Saturday, September 14, 2013

Cruz James

So it's been a few weeks since I last posted and a lot has changed since then!  We have welcomed a new handsome little man to our household. . .Cruz James Baughman!

To take you back to his birth day!  First of all, I never thought I'd actually make it to my scheduled date. . EVER!  I was scheduled for a planned c-section on Wednesday, September 4th.  When Tuesday rolled around, I was completely ready and prepared for this new little miracle to join the world.  I did not sleep much that night as you can probably guess with the anticipation and excitement of how are life was about to change in a few short hours.  We had to be at the hospital by 6 a.m. and from there, things were a bit of a whirl wind.  The nurses were busy getting me ready for surgery and by 8:15 a.m. we had our 3rd son!  Cruz James came into this world weighing 8 pounds 11 ounces and 22 inches long! Everything went as planned and he was a healthy little man!  So blessed!  
Carson and Kellen absolutely LOVE their little brother.  Carson, our sensitive child, was a bit apprehensive in the hospital, but shows nothing but love for his brother and adores him.  Kellen, our fire ball, was right up on my bedside the minute he got there wanting to hold the baby!  Cruz is doing really well having 2 crazy big brothers running around the house all day long!

Some may be wondering how or why we chose his name.  Like our other 2 boys, it's just a name we ran across and liked.  Gabe actually had mentioned it when we were looking at names at one point in my pregnancy.  Having a list of 10 or so names I would randomly ask Carson if he liked this name or that name.  He would always give his opinion, but wouldn't say much after that.  Well, for Gabe and I, Cruz was always in our top 2-3 names, but we never mentioned this to Carson.  However, Carson decided to tell 3-4 people (that we know of) that his little brother's name was going to be Cruz.  After hearing this and seeing his reaction when we asked him about the name Cruz, it was pretty easy to make a final decision.  In the hospital, Carson was holding Cruz one afternoon sitting next to me in bed, and he looks at me with the biggest smile on his face and says, "I'm really glad I picked the name Cruz"  So precious!

We are all adjusting pretty well to our family of 5!  Gabe stayed home Monday and Tuesday with us and has been a huge help since I can't do much.  My mom was here Wednesday through Friday and honestly not sure what I would have done without her!  She has been a huge help with the boys and keeping our laundry up and house organized.  Gabe's mom came down today and brought about a month's worth of freezer food with her-- Feel so blessed to have such amazing family that drops everything in a heartbeat to be there for us and help us out in any way possible!  

Slowly, I'm starting to feel back to myself- the hardest part is not being able to pick up anything or anyone except Cruz. This is especially hard for Kellen as he is still at that age where he loves to cuddle and be held by his Mommy!  I know that in a short few weeks I will be back to my old self and doing those things again that I can't do right now.  I have taken so many pictures (surprising, huh?) in the last week and a half.  I will slowly get those uploaded so everyone is able to see our little peanut and how his big brothers adore him! :)  Here are a few pictures of hospital stay.

5:45 a.m.- ready for this baby! 
Last pregnant picture before baby arrived

Dr. Markham and Cruz!! :)
Such a proud Daddy!! 
In recovery! First Mommy/Daddy/Cruz picture
First family of 5 photo!! 
Kellen loves his baby brother
My boys!!

Grandpa and Grandma Kloewer with all 3 grandkids 
Great Grandpa Bill and Grandma Louise!  Cruz makes #21 for great grandkids
Kisses! 
Aunt Christin visiting!
Such a proud big brother
Grandma and Grandpa Baughman 

Heading home! 



Monday, August 26, 2013

37 weeks. . . 4 days

Yesterday marked 37 weeks, 4 days for baby #3!  He is still kicking away and just seems to not be ready to arrive.  The way I've felt some days, I would welcome him anytime! With all the discomfort and symptoms though, I am not rushing this little one and am blessed for each day he continues to grow and become healthier inside:)  My scheduled c-section is 1 week from Wednesday.  It's just crazy to think that in 1 week we will be a family of 5.
I know I have been pregnant and preparing for this baby for 9 months, but it's so surreal to think that all the preparation and growing inside of me is just about to come to an end as this little miracle enters this big giant world!  It's a bit scary to think about, but so very exciting at the same time!  I think we all are ready for this little one to be here!  I am so grateful that I have had time at school to get things ready for a sub, but am so excited to be home again with my boys for 12 weeks!

I would post a picture, but for some reason my 37 week photo isn't showing up for me to post- so you will have to wait for another day!



Sunday, August 11, 2013

35th week

Getting ready to finish up with my 35th week sends me through an array of emotions.  I am getting very excited and anxious to meet this newest member of our family.  At the same time, I'm nervous and worried how everyone will adjust to this addition.  You hear all sorts of stories and comments from others about the 3rd child.  I'm praying for a smooth transition for our family!  
Kellen was over 3 weeks early so that makes me have a little anxiety as well as to when this little man will decide to make his appearance.  All I have to do is make it through NEXT weekend so I can be there for my best friend as she says I DO!  :)  Prayers would be appreciated! :)

Are we ready for this baby to get here? Well, I have all clothes washed and in drawers, all the 'baby' things clean and ready to use, basinet is out of the closet and just needs to be brought upstairs, baby bag is packed for the hospital, car seat clean and ready to load in the car, my hospital bag things laid out on the floor in our room ready to be packed, and pump ready to go!  We are READY for this baby!  

