My Baby Shower

I have some incredible friends who went above and beyond to make this baby shower extra special. With this being my first girl after a "long" wait, they decided it needed to be a big deal and it certainly was. I feel so blessed to know these women and to call them my friends. They are amazing.

The room pre-shower

Sarah and Katie

Sarah and Ashley

A good chunk of the planning committee (there was actually a committee!! haha)
Dana, Sarah, Katie, Ashley, Lesley (and Katy behind the camera)

walking in with my girly escort

Eating lunch. They served wonderful food.

obviously the present table ;)

opening presents with my girl, Haley (aka Ezzy's best friend and my little sugar)

They did so much DIY stuff for this shower it was so touching.

Loved this little display. And the table next to it had a book display for  signed books instead of cards. It was a great idea and Brynie B got her first princess books here!

My favorite flower -stargazing lily on every table. Above and beyond!

Sarah made a gorgeous cake that I didn't get a picture of so I am trying to track that down. They had games and beautiful prizes and yummy food and treats. And most of the decor they sent home with me for Bryn's room!

I am just so honored and I feel so humbled to see the work that they put into making this shower special for me. I know it wasn't easy and sometimes it probably wasn't even fun, but any time I told them to simplify I was shot down and told that they wanted to do this for me. It brought me to tears. It lowered my stress of a scary pregnancy and helped me to focus on the excitement of having a baby girl. I can't say 'thank you' enough. I love these girls and I loved my girly shower!

Introducing Sister to Brothers

The boys all came with my mom to visit us in the hospital the day Brynlee was born, but they were far more interested in my "owies" and Nana's phone and their friends that also came to visit than they were in their new baby sister. However, their interest was raised the next day when we brought her home. They were all so loving and so excited to see her. They think she's beautiful and our little princess and they are so amazingly gentle with her. They all love kissing her and hugging her and touching her. Ezra enjoys sitting by her in the car and helping her if she gets fussy. It's adorable.

They were all eagerly awaiting our return. It made coming home so exciting. They even colored pictures with Nana and hung them on the door for us :)

He did not want to let this baby out of his arms. I kept trying to take her back and he just held her tighter and squawked at me. He is a very proud big brother. He comes in every morning to check on her in her bed. He was fascinated by her umbilical cord and gets alarmed and concerned when she gets fussy.

Makai loves her and shouts her name every time she's awake.

Proud Big Brothers

Ezra is such a great helper with her and is already protective. Though I can't get him to change her diapers, darn it!

He really would not let her go any time I let him hold her. It kind of made me nervous because he would just squeeze her tighter.

They can't wait to see her crawl and hear her talk and keep asking me what she can do now. Lol. Even though she may not be very interactive right now, it is so sweet to see these boys love her and get excited to have her in our family! Such good big brothers this lucky little girl has ;)

And I am loving playing dress up every day:

cutest little Minnie Mouse I have ever seen

4th of July

I love my little girl :)

Brynlee Kay

After six years of waiting we have finally been blessed with a baby girl. She was worth the wait. James is so in love that it actually makes me jealous. When he calls her his baby girl and my ears perk up thinking he's talking to me, I get a little disappointed. But I have to say that it is the sweetest thing to see this wild, crazy, always wrestling daddy become a softy, already talking about her wedding day :)

The boys are obsessed with her. It has way surpassed my expectations of how they'd react. It's adorable. They all want to hold her any time she is in sight and are so curious about all the little things she does and has.

Getting her here was a little scary. I haven't talked about it because I just wanted her here safely before I brought it up. When I was about 22 weeks or so they discovered she had what is called an umbilical cord varix which is basically like a varicose vein on the umbilical cord. The day I found out I was gently told, "You're at higher risk of having a still born." My heart sank. Feeling that she'd be okay, but fearing that she wouldn't tore my heart apart. Finally getting our girl and now I'm being told she may not be joining our family after all. I started going in for weekly ultrasounds and she looked perfect every time, though the vein continued to grow and raise concern, so I was asked to come in for ultrasounds twice a week in addition to my normal appointments. The doctor is an hour away, so it made life interesting each week hauling all three boys in and out of appts and trying to get them to be still and quiet while I was checked out. Overall they did well.

My doctor has never seen this complication before and after doing her research on it she decided that we had better get baby girl out as soon as she was able to come. So we set an induction date for 37 weeks gestation. I was terrified and heartbroken because I did not want to be induced and I had the best birth with Deklan and was hoping for something similar this time around. However, whatever got my baby girl here was what I was voting for.

