Breckin's Lego Party

Breckin had decided a while back that for his third birthday he wanted a blue Lego party. There was so much anticipation leading up to his party since he now understood what it meant to have a birthday party! For weeks before hand he would ask each day if it was his party day and he was also convinced he was three much before his actual birthday. After many hours of creativity I think we pulled off a great day of Lego fun with Breckin's friends!

Another request was for brown cake (chocolate) with sprinkles. I had visions of creating a Lego shaped cake but Costco's delicious chocolate cake tasted much better than mine would have and looked pretty cute topped with Lego guys bearing Lego shaped candles. 

 He was also SO excited about his "yata" that was a last minute creation but a big hit! The kids also did Lego coloring, built with Legos and chased bubbles around the yard.

His best buddy from Medford, Tyler, was able to make it! Breckin was completely overwhelmed with excitement the whole party and you could tell that he felt so special that everyone was there for him and enjoying his party!

Life with Tanner

 I can't believe Tanner is already 2 months old! He has been such a wonderful addition to our family, adding happy chaos and lots more snuggles. At his 2 month doctor's appointment Tanner already weighed 13 pounds 6 ounces jumping from the 30th percentile to the 90th! This is so foreign to me as Breckin was always under the 10th and we often had to go in for weight checks in between doctor visits. While my back and arms notice his weight, I love his rolls, they are so kissable! Tanner has gone through a rather fussy period that have been trying at times but he seems to be coming out of it and tends to just be fussy in the evenings. As his fussiness gets better we have been seeing lots more smiles and hearing baby babble, his smiles absolutely melt my heart and make any hard times so worth it. He is a good sleeper, he sleeps for several 2-3 hour periods during the day and does at least one 4-6 hour stretch at night. He is always happy when we are out and about, he loves to be outside and on the go!

Breckin is loving his role as big brother, he often helps me out with Tanner by fetching things or calming him down when he is fussing. He is really cute with how he mimics what he sees Rob and I doing. He talks baby talk to him and calls him Tanny Bananny, his best friend and best brother :) However he does not care for the times when Tanner is screaming, he covers his ears and scowls. I try to spend some alone time with Breckin to give him more attention but he always asks where Tanner is and doesn't like being apart from him! I can't wait to see my two boys grow together!

 

Easter Happenings

Our Easter fun started out dying eggs with Breckin's little friend Levi. They took it very seriously and were very concerned about who's egg was whose while also doing some great color mixing. Thankfully Mimi was here to lend a hand and Tanner wasn't too impressed!

For Easter weekend Bob and Holly came to visit. We went to the Rabbit Romp at the Zoo for an Egg hunt, Breckin thought it was great (he was most impressed by a fuzzy caterpillar Daddy found) and it was a beautiful day for a walk around the Zoo. However I was feeling pretty sore by the end, I think I forgot that I had just given birth two weeks before.

Easter morning was relaxing, the boys got a few things in their Easter bags that I made and then we did a small egg hunt.

The most exciting part of the day was when we got to go ride in Grandpa's big Truck, Breckin thought it was the coolest thing ever! (and Tanner slept through it!)

Tanner's First Week

Oma and Opa came to visit during Tanner's first week which was so nice for Breckin to have some extra love and that they got to get to know Tanner. Rob was still off work so everyone was able to get out of the house while Tanner and I rested. Breckin enjoyed going to the hobby store where he got some new Thomas trains and little glider airplanes. Another outing that we thought Breckin was going to love was going to Evergreen Waterpark, we had talked about it with him and he was so excited to go play in the water and see the big airplanes. However once he got there it was too loud for him (it was spring break so there were lots of kids on top of indoor waterpark sounds), he just kept covering his ears and saying he wanted to go home :( So Daddy brought him home and him and Oma and Opa spent the rest of the day there. Once they came back we went to a special dinner at our favorite Moroccan restaurant where the owners made a special dessert in honor of Tanner. 

The Arrival of Tanner Andrew

Disclaimer: This is long, so skip over if you'd like!

