NBB

NBB. That is NICU code for NEWBORN BABY BOY!!! As in, that's what we're holding right now. As in, born this morning at 8:03am. As in, weighs 8 lbs 1 oz and is 20 inches long. Oh and did we mention cute, cute, cute with adorable blondish-brown hair and white-blonde eyebrows? Well, he is. And we are. And he did.

Much more to come...including pictures if I can get the dang things to load.

Oh, and to answer your questions:
No, we don't have a name.
Yes, things seem very solid--like this will go through.
No, we haven't introduced the kids yet (they don't even know about the little guy quite yet).
Yes, it does feel surreal. Like a dream or something.
Yes, he is very healthy and very cute.

BUMblebees

For those of you who have confessed that you are checking my blog once an hour (ahem SEASON and STACY!)...I thought I'd at least offer up some humor. ;)

On a recent stop at the grocery store (NOT WalMart in case you were wondering), I was trying my darnedest to hurry through the store (again at my least favorite store hour--5-6ish pm) so that I could get home, make a quick dinner, and get to work. As I was standing in the crowded aisle, staring at a vast array of canned tomato products I saw Milo assaulting his sister with...his bum. His rear. His backside. He was attempting to chase her in a circle. With his bum. While buzzing at her.

The after-work-grocery-shoppers around us were already watching and snickering a bit. When I tried to rein them in with a, "Um, what are you doing?", the entertainment value skyrocketed.

Milo: "I'm trying to buzz her! I mean sting her! I'm a bumblebee Mom!"
Isabel: "And I'm a little girl mom! About to get stung by a bee!"
Me: "Okay, that's fine but could you please stop chasing your sister with your...bum?"
(More snickering around us and now people are just flat-out staring.)
Milo: "But Mom, my stinger is on my bum! I'm a BUMBLEBEE Mom!"
(More buzzing and bum-chasing as I try to herd them in the direction of the checkout line.)
Isabel: "Mom, how do bumblebees sting people anyways?"
Milo: "Yeah, and how do they poop?"
(Heads around us nearly snap off as people turn to see a. )where this is coming from b.) what my response will be and c.) how many shades of red I can turn.)
Me: "Um...well...they...um..."
Milo: "Because if their stingers are on their bums then how would the poop get out?"
Me: "Well, honey...um...they...you know what, we'll talk about this in car AFTER we buy our groceries okay?"
(Collective sigh of disappointment from my fellow shoppers. I'm sure they couldn't wait to hear what I was going to say--they would have been even more disappointed if they'd heard the continuation in the car.)
Isabel: "Mom, I think that since bumblebees have so many legs, their poop must just come out from between some of those legs. Because their stinger is already on their bum so the poop really couldn't get out that way huh!"
Me: "Uh, yes. I think you're probably right Isabel."

Don't you wish you shopped at my grocery store???

Also, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACY to my little sister. She's 27 today!!! Holy cow that makes me feel old. Anyway, nothing like a birthday shout out to make the blogstalking worthwhile right sis? ;)

NBY

NBY. That's NICU whiteboard code for "Not Born Yet". As in, the baby that we hope will be ours still has not been born. I know, I know. You're thinking, "WHAT?!" and "Oh the agony of waiting!!". I'm thinking, "YOU'RE RIGHT!".

So, just a few pointers on how to occupy your time whilst waiting for the baby that you hope will soon join your family.

1. Work. Although this may seem terribly aggravating (especially since you will likely be getting very little sleep as you are incredibly anxious and you are busy checking to make sure that you didn't somehow miss the "loud as a siren" text message alert on your phone umpteen times per night) working will actually be the best distraction. Amazing how fast 12 hours can fly by when you know what is hitting the fan all night long.

2. Work some more. Seriously, it's the only really good (read: effective) distraction.

3. Check out some great books from the library. Need some ideas? Well, we just happen to have a few!

Fairy Tales!

After Anna had an excellent post about fairy tales, little girls, and her efforts to introduce her girls to the real versions of some of the fairy tales, I was inspired! We checked out this version of Beauty and the Beast (by Mercer Mayer) and have been on a weekly quest ever since! This week it is Rumpestiltskin.

Finn and the Fairies.

I've been trying to balance Isabel's love of princess stories with some fairies and the occasional ballerina. We stumbled on this book and loved it! Such great illustrations and such a fun story--really a magical fairy story.

