Our baby is here and it's a....

BOY!!!!

Yesterday, at 4:45 pm we welcomed a new little baby boy to our family. He weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. He looks like Ethan as a baby and is just so sweet and perfect.

The name is yet to be determined....40% of you guessed a boy and you were right. I was completely shocked to see a boy but couldn't be happier; he is such a special little guy!

Yesterday before going to the hospital I gave Ethan a hug goodbye. He asked where I was going and I told him "to go have a baby" and he said to me with a big smile, "be sure to tell me what you have!" It was so cute. Then as I was walking away he asked, "so what do you think it is? A boy or a girl?" I answered "I think it's a girl" and then I asked him and he said, "boy." He was the only one in our immediate family to guess boy. He's pretty excited that there are now 4 boys and only 2 girls.

The kids have been with Cory's mom and today they came up to see him and were instantly smitten. I am going to have a lot of really good helpers; they already adore him.

Here are some pictures from the post-delivery....

There is such a sweet spirit as you hold a new little one right from Heaven. He is just so special! We are so blessed!

Some highlights and low-lights surrounding his birth that I want to remember....

....in no particular order or importance....

-Waking up early to go to the hospital

-my epidural not working when I most needed it....ugh!

-An inattentive delivery nurse

-The doctor not being able to break my water because I was posterior so I had to wait another 5 hours for her to have time to come back

-Watching winter x-games with Cory

-Eating a lot of raspberry ice chips (I was starving) and downing some serious calories when I could finally eat

-Cory saying "it's a boy!" and it not registering until he said it again to me and LOVING that he was a surprise

-I remember thinking instantly that he looked like Ethan as a baby; his mouth is the same and they look similar when they cry

-Holding him after he was born and smelling him

-Nursing him the first time and he was a natural

-all in all it was a wonderful day!

Pregnancy pics with kids

Last weekend I had Cory take a few pictures of me and my prego belly with the kids; something we've never done before. Cory did a good job and was a good sport for someone who hardly EVER picks up my camera....and the kids were good sports too!

These are the least swollen pictures of me because there were plenty that were pretty scary! Here are a few of my favorites....just me and my cute kiddos!

Ethan always the life of the party! Even during pictures!

Now the waiting game continues. Let's hope that by this time next week we'll have our little one in arms!

Krunkie hair, garter, pillows and more...

This week in pictures...

Ethan and Brooklyn...two peas in a pod. Monkey see, Monkey do. Best buds...to name a few. This is what they can be found doing on a regular basis...pulling all the pillows/blankets off of all the beds and making piles to jump in, play in etc.

This is a rather small pile compared to what it normally is

"Krunkie Hair" (first word said with emphasis) is a name that Brooklyn lovingly uses to call people when she thinks your silly, or if she is trying to call you a name, or if she is upset in time-out! It is her universal word for us or others. Where she got it I have no idea but it is so funny when she says it.

But...if you ask me, I think the jokes on her, because this was her hair yesterday after a night of sleeping, a morning of playing with the boys, a nap and some more playing before I got to giving her a bath...It looks pretty "Krunkie Hair" if you ask me!!

Oh, so very Krunkie

The other night I was making a little treat with some chocolate and Brooklyn and Ethan were right there to help eat the chocolate from the bowl...

Brooklyn wearing her princess dress over her day outfit. She loves that dress!

Bath time. I have hardly any pictures of her playing in the bath; which she loves. She will play for 30 min or more and has a great time!

I don't have a picture of it but last week while we were sitting down to eat lunch Brooklyn was wearing her princess dress and as she proceeded to take it off Cory and I looked down at her leg and she was wearing one of her princess bracelets around her knee like a garter. It was so funny! The things they come up with.

Finally finished...

The project that has been on my to-do list for the past 4-5 months that I just never took the time to finish...actually I was just dreading to finish it because it meant getting out my paint brushes to do touch-ups. So sad, I know. But I am happy to say that Brooklyn and baby's room is finally done!!! I love the way it turned out! It is such a fun and bright room and there is a lot of character...just like my little girl!

