Officially Introducing...

Thanks to Kim Shirley for the design!!! (See her link on the right...)

Better Late Than Never...

A week or so after I had been home with Brenner, Rusty mentioned that he had had a funny conversation with a co-worker. They were talking about Brenner and her new baby due soon and she mentioned her "Push Present" from her first baby. Now Rusty totally thought she made that term/ idea up and related that to me later that night. I happily informed him that Push presents were not a made up idea, and they even counted when the lady had a c/s delivery. I tried to refrain from asking where my present was, but I think the hormones got the best of me and I blurted it out anyways.

So Brenner is 5 weeks old now, and Rusty came through in a big way...

Better late than never, my Push Present showed up at my house Thursday night. We traded in the Tahoe I have had for 7 years and 99,871 miles and upgraded to a brand spanking new Suburban. I have been dying for bucket seats and cargo room and this fit the bill. It has all the bells and whistles-even heated and cooled seats, XM radio --the works. I even got them to put my Tahoe's custom wheels and tires on it. I am pretty sure I need to practice parking in an empty parking lot for a while, and forget about backing up even with that camera thing... I am so excited to have a new ride. Thanks Honey! I think this clears the slate for all THREE boys' push gifts!

Also this week my sister Robyn flew down with my niece Audrey to help out and visit. This was the first time Rhonda and Chelli's kids had met Auds and Robyn met Talia. It was fun. We had the whole gang over for dinner, the four sisters went to BJ's for dinner, we watched SYTYCD, held fussy teething toddlers and a VERY colicky baby and had such a nice time. She even cooked for me, let me nap, and did the dishes. I miss her already! This photo of her and B3 show his new personality. He is C-R-A-N-K-Y. We are trying to figure out if he is lactose intolerant like Berk was or if it is something else. Whew, all I know is feel free to drop by and relieve me of my holding duty, because my arms are toast. And yes, I have a sling, but that hurts my back and he still cries...

Rochelle, Robyn, Rhonda & I

My sisters and I with our "babies". Gabrielle is 11, Audrey and Talia are 1 and Brenner.

Oh, did you catch that my sister's names all start with an "R" and mine doesn't? Don't worry, I'm not bitter, and I don't feel left out. And there is NO correlation between that and my boys all having to have "B" names what so ever.

Ok, maybe a little, but that's a whole 'nother blog post.

Dark Circles...

SO it is a given that Moms to newborns are going to get crappy sleep. I have no qualm with that. It get it. I expect it. And frankly, my two year old still gets up in the night, a lot. So when Brenner came home I was all prepared to be sleep deprived and napping as much a possible. Which, thanks again to that 2 year old, napping has never been an option.

But what I really take issue with is the superhuman sense newborns come with. Do you know the one I am talking about?

Not their ability to eat nonstop or pee and poop like crazy. Or even how much they can cry.

It's how they are able to sense when your head finally hits the pillow. Not just hits, but you know when you finally sink in and sleep is near -- and just then, the baby makes a noise or cries or spits up? That's the superhuman sense I am talking about.

And Brenner has that superpower down to an art.

I need to learn how to sleep with my head levitating inches above my pillow. I'll work on that when I'm not so tired.

And just cause he's so stinking cute, here is b3 at 4 weeks old.

I'm Feeling Old...

Well, despite my best efforts to stay 29, 30 caught up with me anyway. But Rusty and my boys did a good job spoiling me so I was able to overlook my age and have a nice mellow day. It started with the breakfast of my choice, doughnuts-yum, and 30 red roses. Then I got a cute balloon bouquet, that Berkley was particularly proud of. We opened gifts that afternoon, and once again I have the bestest hubby ever. He got me the Atlas Necklace from Tiffany's. I have been wanting it for more than a year-ever since I got the Atlas Charm Bracelet.

You have to have the matching set-it's a Tiffany's Law- at least in my book... But he fooled me by hiding my little blue box in a box for a new iPhone 3GS-which I will also be getting this week.

