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.