Finally the day came: June 30th (37.3 weeks) They told us to be there at 6am (remember we live an hour away, so that was an early morning!) They didn't get us in a room until 6:40am. Then they strapped me to the monitors, drew blood and we waited. I was at a 1 and a half. Finally they started pitocin at 8:25am. It was all fun and games for the first couple hours and I wondered if this was really going to work. I was told with it being my fourth and how fast my labors go naturally that I could expect 2-4 hours after they started pitocin. I didn't see that happening.. After about 2 hours and only making it to a 2, I consented to the doctor breaking my water (I did not want that originally, but baby girl had to come out today one way or another, so I just gave up all control.)

Started on pitocin waiting for baby girl. Sure, all smiles, right?

Soon after things intensified dramatically and I was trying to escape to another world to fight the pain. I told them I felt like I needed to use the restroom, so she checked me first. I told her I was in so much pain I had a feeling she wouldn't let me use the restroom. That's when she told me I was a 4. HA! I turned to her and not very nicely shouted, "A FOUR?! That's all?!!" That's when my concentration faded and I got angry. I never get angry or mean during labor, but this was a different story.

I went to the bathroom crying, came out moaning and had a heart to heart with James asking him if he felt like things would be okay if I got an epidural. He answered way too slowly and not the answer I wanted so I got even more angry. I was checked and was told I was at a 6 now only twenty minutes after being a 4, but I still wasn't satisfied. I air punched James a couple of times (sorry love), and then began screaming for an epidural and telling them to get that guy in there NOW! (I find this funny now, but mostly incredibly embarrassing, but I'm still including it in the story because I am not as tough as people thought based on my previous deliveries and I just want to be honest.)

Anyways, James was still adamant that I didn't need an epidural and could do this. I was still screaming so the nurse came in, checked me again (it had only been ten minutes since I was checked and at a 6.) I was at an 8. Then she offered a drug in the IV which I consented to and kept screaming for the epidural. As she was putting the drug in the IV I had a heckuva contraction and told her I was pushing and this baby was coming. It had been less than five minutes from being checked at an 8. She yelled at me to stop pushing which I ignored and she half got gloves on and yelled out for help and for someone to get my doctor. Then I had a baby.

2:17pm, 7lbs 8oz, 19in
(I have big babies. Had she been 40 weeks she probably would've been another 9pounder!)

My doctor came in right after she was born. Brynlee was not crying, but was moving. She was totally blue and they cut that cord immediately against James' request and then rushed her to the other side of the room. I didn't even get to hold her right away :(

She was fine and they finally brought her to me. Our hospital stay was against my will, but it really wasn't that bad. The nursing staff was very nice and left me alone for the most part since it was my fourth baby. Brynlee was "referred" in her left ear during her hearing screening, meaning she didn't pass, but didn't mean she couldn't hear; just that she needed a more extensive test. We'll get that in a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty sure it's not an issue. She is tongue tied, but hasn't been an issue nursing, so we're not doing anything about that at this point either.

We got home early evening on July 1st and are so happy to have our whole family together. We're happy to have my mom here to help with the boys as well so James could be with me and get air punched and yelled at ;)

Overall I hate pitocin. I hate IV's and those darn monitors that slip and beep if you move even slightly. And I hate staying at hospitals. BUT... baby girl is here and she's healthy and she's mine!!!

She looks just like Ezra and James that it is too weird. I kept calling her "sweet boy" for the first day. I guess it's still so weird to me to have a baby girl. James won't change her diapers because he's nervous. I'm giving him a grace period right now, but that won't last forever. Mean time we are all in love with this sleeping beauty and so happy to have her join our family!

An update about introducing her to the boys will hopefully come tomorrow. They have been so sweet with her that it deserves it's own post ;) And I promise to have better pictures of her!

Baby Girl Tressler!

Brynlee Kay Tressler

Born June 30, 2014 at 2:17pm

7lbs 8ounces 19 inches

She's here and she's perfect. I will try to share details (and better pics) tomorrow! (if you care about that sort of thing :)

Getting Ready for Baby

This baby has given us some drama already. To be fair, I was warned that's what girls do :) I will get into detail about the complications once she is here and safe. 

