Updates, Updates, Updates!

Yeah, I know, I've neglected my blogging responsibilities once again! It's been a week since my last post, but with the holiday's and such it shouldn't be much of a surprise. I'm guessing most anyone who generally reads my blog has been busy as well and probably hasn't even noticed... so now we're even!

CHRISTMAS

Christmas was wonderful. We were able to spend Christmas with Rob's family this year and it was very enjoyable as always :0) I'm a big fan of family getting together and spending time with one another. It's always good to catch up with people and it's priceless to see the look on our neices and nephew's faces when they open up their Christmas gifts. I clearly remember how magical Christmas was as a child. It's magical still, but in a different way now. Now the magic comes from seeing Leeann's expression as she opened up gifts, and to see the joy on her face when she played with toys. Her big gift from us this year was a princess dress up set which included 3 dresses and all the accessories--shoes, hat's/tiarra's, jewelry etc. I recieved Ann of Green Gables 1 and 2 on DVD from Rob, and I was so excited! I can't wait to watch it!

I SEE PURPLE

Ouch. On Tuesday I started to notice that nursing was becoming increasingly painful. I called my mid-wife but she wasn't in that day, so I left a message and waited for her to call me back on Wednesday. I found myself breaking into tears every time Titus would eat and it was simply more pain than I could handle. Part of me thought I was just being a baby, or that I was doing something wrong, but my mid-wife quickly diagnosed Titus and I with something called Thrush as soon as she returned my phone call. It's essentially an infection in his mouth which he and I will continue to pass back and forth until we are both able to get rid of it. The treatment? Purple, lot's and lot's of purple! There is a dye that I paint in his mouth that turns him all purple. Anything he touches or drools on--purple! Anytime I feed him, he get's purple all over his face. This made for some pretty interesting Christmas pictures, I'll blog them when I get the chance. It sounds funny, but it really is quite painful. I was supposed to feel relief by Saturday, but Sunday rolled around and it was worse than ever. Every time Titus cried I would cringe knowing that I needed to feed him. Many women stop nursing when they get thrush, and now I know why. It was bad enough that I even called my doctor on Christmas day... I had to do something. She gave me a perscription for something else and it seems to be helping at least a little. I intend to keep nursing, but I certainly can't continue like this much longer. Hopefully though, this medicine will make us both all better, and we' ll go from there!

Really, those are the only two things worth blogging about that happened this week. The second might be more than you wanted to know, but it's been a significant and trying part of my week. If I'm blogging my baby adventures, this is definately part of it! Titus and Leeann continue to be two of the sweetest most wonderful kids in the whole world. I'm so in love with both of them. I feel like the luckiest mommy. This Christmas was so wonderful, it's so neat to have a family of my own now. I've dreamed of a time such as this all of my life. The years pass by and my life continues to get sweeter and sweeter. I hope yours is too!

Christmastime

The Other Moment I've Been Waiting to Blog...

Any guesses as to what Leeann is doing???

I've Neglected My Blogging Responsibilities

My last update was Thursday, and today is Monday--I have a lot of catching up to do!

FRIDAY: Titus had his two week check-up on Friday. Everything was great. He was even slightly above his birth weight, from 7 lbs 2 oz. to 7 lbs 6 oz. Apparently they are pleased if they are even back up to their birth weight by 2 weeks, so he appears to be doing well. Unfortunately he shrunk an inch and a half from 20 inches to 18.5 inches. I'm guessing it's a mis-measurement somewhere!

Friday night the four of us ventured to the church for the annual Christmas Jangle, a Christmas party with the youth. It was complete with yummy food, silly white elephant gifts and a giant rubber-band war! Some might say it's not appropriate to use the Sanctuary for a rubber band war, but the kids sure had fun!

It was a good day, but a hard day too. It was my first day out with the kids by myself and toting Titus in and out of the car in his car seat was difficult. By the end of the night I was hurting pretty bad. I continue to pray for a mini van!

SATURDAY: Saturday was another really good day. I thought I'd wake up super sore and uncomfortable, but I actually woke up feeling better than ever. It might help that it was 10:30 before any of us woke up! The constant nagging pain in my tummy seems to have all but disappeared, making me far more mobile. Rob and I roamed around Costco with the kids and Fred Meyer too, doing some random shopping. We came home and enjoyed yet another yummy dinner provided for us through someone in our church. This one came complete with ice cream! We then headed over to the Rice's for a housewarming party. We didn't stay long because the freezing rain started to hit. We came home and simply enjoyed the evening here together.

SUNDAY: Sunday's are crazy for us, that's all there is to it! Rob graciously stayed home with us Sunday morning so he could help get the kids ready for church. He usually leaves a little earlier than us, but I wasn't sure I could get all three of us fed, dressed and out the door on time. I came close, I was the only one who went without being fed! We enjoyed the day at church and then went to Safeway to pick up some Chinese for lunch. We typically go out with others for lunch after church, but it was actually quite nice to just sit at home at our own table and have lunch together as a family!

We had intended to catch some sales at Old Navy Saturday night, but we ended up staying in because of the freezing rain. We were talking about going Sunday afternoon instead, but Rob suggested that maybe I leave the kids at home and go by myself. I was quite excited and happily obliged. Not only would I get some time to myself, but Rob would get a small taste of my world right? WRONG! Both kids slept THE ENTIRE TIME! Rob and Leeann napped on the couch and I came home to Titus all swaddled in his bouncy chair just as I had left him! Arggg, so much for a taste of my world! Oh well, I still appreciated my time alone and Rob's willing to keep the kids for a couple of hours.

Sunday evening we dropped Leeann off at Allie's, her favorite babysitter, and Rob, Titus and I went to a Christmas Party with the church staff. It was lot's of fun, with yummy food and good company. It's nice to be out, but I think I just might be getting Christmas partied out, tonight will make the fourth in a row! Rob and I came out about 9:30 and just enjoyed some time hanging out and chatting with each other as the kids slept peacefully. I apparently fell asleep on the couch because Titus woke up about 1:00 wanting to be fed. He had been sleeping in his car seat since we brought him home... it was nice to get several uninterrupted hours of sleep!

TODAY: I spent the morning bathing the kids and getting us presentable. Then I spent a little time doing housework. Rob has his small group of guys over for pizza and x-box right now, that's why I'm perched in the back room blogging! I don't think I'm welcome at the party, but he's letting Leeann stay out there so I appreciate that! I was thinking about taking the kids out and doing some last minute Christmas shopping, but I don't know that I'm ready to do both kids plus crazy Christmas crowds on my own. It means parking across town to get to a store usually and packing both kids in the rain. I just don't think I'm ready for that! Maybe I should just take a nap instead? That sounds appealing! The reality however is that there's still lot's of laundry to do before we visit family for Christmas, so I should probably get working on that some more before too long!

