One Anxious Baby

Baby P #2 is proving to be a very impatient, anxious baby.  He/she has been giving me a lot of discomfort and pain lately, and last Friday was finally the last straw for me!  While Beau and I were in Des Moines, Joe was in Colorado for a bachelor party.  While I thought it would be a fun, relaxing getaway weekend before school started, it ended up being crazy and stressful.  On Thursday night I started to not feel well and could not eat anything (which is not like me in this pregnancy at all!).  Then on Friday while shopping at Von Maur, my back pain was so intense it dropped me to my feet and I could not take it anymore.  I called Pella Labor and Delivery, and they wanted me to come in ASAP.  My mom drove me to Pella while Dennis was so good and took care of Beau.  While I truly thought I was just exhausted and needed fluids in me, I was actually having contractions.  Having Joe 14 hours away and not able to be there with me was stressing me out all while worrying of delivering 9 weeks early.  I have never been so thankful in my life to have my family there for me.  My mom and Dennis were so good at taking care of Beau Friday night/Saturday morning for me, my sister was so sweet and spent the night with me in the hospital even though she had an early meeting in Des Moines the next day, and when I was finally released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon after the contractions had stopped, my dad and Shari took care of Beau for me since I could not.  My mom and I had JUST had a conversation the day before this all took place about how living in the same town as grandparents is so nice for the kids.  I think this was God's sign to me that I need my parents more than I think---even at the age of 25!  So thank you SO MUCH for all of the help.  Without Joe there, I felt completely alone and unsure of what to do but the comfort of my family helped so much.

We have made it one whole week and no early delivery...yet.  The nurses all told me they thought they would see me in 5-6 weeks.  We'll see about that!  I do know that this baby is very anxious to make his/her appearance but I'm hoping the baby can wait just a little bit longer.  Joe keeps teasing me that only a girl would make me feel this miserable and want this much attention.  Although I do think the baby is a boy, he does have a good point!  Soon enough we will be able to tell!

Den-Den took Beau to the gift shop in the hospital and got him some new shades to go with his new toy camper.  One spoiled little dude!

Iowa State Fair 2014

This year Beau only wanted to do one thing at the fair, ride the rides!  It was very hard to keep him away too!  Den-Den and Nana caved and let Beau ride one ride---the elephant ride.  The line was quite long for the kid's farm, and Beau is a little like me...impatient!  The last big event Beau was excited to do, was to go down the big slide with Nana.  He loved it!  As soon as they got to the end, he asked, "Nana do again?"

Happy Birthday, Aunt Joi!

This year was a special birthday year for Aunt Joi---I think she turned 30 ;).  To help her celebrate, we went out to eat at her favorite restaurant, Joe's Crab Shack.  Beau even gave Aunt Joi a birthday smooch :).  I hope your day was as fabulous as you are Aunt Joi.  We love you so much!!!

Party Time with Papa and She-She

Last Friday, Papa and She-She asked to have Beau over for the day/night.  Since Joe and I are working on finishing the basement, it was the perfect opportunity for us to get work done and for Beau to be entertained!  My cousin Eddie and his wife were having a gender reveal party for their second child.  While at the party, Beau and Aiden decided to play on the gator and have a "duel".  So cute!

Back to School Shopping

This year Beau is going to start a two-year old pre-school.  While we had our parent's meeting to go over curriculum and goals, Joe and I quickly realized Beau can already do all of the things they need to be able to do by the end of the year such as: count to five, recognize shapes, recognize colors and match puzzles.  So while Beau may not be learning a whole lot academically, we do think it will be great interaction time for Beau and new kids and also to learn to respect a new adult--his teacher.  So the other night we took Beau to Target to get some of his school supplies he needs for this year.  Obviously, Beau wanted a new back-pack.  He insisted on wearing it all around target and kept telling everyone it was his backpack for school.  I sure hope he is still this excited to go to school ten years from now! :)

Swimming at Nana's

Beau absolutely has no fear of the water and has excelled so much this year with swimming.  He has learned to float on his back, jump sideways off the diving boards, go down head first on the slide and is even learning to dive!  Everyday he asks to go swimming at Nana's so he can go down the slide and off the diving board.  He is quite brave for a two year old!

Beau is learning to dive this year!

Beau has become quite fond of Chase and McKenna this year and loves swimming with them.  Okay, so he might like showing off too with all of his "tricks" he can do in the pool.  But they get along great and I love seeing Beau interact with kids that he normally doesn't see often.