There are a lot of stories in this room and the best part was I did it on a budget, it was really inexpensive to put together...you should be able to click on pictures to enlarge.

Above: The little night stand bought at an antique store for $10 and the little monkey doll that our friends the Koenigs gave brooklyn. The bedskirt made from an oval table cloth found at a thrift store. The rooster on the dresser was one of the first things you'd see as you walked up the stairs into the kitchen at my Grandpa and Grandma's Burnett's ranch and one of the only things I took from the ranch before it was sold; seeing it always reminds me of the many times we were at the ranch and all my great memories. Metal tray on wall also found at thrift store.

Above: Fun old books and Cinderella record both found at thrift stores and which Brooklyn LOVES.

The room from the hallway. The dresser I got from a neighbor in Ohio who was going to throw it away. I painted it pink/peach as I was going to go a TOTALLY different direction with the room and then I found the bedskirt fabric and pillow fabric and totally changed my direction. We'll see if I keep it that color. For now it works.

The bed with a painting my Grandma Jones painted for me when I was born. She painted an old Raggedy Anne picture for each of her grandchildren when they were born. Until now I didn't have the "perfect" place to put it but I have to say it couldn't have gone anywhere else and fit as well as it does here; the colors and style are perfect for the room; it was as though I planned the room around this painting.

This great 1960's chandelier that I purchased at an Antique mall in Billings. It was 1/2 off and I got it for $18. It was a steal and I LOVE it. It adds so much character to the room. The white board in the back was a wooden forest green wipe board that I painted and antiqued white and added black and white polka dot fabric over the boards. I bought it for $22 at a great used furniture place here.

Above: The doorknobs I purchased for a few dollars from my sisters friend who was selling them at our garage sale which she salvaged from an old building that was being torn down. The cinderella book, again from a thrift store and the baby crib from an antique store here for $8.

The aborigine doll was a gift from my parents to Brooklyn from their trip to Australia last year. She loves this doll.

Above: The fabric for the pillows is my favorite! And really the entire inspiration for the room. I saw it one day while walking through Hobby Lobby and it reminded me of this great chair that my Grandma Jones upholstered and that I took Brooklyn's pictures on in 2009, and I couldn't pass it up! It became my new jumping off point for the room. Lamp embellished with a homemade flower and the strawberry shortcake record was a blast from the past for me when I saw it and I knew it had to be in the room. The white lace pillow behind the flower pillows were also a purchase at the thrift store (I just got lucky that day I guess!)

It was a fun room to do and it brings a smile to my face when I see it. After the baby is born, Brooklyn will share this room with the baby.

Tabernacle

When we went down to Utah last month, for my cousin Robbie's wedding reception, we drove past the Old Tabernacle as the firefighters were trying to squelch the fire that was consuming this beautiful building. It was really sad. There was so much history in that building and it was such a beautiful part of downtown Provo. (I actually lived right down the street from this tabernacle for a few months during college). So sad.

Well, Cory's cousin just posted about this on her blog and I wanted to share because it is pretty interesting. The pictures were taken from here.

Provo City Firefighters continue their work at the historic Provo Tabernacle after the building was destroyed by fire. Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010. (Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

Look hard, can you see what the picture is?

Provo Firefighters look at a painting of Christ that was burned in the fire. The fire burned the entire image except the image of Christ near the center. Provo City Firefighters continue their work at the historic Provo Tabernacle after the building was destroyed by fire. Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010. (Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

Time-out, books and balls

So Christmas break is over. I love when the kids have the day or week off but by the end of the week and a half they were starting to get in more and more mischief and more and more at each others throats which equals a momma that's a little bit more on edge. And it was so darn cold, in the negatives and single digits, to send them outside!