Four Amazing Years

Time flies when you are having fun! Rob and I celebrated our four year anniversary yesterday--I couldn't imagine a more incredible person to share the rest of my life with. If the first four years are any indication of what's to come in our marriage, then I am truly the most blessed young lady in the whole world! Rob is my best friend and he's so much more than I ever imagined any man/husband/daddy could be. Yes, four years later, I'm still twitterpated! I still look forward to him coming home with great anticipation. I still love to hold his hand. I still desire any excuse I can find to spend quality time with him. I still find myself day dreaming about him during the day. I still think he's the most amazing man in the world. No, I think he's even MORE amazing than when we were in that lets-impress-each-other-dating-stage. I had no idea it could get even better than that! It does though, it gets much better! I love my husband.

I hope you love your spouse too! Do something special for him/her today. Think back to when you were dating (however long ago that may be) and do something that you would have done for them then. Open their door, cook them a special dinner, leave a love note on their pillow, go to the store and pick up their favorite treat, take them out to a place that was special to you when you were dating. Look them in the eyes and tell them how much you love and adore them, pull out some old pictures and talk about fun times you've had together, dream together about memories you'd like to make together in the future. Assure them that they are the only person you have or ever will have eyes for. Whatever it is, take the time and make the effort to do something special for them today. Marriage will last your life time, you ought to take the time in ensure that marriage is enjoyable, it'll make life so much sweeter for the both of you!

Leeann's Christmas Craft

These are some pictures of Leeann painting some boxes as part of a Christmas craft. She had way too much fun and it was a joy for me to watch her!

Check out these hands... they definitely took a few minutes to wash!

Leeann couldn't figure out why the paint wouldn't come off and it was bugging her. She almost gave up on the craft toward the end because the paint was driving her crazy. She perserveered though--she's a trooper!

Baby brother Titus just sat and watched his big sister create her masterpieces. Today was Titus's original due date... I don't think I would have made it this far!

Okay, I admit it... I slept all day!

SLEEP

Wondering why I didn't blog yesterday? I was sleeping. Yep, pretty much all day. Rob took care of morning diapers and feeding Leeann and Titus and then put on a movie and brought Titus back into our bedroom. I slept in until 10:00. Then I got up and ate breakfast myself and mossied around for a little while until my friend Eroica came over. She played with Leeann and Titus and let me go back to bed... what a blessing! I woke up at 2:30, ate some lunch, mossied around a little more then layed down with Leeann for her nap time. Daddy had a late appointment last night, so we didn't exactly wake up until 7:00. So, between 5:00 yesterday morning and 7:00 last night I was awake a total of maybe 3 hours! Pathetic huh?

BABY BLUES

It's part of what they call "Baby Blues." Statistically, if you have had kids, you (if you are a woman) or your wife (if you are a man) has experienced this. As many as 9 out of 10 ladies experience this in the days following childbirth. For me it's a general feeling of lethargy, laziness, helplessness, weariness, frustration, loneliness, cooped-uppedness (I know, that's not a word). I've been accustomed to showering first thing in the morning, now if I remember to brush my teeth it's a good day. My sole goal throughout the day is to get the kids out of their jammies by the time daddy gets home. Housework? Forget about it. A friend of mine, Sara Jane came and cleaned some on Friday and another friend of mine Jennifer, did some additional damage control (including floors!) on Monday. It sure feels good to have my house clean... it's so hard that I can't do it myself. I don't want to do much of anything because my stomach still hurts. To top it all off, I just plain didn't feel good yesterday.

LEEANN

Today is a new day however. Leeann came into my room about 8:00 and climbed up on my bed. She looked at me and said "No night-night Mommy!" How sweet is that? It made me feel good to know that she wanted me to get up and play with her. So, after a little tickle-fest, we got down and got some breakfast and now she's playing with her babies on the floor next to a sleeping Titus while I'm updating you (whoever you are!).

GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Rob promised to get me out of the house today. I don't think I've been anywhere since Saturday. If you know me, I'm the kind of person who likes to be busy--always doing something. If I'm not busy doing something specific I at least want to be around people. So being home all day has been hard. It's not an option for me to go anywhere because our car is still being worked on. Hopefully we'll get it back today. I have some stuff I want to get at Target, so I'm really looking forward to getting out of the house this evening, if only for a little while.

ANNIVERSARY

Tomorrow is Rob and my four year anniversary. It's hard to believe time has flown by so fast. He and I are going to go out to dinner tomorrow--just the two of us. Noah and Cherish are going to watch the kids for us. It'll be my first time leaving Titus alone (except for me sleeping in the next room!). I think it'll be a little hard, but I think I'll be okay. I really look forward to getting to spend some special time with Rob.

Well, I think that's all I have to say for now. Life has been pretty uneventful around here these days. The kids are doing well, both seem to be growing daily! I love being a mom, but I sure am anxious to get out of this funk that I'm in. I'm sure Rob's anxious for that too!

The moment I've been waiting to blog...

I've been warned by many people. I've heard stories and I've been instructed on how to avoid it. What I wasn't prepared for was just how far the urine sprayed out of this teeny tiny little guy! Changing Titus' diaper this evening was quite eventful! It seriously sprayed several feet and the poor little guy even got some on his face, ewww! Mommy cleaned him up though, and we all survived.

Daddy and I spent the next 10 minutes remaking our bed because our sheets and duvee (how on earth do you spell that?) cover were spit up on this afternoon.

Titus and I slept from about 7-9 tonight. Rob and Leeann were at church and it was tempting to try and 'get some stuff done'. The problem is, it still hurts to get stuff done, and when I try to do stuff I don't make very much progress anyway. So then I end up with something that has been partially cleaned, but is still messy--plus I hurt. So, I decided to nap instead. I hesitated because it was so late in the evening hence it's 1:00 in the morning and I'm up blogging. Titus was being fussy so I picked him up and now that he's on my lap he's sleeping peacefully. Bottom line though, it was good to nap, I needed that. Titus and I benefited also from a few hours of uninterrupted snuggle time too.

So what did I learn today?

Mental notes:

1.) Cover him up while changing his diaper.

2.) Don't burp the baby in bed without first taking proper precaution, like laying down a tarp!

3.) Take every possible opportunity to nap. The house will always be messy, but it's more likely to get cleaned if I'm well rested and taking care of myself. A messy house with a rested mommy is better than a clean house with a cranky mommy!

The end.

10 Little Things About Titus

For those of you who have yet to meet Titus, or haven't gotten the opportunity to spend much time with him, I thought I'd give you the top 10 insights into his already blossoming personality, even though he's only just over a week old!

1.) He's got his daddy's sleeping habits. He likes to sleep. Even more so, however, he likes to sleep in in the morning. I appreciate that very, very much!

2.) He doesn't sleep well unless he's swaddled. Sometimes he tries to break free, but he's much happier being all snuggled up.

