(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

Brenden - One Month

Lauren - One Month

Babies! Babies!

Not long after I found out I was pregnant I received a phone call from my friend Shebree. "You were right...we were supposed to be pregnant at the same time." I think I cried more hearing that news than I did when the little line turned blue a few weeks before.

Only a few weeks later my friend Susan, whose wedding I attended when I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant, dropped by the house during lunch. She asked how far along I was. (I believe I was 11 weeks.) "Well...I guess that means I'm 4 weeks." I'm shocked that I didn't wake Brenden up from squealing.

Crazily enough, they both went in yesterday at 5 pm to be induced. Poor Shebree was due May 8th so she was a few days overdue. Susan was due May 24th but her doctor was concerned with pre-eclampsia so they induced her early.

I bugged them both all day today, letting them know I was thinking of them but knowing that they weren't going to be like me, updating facebook every hour. :) Shebree knew she was having a little boy but Susan and her husband opted to wait to find out. I thought for sure Susan was having a boy, too. (I should not go to Vegas...ever.)

Meet her little girl, Ottillie Rene. 6 lbs 9 oz, 18.5 inches long. :) She was born around 4:30 pm.

Thank you Anne, Susan's sister, for posting this photo!

Not 5 minutes after I saw this picture on Susan's sister's facebook page, Shebree sent me a message.

Parker Charles was born at 4:01 pm (5 pm our time...she's in Wyoming.). He weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. and was almost 22 inches long.

Thank you, Shebree, for sharing this picture!

Congratulations to my beautiful, amazing friends and their precious little babies. I am so excited for you all!!! Happy Birthday Ottillie and Parker!

Susan's Baby Shower!

(Yes...right now I am actually in the hospital, hopefully holding a baby and not completely overwhelmed. I typed this post yesterday and scheduled it to post today. I wanted to make sure I finished it before my mind was sufficiently muddled with sleep deprivation and all things Lauren.)

Last Saturday we were able to celebrate the upcoming birth of my friend Susan's little one. I met Susan during my last summer session of college. We ended up being on the same team during a mass game of Monopoly that our sociology professor was using as a tool to teach us about social classes and wealth. She was the type of person who took charge, someone you just couldn't ignore. The game was hilarious! Somehow she decided I was cool enough to sit by (not sure how I convinced her of that!) and eventually we started hanging out when we weren't in class. Since then she's been there for some pretty significant moments in my life. She was at my apartment the morning I texted Tim for the first time, and we all know how that ended up. :) She sat next to me when we graduated from OSU. She flew me out to Chicago for a super fun bachelorette weekend and was the bridesmaid that went out to get us all breakfast from Sonic the morning of my wedding.

I was 5 weeks pregnant at her wedding last August. I found out 3 days before and I had to call and tell her so she wouldn't think it was too strange when I wasn't partaking in the champagne toast. We had a very interesting conversation when I helped her with her train in the bathroom about babies and her plans. I still remember warning her that babies can happen whenever they feel like it and that they don't stick to what you expect very well. (I had told Tim that I didn't want to get pregnant the month I actually got pregnant. Can you say "jinx"?) Apparently I wasn't the only person that mentioned this to her, which should have been a warning sign. Tequila + endless amounts of leisure time = Craig and Susan's first baby!

Since they had such a great time in Mexico it was suggested that the baby shower be Mexican themed. I was asked to be a co-host but I'm not sure I really should have been listed. Susan's cousin, Melissa, did all the invites (my least favorite part) and her sister, Anne, and cousin, Shannon, took care of everything else. I guess I was mostly moral support. :) I did make a platter of Mexican roll-ups that turned out super yummy. I'm saving that recipe for later! Anne saw a great idea for making punch in the baby bath tub that turned out adorable and Shannon made sure we had note cards to predict the sex, birthday, length, and weight. (I picked BOY, May 27th, 7 lbs 12 oz, and 21 inches. I'm totally going to lose.)

What a spread!

So yummy!

The guests ranged from girls still in high school that Susan had babysat to her grandma who, bless her heart, thought 18 inches was long for a baby. (Susan is 5' 7 " and Craig is at least 6' 3" so we were all guessing that the baby would be on the longer side.) She definitely had a wonderful group of people surrounding her and she got a ton of things that she will absolutely use. One of my favorite was a pair of "tickle gloves" that went with a book. My first thought was that Brenden would love them, so I'm sure her little guy or gal will, too.

Tickle gloves!