My greatest fear towards the end of pregnancy was that I wouldn't know I was in labor, sounds weird, I know! But I had been having so many contractions for so long that I was just used to them and didn't think I would be able to tell once they meant business! After 36 weeks I was taken off of bedrest and figured each night that it would be the night that I would go into labor. A week later I was convinced that I would go overdue! However on Saturday March 24th it was a gorgeous day and we decided to walk into old town Sherwood and back, this was about a two hour walk and pretty strenuous for big ol' prego me. Then all afternoon it seemed like my contractions were getting worse but I didn't pay too much attention to them. I started timing them in the late afternoon and they were 2-3 minutes apart and I felt pressure but still wasn't convinced. I finally decided that before it got too late I should go get checked out but figured they would send me home. Our sweet friend Sara came over and sat with Breckin after we put him to bed and my dad headed up to take over if needed. I was sent to triage and a nurse checked me, we were all surprised that I was already 6cm and almost 100% effaced! They got me into a room and I enjoyed a long relaxing bath in the jacuzzi tub. I was totally comfortable and when the doctor checked me and I was only at 7cm we decided to try breaking my water. Well things got much more intense at that point and within a half hour I was telling everyone that I felt like I needed to push, the nurse kept telling me not to because she was sure I wasn't ready to yet. After much more insisting on my part she decided to check me and discovered that Tanner's head was right there and things got a little crazy while they tried to get the doctor and things set up. Once the doctor came in, I gave two pushes and Tanner was here! Poor things was purple from coming so quickly but totally perfect!

Tanner Andrew was born at 1:29 a.m. on March 25 weighing 8lbs 3oz and 19inches(I was shocked as he was still 2.5 weeks early!)

Breckin was ecstatic to meet Tanner, he loves him to death and is taking the role of big brother really well!

With Papa

Breckin was tired of pictures at this point

Daddy and his boys

We can't tell what color his eyes are yet but he has a head full of hair!

All ready to go home!

Not so sure about the carseat but liked it once the car was moving

We are loving our new addition! Tanner is so easygoing and really only cries when you change his diaper. He is a loud little guy though, always grunting and making noises, he sounds like a little piglet! He is eating like a champ but I am noticing signs of a food sensitivity so I am cutting out dairy since it is the most likely culprit and hoping that is all it is. He doesn't seem as bad as Breckin was though.

The Last Stretch

I have been really bad at keeping up on our blog but I have an excuse, our computer broke! I am now just trying to pick up with recent events and will do some catch up when I get our pictures off of the old computer.

Anyway, here are the details from last couple months of my pregnancy! First off, belly shots:






I was really uncomfortable this pregnancy, I just always hurt! And to top things off, I had preterm labor complications. The weekend we were supposed to go down to Medford for my baby shower, I had been having contractions all week and finally decided to get checked out because they were very consistent, well the doctor felt like I was at high risk of going into preterm labor and so he didn't want me leaving town. At this point I wasn't on bedrest but was supposed to take things easy and watch for contractions to get worse. Things seemed to be going well until around week 34 when I noticed my contractions closer together and so we went into labor and delivery and they determined that I was in preterm labor and admitted me and put me on Magnesium Sulfate in order to stop contractions. That is some nasty stuff, I got extremely hot and vomited and was pretty miserable while on it! Excuse the gross picture, I was pretty drugged up and puffy!

After three days in the hospital and getting my contractions down to a few per hour I was sent home on strict bedrest. This was very challenging with a two year old who wanted to be right next to me at all times! Thanks to all of our awesome family who came to help out with him, it was bearable. Breckin loved spending quality time with Papa, Cousin Zoe, Aunt Julie and Mimi.


When Mimi was here she helped make these awesome rainbow cupcakes for St. Patrick's day!

A Very Snowy Weekend

We decided that it would be fun to get away for a weekend and head out to one of our favorite spots, Cascade Locks, and enjoy all of the snow. We found a cheap hotel right on the river and arrived later in the evening on Friday, our plan was to get up in the morning and go sledding at Mt. Hood. Well sometime in the early morning on Saturday the power went out. So it was very dark and cold in the hotel when we got up and our free continental breakfast turned into bananas and packaged muffins. We thought that we would head out anyway and that surely the power would be back on by the time we got back later in the day. Every town we came to also had the power out but it was beautiful out and so we continued toward the mountain. However, the closer we got to the mountain the more blizzard-like things turned! By the time we got to the parking lot we could hardly see and we froze walking from the truck to the lodge. Breckin did not think that this snow was fun and sledding didn't seem like a good idea anymore. So we ate lunch at the lodge and headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately the power was still out at the hotel and they said it could be two to three days before it was restored. At this point we sadly headed back home and once home I discovered I had left my favorite necklace (that Rob got me for our wedding) and earrings had been left in the hotel room. I called right away but they were never found, I am so sad :( It turned out to be an adventure filled weekend, just not as we had envisioned it!