Greetings and Salutations

Hi! My name is Ray. Actually, its Raymond Eli Matis to be exact. Well, anyway, I heard Mommy talking about this online diary she has and thought I would say hello. So, yesterday was the toughest day of my life. I was resting very peacefully in my room, when all of a sudden my room became smaller and more cramped. About every 10 minutes all night long, my room became smaller. So finally, after about 20 hours of these "contractions", my room became so much bigger!!! I was in this big bright room with a guy in a white coat, a lady in green scrubs and these two wonderfully looking people everyone keeps calling mommy and daddy. Let me first say that these two are the coolest people in the world. But back to them in a minute. So, I'm in this room and they cleaned me up and kept me warm and gave me back to that mommy lady. She is so great...and beautiful. Oh my gosh, I love her hair and face. Daddy did a great job!!

So after I left my first room and went upstairs to this new room ( a little smaller, but so nice. Flat screen TVs, Cokes on demand...the works). A was able to see a whole lot of people my daddy called my family. I don't know what that means, but they were really neat. So, I guess I saw my Aunt Brooke, Grandma and Grandpa Matis, Uncle Mike, Aunt Katie, Uncle Beau and Aunt Julia! They were great! I guess that Aunt KT was suppossed to go home (Philly) but they had a lot of snow so her airplane couldn't take off. She was able to stay for the weekend and see me! I was sooooo happy!

Then the next day my other Grandpa and Nanny came to see me and brought a guy not as big as my daddy but bigger than me. I guess he is my brother Joey. Good lookin guy, I must say. He really really really liked touching my nose and head and kept saying, "Baby Brother Ray!" I'm so lucky to have him as my big brother. I hope I turn out just like him. However, there was one conversation that we did have to have...this website. Little Joey Matis. blogspot. com??? Where is the love for Big Play Ray??? But, after a long debate and much deliberation, we decided to keep the name the same. He is the king of the house and already attracts so many people to read this blog. I may just ride his coattails for awhile until you all love me more than him! HAHAHAHAHA!!

Give mommy and daddy a call if you wanna come by and see me. We'd love to have you over. I really like to be held, so bring your A game!

Love ya,
Ray

Thank you Mom.

Thank you Mom for being you. You are unconditionally there for our whole family and life would be crazy and scary without you. You do and do and do for everyone else and you never run out of energy. I admire your kind words you give to so many every day. I hope and pray I'm exactly like you one day. I feel blessed EVERY SINGLE DAY that you are my mom, and thank God for the Nanie Express. I hope one day I can do as much for you as you've done for me. I know you wouldn't be able to do what you do without the patience and hard work of Dad, so thank you Dad for sharing Mom. Dad, your time and generousity probably won't ever be paid back, but please know we are so lucky to have you by our side. Lastly, thank you Mom for your genetics. I've now gone through 2 pregnancies without a single stretchmark- YOU ARE THE BOMB.COM!!!!!!!!!! Great snag finding Mom, Dad!

As LJ would say, "Wuv you."

Ray's room/ Big boy room

For right now, it's Ray's room. I'm not ready to move LJ into a bed, so we're keeping him in the nursery for about another 6-8 months. Then we'll pull the switch and eventually this will be the boys' room. Make sense, kinda? We did an air plane theme, but you know it's impossible to escape the baseball theme completely??

The crib is dark brown- it's a portacrib that turns into a twin bed. It was only $120, and it's super small- it just worked. The furniture is actually my mom's parents furniture from when they were married. They have both passed, but my mom got the furniture and it was mine while growing up. It's a full size bed- hard to believe Don and LaVon Meek fit into that- maybe that's why they had 6 kids, hehe!

My cousin, Brooke Meek, helped me with the airplane/madras theme. She lives in St. Louis with 2 year old twins and a 2 month old. Her blog, thethreeolives.com , is so inspirational. Her fashion, hard work, and values are definitley very motivating for me.

LJ is going through some funny stages. Yesterday he absolutely had to go to bed with his fruit bar. Can you see it resting on his head? He also insists on going to bed with all 8 of his blankets, aka "ups." However, he has been such a joy, although, he's on his 2nd round of antibiotics for the month with an ear infection, cold, snotty nose, cough, and occasional puking. He really keeps me on my toes, doesn't he? My lower back has been absolutely killing me too. It's a lot harder than I imagined carrying around a 33 lb toddler along with 30 some lbs of pregnancy weight. I'm getting more and more swollen by the day. I gained 5 1/2 lbs in last week- my doctor was exactly pumped about that either. I have another doctor's appt. next Tuesday. Hopefully we know more then.

Oh, how could I forget my little bug man?? He spends hours every day looking for bugs around the house. We pretend anything is a bug and it lights up his face, and if we can't find any bugs we both agree they are just taking naps.

Only days left till Little Ray comes, and no, we will not be referring to him as "LR." Off to attend to my little sick boy for now.

To fill time...

(I know, my husband loves the PJ's all day, no make-up, bad hair day look too.)

we make to do lists. I think I make 3-4 per day. I love checking things off and feeling confident that we're closer to being ready for baby Ray. There's always something to do- clean, organize, buy, organize some more, and read more baby books. This pregnancy has been a lot better than the last. I attribute it to knowing what I'm getting into, walking much more, and drinking a ton more water. I'm hoping to bounce back a little sooner than 10 months, like last time, since I'll be in a few weddings this summer- one being 8 weeks post partum.

I'm finally extremely uncomfortable- sitting in the recliner is about all that sounds good. I had a doctor's appt. last Monday- nothing new. He told me to plan to go 40 weeks, and the baby hasn't dropped. My concern is that the baby's head, like LJ's head, is too big. I struggled pushing LJ out- pushing for 4 hours, then finally having to use the vacumm. Then we ended up with a newborn in the NICU for a week with a broken clavicle. My guess is I'll get induced March 10thish. I'm stoked about being up at Clarion North again- the food is spectacular, ha!! Hopefully we just spend 2 peaceful days up there, and can get home and back to the grind with LJ.

