Sunday, January 11, 2009

It's been a while...







She's 4 months old! Can you believe it!??
I've spent a lot of time recently looking back on the last 4 months of our life as a family - and MAN do we have a lot to be thankful for!
Although there is never enough time in the day to get anything done, and I'm now realizing how selfish I was in my prior life - we are adjusting to being a family as best as we can!
In the matter of 4 months, Zig and I went from being a young married couple to being PARENTS! PARENTS!!! Who would have EVER thought that the dramatic, high school sweetheart couple would have grown up to be more in love than ever before - and now the parents of the most beautiful child ever known to man??!! Amazing...
Zig and I recently celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary (Dec. 29)! We didn't really do anything special, since frankly, there isn't much to do around here. Zig had worked extremely late the night before and slept through most of the day. When it came time to have dinner to celebrate, we were both too tired to really go on a date! We ended up grabbing sandwiches at our favorite dive, then doing some quick shopping for New Year's Eve, and heading home to enjoy a quiet night with our daughter. It doesn't get much better than that!
These two years of our marriage have been incredible!
We have an incredibly strong foundation of marriage, a beautiful home that keeps us warm and cozy, and now a daughter to complete our love for each other and challenge us every day!
We're moving ahead around here! We've taken on our latest project - the kitchen!
Faith, the owner of my favorite country store (that I'm pretty sure I pay the light bill for with my weekly shopping trips!!), has agreed to re-do our kitchen cabinets! The cabinets are in great shape, although over 30 years old, but just in need for a little make over! She will be working on all of the cabinet doors in her shop, which equals a goofy-looking kitchen for about a week! She'll then come a few days later to paint all of the existing woodwork in the kitchen! How fun!
We've already ordered new counter tops, back splash, a custom cabinet, all new appliances, fixtures, and flooring! Whew! It's a good thing I'm not working right now - I think I'd be OVER THE TOP STRESSED if I had to work around the mess that is bound to be my home!
Over all, we're psyched about this new project - it's something we've wanted to do since we bought our home - and we can't wait until it's finished! Stay tuned for some fun 'before' and 'after' pictures! We're expecting it to be done by the first week in February! Here's to hoping anyway...
In the world of BEAMER:
~She's not only officially 4 months old and 1 day, but she's wearing all 6 month clothing! YIKES!
We received some cute 6 month outfits for Christmas that I was excited to try on her, and before we knew it, I was shopping my heart out for more 6 month outfits because her 3 month-ers didn't fit! Her pants were 'high waters' and the sleeves on her onesies were half way up her little arms! I swear - she's growing like a weed!
~The growing has to be the result of her eating habits these days! Weeks ago, I blamed the change of schedule on a growth spurt that normally happens around 3 months, but this 'spurt' lasted the entire third month! She went from eating 4 ounces every 4 hours, to eating 5-6 ounces every 3 hours!
I think part of her issue is those darn teeth already! Poor baby slobbers like a dog and constantly is sucking on her fingers and her toys! We've not been afraid to load her up with Tylenol when we can tell she's just off - and we've tried Orajel once...she didn't like it...
~She's still showing zero interest in rolling over - I'm a little concerned! She rolls with help with Mommy, but won't roll by herself and doesn't seem bothered by the fact that she's stuck on her back! We work on it every day - as we have tummy time and floor time daily! She's really playing with her toys and showing an interest in how things work!
~The Beam is starting to develop her own language! She squeals and screams when she sees the TV every morning - and she seems to respond to noises around the house! As long as she can see me or her Daddy, she's talking to us, telling us what she thinks about things, and I love it! Pap even got to hear her babbling over the phone and he just couldn't believe how much she was carrying on!
She's quite the giggle box and really seems to be showing more and more of her little personality every day! We can already tell that she's going to be a firecracker! Look out world!
~Her newest nickname is "ScarFace!" Yep - no joke! Her little fingernails are like razors! Even though I trim them almost every day, it seems that every time one scratch heals, another appears! For example, I went to greet her after he nap yesterday and found blood all over her face and fingers! She had scratched her cheek in her sleep and was bleeding all over the place! Luckily, it's not that bad, but JEEZ! She's a modern day Edward Scissor Hands!
~Brooke's sleeping patterns is a little wacky these days! I know it's not nearly as bad as it could be, (Sorry, Meg!) but it's odd - for her! She was sleeping from 10pm to 10am almost every night for a few weeks, and now she's waking up around 3 or 4 every morning to eat! Little piggy! It's not too bad, since she usually goes right back to sleep for a few hours. Even still, 3am is not a good time to start the day! I guess this is just another clue that she's growing...
I reminded Zig of something I said when I was 7 months pregnant with Brooke and couldn't get a good night's sleep - I'm done sleeping through the night for the rest of my LIFE!
~Tomorrow is Brooke's 4 month doctor's appointment. More shots. Yuck.
I can't wait to see how much she weighs and how long she is! I'm betting she's at least 15 or 16 pounds! Hopefully she does well with the shots and we don't have an awful day like last time!
~Zig and I are finally getting over our colds! YAY! I spent a day with my sixth graders last week and I just KNEW that I would come home with cold germs! And I was right! Later that night, I had a sore throat and woke up during the night incredibly congested! It got worse and worse throughout the week! It was so bad that I had to cancel my play-date with Michelle and Leah TWICE! There was no way I was going to take my germs around the other babies and their Mommies!
I'm going to be sure that Doctor Sheilah gives Brookie a good look tomorrow to be sure she isn't developing any of our cold symptoms! Her first cold - yikes!
What a hodge-podge of stuff!!
I think that's all for today...
I'll be sure to post soon about her doctor's report!
Happy Snow everyone!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Quiet thoughts...