Sally Jean the Bicycle Queen.

This shot its way onto our list of best children's books ever. Illustrations are great and the story is even better. Sally loves to ride her bike (hits home with us!) and, eventually, outgrows her favorite bike. Her parents don't have money to buy her a new bike so she has to figure out how to earn money herself. She does really cute things like set up a bicycle repair clinic. Eventually, she realizes that she could just make a bike out of some used bike parts and she puts together quite the bike! So cute. Such a great message. We read it almost every day that we had it checked out.

These is my Words and the rest of the Sara Agnes Prine series.

If you are a fan of Grami Tami's blog, you already know about these books. If not, let me tell you! They are fantastic. Amazing. Beautifully written. Incredible. Adventerous. Romantic (I'm usually so blah about romantic books but this is so different). Suspenseful. If you ever wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder--or even if you didn't--these books are for you. They take you away and totally keep you up at night.

4. Cook. Or Bake. If you are lucky enough to have yummy apple pie filling in the freezer from Kirsta then you could put that in a ready-made crust and call it good. Be careful though. You're going to be pretty stressed and, thus, liable to eat the whole thing by yourself. Or pretty close. If you are trying to be healthy, you could make a Strawberry Spinach Salad by tossing together: sliced strawberries, baby spinach, mixed greens, sugared walnuts or almonds (toss a bunch in a dry skillet with a handful of sugar and some water...cook slowly until they brown and the water evaporates--watch them close!), blue cheese or feta cheese, small-medium chunks of green apple, and the optional thinly sliced red onion. Serve it with Briana's Blush Wine Vinaigrette or Briana's Poppyseed dressing.

5. Try to stick to your regular routine. Hit the gym, watch your stories (ha ha), take the kids to the park. This will be easier said than done because, somehow, sitting at home worrying will hold a bizarre appeal. ;)

6. Purchase cute crib bedding for only $12 (because you have an old PayPal credit that you forgot about) on eBay. Admire it in the package but you might be too chicken to actually put it up. Or the crib.

7. Hang out with your fam. They will be nervous like you and they will be a tiny bit hopeful like you. They will save your sanity with their hugs and their love.

8. Hang out with your friends. They will be funny and they will be supportive. And did I mention funny?

9. Read the awesome email that you got from your friend via blogging, Jess. Then, read it again and again. She will have recently gone through this same experience and totally "get it". She might make you cry a teensy bit when she sends you a very thoughtful present.

10. If the preceeding 9 things don't work, eat your weight in Girl Scout Cookies. Then, if you feel a bit guilty about that, eat an apple and proceed to eat the other box.

Nothing to say really.

Just thought I'd update on "the situation". Well, there's not much to say really. Our birthmom is still planning on relinquishing to us. She is still pregnant (due date is next week) and is communicating with us a bit more frequently than she was (yay!). Don't know if it's a boy or girl. Still hoping and praying that everything works out. Still hoping and praying that the baby is healthy. :)

Sorry, it's not much of an update but I figured people are wondering (well, I figured as much and the emails/texts/phone calls definitely clued me in to the wondering).

I don't even have a cute-even-though-it's-not-related-to-this-post-picture for you to admire!

How much to say and when to say it.

I (okay "we") are not sure how much to say. Or when to say it. But...here goes: We've been picked. Again. She's due in two weeks (ACK!) and lives here in Colorado. We're really hoping this is "the one". We'll keep you posted...although, honestly, there may not be much to tell until it happens. Or doesn't happen. :)

Marrying Milo

A few cute, cute things Milo has said in the past few weeks...

Lisa Loeb called...she likes Isabel's new glasses.

Milo has gone through a few different phases where he is super anxious about something in the very distant future...say dying or...growing up...or (lately) getting married.

As usual, Isabel has a plan. She has a list of people she may marry when the time comes. Milo, on the other hand, is so distressed at the prospect of having to figure out who to marry. Hence, the following two comments:

Walking around WalMart (least favorite store) at around 5pm (least favorite time to be in any store) with the kids, I vaguely noticed that they were holding hands. As we made our way through the produce section (trying so hard to hurry; seriously, hate this store), Milo stopped dead in his tracks, let out a big deep sigh, grabbed Issy's other hand in his (now holding both of her hands), looked into her eyes and said, "Issy, I'm just so...sad.". She replied with such cute concern (still holding hands and now with my full attention), "Oh Milo, why are you so sad?" He let out another big deep sigh and said, "Because, Issy, I'm just so sad that I can't marry you when I grow up!". Still holding his hands, she sort of shook her head a bit and then replied, "Oh Milo, that would be ILLEGAL! Don't worry, we have plenty of friends for you to marry. There's Laila and Maycee and...". Here he let go of one of her hands and said, "I know! But I don't want to marry them! I just want to marry you!".

