Precious Moments

I love to take pictures of a sleeping baby, mainly because, they stay still! I snapped some pictures of Brendan this morning while he was sleeping and even got big brother in on the action too.




















Here's big brother and the new trick that he can do. In fact, he does this all day long!

Merry Christmas!

We hope that everyone had a great Christmas! We were homebodies for Christmas due to Brendan only being about a week old and for me not really being able to get around to well. On Christmas Eve, my family came over with Olive Garden take out and we enjoyed dinner and presents. Liam was so excited to have his family over, and his expressions to opening presents was so funny. On Christmas day, we opened presents as a family and Deron's family headed over later on in the afternoon for more presents. The kids definitely made out this year! Liam, of course, got the popcorn cooker that he asked Santa for (although it was a much smaller version of what he wanted), in addition to a cool trash truck that's been played with constantly since it was opened.

Welcome to the Family Brendan!

We welcomed Brendan into the world on Friday December 17th at 7:20pm. After 2 hours of sitting in a waiting room, and almost 2 hours of prep, we were finally able to hold our little man! He was 8.4lbs and 19 1/4" long. A little smaller than his brother, but he was also 2 weeks earlier. Brendan also looks a lot like Liam, it just amazes me. I had a scheduled c-section, that has so far been good. It is definitely more difficult this time to heal because of Liam. I cannot lift anything more than 15 pounds for 2 weeks, and that includes Liam. We were able to come home a little earlier than usual and got home Sunday afternoon. Liam spent time with both sets of grandparents over those 4 days and came home on Monday afternoon. He was able to come and visit us in the hospital and hold Brendan for the first time. I think he was excited, but he looked so scared. It may have been the setting along with this big change and not really knowing what to do. Plus, he is always worried about me and seeing me hooked up to an I.V. and not really getting around probably worried him. I really had a hard time not seeing him for those 4 days. Liam is in love with his brother though! He wants to hold him all the time. We have had our moments, and today has definitely been a struggle, but there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel. It's got to be hard to not be the only one getting attention anymore, I'm sure I went through the same things when my sister was born as well. We took Brendan for his well baby check up yesterday and he is doing well. He's gained a few of the ounces back that he lost in the hospital and has a small case of jaundice, but we are working on getting that fixed :) We are so thankful for this wonderful gift that God has given to us! He is such a blessing.

One More Day.

We have one more day until we go to the hospital for Brendan's birth. I am trying my best to relax and get some rest, but it is not really working. I am VERY uncomfortable and I'm having a very hard time sleeping at night. My breathing is getting more difficult and I am having some very painful contractions as well as a complete loss of energy. Having a scheduled c-section is great, but at the same time, it gives me a lot of time to sit around and think about what is going to happen. We are so excited to meet Brendan tomorrow, but we are really nervous too! Liam has been having a bad case of the "mommy's" and he gets upset sometimes when we talk about spending time with his grandparents and coming to visit me at the hospital. He has never spent the night away from us, so lots of change will be happening starting tomorrow. I am hoping that today just flies by and we can get to tomorrow and meet our new little man! Keep us in your prayers as we start our new adventure tomorrow!

We cannot wait to meet you Brendan! God has given us another wonderful gift and we look forward to seeing where God takes our lives!

A Visit With Santa

Today we took Liam to see Santa, something that he has been talking about doing for weeks now. We were a bit concerned that he would do it, but he was determined to let Santa know what he really wants for Christmas. When we got there, he was a little nervous, but the short wait calmed him down. He walked right up there and said "Hi Santa!" He talked with him and told him that he wants a popcorn cooker and a healthy brother for Christmas. He has grown up so much and was such a brave little boy. During the day, he kept saying to us, "so, Santa said a popcorn cooker? Ok!" or "So, Santa poked my belly and he said 'squeak.'" He was so happy that he got to see Santa today that when we were driving home, he told us that he already missed Santa! The picture is kind of small because it's a copy from the website, but it turned out really good!

38 Weeks...

Today I am officially 38 weeks pregnant, and I am exhausted! I feel like there is still so much for us to do in order to be ready to bring Brendan home, but it will probably always feel like that. It has been really hard for me to do much of anything lately. Liam and I had a "date" day today before the baby comes, and just those 2 hours wore me out! I woke up this morning just feeling drained and in a lot of pain. My belly has been so itchy and I cannot seem to get any relief. My belly is also getting stretched more than usual, and I have been feeling so hungry all day long. I can definitely tell that this little guy is trying to pack on the pounds these last few days :) I've had a few contractions here and there, but nothing to be serious about. I think that the anticipation is also starting to get to me. Since we have a scheduled delivery date and time, all I can do is think about that, and I have been very anxious. I know what to expect already and I'm thankful that this is planned, rather than having to spend 6 days in the hospital like we did with Liam, but I can't help feeling anxious! I don't have a picture for this week, mainly because I haven't had the energy to take one :) Friday is only 5 1/2 days away and it couldn't seem further. We have a lot planned this week including visiting Santa, finishing up Christmas shopping, doing to shopping at Costco and the grocery store, making sure all the bills are paid and doing a few more things around the house. We will post pictures as soon as we can!

Christmas is a comin'

Wow has this year flown by! Christmas will be here before we know it, but a certain little man will be here even before that! We put our tree up about a week ago, but finally got to decorating it tonight! Liam had so much fun, and most of our ornaments ended up around his level, but that's what makes it original right? I opted to not put all the decorations up since Liam is kinda hands on with the tree and already broke an ornament ball while we were decorating. But, it's done, and we are pretty close to being ready for Christmas. I think we have 3 people left to shop for, then everything is complete. We are working hard to make sure everything is done before next Friday when we head to the hospital to meet Brendan! Here are some pictures of our decorating, and some of the cute little things we enjoy around our house this time of year!

Christmas Bake Fest!

Every year I bake cookies for my employees, and this year I actually thought I was going to get out of it... but they wouldn't let me. I actually thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it, but at last, I have completed my baking day! I only made 4 different kinds of treats, but for some reason, it took from 8am until 730pm! My poor little ankles are swollen. In fact, the last batch of cookies I made were sugar cookies and Deron and I were joking that the stocking cookies were looking a lot like my swollen ankles! Here are some pictures of our baking day. Liam was quite the "help" in the kitchen and Batman even managed to get a little flour on him!

36 1/2 weeks

I am almost 37 weeks now, and I am so ready for this little guy to be here. Lately, I've been in even more pelvic pain than usual. My sciatic nerve has been really acting up too, which is making getting out of bed in the morning about a 5 minute process. I have a doctors visit on Friday, so I am hoping that things will progress and we will have more plans in place. During my last visit, my doctor said that we would do my c-section on December 18th. Hopefully that date is still set and we will be seeing our little guy in about 17 days. I was trying really hard to work right up until my surgery, but decided that I just couldn't. Thursday is going to be my last day and I am very ready. There are so many things we need to do before Brendan comes, and trying to accomplish these while working is near impossible! Hopefully after Friday I will have some great news to announce!