Very happy to get the essentials. :)

It was a great day and I think, after her freak out moment on the way over where she realized that it wasn't even a year ago that she was celebrating her bachelorette party, she had a fabulous time. Congratulations, Susan!!! If anyone has the energy and stamina to keep up with an infant it's you. I can't wait to see the mothering instinct kick in and watch you become the awesome mommy I know you'll be. Love you!

Congratulations Rachel and Ryan!!!

Just a quick note to say congratulation to my friend Rachel who I worked with at Dr. Foy's office. She had her little boy, Luke, on my birthday!!! In another crazy coincidence, Luke was the exact same size as Brenden...7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. :)

I heard that everyone is doing great! Welcome to the world, Luke!

Happy Birthday Bristol!!!

Meredith, my brother's fiancee', has a new niece! Bristol was born at 10:55 am today, weighs 6 lbs, 9 oz and is 19 inches long. I cannot wait to see her! I hear she is gorgeous!

Congratulations Whitney, Isaac, and Cooper! :)

New Lanie Amaducci Pictures!

I had posted about Lanie's early arrival several weeks ago and I'm happy to post again that she is doing really well! She is up to 3 lbs 6 oz, is eating regularly, starting to maintain her own body temperature and is, of course adorable!

These are her latest pictures...she can finally wear the smallest preemie clothes!

This is Lanie in February.

And this is April! Doing so well!

Getting some love (and food!) from mom.

Awwww!

Big Personality Part 2

As previously mentioned, Brenden has developed a very funny personality. Some of the things are just plain funny, others are weird, and some are scary. (His willingness to go to strangers is good and bad.) So here is a new round of unique things that we have noticed.

He has a very interesting way of eating peanut butter crackers, which he loves. He doesn't just take bites and chew them. He doesn't even stick the whole thing in his mouth, which apparently is something he reserves for nilla wafers. He's decided that he likes to pull them apart and eat the peanut butter first. He scrapes it off with his fingers or teeth, or just sucks on the cracker until it's gone. He won't even start eating the crackers until he's sure that all the peanut butter is gone from all the crackers on his tray. Even when he does start munching on the crackers, he doesn't eat all of them. Half of them end up in his lap, and the rest are distributed between the floor and Riley. I'm pretty sure Riley has gained a few pounds since Brenden figured out how to feed him.

The things that don't frighten him surprise me, especially since most of them are things that kids are supposed to be afraid of. Like loud noises, which he seems to love. I'm not sure if it's a boy thing, or just a Brenden thing, but he loves fireworks and the noise of the vacuum cleaner. Maybe it's because Tim vacuumed around him when we first brought him home so he could become accustomed to the noises. I know it's nothing to do with his ears, since his hearing is fine. He just seems to enjoy them. He also has no problem wandering through the dark dance studio at night when everyone else leaves. We noticed when he was little that he preferred a completely dark room when he fell asleep, but I didn't realize that he would be OK with it when he was running around. I hope that continues when he's older. I was terrified of the dark when I was little and I'd hate for him to inherit that from me.

He has the strange ability to figure out how electronics work, which I'm going to assume comes from having a dad that is an engineer. My brother, who is almost 25 years old, couldn't figure out how to use my cell phone so I figured Brenden wouldn't have a clue how to use it. It took him roughly 30 seconds to figure out how to unlock it and a few more minutes to realize that the pictures on the screen were buttons. I thought it was a fluke, so I handed it to him again later. He knew exactly when way to turn it and had it unlocked even faster. He's seen me use it every day so he probably picked up how to do it from seeing that. Then at Christmas he was handed several different phones from the family and he figured out how to use those as well. He has no problem turning on a TV, either with or without a remote, and learned very quickly that when he swung the Wii remote it made the picture on the TV move. I think he may like it almost as much as Tim and I do.

Pitching during a game of Wii baseball. He's a natural!

So those are the new things that have amazed me. There are several other things, but that would take at least 30 more minutes to type out. I can save a few for later. By then he may be doing something even more crazy. Never a dull moment!

Welcome to the world, Carsyn Rilee!!!

Just a quick post!

Carsyn Rilee Toupe was born a little after 1:30 am on November 20th. She is 6 lbs 9.5 oz and 19 inches long. She is doing great!

Her mom, Jes, started to go eclamptic with numbness and paralysis, which is why they moved the C-section up. Jes will be in the hospital for 24 hours for observation. We are all praying that she gets the rest and healing she needs.

Like...Totally 80's!

It's been a little bit since we've had a chance to post anything on here so we have a couple of busy days to write about. Let's get started!

