Our 1st Family Christmas!!!

I have been waiting for this day for a long time now!!  I was so excited about Christmas this year that I even bought all of our presents early so that meant I couldn't procrastinate putting up my tree since I had presents to put under it!!  We woke up Christmas morning and I fed Brody and we went in to wake up daddy and tell him Santa had been here!!   He was complaining about getting up cause he didn't feel good blah blah blah!!  I just blew it off and told him to hurry so we could open gifts.  So finally he came in there and it was time!!  He handed all of Brody's gifts to him and he just couldn't stop staring at them and reaching for them.  So once again Bert got to help him open gifts while I took pics!  It was so much fun!!  He got more toys that will be used more in a couple months but it is so hard to buy things for infants.  I honestly believe he loved them all.  In his stocking he got one of the little blankets with the monkey head on top that he absolutely loves right now.  So much so that he goes to sleep better with it but I always go in and take it away since I'm still a crazy paranoid mom.  I had already gotten my gifts early since I usually can't wait.  I mean y'all wouldn't have pictures to look at if I wouldn't have gotten one of them early on and I also got a beautiful necklace from my boys!!  I had got Bert a GPS for his truck and also one for when he goes hunting so he doesn't get lost.  He usually goes on 2 hunting trips a year and there's a lot of walking involved.  After we were done opening gifts Brody and daddy went back to sleep.  Oh well I had cooked a big breakfast so I sat down to enjoy it.  Brody got up so we played some before I started our Christmas lunch.  Bert was still sleeping.  My mom came over to see what Brody got and to eat lunch with us.  Dad had gone back to work so she was home alone.  We ate and it was really good.  Bert got out of bed but didn't eat and then I knew something was really wrong with him.  After mom left I took his temp and he was actually sick.  Bert complains a lot and I usually just blow it off and ignore him but he was really sick this time.  It must have been some 24 hour bug cause it was gone the next morning and thank goodness neither Brody or I got it.  All in all we had a great 1st Family Christmas!!

Waiting patiently for Daddy!!

 Looking around for his presents!!

 Yay!!  His 1st one!!

Which one do I open 1st?

 Stocking stuffers!!

And all of his toys!!

Meemaw Kana Christmas!

Yes we have tons of Christmas' each year but hey now with Brody we get all kind of stuff!  I didn't want to put them all in one blog cause that would just be way too long.  We had Christmas with Dad's family on the 23rd.  The kids get all the gifts here but it is so much fun watching them open everything.  My Grandma has 1 young grandchild and 6 great grandchildren so all of them in this small house is pretty funny!  My Aunt Christine got Brody this toy it's round and looks like a cow and when you push his nose he moo's and vibrates like crazy...well this was Brody's favorite toy of the night.  Of course everything goes in his mouth so his whole head was vibrating.  It was hilarious!  Meemaw usually just gives gives my mom money to pick out stuff for the kids so of course they all got stuff they wanted!!  Brody got Scout (yes he wanted Scout) from Big Meemaw and I think I've enjoyed it more than him already!  

Brody with his Daddy!

 This is the best pic of that silly cow I got!

 Laura & Sam you better lock up your girls!!  Brody is only 1 1/2 months younger than them!!



Kana Family Christmas!!

We had Christmas with my family on the 22nd!  I just knew my mother had gone over board with gifts for all the kids but that's ok cause Brody loves everything he got I think!  We got there early to visit and play for a while before it was gift time.  Well of course it was in the evening and since Brody doesn't nap during the day he is usually pretty fussy.  Thank goodness mom has a crib there so I was able to put him down without having to worry about him.  I let him sleep while we ate and everything and poor baby was out but I didn't want him to sleep through presents so I went and woke him up.  He wasn't very happy about that but he cheered up for a little bit and right after we were done I put him back down.  He really seemed to be more into this time and decided he wanted to eat the wrapping paper and the bows.  He got all kind of stuff!   Most of it he can't play with right now but he should be able to in a couple of months. 

Guess he likes the taste of that glue on the back of the bow!

 What could it be?

 All of his stuff minus the stocking stuffers!

And here's another just because I think he is the cutest thing in the world!

Skoruppa Family Christmas!!

The year we had the Skoruppa Family Christmas in Angeltong at Mark & Sharon's house!  We weren't going to start everything until 1 but we got up early and went to hangout all day over there.   It was great!!  Brody did really well and seemed to enjoy all the attention and the presents!  Brody got a lot of presents so daddy got to enjoy opening them while mommy stood back and took pictures.  It had turned out to be a really nice day but it was still a little cool and windy for Brody to be outside with him just getting over ear infections so we just stayed inside and relaxed the whole time.  While everyone was outside we had some quiet time to sneak in little naps here and there.  Here are a few pics from that Christmas.

I absolutely love this pillow case from Uncle Mark, Aunt Sharon and the boys!!

 Brody in his very first coon skin hat and all his camo he got from his cousin Nick who drew his name!!

I don't have a picutre on my work computer but he also got some teethers and stuffed animals and another little outfit.  This boy got way to much stuff at Christmas!!



Chistmas Parades!!

On December 1st we had the El Campo Christmas Parade!  We got there early to make sure we got a seat and I was hoping to get Brody to nap before it started since it started at 7 and that is usually his bedtime but that didn't work out.  He did ok for a while and then prolly 5 mins before the floats got to us he was asleep and slept through all of the horns and loud engines and all.  I was able to get some pics before he was out.  Then that Saturday was the Garwood Parade!  He stayed awake the whole time for this one.  He really liked seeing the horses but they were a little to crazy for mom to stay by the road so we watched them from way back.  I know that he is still a little to young for all of this but the coming years will be so much fun.  Here are a few pics I got from the parades!

Garwood Parade!

Right before the El Campo Parade!

All the kids together at the El Campo Parade!

5 Months!! *Update*

I'm a little late on Brody's 5 Month blog but with the Holiday's and not getting much sleep these days it's been kind of hard getting my brain to function right.  He is weighing in at 18 1/2lbs and when we measured him about 2 weeks ago he was a little over 26".  He is still just doing most of the stuff he was at 4 months but here they are again.  He is still getting 6oz every 3-4 hours, we are still eating greens and he really seems to like green beans the best so far but I'm planning on introducing avocados to him soon, talks to us mostly in the mornings and evenings, is getting really attached to sucking his thumb and even though I'm against that it is so freaking cute, and he is finally showing interests in toys!  I didn't think he was ever going to get to the point of holding on or grabbing for his toys but we have a favorite right now.  Also when he sucks his thumb he loves to pull his blanket up to his little face and usually he's not happy until I give it to him!!  He is not rolling over which bothers me a little but he has before so I'm not extremely worried about it.  He's happy on his tummy and his back so I guess he really doesn't feel the need. 

