Our Life In The NICU

Everyone seems to be asking us what life is like in the NICU. I only really know a couple of words to describe it....amazing care and and an emotional roller coaster ride. Literally. We could not ask for better folks to be taking care of Brant but at the same time it is very tough. The hardest part is just living in two places, and the guilt of having to place your baby back in his isolette when you leave every day or evening from a visit. Especially with Brant b.c he is so alert, and a lot of times he will just stare at us once we put him back in to leave. I often wonder what he could possibly be thinking. Sometimes it just breaks my heart. I find myself having random cries a lot these days....probably part of it pregnancy hormones and part of it just pleading with God to let him come home soon...and to keep him healthy. I cannot believe how in love I am with someone that I have only known for 2 weeks, and how much I want to protect him from everything b.c he was born so early. I literally cannot wait to get up there to see him every single day....just to hold him and talk to him. And it is so hard when Chris leaves to go and see him in the evenings b.c I want to go again so much. But one of us needs to stay with Braden......so you just constantly feel torn. Then you have other things in life that you have to take care of (b.c those things don't just go away). So even though you would like to be up there 24/7, it is just not realistic. I think that is the best summary I can give at this point. That is the current perspective that I have after 14 days into this journey.

The other crazy part is all of the phone calls and bills that you deal with. It seems like we get statements about something every day and we just kind of weed through them. :) And then the enormous number of phone calls that we handle between doctors, maternity leave info, the NICU, nurses, cord blood banking, financial calls, insurance, etc. It is just nuts but praise the Lord for insurance! WOW!! We have never been so thankful for good insurance like we are right now.

I often think back to the fact that if his body would not have been growth restricted to 28 weeks then he would have probably been born at 4 1/2 lbs at least...maybe even closer to 5 lbs. It seems to crazy to me b.c at this point I cannot even imagine what Brant will look like at 4 lbs...much less as a toddler. But I know that God had a plan in all of this...and he is going to take perfect care of our precious little baby...just like he has since his birth.

To answer some questions about the basics of the NICU....it goes like this:
1) Brant has a nurse that takes care of him all of the time-24 hours a day. There are different nurses on different days but I think we have had most of them by this point. We are always meeting someone new whether it be a neonatologist, nurse practioner, a nurse, or the ladies that run the front desk up there. We are quickly becoming friends with some of them and sharing our lives. They take incredible care of him and they really do become attached. A lot of them will just come by to see him during the day...even if they are not his nurse on that shift.

2) There are babies everywhere.....in their own little areas or "rooms". Rooms just mean the babies own area with curtains that you pull around them/you for privacy. I think that our hospital has a 60 bed NICU and it seems to be pretty full. We see babies come and go, and then there are some that are tiny like Brant...that are in there for weeks to grow. Many of the babies that are in there are much bigger but sicker than Brant...as he seems to be one of the healthiest babies but just one of the smallest.

3) Someone from the NICU (doc or nurse practioner) calls us everyday to update us on Brant. They let us know about his feedings, weight, any issues, any labwork, what his warmer is set at for the isolette, if we can hold him more, his development, etc. If they do not call then they will meet us at his bedside and talk to us personally. It is so nice to have that personal one on one contact with someone that can let us know everything about our sweet son. And it is nice b.c most folks in there know about you and your family, your delivery, that Braden was a full term baby, when we come up there during the days/evenings, and what we need. In one conversation last week the doctor said that they do not like to tell parents that their babies are doing "super" b.c it can often give them false hope. However they told us that Brant really IS doing super...and for that we could not be more grateful. It is such a relief to know that we are basically just focusing on his growth at this point, and not really having to worry about other major things.

4) We started out the first days in the NICU with Brant having a nasal canula to provide him a little bit more oxygen. He also had his warmer turned up to the highest level to keep him warm (36.5 degrees C). He had an IV in his leg and a feeding tube through his mouth for all of his feedings. He was on light therapy to prevent jaundice. He was also being monitored constantly and blood work being taken daily. They were also watching him for sleep apnea which means that a baby will stop breathing during his sleep.