Before Brenden was born, Tim and I started a tradition we call "Pizza and a Movie Night". We got the idea from our friends Amber and Tucker who have "McDonald's and Movie Night". Since we moved back we have had the pleasure of including some of our friends in our Friday night fun. We alternate where we hold it every week and this last week was at Danny and Maegan's. We loaded up everything that Brenden requires, which comes to a lot since we put him to sleep while we're there. Our packing list included: toys to keep him happy, the pack and play, a comforter, a blanket, a monitor, Barney Bunny, Allegra, medicine dropper, Protopic (his skin allergy medicine), bibs, a bottle, milk, a pacifier, dinner, utensils, Wagon Wheels, overnight diapers, pajamas, his coat, and a hat. I'm sure there are other things that we took with us that I just take for granted are in the diaper bag.

That night Brenden was as full of energy as ever. He wandered from one end of the house to the other, which is much larger than our current house. He played with Danny and Maegan's ferrets (which are the sweetest things and seemed just as curious about Brenden) and handed his cell phone to everyone over and over again until they talked to "grandma". The Friday before we had a hard time getting him to go to sleep in a different place, but this week he seemed to have burned off enough energy and drifted off to sleep without a fight. The adults finally enjoyed a super yummy dinner of Umberto's pizza and then watched Hellboy 2. It was an OK movie...I've seen worse. At about 10 pm we hustled Brenden to the car, keeping our fingers crossed that laying him back down at home wouldn't be too horrible. To our surprise he went straight back to sleep with barely a whimper and we were able to get some much needed rest for the weekend.

Saturday we were in for another surprise. Brenden slept until 8:30 am! Since the time change he's usually woken up by 7:15 am at the latest so Tim and I were shocked, but definitely not going to complain. That night we had plans with our friends so Brenden was headed for an overnight visit with Grandma and Grandpa Warehime. I spent the time during Brenden's morning nap gathering everything he would need (see the above list, plus more food and clothes) while Tim worked out in the garage and cleaned out the gutters. After sadly handing him over to his grandparents, we came back to the house and continued working on the garage. If you have read any of the previous posts, then you know that we were afraid that we were missing several things. Well, we owe the movers a big old apology! While going through a few of the boxes we hadn't had a chance to check, he came upon his tools, the electronic equipment, the VCR, and even the glass tray for the microwave. After a short happy dance, we decided it was time to get ready for the night.

It isn't out of the ordinary for me to take a while to get ready to go out, but it's slightly strange to hear that it took Tim at least 30 minutes to get fully dressed. His preparation took a little bit because it was Totally 80's Night for Lindsey's birthday at the Gray Snail! Thanks to a visit to my parent's closet, my dance teacher Shelly and her amazing collection of 80's costumes, Gordman's and the Dollar Store, we were both decked out in our 80's finest. Tim wore a few popped collared shirts, french rolled his jeans, his dress shoes with no socks and an awesome Member's Only jacket. I donned some leggings, a skirt, a super fringed red sequined shirt, black pumps, and the ultimate sparkly legwarmers. They had reserved the VIP room and we arrived at about the same time as the birthday girl and her entourage. While helping finish the decorations there was a bit of a scary moment when I thought I was going to get kicked out over some confetti. (The bartender we had was just a bit high strung.) But after that we enjoyed a night of totally radical 80's music, Pop Rocks, leg warmers, leotards, Run DMC bling, and of course cake. We have some super sweet pictures from the night which you can see here. :)

Sunday was much less hectic than the previous day. We did a little more work on the garage while we anxiously awaited Brenden's return. I'm sure that it won't get any easier to be without him, at least not until he's a surly teenager. Grandma Warehime brought him back and to everyone's surprise he was in one heck of a nasty mood. We couldn't get him to nap, he wasn't interested in eating, he didn't want any water and he didn't want to be held. We gave up on the nap and took him to Walmart to shop for the week, which he usually enjoys. He didn't act up too badly but was still in a sour mood when we got home. We've decided it was a combination of teething and a small allergic reaction. He had lots of little bumps on his arms, legs and torso which seemed to be pretty itchy. We're still trying to get them to go away, but it's a slow process. He doesn't exactly understand "no scratching" yet. At 7:15 pm we decided that he wasn't going to make it to his normal bedtime at 8:30 pm. We fed him his bottle, slathered him with Protopic, and put him to bed. About 2 seconds later he was asleep and we were ready for bed ourselves.

On a completely different topic, the last 30 days have been filled with many blessings of healthy baby girls! Tomorrow our family will welcome another beautiful baby girl, our niece Carsyn Rilee. She should be born around 9 am in Las Vegas. I know that her mom, dad and big brother are very excited to meet her, as are the rest of us. And of course, pictures will be posted as soon as possible. :)

Like velcro!