3.) He doesn't like to be naked. Baths, diaper changing and changing his clothes are his least favorite events.

4.) He likes John Deere. This is by default of course, he's just a baby. Rob's mom has gotten him John Deere stuff since he was a little boy, so it seemed logical to continue that theme along into our nursery.

5.) When he's hungry he wakes up and I have about 2.5 seconds to respond before the sirens wail!

6.) In general, he's not very fussy. Of course, if he's hungry or needing changed he'll cry, but he doesn't seem to just fuss for no reason very often.

7.) He goes through a lot of diapers. Every time he eats we change him and every time we change him he's poopy, with very few exceptions!

8.) He likes to be held.

9.) If he's not being held he seems to like the bouncy chair more than the bassinet, crib, or even the couch.

10.) Seriously, how much is there really to know about a newborn's personality? He eats, he sleeps and he poops. Surprise!

Newest Picture

There's nothing special about this particular picture. I just realized that until today I didn't have any pictures of him posted since we left the hospital. A lot can change in a week! So, here he, just about a half hour ago, all swaddled up and staring off into space!

Now this is what life is all about...

Does it get any better than this? I mean, seriously. Just me and my precious little ones napping with me on a little couch. I am a snuggle-bunny. I like to snuggle, that's all there is to it. Rob is greatful that I now have more people to share my affection with! It can get a little overwhelming to be the sole recipient of so much affection! I know Leeann likes to snuggle, I sure hope Titus does too!

Leeann has been playing "baby" a lot lately. This is a picture of daddy "rocking" her and "feeding" her with her baby doll's bottle. Sometimes she'll let out this really cute fake baby cry, she seems to enjoy the attention!

This is a picture of Leeann and Titus with Grandma Rosenthal just before she left. They had a fun couple of days with Grandma here, and mommy enjoyed it too. She brought a never ending back of goodies for Leeann. A couple times a day she would bring out something new from Grandma's store... I mean, room!

Proud Daddy holding his little boy. It's still so hard to believe that he's already here. We prayed a long time for this little guy!

Mr. and Miss Wonderful

Titus likes to sleep in, and consequently, mommy does too! Well, yesterday we were awoken by Leeann and Daddy carrying Mommy's very favorite breakfast in bed--Cocoa Pebbles and Hot Cocoa with marshmallows! It was so incredibly sweet! Did I mention it was 10:30 by the time they came in and we were sleeping like two bumps on a log? Give us a little credit though, we were up from 4:30-7:30 that morning, so we deserved to sleep in just a little! Never mind the fact that we didn't get up until 11:00 today either. Rob took Leeann to church this morning so Titus and I got another great morning's sleep, even though getting him down last night was tougher than ever. I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown. Okay, I kind of did, but there's nothing like some good sleep to fix that! This morning we are both doing much better and we're enjoying some time to ourselves to catch up on some blogging.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did you come up with the name Titus?

After painstakingly looking through web-page after web-page and numerous baby-name books we had a few names that we considered as options, but nothing that really stuck out to us. We kind of wanted something a bit unusual and preferred a Bible name, although it wasn't necessary. I walked into the bedroom one day with a baby book and Rob was reading the Bible and one of us randomly threw out the name Titus, almost as a joke at first, but then we kind of looked at each other and said hey, maybe? So the next Rob and I both found ourselves thinking about the name a lot and it began to grow on us both. We read the book of Titus separately and Rob even did some research to make sure that there was nothing bad said about him in the Bible. Over the next couple of weeks it just seemed to stick, and so Titus is his name!

In the Bible Titus is a companion of Paul who is a Pastor (which we liked) that is left to appoint elders (or church leadership) in the place that he was. The book named after him describes the qualifications of a church leader, and consequently some really neat traits of a godly man or woman. It's got some great instruction and great descriptions of godliness in it. Hopefully those traits will be traits that will mark our Titus's life just as it did the man he was named after.

How's Leeann doing with a new baby brother?

She loves him! She's had her cousins here for a while though, and then Grandma was here, so she has been out of her normal routine. When she realizes that he will still remain even when her routine goes back to normal she may not like him quite so much! Yesterday she "helped" by picking him up off of the couch. He was swaddled well so she had a good grip on him, but she was walking around with him in the living room! Scary! She's been asking for extra attention, pretending to be a baby herself--asking to be rocked, swaddled and fed from her sippy cup. In fact, daddy 'burping' her this morning initiated the first bought of vomiting! She's been very well behaved though and she showers him with hugs and kisses. I think they're going to make great friends and I think Leeann will end up being quite protective!

How are you feeling, are you healing okay?

I'm feeling great! I'm actually quite surprised at how quickly I'm healing. I'm not 100% by any means, but I've only been on Tylenol and Ibuproferen and those have been enough to curb the pain. I'm even able to bend down quite easily now. I imagined being layed up time Christmastime, but I'm honestly doing rather well. I've been able to get good sleep which I think has helped quite a bit.

How's feeding going?

The first couple of days were trying, because Titus just seems to want to sleep all of the time, but as he's been becoming more alert it's been getting easier and easier.

Is Rob excited?

Isn't this the question of the hour? There are many people who wonder if Rob's excitement looks any different than his normal state, or even his disappointed state. Some people think he's hard to read, but I think he's see-through! Rob is most definitely a very proud and excited daddy. He does such a good job with both Titus and Leeann! He's very loving, helpful and compassionate. I don't think I could ask for a better daddy for my kids.

Are you getting much sleep?

I actually am only getting up a couple of times during the night to feed and change Titus. It's usually only every three to four, or even five hours! He's most certainly a sleeper! And every time I feed and change him he goes right back to bed which means I can sleep in as late as Leeann will let me. She's been sleeping in until 9:30 or 10:00 which has been amazingly wonderful! I know it won't last forever, but I think it's God's way of allowing me to heal, both physically, mentally and emotionally.

With that, I'm going to go and enjoy the rest of Leeann's nap by taking one of my own. Or maybe I'll read a book? Hmmm... decisions, decisions!

Little Updates

Vomiting:

This time however, it isn't from Titus, it's from Leeann. She woke up this morning not wanting to eat (which is HIGHLY unusual), although she had a sippy cup and a half of soy milk. Shortly after that she threw up, and shortly after that she threw up again. We let her lay on the floor and watch Robots for what seems to be the hundredth time in the last couple of weeks and just mellow out for a while. She seems to be feeling fine now, but she's slightly more subdued than normal. It's been several hours since her last episode so hopefully she's getting better. Right now she's laying down, Titus is sleeping, Rob went to take Grandma Rosenthal part way home and I'm listening to Harry Connick Jr. sing Christmas songs wondering how long it will be before this peaceful household turns into utter chaos once more!

