Mighty Mason Joseph

Well this weekend didn't follow the plan that we had!  Danny planned on finishing up the back yard and getting some baby stuff from the attic while I planned on reorganizing the spare bedroom and washing a bunch of baby clothes and then taking Bryce to an Easter Egg hunt and playing at the park.  Instead...
I woke up at 7am to my water breaking.  After a moment of freaking out since I was almost 5 weeks early, we called our wonderful neighbor Aaron to watch Bryce since he was still sleeping!  Aaron, who just got off the late shift was a saint and came and watched Bryce until my dear friend Cori could come watch him after class.  We headed to the hospital unsure if we were indeed having a  baby or if I just needed to be checked out.  Once at the hospital it was clear that we were having a baby sometime soon.  The nurses and doctors at Good Samaritan Hospital were above and beyond helpful in explaining our situation of having a premature baby.  We were given the window of having a perfectly normal baby to having a baby that would need to be in the hospital  until his due date in May.  We were concerned but we understood that our little guy was in God's hands!  They started me on pitocin to start the process.  By 3:30pm, I was in a lot of pain and got the epidural.  We then waited it out for a while.  At about 5:15pm, I felt the need to push and miraculously at 5:21pm, little Mason Joseph was born at 6 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long.  He was able to breathe on his own and had a clear bill of health! My sister was able to hop on several standby flights and make it out Saturday evening while my parents were on a anniversary trip and were gracious to switch their plans and come out as well.  Mason truly is a mighty little guy.  They continued to monitor him the next couple of days, completely astounded how he was eating, keeping his blood sugar leveled, sleeping, and being alert.  We were even able to take him home before the 48 hour mark!  We are beyond blessed at what a healthy little guy we have!  He looks a lot like Bryce with the cute little nose and bright blue eyes.  Bryce is still getting adjusted to having baby brother at home but likes to help with bringing bottles and diapers as a "big helper".  We are loving that Mason is happy and healthy and so thankful for all the prayers for our little guy!

When it Rains, It Pours

I don't need sympathy, I am just simply writing this for you to laugh along with me in the funny and imperfect lives we have and how days are not all rainbows and sunshine but sometimes there are those days when you just sit down and can't decide if you should laugh or cry about the circumstances!
I have been struggling with pregnancy insomnia so I didn't go to sleep til about 11:30 just tossing and turning.  Poor Danny got up with Bryce at 12:30 because he was moaning in his sleep only to find that he had soaked through his diaper and needed an outfit change.  About 3 rolls around and I have horrendous leg cramps (I need to increase my potassium) and can't sleep for a while.  Four rolls around and it happens again!  At this point, I am tired and just hoping for a couple hours of sleep but really just hoping the night would end.  At 4:45 Benton gets sick waking both Danny and myself up.  We throw him outside while cleaning up the floor and realizing why some people choose not to have dogs!  5 o'clock and we both are having a rough time falling asleep and once I finally fall asleep my alarm goes off.  The morning progresses fine until Benton comes in and we realize that he's still internally sick.  I won't go into the gruesome details but as we are cleaning Benton up, the smell overtakes me.  For those of you who have been pregnant, you realize that sometimes as much as you will yourself to not get sick over a smell, the harder it becomes.  So poor Danny is cleaning up Benton while I run to the restroom to throw up!  Ah the glory of pregnancy!  A few hours pass, uneventful until I walk into the kitchen and realize the smell of cinnamon is quite strong only to realize that my candle on my candle warmer ( to cover up the smell from earlier this morning)  has shattered and there is red wax all over my counter, floor, dog bowls, recycling and papers.  I quickly clean up the still wet wax and google how to remove all the dried wax off of multiple surfaces.  During this discovery,  I start to feel a little light headed.  I have been having issues with low blood pressure and quickly take a reading to find I am quite low.  I gobble down some salty crackers with peanut butter and then a couple of spoonfuls of salt as my blood pressure slowly rises back to a normal level.  I laugh!  I am able to get all the wax up off the surfaces ( a small section of tan grout is slightly pink) and thank the Lord for Goof Off and Magic Erasers and the glorious information that Google provides- what did people do before Google?!  The smell of Goof Off makes me slightly queasy and I have to open several windows to air out the house even though it is currently freezing outside and snowing! Bryce was a trooper through my red wax explosion and kept his buddy Evie, who I watch during the day, busy by doing silly antics and making her laugh.  As I am finishing up, I hear a thump and crying.  Bryce's show for his friend somehow included jumping from a stepping stool onto an oven mitt and has ended in a bonked head while Evie laughs- only causing Bryce to cry harder!  Now we sit down to lunch- windows open, Bryce singing the ABC songs, Evie screaming and I realizing how funny life is...even through the craziness.

Games

So Bryce is really into games right now- any game. We play Memory and Candyland on a weekly basis. Hide and Seek is a new favorite game. His favorite spot to hide is underneath throw pillows on the couch! He also loves to find Danny. Our newest obsession is puzzles. He got some puzzles for Christmas and loves to put them together, take them apart and put them back together! It amazes me how he continues to play these games for such a long time. May his attention span stay this long forever! :)

Good Doctor Update

We are currently 28 weeks pregnant and super excited from baby #2.  At 12 weeks, they took a blood test that showed a high protein for some reason.  Babies born with spina bifida often have an increase in this protein so we were concerned.  The first ultrasound showed that our little guy is stubborn and doesn't like to move so they couldn't clear see his brain and spine to rule out spina bifida.  The second ultrasound also concluded that our little guy doesn't like to move and they yet again could not see his spine, but we could see his brain and that looked great.  This third ultrasound has revealed that he does not have spina bifida and he is super healthy! They don't know why this protein is high so as usual I am a medical mystery!   It also shows that he has a big head, like Bryce and that he will be a big guy!  We're just glad he's healthy and can't wait to meet him in 12 weeks!