LJ is doing well. He still gets sick all the time, but it seems a bit more managable now that we have a breathing machine at home and our MD knows how he has a hard time fighting off even the smallest cold. I pray that Ray may be able to fight off the germs a little better. Have I mentioned how good LJ is getting at speaking?? He can repeat anything!! Tonight we had him saying "IU, hoo, hoo, IU, hoo, hoo." Currently, he just got out of his Yo Gabba Gabba obsession and now onto his bug obsession. He'll spend hours a day looking for bugs in our house- it's sooo cute how close to the ground he gets. I'm currently buying him 3T-4T, and his curly hair is getting longer by the day.

Only 2 more weeks left of work. I'm hoping to get through these two weeks quickly- my scrubs are cutting off my circulation and Ray tends to kick all of my older male patients the entire teeth cleaning appointment. I'm taking 10 weeks off of work. Last time I went back at 4 weeks. Since I only work 2 days/week, I don't think I'll have much anxiety about getting back.

I feel so lucky that I have so much to be thankful for, however, there is a lot going on with several people I know... a lot of very tough health issues. If you think of it, would you mind adding not only a healthy baby of mine to your prayer list, but also everyone else out there struggling with stress and health problems? These last two weeks , we have several friends and family members who are facing very scary health problems. I can't imagine losing these people. Life is so very very precious. I hope this blog finds you giving this some thought and maybe taking a minute to take better care of yourself, not only for you but for all those who care so deeply for you.

I'm beat. Heading to bed on a Saturday night at 9pm sounds lovely, but it is not something I dreamed of doing at age 25-- however, I'm happy, very happy. In about 4 weeks though, I WILL be drinking a Long Island.

As LJ would say, "NIGHT NIGHT!"

And more.

Tomorrow I'll be 37 weeks. I have both carseats installed. I just need to pack my bag. I'm always out of breath, and my lower back is killing me. I plan on leaving LJ in his crib for as long as possible even though his "Big Boy Room" is all ready to go. We haven't even started potty training and I don't care. We watch entirely way too much TV but my back hurts too bad to do much else. Today for lunch I hate 2 turkey and cheese sandwiches, way too many chips, grapes, a banana, and 2 cookies. I wake up 4-5 times a night and Big Joey has to push me out of bed so I can sit up. My acid reflux is horrible and I'm ready for a very large Long Island Iced Tea. 40 weeks of pregnancy is hard, but I know it gets much harder once we bring the baby home. However, I can't wait any longer. I have a doctor's appt. next Monday. We'll know more then. Ray, we're ready for ya!!!

We're home!!

Dog track baby!!

From Florida, that is. We decided on a last minute trip to my parent's condo in Ft. Myers. My, oh my, it was a perfect visit. We were all sick the day before we left and ended up all getting on antibiotics. I packed LJ's nebulizer, Motrin, Dallergy, steroids, teething tablets, antibiotic ear drops, and vitamins- I felt prepared, ha! Last trip to FLA we spent a good day in the ER trying to get an antibiotic, so I brought plenty of ammo since he tends to get pretty sick quickly. I could absolutely go on aand on about how wonderful this trip was. It was exactly what I needed. My OB said this was my last week to travel, and we found straight thru flights for a little more than $200. I would have done anything to go in labor there, so I would have had to stay for another few weeks. I took a ton of pics, so I'll just post away! Prom pic??? I thought it was appropriate.

Us before we lose our mind with 2 little boys running around, heeh! JK

Sloanie turned 2!

LJ learned how to smile for the camera. I think kids have a hard time grasping exactly what kind of smile looks good, but hey, this will do. As you can see his hair is getting longer and much curlier, which excites me. I've had curly hair and it's pretty managable.

I don't know if most kids go through a "Yo Gabba Gabba" phase, but we've hit it. It's a Nickelodeon show with a guy named DJ Lance and 5 crazy little animal/robot things. LJ talks about it from the second he gets up to the second he goes to bed. It's a bit annoying, but actually really cute.

I'm 35 1/2 week and feeling pretty good- just getting large. LJ has a sense baby Ray Ray is coming and we about have the Big Boy Room finished. I'll be sure to post pics. We're in search of an airplane mobile currently, and I've been a pick particular on what I want it to look like. We feel pretty ready for the baby. We just need to set up the pack and play and get the new carseats installed. I'm jacked we're having another boy. I honestly feel LJ will be a great big brother. I do hold him a lot so I'm sure that'll be a huge adjusment, but I figured it would be.

We're going to Florida soon for our one last get away!! It's supposed to be mid 70's. Can't wait to sport the bikini and get some rays on this beached whale of a body. :) Sloanie got a new bike for her birthday. We had a Mickey Mouse party for her at my sister's house and it was perfect. Just immediate family and Sloanie is a great host!! She danced the night away- I think she acts like she turned 3- she can do her alphabet and count.

Baby Sydney is doing well also. She's 4 1/2 months old and she's a chatter box!! She doesn't cry though... I think I've heard her fuss twice ever. She's so quiet that my brother and I forgot she was even in the room yesterday. Here's a pic of the May family while Sloanie was doing her Hokey Pokey Dance in her new music skirt- ADORABLE, although LJ wasn't so sure about the loud noise. He likes quiet parties, hehe!

He also liked Sloanie's new bike! He doesn't even mind it's pink!!

My mom took him to my cousin, Ella's tap class last week. LJ loved it- worries Dad, but I don't mind. Hey, he could be a tapper??!!