All of that is a big change from where we are just 14 days later. He has not been on oxygen since about Day 2 or 3. Amazing!! He never had any episodes of sleep apnea which is very rare especially on a baby his size. His light therapy was discontinued in the first week. Instead of having lab work done every single day, he just has it done once per week-on Mondays. His warmer is now turned down to 28.1 degrees C (27 degrees is the lowest it goes before they move to an open crib). So that means he is doing great regulating his body temperature. His IV was taken out in the first week and his feeding tube was moved to his nose. He is up to taking 3 bottles per day and the other 5 feedings are through the tube. He will keep moving to more bottle feedings per day and eventually the tube will come out. YAY!! :) They have been adding extra calories to the breastmilk through packets of Human Milk Fortifier. All in all it he has been doing just incredible. :) Grow baby grow!!!

5) Since he is such an alert baby, they put black and white pictures of objects in his isolette to give him something to look at. They said if he is staring at something then it might as well be pictures. That was nice of them. :)

6) A lot of folks have asked who all can go into the NICU. Well, two people can be in there with him at all times. Siblings can have one visit per week for 15 min at a time. We look forward to bringing Braden up there to meet his brother soon! :) All of the grandparents are allowed in at anytime by themselves. Other than that you get to name 4 people that you can bring in with you for the entire time that your baby is in the NICU. And that is all...just a very small group of people so they can keep track of all of the folks that come and go.

Couple of other notes about the NICU...they have a pretty cool support network. They have a program called Hand To Hold where they support parents of kids in the NICU. They assign you a mentor family that has been through what you are going through now..and they help you deal with everything that comes with this new life. Sign me up! :) They also have a group of volunteers that run the Ronald McDonald room that is up there. It provides a place for you to go and relax in between visits, watch TV, to take your younger kids to play while you and your spouse trade off seeing your baby, and they provide lots of different food that you can eat while you are up at the hospital. All of it free. It is so very kind and it has helped me on many occasions when I have been up there for hours and starving. We greatly appreciate them!

We did have a couple of minor setbacks but so far they have worked themselves out. He had a higher than normal level of calcium in the first week. The normal level was 10 or lower but he was runinng around 12. We asked for prayers for that number to come down, and over the course of a couple of days it came down to around 9. They were very happy with that number and so were we. :) When they took the IV out, Brant had a few nodules where it was in his leg. We think he must have had a reaction to the IV. Again, we asked for prayers for that and the next day they did not feel any nodules. :) Praise Jesus for that! :) Then he has had one of his liver numbers that has been slowly increasing over the past week. It needs to be under one and it has gone from .9 to 1 to 1.1. They did an ultrasound of his gall bladder and liver and everything looked really good. Also, all of his other liver numbers are great, so it might just be that he is having a higher number due to his premature size. We are praying for that one to go down for good right now! :)

Some folks have asked what the process is for when we go up there to see Brant. We have to be up at the NICU about 15 min or so before his feeding so we have time to scrub in. Sometimes there is a line and you have to wait. So you scrub in up to your elbows for 3 minutes straight...and then you can check in. Once we get inside and go to Brant's bedside, we can take his temp (to make sure it is over 98 degrees before we take him out). Then we change his tiny little diaper (Premie size diapers are too big for him right now-ha!!). And then we are ready to take him out and feed him. We give him the bottle which usually takes between 15-30 min for him to eat..and then we can cuddle with him kangaroo style. :) We strip him down to just a diaper and place him on our chests for some skin to skin contact. He LOVES it and he usually just settles into a deep sleep. It is the most amazing thing..and more relaxing than anything I have ever experienced. I feel like there are some chemicals that are released when you sit with your precious baby that way. I leave feeling like I have had a wonderful massage. :) It is an incredible time with him..and we treasure it so much! :)

So those are the basics of the NICU..and our life up there. we will update the blog as more things change with him..and especially when he gets to come home and we can throw a huge celebratory party!! What a glorious day that will be! :)

Here are a couple of pics to help tell the story... :)
Where we wash up before going in.... Brant's room.....I know that I might be biased but I REALLY think his nursery is cuter at home! :) And it does not have monitors going off all around it at all hours of the day and night! :) The cover over the isolette when he is sleeping... A little sign that one of the volunteers made him. :) The volunteers up there are so incredible!! They also knit them hats, blankets, and all kinds of other fun things. What a wonderful ministry! :) This might show how small our little man is. Look at him compared to Chris's hand and arm. :) Sweet baby boy........We love you Brant!! :)

Our Precious Valentines Day Bundle Of Joy.....Welcome Brant Christian Bugbee!!

