Balloon Glow

Last night we ventured over to Bowman Field for their Balloon glow. Since I'm germaphobic about getting Ethan out in indoor places I'm always looking for outdoor things we can all do. Braden absolutely loves when he sees hot air balloons so we thought it would be fun for him. After parking literally 1 mile from the balloons, we finally got close to them to see them pulling them down. The announcer stated that heavy rain was coming so they were putting them away early. The good thing was, we still got to see one balloon up close (very up close), ate a yummy funnel cake, enjoyed the fireworks and made it back to the car just when the rain was
starting. It was a close one. :)
:

Braden and Izzy making the loooonnng walk to see the balloons.


Poor Papa T ended up carrying one of them or both most of the time.

Chris and Braden checking out the one balloon that was still up

They got to stand in the basket while the guy shot the fire up. Chris said it was so hot he thought his hair was on fire!

Yes, Ethan and I were there too. He was snuggled up in my wrap and slept the whole time. I'm thinking the wrap was a good purchase. :)

Hanging out at home

Just an ordianary week hanging out at home with my "boys." That is so strange to say..."boys." I love it!

Sweet kisses

I had to post this one...as you can see, Dancing with the Stars is on in the background and look who's working on their moves! Ha! I think they were doing the tango. :)

Love the butt in the air!

Ethan's first bath

Yesterday Ethan got his first official bath (not a sponge bath). We assumed he would scream his head off considering he screams every time you change his diaper. He completely surprised us and acted like he kind of liked it. :) I had Chris taking pictures and filming (we are nerds) so it was challenging to keep his slippery little head from sliding in but I'm proud to say we survived. :0

Nice and relaxed after a warm bath

Apple Picking

On Saturday we met the Johnsens at Hubers to pick some apples. This was our first official family outing and I'll have to say it went pretty well. :) I tried the Moby wrap for the first time and Ethan slept the entire night. I'm pretty sure that tells me he likes it. We got to ride the wagon, pick some yummy apples, and then got take out at the restaurant and ate outside. We will be going back very soon for pumpkins! I love Hubers.

Brotherly Love

Braden has been asking to hold Ethan a lot more lately. Usually when I'm nursing he says, "Me hold Etan." Uhhh...not a real good time Buddy! :) However, when I'm not nursing, It is so sweet to see Braden holding and kissing Ethan. I just love it!

Heading Home

Even though Ethan was such a big baby, he sure does look teeny tiny in the car seat! Here we are...all ready to head home. We were ready!

This is the exact blanket Chris came home in so we used it with Braden and Ethan.

Just getting home...Braden checking out his new baby brother for the first time

Checking in on him again.."hmmmm, this person might actually be staying here."

All tuckered out after a long day of....well sleeping. :)

Braden is very interested in Ethan! He has surprised us so much. He is being very sweet, very loving, and very "gentle" as he likes to say over and over. He constantly says, "It's ok baby" when he cries and if someone walks in he says, "look, there's Ethan." It's all pretty cute and melts my heart! I am such a blessed mommy to have two beautiful, healthy boys!

Visitors

We had so many special visitors come meet Baby Ethan in the hospital. We are so grateful to have so many great friends and family. Thank you SO much to everyone that helped out with Braden, visited us, and brought special treats. :) Here are just a few pictures of some of the family. :)

Papa Scott (my dad) and Chris checking out Ethan

Gma Trish (my mom) who was there through the whole delivery. Thanks mom!! There is nothing like having your mom by your side no matter how old you get! :)

Granny, Papa T and Mimi checking out the new bundle

Gma Cindy had to get some hugs in too.

Of course big brother Braden had to come check out what all of this "baby talk" had been for months and months! We missed our big guy!

The whole family...family of 4 for the first time together. :)

I had to add this one in here...this was pretty much Chris in between visitors and Ethan being in the room...he was tuckered out...you'd think he had just pushed a baby out or something-ha!

