Ivan Miller Brozenic

He's finally here and he's fabulous!! Van is more perfect than we could have ever hoped for. We have both been so happy this last week and very excited to introduce our little guy to the world.

As every Mother likes to do I am going to tell my labor story. Here goes:

I woke up on Saturday, November 6th, having constant contractions starting at about 5am. They weren't painful just annoying and coming about every 10 minutes. We called the doctor at about 10:30 and he told us to give it a few more hours and if they hadn't stopped or if they got worse to come in. We ran errands and tied up a bunch of loose ends (thank goodness!) because I had a feeling this was it. We were pulling in to Target at 11:45 to pick up one more thing for a baby shower that afternoon. I felt a strong pinch and then felt a pop and the water came! It was just like last time. The water just kept coming! So gross!! Thank goodness we were in Dave's car. We told Riley that her baby brother was coming today and we had to go to the doctor. We made all our phone calls and got to the hospital. This time I thought Van wasn't going to mess around. My contractions started in the car and got worse and worse with each one. By the time we walked into the hospital I couldn't hardly stand or talk. They were coming every 2 minutes. I got excited thinking maybe this labor would go much quicker. I was wrong! I did get my epidural and was only in real labor for about 2-3 hours. The epidural actually worked this time!!! It was WONDERFUL! Every few hours the I would start to feel the contractions again and I would push the pain button and suffer through a few more contractions and the pain would go away. We had high hopes that Van would be born before the day was out but we were wrong. He did not come until 1am on Sunday morning!

He was absolutely perfect and I cried the happiest tears when I saw him. As soon as they got him all cleaned up and gave him to me he started making this little whining sound. We thought it was just a cute baby noise, but all of a sudden a nurse came and took him from us. They said he was born Meconium (which means he had just had a bowel movement right before my water broke) and when he was born he inhaled some of that fluid. They tried to get to him before he took his first breath but they couldn't. They thought they just needed to clean the fluid out of his lungs and we'd have him back in a few hours. They brought him to me about 4 in the morning and as soon as I touched him he started making the sounds again. The nurse called the doctor and they took him again back to the nursery. This time they kept him for 2 days!! He never got to come to our room. They took several blood samples and hooked up to an IV because he couldn't eat. We also couldn't touch him because each time we did he started whining again. Turned out it wasn't the meconium. What they finally determined was that he had a hard time transitioning. When he was born so many things had to happen to make sure everything worked properly that it freaked him out. He decided he wasn't ready to be here yet and needed a little more time adjusting to his new life. Once we had 48 hours of him doing fine (and us only seeing him every few hours) we got him back and were able to go home. It was pretty hard to see him hooked up to those monitors and cords. The IV was almost too much for me to see. I had a couple of good cries and realized how lucky we were that he was going to be just fine.

We've had him home for a few days now and have had one rough night. He screamed for about 4 hours last night which was scaring us a little. Riley didn't make a peep for 11 days when she came home. Van stays awake a lot longer and is a bit more vocal. However, he is so perfect that I can't help but feel like the luckiest person in the world! He looks exactly like Riley and I just sit and stare at him for the longest time. Dave and I are so blessed and Riley has really taken to her little brother. She tells us all the time that she really likes him. She kisses him and pats him gently on the head. I think she'll be a good big sister!

The Lion Says "ROOOOAAARR!"

I finally had a chance to load pictures from Halloween. We have a new camera and an old computer so it didn't quite go as smoothly as it used to. Riley had the BEST day on Halloween. She loved every minute of it. She couldn't believe that all the these people were just giving her candy and all she had to say was "Trick or Treat". Every house she went to she ran as fast as she could up to the door, yelled trick or treat then thank you and ran down the driveway asking to if she could go to another house. She can't wait for Halloween next year. As you can see she was a Lion. She has practiced her "Roar" for weeks and it was perfect. Hopefully next year she'll make Mommy happy and be a princess or something like that.

Baby Brother, Ivan Miller, was born on November 7th and I will be sharing the whole story soon. I've been kind of busy and haven't had a chance to get to it. He's perfect!!!