Well it is safe to say that the Bugbee family had a pretty life changing day on Valentines Day 2011. :) We welcomed our baby boy, Brant Christian, into the world about 7 weeks early. It was a combination of fear, excitement, concern, uncertainty, overwhelming love, joy, pride, and hope. I have never felt so much pain and so many emotions in one week in my entire life. We have had hundreds of people praying for our family and reaching out to us for the past 2 weeks...and I cannot even begin to express our gratitude to you. WOW! You all have been unbelievable!! You have way surpassed my expectations and have continued to lift our family up, and I have never felt prayers the way that I have during this time. God is so good…and he is hearing them!! THANK YOU!!

Many, many people have asked us to fill them in on all of the craziness of being admitted to the hospital, why we had Brant 7 weeks early, how I am healing, what life in the NICU is like, etc. So I thought it might be so much easier if I just wrote a blog post and shared with everyone at the same time. I hope that is ok with all of you. We apologize for taking so long to get this update out. We are trying to adjust to our new world and what all that means….but we are sorry to have left anyone in the dark. The last thing that you want to do when you have amazing people all over praying for you is to leave them out of the updates. :) I also forget that not everyone has Facebook. :)

Here goes our story (apologies for the length of it)…… :)
For the most part I had a very uneventful pregnancy with Brant. Unlike mine with Braden, I was sicker with Brant…but really not a big deal in the grand scheme of 9-10 months. I was so thankful that everything was perfect every time we had a doctor’s visit, ultrasound, etc. My doc and I had already started talking about inducing me at Week 38 or 39 so I could be guaranteed that she would deliver me. We had talked about how easy everything was with Braden and how this delivery would probably be so much quicker, etc. I was excited!!

At my Week 30 appt, my belly was measuring about a week and a ½ big…so my doc mentioned going ahead and doing an ultrasound at my Week 32 one. I was excited to see Brant again so of course I obliged. So on Friday, 2/11 we headed into the doc office for my Week 32 appt and our ultrasound. Everything was really normal at the beginning of the ultrasound and she told me that Brant was head down and in the perfect position..ready to go. She measured his head first and it was measuring right on track at 32 weeks. Then things went downhill from there. She went to measure his stomach, legs, etc, and she had a very puzzled and concerned look on her face. Apparently his body was only measuring about 28 weeks….so it was about 4 weeks or so behind where it should be. I remember thinking “how could this be?” The room was instantly solemn as she was trying to figure out what could be going on. She kept re-measuring and shaking her head in disbelief. All of a sudden she said “We need you to see a perinatologist TODAY b.c we have to figure out what is going on asap.” I think that was the point in which Chris and I panicked. We had no idea what was going on but we knew it was not good. She ran out to call the perinatologist and told us to wait for her to come back. She came back and told us that the perinatologist office was closed on Fridays so we would have to be admitted to the hospital so that he could see me today. That would be the only way that he would be able to come in and check me, etc.

Well anyone who knows me AT ALL knows that I am completely and utterly TERRIFIED of the hospital. I already have really bad “white coat syndrome” where my blood pressure sky rockets when I am in the doctor’s office…but especially in the hospital. And now you are telling that I have to check in and we have no idea when I will get out? WHAT? I was sweating bullets!!! I was super emotional and everything that comes along with being told you are being admitted to the hospital and they don’t know what is wrong with your baby. We also did not know how long we would be in there. Would it be a couple of hours until the perinatologist came? Would it be for one night and then released? Would I have to be on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy in the hospital? Would I have to deliver him super early? I had no idea what the best option even was but I knew that I was not happy about any of those arrangements!

