These days, Sage usually spends a good 10-20 minutes playing in his bed before he falls asleep. This is how he fell asleep at naptime on a recent trip to grandma and grandpa's house...

The joys of motherhood...

Puking babies!


What's gross is you can actually see the still undigested carrots he had for dinner! When I called Jared for "help" when this happened, instead of handing me a towel, he grabbed the camera and took pictures - laughing hysterically the whole time.

Kai's first smiles!

Kai has started to smile! As all babies do, he has been smiling in his sleep for awhile now. But, in the last few days, he has started to smile at us while he is awake. He is such a cutie!!!

Enjoy the latest pictures of Kai. Notice his plump little cheeks and double chin. Yeah for a growing boy!


Comparing this picture with Sage's smile at the same age (see Happy Baby at 1 month in the right hand column), they have the same smile!


So sweet!


Kai has the same raised eyebrow, "Who do you think you are?" look as Sage and Grandpa Kelly.

A day in the life of...

a mom with two under two.

So, Jared had to work today and is now out with Chad to celebrate Chad's birthday. Translation - Mandy had the boys by herself ALL day and night. The day went rather smoothly. Both boys took naps well and didn't have to eat at the same time (a big challenge). I even managed to get a shower and a 30 minute nap in while both boys slept. That's a true success!

Then, came the night shift. Of course, as I start to feed Sage dinner, Kai wakes up hungry. Kai is VERY impatient when it comes to food. When he is hungry, he is mad! So, the juggling began. Trying to feed both boys at the same time is no fun. I usually can accomplish this by putting Kai on my lap and feeding him with my left hand while I feed Sage with the right. Trouble is, Sage has recently decided that he wants to feed himself using the spoon. This requires me to use two hands - one to hold the dish Sage is eating out of and the other to help guide the spoon into his mouth. Needless to say, not much guiding of the spoon was happening. Thus, Sage's "summer vegetable dinner" was everywhere - in his hair, on his face, up his nose, on the floor, on the table, on me, and even a glob of green goo landed on poor Kai. So, Kai got enough of the bottle to pacify him until Sage finished.

After dinner, Sage took a short dip in the tub while Kai's waited patiently on the boppy pillow. Sage had been showing signs of tiredness since way before dinner and cried after being put into his pajamas. So, I tried putting him to bed.

I'm finishing Kai's feeding. Sage is crying. No, now he's screaming. 10 minutes goes by and Sage is still crying/screaming. But, Kai is still eating. A few minutes later, I hear a gagging sound. I had to put Kai down because I knew what was coming. Sure enough, I get into Sage's room just as he pukes green goo all over the floor. Great!!!

I get the mess cleaned up and as I step onto the kitchen floor to throw the paper towels away, I step in something wet. I look down and there is a trail of wet spots leading all the way to a big puddle at the back door. Rosco (our dog) had peed all over. You've got to be kidding me! I realize this is my fault because in all the chaos of dinner, bath, bed, and puking child, I forgot that Rosco needed to go out.

So, after cleaning up the messes, Sage gets to come out of bed for awhile. Kai finishes his dinner and falls back asleep. Sage finally goes to bed at 9 pm - an hour later than normal. I finally get to eat my dinner. I could go to bed, but I know as soon as I close my eyes, Kai will be hungry again. Might just try it anyway.

Rough night!

(PS) Just as I hit "publish post", guess who starts crying? See, I told you it was time for Kai to wake up hungry.

Kai had another doctor's appointment this morning and he now weights 5 pounds and 8 ounces! He has gained more than a pound in the two weeks he's been home. Dr. Ortiz said she expected a 1/2 oz. to an oz. gained a day - but he has exceeded that. Go Kai! Dr. Ortiz went so far as to call Kai a "porker." I wouldn't go that far, but his cheeks are filling out nicely. He still has super skinny arms and legs though.