Brenden has always been a very social baby. He has never been clingy or needed to be able to see me at all times. At playgroups he never had to be right next to me or on my lap. When we take him out to go shopping or to eat he screams to get attention from complete strangers and then pretends to be shy so they will smile at him. He doesn't hesitate to run after other kids (I've learned to have good reflexes to catch him before he grabs them) or animals, and has always leaned away from me to go to anyone and everyone. So when he screamed at me when I left him with his grandma at the table at church I was shocked. Who is this child? I have always been able to let other people watch him without any sort of fussing. Not only that, he was with his grandma! He doesn't seem to understand that she will spoil him WAY more than I ever would. (Coincidentally, that was the night she shared popcorn and ice cubes with him...EEK!) That same night I also got to hold Bailyr, which was amazing. I cannot believe Brenden was ever that small! I turned around to show her to Brenden and his face contorted into the most horrible sad face imaginable. He then proceeded to scream, and fling and wiggle until I gave her back to her dad and came back to hold him. I can only assume that separation anxiety is kicking in, which was not something I was prepared for. I've started to notice that he is behaving differently at home as well. If I am in the room he wants to be on my lap. If I am standing anywhere near the baby gate to where he can see me, he grabs the gate and rattles it until I look back. When I take him to the dance studio with me he gets upset if I am not paying attention to him and won't let me get anything done until he's being held. I know that he's teething and has a double ear infection, but he's been sick before and hasn't acted this way. I guess it's just one more developmental stage we have to deal with, although it's not as welcome as walking or crawling. He has also learned how to arch his back and fling himself on the floor. Yay for early tantrums...NOT.

We also heard from the insurance adjuster this week. He said that it is almost impossible to prove negligence and that he doesn't want to try. Tim believes it's all about how much money it would take to prove it. The guy did say that if they went after every case that our premiums would be crazy expensive. Guess what...our premium is going to go up anyway if it's not ruled negligence! Unfortunately for Tim, I wasn't about to sit back and let some guy in San Antonio who has never seen our car decide that Tate Boys did nothing wrong. I mean really, wheels don't just fall off of cars! The mechanic said it was one of two things, either the 2 lug nuts that were gone were loose which caused stress on the other 3 and made them snap, or the other 3 lug nuts were too tight, which caused them to shear off and strip the other 2. All I said was "DUH!" I could have told you that the day the wreck happened. So the adjuster agreed to send our case to a subjugation board which will decide whether it will be pursued. We are sending the pictures of the wreck, along with the receipt for the work done on the car to prove how long it had been since the work was done. Hopefully we'll hear something positive, although it doesn't seem like anyone wants to stand behind us. If nothing else, I just need a mechanic to say "This was not a failure of the car, it was human error" so we can go to Tate Boys and try to get our deductable back and a darn good apology for my mom, who is still nervous about driving on Hwy 75. That's the least they should do.

My, my I'm a gripey one today! I really would rather end on a happy note. :) Tim and I have been discussing the fact that Brenden has not had his first hair cut yet. I understand that he has beautiful little curls, but he looks so shabby sometimes! Luckily he's husky so no one has ever thought he was a little girl, which is exactly what happened to Connie when Tim was little. Yep, at one point Tim had beautiful, curly blonde hair! I really need to find a picture. When Brenden grows up and gets upset that his hair isn't straight he won't be able to just blame me! So last night I was looking at old pictures of Brenden and was shocked to be reminded that for a long time the boy was practically bald. He dealt with some pretty awful eczema until he was 7 months old and we're pretty sure that is why he was unable to grow hair. Every time I mention a haircut to Tim he tells me he doesn't want Brenden to be bald again, which is just silly because even if his hair is shorter there is no way he'll look bald. Looking at those pictures, I can see what Tim is so worried about. He does look kind of funny! Our poor, bald baby. How far you have come!

Brenden at 6 months

Brenden at 13 1/2 months.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Since Brenden is only 13 months old and we live right on Yale, which is a busy 4 lane street, we decided Trick or Treating at Tim's work would probably be enough. We dressed Brenden in his puppy dog costume and headed in for some candy. He was not exactly a fan of it, would move his head only slightly, but he didn't cry! And I think he was the cutest puppy EVER!

The next day there was a Halloween Fair at my church in Bartlesville. Since the puppy costume didn't go over very well, we decided to use his other costume, the spider. I think it's just as cute!

