooke and Haiden (who are also on the mend from their colds) and will be taking them to see their Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom today. We're leaving Thursday afternoon for Virginia Beach to see their grandparents for several days... it will be nice to get away.

Under the weather...

The kiddies and I have been a little under the weather these last few days... well, I should say we've really been under the weather.
It started on Monday when we went to a dinner with some of the other mommies and kiddies. One of the children was sick and his mommy decided to bring him anyway... she said he was just teething so none of us thought anything about it.
But the next day Savannah woke up with a fever, red cheeks and a runny nose... typical teething symptoms.
I didn't think much more about it until Wednesday when I woke up feeling puny... and ended up with a sore throat and a fever that went up as high as 102.8.
By this time Julius also had a stuffy nose and getting him to nurse was difficult... because nursing moms have to feed their babes even when they are sick.
Savannah was feeling a little better by Wednesday, but she still had a stuffy nose.
I finally got my fever to break Thursday evening and called the pediatrician's office about Julius... they told me there was nothing to worry about unless he got a fever or the congestion moved into his chest.
Savannah seems to be back to her normal happy self... although her runny nose is driving me crazy!
We've got big plans for the weekend (going up to visit Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom on Saturday) and going to see Grammy and Papa next week so we all have to get back to normal!

Girls Night Out...

I took the kiddies over to my friend, Melissa's, house tonight for dinner and great conversation. By the end of the night we had five women, three toddlers, three infants, a little boy and a teenager in the mix.
It was a hectic place, but we all had a lot of fun.
Here are some pictures from our adventures... thanks Heather for sharing.

P.S. Savannah lost her shirt after dropping large amounts of mac-n-cheese on it.

Our growing boy...

Julius had his one month check-up today and Dr. Mayo said he's looking great. He weighed in at 11 lbs., 7 ounces and is now 22 inches in length.
She said he doesn't look like he's in the 90th percentile for his weight because he's a long baby... but he's not a small fry by any means.
She said he looks great and is a very alert baby... and she also told me I'm lucky that he's sleeping so well at night, but that could be due to his size.
These are a few pictures I snapped after we got home from the doctor's office... Savannah is like a little Mama and wants to love on Julius all of the time.
She can now say her brother's name and wants to hold him... you can see him peeking at her in the second picture.
I'm going to do by best to snap more pictures as I know these days are passing by quickly.

Falling down on the job...

Mom told Pat today that we were falling down on the job of taking updated photos of Julius... and she's right.
By this time in June 2007, we had taken hundreds of pictures of Savannah... as she slept, ate, took a bath, etc.
I don't know if it's the fact that I'm busier or he's not as active (he's the best sleeping baby I could ask for), but there are a lot less opportunities to take his picture than there was with Savannah. I wish I was quick enough to catch to catch him smiling and laughing in his sleep, but once it happens I'm so amazed that I can only watch until it fades.
Here are a few pictures of Julius from last week... I promise to break out the camera and try to do better... and ask Heather to share with me the pictures she's taken of him.

P.S. Julius has a check-up tomorrow and I'll post his updated stats... I know he's gained back all of his birth weight and think he's grown a few meters too.

Celebrating Brooke's birthday...

Savannah and a few of her playdate friends celebrated Brooke's birthday Saturday at the Little Gym in Charlottesville. The children had a blast running around and climbing on the equipment.
This was Savannah's first visit to the Little Gym and she really enjoyed herself... I've been meaning to take her to a class and see if she would like the tumbling and interaction with other kids.
She's certainly not a shy little girl as she once again got into the middle of everything.
Here are a few pictures I took...

Belated St. Patrick's Day wishes...

I wanted to share a few photos with you from our St. Patrick's Day... we took Mama back up to Skyline Drive because we had a free pass for the day and wanted Pat to see some of the scenery.
Well, Savannah decided she wasn't having any part of the trip and started screaming... so we quickly got off the parkway and found something else to occupy our time.
We drove to Harrisonburg, tried to see Samantha (our niece), but she was sick. We then did a little shopping for Brooke (Savannah's friend who has a birthday party this weekend) and then to dinner.
We had a nice time and I wanted to share these photos... the first is of Savannah, Mama and me on the mountain... the wind is whipping my hair all around. The second picture was taken after we got home.
Savannah is wearing a dress her Grammy made years ago for either cousin Erin or Samantha... it was a hit with everyone who saw it yesterday.