Now on to our sleep problems.  The reason I'm typing an update for his 5 month blog.  I was so sleep deprived that when I went back and looked today I realized I should redo this.  Brody has never really been a 100% sleep through the nighter but he was getting pretty good at it.  We had about 2 sometimes 3 nights out of the week that he would and the others I would give him his paci and if that didn't help a bottle and he would go right back to sleep.  So 11/21/11 is when we woke up to a sick but happy baby so we went to Dr. Winchall since Dimmick was out and she just said it was a common cold and it would pass and did the x-rays and all.  I explained all this in my previous post.  The cough got a little better but would still get way worse at night and poor baby (and mommy) could not sleep.  So we went back on 11/29/11 this time to Dimmick and he just said nothing is wrong cause he is still happy and eating and that he would get over it.  I was not happy with that diagnosis at all but 2 different Dr.'s said the same thing so ok.  Going on week 3 11/6/11 I took him back to Dr. Winchall cause it was just getting ridiculous already.  He would wake up in the middle of the night most nights just screaming and not being able to breathe through his little nose and I hated that.  We tried propping his mattress, propping him on his changing pad and propping him on his boppy.  The only one that seemed to work was when we propped him on his boppy but then I couldn't sleep cause I was so worried about him rolling off of it or sliding down and getting his little face smushed in there.  She looked him over really good and wouldn't you know he had 2 ear infections.  She said that is probably prolonging the cold so finally she gave us some antibiotics.  He has always seemed to love taking medicine so it hasn't been any problem getting it down him.  We have about a 1/4 of the bottle left but I can already tell a major difference at night.  Now the only problem is I think he was getting use to being tended to in the middle of the night he still wants to wake up at about 2:30 so we are up but right back asleep with the help of his paci.  I'm just glad he doesn't wake up screaming anymore.  Thank goodness it looks like the end of this nasty cold and ear infections for us finally. 

The next couple weeks are going to be busy for us with all the Christmas fun coming up!!  Brody has his very first Christmas gift exchange Friday at school and I am so excited for him!!  Right now I think there is only 4 babies in his room so we all drew names.  We got the only girl in the class Ally.  She is a super cute little red head and I think she is about a month younger than Brody.  We went and got her little gift the other day.  Then on Saturday we have our first of four family Christmas' not including ours with just us on Christmas Day morning!  This year we are having Christmas at Bert's brother Mark's house in Angelton!  I'm really excited about going there cause even though Bert and I have been together for 5 years now I have never been to there house.  I have told him we need to drive there and visit one day but of course it still hasn't happened.  They draw names just between the kids and Brody got Brett and I am still waiting for Bert to get a present because I really don't know what to get a 16 yr old boy.  Then next Wednesday is Brody's school Christmas program.  The little kids aren't doing anything in it but it will still be fun to go watch.  The 22nd is Christmas with my immediate family.  The 23rd is Christmas with Dad's side of the family.  Then the 25th we will have our very first family Christmas at home.  Then the 31st is mom's side of the family Christmas.  It's a lot but it will be so much fun as usual but ecspecially now that we have Brody.  I don't have any pics to post today but I will have some from all the fun we have coming up.

Getting ready for Christmas!!

Ok so for most of you that really know me I am a procrastinator (sp?), but thanks to my little man I am really excited about Christmas and getting everything ready!!  I am 95% done buying presents, I have my tree up but not decorated since my son loves attention & I just ordered Christmas cards.  There are a few things I still don't plan until the last minute but Christmas is not one of them this year!  I am so ready for our first Christmas as a family and can't wait to see what Brody thinks about all the lights!  I talked to Bert and I think we might try and take him to the Christmas Parade in El Campo.  I know he is a little young still and if it turns out to be super cold we might back out but I'm sure if we went we would sit with Dory and the kids and that should be very interesting with the twins!!  Hopefully by the end of the week I will be completely decorated for Christmas and I can get some good pics of my baby by the tree that I can post on here!

Teeth!!!

Ok let me start off from the beginning of last week.  I was a little sick but I just thought it was allergies.   Monday morning we woke up to a pretty snotty nose but a happy baby!  He didn't have any fever and didn't seem like anything was wrong so off to school we went.  When I picked him up that day he was super snotty but still happy.  Tuesday morning we woke up still snotty and had a slight fever (100.6 the highest it got) and a horrible cough so I made an appt right away.  In general he was still pretty happy.  We went in at 10:15 and by then his fever had gone down but that cough was so nasty.  She came in and checked him out and everything looked good and then she heard the cough.  She said that was to bad of a cough for a 4mth old so we had to wait for chest x-rays.  Thank goodness those came back with nothing.  She said he just has a cold and everything should be fine but if his fever goes over 101 I should bring him back.  Wednesday he still had a little fever (99.4) and the cough so I decided to keep him out of school another day.  Mom kept him that morning while I came to work and got some stuff done.  Thursday was the same thing except he had no fever at all so off to school we went.  Well Thursday night was horrible.  He didn't hardly sleep and whined & coughed pretty much the whole night and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.  I maybe got a total of 2 hours of sleep that night.  Then Friday night he slept all night long until 6 the next morning...Great!!   Well then Saturday was another horrible night but not as bad as Thursday.  I just couldn't figure out if his throat was bothering him with that cough or if he was gassy or what.  Sunday morning I was getting ready for Church and Bert got up and was talking to Brody about how bad he has been and I walk over there right when he started smiling with his mouth wide open and tada we have two teeth on the bottom!!  I couldn't believe it...that was the last thing on my mind for our horrible sleepless nights.  Thank goodness your only a first time mom once.  Now we are finally back to sleeping through the night again and I couldn't be happier!!  

4 Months!!

Time sure does fly by when your having fun!!!  Brody is now 4 months old and he just keeps getting bigger and more fun!!  We had our 4 month well visit yesterday and I was so not looking forward to that cause of the shots but once again Brody did great!  He is now 16lbs 8 oz (exactly double his birth weight) and 25" long.  Bert and I were both thinking around 17 or 18 lbs so we were pretty close.  He is in the 90% for weight so he is a little above average but he's still not a chunky baby just long and filled out.  Dr. Dimmick had accidentally gone to Wharton so we had to wait for him to come back but we had fun playing in the room while we waited.  He checked Brody out and told me what we should be doing now as far as our sleep routine and eating.  He said he should be sleeping through the night which for the most part he is but the past week or so mommy has given into him a little.  For about a month now he would wake up around 3ish and I would give him his paci and he would whine himself back to sleep.  Well the past week and a half when he wakes up its more like a cry so I usually give in and make him a bottle, but we have got to stop this.  I know he can go without it cause he has for a while so I just need to stick with it.  So last night went pretty well, he did wake up a couple times but he just whined for about 3 minutes, then he woke up hungry right at 6.  I was also told not to go over 32 oz. of formula and we are right at that.  That means we get to start food!!  I don't know why but I have been looking forward to starting foods!!  He wants us to start out on green veggies so we went out yesterday and got green beans and peas.  I'm going to start him with green beans for the first 5 days and then we will try the peas.  They say to start with one thing at a time in case they have an allergic reaction you know what is causing it.  Last night he was pretty fussy since he fights taking a nap during the day so around 6:00 we decided to get the video camera out and get ready to see his reaction.  I don't have a seat for him and he doesn't care for his bumbo so we just put him in his bouncer while I fed him.  I thought we were going to have a complete mess!  Of course he screamed and fought me while I was putting his bib on and everything but once I got those green beans in his mouth he calmed down!  I would just put a little on the tip of the spoon and put it in his mouth.  Most of it was coming out since he wasn't sure what to do with but by about the 3rd or 4th little spoon he couldn't get there and mommy wasn't fast enough.  That little mouth was wide open and wanting more!!  It was so cute!!  So far we really like green beans!!  I didn't want to give him to much since it's new I didn't want him to get a tummy ache.  About an hour later I tried giving him his bedtime bottle and he only ate like 3 oz and was full!!  I guess maybe that could be a reason he slept better last night cause he had a fuller tummy!!  Looks like we need to invest in a high chair soon. 

