Baby, baby

Hi, all!! Nope, there's not a whole lot else going on over here except lookin' after this little guy and keeping Big Brother entertained. I doubt I'll be blogging about much else for a while!! :)

Here's some recent photos from days 6 & 7!

It's a naked baby!! He looks so big to me!! One week old.



His feet with Big Brother's.



Heading to the pediatrician, 1 week old.



Us! don't I look dopey with happiness?? :)



Little monkey face.



Sleeping so soundly. Don't worry, I only let him sleep on the Boppy when I'm right there with him.



8 days old. He looks so chubby to me in this picture! He's already changing--eek!!! Oh, how time flies...enjoy every moment, that's what I'm trying to do!

new baby pictures

First day home.



Brother love.



Puppy pajamas.



Adored by his brother.



Owl outfit.



"milk face"

Baby pictures!!

Here he is!!!



Just born!!



8 lbs. 6.4 oz.



Snuggle with Daddy



Andrew meeting his little brother for the first time.



My three boys.



Naked before his first bath.



Mama love in recovery.



Heading home!

Ethan is HERE!!

Hooray!! Ethan Ryan came into the world at 8:12a.m. on Tuesday, May 12th weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 21" in length. His Apgars were 9 and 9 and he is by all accounts completely healthy. We are now home with him and enjoying settling into life as a family of four.

Wow, that seems weird to even type that..."family of four." Aaaaahhhh....

I'm uploading all 300 pictures we've taken in the last two days so it may be a while before I post any! :)

I had a really great birth experience--almost the complete opposite of the last time--with a labor that started out at 7:00p.m. Monday night. The first "real" pain wasn't until almost 3:00a.m. (after I slept restlessly through minor "cramps" for several hours) when I woke my husband up to help me time them. I was in triage at the hospital by 6:00a.m....admitted and in a labor/delivery room by about 7:00a.m....started pushing at about 8:00a.m....and then there he was!! It was truly an amazing and blessed labor and birth, thank the Lord! I'll probably post a more detailed version on my pregnancy blog soon, for those who are interested (I'm usually one of those).

I am thrilled to no longer be pregnant and so happy with the experience we had. Plus, I have a beautiful baby boy to show for it! He is gorgeous and the first baby born into our family in a very long time that has a head full of light hair!! It is exciting to get to know him.

Andrew loves being a big brother and is quite happy that we all got to come home together. Seeing my three boys just fills my heart with joy!!

Now I hear him...gotta run! :)

PICTURES COMING SOON--YOU KNOW I'M GOOD FOR IT!!

P.S. I'll also be reporting on the results of the "baby pool" soon and let you know who got the best combination of gender/date/time/length, etc. It's pretty funny!

Pregnancy update

No, Ethan is not here yet! My pregnancy ticker is now counting my days PAST due!!

Check out the latest news

on ProudgritsIsPreggers

Oh, and these may be our last official photos of the Family of 3 (from May 9th):

Mother's Day 2008

No, that's not a typo. I just woke up from a lovely mother's Day nap that I almost didn't even take...and just as I did, I felt like the Holy Spirit was nudging me to tell this story today. Good thing I took that nap.

Last Mother's Day was a lovely day by all accounts. Church, lunch, presents, cake and plenty of celebrating. I hugged Andrew extra-hard all day and probably shed a tear or two.

Last Mother's Day, May 11th, I had a miscarriage. Mother's Day will always be marked by that event. Technically, I didn't actually miscarry until two days later on May 13th. It was a very sad few weeks but we knew that God would use it for good and after a few months, we started "trying" again, trusting in God's perfect timing.

Low and behold, we got pregnant on the first try. Our "family number" is 11 and I found out I was pregnant on September 2nd (9-2). I wrote that date on the pregnancy test and thought, "Hm, I wonder if that's significant." Then I realized that 9 + 2 = 11. "Oh, that's funny, Lord," I thought, knowing His fingerprints would be aaaaalllll over this pregnancy. A couple days later, I calculated my due date as May 13, which was the date of the actual miscarriage. I thought, "Oooooh, Lord, I knew you were up to something."