For more pictures from Halloween click here.

And CONGRATULATIONS to Jay and Meghan on the birth of their daughter Leah Brooke!!! She was born Oct. 31st, weighing 5 lbs 10 1/2 oz, 19 inches long. Both mommy and baby are doing great and should be able to go home very soon.

Leah, Mommy and Daddy

Hope you all had a wonderful last day of October!

What a long, LONG week.

As if moving into a new house and having the wheel fall off the Explorer wasn't enough, now we are dealing with a sick baby. We knew that he wasn't feeling his best. His nose is runny, he's fussy, he isn't napping well, and he's not eating as well. (Eating was the biggest clue!) Today we finally took him to the doctor and low and behold...double ear infection. Now everything makes sense. His right ear isn't so bad but his left ear is a mess. He's on Ammoxacillin (I probably spelled that wrong) for the next 10 days and then we go back to make sure they have cleared up. I also think he's headed for a growth spurt. At his 12 month appointment he weighed a little under 27 lbs and now he's almost up to 29 lbs. So the poor little guy is dealing with the ears, a couple of mean old molars, AND being tired from a growth spurt. I'm not sure how much more we can take!

On a MUCH happier note, today our cousins Meghan and Jay are going to meet their daughter Leah! We could not be more excited for them! They have waited a long time and have endured more than most people could ever imagine. Leah is so lucky to have such amazing parents!

When it's just meant to be...

My parents and I met on March 11th, 1981. I don't remember anything about it of course, being only 2 days old, but I've heard the story several times. Through a network of different people they were led to Karen. At the time she was 15 years old and only a few months away from having me. As soon as she realized she was pregnant she knew that adoption was the best option for us. So after enduring a pretty rough last couple months including bedrest and back labor, I was born on March 9th and my parents were called immediately. They flew from Hawaii, where they were stationed with the military, to California, and after a few days they flew me to Oklahoma to meet my very extended family. They had been hoping for children for 14 years so my arrival was a pretty big deal.

My family.

For as long as I can remember I knew I was adopted. My parents made sure that I knew I was special because my birth mother had loved me enough to give me to them. Because of this, when I turned 18, I wanted to find my biological mom. My parents supported me and gave me the information I needed to look her up on the internet. Even though I knew other kids that were adopted, no one had looked for their biological parents. I didn't know how it would go, if I would be welcomed or turned away. What if they wanted to just forget about me? What if something had happened to Karen in those 18 years? Thankfully she had a pretty unusual last name and within a day I found my grandpa Ralph, who I immediately wrote to. I included a picture, which was probably pretty scary since I look VERY similar to Karen. He forwarded the letter to Karen and she wrote me back within a week. I cannot imagine what that must have been like for her. I'm just glad that she found the strength to contact me back after so long, not knowing how she would be received on our end. I think I can say with complete certainty that everything turned out even better than anyone could have hoped. My parents will always be my parents, and Karen has become a cool "older sister" type. I can call her about ANYTHING. And I gained some really awesome family members. (Bryan, Jason, Ralph, Pat, Rick, Patrick, Brenda, Dave, Meghan, Jonathan, Phil, Paula, Nick, Chrissy, Jes, Brysen, Carsyn and many more!) My very extended family became a very VERY extended family. I definitely would need a good 20 minutes to recite them all. :)

Brenden and I with Great-Grandma Pat and Great-Grandpa Ralph.

Karen, Chrissy, Brenden and me at the Botanical Gardens in Denver.

Now that I have my own son I can see what a sacrifice Karen made. I'm just so glad that I was able to contact her, to be able to include her in my life and be included in hers. And of course that includes her in Brenden's life, which gives him another grandma to spoil him silly!

Brenden with Grandma Ginger and Grandma Karen.

Karen and Me...a slight resemblance. :)

This blog was not just a random thought that I decided to share with anyone who wanted to read it. When I was pregnant with Brenden there was a couple at my church who were in the process of adopting a little girl. Through several different twists of fate the adoption fell through, and my heart broke for them. They had already held her, fell in love with her, and had her taken away. Every time I went to church I worried that my son, who was so close in age to the daughter that they lost, would bring back those memories and make things worse. This last Friday my mom called to tell me that she had seen a birth announcement in the church bulletin that caught her off guard in the best way possible. On October 13th Melinda and Fred met the little girl that was destined to be their daughter. Their story reminded me of my story. It reminded me how lucky I am to have so many people that love me. And it showed me once again that, even though the path may not make sense, some things are just meant to be.

Miss Bailyr Makenzie Faith!!!