Happy Birthday Brenners! You are 2!!

My dearest Brennan,
 Today is a celebration of the day of your birth.  Hard for mommy to believe it has been 2 years.  You have been through so much in such a short time.  You have lived in many different places, traveled to far away places and done things mommy hadn't until she was an adult.  You have handled all of the changes like a trooper, and continued to be such a sweet and happy boy through it all.

2 years ago at this time (11:29am) mommy was getting her epidural after being in labor since 6am.  You decided your own birthday after mommy's water broke at around 2 in the morning.  Only about an hour- an hour and a half after getting the epidural you were born at a fast and furious rate.  You almost didn't wait for Auntie Shannon to get there and into the room. You were perfect weighing 8lb 1oz and so calm and quiet.  For the first time after you or your brothers or sister were born, Mommy got to hold you first.  I got to snuggle you and kiss you and count your fingers and toes before Daddy.

We only stayed in the hospital until the following afternoon because mommy begged them to release us. We went to the Staybridge Inn and Suites where we had been staying while our stuff was shipped to Guam.  The following morning we took you and your brothers to breakfast in the hotel and everyone wanted to see you and stare at you. You were so quiet and snuggly and everyone ooooo'd and ahhhhhh'd at you.

Just 5 days after you were born we loaded you and your brothers into the car and started our trip to CT.  First stopping in Quantico, VA for the night then New Jersey where you got to meet Grandpa and Nana and they got to snuggle and love you for a while.  Then when you were exactly 1 week old we arrived in CT at Bahma and Papa's house.  We spent our last few days with Daddy before he went back to SC to finish checking out of his command, got the house cleared out and went to school in VA.

You were about 5 weeks old when Grandpa and Nana surprised us and brought daddy up to CT to see us one more time before he flew to Guam.  Then it was months before we saw daddy again.  We stayed with Papa and Bahma until you were 6 months old and we flew to Guam to be with Daddy.  We were there at the pier when his boat (USS Buffalo) pulled in and he got to come up and give us hugs and kisses then headed back to the boat and told us he'd be home much later.  But Daddy hasn't had to leave for very long at all since then.

We moved from Guam back to CT for a couple of months and then moved to NY where we have stayed since then.  Pretty fun adventures in such a short time Bud!

Your Personality/ Likes/Dislikes:
-you love to eat and you always have food in both hands
-you are stubborn and are very vocal about things
-you are a snuggle bug.
-you are not afraid to defend yourself to your brothers.
-you love to be nakkie and take your diaper and clothes off whenever you can.
-you greet me every morning with a big "Hiiiiiii" and tell me "I love you" and give kisses
-you are very fickle about who you want at what times, sometimes you only want daddy and sometimes you are a complete mommy's boy. Either way, when Papa is around you don't give anyone else the time of day.
-you are trying so hard to add more into your speech
-you love Phineas and Ferb
-you love Megamind
-you love Despicable Me
-you love Toy Story
-you say "Hi Papa" whenever anyone is on the phone
-you have endless energy but you can also pass out wherever you are when you are tired.
-you are such a sweet boy <3

We love you Brennan Louis.  We are so very happy that you surprised us and joined our family.  Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Click here to see Brennan's debut post on the blog!

Weekend Adventures

This weekend was crazy! Andy's dad, stepmom and nephew Alex came up to visit the boys and I. The first 10 minutes they were here on Friday, Alex and Adrian were outside playing and broke Grandpa's back window. They were throwing rocks and completely shattered the window. Eeeek! What a mess.

Friday night I was sick and up all night, which doesn't good company make. I was totally out of it. But we were happy to see them and loved spending time with them. Adrian is still talking about his cousin "Alice." They had such a blast all dressed up as Spider-Batman (Alex) and Buzz Lightyear (Adrian). Hilarious!

Then Andy calls me Sunday morning which is Sunday night in Guam and tells me that he broke one of Lulu's (the big van) windows. This was NOT the weekend for car windows for our family. lol! Fun stuff huh?

Yesterday Steven folded his arms for prayer for the first time. It was adorable. Jameson has been doing it for about 2 weeks now, but yesterday he actually folded his arms and said, "Heavenly Father." It was so awesome! He says "thank you" all the time too, it's pretty amazing to think they are already old enough for this!

Adrian has regressed a little with the potty training and I am not sure why. I hope he starts moving in the right direction again soon. He still prefers the big boy underwear to the diapers so that is good. Now if we can just get him to keep them dry. sigh.

Brennan is growing like a little weed, he is so happy and content. He loves to watch his brothers and is such a good baby. He's been up the past two nights in the middle of the night, but I think he is having a growth spurt. So bittersweet! Here is picture of Brennan at 3 months.

Brennan Louis is here!

Our newest baby boy is here! Born 5/12/10 at 1:12pm and weighing 8lb 1oz Brennan Louis has arrived. He is beautiful. Here are some details... full birth story to come.

I woke up with contractions at 1 in the morning on 5/11 and started timing them. They weren't painful but they were coming pretty consistently, so I called the doc. They told me to go to Labor and delivery since at my doctors appointment the previous week I was 3cm and 50% effaced. We go in and they hook me up to the monitor and check me and I am not progressing. So they sent me home and the contractions petered out. So Andy and I did some walking and eating spicy food, whatever we could to keep things going. Nada. So Bishop and Granny Mary kept the boys and it is a good thing they did. My water broke at 2:45am and we got to the hospital around 5am. They did the test to see if my water broke and it did... I could have told them that. I stole 3 towels from the hotel we are staying at to try to contain the flood. lol! They admitted me and got Pitocin going, at 10:45 ish they checked me and I was 4 almost 5cm and 70% effaced. I got the epidural at around 11:15 and things progressed very fast quickly after that. They checked me at about 12:15 and I was 6cm 75% effaced and 0 station. Then 45 minutes later they checked me again because he had some decels in his heart rate and I was 8cm 90% effaced and -2 station. They tried to get a scalp monitor on him and less than 10 minutes later, I was complete and complete and Brennan was coming down. I hadn't even pushed yet and he was almost ready to come out. Shannon walked through the door just as he was crowning and then he was born at 1:12pm. Very little tearing and Brennan's apgars were 8 and 9. He is 20.5 inches long and just beautiful. I will post pics when we get home from the hospital.



I wanted to add too that we have had the name Brennan Louis picked out for a while now, and as it happens the Louis is for my grandfather (my Dad's dad who passed away when I was about 14) and May 12 is his birthday as well. So they share a name and a birthday. Makes me feel like he has not only Sophia as an angel but Grandpa Luke too. And Brennan picked this day as his birthday, no medical help needed. :) Brennan is for Andy's grandmother's maiden name, so we stuck to the family names for our boys.

Currently Brennan is squeaking in his sleep at me and I love every second of it. We are so in love with our newest little man!