God has, indeed, shown up many, many times during the last nine months. I have grown more spiritually in the past year that I had in entire five-year spans in years past. He has taught me so much about trusting Him, abiding in Him, how to pray, how to rest and so very much about PEACE. Everything I've been through has been more than worth it.

A few weeks ago, the Holy Spirit also gave me this verse and said, "That's your verse for this pregnancy." I fully expect there to be dancing on the day Ethan is born!

Jeremiah 31:13 "For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow."

To me, the way the miscarriage and this pregnancy all played out have REDEMPTION written all over it. God is all about redemption. I am so very grateful to be redeemed and that my God loves me enough to extend redemption to me, sometimes even in creative and unexpected ways!

BUT...the story isn't over yet. Here we are on Mother's Day 2009. A Mother's Day when I am four days past-due with a baby boy and VERY anxious to meet him. What will his story be? How will this story end? Of course, when this story ends, a new one begins. Will he be born on Mother's Day? On the 11th? On the 13th?? Maybe on a different day? No matter what, I now can rest in the knowledge that God has it all figured out and all I have to do is wait for Him to write the story.

And as of 4:30p.m., the story continues...

Friday's Fave Five #15

Read more entries over at

Living To Tell The Story

This one will be short and sweet, no pictures, mainly because I'm actually tired of being on the computer after the week I've had. There are plenty of things that were praiseworthy and of good report, however, so away we go!!

1. My friend Chrissy, came through the surgery to remove a tumor on her brain on Thursday and I'm told she is "doing well" and they were able to remove it all (so no radiation, yeah!). Continued prayers are appreciated, of course, as she recovers. I've been the one reporting her updates to our church family, her church family, our Bunco group and others, so it's been a bit taxing but I'm very happy to do it. I also believe that God is at work in her life and in the lives of everyone that has been rallying around her, so it will be exciting to see what He is up to! The post about her whirlwind week is

HERE

2. I got to my due date so we know Ethan is fully cooked!! Oh, my, the waiting is getting hard!! Besides just being eager to meet him and being so ready to be done being pregnant, I've had some hormonal issues, problems with my appetite and the usual ups and down of the end of pregnancy to handle this week but, again, God has been SO good to me and is teaching me some wonderful lessons about relying on Him, prayer, resting, etc. etc. that I'll have to share after Ethan's story is done being told!! :) Pray that we will continue to be patient, for a restful weekend coming up and health for Ethan and I.

{P.S. If any of you have some positive stories about past-due pregnancies, feel free to comment!! I'll take all the encouragement I can get!}

3. I had my "Blessingway" on Saturday with my mom, two sisters-in-law and dear friend. It was a tremendous blessing, indeed, and I hope not only for me, but for all who participated! Blessingways are just a "mother-centered shower of love" so if you want to check it out and see pictures (there are some of my henna-painted belly!) go to
This Post

4. God has really been teaching me some amazing things this week that I can summarize in one word: ABIDING. I've been really focused on that word/idea/concept for a while now and it's amazing to see how He will teach us things when we ask. I'm learning how to better love others, how to pray, how to take my thoughts captive, how to take life one day (and even one moment) at a time...and so much more. I feel like I'm really "in the flow" for a change and it's really cool. I love it that He is so interested in a relationship with us and wants to show us Who He is and what He can do...we just have to be willing! I have to admit that, at times, it seems over-whelming and "heavy," which you can pray for...but I'm also getting use to the idea that it's totally worth it. Whatever we go through, when God is with us, it's worth it!

5. Having quality time with Andrew this week. We've done Lego's, played trains, sat outside for hours, watched videos...it's been nice to just slow down and spend time together. The three of us have also done some projects and taken trips to the park, too. I know I'll cherish these last few days as a family of three!!

I know I'll have a nice pick-me-up when I read everyone else's lists for this week! :) Hopefully, next week's will involve our new son!!