oh, he loves her!

Tonight Shiloh told me that Brynna's "so cute I could just

chew on her all day."

That's sweet, Shiloh. In a very strange, creepy way.

eli again...

At dinner tonight:

Eli: "Mom, what's this stuff called?"
Me: "Stew."
Eli: "Oh. Well, I don't like stew, sorry."

At least he's honest...

maybe we should enunciate...

Have you ever noticed that if you say "Adam and Eve" really fast it sounds like "Adam Neve"? 

Well, Eli has. And that's what he calls her. Neve. 

I hope he always does. :)

blessed is the one

I currently LOVE this song from Sovereign Grace and cannot get it out of my head. It's a good one to get stuck on, though.

Blessed is the one whose sins are overcome

Whom God has sheltered deep within His grace

Blessed is the one who trusts in God the Son

His steadfast love the sinner’s hiding place

Jesus, Your blood covers all my sin

Jesus, Your love draws my heart to sing

What a Savior, Jesus

I will always hide at my Savior’s side

I find my refuge in His sovereign care

When the waters rise, God will hear my cries

His steadfast love will hold me safely there

Words and music by Doug Plank

prayer

Shiloh at dinner tonight:

"...and thank you that Mommy made a really yummy dessert for Daddy and that was really kind of her and they smooch every day. Amen."

this is for auntie sue...

We were driving the other night, and Izaak noticed a (slightly overweight) guy jogging. He also noticed (and said outloud) "It looks like that guy has a herniated belly button." [gross.]

Shiloh's response? "Um, did he eat it?"

I wonder what he thought herniated meant... :)

the doll

I wanted Brynna's first doll to be perfect. Or at least special in some way. I had planned on finding one for her first Christmas, and looked and looked, but just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Actually, there are some pretty perfect dolls on Etsy, but I just can't justify $90 on a doll...

I love the look of handmade, but once I got a picture in my head of what I wanted I couldn't find it anywhere. I have that problem a lot. Anyway, I remembered that my mom had brought a box of my old stuff down with her recently and that one of my old dolls was in there. It happened to be a doll that had been made for me as a little girl (and I just can't keep to myself the fact that my brothers both have boy dolls, too :) So I decided that I would just update that one a bit and give it to Brynna for her first birthday. And I have to admit, I don't think I've ever had quite as much fun sewing as I did working on this project. :) She got a new dress, jacket, and boots, and a hat and scarf. I really wanted to make new hair, but did you know that it's pretty much impossible to put new wool felt hair on a doll that is already stuffed? Well, it is. Just in case you were wondering. So she's got the old yarn hair, but no more bangs.

Here she is before:

And after:

Brynna LOVES her

And I have to post this video... this is what Brynna does every single time we hand her doll to her.

Oh - and this was my other big project for Brynna's birthday - still unfinished, but here's her giant B ribbon board.

"mom, i was just..."

words you never want to hear from your two-year-old...


Shiloh and I were vacuuming (we have two vacuums so I was doing the kitchen and Shi was doing the living room. Yes, it's great. :) and I heard Shiloh yelling for Eli. That was my first warning - if I can't find Eli, it usually means something not good. But instead of stopping, I just finished the kitchen quick. When I turned off the vacuum, I heard water running. My second warning.


When I opened the bathroom door, there was Eli, sink plugged, water overflowing, washing.......... the tv remote. "But Mom, I was just washing my hands!" 


The new rule: don't turn the water on until you ask mommy. 


Oh - did I mention that the remote he was washing is the remote to our digital box, which doesn't have an on/off switch other than the remote? I guess we'll be good friends with hulu for a while...

birthday boy

I love a good getaway with my man. And we've decided that birthdays are a pretty good excuse to plan them, so that's become our tradition. (It's been a tradition for MY birthday since we got married because I'm married to the most wonderful surprise-planner ever, but it's a new tradition for HIS birthday because, unfortunately, I'm not quite as good at planning...but I'm getting better).

So a few Friday mornings ago, my wonderful sister-in-law loaded up her girls and tromped over to our place to stay for the night - and, might I add, brought food for everyone too!!!

We had a great time in Richmond again, eating good food, watching some basketball, and even squeezing a nap in! (you know you've got a housefull of kids when you spend you're time away taking a nap!!!)

I love you, Babe! Thanks for being so, so wonderful. Enjoy your last year being twenty-something! ;)

found this the other day

I had written down a conversation the boys had back in October and just HAD to share it. 

