HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAH!!!

Twenty-seven years ago today Micah came into the world, and it became a better place. We're so grateful that he is now in our lives. We love you Micah, and hope you have a wonderful 27th birthday!!

A few little things

I don't have a lot to say but I wanted to post about Brighton as he turned 1 month yesterday. It's weird to think of him as that old, when he hasn't even been home for two weeks. There isn't much to report, but he is growing FANTASTICALLY. He is a great eater (breastfeeding is so much easier this time around), great sleeper, and real sweetheart. He loves to cuddle, which makes me so happy, but also allows me to put him down. He makes the best faces and I love watching him stretch, eat, sleep, and smile. I love that he is home!!! This little boy has stolen my heart. His little spirit has brought a sweet presence into our home. I can't wait to see how he's doing at his 2 month appointment. Hopefully he'll be done with his monitor then! (Please, please, please.)

Lila is also doing well and growing up so quickly (it's almost scary). Today, in fact, she climbed her way out of her crib. We had her still in there because she hadn't attempted that before and it was nice to almost "trap" her in there. :) Now, it's time for the side of the bed to come off. Oh well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Micah and I are close to being fully moved in. We aren't officially in the new place until July 1st, but we're probably about 85% moved in already. It's almost done!

We're looking forward to the rest of summer and hope it's a little more vacation-like and less stressful. :) Happy Summer everyone.

Baby Shower

***Tons of pictures!!

Saturday my family threw me a baby shower for little Brighton at my sister Emma's house (thanks so much Ems for hosting!) Emma did a great job decorating and getting food together. It looked so good and the food was delicious (even though I don't have a picture of it).

I had so much fun and enjoyed seeing everyone there. Thanks so much everybody for coming!

I love these girls!

The gifts were great. (I couldn't put up all of the pics of gifts.) I loved each and every one of them and am so grateful to everyone. There was, however, one that stood out... 

My awesome Uncle Jim sent these Aussie diapers over from Australia for Bright. Aren't they so cool!?! Thanks so much Jim!!! I was so excited when I saw them.

I seriously have the best family and friends. Thanks everyone for supporting me and hanging out with me and Brighton. It was a blast!

Happy Father's Day, Micah!

     I know this isn't going to make sense, but I debated writing a post because I didn't want to talk about how grateful I am for Micah just because it's Father's Day, even though that's part of it's purpose. I've been wanting to write about Micah for awhile and so I guess this is a great time.

    Micah and I have had a lot going on in our lives emotionally and physically for the past 6 months. It's kind of one of those situations where you feel like everything is happening at once and you're just waiting for a break, but it doesn't seem to be coming. Life really is good and we do have a lot to be grateful for, but I wouldn't mind a few changes to what has been happening. Anyway, I bring all of this up because I need to thank Micah for all that he does for me. The strength, support, and unconditional love that he has for me is incredible. He is my rock. He keeps me laughing, he helps me recognize blessings, he lets me cry to him when I just feel like I can't take anymore, he is always there for me.

   Every time I think about him I can't believe I was so lucky to have found him when I was so young. I don't believe in soul mates, except in my case... I know that Micah is my soul mate. Now that we're a little bit older and have two kids I get to see how amazing he is as a father. I LOVE watching him with our children. I know that Lila is going to have a special bond with her daddy because they already seem to have one. Lila constantly gives him kisses, asks him to come upstairs and play with her, drags him around the house to be with her, and takes him outside to play. He is always happy to see his little girl and he recognizes her as a daughter of God.

    Watching him with our new little son makes me hope that Brighton grows up to be like Micah. He is so gentle with him and concerned about his well being. When Brighton cries at night it's not just me that wakes up. Micah is always there to check on him, too. He is the best father for my children and I am so grateful I get to be his companion.

   Micah I love you and I hope you know how much you mean to our family. Thank you for all you do!

Statistics and Sister-ly Love

Last week Lila had her 2 year appointment and today Brighton had his "2 weeks" appointment (even though he is 24 days now). Both are doing very well. Brighton is pretty small even though he was big for a premie. These are their stats:

Lila

Height: 33.25 inches, 39th percentile 

Weight: 25.6 pounds, 34th percentile

Brighton

Height: 19.75 inches, 3rd percentile

Weight: 6.7 pounds (6 lbs. 11 oz.), 0.94 percentile (not even 1st percentile :))

Head: 14 inches, 16th percentile

Here are some pictures of Lila's first time holding Brighton. She loves him SO much. I can already tell she's going to be an awesome big sister. (No, I didn't undress them for the picture, they just were from other things.)