Happy One Month birthday Julius...

It's hard to believe my Little Man (what my Mama calls him) is already a month old! Where has the time gone?
He's went from a chubby baby to a little man who smiles and laughs in his sleep and allows his Mama to sleep most of the night.
He's a wonderful baby and I know how lucky I am to have him.
Here are a few pictures I took over the last few days... please enjoy!

Pictures from our playdate...

I wanted to share a few photos from our lunch date today with my friend, Heather, and her children Brooke and Haiden.
Heather got a new Nikon camera last week and it takes wonderful shots!
Savannahwas sick last week so this is the first time the girls have been together in more than a week... they had a blast and so did we!

Mama's visit...

Would you believe that most everyone in the house is sick the week Mama is here visiting from Georgia? Thank goodness she's here because I've been able to turn Julius over to her while I deal with Savannah.
Savannah got sick Saturday night... hours after her aunts Debbie and Sharon came to visit and two days before my Mama came in. She was feeling fine and then she suddenly started vomiting... we ended up taking her to the emergency room on Sunday as the doctor on call didn't think we should wait until Monday to get her in.
She has a stomach virus... and Pat caught it on Tuesday. Needless to say it hasn't made for the best visit. I have a little fever, but have still been able to keep things going around here... guess that is what Mamas have to do.
Savannah was feeling better on Wednesday so we took her up Skyline Drive... more for Mama than for the kids. Savannah seemed fine until we got home and then she got sick again... I think we overdid it and I feel really bad about it.
I wanted to post a few pictures... as you can see Savannah wasn't feeling up to par.

R.I.P. Magnolia Sue "Maggie" Fitzgerald, 1992-2009

Magnolia Sue "Maggie" Fitzgerald, 17, died Monday, March, 2, 2009, after a long illness.
Celebrating her birthday on the 28th of January of each year, Maggie was the longtime cat of Pat Fitzgerald and the adopted cat of Sharon Fitzgerald. She is also survived by her brothers, Jamie Mohling and Julius Fitzgerald and her sister, Savannah Fitzgerald. She was preceded in death by her feline adopted brothers, Green, Hobbes and Ollie.
Born in Gulf Port, MS., Maggie moved with her father to Arkansas, Missouri, Florida, Arkansas and Virginia.
Maggie welcomed her adopted Mom, sister and brother into the family with as much style as an older matriarch of the family ever could.
She tolerated Savannah more than we ever expected and looked warily as we brought Julius into the house more than a week ago.
She will be missed by everyone in this house... but we're so glad for the memories we have of her to share with you.

Daddy and his babies...

Here is another picture Heather took last week... this was taken at our house when we had Heather, Brooke and Haiden over for dinner.
We had a blast and I think Savannah enjoyed having Brooke at her house... but she has to get used to sharing as she's not used to having another child here at the house.

What is he dreaming of?

Heather captured this photo of Julius last week while we were visiting her and the kiddies. Julius loves his hands... and he always has at least one of them on his face or folded right under his chin.
He did this during my pregnancy also ... that is why we couldn't get 3-D photos until weeks before his birth.
He's such a sweet baby... and very much loved by his big sister, Savannah (and Mama and Daddy too).

Sleeping with baby...

Pat took these pictures of Julius and I right after he came home from work Friday night... I had been able to stay awake until he walked in the door, but faded quickly after that.
Mommies are accustomed to not getting a lot of sleep when a new baby comes into the house... it's just part of life with a newborn. I've been trying to adjust to not only having a new baby, but also making sure Savannah doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
I'm learning to sleep when the children sleep... and now find myself begging Savannah to take a nap in the afternoon.

Our big helper...

Pat and I are very lucky that Savannah loves her brother so very much... although sometimes I have to get on to her about kissing and hugging on him while he sleeps. The poor little kid can't get much sleep during the day because his sister wants to kiss him and hug him awake... so the best thing he can hope for is that she's also sleeping or is other wise occupied.
These are a few pictures I captured while she was "other wise occupied" by playing her in dolly's bed... she was able to squeeze herself into the bed several times before she broke it... and couldn't figure out why she wasn't able to put it back together.
Savannah is a wonderful little girl... even though she has a little devilish streak!