Let's see if I can list what else Brody is up to these days!  He is eating 6-7oz of formula every 3-4 hours.  I tried doing every 4 hours all the time but he isn't having that.  He loves tummy time and holds his head up way high so he can see you!  He is pulling his little legs up under him and picking up his butt and I really thing he could scoot himself forward if he would learn how to move his left arm!  Bert said he moved this morning but I didn't see it.  He still hasn't rolled over again.  A little over a month ago he rolled belly to back but Dory missed it once and missed it once and saw it once but with no camera.  He is so strong though I just know if he wanted to he could roll over with no problem.  He still doesn't seem that interested in toys.  He laughs out loud and it is the cutest thing I have ever heard!!  He loves to talk, mainly to me or Bert, and usually in the mornings or in the evenings.  I also think we are going to have a little fit thrower.  When he gets mad he stretches out and arches his back and turns bright red and just screams.  I have a feeling one day I will be walking away and leaving him screaming down an aisle in the store like who's kid is that??  He can be happy a smiling and talking one minute and the next he is throwing a fit.  Hmmm.... not sure where he gets that temper from.  I'm sure I missed something that he is doing these days but this is what I can think of.

We started daycare 2 weeks ago and let me tell you I still feel bad when I leave him.  I know that he enjoys it and all but I feel bad leaving him with complete strangers and I just wish I could spend more than 2 whole days with him.  I know every working mom does it but it sucks.  At least when I drop him off he is smiling cause if he would cry I don't think I would be able to leave.  A good friend of mine has a little boy that is about 2 months older and they are in the same class!!  I just know they are going to grow up to be best friedns!!  The other day I went early to get Brody and Mrs. Viola had him and Chaz in the stroller and they were both zonked out!!  It was so cute!!  I guess that is all for now.  I'm sure I forgot to mention something but I will make up for it next blog and I will post pics next time.

3 Months!!!

I can not believe my big baby boy is already 3 months old!!!  He is getting so big so fast and I want it to slow down.  He is absolutely just perfect and I still wish I could be with him all day long everyday!!  He does seem to be a little needy but it's really something I can't control.  When I pick him up after work and we go home I pretty much talk to him and play with him the whole eveing since I don't see him all day and he loves this and obviously wishes we could do it all day long cause he whines when someone is not in his face or holding him. I know I shouldn't do that but I just can't help it.  He does like his activity center so that will keep him occupied for a little while and for the most part he likes tummy time.  There are times he just does not want to be on his tummy or playing and he will let you know.   I have even been neglecting my husband in the evenings until Brody's bedtime (7:30-8:30 depending on how tired he is).  I don't know the last time I actually cooked him a good supper, I usually just throw a link of sausage in to boil.  And since I am still so tired I usually fall asleep on the couch shortly after Brody goes down (and wake up very grouchy to go to my bed) or just go lay down in bed while he is still watching TV.  He still does pretty good at night time with last night being an exception.  He just didn't seem to want to sleep at all last night so neither did mommy, but we don't have those nights that often.  He has gone the whole night 8:00-5:00 a few times but usually he still wakes up around 3-3:30 for a bottle.  Sometimes I can just give him his paci and he goes back to sleep but not always.  We are still having issues with him keeping his head turned to the right side but we are working on that.  I don't always make him turn it cause he does get fussy but I do try to keep it turned more than people (Bert) realize.  He has been sleeping with it turned to the left.  Sometimes we turn it when he's already passed out but a few nights he has fell asleep with it already turned all on his own!  He is still getting 4-5 oz bottles, but when he drinks all 5 oz he acts like he could really go for more so maybe soon we will be moving up to 6 oz.  About 2 weeks ago he was at 14lbs 4oz so I'm pretty sure were over 15.  He has really good head control.  This past weekend on tummy time I noticed him really pushing himself up on his arms and was just amazed at this so Monday I put him down again while Bert and Chris were there to see if he would do it again for someone else to see and he did!!!  He was on his activity center and I was kind of standing back a little and he had his head way up high looking at me pushing himself up with his fore arms.  He was just smiling away (if he could laugh out loud I bet he would of been) and kicking his little feet.  He kept pulling his legs up and pushing out like he wanted to get to me, so he has the concept of crawling down he just needs to work on it some more.  When he would push himself forward a little he didn't know to move his arms and he would face plant but popped back up smiling!!  I have also started pulling him up to a sitting position by his arms and he just thinks that is funny!!  I really think that I am going to have a thumb sucker on my hands, not exactly excited about this because you can take a paci away I just think it would be really hard to break him of this, but he hasn't quiet figured it out yet.  He really sucks on his hand a lot and a couple times I have caught him with his thumb in his mouth.  Now I know he doesn't know what he's doing yet but I just have a feeling.  And he loves his blankie!!  He always has that thing in his face chewing on it.  I really have to be careful with him cause he will cover his whole face up and that scares me a little.  I'm hoping to buy him some new toys in the next couple weeks. I have been researching like crazy for the best thing to buy him right now.  They have a kick and play piano that has really good reviews with babies his age but there is a jumperoo that has great reviews for babies starting around 4 mths and if he has good head control now he might be ready for that around 4 mths so not sure what we are going to do there.  I would hate to buy him a toy that he will only use for a month but I really think he gets bored sometimes with what he has and needs a change of scenery.  I guess I could always use this stuff for the next one!!

This past weekend was really busy for us.  Brody has already been to a JV football game to see his cousin Nick play but we went to our 1st Varsity game and he did really well!  He really likes being in his stroller so since Daddy just stands along the fence at every game we decided to stroll him in there and park!  There was only 2 times he got a little fussy, the first he was hungry and the second he was super tired and couldn't sleep through the loud noise.  He did doze off a couple times but at every good play he would wake up from the screaming.  Saturday we went to Victoria and did a little shopping.  I wanted to find him some wrangler blue jeans (like Daddy's) cause we wanted to go to the rodeo at Breckenridge later.  Well we had no luck but I did buy him a few new clothes since we are in 6 mth clothing already.  When we finally got home I barely had time to change us and get him fed and get there before it started.  We were about 15 minutes late but that has been happening a lot lately.  Again we took him in his stroller.  Poor baby was so tired when we got there and transferred him from his car seat he never woke up but when we got inside the arena it was loud and he was wide awake.  He only started to fuss one time and I got him calmed down pretty quick.  The rodeo's are never really long so I think we were out of there in about 2 hours.  He slept all night that night!!  I'm just really happy that we are both ok with taking Brody to different places and meeting new people all the time.  Sometimes I think he is a little overwhelmed but he does really good around a lot of people!  This weekend I promised him I would go one whole day without putting him in his car seat so we will see how that goes.  He doesn't hate it but you can tell he gets tired of going in and out of it. 