Precious Little Guy

Baby Ethan arrives!

After a fairly long induction process, Baby Ethan arrived on Thursday, Sept. 10th at 2:00 in the afternoon! I was able to hold him right away this time which was a real treat for me (I didn't get to with Braden). I was completely exhausted beyond words but there is nothing like holding your baby for the first time! What a blessing!! He was one big chunkaroo so we couldn't wait to see what he weighed. They announced it...9 lbs. 5 ounces and I was not surprised! :) It did make the whole process, induction and all, seem well worth it though or I may have ended up with a 10 pounder! Baby Ethan...we sure are glad you are here!

Big Boy...check out that chest!

Chris was instantly in love!

Induction Night-Sept. 9

This is our last picture before heading out the door to head to the hospital on induction night. We didn't end up leaving the house until 10:00 becasue we had to wait on a bed to become available. As you can see, my belly clearly says that someone is ready to come out!

Just getting started...it's going to be a loooooonnnngg night!

Nursery and big boy room pictures

Since we finally decided on a name for the baby, I was able to finish off his room today by adding the wooden letters above his crib. I used the same bedding and many of the same decorations as Braden's baby room, but just changed it up with the wall colors and chair rail. I am pretty happy with how it turned out because it still feels like a different baby room to me. :) Since Braden saw me taking pictures of Ethan's room, he wanted me to take some of his. I think I posted a few in the past but there may be a few additions since then.

My mom took Braden's long star curtain and made it into two valances for me. :)

Somebody wanted in the picture too. :)

Trying to squeeze in again....

Big boy room for Braden. We added the wall stickers recently.

Gma Cindy painted our furniture red for us and thought to add the baseballs behind the knobs-very clever. :)

Just to catch you up....

As most of you have heard, we did not have the baby yet. After a lot of anxiety and anticipation, I am still sitting here pregnant. :) The amnio was going to be too risky to be worth it. The doctor didn't have a good place to go in without risking hitting the baby or something crucial like a vein so we all decided it was best to leave it alone!! I guess I'm just waiting now to see what happens. I have an appointment next Wednesday so if Baby Ethan doesn't come on his own by then, we may be induced next Wed. or Thurs. Thank you so much for your prayers! I'll keep you posted.

Girls' Dinner

Since I didn't end up delivering on Wednesday, I got to have my girls' dinner at Olive Garden! Sarah had planned a girls night out for me and asked everyone to bring diapers and a little something for the baby. It was so much fun and I am so appreciative of all of the nice things I got! Thank you so much to everyone that came!!

Surprise, surprise!

Guess what? We may be having the baby tomorrow!!! Yes, a little bit of a surprise for us. I went in for my scheduled ultrasound and according to the measurements, they are saying he weighs 9 lbs. and 3 ounces!!! HOLY COW!!! Well of course they always say they can be off 1 lb. or so either way, so this could not be completely accurate. I do remember though they said Braden should weigh about 7 1/2 pounds 2 days before I delivered and he was 9-1, so hopefully they are not way off in that way!
Anyways, we had lengthy discussions with the doctor about options etc...and she did not think I was going to be able to wait much longer and deliver the baby naturally. So the plan is, I'm having an amnio tomorrow at noon. This is to make sure the baby's lungs are fully developed. So of course I have read everything on the internet about these but I feel fairly ok that it is pretty safe at this point in the pregnancy. Sometimes they send you into labor which is pretty much what is going to happen anyways. So if the lungs come back developed, they are admitting me right then for induction. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I'm slightly panicked at all of this news of course. I'm trying to clean the whole house, spend time with Braden, and stay calm (ha!).
I will know around 2ish tomorrow if they are going to induce so we will see. :) In the meantime, I would love your prayers for everything to go well and that the doctors are making the right decisions for our baby. :)
On another note, we finally named him last night....unless Chris changes his mind last minute, it will be Ethan Christopher!!