January 3, 2008...
January 3, 2009...
January 3, 2008 is a day that will stand out as one of happiness and sadness for the rest of my life.
January 3, 2008 is a day that forever be with me...
January 3, 2008 would have created a completely different life for me and my husband...
January 3, 2008 was the due date for our first baby that now peacefully sleeps in heaven.
Although we never met this baby, knew if it was a boy or a girl (although I'm convinced it was a boy!), or gave it a name, that baby lived inside of me. We loved it and called it our child. Then it's heart wasn't strong enough to beat any longer and we had to say goodbye.
Christmas time last year was hard for me. Earlier in 2007, we were preparing to be parents and wondered whether or not our baby would be here in time for Christmas, or wait until the new year... When the holidays came around, then our anniversary, then New Years 2008...no baby. I could hardly stand to hear Christmas songs or celebrate with my family. All I could think about was our baby that wasn't with us.
On this day last year, I couldn't even bring myself to go to work. I took two days off from school right after Christmas break to be alone, to cry, to remember, and to look ahead into the future. I prayed for almost 2 days straight that Zig and I would be able to have another baby - that we didn't have any problems conceiving again. I didn't know it then, but I was pregnant with Brooke.
Last night, when I realized that today was January 3, and as tears streamed down my cheeks, my amazing husband reminded me of the love that we had for each other, and that precious baby, but also that had we never gone through that horrible experience, Brooke wouldn't be here with us... WOW! That hit me like a brick wall...
Life withOUT Brooke...
A thought that physically hurts me to think about...
Isn't God great??
Yes, he allowed us to go through the pain of losing a baby, yet he knew what was in store for us! He gave us the strength to go through the dark days of loss and brought us into the bright and beautiful days of parenthood with a thriving, beautiful little girl!
Today, I pray for all of the 'blog Mommies' that I read about almost daily.
I'm praying for Stacy and Spencer and baby Isaac...
I'm praying for Miracle Max, baby Dylan, baby Brenham, baby Nathan and their families who are no doubt missing them today...
Although these families met their babies, knew them, named them, and buried them...I have to wonder if they're all friends...buddies?
If so, I have to hope that our angel welcomed them to Heaven with open arms!
My heart is heavy today with the thought of what life would have been...
Yet I'm filled with joy as I think about my precious baby girl!
I'm thankful for each and every day that I have with her and her Daddy...
We are truly blessed!
Sleep in Heavenly Peace angel baby...

Mommy's Tattoo (now surrounded by a C-section scar and stretch marks!)

P.S. Don't miss my previous post about Christmas! No posts for 2 weeks, then 2 days in a row! This is getting a little crazy!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Christmas in Pictures!

Baby Brooke has officially survived her very first Christmas (and so have Mommy and Daddy - thank the LORD!)

Since I've probably been deemed the worst blogger ever having not blogged in 2 weeks (!!!), I won't try to recount all of the details of the half-dozen Christmas parties that Brooke attended this year - I'll just take you through the best parts through a few of our new favorite pictures!

It all started with 5 whole days with my sister and her family! Since my sister is probably my most favorite person in the entire world, the greatest gift of the season was being able to spend this time with them! Meg, Jason and Joshua came the Friday before Christmas and stayed through Christmas Eve - I might as well have moved myself and Brooke into my Mom's for the week! We spent all 5 days together - playing with the kids and just enjoying our time being together for Christmas! Growing up a Richard meant that Christmas was the best time of the year to be with family...and that's exactly what we did!

All of the above pictures were taken throughout the 5 days at my Mom's spent with my sister and her family!
Of course, Brooke was 'decked out' in all of her Christmas outfits! I honestly had an outfit from Saturday through Christmas Day! She's so much fun to dress...either that, or I'm a little obsessed!
I loved being able to spend so much time with Joshua! He was just awesome and so excited about Santa Claus coming to his house and leaving '2 teddy bears' just for him! I loved seeing his excitement and talking to him about all of the wonderful things that were about to happen on Christmas day!

Christmas Eve went by so quickly that I hardly remember how everything went!
We started the day at my parent's house...
Then to Pap and Freda's with the Richard clan...
Then to Belletown with the Wray clan...
Then to Burnham with the Hertzler clan...
Then home...whew! Brooke was still wide awake at midnight! Not good... She must have been waiting up to see if this Santa character was really going to show!

Time with Gram and Pap Wray...
Brooke's first visit with Santa...
A NAKED Brooke with Uncle Scub and Daddy... (It was warm at Gram and Pap Wray's!)
My Mom and Dad's amazing Christmas Tree...
On Christmas morning, Zig and I woke up slowly, enjoying every second of our baby girl's first Christmas! We had breakfast and spent the rest of the morning putting together the exer-saucer that Nana and Pap got for us! She loves it and spends more and more time in it each day!


The end result - and our most favorite gift - the toy box, hand-made by Pappy Fred and my Dad...the perfect addition to Brooke's nursery! It's filled with toys from all of our family and loved ones that showered Brooke with gifts this Christmas! We appreciate you all so very much and feel so blessed to have you in our lives! Thank you for loving us and for loving Brooke :)

Hope you enjoyed reliving Christmas through some pictures!

As life slowly gets back to normal, I already have dozens of new pictures to post! My apologies for the huge delay between Christmas and now... This 'Mommy' job is hard work - and allows for very little free time!

More soon...I promise!