Family of 4 month 1

We all survived Oliver's first month of life. He has fit right into our little family. Lilly has adjusted so well to her new brother. I am so grateful to have them close in age because she really could care less that  her time is shared with him. She still loves him so much giving him hugs and kisses every chance she gets. And she always checks on him when he is sleeping and gets very concerned when he cries. I can't believe it has been a month already! Oliver at 1 month-still eats, sleeps, and poops. That pretty much sums him up. As for Lilly, she can say about ten words, is walking, almost running, everywhere and is SO much fun! She is making Bryce and I laugh constantly. Now for some pictures:

Stationery Card

Blue Note Birth Announcement

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A Father's Day Gift

 

Oliver joined our world Friday evening at 8:54pm. He is just perfect! Looks just like his big sister did when she was born. Labor couldn't have gone any better. Once my contractions started it was about 3 hours and I only had to push for 8 minutes. God really blessed me with an amazing labor. I had no medications at all and I feel really good. I just couldn't imagine having to recover from a hard labor and take care of Lilly. I could actually sit on the floor and play with her as soon as she woke up this morning:) I missed her so much while I was away. We came home from the hospital last night so we could wake up on Father's Day at home with her. So far she loves her little brother, gives him lots of hugs. Bryce and I's hearts are so full right now! Happy Father's Day!

Pregnancy update

Still making progress with my pregnancy, I'm at 37 weeks and 4 days. I'm feeling really good.  All the pressure I was having is gone now, I think I just over did it that week. I am still having lots of Braxton and hicks but they go away as soon as I rest. I am just trying to be patient with God's timing of this little guy coming. I know life will be crazy once he's here but I just am not sure which is harder- the last few weeks of pregnancy when I'm not sleeping great, uncomfortable, having to go to the bathroom every half hour, or the newborn stage:) They both seem equally challenging. I just keep taking it day by day and asking God for strength to care for Lilly and also for baby Oliver. So anyways, here is another pregnancy post, probably the last with how not on top of blogging I am:

How far along: 37 weeks and 4 days
Total weight gain: 27lbs
Maternity clothes: oh yeah! I am getting over my clothes and they are starting to become very tight and uncomfortable.
Stretch marks: Not yet(still crossing my fingers)
Sleep: I sleep when I can and when I sleep I am out until I have to go to the bathroom. I have been known to sleep through Lilly waking up from her nap. She is so good about playing in her crib until I come and get her.
Best moment of this week: My time with Lillian. She has been such a cuddle bug this week and giving lots of hugs and kisses.
Miss anything: Looking forward to not being pregnant. I have enjoyed being pregnant but it comes with a lot of restrictions and with my anxiety it can just be consuming making sure I'm doing what I need to, to grow this baby.
Movement: Yes, LOTS! He is running out of room.  
Food cravings: Nothing unusual just hungry all the time.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: If I eat greasy foods or lots of sugar. I also get heartburn from the weirdest foods like twizzlers and homemade cookies but not greasy food or spicy food.
Have you started to show yet: Yes, getting bigger everyday
Gender: Boy!!
Labor signs: Just Braxton and Hicks
Belly button in or out: Still in, I apparently have a deep belly button.
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or moody most of the time: A little bit of both still. I have my moments where everything gets to me but for the most part I am feeling really happy and excited.  
Looking forward to: Lillian being a big sister, holding my son for the first time.

there you have it. I don't have any pictures though, sorry. Bryce takes them on his phone and I very rarely get them downloaded to the computer. I just can't wait for Lillian's reaction to her little brother. She loves babies, anytime she sees one she gets excited and she is so good around them, very gentle and sweet. We installed Oliver's carseat and she keeps looking at it while I drive, I think she is wondering where the baby is. I do think that she is sensing something big is coming though. She has started to throw little fits and tantrums over the last few weeks. All last week when I would change her diaper she would scream and kick and just give me this look like "what are you going to do about it" It really tested my patience and was very discouraging. I don't like discipline. It is really hard and I think it can vary from each child. But Bryce and I have rolled up our sleeves and have got to work. Since Bryce was home for 3 days last weekend it was nice to have his support and she really responds well to him. We are calm but very firm with her and talk to her through it all. It has involved no spanking but I do tap her mouth lightly and say no thank you. Lillian is a very sensitive girl so I have to very careful with how I respond to her behavior. If I raise my voice and yell she just cries and nothing gets through but if I calmly talk to her and tell her no and don't allow her behavior she responds so much better. I know we are no where near the end of this stage. I'm told it only gets worse, WHAT?!! That's doesn't seem fair:) I do feel that the sooner we take charge and discipline the better off we will all be. I have and will continue to take any advice I can get so feel free to give me any through this parenting.
Hopefully my next post will be about Baby Oliver's arrival!!

Spring fever

It took a little longer this year for the weather to start finally being nice and for the wind to stop so we could actually be outside. We have taken full advantage of the spring all most summer like weather! Lilly and I have had lots of park dates and we have even gone to the zoo twice already. The last month has been so fun! My dear friends threw baby Oliver a shower and it was just perfect and I left feeling so full and blessed. The next weekend we celebrated Lilly's 1st birthday! It was such a beautiful day and she really enjoyed herself.

