Getting Excited for Baby

Ellie is getting really excited for her baby brother to come in January.

She was a great help when I was getting all of his clothes washed and put away - she folded all of the burp cloths, many of the onesies, and a few blankets. I am really excited to have her around this time  to help with all three of the boys. She really is becoming a great little helper, and it is making things a little easier for me. I'm really grateful for that.

When we had put everything away I taped the drawers shut... Hopefully that's enough to keep my troublemaker (but very cute!) boys out!

Baby Brubaker #4

Well, there is a reason my blog posts have been few and far between lately:

     We are expecting baby number 4, and we couldn't be more excited! I have been incredibly sick so blogging is not on the top of my list of things that need to be done. In fact, anything that has been done has been done by Sam. He's seriously a super hero. I don't know how he does it. He wakes up at 5:30 to exercise and then he takes care of the kids while he lets me sleep in, he works all day long, then comes home and makes dinner, takes care of the kids, puts them to bed, and cleans. And he does it all with a positive attitude while I sit around trying to keep the contents of my stomach in my stomach. He really is amazing. I'm so grateful for how understanding and helpful he is. 

     I am 10 weeks pregnant today, so I have about 3 weeks left of feeling sick, then I will be back to my normal self. I can't wait!

     The kids are really excited about the baby as well, especially Ellie. She is absolutely convinced that she is going to have a sister, but with the Brubaker odds, we will have to see. She loves to look at the ultrasound pictures and tell me about what each part of the baby's body is. Her latest comment is "She is a girl, but she has short hair because she is a baby." (Already referring to the baby as "she..." I hope her hopes aren't dashed at the gender ultrasound!) She has been asking a lot of questions about where the baby is in my tummy, so I taught her about how there is a special place in my tummy called a uterus that keeps the baby safe and warm until it is big enough to come out. I think she got "uterus" mixed up with "cocoon" because she said to me yesterday, "Mom, the baby is safe in your tummy because it is in your raccoon." Sam and I had a good laugh about that one, but I'm sure it made sense in her little mind because cocoons and uteruses have similar functions I guess. She also loves to come up and "kiss the baby," ask "where are the baby's hands?" then put her hand on my tummy, and ask if the baby is hungry, thirsty, or sleeping. As I was eating this morning she asked me why I was eating so slowly, then before I could answer she said, "Oh! It's so the baby won't choke!" Of course that led into a conversation about the umbilical cord and how the baby gets its food from my blood. She thought that was pretty cool. It's really fun that she is old enough to understand pregnancy at least a little bit.

     Sam came the the first ultrasound with me, and we both said how we couldn't believe that even though we have seen 3 other babies on ultrasound, the joy and love we felt with seeing number 4 is the same as with the other babies. We are really excited to be adding another little member to our family, and we can't wait to see if he/she will be born this year or next!

I'm Rocking My Baby, and Babies Don't Keep.

We went to the library this morning, and since school started yesterday and story time hasn't started yet for the fall, we had the entire place pretty much to ourselves. The kids were so happy!

There are 6 computers for the kids, two of which are touch screens. Ellie hasn't quite figured out how to use a mouse, so she is much better at the touch screens, but there has always been someone using them when we have been there. Today must have been her lucky day though - she got to use it for as long as she wanted because  there was nobody else waiting. Once I showed her how to navigate through the game, she played on her own for quite awhile.

The kids were pretty excited about the new sucker fish in the fish tank.

Nathan has no idea how to use the computers, but he still insists on banging on the keyboard. Good thing they're durable.

The kids love to sit and read books on the bean bags. Nathan was pointing to the pink one saying "Ellie chair."

The past few times we have been to the library Ellie has wanted to check out Cinderella, but it has been checked out. Like I said, today must have been her lucky day. She got to check it out, and she was so excited about it!

She woke up before the boys and asked if she could watch Cinderella. Of course I couldn't say no! I took her downstairs and turned it on for her, then went back upstairs to finish cleaning the bathrooms. I was in the mode, and I was going to get lots of cleaning done! But as I was cleaning I thought of her excitement about the movie. So I decided that I should go down with her, and share in her excitement. Besides, who doesn't love a good princess movie? In true princess fashion, I brought down some nail polish, and we painted nails and watched the movie together. (Ignore the mess in the back ground. Sam and I are in the middle of cleaning out our storage room, and we only get to a little bit each night after the kids are asleep.)

