Meet Brayden James

After being checked at my 38 week appointment and having no signs of a baby coming soon, I opted to schedule a C-Section for the 11th of June.  I really didn't want to go through the same thing as I did with Addy and go late and then have a c-section anyway.  Plus I knew I was going to need help and my mom was available that week to take care of Addy. So she came up monday evening. We also had a family bbq at our house that evening to celebrate elise's birthday. So it was a late night by the time we got everything ready to go.

Here I am arriving at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning! It was so early.

 After getting all checked in at the front and walking up to the mother and baby unit it was just before 6:00.  The actual c-section wasn't scheduled until 7:30 and they spent nearly that whole time getting me ready for surgery. They had a new nurse who was training so it took extra long. What I really remember was that she missed my vein when putting in my IV which is crazy because I have pretty great veins and nurses never have a problem. Also getting a catheter put in is never fun. I was also freezing cold and couldn't get my body to stop shaking.

At 7:30 they wheeled me down to the operating room, which was sooo cold, they numbed me up then Mitch came in and the doctors went to work. It didn't take long for them to decided it was a good thing I came in for the c-section because the lining of my uterus was really thin from all the medications I'd been taking to get pregnant.  At 7:49am our little 6lb 11oz baby boy came kicking and screaming into this world. One on the nurses said he was "a fiesty one", turns out he really is quite mellow. Mitch says the doctors missed his Do Not Disturb sign!  It was fun for me to hear him screaming while they were getting him all cleaned up and checked out. Then the doctor casually informed me that I had a lot of scar tissue that had attached to my bladder so they were going to fix it and I was just going to have the catheter for 10 days. What? I really thought he was joking but he wasn't.  Luckily they brought in our little man about that same time so he was a great distraction while they fixed me up. The anesthesiologist even had everyone sing happy birthday to baby workman since we still didn't have a name picked out yet.

Such a special moment to see and hold that little man. Still gets me teary eyed.

After they finished up, they wheeled me back to the recovery room where I once again got sick many times although it wasn't as bad as with Addy but maybe I was just more prepared for it.  Soon after they brought the baby in and since I was still having sick moments I opted to give him a bottle instead of trying to nurse. We also tried to figure out his name if it was Brayden or Graham and after awhile we started calling him Graham.

After I started feeling better they moved me into a different room and Mitch went to get Addisyn to meet her new brother. It was so sweet to see her although she was a little hesitant at first because I don't think she realized I would be in a hospital bed attached to things.  After a short time she wanted to hold the baby and now she just loves him.

Proof at just how squished these babies are inside the womb.

So brand new and innocent.

The proud papa.

My favorite picture of these two!

A couple of our hospital visitors.
Ted, Elise and Elle also came the day before. Trish brought all the kids on Wednesday. Then we had a few friends and neighbors stop in. 

Why do we take these awful pictures of ourselves?

 So after that first day of calling our baby Graham, I decided that night while nursing that it just didn't fit.  In the morning I told Mitch that I didn't think he was a Graham and he agreed. Although I think he was just tired from sleeping on the tiny pull out couch but he said he was fine with calling him Brayden.

I love his bright eyes.

and his Workman mouth and chin.

And this amazing woman was in and out helping with Addy.  They made some really cute tissue paper flowers which they brought to the hospital and I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them.

That first night Mitch stayed with me at the hospital but the second night I sent him home to help out with Addy.  I loved those first few nights of snuggling and getting to know my new little baby.  I didn't put him in the baby bed because it was still too hard to get up and down out of the bed. So I just kept him with me all the time and soaked in all his preciousness.

Last Day of Preschool

Twice a year the high school child development class does a 4 week preschool.  We signed Addy up for the one in the fall and she loved it so much that we signed her up again for the spring.  I love those four weeks because it gets us in a good routine because we have to be ready by 8:30 which means I can get a lot of stuff done in the day instead of wasting the morning away.  Too bad we quickly fall back into lazy morning routine once school is done :(

This was Addy on the last day of Preschool. 

(although she misses the deadline for kindergarten so she will probably go again this next year)

Love my big girl!

Talent

Who needs handlebars to ride a bike?

Wedding

We went down to Utah last weekend for my sisters wedding, a cousins baptism and my new nephews baby blessing.  It was a pretty crazy weekend but it was so nice to see lots of family. Sadly, I only took two pictures (what is happening to me!).  I even made my sisters wedding cake and I didn't think to take a picture until it was all cut up and only one slice left.  That tells you just how busy we were.  My feet were pretty swollen and sore as we headed back home!

So here we are on our way to the temple.

and at the luncheon.

And one of the happy couple that the photographer posted.

Don't worry once I get a picture of my cake I will post it because I was super proud on myself!

Ice Skating

Got to love her creativity!  Ice skating on the tile using gloves to make it slippery.

She is one of a kind!

We love good weather

Another trip up to Mesa Falls to enjoy our nice spring weather.

Testing out the freezing water!

She didn't last long.

Riley ended up catching a frog and the kids loved it!

Waiting for the fire to be ready for hot dogs and s'mores.

Baby Love

I recently pulled out all the baby stuff to clean off all the dust and make sure it still worked.  Well, this little lady loved having it all out.  She thought it was the greatest addition to all the other baby toys she owns.  I love it because it occupies her for quite awhile so it still hasn't been put away. 

Testing out the carseat.  I took it all apart to wash, then when I went to put it back together I saw the warning label that says not to do what I had just done.  Thankfully, Mitch is an amazing fix it man and figured out some way to thread the straps through the back. 

This picture is from my phone from when we first found out we were expecting.  We'd told Addy there was a baby in my belly and several days later she was playing and told me there was also a baby in her belly!

Notice the stroller next to her chair.  Seriously, her babies go everywhere with her.

Such a good little mother!  Hopefully she isn't too disappointed when an actual baby has to use her 'toys'!

Getting Ready for Brother

One of the many projects we have recently completed was painting the kids room.  With a boy coming along we needed to get rid of the pink walls.  I asked Addy if she wanted blue or orange.  She chose orange.  So the room is now green and orange...sort of looks like a cantaloupe but it works with the colors in their bedding.  I really should take an after picture with everything put back together. 

Surprisingly, this girl was a pretty good painter. 

Mustache/Little Man Baby Shower

I have the sweetest friends in the whole world. Honestly, they are amazing and they put together the cutest 'little man' baby shower for me! It was all around adorable from the invitations, decorations, games and food. They went all out and I loved it all. Just wish I would've taken more pictures of everything.

This was one of the games. We had to guess what was for lunch.

In this game you had to diaper the 'baby balloon' while being blindfolded. It is a good thing we have disposable diapers because I was no good at this game.

Bethany had also put together a little game where you had to guess all these famous people by their mustaches. I think I guessed three of the fifteen or so pictures. Deborah also had lots of diapers for everyone to write notes on. It will make diaper changes 'fun' to see what everyone wrote. Right?

To go along with the mustache theme we had milk and cookies. So cute. Also for a healthier option a veggie tray.

I just love this picture and can't thank these girls enough for putting so much into this shower for me. I just felt so special.

(What I wish you could see are the little bottles filled with m&ms and decorated with bow ties and vests that Deborah made. Seriously, they were so cute!)

The cute mustache party favors!