Welcome Home

   Brighton is finally home after 3 weeks. He got home last night at 6:30 p.m. We are so happy to have him home (even though we are in the middle of moving). The hospital, our pediatrician, and nurses were amazing and they did such a great job taking care of our little boy when we couldn't. We LOVE them.
   Brighton came home weighing 6 lbs. 6.4 oz. and healthy as can be. We did need to bring a monitor home with him for his heart rate and respiratory rate while we get his acid reflux medication figured out. He shouldn't be on it too long though. I'll admit, it's somewhat comforting to know that if he stopped breathing or had any other problems, an alarm will go off. This makes the night slightly more restful.
   Lila is in love with her little brother, but she still doesn't fully understand everything that's going on. She also gets a little jealous when she sees him breastfeeding. :) She has been the sweetest little thing though, wanting to gently rub his back and kiss his feet. She also laughs a lot when she sees him because she's so excited. It's really quite adorable.
   Life is absolutely crazy right now, but it's also amazingly good. We are very grateful to the hospital and all they did to take care of our family. Not only did they take care of Brighton, but they took care of  the rest of us as well. They gave Lila toys, they gave me presents weekly to keep me encouraged, they gave me whatever supplies I needed at the hospital and for home, they gave us updates to help us understand what was going on, and they just showed so much compassion toward us and our situation.
   There was a time in the hospital (about a week) where Brighton was the only one in the NICU and it gave me a tremendous opportunity to really get to know the men and women taking care of Brighton. They really are caring people. It's not just a job to them and that's what makes them so great.
   Last, we're very grateful to our Father in Heaven in keeping our little boy safe and healthy. My dates with Brighton were definitely not off, but he was so much stronger than a lot of babies his gestational age. He actually came home a week ahead of schedule because everything went so perfectly and there really were no setbacks. I know that this is due to miracles that come from heaven.
   Here is our little boy and one of our first family pictures with the guy. Our family is all together! Yay!

Lila is Two

Happy Birthday Beautiful! 

Lila with her funfetti cupcake

Yesterday was my darling Lila's 2nd birthday. Even though she doesn't fully understand birthdays, we wanted to make sure she felt special, especially with everything going on. I had an all day work meeting so I didn't get to do as much, but Micah did an excellent job taking care of her.

Micah first took her to breakfast at Kneader's. They shared some french toast. Then he took her to the big wooden park in PG. Lila was in heaven! She LOVES being outside and playing at the park, especially when other kids are around. She's super friendly and outgoing and so loves to see other children. After getting exhausted at the park, he took her to lunch at McDonald's where she got her first ever happy meal! I'm sure she doesn't know what that means, but I remember wanting those as a kid. ;)

Later, after her nap and I was home from work, we sang "Happy Birthday" to her and ate cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy. She loved having us sing to her. Then, we just spent lots of time together as a family... minus me leaving for trips to the hospital.

It was such a great day and I hope Lila felt special. We are going to have a birthday party for her when things settle down... when Brighton gets home, we're done moving, no work meetings, etc. I'm SO excited for it! It's going to be Curious George themed and I have it all planned out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Two Weeks Old

Brighton is two weeks old today. He is doing great and improving tremendously! I am now able to feed him 3 times a day (starting tomorrow) as opposed to 2 times. Just the other day, he was suddenly able to take a full feeding (50 ml) from me and he hasn't looked back. I was told that getting to this point takes a long time (almost these full 2 weeks), but once he decides he's strong enough to eat then the other feedings come quickly. It's still a little ways off for him to come home as there are 8 daily feedings in all, but I at least am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is still just as adorable as ever and we LOVE him so much! Lila turns two on Wednesday and then has her immunizations the day after, so she'll be able to finally meet her little brother. I'm really looking forward to that.

So yes, overall Brighton is doing great. It's still going to take time, but it's wonderful seeing his progress. Here's to the next few weeks going by quickly so we can bring him home! :)