She chose purple for both of us, and as I painted her nails she kept saying "I love purple! It's my favorite color!" 

She told me all about the movie and asked questions. I loved watching her eyes light up as she watched the magic of the story. I'm so glad I took the opportunity to quit cleaning and to spend the afternoon with my girl instead.

She won't be small forever.

Jonah Cardon Brubaker

Our little Jonah was born on March 30th. He has a full head of dark hair, and we love him so much already. 

His siblings love him too, and want to be around him all the time. 

This morning Ellie requested that Jonah sit by her on the chair. They sat together like that for half an hour.

At one point, Ellie told me "look Mom, he's holding my hand!"

(Don't mind the diapers in the background... Nathan took it upon himself to take all of the diapers out of the package and fling them around the room while I was nursing Jonah)

Nathan has also gotten used to having another little person around the house. Here he is, demonstrating how he can be "soft" with the baby. When Jonah is not within sight, Nathan is asking about him. I love watching the new big brother interact with his little brother, but I definitely have to stay close by so an eye doesn't get poked out...

We Are Having a Little Boy!

Sam and I went to my 20-week ultrasound on Friday, and we found out we are adding another little boy to our family!

I have to say that I was really surprised! I was pretty much convinced it would be a girl because my pregnancy is so similar to Ellie's rather than Nathan's. I even slipped and called the baby "she" a few times. Ellie was also convinced it was a girl - and not from me! Every time I would ask her if the baby was a boy or a girl she would say girl.

But during the ultrasound there was no question that it's a little boy in there! He even flexed his muscles for us:

We are all so excited! Well, except for Nathan - he has no idea what is going on. His little world is about to be rocked.

Ellie loves to look at the ultrasound pictures and tell us that it is her little brother.

I am always so nervous before ultrasounds that something will be wrong with our baby, but we were so blessed to see that everything looks normal. 

Baby Talk

     This little boy loves to babble, but he also has a few words that are actually associated with something. He can say "mama," "dada," "baba," (bottle) and "nana" (banana). I guess he just needs to know all of the important words! :)

     We sure love this sugar-loving guy and his big sister! ...And he and Ellie love each other almost as much. They love to play together, even though their playing sessions usually end in tears from one or both of them.

Love,

Baby Brubaker #3!

   
     Yep, we are expecting #3 in April! We are really excited. We are also excited that the first trimester is coming to an end soon - I've been quite sick, and I think my kids and husband are ready to have their normal mom/wife back. And let's be honest, I'm ready to stop running to the toilet after eating the wrong thing, or needing a nap by 9:00 am.

At least my kids are cute while I'm snoozing away!

   
     I can't even begin to say how amazing Sam has been throughout this pregnancy so far. The lease on the place we were renting ended at the beginning of September, so we moved last week. Sam pretty much single-handedly packed up all of our stuff, cleaned the house, and unloaded everything while I sat on the couch trying not to throw up. We had some help with the big stuff, and we were so grateful! But man, my husband is so wonderful. He's been making dinners, changing poopy diapers, taking care of kids, and never even complaining. 

     We sure are happy to have all of our stuff at the new place. Now to finish unpacking..... And I can't even tell you how nice it is to be eating real, home-cooked food again!

Even though Burger King can be fun every once in awhile!

     And remember my friend Heather? Well guess what? They have some wonderful news:

     http://hgzoll.blogspot.com/2013/09/for-this-child-i-prayed.html

     I'm so happy for them! The Lord answers prayers. Miracles are real.

     And even though the journeys Heather and I took for our babies may be different, I'm so grateful for our own little miracle growing inside me.

Love,

Finally! A New Post!

What have we been up to since I posted forever ago? Well, let me tell you! Sam and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by going to Idaho Falls. We took pictures in some of the places we went for our first date, and we forgot to take pictures at even more places! This picture is at the Green Belt (even though it's not green yet...) where we watched a band play on our first date. This is also my pregnant belly shot for 36 weeks because I haven't been good about taking them lately!

And here we are at the Visitor's Center. I don't think we went there on our first date, but it was soon after we started dating... Ok, so these were the only two pictures we took on our anniversary so I had to post them! I wish we would have taken more that were a little less boring. Oh well - too late now!

I washed and folded baby clothes and blankets from generous family members. Thank you! :) Too bad I can't make a normal face for a picture, though...