Pumpkin Patchin'

Riley and Taylor went to a few Pumpkin Patches this fall. The first one we went to was lame. It had all the blow up rides and they charged for each one along with charging to get in. Lesson learned. Don't go to the one called Fun Town Pumpkin Patch. It was set up in a gravel parking lot. Dave and I took Riley to another one the following weekend that was great. She got to feed the animals, go on a hay ride. pick out a pumpkin and best of all ride a pony. She loved the pony, of course! She has been so excited about Halloween this year. We couldn't wait for it to get here so we could see her reaction.

FYI...still no baby. 10 days left.....

Finally started on Ivan's room!

Here is proof that Daddy has finally started on Van's room! We are adding fire trucks to the room to make it a little more "boyish". As I hoped we are keeping the Dalmatian theme. My children have no choice but to love dogs from the very beginning. I will have it no other way. It worked for Riley so I am sure it will work for Van. I inherited my love for animals from my Dad and my kids will get it from me..... whether they like it or not. Grandma Brozenic is busy working on new decor for the room including a new baby blanket and curtains. I can't wait to see it all finished!

I am currently 34 weeks and as I have said before......READY TO BE DONE!!! Luckily, just like last time this has been a smooth pregnancy and everything seems to be going just fine. I am still pretty uncomfortable and that's only getting worse but we are finally in the home stretch. Even though I am convinced this boy is HUGE the doctor says I am measuring right at 34 weeks (what do they know anyway?). Six more weeks to go (maybe less if I'm lucky!). I am getting so excited to meet Van!

Babies on the way.....

Baby Ivan and Baby Cole

I have been very lucky this time around and have had a handful of friends who are pregnant at the same time I am. Last time I was all alone and wished I had someone to share my complaints with. This time I have plenty to choose from! Here is a picture of me and my very close friend, Tonya. We have been great friends since high school and are only two weeks apart. She is also having a boy. We are both looking forward to our boys growing up together! I am pretty fortunate that I have several of my good friends from high school and after who have kids the same age as mine that can play together. They are all just now getting to the age where we should start benefiting from that. I can't wait to meet both of these little guys!

Are you ready to be a big sister?

Here is a video of a talk Riley and had about her baby brother Van.

The pool is closed.....

Riley had her last weekend at the pool. :( She loves going to the pool! With her Puddle Jumper she can swim by herself. She doesn't need any help and it's teaching her how to swim on her own. We have been to the pool every weekend this summer and she has gone throughout the week with Grandma and Papa Brozenic. It's hard to believe that next year we'll be taking two kids to the pool.....

Riley is getting so much bigger and smarter every day! She carries on full conversations now and we very rarely have issues understanding what she is trying to say. She speaks in complete sentences and sometimes in Spanish. She is showing even more interest in singing and dancing which makes Mommy VERY happy. I get such a thrill out of listening to her sing along with songs and dance!

Baby is also well on her way to being potty trained. She goes pee in the potty several times a day and rarely wets her diaper. Even at night she holds it until she can go in the morning. We are still working in #2 in the potty, but I know that usually takes more time. She gets so excited when she goes in the potty. She'll say "I did it! I did it! Now can I have M&M's?" She gets a few M&M's every time she goes in the potty. The way I know she is pretty much trained is if we do something right after the potty like change clothes or get in the bathtub she forgets about the M&M's. She no longer does it just for the candy! Such a big girl!!

Baby is also in Preschool two days a week and really likes it. She cried a little at first when Daddy would drop her off but she hasn't done that in a few weeks. She is learning so much and has even made a few friends. We are hoping to have her start going 3 days a week once Van gets here. We really think it's important for her to be around other kids her age and be in a stricter environment. Now that I don't have the schedule that allows me to stay home a few days a week with her we needed another source for day care anyway.

Speaking of Van......he is growing at a rapid pace, in my opinion. This kid is huge! When he moves it almost knocks me over. He feels so much bigger than Riley did! I'm sure I am imaging that, but it's still way more uncomfortable this time around. I still have nine weeks to go and couldn't be more ready. I know our lives will change and it will be very difficult adding another baby to the family but I can't stand being pregnant and would rather have no sleep and no free time than be pregnant. I have to admit I am starting to get nervous about having two kids. I hear it's a pretty hard adjustment and that we can kiss our social lives good-bye but I am just as excited as I am nervous. I can't wait to see this little guy's face!! I can't wait to hold him!! I can't wait to kiss him!! Simply said....I can't wait!

Oh, and I need a nickname for him! He cannot be called Baby since we already have one of those. Riley has made that clear. Her "other" name is Baby and it's here to stay.