Kai has also decided to switch his days and nights around - lucky us! He had been doing really well with going right back to sleep after eating overnight. But, the last two nights, he's been awake from about 2 until 6. We're going to have to work on that!

Sage is still a really great big brother - always curious about where Kai is and what Kai is doing. Yesterday, instead of stealing Kai's bottle, he actually tried to stick an empty bottle in Kai's mouth. Too cute!

"Kai Kai"

Many of you have been asking, "What does Sage think of Kai?" Well, he is intrigued and happy. Sage always smiles when he sees him and wants to touch him. We're still working on "gentle" touching, so he doesn't really get to do that much. But, Sage loves to peek in the bars of the crib to see Kai.

Sage has already learned Kai's name too. He calls him, "Kai Kai." We weren't sure if Sage really connected the name with Kai until this morning. Jared walked into Sage's room with Kai in his arms and Sage immediately said, "Kai Kai" and looked at his baby brother. It was too cute.

Overall, Sage is doing very well with the adjustment. He's a tad crabby at times and wants to be held a bit more often. We've also seen Sage put Kai's pacifier in his mouth - which is really unusual considering Sage hasn't used a pacifier since he was six months old. Sage also wants Kai's bottle. But, I think those are all to be expected. I'm looking forward to the day when they can interact without us worrying about Sage whopping Kai on the head.

Gaining Rapidly!

Kai is almost 5 pounds already! The nurse came by this morning and Kai has gained 10 oz. since he left the hospital and weighs in at 4 lbs., 15.8 oz. today. He is eating like crazy!

Walking on his first birthday!

Sage turned one! I cannot believe a whole year has gone by since he was born. Seems like just yesterday that I was on my way to work and my water broke.

Guess who started walking on his birthday? After dinner, Sage was playing in the kitchen, stood up in the middle of the floor, and took 3 steps all by himself! Jared and I were shocked! We knew he could do it. Later, Jared saw him take about 6 more steps in the living room. Such a big boy!!! I'm going to see if I can catch him on camera today.


Notice the balloon in Sage's hand. It's one of the balloons from his birthday party. He hasn't let go of that thing since Sunday!

Welcome Home and Happy Birthday!

The Kelly family has been VERY busy the last several days. Saturday morning (9/5), we found out Kai would be coming home that day. Jared and I were at the hospital early that morning waiting for the neonatologist to give the final go-ahead. While we were waiting, we were trying to figure out how on earth we were going to manage getting Kai home and participating in Justin and Cora's wedding in the same day. We mentioned this to the nursery staff and they volunteered to keep Kai until after the wedding. Thank goodness for the nursery staff - they are awesome. So, Saturday night, we had a great time at Justin and Cora's wedding. It was really pretty despite the brief rain shower just before the ceremony. Sage had a great time and looked so handsome in his suit (just like daddy).

Sage and I left the wedding a little early to go pick up Kai. It felt so good to disconnect all the monitors that were attached to Kai and just hold the little sweetheart and walk out with him too. Amazing feeling! Sage, Kai, and I drove to my mom's house to spend the night since I knew Jared would be out late fulfilling his best-man duties. It was an exhauting night between Kai's 3 hour feedings, pumping, and worrying about whether Kai was still breathing. We all three slept in the same room (me in the bed, Sage in the pack-n-play, and Kai in the crib). Sage snored and Kai squeaked all night! The bad part is when the boys weren't snoring or squeaking, I freaked out thinking that one of them had stopped breathing or something. No sleep for mommy!

Sunday was a great day! It was Sage's birthday party and we had SO much fun! We had a great turn out and I was so thrilled to see so many people who love and care about our little guys. Most people got see Kai at least though we tried to keep him hidden so he wouldn't catch any germs. Sage was super happy at his party! Cake time was the best! Although he spit out any cake that actually made it into his mouth, he thoroughly enjoyed smacking the cake to pieces. Cake was flying everywhere. It was the funniest thing ever. Good thing we were outside. After a quick dip in the tub, Sage "opened" his presents. Well, really Jared opened them. Sage was more interested in standing on his own and listening to everyone cheer when he did! So adorable. There was one gift that was a hit with Sage. He got a push toy (a train) that makes music and lots of other things. Sage walked around my mom's house - back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until he crashed for the night. Then, he got up and did it again the next morning - back and forth, back and forth. He was so excited.