Bribery:

Titus got a cute see-through piggy bank from the hospital the day we left. We decided that we will start saving our change in there and cash it in to contribute to the kids' 529 college fund each time it fills up. Well, when Grandma was packing up a dime fell out of her purse which she told Leeann she could have. We talked Leeann into putting it into the piggy bank which she thought was pretty cool. She proceeded to ask Grandma for "more money?" and Grandma emptied her purse of all of her change and even several dollar bills. Leeann of course thinks it's the coolest thing in the whole world. So I said, "Leeann, everytime you go potty in the big girl potty, or take a nap or go to sleep like a big girl, without crying, you can have some money for your jar." It wasn't but 2 minutes later that I see Leeann pop up off of her potty chair with her diaper and her pants around her ankles screeching, "I potty, I potty!" So she emptied it, flushed the toilet and got a nickel to put in her jar. And right now, she's sleeping like a big girl, in her big girl bed and she didn't shed a tear. This form of bribery seems like a win-win situation if you ask me. We are realizing how much money it's going to cost us to keep our baby diapered. He goes through TONS of diapers. It would be nice to transition Leeann out of her diapers to off set that cost!

Dinners:

We've been so incredibly blessed by families in the church brining us dinners for the last several nights. It really is a super-huge blessing to us not to have to worry about that on top of everything else. Thank you so much to all who have participated in that, you may never know how much it means to us!

Laundry:

It's unbelievable how much laundry one little guy can accumulate. My mother-in-law has been doing load after load and it never seems to end! Blankets, towels, spit up rags, jammies, onsiees, you name it, it gets dirty quick! It's all I can imagine to keep the three of us fed, clean and happy... I'm not sure where all this housework is going to come in!

It's Okay, I Need to Shower Anyway

I learned why mom's should always take an extra set of clothes with them wherever they go. Little itty bitty Titus seems to have spit up half his weight ALL OVER me this morning. It's okay, we were at home and I needed to shower anyway so it's not a big deal. It was kind of nice to have a reason to actually get going with my day. I'm surprised so much can come up out of one little tiny tummy!

Leeann, Titus and I are enjoying time with Grandma Rosenthal here. I'm beginning to realize that when she leaves I'm going to be doing nothing but changing, feeding and bathing. I'll be lucky to get that done for the three of us by the time daddy gets home on any given day. Of course, it doesn't help that my two beautiful children have been sleeping in until 9:30... we get a late start on our day! Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining!

Titus and I had our first outing yesterday. We went to a Doctor's appointment (everything's great) and then we picked up Grandma and Leeann from the mall and came home. Jennifer brought us super yummy taco's for dinner with some Rootbeer and some scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate danish bars... they were heavenly! Then Rob, Titus and I packed up and went to a Campus Development Planning Meeting at the church. It was nice to get out and about, and it was also nice to be able to attend that meeting. God is doing some super neat stuff at our church.

My tantrum throwing two-year old needs a nap, so it's bye-bye for now. Or should I say night-night?

Ah, Ignorance...

I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever ask the question, "What on earth were they thinking letting us take him home from the hospital?" I mean, don't get me wrong, Rob and I are reasonably intelligent, well-educated, somewhat mature people... but that doesn't' seem to matter in the least when you are dealing with a 7 pound bundle of joy which doesn't come with an instruction book of any sort. People talk about motherly instinct and reassure us that he's not easily breakable and all, but it's scary being responsible for such an amazing little miracle! In all, we're doing well, we're getting things figured out! He's such an amazing little blessing from God :o)

Rob is home from work today and his mom is here also. I was just delivered a yummy PB&J with a side of Pringles, a tall glass of ice water and some medicine for the pain... all prepared with love from my wonderful husband who takes great care of me. I could get used to being waited on! I'm going to go eat it now and then continue to bask in my ingorance.

Going Home

Today mommy and daddy took me home from the hospital. They took really good care of me there, but I sure was anxious to get home and see my house and my new room and my big sister. Grandma Rosenthal was here waiting for me too. She'll be here for a couple of days to help take care of me and Leeann and mommy until mommy gets all better. Life is pretty good right now. I eat, I sleep, I poo, and people hold me all of the time... I don't think I could ask for much more!

Me and My Big Sister

My First Pictures

Getting Ready for Baby's Birthday

Proud Daddy All Scrubbed Up And Ready To Meet Me!

Titus Robert Buhl

December 2, 2005 1:24 pm

7lbs 2 ozs. 20 inches

Since Robyn is still at the hospital this is Rob posting on behalf of Robyn and our new little boy! The hospital does not have internet access for us...it's a long story but I was able to get on...finally.

Robyn went into the operating room around 12:30 to get prepped for the c-section. At 1:24 the little guy was out and as healthy as can be. After spending some time in the recovery room we were back in our room by around 3 pm and were ready for big sister Leeann as the first visitor. Kristi and Allie Smith were not too far behind. Chuck, Shelly and their 4 kids were right on their heels.

THE NAME GAME IS OVER! Evidently many, 'knew it was Titus', but since KayLee was the first to enter her guess on the blog she was the first to hold him.

I've added a few pictures and hope to add more latter.

out---rob

Birth Day

I decided that I'm not going to post a Baby Name Hint today. I was going to give you one that would give it away, but I would just as soon let you wait for a few more precious hours!

I slept through the night last night, which was very nice. I'm nearly all packed up and ready to go. I'm quite nervous, the thought of surgery makes me very queasy. Any major medical procedure is nerve-racking, especially one that involves this precious little life that I've been carrying for the last 9 months. I'm so anxious to meet him, it's hard to believe that after all these days of wondering and waiting, today is finally the day!

It's a little crazy because just a month or two ago I wouldn't have imagined that this (c-section) is the way in which I would bring my little boy into the world. You don't hear of stories where people go in for a planned c-section, it's usually done in an emergency after hours of ruthless labor. Baby Buhl however is still sitting perfectly breech and doesn't seem to want to come out any other way. So here I am leisurely preparing for the day of my baby's birth.

With that being said, I really have to go, we leave in 1/2 hour! Please pray with us for the safe and healthy arrival of our baby boy. Pray for my health, safety and nerves also, and for wisdom for the doctors. Pray for Leeann's transition into sisterhood and for general sanity for us all. Thank you for your love and prayers and we promise to blog Baby Buhl's birth announcement as soon as we can!

24 Hours From Now...

24 hours from this moment in time Rob and I will be at the hospital checking in for our final ultrasound to confirm that the Baby is still breech before they prep me for surgery. The actual C-Section should begin somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00 depending on when the Doctor's finishes up with his last patient. By about 1:05ish the Baby should be ready to meet the world and by 2:30 or 3:00 we should all have recovered enough to start having visitors. I can't wait for Leeann to meet him. I don't know why, but the thought of the four of us getting to spend some time together as a family is the most precious thought in my mind. God has given us two wonderful gifts in one short year. I'm not sure what we did to deserve this!