I did forget to mention in my last post that Brody has 2 new little girl cousins!!  Paislyn Brooke Drapela was born on Sept 19, 2011 weighing 6lbs 4 oz!! Congrats Nathan and Jessica!!  Also Rhemy Beth Beard was born on Sept. 17, 2011 weighing 6lbs 4.5oz!!  Congrats Robert and Kelly!!  We can't wait to meet both of these beautiful little girls!!

I will leave y'all with a few pics that Aunt Dory took today for Brody's 3mth Birthday!

Sleeper vs. Swaddle

We have been debating ever since we came home from the hospital what we should do about him at night and we have tried both the sleeper & swaddle.  The day we came home we just put him in a sleeper cause he did not want anything to do with that swaddle and it stayed liked that for the 1st month.  Then I got to thinking I have got to get some sleep.  He was waking up atleast 4 times a night sometimes more.  So at about a month old we tried the swaddle again.  He hated it and fought it so bad but he slept way better.  At 1st I think he got up twice a night and then it went down to once.  Now don't be fooled he wasn't that good all the time.  There has been many of nights that he would get up at 2 or 2:30 and not wanna go back to sleep so that means I don't go back to sleep.  At night we would constantly hear him fighting that swaddle in his sleep and he would squeal and whine but never really wake up or if he did I would give him his paci and he would go back to sleep after about 10 mins. of whining.  A couple of weeks ago we decided we were just going to put him in a sleeper and see how he did.  Well that night Bert got called out on a job and Brody decided to wake up at 12 so since Bert wasn't there to tell me just let him go back to sleep I got up and swaddled him and he slept good and I kept on swaddling him after that night.  Our son has always been a little fit thrower (that's what I call them ) but now it can be really bad.  He starts screaming and stiffens his body out and turns to the side stiff as a board still and turns bright red and almost wants to roll over.  Well he started doing this when I went to swaddle him Tuesday night.  I fought him and got him in the swaddle but felt bad about it but he went to sleep after about 15 mins of fighting.  I had to go keep checking on him since he does his stiff body turn thing in the swaddle and I was scared he was going to roll over.  He still only got up that once at about 2:30 for his bottle.  Wednesday we talked about and decided to just try a sleeper again since I heard a horror story about a baby rolling over in there swaddle.  Well he did great!!!   We could still hear him move at night but he had nothing to fight so we never heard any whining and he had his arms free since he likes his hands in his mouth and I feel like he was just a happy baby!!  He didn't wake up for a bottle until 3:30 and then went right back to sleep after!!  Last night was good also!  He woke up about 3:50 for a bottle and I gave him his paci and went to the kitchen to make it came back and he was out and slept until 5!!  I really feel like we are super close to having a good night's sleep all night long!!  Watch now that I am talking about it it's probably going to reverse again and be up all night.  I am happy that my baby seems happier and he is happy cause he is free to move!! 

On another note we went to visit the Dr. yesterday.  Brody's right ear seems to have a lot of wax and between Dory & I it got cleaned all the time.  Well Wednesday night while I was burping him I smelled his ear and it was horrible.  So the next day Dory was looking at it and she said the hole looked smaller maybe he had an ear infection.  There were a couple other things I was wanting to ask Dr. Dimmick about also so I made an appt.  He said his ear was fine and I asked about weezy sound he has when he's breating heavy but he said his lungs were fine to.  So we made a trip to Wharton for nothing but at least I know my baby is ok.  He also got weighed while we were there and in 2 weeks he gained another lb. he is now 14lbs 4 oz!!  Everytime Dr. Dimmick walks in the room he says big Brody!!  He is a big boy but so super cute!! 

I almost forgot about my 1st whole weekend away from our little man.  September 18th was our 1 year anniversary!!  Yes 1 year and we already have a baby!!  We planned to go to San Antonio and leave Brody behind with my mom.  I wasn't sure how this was going to work but it ended up ok.  Friday morning we dropped him off with Dory and I said goodbye and had to get out of there before I started crying like a little baby.  I called to check on him throughout the day but I would say I did pretty good and didn't bother them too much.  Bert and I had a really good time! I finally drank my whole 1st beer!!  I have taken a sip or 2 out of Bert's before and I drank half of one but that was it.  I must say that it tasted great!!!  I was kind of worried that I wouldn't like the taste as much or I wouldn't be able to handle as many but that was not the case at all!!  By the time Sunday rolled around we were ready to get back home...it was kind of hard since we did have a few to many Saturday night but we made it!!  Here are a few pics I have!!

My little hunter!!  His camo shorts are just so cute!!



Happy to be at the bay!!

2 Months!!!

Ok I can not believe my baby is already 2 months old but I guess when they say they grow to fast it's the truth.  I will start off with our appt yesterday and then go on to things my sweet baby is doing.  So yesterday was our appt for his 2 month check up and SHOTS!!  I was a little nervous on how things were going to go with that so I asked Bert to come with us and plus I like him to be there when Dr. Dimmick is going over things and answering our questions so he can be there to hear him and not think I'm crazy later when I tell him.  My big boy is growing so fast he now weighs 13lbs 4oz and is 23 3/4" long (almost 2').  I was worried that they were going to tell us that he was too big and we needed to cut him back some (cause that's usually what they do) but he is perfectly healthy.  Dr. Dimmick came in and checked him out and talked to us and answered all our questions we had and everything looked good.  One question I had was about him being fussy.  Bert thinks I'm nuts cause he says it's all cause he is spoiled but I think he's wrong cause he will start to cry even when he is being held.  He said it was all a baby thing and he should start calming down more between 2-4months.  Then the nurse came back with the shots.  I finally layed him down and then Bert went and stood over there with him.  She gave him the liquid stuff which wasn't bad then came the first shot in his little leg.  He started to wimper a little bit then she stuck him in the other leg TWICE.  His face turned bright red and his mouth was wide open like he was trying to scream but couldn't.  Then he let out a little cry and stopped!!  He was perfectly fine and took them shots like a champ!!!  I'm so proud of my big boy.  She told us to bathe him tonight and let him kick around in the water for a little bit.  I always hear stories of babies getting a fever and being fussy so I was a little worried about that.  Right before I put him to bed I checked and no fever.  He as a little fussy but nothing our the ordinary.  All that activity must have wore him out cause I layed him down at 8:30 he fussed for a few minutes and went to sleep and didn't wake up for a feeding until almost 3:30!!  Usually we wake up at 2:00.  I'm hoping tonight goes the same and hopefully we are close to sleeping through the whole night.

