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!!!!

Gender Reveal Party!

I have never been one for surprises. I unwrap and then secretly rewrap gifts at Christmas time. I like to know things ASAP. It has been the same way with our babies. I don't know how some people can wait to find out the gender until the baby is actually in their arms. Not me! However... I was sort of forced into waiting a little bit this time around. 

I had some abnormal blood work, so my doc sent me to a specialist who made an appointment for me as soon as they were able which happened to be a day that James couldn't get off work. (By the way, the ultrasound was normal. They did a more extensive blood screening which I will get the results of in a little over a week, but the doctor said she expects it to be okay). When she asked if I wanted to know the gender I said, "of course"but then I remembered the promise I made to my sweet love who couldn't be there and said, "actually, maybe you could write it down for me so my husband and I can find out together." Thankfully they sealed the envelope otherwise I would've totally peaked!

When I picked up my boys from my girlfriends house I told her I had the results sealed in the car and she excitedly asked if she could make a cake for us. I happily obliged. The cake turned into a party! I've never done that before. I loved it! It was so exciting.

I have some great friends here. I have always been blessed with wonderful friends everywhere we have lived and each time I feel so honored to be surrounded by these incredible people. My girlfriend got a couple of our other friends involved in the planning and they threw together this party for us! 

And the inside of the cake was...... 

PINK!!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!! We are getting a baby GIRL!!!!!!!!! I am still trying to wrap my head around the idea, but am soooo excited. I had convinced myself that it was a boy and I was completely okay with that. Ezra and Makai both decided before cutting the cake that they wanted a baby sister and James has been talking about wanting a baby girl this whole pregnancy.

I have felt worse this time around and am showing differently (which I attributed all to still nursing Dek-O), but it turns out it really is a GIRL! AHHH! She will be here somewhere around July 19th and we will be ready with clothes and bows and all assortments of girly things that I never could indulge in before. I used to push myself past little girl clothes and look back longingly and now I get to linger in that section for a bit!!! I have to go shopping RIGHT NOW!

Homeschool

We have had an interesting start at our homeschooling adventure. There are so many things I love about it and so many reasons I try to remind myself that I love when there are days that I don't particularly love it. Truth be told, it is tough for me and I am struggling daily with the battle in my mind about so many different things. I'll stay away from all the confusion that fills my brain and just move on to the fun things we have actually done this year...

Ezra is in Kindergarten. While I am still learning what that means for him, we are exploring the things that he wants to learn. I have no doubt that he is learning a lot this year even on days that my efforts are lacking and I am grateful for that. He is fascinated by so much.

Because there are two other children floating around the house and a sometimes very sick mommy, we have to be flexible with how things are structured... I have recently changed our schedule to have a daily focus subject. We will cover other subjects, but spend most of our time on just one for the day. Thursday is strictly our science day. Ezra's favorite day of the week by far! Friday is generally a craft day/make-up day/occasional field trip day.

He is reading books by himself now and is doing so great at figuring out tricky words. He even reads entire versus of the scriptures mostly by himself and he gets so much pride from that. It is making all those incredibly stressful reading lessons so worth it.

We have had some fun units such as: dinosaurs, jellyfish, volcanoes, geysers, gravity, and hearts. We have also had some not so exciting, but still educational units. Thank goodness for pinterest or most of our lessons would be not so exciting. It's fun when I get a little creative all on my own, but that's rare.

We have also started attending a monthly homeschooling class at the aquarium lab. They get to learn about creatures and they bring in a special guest for them to discover. It's a fun change for Ez to be in a somewhat standard class setting once in awhile.

Makai got to participate a little as well which was fun. Ez is in the striped shirt. He's sitting next to his buddy Haley. We do a co-op fairly regularly with her and they have a great time together. We do experiments, crafts and the even helped each other learn to tell time. It's so fun. He did so well in this class and is such a well behaved child. I had no doubt he would be, but it was fun to see what he is like when mommy isn't in charge.

Ez at the Aquarium before heading to his class. 

All in all, I don't regret my decision to homeschool him. Do I think I'll do it next year? I'm still torn. I have two (almost three) other babies that need my attention and I'm not sure I'm the type of supermom that can divide myself equally. I feel like I'm giving up if I put him in public school, but I also feel like I might be holding him back if I don't. Ugh... It really is the toughest decision to me because I feel so passionately for homeschooling... I guess we'll see what happens. If we lived in a different area I think my heart wouldn't be in such turmoil about it.

For now though we still have some time and some fun ahead of us. I plan to continue schooling throughout the summer (if pregnancy and baby #4 allow me to), so I'll try to be better about tracking our progress and adventures.