As for today, today is Rob--can you move this over here, clean that over there, fix this thing here day. Nevermind the fact that he's still sleeping... I'll start on him when he gets up. We have a small group Christmas Party this evening so my intention is to be all cleaned up, packed up and ready to go before we leave at 7:00 this evening. I've always worked best under pressure. Now that I know this is my last opportunity to finish up some of these things, I'm far more likely to get them done than by simply seeing them on my list and knowing that they need done sometime in the near future.

And with that, I'm signing out...

Baby Name Game Hint #23

Hint #23: He is a companion of Paul.

Some of My Family

This is my daddy feeding my baby sister Hope.








This is me teaching my older brother Jason how to fill a Pez dispenser and my little brother Logan patiently waiting for Jason to share.








This is my dear sweet beautiful cousin Jenni.

Banana Cream Pie

I just downloaded my Thanksgiving pictures and wanted to share a few with you. These ones are of Leeann helping my Aunt Pam make some Banana Cream Pie. You'd never know by eating the pie that she licked her fingers everytime she smooshed a piece of banana down into the pudding would you?!?!?

Stuff... Stuff... Stuff

Ah, yet another 4:30 awakening in which I can't get back to bed! I think God has spent this last year showing me that people can, and do, get up at this awful hour and they too, live to see another day!

Well, ready or not baby's coming in just two short days! Where did time go? Leeann seems to sense it, she's being somewhat defiant and acting a bit jealous lately. Still very mild mannered for your average two-year old, but a little out of character for her. I just can't wait for her to meet her new baby brother... I know she's going to be an amazing big sister!

Our car is in the shop... waiting for us to decide what to do with it. The intake plenniar (or something?) is broken so it's not keeping in coolant and water, and the power steering pump is broken. Together this adds up to--well, way more money than we want to spend on a car right now! Just a month or so ago we had to get new brakes on the Nissan which also wasn't a cheap fix. The worst part is that Rob and I have been praying and saving (slowly, but surely) for a mini-van. We have a very strong desire to pay cash for a car, but if we pay for this fix out of our already meager mini-van fund it puts us back just that much further. And such is the way life goes! God is, and always has been very faithful to provide for our needs though.

It seems like He's always been content to give us what we need, but never too much more. Three summers ago we managed a little savings and were feeling pretty confident and sure enough Rob's car broke down and we bought the Buick. Just last year about this time we were feeling pretty stable and then we got the most precious little girl in the whole wide world, and all of the expenses that come along with adoption and caring for a little one! And then we also got pregnant, and now the birthing expenses etc. BUT, God truly has shown us that He will always provide for our needs. God provided the perfect jobs for me to transition to being a stay at home mom. So many people have contributed to the adoption fund & given us random gifts for Leeann at just the perfect time. And if you saw the baby's room right now you would be as overwhelmed as we are with the amount of stuff that we've been given in preparation for Baby's arrival. People are sooo incredibly generous!

Looking back on this year we have so much to be grateful for. I think I could write a couple hundred thank-you notes and barely put a dent in the pile of people that we owe a heartfelt thank-you to. Financially, prayerfully, emotionally, babysitting etc. We have so many great family members, friends and church members who have rallied around us in support. THANK YOU!

Please, take a moment to look back on God's provision for you over the last year. How many times did a check, or a gift, a hand-me-down or even a specific coupon come in the mail just when you needed it? How about that phone call that came at just the right time, or that apology or explanation that you so badly needed to hear came to your attention? How many times did you receive well timed advice or an unexpected encouragement? Look back and those times fondly and remember that God cares for you specifically and He desires for you to spend time with Him. I think God delights in meeting our needs, He just wants us to share them with Him and to rely on Him to be our provider. The best part is, He's up and waiting even at this terrible, terrible hour! Hey, I'm grateful He didn't let me go back to sleep, I think I needed this encouragement more than anyone. Have a great day!

Baby Name Game Hint #22

Hint #22: His name is not mentioned in the book of Acts.

Baby Buhl's Friend, Baby Joel

Stephanie and I had the opportunity to take pictures throughout several stages of our pregnancy. However, we missed the 9 month stage because baby Joel was inpatient and had to come 6 weeks early! So, we decided to improvise and you are seeing the results. Here are Baby Buhl and Baby Joel's "9-month" pictures.

Joel is up to 4 pounds and 8 ounces! He's gaining weight consistently and doing very well. Hopefully he'll get to come home in the next week or two until his heart surgery at 3-6 months. Please continue to pray for Baby Joel as he's doing so much better but still has a long road ahead of him. When they bring him home they can't take him out anywhere such as church, stores, around other kids etc. until flu season is over. So our babies probably won't get to meet until sometime this Spring, but I'm confident that they are going to be great friends!

Baby Name Game Hint #21

Hint #21: His name has never been on the top 100 list of boys names as far back as I could find.

(i.e. It's a unique name)

All of this Speculating and no Bling?$?$?$?

A mini reminder that for a mere $5 (toward his college fund--a good cause!) any guess may be confirmed or denied. Once this information is purchased you may share that information with anyone else in your household but you may not let it leak any farther and you absolutely may not post such knowledge on the blog :0)

For an extra $5 we'll even supply the middle name!

I had my last doctor's appointment today and Baby Buhl is still head up, so everything is a go for Friday. We'll be up at the hospital about 10ish though surgery doesn't start until 12:30 or 1:00. We will do one last confirmation that he's still breech just before surgery, but every day that passes makes that less and less likely. It's hard to believe that the birth of our baby is just a few short days away! Time FLIES! In the mean time we continue to do last minute cleaning, shopping and baby preparations. Leeann and I got haircuts today and the family will get pictures done tomorrow. The car is going in the shop because it's having some issues. I think it needs a doctor worse than I do! We earnestly pray that it's a quick, easy and cheap fix whatever it is!

My doctor speculates that the baby is between 7 and 7.5 pounds right now. I speculate that I should go take the sheets out of the dryer and put them on my bed before the 7 pound baby and I both fall asleep which I imagine will be very shortly. We're simply pooped, it's been a long day!

Feeling Big and Getting Bigger!

So, getting dressed this late in the game is quite a chore I tell ya! My clothes that all fit just a short week ago are now making me feel like a college grad trying to fit into her middle school jeans and such. Oh well, such is life! Rob and I have our last Doctor's appointment this evening, I'll let you know how it goes. It's hard to believe this time is coming up on us so fast! I got some more work done in the baby's room last night and I keep ticking stuff off of my to-do list. Eroica and I are going to exchange some stuff at Target today and pick up some of the necessary essentials left on our list. Lot's to do, little time... but we're almost done! Rob reminds me of that constantly... just a few more days, just a few more days! I'm headed out for the day so you'll have to finish the comment war without me...

Love,
Robyn

Anxiously Awaiting GPB's Next Guess...

Baby Name Game Hint #20

Hint#20: His name begins with a letter that comes after “M” in the alphabet.