Brody at 2 months:

Goes to bed at 8-8:30

He has 4-5oz of formula every 3-4 hours

sleeps until about 2:00 am then goes right back to sleep after his bottle til usually 7:00 am

has rolled over a couple times from tummy to back.

smiles like crazy (when he's in a good mood)

started talking to us (and this is adorable)

still hates being swaddled but sleeps so much longer

Bert left to go on a hunting trip on 8/23/11 and didn't come back home until 9/3/11.  Me and Brody had a lot of time together while he was gone.  He was already smiling before Bert left but not as much as he does now so Daddy had some fun stuff to come home too.  Of course I was sending him picutes daily but being in the mountains he only got them when he would come down to call.  This past weekend is when Brody started making his little noises and seeming to enjoy life a little more.  Saturday I had him under his activity center and now that he can see better he constantly watches his little music box thing that lights up and seems to really like it.  He kicks to the music and gets faster when the music does or slows down...it is so cute!!  Well he let out this screech the other day and was smiling and was just loving it.  I got that on video.  When we talk to him he is always smiling and every now and then he will say something back.  The other day he was really on a roll and told me all about his day at Aunt Dory's!!  Day's like that is when I really don't wanna leave him during the day.  I would just like to stay home with him and talk all day long (i know that wouldn't happen but i would still like more time with him).  He had always seemed like a pretty fussy baby too me, he still is but not as bad, and it makes me happy that he is finally starting to enjoy things.  I started reading to him last night, I'm going to start doing this before bedtime, and he just looked at me like I was crazy but loved the fact I was paying attention to him!!  Hopefully this evening we will put him in his stroller and go for a walk.  He really likes being in that thing.  He still loves to be outside no matter how hot it is so maybe this weekend we will go down to the bay.  I will leave you with some pics and maybe next week I will have some pictures from the bay!  

p.s. Amy we loved the outfits!!!

6 Weeks!!

I really don't have much to talk about but I will do a quick post to let everyone know what my little man is up to!!  Notice I said little man cause he is getting so big he just doesn't even seem like a baby to me anymore :(  Dr. Dimmick didn't make us come back for a 1month check up so that means we haven't been weighed again and I have been curious how much he has gained cause you can definetely tell he's put on some weight.  So the other day at mom's I weighed myself (which by the way I was very happy with being I had just had a baby 5 1/2 weeks ago at the time) and then I weighed holding him and well it showed he weighed 12lbs!!!  That is one big boy!!  I really think that he just ran out of room in me cause he has been growing like crazy.  He is still eating 4-5oz of formula every 3 hours.  I make him 5 everytime and sometimes he eats and sometimes he doesn't.  For some reason the past week he has been fighting me a little finishing a bottle.  He will shake his head and stretch his body out just trying to get the bottle out of his mouth and then he seals his lips shut and I will wait a minute or two and he will act like he is starving again and take it.  He is still a little bit of a cryer but he is getting over that some.  Still not sleeping 100% through the night but he usually only wakes up twice for a bottle and I feed him and swaddle him and he is back to sleep so it's not to bad.  And know to the best part of it all....he started smiling!!!  He gave me his first gummy smile last Wednesday and I was just the happiest mommy ever.  Right after that I called Bert in and he started talking to him and there was that smile again!!  He usually will only give us a smile in the mornings and every know and then in the evenings.  This morning while Daddy was feeding him and came in and started talking to him and bottle in his mouth and all he just started smiling and couldn't stop!!  He is so sweet!!!

Know to the worst part of my week!!  I started work Monday :(  The beginning of last week I had come in to do payroll and stuff and my boss had asked when I planned on coming back cause my higher up boss was asking.  I originally was going to try and stay with my baby until 8 weeks which would have been the beginning of September but after he had said that I figured I should come back.  So August the 8th I called Dory and told her she would be starting her job sooner since she will be keeping Brody for us.  Well that didn't work out as planned.  August the 6th we had Coopers 1st B-Day party and all it was was just family.  Well Dory got a call the following Monday from Brent's sister and her youngest daughter had hand, foot, & mouth disease and for Dory to keep an eye on the kids since we were all just there Saturday.  As of Tuesday everyone was ok and mom and Dory were planning on taking the kids to Splashway and I was gonna keep Cooper and Brody (they wanted to go before I went back to work).  Wednesday morning Dory called to say hold off on coming to town Cooper's not feeling good.  By Wednesday afternoon she was taking both of her boys to the Dr. and sure enough all 3 of her kids had it.  We were at the party to so I was worried about my baby getting it.  She told the Dr. we were there he said Brody should still have some of my immunities in him and should be fine but to keep an eye on him and bring him in if I notice anything and he also said that she could not keep him that this stuff needed to run it's course since there's not treatment for it.  Thank goodness my baby didn't get it but I still needed to figure out what I was gonna do with him.  Mom and Dad had finally gotten to go to the bay and weren't coming home until Monday evening and then mom had a Dr.'s appt Tuesday morning.  So since my bosses were ok with Brody coming to work that's what we did.  I guess my son doesn't like the work environment cause he was not a very happy baby Monday and I pushed it and made it at work until about 2.  Tuesday he was coming back with me until mom got out of her appt.  well that lasted longer than we thought so I had him until about 11:15 which wasn't bad but he still wasn't too happy.  Then Wednesday came...my 1st whole day without him and I hated it.  Even though I took a longer lunch and spent it with him I barely made it to 3:45 before I left to pick him up.  I don't know how today is going to go but hopefully better than yesterday.

1 Month Old!!!

Ok I am going to go ahead and post a 1 month blog while I have time and feel like doing it!!  Our little Brody is growing like crazy and changing everyday.  When I feed him I put my boppy around me and lay him across it, well it doesn't look like I will be doing that for long since he barely fits on there anymore.  We won't be going to the Dr. for a 1 month checkup so I won't know how much he weighs until 2 months unless I figure out a way to weigh him at home.  At our 2 week appt. when we left they told me to make a 2 month appt and I didn't think about it and made it and left, but then I thought he needed to go back at 1 month so I called and they said he was doing well and the Dr. didn't need to see him until his 2 month shots. 