So we waited and waited for the doc to show up…and in the meantime they had already taken things in to their own hands in Labor and Delivery. They had already started me on a blood pressure medication (b.c I was so freaked out), magnesium (worst drug EVER!!), steroid shots to help Brant’s lungs just in case he needed to be delivered early, and IV (most miserable thing ever), and put a catheter in b.c I was not going to really be able to get out of bed on magnesium (they tell you it is going to make you feel like you have a bad hangover, and that you are dizzy and very weak). REALLY? So all of this was happening fast, and I was so shaky and just overall not in a good place.

The perinatologist finally showed up along with my OB and he did an ultrasound. He looked at Brant in great detail and he was very calm. He basically got the same exact measurements as my OB, and he showed that Brant was estimated to weigh about 2 lbs 10 oz at delivery (due to the growth restriction which was placing his body at about 28 weeks and his head at 32 weeks). He said he actually looked really good and his breathing and heart rate were great, etc. He showed us the blood flow through the placenta, and that was actually the telltale sign that something was wrong. The blood was flowing in fine to him but was not flowing out right. So something was wrong with that whole picture. Basically he gave us a very simple message which was “Brant is not going to grow anymore in utero, so there is no reason to keep him in there. We need to get him out and grow him in the NICU.” Then he turned to my OB and said “We need to schedule a c-section for Monday morning.” Um…what? I was not thinking anything about a c-section at this point b.c I did not have one with Braden. In fact, I think I had one of the easiest deliveries on the planet..and now a c-section? I was so sad even though I knew for sure it was what we needed to do for our little man. The only really awesome part about all of it was that no one blinked an eye about Brant being delivered 7 weeks early. Docs and nurses alike all said he would be just great, that the NICU would take good care of him, and that there should be no long term effects from him being born as a premie. So that part was very comforting. The NICU also came by our room and told us that a Week 33 baby was a big baby in their eyes, and that he would be in good hands. They also told us that there were two types of growth restricted babies-symetrical and asymetrical. You wanted to have asymetrical (which is what Brant was) where his head was measuring larger than his body. That meant that all of the blood flow he was getting was being used to grow his brain...so he would like be very developed in that area by the time he was born. Then all they would have to do is help his body play catch up and "grow him".

So just like that…we had orders and a plan. We were delivering our baby at 33 weeks via c-section on Valentine’s Day morning. And that was that. Sheesh! They wanted me to stay in the hospital all weekend to remain on the IV and do the steroid shots every 24 hours, etc. I also needed to have blood draws every 6-12 hours to monitor the magnesium level for Brant and I, as it can be toxic. And then the docs left to go and enjoy their weekends…and there we were just sitting in disbelief. I did not know what to think or do or feel. I was just kind of numb and drugged up…not a good place to be. :( The weekend seemed to pass so slowly…and all I wanted to do was get out of there. I just hated spending the weekend in a hospital room but I kept reminding myself that it could be so much worse. There are people that have to spend many weeks, even months, in there on bed rest. Oh how I feel for those folks.

We had lots of friends and family come by to see us while were in there that weekend…and we greatly appreciated that. By Sunday night I was super ansy and ready to get this show on the road. Little did I know what kind of pain I was about to encounter or I might have wanted to wait longer.

Monday morning came and we were scheduled for 8 am. Of course that got pushed back due to some emergency c-sections....but by 9 am we were on our way to the operating room. I have never seen a room so bright in my life. They got me over to the OR table and gave me the spinal. Never fun but necessary. Then I laid down in got in position for the big c-section....just in time to go completley numb. And that is when things started to get a little blurry. I think just all the drugs in my system and all the stuff that is in the spinal….I was soooo tired. I could barely keep my eyes open. They had told me that it would be about 30 min once we got in there until we were able to meet our son…and then about another 30 min to get everything stiched up and get me into recovery. Well that is how it is SUPPOSED to go at least….but unfortunately that was not how it was for me.