One day Ethan had to go to time out and he likes to slam doors when he's mad and if he does it on daddy's watch he gets a lot of extra time in the corner. Today was one of these days. I was gone and I got a call from Cory saying that Ethan wrote all over the wall while he was in time-out and wanted to know what he needed to do to clean it off. Brooklyn is usually the one who writes on the counters, furniture, books, walls etc so it was really out of character for Ethan. When I got home I set him up with the magic eraser and he scrubbed scrubbed scrubbed. He in fact scrubbed so much in one area that he scrubbed right down to the drywall.

Please excuse my fuzzy pictures! He didn't appreciate me snapping a few for documenting purposes!

Notice the Boise State uniform as well. He wears this uniform EVERY SINGLE day! He is Boise's top 4-year old fan as well as the dark blue, orange, and white color fan!

After I saw the repairs I needed to make to the wall it sent me into a frenzy of repairing all those nicks and small holes that have been bothering me. So I spent some time on New Years Day filling in holes. I am now just trying to get up the energy to get my paintbrushes out and finish the job I started.

Ethan is such a funny boy. He could entertain himself all day long with a cardboard box and a ball. He is so creative. Tonight I got a kick out of his contraption. Books on Boots and balls making a track for his ball to go down. He has elaborate plans for tomorrow to make the course turn to the left. He is so goofy and funny; we sure love that little boy!

But he doesn't mind posing silly if it is something he's created and that he's proud of!

New Years Eve/Day

This New Years Eve was pretty low key. Earlier in the day Briggs and I went on a little date together (something we/he has been wanting to do for a while). I asked him where he wanted to go get lunch and he immediately said Chuck-A-Rama. I asked if he was sure and he was emphatic...so Chuck-A-Rama it was. The silly boy only wanted to eat corn, green beans, peas, 1/2 piece of pizza and fruit punch; he didn't even have desert which I thought was strange. He tried a little chicken and that was about it.

(The only picture I took of me and Briggs where my face didn't look totally swollen)

Sweet boy; just so happy to be out with mama!

After that we went to Game World and played a few video/car games and a game of air hockey and then we went home. I sure enjoyed my time just talking to him without any other kids vying for my attention; he is a really good boy.

A few hours after we got home Briggs said to Cory and me that he thought his tooth was broken. A bit alarmed I asked to see and he wiggled his 2nd bottom tooth. Sure enough it was pretty loose. The crazy thing was that his adult tooth was already sticking up behind it about a 1/4 of an inch. Cory got the pliers out and out it came. That may explain why Briggs didn't want to eat much at lunch. He was pretty excited to loose his 2nd tooth before the end of the year!

Post script: The next morning he came into our room to tell us the tooth fairy came and he was pretty excited! Then he said to me, "I looked on the floor and under my bed but there was only one dollar." Only one dollar, I had to smile because last year he got two, I guess the tooth fairy is feeling the effects of the recession ;-) and Briggs has too good of a memory!

For dinner I wasn't feeling much like cooking (like I do everyday right now) so we kept it simple with BLT's, carrots, oranges, and some sparkling cider. The kids didn't mind. Then we decided to have a family movie night with James and the Giant Peach...all I have to say is that is a strange strange movie! We didn't finish it before shipping the kids off to bed and that was A-Okay with me!

Cory and I spent the rest of the evening playing Super Mario Brothers on the Wii and a bit of Wii sports resort (our family christmas gift this year). It was nice to just hang out and enjoy each other!

For New Years we had Cory's parents over for dinner and ate some yummy cafe rio pulled pork salads that are super easy to make. We played some family games of bowling/golf on the Wii and Carl and Judy did a really good job; they were really getting into the spirit of the game (although we discovered basketball wasn't Judy's forte ;-). We ate some yummy brownies/ice cream/fudge for desert. After, Carl played toy story memory with Ethan (who held his own against Grandpa), while Judy and I played Hands Down with Briggs before they went to bed. We finished off the evening with a game of Ticket to Ride (one of our favorites). It was a nice evening!

Here's to a Happy New year! Now, just need to finish getting ready for baby to come! Only a few more weeks and I'm seriously in count-down mode! If you saw how swollen I was you would be too ;-)