I guess it's more like enlightening wisdom from Shiloh than a conversation...

Shiloh was drinking his milk and talking to Eli at dinner, and this is how it went.

"Eli, did you know this comes from cows? 

You squeeze their.................weenies and milk comes out. They have two weenies. They're different than us. Isn't it weird that they have two weenies? Eli, isn't it weird that MILK comes out of their weenies?!?!"

This is life with two little boys.

what a weekend!

Whew! What a weekend!

Saturday morning, as we were finishing up breakfast, a good friend called. As soon as I answered, I knew. She was in labor. Earlier than planned. So we loaded up the kids and headed out to pick up their two boys for the night. Our kid cart on our grocery trip was a little fuller than usual. (Thankfully Izaak didn't have to go to work until right before lunch, otherwise the groceries would not have been got!) The bathtub was also a little more crowded than usual on Saturday night.

Amazingly enough, we were more than on time for church Sunday morning

(mostly thanks to my amazing hubby and a box of fruity Cheerios).

On Sunday afternoon, I took the boys to meet their new baby brother - adorable, by the way. Then, brought the oldest one back home and arrived back at our house just in time to pick up Shiloh and swap places with Izaak. He took the boys to their Sunday School Valentine's party while I ran inside to get dinner for the rest of us, as well as my nieces who had been dropped off while I was gone so their Mommy and Daddy could head off on a much-needed Valentine's weekend away. Well, in the midst of me deciding what to do for dinner another friend (whose children were also at the V-Day party) called to let me know that they were headed to Moe's for dinner. So we fed Emily and loaded everyone up in the car - off to Moe's! 

After Moe's, Izaak dropped us off at home and went to pick up the boys. I gave bottles and changed clothes and tucked three adorable little girls into their beds - all in the same room - so fun!

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with our friends the Costons while the kids ran off their sugar-high.

Monday morning involved heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes, a run to Walmart with Shiloh to get him a new booster seat for the car (Izaak had forgotten to get Elyse's carseat for the weekend, and Shiloh's been counting the days till Brynna bumps everyone up into the next round of carseats so we just decided now would be a good time), a trip to the park, a quick lunch, and five little ones tucked into bed for naps. I spent the afternoon shampooing the living room carpet (thank you, Gioia, for the much-needed motivation) :) while Izaak worked on seminary stuff. Romantic, huh?

 

We did manage to get in a nice kid-free steak dinner and a crappy movie choice before bed. And, although I didn't get a picture of Izaak and I on this Valentine's Day, I had to add this one of Brynna from Sunday morning. She got the headband from Afton, the shoes from Elyse and Emily, and the leg warmers fro Gemma, and they make the perfect outfit.

In spite of all the craziness, we thoroughly enjoyed our weekend. And slept GREAT on Monday night.

birthday girl

I'm really wishing I could freeze time. I've felt that every moment since Brynna was born. I don't know if it's because she's our baby girl or because she's the most wonderful baby ever, but I'm so sad she's growing up. Knowing that I've loved every stage she's been in this past year makes it easier to remember that I'll love every stage from here on out, but I have to say, I think that if I could freeze time I would. Just for a little bit.

 

my favorite.

 this is our brynna. and this is why i want to freeze time... :)

Here are just a few fun things about our girl:


She ADORES her big brothers. Adores them. Shiloh can always make her smile.
Loves broccoli, sweet potatoes, pasta, and oatmeal. Oh, and birthday cupcakes. Pretty much anything but yogurt.
Only has two teeth and no signs of any more coming soon. But she still beat out her big brother.
She loves to dance. To anything.
Claps and waves and shakes her head no. Doesn't know much sign language yet... just "all done."
Starting to let go and stand alone. I'm guessing it will be another month until she walks.
Loves to play peek-a-boo, hide & seek, and get chased. ALWAYS giggles when Shiloh comes to get her. 
Recently started making funny faces and scrunching up her nose. So fun.
Her favorite books are God Made Spring and Tumble Bumble.
At 12 months, she weighs 19 lb. 4.5 oz. and is 29 inches long. 
She's such a snuggle bug. Still sucks the first two fingers on her left hand, and anytime she gets sad or frustrated she'll just plop her head on your shoulder and those little fingers in her mouth and everything's ok. It's adorable.
She's the easiest person in the world to love. 