Monday we caught up on sleep and went to Jared's dad house for a couple hours for a bbq. Then, we finally came home to our own house - all four of us. It was lovely to be home as a family - the four of us and of course, Rosco. Rosco was super happy to see her family. I don't think she's realized yet that there is a second baby in the house.

Today was the first real day Jared and I had the boys to ourselves. It wasn't bad. Jared went to work at 3 and I've had the boys by myself since. It hasn't been too bad - busy, but not bad. The worst was from 6 to 7 pm because both boys needed to eat. I fed Kai first and thought he was asleep so I laid him down and started feeding Sage. Kai started crying - which he rarely does, so I went to check on him and he had spit up all over himself. So, I had to hold him (in his wet clothes) until Sage finished his dinner. I was juggling for a while there. But, hey it's 8:30 now, both boys are asleep and I've been sitting still for 15 whole minutes. Hooray! Kai went to the doctor this morning. He has gained 5 ounces in the since he left the hospital. I think that's awesome because when he was born, he weighed 4 lbs., 5 oz. When he left the hospital two weeks later, he weighed 4 lbs, 6 oz. Now, 3 days after leaving the hospital, he weighs 4 lbs., 11 oz. Go Kai! That makes me feel so good to know he's gaining weight - it's reassuring that we're doing the right thing. Well, time to go - it's almost time to feed Kai again. Then, for me, B-E-D. Ahhhhh... Pictures to come!

Kai looks awesome!

I spent a few hours with Kai at the hospital today. He looks awesome! His face is starting to fill out and he was completely free of all the tubes and wires. I could even see where he has dimples when he was eating - two little dimples (one on each cheek).

Kai ate really well today too. When I fed him, he breastfed for 15 minutes and then sucked down a whole bottle too. That's a first since I've been there for his feedings. Usually he leaves at least 5 to 10 ml. I am so proud of how he doing! I think he may have finally turned a corner.

It sounds like he will get to come home this weekend - maybe even tomorrow! We'll just have to see. We are CRAZY busy with Justin and Cora's wedding tomorrow and Sage's first birthday party on Sunday. But, hey, if Kai gets to come home, we'll be there. Yea for Kai!

Kai's in a big boy crib!

Kai has moved from the isolette to a big boy crib at the hospital. He's doing really well maintaining his body temperature. He was circumsized today - ouch! Since he was tired from that whole ordeal, he did have to be tube fed this afternoon. However, that was the first time in over 24 hours. The nurse practitioner assures me that he's going to "turn a corner" any day now as far as being mature enough to stay awake through a whole feeding. Kai is supposed to be eating 40 ml every three hours, but only has enough energy to eat the first 25 or 30 - hence the tube today. But, I think he's doing really well for a baby that's not even 36 weeks yet. Kai has even bounced back up to his birthweight. Yea!

Sage continues to be clueless that he's a big brother. As the time nears for Kai to come home, I'm feeling more and more anxious about how Sage is going to react. I even feel some guilt that Sage won't receive as much attention as he does now. Not that we won't love on him and play with him, but there will obviously be times when Jared and/or I will be busy with Kai.

More good news today - I went back to my doctor for a follow up appointment. My blood pressure has returned to normal! They lowered the dosage of my blood pressure medicine and said if my bp is normal next week, I can stop taking it altogether. Hooray! And, not only that, but when I got on the scale today - I'm only 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight (2nd baby). The nurse was wondering how I did that in just 2 weeks! Hopefully, that keeps up and I can get back to pre-Sage weight soon.

Sage reading

This is for all my friends at work...

Sage reading in his "just right" reading spot.