Me with my necklace

I also got the new Suzanne Collins book, and the first one too since I didn't have my own copy. And Wii Sports Resort. This game is sooooo fun, If you have the original WiiSports,mark this one down on your Christmas list. You can wake board, skydive, and a bunch of other fun stuff. The kids loved playing it.
After dinner at Outback we had a few fun friends over. We watched the end of that amazing BYU game, had cake and ice cream and chatted. With about a dozen kids under 7 there, it was a riot. Thanks to the Beck's, my fam, Farnsworths, and both Burkinshaws for helping me celebrate. Here's to being Thirty, Flirty and Thriving...

Adjusting to the New Normal...

I cannot believe we have had Brenner for almost three weeks! It seems crazy to me. He is such a good baby and I'm not gonna lie, he is easier to handle than the other two mot of the time. He is a good eater and sleeper. In fact he thinks he is hungry ALL THE TIME. And if he spits up he expects you to replace what he 'lost'. Pretty funny. Berk has had the hardest time adjusting. While Braden loves holding him and feeding him, it too nearly two weeks for Berk to even hold him. But now he is Brenner's buddy. He asks at least twice a day "When Brenner be big?" because he wants him to play cars with him. Having Braden at school all day was a nice adjustment. I'm keeping it real, he and I butt heads over everything so it is nice not to have to break up fights for most of the day. Berk is losing out on naps most days, because he wants me to lay down with him, without the baby. When he's really tired, however, we find him like this

or this

Brenner is so much more alert now, and he is bound and determined to hold his head up for as long as possible. And he will turn to the sound of mine or Rusty's voice. Love it. We have had lots of visitors come meet Mr Brenner and we can't wait for everyone else to. My back is finally feeling better, and aside from a root canal I had over the weekend I am finally feeling back to my old self (almost). It's amazing what a difference not carrying around a huge belly makes on my mood. And how cute are these B1 B2 B3 shirts? My sister in law Jill made them (and cute jammie pants) for the boys. She just started a cute baking/sewing blog called Sew Tasty. There's a link on the side of my blog.

Age Old Question...

Who does he look like? I had to put this up to get unbiased opinions, because let's face it, my family thinks Brenner is all Rasmussen and Rusty's family think he is all Beck...

I think he is a good combo of both my older boys. All I know is I love his hair and his temperament. He has been just the best addition to our family and even manages to sleep through his brothers constantly loud presences. I have a ton of photos to upload from his first week, I will work on that soon.

Some of Brenner's Visitors...

Happy Momma

Proud Daddy

The cutest picture EVER

Brothers Three

A real post coming eventually, with more photos and the whole story about Mr. Brenner's debut. Thank for all the well wishes, he is a super good baby and we are adjusting well to the newest member of the family.

Newest Member of the Family

Brenner Lee Beck has Arrived!!!!

Born: August 14, 2009 at 7:12pm
Weight: 8 Pounds 8 Ounces
Height: 21 1/2 Inches Long

Baby Brenner and Mom are doing great. Braden and Berkley love their new little brother and are enjoying spending time with him.

Our New Family!

Perspective...

So I don't know about you, but there are certain themed blogs I love to follow. While it is sewing and cooking for my SIL, or crafts for my friend; I tend to look at other 'Heart Mom' blogs. When Braden was born I knew of one other person who had a heart baby, but I didn't know them. I had no support system in place, besides a very caring extended family eager to learn everything about how to care for this precious baby.

This week marks the 6th anniversary of Braden's 2nd and final Open Heart Surgery. This surgery was specifically to repair his Mitral Valve that was still leaking even after the first repair. While our first stay at Stanford had been extensive, we were shocked and excited that he healed so quickly the inpatient stay was only four days.

I remember,despite being NPO (no food or water) all night, that he was in such a good mood that morning. Even being a good sport taking pictures in the hotel before we left.

I remember having our final pre op meeting with the surgeon, Dr. Hanley, and being grateful that Braden was in such amazing hands, yet hating that we were back there again.