Baby Name Game Hint #19

Hint #19: His name is not Timothy (sorry Grandpa!)

Okay, people got stuck on Timothy too fast. It has been our intention all along to narrow down the clues to include Timothy as a possible answer. However, the game stopped being as fun as it could be so we have written out new clues for the 5 remaining days until baby comes. Good luck!

World War III

World War III has been occurring in my tummy all night. Oh no, not those "I'm ready to come out" kind of wars, but those "uh-oh, I'm right-side up and I'm supposed to be upside-down" kind of wars. "Maybe I'll try to get up-side down?" Sure, good in theory that he's finally trying to flip but it's a little too late for that one. This 6+ pound baby in my tummy has no room to be doing somersaults this late in the game. He really should have thought about this a couple of weeks ago when he might have still had some room to turn! So, in the meantime my right rib feels more bruised than ever and I had a terrible nights sleep. I can literally feel him move his little bottom up underneath my right rib then get stuck. Right now he's laying sideways virtually, but his head still hasn't moved from it's original position. Somebody ought to tell him that if he has any chance of flipping his head has to move first.

I tried to appease him with some Cocoa Pebbles, a peace-offering, we'll see if that gets my day off to a better start than my night. I was tossing and turning in bed and decided I ought to get up--there's no use in us both having a terrible nights sleep, (me and Rob, not me and the baby--the baby doesn't seem to sleep much at night). Anyway, I had a bad dream that Rob robbed a bi-mart, and he only got $30 out of the deal. I screamed at him all of the way home because now he was going to get arrested and I was going to have to go to the hospital all by myself and take care of the kids and he would lose his job etc. I even told him that the worse part is that his conscience isn't going to let him keep it anyway and I knew he'd turn himself in even if he didn't get caught. So I woke Rob up to tell him this news this morning and all he said to me is, "You know I'd give it back." He didn't reassure me that he'd never do it, only that he'd give it back!

Today will be my last Sunday at church with only one child. I have a hard enough time getting up and ready on time when I'm just caring for two of us, I can't imagine a third. This is where a Saturday night service would come in very handy! I'll have to do a better job in the future of laying out clothes and maybe even breakfast in advance. It's so hard to believe that in less than a week I will really get to meet my little boy. Time flies! I'm so excited!

I think the thing I'm most excited about is for Leeann to meet her little brother. This has been a long anticipated event that has spanned the last 1/3 of her little life. It will drastically change the dynamics of our family, but it's going to make it so much fun! She's been extra excited about her babies lately, constantly feeding them and putting them to sleep and holding them. I know that she knows, I just don't know how well she actually understands that this baby in mommy's tummy is coming out very soon and will come to live with us. As much as I am excitedly anticipating the birth of our boy, I'm most excited about Leeann getting to come into the room and us spending our first few minutes together as a family. We're pretty sure that this is the end of the road for building our family. A family of four seems to be a good fit for us right now. This, of course, is subject to change down the road... but for now the future holds just the four of us.

Well, I suppose it's late enough now that I might even be able to sneak in a shower before Rob wakes up... who knows, maybe I'll get to church on time? Even better, maybe I'll have time to stop by Steamers for a blended chocolate milk with gooey caramel... yum! Okay, that's pushing it... I'll aim for just getting there on time today.

I hope your day is wonderful today, whoever you are. I'm not convinced my blog gets read on the weekends, so I could very well be simply talking to myself. That's okay, I'm sure I'll enjoy reading over these someday. I was never very good about journaling, but I'm actually doing a decent job of keeping up on this one so far. Okay, really, I'm going now...

Less than a Week!

Today we spent the day doing some grocery shopping, sweeping and mopping some floors, doing some general home maintenance etc. I'm trying very hard to whittle down my to-do before baby comes list, but I can't help but to continue finding more things to add to it! Grocery shopping and floors were on the top of my list, so I'm glad to have those out of the way.

Last night Rob, Leeann and I pulled out some foam mats along with a plethora of blankets and pillows and had a family movie night on the floor of our living room. We watched the movie Robots which was quite funny actually. Leeann gets so excited when daddy pulls out all the blankets and pillows... she has way too much fun jumping around and playing on them!

We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow and Leeann is down for the evening so I'm going to go now and see if I can't whittle a few more things off of my list.

Baby Name Game Update as of November 26th

If you are new to the game, or just need a little refresher without scrolling through tons of pointless ranting (I know you check my blog only so you can try to be the first one to figure out his name...) Here are the first 18 hints all in one convenient post:

Hint # 1: His name can be found in the Bible (yeah, I know, that really narrows it down doesn't it? Come on, it's still early in the game)!

Hint #2 He is not named after anyone in our immediate or extended families... that we are aware of anyway!

Hint #3: His name may be shortned to form a nickname. We have not yet decided however, if we will call him by his nickname. Our intention is to use his full first name, at least for a while!

Hint #4: For all you Veggie Tale Fans--He has never been played by a Veggie Tales character (at least I'm pretty sure of this).

Hint #5: His name cannot be found in any of the first 5 books of the Bible.

Hint #6: His name starts with a consonant.

Hint #7: He does not share a name with a Biblical Prophet.

Hint #8: His name cannot be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Hint #9: His name appears in more than one book of the Bible.

Hint #10: There are fewer than 8 letters in his name.

Hint #11: His name appears in at least 3 books of the Bible.

Hint #12: His name can be found in the New Testament.

Hint #13: His name contains at least 2 different vowels.

Hint #14: He does not share a name with that of an apostle.

Hint #15: His name cannot be found in the last 5 books of the Bible.

Hint #16: He never spoke to Jesus in person.

Hint # 17: His name does not appear in any of the Gospels.

Hint #18: His name does not appear at all in the Old Testament.

Baby Name Game Hint #18

Hint #18: His name does not appear at all in the Old Testament.

(I had mentioned in an earlier post that it was in the New Testament, but could have possibly been quoted from the OT... well, it's not... just in case you were wondering)

Baby Name Game Hint #17

Hint # 17: His name does not appear in any of the Gospels.

(Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)

Which leaves out Zaccheus, the wee little man. I'm surprised that nobody tried to run with that one. Wouldn't that have just been a funny name for our kid???

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm stuffed. That's all there is to it! Rob, Leeann and I are hanging out with my family in St. Helens today eating and eating and eating some more! My goodness I ate a lot. I''m partially thinking that baby's going to come today, there isn't any room left for him in my tummy! We ate at 1, and I think they're beginning to pull out round two... it's only 3! Thanksgiving with my family is always lots of fun. Ah, memories! I can't write long because I'm here among family right now and I don't get that chance very often. At some point this weekend I'll reflect on everything I'm thankful for...

Baby Name Game Hint #16

Hint #16: He never spoke to Jesus in person.

