A Month Already?

Ella Grace, I can't believe you're already a month old! What an absolute blessing you are to our family! I prayed and prayed for a happy, healthy, content baby, and God saw fit to say "yes!" to all of my prayers! Everyone told us that if your first child was easy, your second would be a nightmare. You are proving every one of them wrong, and we are so thankful! You're an excellent eater and sleeper. You usually eat every 3 hours, but at night you typically have two 4-hour stretches between feedings. Love those! The only times you cry are when you're hungry or have some gas. You love to be swaddled, and most of the time when I swaddle you, you fall fast asleep soon after being wrapped up. My favorite part of the day is our afternoon naps we take together in the recliner. I love holding you on my chest while we both recuperate from the morning with big brother. Speaking of him, Riley absolutely adores you! He loves to kiss your head, help feed you, talk to you, play with you on your playmat, console you when you're upset, and tell you he loves you. I knew he would be a great big brother, and he has definitely surpassed our hopes of how he'd treat you! I believe the two of you will always have a special relationship.

We are so thankful the Lord chose to add you to the Bramlett family! I know He has big plans for your life, and I am excited to be able to walk with you as those plans unfold. Happy 1st month, baby girl! I can't wait to see all of the changes and developments each month will bring! We love you, Elizabeth Grace!

B-A-Y-L-O-R

Well, they did it! The Baylor Bears are the newest champions of the Valero Alamo Bowl! Woohoo! Thank you, ESPN, for streaming the game live on your website! Not all of us have cable or satellite, so it was wonderful to be able to watch it on the computer! I didn't stay up for the whole game, though, because lil' bear likes to eat a couple of times a night, so I try to get sleep when I can. :) I just finished feeding her (1:40 am), and I read the good news about the Bears winning! I'm so proud to be a Baylor Bear!

Favorite gifts

Without a doubt, this was my favorite gift this Christmas! I am so thankful for our healthy baby girl. It's currently 4 am, and I just finished feeding her. I am bleary-eyed, completely exhausted and wonder when I'll get another full-night's sleep. BUT, this miracle from above is worth every bit of it! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us in this way!

Thanks to Ya Ya for the bow and adorable shoes!

And this was, by far, Riley's favorite gift this year...

Since this video was taken, we've fixed (or should I say, Daniel fixed) a strap for him so he doesn't have to worry about it slipping down anymore.

After seeing his guitar, he was content and decided he didn't need to open any more gifts (literally - we ended up opening the rest of his presents for him!). Since Christmas morning, he has woken up every morning asking where his guitar is. As soon as he finds it, he says, "Do you like my guitar, mama?" He's so precious with it! Can't wait to see how God uses this little musician of ours!

Merry Christmas!

As I shared in my last post, we haven't had internet at the house for a while now. I tried to be patient for so long, and then I finally lost it last week. Blame it on postpartum hormones if you want, but Daniel realized pretty quickly that it was time to take action. So, my Christmas gift from him was a booster which allows us to pick up the internet from the church all over the house (whereas before I had to sit in one certain spot and sometimes hold the computer up in the air, depending on the weather). I am currently sitting in a comfy recliner, holding my baby girl, and typing away...love it!

 

But, the real reason for this particular post is to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from the Bramlett crew!

Riley got a guitar for Christmas and it had to be in the picture because it's now a permanent fixture in his hands :)

  

This was taken last night before the Christmas Eve service (don't you love the cheese face??)

We have so much to be thankful for this Christmas - 2 healthy children, a wonderful church, loving and helpful family - but most importantly, we're thankful for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We are nothing without Him, and every good and perfect gift truly comes from above! Happy Birthday, Jesus, and Merry Christmas to all of you! We love you!

Alive and well

Yes, I am still alive! Between not having internet at our house and Ella deciding she wanted to come a week and 2 days early, blogging has been impossible lately. But, I wanted to take a quick minute (as I sit on the floor in the hallway at church) to introduce you all to the newest miracle at our house...

For those of you who don't know, our sweet Elizabeth Grace (Ella) was born on Saturday, November 26th at 4:17 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long. We were in the hospital 2 days and then headed home on Monday, November 28th around lunch time. Ella is a precious little girl. She looks a lot like her brother when he was born - around the same weight and length, yet has a petite frame that screams, "I'm a little girl!" :) I can't seem to kiss her adorable cheeks enough!

The original plan (and we all know that only God's plans are the ones that really unfold, so why do we even plan?!?!) was for me to go in for a C-section on Monday, December 5th at 7:30 a.m. My parents were going to leave Maryland on the 1st and drive down so they would be here in plenty of time for the birth on the 5th. Daniel's mom and grandmother were going to come down the 4th and spend the night so they'd be here too.

Saturday morning (11/26) as we were beginning to decorate the house for Christmas, I felt something strange, yet knew I had not wet myself. I calmly went to Daniel and said, "Not to alarm you, but I just had some fluid come out." He got the deer-in-the-headlights look and said, "What do you mean fluid??" So, I called the doctor and waited for a call-back since it was the weekend. My doctor happened to be out of town (of course), so I spoke to the one on call about 30 minutes later and she said to wait about 30 minutes and if nothing else happened not to worry about it. I went ahead and got in the shower (just in case!), but 3 hours passed and nothing happened. We continued decorating for Christmas and I figured it must have just been a fluke. Then, around noon, it happened again. I called the doctor back and she said I better come on in and get checked just in case it was my water breaking. So, Daniel and I quickly called the babysitter (who was already on alert from earlier in the morning), packed our bags and headed to the hospital. We got there around 1:30 pm and after checking me, the nurse confirmed that my water had broken and we would have a baby that day! So much for our plans, right?! Ella decided she didn't want to be a December baby, and she was coming whether we were ready or not!