The baby tried on some clothes... Do you think this shirt will fit? :)

We finished setting up everything in the baby's room. This rocking chair was a birthday present from Sam to me. I can't wait to rock our little baby in it! :) And see the cute, brown, flowery nursing cover? My sister-in-law, Marci, made that for me! How adorable is that?! Thanks, Marci! :)

We set up the play pen with all its snazzy attachments.

Wipes and newborn size diapers all ready to be used up!

Burp cloths and blankets folded and put away.

Hand-me-downs from 0-2T. Thank you again!

Sam's brother, Joe, got home from his mission to Mexico a few weeks ago and came up to Rexburg to start school. We had Sunday dinner with the family: (clockwise from the left) the top of Isaac's head, Marci, Megan, the top of Gabe's head, Jon, Adam, Little Joseph, Big Joseph (not sure how else to differentiate - sorry Joe!), and me.

Sam and I are super excited for the baby to come! Today we had a doctor's appointment - the baby's head down, heart beat's great, and I'm dilated 2cm and 50% effaced at 37 weeks 4 days. The hospital bag's packed and I'm planning some vigorous walking for tonight... hint, hint... We're ready for you anytime, baby!

Another Appointment

Wow, it's been a really long time....

We had another doctor's appointment today:

I took my glucose test (it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.... everyone always says it's horrible) and the results came back normal. My iron levels and hemoglobin are good too. My blood pressure was 117/81, I measured 26-27 cm, and I've gained 16 pounds so far. It's really weird when the doctor tells me, "eat hearty meals, I want you gaining a pound a week from now on."

And now the exciting part!!! Little baby girl is healthy. She was head down. The doctor says she is about 1 3/4 pounds, which is a little smaller than average, and how much I weighed when I was born! (But please don't come yet, baby!) Her heart beat was 145 bpm - looking good! :)

I can tell she's gotten lots bigger and stronger over the past few weeks because her kicks are harder (I can see my belly move almost every time she moves) and sometimes I can feel her kicking/punching on both sides of my belly at the same time! It's getting a little harder to get comfortable at night because my belly's growing and it feels like it just flops down on the bed.... I'm sure there will be lots more where that came from as she gets bigger. :) It's also been much harder to breathe lately, (I get winded by doing the most ridiculous things) and tons harder to bend over - I have a hard time putting my shoes on sometimes! :) Sam also likes to tease me because I can't see the underside of my belly when I'm standing up. He'll point and say, "you've got something on your shirt." I'll ask where, and he'll just keep pointing. I've learned that it's much easier to just pull my shirt out to look rather than try to bend over and see. I'm sure that's another thing that will only be harder as the baby gets bigger! :)

Over all, I love being pregnant. I love feeling our little baby move and knowing she's doing well!!! I'm really excited to meet her, but I hope she takes her time coming!

Ultrasound Results......

So, we went to our 19-week ultrasound today, and... IT'S A GIRL!!! If you want to see pictures, go to this link:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001543180381&sk=photos

Sorry, my computer savvy husband is currently occupied, so you have to copy and paste the link to get to it. But you can manage, right? There's also a video coming, but I'll let you know when we (by "we" I really mean "Sam" :) ) get it up.

Baby weighs 11 oz., and her heartbeat is 148 bpm. She's healthy, and we couldn't be happier!!!

Our Little (and I mean REALLY little) Baby!!!

On Monday Sam and I went to the doctor for our first ultrasound. We were both really nervous that morning... Until we saw our baby, that is!!

It was such a relief to see that everything was perfect. The baby even moved around for us!! The poor nurse had a hard time measuring it because it wouldn't stop wiggling. This is my favorite picture because I think it shows the most detail - arms, legs, tummy, face, brain, everything.

When the baby finally stopped moving, it measured at 10 weeks 1 day - just one day shy of what we thought! Its heart beat was 166 bpm. It was so awesome to hear it just beating away!

Here's the profile shot. You can even see the little fingers! It was amazing to me how much it looked like a human, even though it's so tiny.

It was such a surreal experience to see this little human growing inside me. We knew it was there, and I'd been keeping track of how big it would be, but it was a completely different thing to actually see it. Especially when it started moving around! I think I've looked at the pictures on our fridge a million times since the ultrasound! Whenever I look at them, I just remember what it was like to see those little arms and legs punching and kicking. It was so fun to see our little baby for the first time. :)



*****On another note, my bestest friend Heather is getting married tomorrow!! I'm so excited and happy for her!! Greg makes her happy, and they're so perfect together. I can't wait to see them at the reception on Saturday!!!!!*****