Some of you may be wondering how the boys are doing or if they are even interested and 'get' what is happening.  
Kellen is infatuated with babies right now and he loves to kiss my belly and point at my belly button and say "Baby"  As I've been bringing out all the baby clothes and toys and such, he will always point and say 'baby'.  It's adorable!  He loves his Mommy time and doesn't like to even share his Mommy with Carson at times ,so it will be an adjustment for him to have to share me with yet another sibling!  Carson totally gets it and has been asking questions for MONTHS!  A few months ago, he didn't get while the baby just couldn't come out yet and why it had to stay in Mommy's belly.  Now he knows that it's getting close and he is constantly asking questions.  If I tell him the baby is moving, he will want to come feel and when the baby kicks his hand or he feels movement, he gets all excited!  Last weekend we were back home and he saw his baby cousin Claire for the 1st time (she is now 2 months old).  He asked me if our baby will be as small as Claire.  After telling him our baby will be tinier than Claire, he was blown away and you could tell he kept trying to process it!  It's hard for him to imagine his little brother being that tiny!  I showed him a onesie I had washed the other day, and he looked at it and said, "The baby is going to be that tiny?"  
I am extremely excited to become a family of 5 even though it may scare me at times!  Both boys are going to be great big brothers and it will be fun when they are able to interact with their new brother rather than with Mommy's moving tummy! :)

How am I feeling? For the most part, I'm feeling pretty well.  I can tell I'm starting to slow down a bit!  I am slower to get up, am getting very worn out doing just the little things, and my feet and hands have been very swollen.  I'm icing my feet as I type! :)  I have still been sleeping pretty well so that is huge!  I have had quite a bit of indigestion lately so that isn't always pleasant, but I'm surviving!  
School starts tomorrow for teachers so that makes me a bit nervous- I won't be able to rest as much as I'm used to.  This 3rd time around though I've been pretty good at reading my body and so I try not to overdo it.  


Kisses for baby!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Zoo Day

A couple weeks ago my mom, the boys, and I headed to the zoo.  I have been wanting to go all summer and Gabe was gone for a few days working so I thought it was a great opportunity to get out of the house.  We were sad he couldn't join us, but the boys had a lot of fun looking at all the animals.  We started the day off with the petting zoo.  Carson doesn't get to close to anything moving and alive, but Kellen is a little braver and will at least attempt to pet the animals.  We saw about everything and even enjoyed a train ride around the zoo.  It was a very fun day and the boys had so much fun!  
Until Next Year! :)

Grandma Nancy and the boys
Watching the big Gorilla rest outside
My boys and me!

Enjoying the Jungle Ropes!
Kellen was too!
Taking a small break
Kellen was very interested in the giraffe!
Nap time!
Exploring the Desert!
Grandma Nancy and Carson

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Keeping Cool!

These pictures are a few weeks old, but thought I'd share what most of our days consist of if it's hot!  This was even before we got the bigger pool out of storage so it may have been longer than a few weeks! I never think to take my camera outside when the boys are playing in the water!  We also have a sprinkler so that is nice on hot days too when we haven't warmed up the pool water!
The boys LOVE the water and play really well together--MOST of the time! :) 

Kellen watering flowers!
Drinking the water from his watering can!

Drink breaks!

If we have to potty when we are outside, this is usually where it is! Thank goodness we don't have many neighbors that can see in our backyard!


Thursday, July 18, 2013

Just Like Daddy!

I just LOVE how my boys always want to be JUST LIKE DADDY!  Daddy was even smart enough to color coordinate bandanas to match the boys' shorts! (I doubt he did this on purpose, but it made me smile!)



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

4th of July fun!

Gabe and I headed to the Okoboji on the Wednesday night before the 4th for a nice long weekend as a family! This was our only sort of vacation this summer so we were soaking up family time and loving every minute of it!  There are huge flea markets over the 4th so we made sure to check all 3 out while we were up there! We even managed to seek out some great finds!  We boated, went mini golfing, hit up the candy store in the emporium, ate at our favorite place on the lake, Bracco, visited Arnold's park and enjoyed our favorite frozen yogurt joint, Bon Bon's.  It was a very relaxing weekend and the boys had a lot of fun! Carson really worked on his casting skills and is ready to reel in his big catch next time! The boys also love golf cart rides around the cabin area so we went on plenty of those as well!    Here are just a few pictures I snapped over the 4th! Enjoy!


Kellen sporting a patriotic bandana like Daddy!
Being a cheese for Mommy!

Kissses for Baby!
Kellen goofy with Daddy while Carson took a 3 1/2 hour nap
A little water bottle fun outside

Boat time!
Sitting with Daddy on the back of the boat


Decided they needed their life jackets on before even leaving the cabin! Whatever works!
Carson was brave and jumped in to Gabe- just didn't want too far from the boat!

Kellen wasn't sure what to think of the water! 

Family time on the boat
Grandpa and Grandma came on Sunday so we stayed to enjoy some boat time with them!

Carson decided he needed to just rest like Gabe was! So cute how he wants to be just like him! 
chillin!


Kellen had to get his turn in the captain's chair too!
It was a very wonderful and blessed weekend!