We began calling family members and friends, and thankfully, Daniel's dad and brother were able to jump in the car right away and head for the hospital. We also had several church members come to be with Daniel after the birth. A little before 4 pm I was wheeled into the operating room and at 4:17 pm I heard Ella's first cry.

right before I was taken to the O.R.

Meeting Ella for the first time

"Mama, why did you have to disturb me? I was so warm and cozy inside you!"

Miracle from above

Proud big brother holding his baby sister

I'm still in shock she's here, but I'm so thankful! Several weeks ago I spent a long time praying and giving the labor and delivery over to the Lord. I knew if I didn't I would be a nervous wreck the closer it got. I told Him that I knew He knew the timing of everything and how it would all work out. I certainly didn't expect the plan to unfold in this way when I was praying, BUT I know His plan and timing are perfect, and Ella was born exactly when she was supposed to be. What a faithful and loving Father we serve!

I'm not sure when I'll be able to update the blog again, but hopefully sooner than later! I'm thankful I had these few minutes to introduce you to our sweet miracle and share a few pictures. To see the whole album, go here.

35 Weeks

I have officially arrived at the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, and I am counting down the weeks until I see with my eyes the feet that have been pounding on my ribs. :) I remember with Riley thinking, "the last few weeks of pregnancy really aren't that bad, in my opinion." Yeah, I was a little sore, but nothing like I am now! If I sit for too long, it takes me a while to get moving again. Oh the joys of the body stretching, the baby sitting on nerves, a sore back, etc. However, I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end!

If all goes as planned (and when does it ever when babies are involved?!), I will go in for a c-section on Monday, December 5th. I am praying hard that my blood pressure will stay normal and I won't have the complications I did with Riley-bug. So far I haven't had issues with swelling like I did with him, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

Baby Ella is right on track with her growth. I took Riley with me to my last appointment, and I wish you could have seen his face when he heard her heartbeat. It was precious! The rest of the day (and even a few days after), he walked around telling people, "I heard Ella's heartbeat!" He was so excited! I can't wait to see how he reacts when he gets to finally see her in person. He already has such a sweet love for his little sister. I know he's going to be a fun, yet protective, older brother, and that makes my heart smile! Before you think him too perfect of a child, know that he certainly has his moments where I can tell this baby thing has him a bit scared. He frequently crawls around the house saying, "I'm a baby!" He has also upped the severity and frequency of his lovely 2-year-old tantrums. So, I'm well aware that adding another member to our household is going to be a HUGE adjustment for him. But, I think once he gets passed the initial shock of his territory being invaded, he'll embrace her with open arms and realize the value she'll add to our family. Here's to hoping this happens sooner rather than later! :)

The Bramlett Bakery

The past two years I haven't been too concerned about what Riley would wear for Halloween because I knew we could put him in whatever we thought was cute and he wouldn't care one way or the other. For instance, for his first Halloween (2009), we found the most adorable giraffe costume. 

 And then last year (2010), my sweet mother-in-law sent this lion costume. Couldn't get any cuter!

This year, however, I knew would be a different story! Mr. Opinion and Strong-will has made himself known, and I wasn't too sure what he would "approve of." I figured he would either be Elmo or one of the characters from the Cars movie. But, when I started looking at costumes and how much they cost, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of buying a costume.

Daniel came home one day and said, "I've got the perfect idea for Halloween!" I was a bit scared to hear his idea (he can get a little crazy sometimes with his 'ideas'), but I said, "Ok. What is it?" He replied with, "You dress up as an oven with a bun it, I'll be a baker, and Riley can be a loaf of bread!" I thought this was pretty clever - had some apprehensions as to how we were going to come up with Riley's costume - but agreed this was doable and we'd do our best to make it happen. So, I present to you the Bramlett Bakery...

In case you can't read it, my shirt says, "Bake: With Care" on the left and "Timer: 5 weeks left!" on the right. I googled "Bun in the oven costumes" and found a website showing how to make my costume. I modified it a bit (was supposed to be a huge box covering my body) so I could help somewhat with Riley.

For Riley's costume I just bought a brown pillowcase from T.J. Maxx, cut out the head and arms, and used some good ol' gold puff paint. It reads, "Nature's Own 100% Bramlett"

The back says, "50% Daniel, 50% Laura, Ingredients: Love, opinion, fun, strong-will, humor, tantrums, compassion, and grace of God."

Heading to the town's Trunk or Treat

At our church's fall festival...we won 2nd place in the adult costume contest!

I was a little worried that I was going to go to all the trouble to make Riley's costume and then he'd refuse to wear it. Thankfully, the episode of Sid the Science Kid we'd watched earlier in the day talked about costumes and dressing up for Halloween. I was able to remind him of that and got him excited about his costume. Thank you, Sid, for helping us with this process!

Can't wait to see what our two little ones will be next year! A friend asked if I was going to save the box so I could wear it again next year...HA! I said, "Um no! No more buns in this oven!!" :)