Summer Bash 2014

This year at Summer Bash was a little more tame than in previous years.  While we only made a day out of it rather than the whole weekend, Beau definitely enjoyed every minute of it!  His new favorite thing---going to the beach to build sand castles.  He was extremely spoiled by having Ari and Uncle Josh help build him bulldozers, airplanes, combines, and trains in the sand.  After doing the Poker Run and playing at the beach, we ended the day with wearing Beau out on Scott and Michelle's water mat.  Works like a charm every time :).

He INSISTS on driving the boat

1 Year--We'll Never Forget

One year ago today, Joe and I faced the hardest challenge God has thrown our way.  We lost our baby Bruce at 13 weeks.  While most people can be ignorant and think a miscarriage is normal and not a "big deal", it is quite the opposite.  I never knew my heart could hurt so much until last year.  It took me, and Joe for that matter, quite awhile to recover emotionally and try to understand "why us?".  God has a reason for everything, and you just have to have faith in that.  After accepting what had happened to us, I realized I needed to move forward and not dwell on it anymore.  I finally can openly talk about it with others now if need be.  August 1st is always going to be a hard day for Joe and I, and I never want to ignore this day.  Even though we were not able to hear our baby cry, hold his hand, or rock him to sleep, he was still our baby we created and I hope to meet him one day in Heaven. 

For those that do not know, I am a FIRM believer in signs.  Here is proof that Baby Bruce is still with us in spirit and sending us his love....
Last year, my mom took me down to Ottumwa to buy a special tree in remembrance of Baby Bruce.  At first, I thought a Weeping Willow would be appropriate, but the more I thought about it, I didn't want a tree that symbolized sadness and sorrow, I wanted a tree that had beautiful blossoms and gave you a cheerful feeling.  I ended up getting a Limelight Hydrangea Tree---absolutely beautiful.  While it had beautiful flowers on it last year, it wasn't blooming at all this summer.  I was getting a little bummed, but everyone at the flower nursery kept telling me that they normally don't bloom every year so it was to be expected.  Then, last week Joe told me I needed to go outside to look at Bruce's tree.  It was starting to get flower buds on it!  And today, of all days, the flowers have bloomed and it looks so beautiful.  How strange is that?  A tree that wasn't supposed to bloom, all of a sudden had flowers on it the DAY of Bruce's birthday?  We will never forget this day, and more importantly, have learned to not take things for granted in life.  Life is far too short to dwell on the small things.  We are so blessed in life to have one amazing, healthy son, and another baby on the way in just a few weeks.  God has a plan for us, and I can't wait to see it all unfold. 

Swimming With His Birthday Buddy

It is still so crazy for me to think that my very best friend and son have the same birthday.  I guess God wanted to make sure I would never forget Oct. 21st :).  Dena has a special bond with Beau, one that I hope Beau will cherish forever. 

We went swimming at my mom's this week, and Beau kept trying to tell Dena how to jump off the diving board or how to go down the slide.  He may have been showing off just a bit :)

First Year Selling Sweet Corn

This year, Joe set up a sweet corn stand for Beau at our house to sell.  While Beau may not truly understand how to make money yet or why it is important to save money, we thought it would be a good idea to start teaching him young!  Whenever someone would pull up to buy sweet corn, he would say "Do you have money for my piggy bank?".  Priceless.  Even when Grandma Chelle, Nana and Den-Den came to "buy" corn off of him, he DEMANDED that they give him money for his piggy bank.  Oh no, what have we started here?! :)

Our Very own Lake Fish

Beau has absolutely no fear of water.  He loves to go off of Nana's diving board, slide, and jump off the boat at the lake.  The water mat has quickly become one of Beau's favorites this summer so he can run on it and jump right in the water---that is when Teddy isn't knocking him over :).  Beau's other "interest" at the lake right now is "Dewaney".  He absolutely loves her and always asks if she will be at the lake when we are on our way down.  I think Beau has his first crush!

 

 

Playing with "Uncle" Clint

Last week, Clint and Tara came over to spend time with us---or more likely to see Beau.  Yes, Clint is not Beau's uncle, however, he is so good to Beau and has fallen into the "uncle" category in Beau's eyes.  Beau asked Clint to play on his fort, and without hesitation, Clint climbed right up the rock wall with Beau and played on his fort.  Love it :)