I love this profile picture 

One of the things we needed to do to get ready for baby was to get her a room filled with pink and tulle and bows! That meant Deklan needed to get the big boot out of his room sending Makai out of his room and into Ezra's room. So we finally got bunkbeds for the "older" boys! They love their beds and have done very well sleeping in the same room which is such a blessing because I really did not have faith that it was going to work so well. While James and I were setting up the bunkbed the kids were playing in the other room. I heard one say, "it's snowing!" and then they both laughed. Ummm.... what could that mean. I found them shredding the sytrofoam all over the playroom. Thankfully it vacuums nicely :)

The only "snow" I've seen in Texas

Then we moved Deklan into Makai's old room and big boy bed. I was very nervous for this transition because Dek-O is just a baby himself, but he did wonderfully for the first week, so I relaxed and started turning his old room into a girls room. That's when he started causing issues getting out of bed and fighting naps. I'm sure it's just an adjustment period, but I'm missing those restful nights of crib sleeping. I have been trying to keep him in the room at sleep time so he can get used to putting himself back in his own bed if he gets out. This is what I found one afternoon after a mini meltdown:

So he doesn't always make it back into his bed and he loses his binky a lot more often now and he plays during naptime on occassion (his bedroom is the playroom), but at least he's still a bundle of cuteness that even sleep deprivation can't ignore. 

We are all sooo excited to have baby sister come join our family and we are gladly welcoming pink all around! Even James has been caught going through her clothes saying, "Oh goodness gracious. Too cute." He can't wait! It's the best :)

I had to... Don't judge me.

 The beginning of June my amazing friends threw me an incredible baby shower! I am waiting on pictures from that and will do a post as soon as I get them, but for now you get the aftermath of that shower.

I got lots of girly girly girly items and just couldn't wait to try some of them out. That's where my boys came in handy:

At first he seemed cool with it.

Then I put him in a full girly outfit mini skirt and all and that wasn't as fun for him.

Then I added another tutu because I'm mean and that was just plain cruel.

So then I called Makai over and he was happy to model one of the tutus and hair pieces very briefly :)

 Sorry boys! I won't need you to be my bow/tutu model any longer because baby sister is on her way! Like literally on her way... As in... I'm blogging from my hospital bed with a laptop pressing on my contractions!! So excited!

Ezra's Black Eye

Our little buddy has had a rough go the past couple of months. After a baseball game he was playing on the bleachers and his cleat slid out from under him sending him head first into the bleacher bench. This resulted in a seriously nasty black eye:

The morning after

2 days after

3 days after (he had to work hard, but he could finally open his eye!)

He was so embarrassed about it. He wore his sunglasses everywhere; including on stage to sing with the primary!

 Then a couple of weeks ago little Ez and Makaduke crashed into each other running in the house knocking out Ezra's front tooth and bumping two others back making them wiggly. He looked like he got punched in the face for the second time in two months. Awesome. Thankfully his eye is healing (though it is STILL a little bruised.) And his teeth will be fine. It'll be awhile before he gets those grown up teeth in according to the xray, but I am getting used to his new smile and he is figuring out how to eat again. Hoping for no more accidents at least through the summer.

The best part of it was when little Makai came up to me with a very concerned look on his face and said, "Is Ezra turning into a black guy?" Guess all the talk of "black eyes" has him a little confused. haha

The Blue Angels

Last week the Blue Angels came to town. The kids and I had never seen them before so we braved the traffic and went to watch them. Well traffic was so bad that the show started before we even parked, so we just pulled over where we were and watched from the car:

My studly muffins :)

The people that fly these things are crazy. I would be so sick doing twists and flips and turns like they do, but it sure does make for a fun show!

FIRST LOST TOOTH!

On March 5th Ezra lost his very first tooth! He bit into some trail mix and his tooth fell out in his mouth. Daddy was quick to help him to the sink so he didn't swallow it or lose it. Ezra was so sooo excited. He wrote the tooth fairy a letter asking for a new toothbrush (thankfully the tooth fairy was prepared and had one waiting). He kept talking about how he couldn't wait to tell his friends and what kinds of things they would say back to him. It took him about half an hour to fall asleep after because he kept reciting and reenacting what had happened. I cried. My little baby is getting so big!

Since it was late I was the scribe, but this is word for word what Ezra told me to write :)

His "big boy" tooth had already been growing behind the loose tooth for quite awhile, so he doesn't have to deal with a hole in his mouth, though by the looks of it, he will be needing braces one day.

He already has another loose tooth and tries to wiggle it daily to get it out. Makai is determined to not let his teeth fall out now for whatever reason. Maybe he'll change his mind when Ezra starts getting money for his teeth :)

Goings on Lately :0)

One major thing I have learned about Texas and what our life in Texas will always be like is, germs and sickness thrive! Everyone I talk to here says the same thing. It doesn't get cold enough to kill anything and the humidity is perfect for bacteria, etc. Thus said, we have been sick a lot more than usual. Texas has one of the highest flu rates in the country. My poor kids have suffered the most.

