Our Family Circus

Umma's World ended on a high note with a happy post and I'm glad about that. And since Jayden now refers to me as 'Grandma' almost as much as he calls me 'Umma', and since Mia calls me 'Grandma', and I have no idea what Sophie, Eòghan, or 'Baby Ray' will be calling me, I thought it was time to retire Umma's World. Also I've read that starting a new blog could solve some of the blogger problems I've been having. I hope that's true.

So if any of you are interested in following the antics of my family you can find us here at Our Family Circus.

Home Sweet Home

Finally Eóghan is home where he belongs! And it feels so good!

"Hey! What's going on? Who's the new kid?!"

Brotherly Love

And this is my niece, Erin:




Katie asked Erin to be Godmother to Eóghan, and Erin is the one who favored the Gaelic spelling of Eóghan (instead of spelling it as Owen). She also told us that he was going to be born on September 24 ~ and he was! I think these two have a special connection.


I probably won't be posting for awhile, and when I do it will be on a new blog. I'll be back to give you the address soon. In the meantime I will visit as often as I can.

Thanking you all for all your kindness, your support, and your prayers. I am so grateful.
Love,
Eileen

Let There Be Light

Ray went to the hospital to visit our little man after work today because unfortunately Eóghan still isn't able to come home. He's jaundiced and needs photo therapy.
Katie and Ray said Eóghan was mad, he did not like being on his stomach, and he did not like having the goggles on or having his head wrapped, but as soon as the light was switched on, he stopped crying, and he settled down for a nice nap:

Don't get too comfortable there.
Hurry Home, Little Man!
You have a host of friends and family anxiously awaiting your homecoming!

GOOD NEWS!

Eóghan is doing very well! He is still in the NICU but no more spitting up blood and his tests have come back positive! The stomach pump was removed and he was put on a special newborn formula (because he kept spitting up and it's very important that he keep fluids down in order to keep the bilirubin count down). He's still a little jaundiced, so they are trying to get him to drink as much as possible and still giving him IV fluids, but if the next blood test comes back okay, and we can assure the hospital that he will be seeing his own pediatrician tomorrow, Eóghan can come home! (I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor now).

So I'm still hoping and praying!

And just look at this big boy picking his head up off his Mommy's shoulder already, trying to get a look at the world around him!

Ray sent me these from his phone. Ray works just a few blocks from the hospital so lucky Grandpa got to see him on his lunch hour!

(He looks like he's saying, "Hey, who is that?")

("Oh, it's you, Paw. Hi, Paw!")

Thank you, everyone, for all your good thoughts, well wishes, and all your prayers. I appreciate it so much!

Oh! And a few people asked about Eóghan's name, it's pronounced like Owen, but it's spelled with the Gaelic spelling. And, no, it's not a family name (at least not that I know of!), it's just a name that Katie liked (and I've always liked the name Owen too!), and it was my niece Erin that was rooting for the Irish spelling! I actually like it, I think it's unique.
Eóghan's middle name is Harry, and that is for Ray's Dad.

Thanks again, everyone!
Love,
Eileen

A Prayer For Eóghan Harry

This strong little man who has been eating, voiding, and moving his bowels so well is now having a little trouble. He was vomiting blood so he's been transferred to the NICU, where he is having his stomach pumped, deprived of any food by mouth, his only nutrition is IV fluids, and he is not very happy. But even so, he is easily soothed by a little song or poem, a stroke of the head, and lots of loving, and he calms right down and goes back to sleep:



Look at this BIG BOY! And he's a fighter! Pulling out all his tubes!


I sang him my little "Grandma's Baby" song and told him how much his Grandma loves him, and I think he understood:

(Is that not a smile?!! Yes, I do believe Eóghan smiled at me!)


I love baby's profiles.
And I ask you ~ is this not one of the sweetest profiles?



Initial tests and an x-ray show no blockage, so that's a very good sign. Now they are in the process of emptying his stomach, and sometime over the next twenty-four hours they will re-introduce "food" (which I think will make Eóghan very happy!), and we'll see what happens.



If you could remember to say a prayer for Eóghan we'd appreciate it.

Meet Eóghan Harry

Eóghan Harry arrived Saturday, September 24 at 5:44 PM weighing eight pounds and thirteen ounces, and twenty-one inches long! (He hardly fits into the newborn diapers!)