Brynna-girl, we love you so much and are so thankful for the sunshine you bring to our lives. We're excited to see the Lord work in your life as you grow up.

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger

And it's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming

So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have, honey

If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart

And no one will desert you

Just try to never grow up, never grow up

-taylor swift-

 

And... since this post isn't long enough... here's Brynna's birth story.

40 weeks and 6 days. So much for coming early. I started having contractions around 30 weeks with Brynna, and with the boys I didn’t even feel Braxton Hicks until “Labor Day”. So we (and everyone else we knew) were convinced she was coming early. I kept telling myself not to get my hopes up, but we all do, right? We always hold out hope we won’t make it to that dreadful due date. At least I do…

I had two big desires going into this labor: no pain meds and no induction. With each of the boys they gave me Nubain/Demerol at the last minute, just when I was finishing up transition and ready to push. That's worthless. I decided to do it on my own this time. With each of the boys I was induced; Shiloh because I got impatient and Eli because he needed to come out and grow. This time, although ideally I wanted to wait, I decided that since my doctor had earned my trust with Eli, I would listen if she really thought it was best and Izaak and I both agreed on whatever our decision was.

So…February 2^nd and 3^rd came and went, and I had a doc’s appointment on the 4^th for another ultrasound and non-stress test. (The ultrasound guessed she was 7 pounds even, and the tech thought that was a little on the high side…if only). It took a long time to get the reactions from Brynna that they wanted, but eventually everything looked good. I was 3cm and 70%. My doctor wanted to schedule an induction for Monday, February 8, 6 days past my due date, and for several reasons I had her put it on the calendar. First, it would guarantee that she would be able to be there for the delivery, which I also really wanted. Second, it worked well for planning – our babysitters were headed out of town in the middle of the week. There were a few other things in my head too, that just made me feel ok about it. And Izaak and I were on the same page. We did however, pray, pray, pray that she would come on her own beforehand…

I started having contractions late Thursday afternoon, inconsistently every 7-15 minutes. That lasted until Monday morning. We called L&D at 6am. They were full, but said they’d call me later in the morning and would probably have room then. I stayed downstairs and bounced on my exercise ball and watched the news, then went up and got ready for the day. We were planning on heading over to the park for a walk, but L&D called at 9:45 and told us to come in at 10:30. So we finished throwing our stuff together, dropped the boys off at Jordan and Sue’s, and made our way to Sentara Leigh.

By the time I was all checked in and comfy, it was 11:30am. I was at 4cm and 80% - at least my weekend of “pre-labor” hadn’t been for nothing. Those worthless contractions I had been having all weekend weren’t completely worthless after all. I decided I wanted to have them break my water and wait a bit to see if that would start things off without Pitocin. So at 11:35am, the NP broke my water and I tried not to get my hopes up for a baby by dinnertime (although that’s exactly what I was hoping for).

Originally my Dr. had said she would give me an hour after breaking my water before starting Pitocin. But she was still next door at the office, and L&D was pretty busy that Monday, so I got more time.  At 1:30, my nurse came in and said she wanted to start the Pitocin. I had been having contractions more consistently, but they were still 7 minutes apart and I didn’t feel like they were very strong. I was going to ask her to wait until 2, but didn’t have to because she didn’t make it back to my room until a few minutes after 2. At 2:15pm she started me on the lowest dose. The contractions started coming a bit closer together and stronger within a few minutes, but I still didn’t feel like they were working hard enough. (I spent most of this labor watching the clock and timing everything…) At 2:45 she came in and checked me again and said, “Wow, you’re a really loose 8!” (Yes, she said “really loose”…) Izaak and I were shocked; I was hoping for a 5!

By 3pm my contractions were right on top of each other so my nurse shut off the Pitocin. I only had about 30 seconds in between but they were only lasting about 30 seconds. Once again I was really annoyed because I was sure they weren’t lasting long enough to accomplish anything, and I remember complaining about it to Izaak.

My Dr. came in at 3:15 and checked me again and had me try a push. She said “Ok, maybe I’ll see you again in an hour!” and headed out into the hall. By this point I could not stay in bed, so I got up to sit on a birthing ball and Brynna’s heart rate dropped. So I climbed up on the bed on all fours and leaned over the ball. Immediately I had to push. And I mean immediately. So someone ran out to the hall to get my doc, I flipped back over, and she was already crowning. They asked me not to push while they got everything ready, but then I sat around waiting for another contraction… Dr. HP said to go ahead and push, and…well…out she came! Seriously, I pushed 3 times.