Then it was Mother's Day. It was a wonderful Mothers Day for me. Last year was a little rough. I was a week into being a mom and breastfeeding was at its worst that day and I remember doing a lot of crying. But not this year. Bryce made it very special for me and I did do a lot of crying but I was crying because I was so thankful to be a mom. But Mother's day isn't an easy day for me. I thought all day about the mothers and daughters who are hurting. Whether your a mom with empty arms or a daughter or son without a mom it can be one of the hardest days. A girl in my bible study gave birth to her daughter the week of Mothers Day. Her daughter was only 19 weeks gestation. She was a stillborn. I thought about her. I was at church looking around and noticed another girl I know who wants so badly to be a mom but for some reason she just can't get pregnant. I cried for her. I thought of my Mother in Law who's mom is in heaven now and this is their first Mother's Day apart. So I know Mother's Day is a hard day for so many.

Then, Bryce and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last weekend! We decided to go out in the morning when I am more awake. I'm not much for going out at night these days. I'm usually in bed around 9pm:) Anyways, breakfast was wonderful! We had a great time reflecting on the last 6 years and looking ahead to what we think the next 5 is going to look like.

Now we are just waiting for Baby Oliver to come. We've been busy getting the house organized and crossing off things on our to do list. We finally hung pictures in our house:) I'm going to pack my bag this weekend. I have been feeling a lot of pressure from the baby and think that he might be coming early. I keep praying that he would stay put for a few more weeks but I just don't know. I have an appointment on Thursday and I will be 36weeks and a few days. We will see what the doctor says. I just want to make it at least another week.


Baby Shower!

At the zoo with friends and visiting friends from Seattle Stephanie and Jack. Jack is such a cutie! He weighs more than Lilly and he's about 4 months younger, haha!

 

 

My mom, Lilly and I walking the Women's Run. It took us an hour to walk two miles!

35 weeks

At the zoo again. Lilly made friends with this peacock it was so funny.

Loves swinging with Grandpa

We had a surprise visit from Kensley. This was the only pic we could get of the two of them. They are busy girls:) 

Lilly loves putting bows in her hair, such a girlie girl already.

1st Birthday cake!

She even put up one finger for her 1yr old pics:)

Life Lately

 I have so much to be grateful for and I find myself so overwhelmed that I hardly look around and just give thanks for it all. Lillian will be a year old in just a few weeks! I can't believe it. She is so busy right now that it is hard to imagine just a year ago she was brand new to the world and could only eat, sleep and cry:) She is so close to walking. I am getting excited but also nervous for how even more busy we will be if we weren't already. We also are going through her first big illness-an ear infection. NO FUN! We were in Missoula for a long weekend and she did really good but each evening she would get really irritable and just want to be put to sleep which was really nice but little did we know she was fighting something. Sunday she woke up crying, which she never does and was really out of it. She slept off and on the whole way home. She is always a good sleeper when she is sick but come Monday evening she cried off and on all night and also last night. This morning she cried straight for about two hours with me feeling completely helpless. I took her to the doctor right away. I was so worried something really bad was wrong. It was an ear infection which still isn't fun but I'm relieved it isn't anything too serious. And Bryce is out of town this week so that has made things hard. I am exhausted to say the least and still don't know what I'm going to do with 2 babies. But some good news out of all of this is I'm an Auntie!! Bryce's brother and his wife welcomed a baby girl last night named Evelyn Judith. I still have yet to meet her because I've been taking care of Lilly but she is precious! And my sister in law had a home birth and did beautifully! I guess her labor from start to finish was about 5 hours. Can you believe that?! Mine was almost a whole a day. Praying for a fast one with this little baby boy. What else? I am counting down the weeks until our baby boy is here. 9 weeks left! I'm so thankful for how well it has gone so far. He is still a big mover and I think I have every third trimester symptom but still so excited for his arrival and thankful to be pregnant. Like I said earlier we spent 4 days in Missoula this last weekend. It was so fun! Bryce had to take his PE exam and I am SO thankful it is over with. He feels good about it so that makes me happy. He won't know for a couple months whether he passed but I'm sure he did. At least I hope so, he studied his butt off. The weather wasn't great in Missoula but we still made the best of it. We walked around campus and tried to remember life when we lived there almost nine years ago! And then we spent a lot of time at the hotel because Lillian slept so much. We also took her swimming and if only we had known she wasn't feeling good we wouldn't have done that. She loved it though! She has come a long ways since her first swimming experience. Each time we go she gets more comfortable with being in a huge bath tub.
Life will start to get really busy. Next weekend is a baby shower for my sweet boy. Then the next weekend is Lilly's 1st birthday! We are doing a cinco de mayo party and I am attempting to make a butterfly cake. It is just going to be a small family party since Lilly won't really understand whats going on. Then its Mothers Day and I am really wanting to walk in the Womens Run since I missed it last year. Then the next weekend is Bryce and I's 6th anniversary!! And then its memorial day and we're just a couple weeks away from baby coming! All good stuff! 
Now for some pictures of life lately:

This is what Lilly does when you say smile. I have about 100 pics of her doing this

At the UM campus right by Miller Hall where Bryce lived

Another one of Lilly's silly faces

Enjoying being outside before the cold came back

She is such a silly girl

swimming!!