His Mommy went to her doctor's appointment at noon and she was told that she was half-way through already and to get herself to the hospital (Kate had been having contractions on and off all week, and Friday night & Saturday morning they were getting stronger and coming faster). Ray drove them to the hospital in Manhattan, and I was kept up-to-date on the progress through texts from Katie and phone calls from Ray. And finally the call that he was here! And then the first phone picture from Katie:






But that was not enough for Jayden, Ellie, and myself ~ we were anxious to meet Eóghan in person! So Ray drove from Manhattan, picked us up, and drove back downtown. And then we were a very happy group!

Ellie and Eóghan

A very tired, but very happy Mommy with her two boys

Jayden always finds ways to occupy himself, here he found some gloves and I think he's playing mad scientist!

But I think he had more fun getting to know his new baby brother!





Look at the cute little hats the hospital gives to the babies:




A new little life.
Thank You, God!

Sophie/Frankenstein

Katie and Sophie were playing "Frankenstein" over and over again, but, of course, when Ray tried to record it Sophie wasn't cooperating. Finally, she decided to do it once more (but once she stepped on something on the table her only interest was in what happened to be left on Ellie's plate!):

Silly, Nothing Things That I Remember And Think Of With My Mom And Dad

My parents Wedding Anniversary was earlier this month and they would have been married sixty-five years. I miss them a lot, and I've been thinking about them so much. And one of the silly, nothing things that sticks with me was what they would order from the menu when we went out to eat at a diner.
My Dad would always order a Grilled Swiss on Rye with Split Pea Soup (if that happened to be the soup of the day, Split Pea was his favorite) and coffee, and my Mom would order a Belgium Waffle (you know the kind with the ice cream and whipped cream atop, and not for dessert, that was her dinner!) or sometimes she'd order a shrimp salad sandwich and coffee.
'Wish I could be sitting at the diner with you, Mom and Dad, and watching you enjoying those now~

And another thing I remember is my Mom telling me when I was little:
"Stay close to the Blessed Mother because St. Peter keeps complaining to Jesus about her. He says to Jesus, 'I keep turning the sinners away at the front gate and your Mom keeps sneaking them in the back door!" And then my Mom told me, " That's because she has a mother's heart, so stay close to her."
I have stayed close to her, Mom, and I hope you're telling her to sneak me in the back door~

This photo was taken at the time of their 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration:

September So Far...

...has been full and active! And in between our many home projects we did manage to squeeze in a little fun!

Labor Day Weekend the guys went to a baseball game:

Here's the happy group just before leaving the house (Mia slept over the night before and she was still lounging in her pajamas):

(I think the food is Jayden's favorite part of any baseball game he attends!)

Jayden was very impressed with the balancing talent of this vendor (I am too!):


Jayden's getting a better look at...


...Derek Jeter at bat!


And both Jayden and Mia started school again.
(Here's Jayden both excited and a little nervous on his first day.):

They are both very happy with their teachers and their classes this year! Whew!


And both Jayden and Mia are playing soccer this year:





Taking a few practice kicks before heading out to the game:



A little pep talk from the coach:


Jayden (number 15) helping a few team mates untangle from the net:

A few more practice kicks and then it's game on!

I think Jayden thinks he's assistant coach!



Jayden is 'all business' now that he has his Goalie gear on!

Jayden guarding his turf:



Mia is taking Instructional Soccer this Fall and she loves it!


Even baby sister Sophie comes to cheer her on each week:

(Well, she cheers between cat naps.):

Jayden giving Mia a few pointers:






"Did I do it right, Jayden?"





"Ohh! Yes! That was good, Mia!"


After yesterday's games some family came back to the house to celebrate Ellie's Birthday (she's in the background in the picture below):

Jayden loves his cousins! I hope he loves his baby brother just as much! (He's due to arrive today, but so far there has only been days and days of mild contractions, and so the waiting continues!)



I think it's adorable how Lori dresses the girls alike! I think it looks so cute and it reminds me of how my Mom used to dress my sister Diane and myself alike (everyone thought we were twins, and sometimes even my older sister Marybeth would be dressed like us, although I don't know if she thought it was so cute!).

So far September has been full, and active, and FUN!