Seriously, one of the cutest exchanges EVER.

Milo, wearing his favorite footsie jammies ever (his "bear jammies" as they're known). He's super sad that they are starting to give him a perma-wedgie since he's getting so tall. ;)

Flash forward a few days.

I was driving to my parents house with the kids (our almost-every-Wednesday outing for family dinner). Milo had been quiet for most of the ride when he piped up with, "Mom, if a grandma doesn't have anyone that she is married to and one of her grandkids grows up then can they marry her?". Thinking that he was thinking of my mom (since we were on our way to her house and all), I said, "Oh honey, are you worried about Grandma Kim? Do you mean if Grandpa Manuel died or something? Who would she marry?". When I peered at him in the rearview mirror, he looked at me incredulously and said, "What?! No! I was talking about Grandma Cathryn! She is our only grandma that isn't married! Why did you say Grandpa is going to die?". Cue the backpeddling on my part! (Apparently, Kurt has a little competition ahead.) Let's just say that Milo was, once again, sorely disappointed to learn that he cannot marry ANY family members. Not even his grandma.

Sweet. And sad. And a little funny.

Milo and Isabel laying on the couch together cuddling after he got her blankies and her stuffed cat.

And finally, yet another case of Milo being the sweetest boy ever.

Last night, Milo and Isabel were having a difficult time getting along (read: they were fighting like little heathens all the way through dinner). There was much crying and wailing. People were sent away from the table etc. etc.. After dinner, Isabel (who has not been feeling well--she was the last of the four of us to get the latest illness and, thus, the last to get well) laid on the couch with her pillow. She called to Milo from the couch and asked if he would do her a favor (albeit in the most valiant effort at a "sick" voice she could muster) and get her some blankets. He scampered from the table to her side and said, "Sure Issy! Of course I will do you a favor because I love you!"

Sweetest. Boy. Ever.

Snowshoeing Success!

Saturday, we finally had a successful snowshoeing adventure! The weather was beautiful--tons of sunshine, not too cold, and very little wind. We headed up to Cameron Pass with my parents and my niece and had so much fun. This was the longest the kids have gone out on their snowshoes and they had a blast!! (However, we did learn that gloves are not necessarily the place to skimp when it comes to kids' clothes for snowshoeing. We had some seriously cold hands at the end.)

We also stopped on the way home for some quick sledding. The kids thought it was okay. Spencer, however, was like some sort of crazed teenager throwing himself down the face of this hill with no regard for safety or wife (who was watching from the car).

This guy and his friend nearly drove us off the road on our way up. As we were coming around a a bend I thought, "Weird! That looks like a moose. Oh, and that looks like another moose! Walking into the road!!!!!!" Spencer stopped in plenty of time but it gave us both a serious panic attack.

A bunch of crazy people were backcountry skiing up on this peak. I can't even begin to fathom how they got up there--let alone the skiing down that was, apparently, their goal!

The whole fam. :) There were many a joke about how it was a good thing that Spencer was wearing glasses on this trip so he couldn't ruin a perfectly good family picture with his closed eyes. ;) (Refer to our last snowshoeing attempt in our Christmas post.)

The kids checking out "Snow White's House". Why they called it that, we don't know.

Spencer and the twins trekking across a snowfield.

Isabel has been wearing her new (pink!!!) snowpants around the house for a solid week. She loves the sound they make when she walks. :) Funny girl. And, she was saying that she was Pinkalicious this day (refer to the children's book of the same name).

Milo on the other hand? Like a swollen tick. Ralphie's brother. Anyone need anymore hints?

Isabel enjoying hot chocolate from Grandma after sledding. This was also after she had a meltdown of colossal proportions because her hands had gone numb. :( Nothing a warm car and a mom couldn't fix in quick time but she was FREAKED OUT to say the least.

Milo getting all cozy in his carseat after he took off all of his puffy snow clothes.