Snow storm of 2012

We love living in CO where one day it can be 70 degrees one day and two days later it snows 18 inches! Bryce loves being near the snow but not necessarily in the snow. Now Benton on the other hand loves the snow and is a complete snow dog! Here's just a few pics of our adventures in the snow

Baby #2 Name

So as we progress to almost 28 weeks with baby #2, we embark of the daunting task of naming this one.  Now with Bryce, he didn't have name until 2 months until he was born so we still have a month with this one.  Naming boys is so much harder.  Before we had Bryce we came up with a name for a girl and several names for a boy....but still finding a boy name was hard!  This time finding a name for a second boy is even harder! Danny and I agree on most things but names for this child just seem to be something we just can't agree on.  Also finding a name that we both love as much as Bryce is hard as well.  This little guy will most definitely have a great name but it may be determined at the hospital!  :)

winter fun

At Botanic Gardens

Avs Game

Buzz Lightyear outside of Avs game

Last winter, Bryce wasn't very excited about the snow.  He didn't like the whole get-up of snowpants, boots, jacket....but this year is a whole different story.  Bryce even gets excited to drive out of the driveway because we get to "drive on snow".   He wakes up in the morning looking for snow and is so precious.  He really is growing up fast.  He also went to his first hockey game the other night.  We are part of a group called Game Time Memories that allows specials needs kids to attend professional sporting events and have a night out.  We had a great time watching the Avs with our new friend Erik.  Bryce also enjoyed all the music played between plays and wasn't too sure about the craziness when the Avs scored!  :)  We are enjoying this holiday season as everything is decorated beautifully and the wonderment in Bryce's eyes!  To see Christmas in the eyes of a child, makes Christmas so much better!  We are excited for next Christmas as well as we will have 2 little boys with eyes full of wonderment!

All bundled up for the snow

The issue of pain

Three years ago today, I came home from school with a pounding headache scared to even drive and went to bed promptly at 4:30.  To this day, that headache has never left.  Now I realize that there are so many greater ailments than headaches.  I know people that have suffered for years with pain that has debilitated them so they can't work, can't walk, can't drive, can't function....the list goes on and my heart goes out to them!  I understand their pain in going to doctor after doctor to only arrive at nothing.  I understand the frustration of realizing the life you had pre-pain is different.  I understand the struggles to understand God's sovereignty in all of this.  But I also understand realizing that pain is pain and life must go on! I realize how blessed I am that I can still function in my everyday life. I realize that maybe someday they will go away and I hold onto the hope that there may be that day.  But for now I realize that this is how my life is- with headaches.  I am thankful for doctors that have helped me identify some triggers to those big headaches and how to deal when they come.  Three years has been a long time, but I've come so far in understand the brain and diet and health and coping with everyday pain, and though the journey has been time consuming and difficult at times, I feel like I have learned so much.
A song that I always go to when I am feeling overwhelmed is the song by Laura Story called "Blessings" that was written after she found out her husband had brain tumors.  This is a song that I hold on to- though I don't understand why I was allowed to have this pain for three years, I know that in the midst of this God is teaching me and walking me through every step of the way and I need to find those blessings!

Laura Story's Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Another profession checked off the list

So as Danny and I have been remodeling this house, we are constantly checking off jobs we would not want to change our profession to such as being a tiler, dry wall hanger, vanity builder, the list goes on and on.  This weekend we checked off 2!  One is shed building in general. We bought a shed from Home Depot that said it was an easy project.  A lady online boasted she and her son had put in together in a day and since Danny and I feel we are handy (well mostly Danny) we decided we could do it!  Well  2 weekends later and countless aches and pains, we have finally completed the shed.  It is a nice shed and looks good- it still needs a little paint job before I post pics but it's pretty much done.  We never realized that it was going to be such a project to take on.  The last step we had to was roofing.  We have now had our roof done twice and I have seen those guys easily shimmy up there and nail on those shingles.  We found out that those guys have quite a talent. It is a hot and difficult job and doesn't really help that Danny is afraid of heights.  It took us FOREVER but it is finally done!  So we are able to check of home/shed builders and roofer off of things we could change our careers to :)

A little man

Bryce has always been such a chatty kid but now he's a little chatty boy.  He says phrases like "more milk please mom" and "help me please".  He loves to talk and is getting very good at expressing what he wants.  Granted some of the times means whining but we're working on it!  Recently he was taught "no way" and it was super cute until it became the only was he says no.  He doesn't understand how sassy it is but it drive me crazy when I ask him to finish eating his food and he replies, "No way".  We're working on "no thank you" now.  We have also observed that Bryce is very perceptive about a situation.  He is not the kiddo that jumps into something new but monitors the situation and evaluates what he should do next.  It's very cute to watch him with other kiddos and he will watch and think for a while before he joins in playing with them!  He also is at the stage of mimicking everything we do whether that be sneezing or sitting or reading.  If he sees Danny or myself do it, then he has to try as well.  

His dog is eating the bush