So let me talk about what all is going on with him right now.  He is eating 4 oz. every 3 hours and he loves to eat and normally does not miss a feeding.  Every now and then he is super tired and won't finish a bottle but it doesn't happen often.   He is doing pretty good with his schedule.  Usually he will stay up between his 7:30 feeding and 10:30 p.m. feeding which is fine with me I can feed him at 10:30 and we both go to sleep pretty good.  He does usually have his time at night that he stays up between feedings and lays in bed and cries and I try to sleep through it but that is pretty hard.  I was kind of worried about him crying because I feel like that is all he does when he is awake Bert just thinks that I have him spoiled and he wants to be held and I do think that is some of it but not all.  Dory had told me she remembered with Cooper she had the same problem so I went back on her blog and sure enough Cooper was a crier which is weird cause now he is such a happy baby and I don't think I have ever heard a real cry out of him.  Dr. Dimmick had told her it was normal and should go away by 8 weeks so we have 4 more weeks to go.  When we first got home from the hospital we tried swaddling but he would through a fit until he could get his arms free and then he was happy so we just stopped swaddling.  Last night was the first night I have tried it since and he did ok, still woke up every 3 hours and still had his time in the middle of the night he was up between feedings but he also is a very warm baby and he sweats like crazy in that thing.  We keep it at 74 in the house which we think is a good temp, I guess he's just gonna be a hot one.  I think he is holding his head up pretty good already and he throws that thing around like crazy.  We also think that he is getting close to rolling over.  He gets so close to it all the time and usually when I first put him down to sleep and I randomly go check on him he is laying on his side.  I know that sounds crazy but one day he will do it accidentally.

Brody had his first modeling gig the past Monday.  A photographer out of Wharton had done pics with Dory and the kids a few months back and she did a wonderful job.  Since then I have been following her on facebook.  The other day she posted that she needed a model between newborn-4 weeks so I hurried up and messaged her since she seems to book up pretty quick and we got it!!!  She had got some new things she wanted to try out with a baby boy so the session would be free and I could get 5 digital images for free.  Well since my baby seems to be a bit of a crier I figured it wasn't going to go to good and we wouldn't be there long but he did excellent and we were there for 1 1/2 hours!!!  Of course she has all the pics ready and they are all so good so we do have the option to purchase one of her packages which we are going to do!!!  I still can't believe how well he did!!  I guess that's all for now and I will leave y'all with some pics from our photo shoot! 

Newborn-3Weeks!!

Ok I am going to include everything in this post just to get me caught up on it all.  I will do another post with nothing but pictures we have taken throughout our first weeks home!  The first few nights home were pretty rough and we didn't think we would survive them but we did!!  We had our 1st Dr. appt with Dr. Dimmick on Monday the 11th.  When he was born he weighed 8lbs 4ozs, when we left he was 7lbs 10ozs and at his 1st appt he was 7lbs 13ozs.  He helped us out so much by explaining things to us and telling us what we should be doing which the main thing was getting Mr. Brody on a schedule.  We tried it that first night home and it went ok.  Still a pretty sleepless night but way better than the first couple nights.  We go to bed by 8pm everynight unless we have something going on which he still goes to sleep but not in his bed.  At 1 week old he was eating every 3-3.5 hours about 3oz every feeding and he wakes up like clock work when it is time to eat.  He is actually squirming around right now cause it's almost feeding time.  Every other night is bath night so on those nights we take a bath eat about 7:30 and go to bed.  He is up at 10:30 for another feeding which is fine cause we are still usually awake so I feed again and lay him back down.  Now Dr. Dimmick told us to just let him cry which is really hard to do but I think I am getting better.  At night he will usually stay up between 2 of the feedings sometimes it's between 7:30-10:30 and sometimes it's between the middle of the night feedings.  Anyways between these he usually cries off and on cause he wants to be held so that means no sleep for us and we just get to lay there and listen to him cry :( I can not wait until he is sleeping through the night.  At 1 1/2 weeks he had his first trip to the bay.  I had brought his pack n play and expected him to sleep most of the time well I was wrong.  When we would walk in side he would start crying...walk outside and he would fall asleep in my arms.  He's already an outdoors boy!!  He got tons of attention and he better get use to it cause that was the first of many trips to the bay!!

He finally zonked out!!

At 2 weeks there hasn't been much change except we are up to 3.5-4 oz. at every feeding which seems like a lot to me but my baby is hungry and I'm going to let him eat as much as he wants.  We had our 2 week appt this past Monday the 25th and let me tell you our baby has grown.   He was 21 1/2" long and weighed a whopping 9lbs 8ozs.  Yes in 2 weeks he has almost gained 2lbs.  Dr. Dimmick came in checked him out and said everything looks good but that is an impressive weight gain and we need to watch it a little more.  He's an eater and that's all I can say about that.  I asked about tummy time cause I wasn't sure when we should start that and he said he recommends it right away so we tried that out and he doesn't really like it but hey if you let them cry long enough they will eventually give up.  Also we finally got to the point that we don't cry every bath night.  Brody did not like taking baths at first and Sunday's bath time was the first time he didn't scream I was so happy.

Saturday the 23rd we had a memorial for my cousin Cody in Garwood at my Uncle Dales house.  Most of my extended family hadn't got to meet Brody yet.  As soon as we got there he was taken away and gave me time to go in and setup his pack n play and all that fun stuff.  Once again all my little man wanted to do was be outside.  It was hot and loud and everything else but he was happy and slept through most of it until he was hungry!!  Everything turned out really nice and everyone did a fantastic job on the food and getting everything together!!  We didn't stay to late cause of course I was tired and ready to get home and sleep.

I will post pics of my little man from birth to now in the next post!!

It's a BOY!!!