As far as the actual delivery of Brant…that part was fine. He was born at 9:37 am. :) They had him out quickly and he came out crying…PRAISE JESUS!! That was one of the things that they had warned us about…that he might not be breathing on his own when he came out. Ugh…more to worry about I thought! But he did!! And that is when we knew that we had a fighter on our hands…and that he was going to be ok. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I tried to watch them get him cleaned up and stablized over on the table across the room. I could not tell how small he was but I was just praying that he was at least the 2 lb 10 oz weight that they had mentioned earlier in the weekend. They called out his weight at 2 lbs 4 oz, and 15 inches long. Even though I did not know exactly what that meant, I just got really sad again. Probably b.c my mind started racing thinking about the fact that he would be in the NICU longer now that he was even smaller. After they brought him over to me and I was able to get a really quick look at him, Chris and the team left to go and take care of Brant up in the NICU nursery. And there I was just laying on the OR table all by myself waiting, waiting, waiting. Hours passed and I was still not in recovery. I was in and out, in and out…but knew that something was not quite right. Finally I heard my OB say that she had called in another doc to help her with the stitching. That did not quite make sense to me as I knew that I had been laying open on that OR table for way longer than I was supposed to. Come to find out, they were having issues with getting the uterus to stop bleeding every time they would try to close it up. So they would close it up and place it back into its home, only to find that it was bleeding again on one side. So they would take it out again and start over. Wow…I was going to be unbelievably sore!! So finally they got that all resolved and were able to get me all finished up.

I was finally in recovery sometime between 11-12. I have never been so thirsty in my life! I felt like I could drink gallons of water. In recovery my mom and Chris came to see me. That is when Chris told me that they all had been a little bit worried out in the waiting room since it had taken so long in the OR. They would not let him back in or tell him what was going on...so he was getting a little freaked out. I talked to both of them for awhile, and that is when the itching started. Oh yes…I was having a reaction to the spinal…good times. I could not stop itching everywhere. I was also shaking like crazy and really ready to get to my post partum room and into my bed.

Finally after noon that day I was into a room and settled into bed. My OB came in and told us all about the c-section and also revealed the source of Brant’s issues-the placenta. She said was not healthy at all and calcified, hardened, and nothing much was getting through. Can a mother feel any worse guilt than that? I don’t think so. I was a mess! I know there was nothing I could have done and it was more than likely a fluke thing…..but they were going to send the placenta off to pathology just to be safe, and have it checked out.

And there began another 5 days of many drugs, pain like I have never felt before, much dependence on nurse’s, my mom, and Chris like crazy, trying to get to the NICU to see my new son, missing Braden, and the inevitable emotional roller coaster. The last 5 days in the hospital were really a blur. Between the pain, lots of meds, and many different people taking care of me, I really in a weird place. I would go back and forth between crying to smiling when I thought about Brant, to being so thankful that Chris would spend 8 nights in the hospital with me, to wondering how what our new life would be like and how I would handle it.

During that 5 days after the c-section, I had a lot of tests and stuff run just to see if they could figure out the growth restriction and what had happened to the placenta. I had to take some drugs to get rid of the itching from the spinal and needed help up and down anywhere that I went. I was finally able to go and meet Brant in the NICU the day AFTER my c-section. I could barely keep my eyes open in the wheelchair.....and I was completely shocked when they help him up for me to see. He was skin and bones...literally. He was so incredibly tiny and I was overcome with emotion. Was he going to be ok? Was he really going to grow and grow fast? Would I be able to pump enough milk to feed him or would he be on donor milk? How long would we have to come to the NICU and have our lives split between our two boys being in different places? Would I use up my 12 weeks of maternity leave before I even had much time to spend with him at home? We had so much to learn about this new life...and it just seemed so overwhelming to me.

I adore my OB and she came in to visit me twice per day...even as late as 8 pm just to check on me. She would also go and see Brant too. I think that was her way of being supportive and I appreciated it so much! I know that she was as shocked as I was that things turned out this way. She told me in the end that there really was not explanation to the placenta turning out the way it did..and it just had to be a fluke thing. She told me that if I wanted to have more kids that there was no indication that I would have this issue again. Basically every pregnancy was different and there was not any more of a chance of something like happening just b.c you had it in the past. That part was reassuring!!