Baby Name Game Hint #15

Hint #15: His name cannot be found in the last 5 books of the Bible.

(1st, 2nd, 3rd John, Jude, or Revelation)

Baby Name Game Hint #14

Hint #14: He does not share a name with that of an apostle.

An apostle is one of the 12 that Jesus walked with and taught, and spent time with on a regular basis.

A Just Plain Beautiful Morning!

Isn't it amazing how different our perspective on a day can be when we wake up naturally verses because of an alarm, a telephone or a even a child? Today was such a day and as I looked over at the alarm clock which read 8:58, I smiled to myself. I think it must have been 9:03 when I heard Leeann softly say "Daddy... daddy?" Ah, a day with NO PLANS, NO COMMITMENTS, NO SCHEDULE, NO MEETINGS, NO STRESS! It's a beautiful day. Ironically when I have a lot to do I feel like I have no energy to do it. Today I feel like I have a lot of energy and I'm looking forward to what I can get done. I still have a "to do before baby comes list" and I look forward to crossing some things off of there today. I'll probably do some Christmas shopping since it's during the day time currently and the stores are WAY TOO busy any other time. It already kind of hurts to stand up for very long, so it definitely works better to go when I have to stand in the shortest line possible!

Other than that we'll be spending Thanksgiving with my family this year and Rob and I are both looking forward to getting some good time with them. My family doesn't consist of a normal set of parents and some siblings. My "family" literally is a whole host of grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, cousins and their kids. We usually even 'adopt' a fair amount of people who are either loosely affiliated with our family or are just friends of the family who need a family to spend Thankgiving with. You just never know who's going to be there! I tell you what, Thanksgiving dinner is usually pretty much the same every year (which I appreciate) and it's the best Thanksgiving this side of Mississippi!

The only "unbeautiful" part about this morning is that my Grandfather (dad's dad) had a heart attack a couple of days ago and is undergoing a 5 bi-pass surgery today. Please pray for him, for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. I'll keep you updated. Apparently my little brother (2 years-old) drank some Orange cleaner last night and had to go to the hospital. I'm presuming that the fact that I haven't heard from anybody regarding that is a good sign?

My Last Day of Work

As I nearly chucked my phone across the room as it rang just after 4 this morning (that's when the lady I babysit for calls me to tell me she's on her way over with the kids), I couldn't help but stop and smile... today is the last day that I'll be woken up at four in the morning by a telephone for at least a month or two. Nevermind the fact that it will soon be replaced by the wails of a hungry baby who I can't get to just by turning over and grabbing it off of my night stand! But for the week and a half between now and then, it feels very good! I'll miss the kids terribly, but I look forward to not having to get up so early to get them, nor to get up again at 6:45 to begin getting them off to school. As much as I don't look forward to losing sleep at night, I do look forward to the freedom to crawl back in bed when he's finished eating, and sleeping as long as he'll let me!

Today is virtually my last day for any commitments... but a day full of commitments at that! Byron and Tony are up and off to school while Leeann and Krista are enjoying their last few minutes of rest before I wake them up. I'll soon get Leeann some breakfast and get into the shower. I'll quickly get myself and Leeann ready and then drive Krista to school. I will then go to my friend, Eroica's house where I will spend the morning babysitting her 8 month old little girl. She and Leeann will play together as I watch episodes of TLC's "The Baby Story, Adoption Story and Birthday" (Eroica Tivo's them for me, we don't have T.V.!) This will give Eroica some time to work on editing some pictures. She runs a photography studio out of a really neat shop in the back of her home. Check out her website on my links--Precious Portraits. You'll even find some cute pictures of Leeann in her portfolio!

Ah, then this afternoon I'll pick Byron up and take him to Eroica's, then an hour and a half later I'll pick up Tony and take him to Eroica's where we'll try to acclimate them into her home. She's going to take over my job while I'm on maternity leave so we're going to try to get the kids used to the rules, the house, the environment etc. Then we'll get Krista and head off to spend some quality time together since it's their last day with me for a while.

Then their mom will pick them up and I will shovel something down my throat, drop Leeann off with the babysitter and head to the church where I have a meeting. Our church is embarking on a building project and I'm one of the chairpersons for the communications committee. It's a big job! Tonight will be an important night as we attempt to answer some big questions and set a big vision before the church. I need to wrap up any loose ends on my part as I prepare to fully hand this over to my team members in preparation for baby's arrival also.

THEN, when I come home I have a mountain of laundry that needs done between now and Thanksgiving. That's one of two big things left on my list of things to do before the baby comes (other than Christmas shopping). Not only would it be nice to have most of the laundry done for when we get home from the hospital, but it would also be nice to have some clean socks... I think I may very well be down to my last pair today!

One might wonder why you read about my boring day ahead. I can see why you might read the first paragraph, to see if anything exciting is going on. But if you are still reading by the time you get to this paragraph I'm afraid you just might have too much time on your hands! With that being said, I have some princesses who need woken from their slumber. Have a great day, and keep those baby name's coming!

Baby Name Game Hint #13

Hint #13: His name contains at least 2 different vowels.

Baby Name Game Hint #12

Hint #12: His name can be found in the New Testament.

This doesn't necessarily mean it can't be found in the Old Testament also however... Although, it may very well not be found in the Old Testament, so don't think too hard about the qualification of my clue!

Just a Little Picture...

Just a little picture of the Buhl's in front of the Christmas Tree!

Christmas Time!

Today we set up our house for Christmas and started some new traditions. With baby's arrival less than two weeks away, we knew we ought to take advantage of this day we had with no obligations to gear up for Christmas time at the Buhl's. It was such a fantastic day filled with family and fun! We set up the tree, ate some pizza, drank some rootbeer, decorated our home and then sat down for a movie. Nevermind the fact that the movie was all fuzzy and we couldn't watch more than 5 minutes of it before we had to shut it off. Oh well!

Take note of some of the pictures we took today compared with the pictures from last year. Isn't it amazing how much our little girl has grown up in just one short year. It's hard to tell that she's even the same person! I'm invisioning taking a picture of Leeann in that same Christmas tree box at 16 and it makes me smile. She is such a beautiful blessing to us and she continues to be daddy's little helper as she insisted on helping him put the tree together again this year. I have the feeling this too, will become a Buhl tradtion.

I'd love to hear about some of your family Christmas traditions... feel free to comment if you'd like to share them with us.

An Evening to Myself

In light of my slight emotional breakdown Thursday night Rob insisted that I stay home all by myself yesterday evening. Rob and Leeann left to have dinner in Portland with Grandpa and Grandma Buhl and to do a little Christmas shopping. The kids I watch left about 5:45 leaving me several hours to do whatever I wanted, provided I do it all by myself (I have a hard time being alone... but it's good for me!)