I remember him walking around the 'day room' where you waited your turn for preop, with his cute diapered buns hanging out of the back of his tiny gown with pink animals on it. I remember him cutting teeth and how it bugged him more than the surgery. I remember that since he was 10 months old, he got an actual tray of food brought to him- it was so cute- it had jars of baby food and a bottle of formula on it. I remember he didn't sleep at all after they extubated him until the afternoon we left. Meaning I didn't sleep at all. I remember him sitting up in his crib in the step down unit two days post op and how cute he looked reading his "Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" book and playing with toys. And I thought he was Superman.

And I remember when we brought him to the hotel, my MIL asked if they knew we had him out of the hospital.

So while I am blessed and lucky to have all this behind me. I am so grateful that I can be there for new friends going through Heart Trials for the first time with their precious babies. Some of the blogs I follow are strangers but I still cry with the setbacks and dance with the progress. I think back to the support staff at the hospitals back then and wish I had known a familiar face among the parents there too. Some of the stories I follow are very personal to me, because I grew up with the parents, or went to school with them. And I hope my words of 'wisdom' from everything like "bring slippers with soles in them" to "become friends with the Charge Nurse" help some. Being a HeartMom makes you an honorary MD (Mom Doctor). My friends used to laugh that I needed a white coat for all the medicines, dosages, procedures I knew.

So, it is just amazing to me that this little sick kid started FIRST GRADE today. He is getting so old. He was so excited last night he couldn't fall asleep. And this morning the only concerns he had were over what shoes to wear. He walked inside on his own, no tears, no hesitation. He ate lunch at school for the first time ever, and sat at a table of kids he didn't know. He tried hard to remember the names of the kids in his class. And he only gave me a minor panic attack when he forgot where he was supposed to meet the neighbors after school for pick up. After searching the school, he was still with his teacher and had finally remembered the spot. Whew! I am so proud of him. He is so happy to be back in school. I am enjoying this last week of just Berk time while it lasts. I am set for induction on the 17th - if this little guy doesn't mind his Momma and come sooner.

Hangin' In There...

Well I am still here, still HOT and still pregnant! Baby B3 needs to cook a little bit more I guess. I am as prepped as I can be. The furniture I ordered for the big boys room is here, and all the clothes are snug in their drawer beds. Thanks to Rusty's Nana, their room is also free of blank walls. Even the photo enlargements I ordered came already.

As for the nursery, my MIL was nice enough to buy me some new crib bedding.- and even the mobile. The old set was pretty ragged. I like the new one. It is a transportation theme, which doesn't mesh with the sports art I have up, but the colors all go so I am content. Baby 3's name is even up on the wall. The clothes have been washed and hung, swing, bouncer and car seat sit washed and prepped. In a moment of pure 'nesting' I even Magic Erasered the entire crib... And I finally got around to reorganizing my massive library of children's books that are in that room.

My cradle is put together, bopy pillow at the ready too. Diaper baskets upstairs and down are filled with all the essentials. I pulled out my old diaper bag and restocked it. And I finally packed the elusive Hospital bag. I have washed and sanitized all the bottles I can find- and please don't get me started about the enormous bag of bottles and such that I CAN'T find-- I will deal with what I have and hope he is a good nurser (unlike his brothers). I've had my hair cut and colored and a nice maternity massage. All I need is to find time to sneak out for my pedicure.

I forgot how small newborn diapers are- and don't even get me started on those tiny socks, sigh.

Now all that's left is for this baby to tell us he's ready. I am hoping to make it another week and a half, so that Braden can be in school and used to somewhat of a routine before we throw this curve ball at him, but at the same time I am SO done being this big! I can't even try not to waddle. It is the biggest effort just to get on and off my bed. Forget finding any clothes that still fit. And when even your closest friends are telling you how huge you look, you know it is bad. And my 'big boys' are so nicely adjusting us to little sleep in an effort to prep us for baby. Both boys, but mostly Berk, are having the hardest time sleeping the last few weeks. Therefore, Rusty and I are getting a few hours sleep here and there. We'll deal. So hopefully the next post or two will be announcing baby, but if not I will stretch my brain power and try to come up with something witty to write about.