I started to feel a little better as the days went by. A lot of folks had asked to come by the hospital but for some reason I just could not do it. Between feeling so awful and literally falling asleep constantly, I just did not think that I could socialize with anyone during that week. It made me sad but I knew that it would be so hard to try and focus on any type of conversation. Thank you to everyone that reached out to come up to the hospital...it meant so much to me!

I went through a few more things before being discharged on Friday the 18th. I remember the infamous shower where they pulled the bandage off from the c-section. OH. MY. GOSH!!! WHAT? I think I almost passed out!! I remember trying to go down to the NICU to see Brant on some sort of regular schedule. I remember breaking out into some rash on Thursday night before discharge on Friday. I was allergic to the steri-strips that they used on my incision so I had to go on steroids to clear that up as well. I remember trying to think through all of the things that I had scheduled the week of his birth, and trying to call and cancel them while also trying to connect with work, and trying to get my maternity leave started as soon as possible.

In the end we knew that we were covered in prayer and there was no way that this whole experience would end up being anything but blessed. And there is no doubt that it has been. It has been a huge life changing experience for Chris and I...and we are so grateful to have come out on the other side. All I can say is that God is soooo good...and we feel like Brant is our miracle baby. :) We are completely in love with this little guy..and he just melts our hearts. We cannot seem to get up to the NICU to spend enough time with him. What joy he has already added to our family!! We love you Brant...and we are soooo glad you came early so that we were able to meet you so much sooner. :) You are a gift. :)

I will have to write about our life in the NICU in another post as I have already taken up lots of space in this one. :) Thank you again for your prayers, all of the prayer lists that you put us on, the notes, cards, texts, gifts, amazing flowers, phone calls, etc over the past 2 weeks. You are all unbelieveable and we love you!! :)

Just a couple of pics of our sweet baby boy over the past 2 weeks. ;)
Getting ready for the OR.....

Right after delivery in the NICU nursery...
Day 2.....Loving his dad already... :)
Little mother/son time.....Day 6. Kangaroo care.....Wearing his shades during the time that they were using the lights to prevent jaundice...Day 10.......

Time for more bottle feeding!! Day 11....
So cute b.c he crosses his feet just like Braden did/does. :)

Color Splash!!

We have been having a lot of fun with "colors" lately. Braden is really into trying to learn them and he does pretty well. His favorite colors right now are green and yellow. :)

So we have been playing a lot with colors, reading books about them, etc.

He loves his time with sidewalk chalk! :) He has a lot of fun different ones that he can draw with. Go colors! :) And we have fun finger paints for the bath too...and he thinks those are way cool! :) He likes to paint on Daddy... :)Looking forward to more fun ways to introduce colors to our little man! :)

I Love Milk!! :)

Ok here is the deal..Braden LOVES milk! HA! :) He gets so excited about it, so we are glad he is getting a lot of calcium for those bones to grow!! :)

The other day we had an empty gallon of whole milk so we put it into the recycling area to take out. I looked up a little while later and he had taken it out of the recycling, and decided to try to find a way to drain any last drop out of the carton. LOL!! It was hilarious! :) He just unscrewed the top and started trying to drink. :) Way to make it happen B! :)

Of course the only thing that makes it better is that he is shirtless. :)

Nursery #2 Is Ready To Go...

Brant's room is ready...HOORAY!!! We were excited to finish it and have it ready to bring our new baby home. :) Despite long nights of trying to figure out what we wanted to do in there...and actually doing it, we are glad to say it is complete! :)

We hope Brant likes it as much as we do! :)

We also redid the boys bathroom too...so that it would be a good combo of their two rooms. They both have patterns and some of the same colors...so we decided to stick with that. :)
Brant's room... :)

Don't You Want To Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name?