Makai and Deklan are just overcoming nasty double ear infections and Ezra and Deklan have already suffered through the next sickness overlapping that one. Makai's ear infection fought it's way through a full round of amoxicyllin and finally cleared up with a second dose of another antibiotic. It's gross and yucky and makes me sad. I hate seeing my poor babies sick:

Makai passed out grocery shopping one morning. Nothing says this boy is sick like a random nap during the day.

We have still been tackling our daily routine of homeschooling, work and craziness. I have been keeping way too busy and my head is spinning off my shoulders. It's amazing how much energy I DON'T have lately. I have been very busy planning church stuff and figuring out taxes and continuing to plan my homeschool curriculum/ fight with my children daily to get through it. 

Ezra is doing well. He's still the best kid in the world ;) and is still my little helper. He cleans his room/makes his bed daily without being asked. He even locks his door so no one can go in and mess it up. He's obsessed with cereal and the wii (daddy's fault, I'm afraid). He lost his first tooth and was beyond excited about it. He rides his big boy bike everyday and always has to show us his new "tricks" on it. He has a best friend (though he won't admit it because he loves everyone and tells me everyone is his friend). He asks me every single day to call her mom so we can have a playdate. We usually do. He just started baseball and is rather entertaining standing out in that field. Right now he is working on perfecting a handstand and trying to blow a bubble with gum. 

Makai is a little stinker, but is getting sweeter all the time. He recently learned to stand to go to the bathroom when I left James alone in the car with the three boys (one of them sleeping) so James resorted to having Makai pee in the car trashcan. Now I find pee i

 my trashcans and he even whips it out in the middle of the park and waters the sidewalks. We're working on correcting that, but this boy is a stubborn one. He goes back and forth between parenting Deklan and pampering him. If he's not scolding him, he's loving him so sweetly. He wants to do everything Ezra and daddy do. He loves to make up stories and has even learned the skill of a lie... Did I mention he's trouble? But he is the cutest little bundle of trouble and he tells me he loves me several times a day, so he knows how to work me.

Deklan is a spitfire. This boy still screams a scream that nearly makes my ears bleed. He has become a picky eater, which is discouraging because he was my best eater until recently. He doesn't like a variety of things during a meal. If you start with broccoli, that is all he will touch (unless we break out a dessert). He still has a dairy allergy, but we give him a little dairy every day in the hopes that he will grow out of it. He is attached to a little puppy blanket thingy AND his binky and will not settle down or sleep without them. My girlfriend calls him Tommy Pickles (from the Rugrats) because he goes on his own little adventures and wants all the freedom in the world. He is a little troublemaker too. He throws things in the trash, at the TV and especially in the bathtub while one of the other boys is bathing. Thankfully I caught him before he threw a wii remote in. He even threw himself in the bathtub one night:

He was leaning a little too far over to splash in the water and we're mean and left him there so we could snap a picture.

James still loves his job and JUST completed his final training test so he is officially off of probation!! They hit their year mark March 18th! So proud of him and all his hard work getting through his training and tests. He has recently become interested in surfing and kayaking. No, he has not gone surfing or kayaking, but he researches both in his spare time and hopes to own a surfboard and kayak in the near future. There is actually a pretty decent surfing area close by, so it's not such a far-fetched idea. Not to mention he is good at anything he tries, so he'd probably legitimately enjoy it. He is obsessed with green smoothies and has entered a serious health kick lately. He gets upset with me because I used to drink these smoothies daily, but since being pregnant I can't stomach them. He is also working on perfecting his handstand.

I am doing well. Feeling baby girl move more and more and am getting so excited to meet her! I am super super emotional and have cried myself to sleep at least once this week. Everything makes me cry. Holy smokes. It's embarrassing. I still lose my meals if I don't take nausea medicine, so I might just be taking it throughout this whole pregnancy. Like I mentioned earlier, I am exhausted and really struggling from "son up til son down". I am starting a bow/headband collection already and can't wait to dress this little baby girl! I have serious anxiety about what this next birthing process will be like since it will unfortunately be nothing like our dream experience when we had Deklan. We have even talked about flying me back to Maryland for the summer to have her there. That is not realistic, however, so I am trying to discard the nightmares from my mind and have faith that everything will be okay here.

Now we are looking forward to Grandma-Lene and our Brother in law Dustin to come visit the end of March and beginning of next month!!!!