Brynna Rie Toliver was born 2/8/10 at 3:36 pm. All 8 lb. 4 oz. and 20 ½ inches of her. So much for another tiny baby… Now I know she was big because she was so full of love. :)

i haven't forgotten...

brynna's birthday coming soon.

yes, my baby girl is ONE. I'm trying to pretend it didn't happen, 

but apparently denial doesn't change reality. 

don't get excited. yet.

This post is nothing other than to say I plan on getting back into the world of blogging. Mostly for myself - I'm much better at keeping a record of our lives when I'm caught up on my blog. Although I could look back at my calendar for the the past nine months and fill in a lot of holes; I just don't have that kind of time. I don't think anyone does. 

So... here it comes - pictures, stories, funny things the kids say. Maybe even Brynna's birth story.

Soon.

Actually, I'll just start with my favorite recent Eli quote:

He was sitting on my lap a couple weeks before Christmas singing 

"Merry Merry Christmas! Merry Merry Christmas!" 

(a song he knew from the Bing Crosby cd that Shi loves)

when all of a sudden he stopped and said 

"No, Wait! Mommy, I want marry YOU!!!" 

Yes. I love him. 

just another week

Wednesday: finally made it all the way to the top bunk all by himself.

Thursday: got a little too excited about climbing into the top bunk all by himself and fell out.

Friday: picked bright orange for his very first cast (with a little help from big brother Shiloh).

checking things off...

One of the things on my list lately has been to update this old blog. A few weeks ago I wrote out Brynna's birth story to post, but it just hasn't made it that far. One of these days I'll give her an official blog introduction. For now, a quick update and a few beach photos will have to do.

Since my last post, we’ve had lots of funny, boring, everyday happenings, and we’ve also had some big ones:
finished semester number seven,
took a trip to Branson and met our new niece, Maya Reagan,
enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with siblings,
started semester number eight,
added sweet Brynna Rie to our family,
surprised with the gift of a new-to-us van,
enrolled Shiloh in soccer,
entered the wonderful world of the MacBook,
finished semester number eight,
received a visit from great old friends,
celebrated Eli’s second birthday,
and
said goodbye to Eli’s beautiful curls and hello to spiky hair,
just to name a few.

Now we're spending as many minutes at the beach with Daddy as we can before he starts his LAST SUMMER OF SEMINARY and we say goodbye to him until the end of June...

Eli rambling his way to our spot

Brynna soaking up some Vitamin D

"the crazies"

(as they are affectionately called by the one who knows them best)

and my new favorite

(this one may go up on their wall...)

just couldn't resist...

...taking some pictures of these two adorable boys washing dishes. Shiloh also found it necessery to wash Eli's hair...

Ahhh. Does my Mommy heart good.

(Now to get them to still think it's fun when they're twelve...)

what a sweet boy...

This morning as Izaak was leaving for work Shiloh said,

"I love you, Daddy... even if you're different."

Well, isn't that nice!

fun in the tub

Tonight we got out the old bathtub crayons. Silly Boys.

feeling thankful

Maybe it's because I know my parents are up there in the North Country celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving today, but I feel like I've had so many reminders lately about being thankful. And with those reminders to be thankful come reminders of so much to be thankful for...

I'm thankful for a God I can trust no matter what. I'm thankful that He gives me the strength I need. I'm thankful that when He points out sin in our lives, He gives His Holy Spirit to help us change.

I'm thankful for my wonderful, nutty hubby. I'm thankful that he makes spending time with just me a priority, and I'm thankful for the special time we had together on Saturday and Sunday. I'm thankful for the incredible daddy that he is. I'm thankful he married me.

I'm thankful for my two delightful, crazy boys. I'm thankful for every part of their little personalities. I'm thankful that they're healthy and for the way they learn and grow. I'm thankful that no matter how much time, energy, effort, emotion, and work they require, I still miss them when I'm not with them. I'm thankful for little hugs and hearing "I love you Mommy".

I'm thankful for my sweet baby girl who is growing and healthy and wiggling all around.

I'm thankful for friends who reach out in times of need and who help us grow and point us toward Christ, even if it's unintentional and maybe even unknown to them.

And the list could go on and on....