Ok so I am a little behind on my blog and everyone knows we had a boy!!  So let me start from the beginning.  We were scheduled for induction on July 5th and my Dr. knew I wanted to try anything possible to have a vaginal birth so that's what the plans were.  We got to the hospital about 7:00pm (we weren't supposed to be there til 8) but thank goodness we went early we didn't have to wait as long as the others did.  We got all checked in and were in a room by a little before 10 I think.  One couple that came in after we did had to wait a really long time and were not very happy.  Shortly after getting in my room the nurse came in and started my IV and then came back about 30 minutes later and started my cervadil. The cervadil was to help soften my cervix and they had to leave this in over night.  Now starting on the 6th I have no idea of times and stuff I will just kind of guesstimate.  I woke up sometime in the night with contractions that weren't bad but enough to keep me awake.  They came in around 5am to take out the cervadil and it had worked..yay...and I was dialated to a 2.  Then they came in a little later and started me on pitocin.  After that my contractions started getting worse and closer together.  They came and checked me off and on and let me tell you that is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever been through.  Around 9ish Dr. Nanda came in and decided to break my water and that wasn't very pleasant either but hey it had to be done.  The contractions just kept getting stronger and stronger.  Shortly after that the nurse came in and checked and said she could stretch me to 5cm and asked if I was ready for my epidural.  I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and even though they were awful I was trying to fight through them as long as I could.  She left and about 20 minutes later I sent Bert to find her cause I was ready.  It took the team a little while to get there but I was happy to see them when they finally showed up.  Bert had to leave the room but once they were done he came back in.  The nurse stayed in the room with us for a little while to keep an eye on things.  Well everytime I would have a contractions I could feel it on my left side and I kept telling her that and I could feel my left leg.  She rolled me to the side to try and get the medicine to drain but the baby did not like that and his heart rate would drop so she put me back on my back.  The anesthesiologist came back in and gave me some more medicine but it still wasn't kicking in.  Then after every contractions the baby's heart rate and oxygen would drop so they put me on oxygen.  Right at 11 Bert decided to go eat real quick before things really started progressing and the nurse stayed with me in the room.  While he was gone Dr. Cook comes in and checks everything out and he said the best thing for the baby right now is if we went ahead and did a c-section.  I was still only halfway along and things just weren't looking good.  He asked where Bert was and said we will wait on him so I sent him a text to hurry.  I was a nervous wreck and I think my poor husband was too but he was trying to keep me from seeing it.  They got me all set up and down the hall we went to the OR room.  They made Bert leave the room while they did my spinal and he said later it felt like he was out of the room forever.  They started off having a little bit of problems cause I could still feel a little on my left side.  Finally I wasn't able to feel anything.  Bert came in and sat down by my head and I was just shaking like crazy but they said the medicine will do that.  I asked if they had started and Dr. Cook said yep so I was happy that I couldn't feel a single thing.  Bert got up once to look but sat right back down and didn't say anything.  Dr. Cook asked who I wanted to tell me the sex and I thought for a minute but I really wanted Bert to tell me so they told him when to look.  He stood up and said It's a....and paused for a really long time it felt like.  We both really thought that it was going to be a girl this whole time that when he saw it wasn't he just kind of froze.  Finally he said it's a BOY!!!  He weighed 8lbs 4ozs and was 21" long.  They wrapped him up and Bert brought him over to me.  My baby Brody Lee was here and I was so happy and just started crying!!  Dr. Cook left the room and asked if I wanted him to go tell our families and I said yes cause I wanted Bert to stay with me in recovery cause I was getting real sick feeling I needed him there.  They were taking me down the hall and her comes my mother and she was like well what is the baby??  I said it's a boy and she was really happy so I sent her to tell everyone else.  During the c-section I had lost a lot of blood and that's why I wasn't feeling to great so I had to spend quiet a bit of time in recovery.  While I was there the lactation consultant came in to talk to us...she explained a lot to us but I was still pretty much out of it and don't remember much of that.  I do remember when we took Brody off the left side I had a big blood clot in the middle and we switched sides and the same thing happened.  Once my blood pressure was up and I was feeling better they took me to my room and I sent for everyone to come in.  They took a while to bring Brody back in to us and everyone was just so anxious to see him.  We had a lot of visitors during the day and then more came at night to see our little angel.  When everyone was gone we asked the nurse if we could send him to the nursery for the night so we could try and get some rest...ha...we should of just kept him.  Between them coming in to check me every 3 hours and him coming in to be fed every 2 hours we didn't get any kind of sleep.  Feeding was not going to good and the next day (thursday) we had the lactaion consultant in and out all day and then finally they brought me a pump to see if that made things any better.  We pumped a little and fed it to him through a syringe but I was so sore that pumping was not very comfortable either.  Brody did not pass his hearing test but they said for a c-section baby that was normal cause of fluids still in the ears.  Then the nurse came in to take him back for his circumcision and they had him for a little while so we got a little bit of rest in between.  My mom came to stay with me so Bert could get out of the hospital for a little bit...while he was gone I finally got to take a shower and start eating normal food...I was so happy!!   We had a few more visitors Thursday evening.  After they left we decided we were going to keep Brody with us.  It went ok but we didn't get much rest.  They came and got him at 5 am Friday morning to run some test on him again since his levels were a little high for jaundice.  They came back and said they were still a little high but nothing to worry about.  Then the lady came back in for his hearing test.  This time he passed!!!  Dr. Melham came to check on me around 9ish and was like so you get to go home tomorrow (Saturday) I said I wish I could go home today.  He looked at me and goes do you wanna go home today?? I said yes and that I was really feeling good.  He asked me a few questions and was like ok I will release you and will get the pediatrician to see if they will release Brody.  A little later they came in checked Brody out and said ok we will release him!!!  Bert and I were so happy to finally be getting out of that place we immediately started packing.  I had already taken a shower for the day so we got everything together in like 30 mins then the waiting game started.  We had to do all the discharge paperwork which didn't take long to do it just took long for them to get to the room with it.  Then we had to wait for the cart to come and get us and our stuff and we were out of there at 3:00pm!!  The ride home was good.  Brody started squealing a little as we were turning into our drive.

37 Weeks 3 Days

Well I had a Dr. appt yesterday but I was kind of bummed when I left and had a decision to make.  I only gained 1 more pound so I am at a total of 36lbs, heartbear was 143 and bp was good.  Dr. Cook came in and checked my cervix and no change from the last time which I was hoping for at least some kind of change.  Last week I had seen Dr. Nanda and she said when she took my stitch out I dialated to 1cm well yesterday Dr. Cook made it sound like I had not dilated at all which really confused me.  He said they had me stitched up pretty good and he wasn't expecting any changes.  He left and came back in about 5 minutes later to discuss what exactly we wanted to do.  I told him they had me scheduled to come in on July 5th to be induced.  He said we could stay with that our there are other options.  He knows that I really want a chance at having the baby vaginally so he the options were: 1) I could stay scheduled for the 5th but my chances of a c-section are higher 2) I could just opt for a c-section all together or 3) I could wait it out and see if I go into labor on my own with the possibilty of a c-section.  I finally told him that I was starting to get scared and worried about my size and the size of the baby.  Everytime someone would ask if I was having the baby natural or c-section (which happens a lot and i don't understand why) and I say I want natural they look at me like I'm crazy even some Dr.'s & nurses at my clinic.  So yesterday I asked him if he thinks I have to small of a frame and if I am going to have difficulty having the baby natural and he just got this look on his face and said I was borderline and that's why he was giving me different options.  He said his wife (who is also an OB) opted for a c-section right away, she is about my size, cause they were worried about her having problems with the babies coming out.  He said we don't have to make a decision right away to go home and talk it over and call him this week.  All day yesterday that was all I could think about cause this is a big decision and I want to make the right one and not regret it.  We talked about it and I called my sister and mother to kind of see what they thought but I still really want to try for a vaginal birth.  We tossed around every scenario (excluding option 2) and we decided to stay with going in on the 5th to be induced.  Either way it sounds like theres a pretty good chance of having to have a c-section but if we induce early I feel like(which it probably is going to sound like I'm crazy) the baby will be a little smaller and maybe I can squeeze it out better and also if this darn cervix of mine isn't going to cooperate there's a chance they will want to induce if I go past my 40 weeks and also a chance of a c-section.  So either way I think this is the best option.  I can't wait to finally meet our little one it is going to be so exciting yet so scary!!

We have a date...if it doesn't happen sooner!!!

Saturday we had another big anatomy scan that I was super excited!! Bert had decided not to go so I scheduled my mother to go with me.  When we got there she took us back right away and started.  First off she checked my cervix and there were no changes :(.  While she takes all the measurements and everything she doesn't let us see the screen just in case we were to be able to tell what we have in there.  She then turn the screen towards us so we could see that cute little face and let me tell you it looks like we are going to have one healthy little baby cause those little cheeks looked so puffy.  She had told us that the baby is weighing right around 7lbs (which these are usually off) and the heartbeat was 158.  And our little one was measuring at 37weeks 1 day (I was exactly 36 weeks saturday) so he/she is 1week 1day ahead.  It was really short and sweet and we were out of there with a few pics but it's really hard to see them so I'm not going to post any.

