BAILEY AND BABY BROTHER...

Bailey loves her brother. She's always telling him how cute he is; she's very gentle with him and she's a great helper! These pictures were taken around lunch today, after Boo got home from school.

ONE WEEK ALREADY....

I am amazed at how quickly time goes by...tonight at 6:08pm, Brandon will be one week old. One week already! I am blown away by the thought that only one week ago, he was still in my belly; that we had yet to meet him. That one week ago I was laboring to get him out of my body. Time goes by much too quickly for me (okay, not the labor part...but the rest of the week :o). If you've read some of my earlier posts with Boo, you'll see me say this over and over....time goes by much too quickly.

Brandon is such a sweet boy. He is a very pretty baby (if this Mommy may say so herself :o). He's pretty mellow except when he wants to eat. Oh my gosh, when this boy wants to eat...he wants to eat NOW. Because he usually wakes up to eat, I would try changing his diaper before feeding him...yeah, I've learned that does not work. I've never seen such a tiny person get so incredibly angry if he is not given food right when he demands it! It's actually pretty comical...poor baby :o) Brandon Elijah, like his big sister, inherited his Daddy's beautiful lips. They are sooo kissable! I've been fighting a cold these past few days and it's been very tough for me not to just keep kissing him! They are the sweetest thing..actually, every part of him is. I could just eat him up. His legs are chicken legs (also like Daddy's :o) and he has very long fingers and toes. I love baby's little hands, so tiny yet so totally complete. Little fingers, knuckles, nails...they're amazing.

So...one week already. We praise God for you baby boy. Your Mommy, Daddy and big sister all adore you. You complete our family....

SO VERY, VERY THANKFUL...

Thankful...that seems like such a small word for the emotions that I am feeling today. As I look at my children, I am completely humbled by God's blessings in my life. Bailey is the light of my life...she filled arms which were empty, she took away the ache in my heart. Boo made me a Mommy. Brandon Elijah...he melts me. He humbles me before Christ as I recognize the obstacles we faced to get him here. Brandon will make me a better Mommy.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my family...for my wonderful husband and my beautiful children, as well as the family that has always been my support.

May each of you be blessed on this wonderful day. Happy Thanksgiving!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD.... BRANDON ELIJAH SIVER

Saturday, November 19th, 2011 at 6:08pm....our lives changed forever. Brandon Elijah Siver became an official member of our family, weighing in at 7lbs 8ounces and 20.5 inches long. While I am blessed and my body handles pregnancy well, my babies do not want to leave my body and Brandon, like his sister, made the travel a difficult one. It seemed he didn't really want to come out and it wasn't until my OB threatened the forceps that he finally decided to give in and join the world. While the work was even more difficult this time around....Praise God if he wasn't (isn't) worth every single piece of energy I had to put into it. He is beautiful and Bailey is a wonderful, wonderful big sister.

Today is our first day home as a family of four and we're getting settled. We thank God for each of you who has prayed us through this journey. We know that you are joining with us in celebration. Special thanks to our parents/family for their support and to my "sister" Glenna who, without her support, these last few days would have been especially rough of Boo. We love each of you.

CHANGE IS COMING....

Hard to believe it but, this will be my last post before giving birth to our second miracle. If all goes as planned, Brandon Elijah should be born on Saturday, November the 19th. My final ob appointment is scheduled for tomorrow and I should (hopefully) receive the paperwork for my induction. Even though I knew it would, it still amazes me just how quickly this pregnancy went by and while I am so excited to see this little man and know that he is healthy....part of me is sad because I know that our family dynamic will change. Boo will no longer be our only miracle, our sole focus, but she'll have a baby brother taking part of that. She's going to be such a great big sister though...that's what I remember when I start to feel sad. I think of my brothers and how much I adore them...I can't imagine not having them in my life; I'm so excited that Bailey is going to know that kind of love.

This past weekend we put the infant car seat in the van, along with the sit/stand stroller and infant stroller (thanks for letting me borrow that G!). I also decorated the inside of our home for Christmas and for the first time, we have four stockings hung. That's kind of fun :) Yes...I know it's not even Thanksgiving, but I've been watching Christmas movies on TV for the past couple of weeks and (of course) the stores are already decorated so...I was in the mood :)

Thanks to each of you who love us, support us and (most of all) pray for us. Please join with us in trusting Christ for a safe delivery, a healthy baby and a smooth transition. Love you all...

ALWAYS THE HELPER...

Bailey LOVES to help...especially if helping requires tools and/or somewhere where she's usually not suppose to go (like under the bathroom sink). The pop-up on our sink broke, so Boo helped Daddy make the repair. They make a great team! :)

WHERE ARE....MY FEET?

Yep...that's my question this week. WHERE are my feet?

Not only can I not see them (unless I lean way out and look over my belly) but...when I do see them they are swollen! I no longer have ankles or calf muscles really...just stumps. Not only are they swollen, but oh my gosh can they hurt! Tom has been wonderful rubbing my feet daily...actually, sometimes twice a day (especially these last couple of weeks). But you know what?? I'd do it all over. I am so thankful for the opportunity to carry this child. Even though it's killing my body this time around, I'm really not complaining. It is a blessing.

Still, I just need to know....where are my feet??

Looking OVER my belly down at my feet...

Sock marks because my feet/ankles/legs are so swollen
Thumb print because my ankle is SO swollen that if I press it,the thumb print stays there!

TRICK OR TREAT...

Last week Boo's school had a fall festival. Because we had done our trick-or-treating at Disney, Bailey was satisfied with her school party so we got off lucky and didn't actually have to venture out on Halloween :) Besides, between her school and Disney (plus the fact that we only had one trick-or-treater at our house for the THREE bags of candy that I bought) well....let's just say that we have enough candy to get us through until next October :)

Boo had a great time at the fall festival! In the pictures below, you'll see a little blond girl next to her. This is Reese and she and Bailey are joined at the hip at school. Reese and her parents also go to our church, which is how the girls first got to know each other around age 2. It's so nice for them both to have a good friend at school. The school had games (for candy of course), a hay ride and each classroom had a party with food and decorations. It was very cute and a lot of fun.

On the baby end...all is good. I'm now 37 weeks and officially "full term". Overall, feeling pretty good; we're getting very excited to meet this little man :)

BABY HAS THE HICCUPS...

Sorry...you can actually see these SOOO much better on our video camera! Something happens to the video when you put it on the blog :( If you could watch this in person, my entire stomach can literally jump sometimes! Brandon can thank YiaYia for these :)