We have a lot of fun with Braden these days. This is my favorite age so far b.c he is so very vocal and we can have conversations. :) Lately we have been talking about his class at school and about all of his friends. His teachers told us that they can pull out a photo album with all of the kids faces in it and he will point to each one and say their names. How cute is that? So at home we talk about all of this friends in his class...and he gets really excited. :) He also tells them all goodbye by name when he leaves for the day. I LOVE IT! :)

The other cute thing is that all of his classmates call him "Bugbee". Guess that is easier to say than "Braden" at their age. Too fun. It reminds me of high school guys out on the football field or something..."Way to go Bugbee!"

We continue to be amazed by the things that Braden does. What amazing joy it is to be a parent and see your child literally change before your very eyes as he grows up.

We love you Braden!! :)

My Gym.....

So Braden is our little man that loves adventures and new fun things. He has been to Little Gym and he was enrolled at Gymboree last fall...and he really liked that. However, we have found our new favorite place that he ADORES!!! It is called My Gym in South Austin....and while it is quite a drive from our house, it is SO worth it. He goes nuts! :) The stuff they do in the class for toddlers is just so much fun, and it really does far exceed the classes at Gymboree and Little Gym. Chris and I love going too! :) The coaches are awesome and they get the kids so involved during that hour. We cannot wait to go back. :) As a matter of fact when we left the place this last time, Braden literally cried almost all the way home. He kept saying "gym", "gym". Poor thing. :) We will go back soon buddy! :)

Getting ready to get started......
I love trampolines! :)AHH!!! The exploration castle! :) Sliding down into the balls ROCKS! :) Look at me! :) Here I go! :) SWINGS!! :) I got to go down the slide on my sled. :) Now this is a great swing too! :) Kid playtime.....more balls! :) We cannot wait to go back!!! Such a fun time... :)

Surprise Sprinkle Shower....

My sweet small group ladies were so awesome and they surprised me with a sprinkle shower for Brant one evening. It was so thoughtful of them, and they completely caught me off gaurd when everyone showed up at my house with presents, food, drinks, decor, etc. HA!! :) I was obviously not dressed for the occasion but that made it even more fun! :) We really appreciated them doing that, and caring enough about us to shower our little man with some wonderful treats! :)

Thank you so much ladies...it really meant a lot! :) I love color coordination so I thought it was soooo cute that everything matched so perfectly! :) Here are some of my favorite things! :) I love monogramming!! :) And how stinkin cute is this towel? LOVE IT! :) We have such great friends! :) Cannot wait for everyone to meet Mr. Brant. :)

Timeshare Memories On A Cold Winter's Day.......

It is days like today when my car registers 10 degrees outside, (and they say on the news that it is 4 degrees with the windchill)....that I think about how nice it would be to just be chillin out at our timeshare in Cabo San Lucas. The beach, the waves, the sun, the sound of the ocean, a margarita in one hand and some chips and guac in the other, a nice chaise lounger, a good book, a sparkling swimming pool, and lots of R&R. Ahhhhh...sounds so nice!!

But then I am quickly reminded that I actually live and work in Austin...and that sometimes it does get really cold. :) All I am saying is that if it is going to get THIS cold then we better see some snow and ice to show for it...right? Sheesh! There is nothing on the ground but MUCH more than just a chill in the air. :(

So since I was thinking about the fun we have had with the Cabo timeshare in the past, I thought I would just brighten my dreary and cold day with a few pics of life down in Mexico. :) Arriba Arriba! Viva la Mexico!!! :)

I love our timeshare! :) It makes me very happy! :) Welcome to a blissful vacation... :) Playa Grande will make sure of it. :) View from the infinity pool....A Cabo landmark......Margarita time! :) Dinner on the beach....so amazing! :)Look at that yummy bowl filled with wonderful fresh goodies from the ocean! :) Can we move here? :) Looking back into the city.......
I love sunsets..... Owwwwwwwwww... :(
Go sombreros!!I think Chris really wanted one of those bikes. :)
YUM!! :) Cabo...we miss you! We hope to see you again very soon! :) Maybe we will even bring the boys one day! :)