Monday was the day I have been waiting for.  Last week they were supposed to take out my cerclage but Dr. Cook wanted to wait til my appt. Saturday to see how developed the baby was.  They put us in a room and I asked the nurse if they were taking my cerclage out and she said well nobody told me anything but let me go check.  Next thing she walks in with some scissors and a few other things.  Dr. Cook was at a delivery so I saw Dr. Nanda.  She came in but they had to move me to a different room to remove the cerclage.  So down the hall I go wrapped up in paper to another room.  I asked her how things looked fromt he u/s saturday and she said really good and our baby was ok to come out whenever.  So then we started the removal process, it wasn't horrible having that thing removed but it was a little painful with all the pressure and cramping but it was over in like 5 minutes and out came this big blue stitch.  She said as soon as she took it out I dilated to 1cm.  I was happy to hear this since Dr. Cook seemed concerned last time about my cervix not opening cause of that little procedure I had done many years ago.  I know there is a possibility that I could stay the same for a while.  Once I got dressed she came back in to answer all the questions I had.  The first thing she told me was now with the cerclage out you could go into labor right away or it could take up to 2 weeks.  I already knew this since I read to much stuff on the internet.  I told her that Dr. Cook had mentioned scheduling me and she said yes we will get with Rita before you leave.  I had a few more questions for her before I just let her leave.  So off to Rita's office we went.  She gave us a date of July 5th or 6th and called the hospital to see what they had open.  So if nothing happens within these next 2 weeks our little one should be here on July 6th.  We go in on the 5th at 8:00 pm to get things going but since it's so late in the evening I'm pretty sure nothing will happen until after midnight.  I am super excited and scared but I can't wait to meet our baby!!  Only 2 weeks left or less depending on what my body decides to do!!

Busy Weekend & Baby update!!

This will be a very long post.  This past weekend was very busy.  Friday I had planned on taking off of work a little early and going to help decorate for our family reunion since it was our families turn to have this year.   I knew I wouldn't be able to do a whole lot but I could help get things set up inside and I had planned on trying to drag my husband with me to help the guys set up all the tents and outside stuff but as always my plans didn't work out.  I got off around noon and went to my parents to see what I could do.  She was working on table decorations but it involved cutting stems off wild flowers and all so I figured I would just let her do that.  Bert was on a job so I was kind of waiting to hear from him to see what he wanted to do.  When I talked to him he really didn't sound like he wanted to go out there and help right away so I was like well I will meet you at the house and we can rest a little and decide later.  I had just left my parents and he called and said he had to go to Corpus on another run and if I wanted to ride with him and we could go eat on the seawall?  Of course I wanted to go.  There's just something about being outside and water all around that just makes me happy!  It was still early when we left so it wasn't like we would be home super late.  We got there about 4 and dropped off tools and went to eat at Landry's.  I wanted to sit outside even though it was kind of windy it was still a beautiful day.  He told our waitress to we were going to relax a while to just bring our plates out slowly and she understood exactly what he said and did a wonderful job.  I ordered me a virgin strawberry dauquri and it was so good.  As we were sitting there I looked down and my feet were huge.  I guess that car ride didn't do me any good.  We finished eating and headed home and we got there right before 8 and the first thing I did was put my feet up.  Bert got called out on another job so I had a peaceful evening and went to bed early.  When he is gone at night I always wake up like ever 2 hours when he is gone and call to make sure he is ok so I did this until he got home around 2 in the morning. 

Saturday was our family reunion.  I had planned on being there around 10-10:30 since they had me at the registration table along with my cousing Jessica (she's also prego) since it didn't involve much work and we could sit.  I felt bad waking Bert up since he worked so late but we live in Ganado and my car was still at my parents in El Campo needless to say we didn't get to the reunion until after 11 and almost everyone was already there.  It was so hot outside and the air wasn't working good inside but I had to tough it out.  When the auctin rolled around I really wanted to see it so outside I went.  Bert was helping with this and it is so funny watching him.  His initials aren't BS (bullshitter) for nothing.  It started getting way to hot so I went inside and there's Jess sitting on the couch and her husband had put a fan on her so I plopped down and tryed to cool off.  Later in the day the little kids were swimming so I went out there in the shade and put my feet in the water since they were huge again and everytime I would take them out Livy would come and grab them and put em back in the water and would tell me I had to leave them in there.  I was so ready to go home but Bert had just finished the washer tournament and still had the horseshoe tournament and I was not able to watch either one :(.  Finally around 8ish I got him to help take the tents down and cleaned up just a little and headed home.  I wish I could say I slept in Sunday but I can't sleep very late these days.

Sunday was my shower at my sister's house.  She did a great job of getting everything together and decorating.  It was small just mainly family and a few friends which was very nice.  I got a lot more gifts and the host gave me my pack-n-play.  Bert and I like to go a lot so that pack-n-play will get a lot of use.  The shower was so short and sweet and to the point I loved it.  I was so tired from going all weekend that I was ready to go back home and lay down after being there for about 30 minutes.  Thank you sister!!

Here are a couple of pics from the shower.

Me with the Grandma's

Now Dr. appt update.  At my last appt Dr. Cook had told me we were going to remove my cerclage and it sounded like we were going to schedule something.  Well I made Bert take off of work for nothing.  I really wanted him to go with me for this.  We went early so I could go and get me a pair of glasses and I needed to stop a Babies-R-Us for one thing.  We got to the Dr. early so we waited for a little while.  When we finally went back the nurse came in weighed me which I gained another 5lbs so up to a total of 34lbs gained and checked the heartbeat which was 140.  I was all excited and asked her he's taking my cerclage out right?   And she looked at me puzzled and said I don't think so we usually don't do it this early and I was like well that's what he had told me she said she would check.  A little while later Dr. Cook comes in and checks me and said nothing has changed and he felt around a little and said he thinks the baby is somewhere around 6 1/2lbs and then told me to get dressed and he would be right back.  He came back and asked if I had another big ultrasound scheduled and I do for this Saturday.  He said he wants to see how big the baby is before he removes my cerclage so next week I will get this darn thing out hopefully.  Then Bert asked how much longer he is thinking until the baby is here (since he had talked about scheduling me before) he said normally FTM's go full term but I would say with y'all 2-2 1/2 weeks so now it sounds like he's not scheduling me so I really don't know where we are at.  I am only 35 1/2 weeks so I want my baby to stay in there and cook a little longer but I am so ready to be comfortable again.  I know a few mommies that have to go all summer in this heat huge prego and I feel so sorry for them.  Anyways hopefully Monday I will find out more and try and figure out exactly what my Dr. wants to do.