So, I got some Burgerville--yummy--and brought it home, snuggled on the couch and watched a chick flick. Then I got a big bowl of ice cream, turned up the heat in my house (we usually keep it at 68, I 'splurged' and turned it up to 70, hey it was my night!) and I watched my whole movie without anyone making fun of it!

Then I took a bath and read my Bible and lesiurley picked up a few things around the house. Rob and Leeann didn't come home until almost 10:30! It was so much fun just to be by myself for a few hours, I forget how little that happens. When it does happen it's usually because Leeann's sleeping and there's little that I can do while she's just in the next room. Our house isn't very big! The only problem that I had was trying to figure out what to do with my time. I kind of wanted to do some Christmas shopping, but that would just put me around more people and isn't necessarily relaxing. Then I thought about doing chores, but hey, I can do those anytime. I decided that the best use of my time was just to veg out a little and 'splurge' on a few little things that would make me feel special, like chicken strips and ice cream and a movie!

It was good times had by all. Leeann and Rob had a nice 'date' together too and they even brought me home Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Then, to top it all off, Rob let me sleep in until almost 10 today. Needless to say I'm in a better mood than I was Thursday! My husband is wonderful, that's all there is to it!

This afternoon we do some housework and this evening we're having a family time as we set up for Christmas! This is my favorite time of year!

Baby Name Game Hint #11

Hint #11: His name appears in at least 3 books of the Bible.

Baby Joel Update 11/18

Another update from Stephanie's sister Lindsey

Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for your heartfelt prayers! God is so good! The shunt procedure went really, really well! The doctors were pleasantly surprised that there were no problems or complications – it went off without a hitch! Steph just called me this morning and said that Joel’s oxygen levels are already at 90% - and he looks so much pinker! The doctor told her that she & Toby may be able to take little Joel home in a couple weeks as he prepares for his complete repair surgery in a few months! It’s really a miracle! Joel’s name means “God is Willing” – and definitely, it looks like God is willing to heal Joel…

He is so faithful….

Feeling Fragile

I had somewhat of a mental breakdown last night. Nothing severe... just admitting to myself and to Rob that I'm doing too much and I'm wearing myself too thin. What can give though? That's a good question! I'm having a tough time getting back to sleep after the kids come at 4 in the morning, so I'm going to try to work it out so that Monday can be my last day for a while. As it stands right now I have to get up at 6:50 to get the first one up and off to school, so I really am not getting a whole lot of sleep between 4 and 7--making for a really tired me.

Leeann is getting to be such a big girl and she's so curious and adventurous, it's getting really hard to keep up with her. She's at the point where she's verbalizing so much more than even a week ago. She could always point to all of her body parts after I said them, but last night she just told me what they all were! Which also means she's telling me what she wants to eat, which clothes or shoes she wants to wear, I don't want a nap, I want a bath etc. I just have to do a little more running around than usual to appease the choices she's making (I'm glad she's making them though, it shows she's getting big!) It scares me however, because even right now it hurts to snuggle with her and to play with her because she doesn't realize that there are now boundaries on what she can and cannot do with mommy, how much she can climb on me and such. It's hard for me to get to see others pick her up, hold her, spin her around, & snuggle with her. Those are all things I should be able to do, but I can't right now. I can imagine that it's going to be really hard after the baby comes because not only will she feel somewhat abandoned by this little guy demanding all of my attention, but I will be able to do even less with her for a few weeks until I heal from my surgery. I know she will still be taken care of... but it's hard to not be the one to do that for her!

At this point, I just feel like I need a day off. One whole day, all to myself! Then again, all I would probably do is chores and such. Although, when I'm by myself it allows me to get them done in approximately 1/4 of the time that it takes with Leeann around. I really can't imagine how I'll get anything done with 2 little ones, two sets of feedings, bathing, napping, diapers. Obviously others before me have done it and survived, and I know I will too. It's just overwhelming to think about how much life is going to change and how much left there is to do before Baby comes. I'm making progress though, slowly crossing stuff off of my 'to do before baby comes' list. With that, I'm going to go find something constructive to do with the few minutes I have before Leeann wakes up and my day officially begins. I hope yours is wonderful!

Baby Name Game Hint #10

Hint #10: There are fewer than 8 letters in his name.

Baby Name Game Hint #9

Hint #9: His name appears in more than one book of the Bible.

4 a.m. Feedings Already?

Baby Buhl will not be born for yet another two weeks, but he's already demanding 4 a.m. feedings! A weird pregnancy craving? I wish! Actually, he's woken me up several times this morning already because his four little appendages are all packing quite a punch at the same spot in my right ribs that he's been wearing down for weeks. (He's literally folded in half and his hands and feet are all together in one spot.) The kicks and punches are getting harder and more frequent. I feel so beaten and bruised, but it's on the inside and there's just nothing I can do about it. I woke up at one point thinking, "I wish someone else could babysit, for even just one whole night so I can get a good nights sleep laying on my tummy with no bathroom breaks and no kicking!"

So why the 4 a.m. feeding you ask? I'm hoping that the rumbling of my tummy digesting will put him to sleep and I'm rocking back and forth in my computer chair hoping that he'll fall asleep and keep his hands and feet to himself for a few hours! I wake up in the middle of the night moaning "ouch, stop and move". He doesn't seem to listen, but it usually wakes Rob up. I get a few minutes of being held sympathetically out of the deal... being pregnant has its perks too :0)

So here I am, hopeful to crawl back in bed and sleep for as long as my dear sweet Leeann will let me. She's been sleeping in somedays until 8 or 9, today would be a beautiful day for that to happen. She often will come into our room somewhere between 4 and 7 in the morning and bring her blanket and pillow and lay on our floor. When she's in there she'll just patiently lay on the floor until we get out of bed, even if she's been awake for hours. She's quite careful not to bother us which is really cute. I think she's a little girl full of compassion. Her demeanor is so sweet, giving and selfless... I can't imagine a sweeter child!

I'm sure Baby will be sweet too, it's just hard to imagine when he's causing me so much bodily grief! Only 15 days, only 15 days! I hope your nights sleep was better than mine and that all is going well in your neck of the woods!

Prayers for Baby Joel

This is an update on Joel taken directly from an email sent by Stephanie's twin sister Lyndsey.


Prayer Warriors…

Please pray for my nephew, baby Joel Winningham. As many of you know, he’s really been struggling during these first few weeks of his life. He’s been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. It means that there are 4 things wrong with his heart… mainly, it requires a pretty intense surgery to repair it. Unfortunately, because Joel is so small (prematurity doesn’t help) – he isn’t big or strong enough to withstand this kind of surgery at this point. He has been going back and forth between doing well and not. Sometime his sats (oxygen saturation level in his blood) are stable, and other times they drop dangerously low. Yesterday wasn’t a good day for Joel – so today (sometime between 11am-4pm) the doctors at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland are going to do a temporary procedure – to go in thru the vein in his little leg, and up to his heart – to place a shunt between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. This should help to provide adequate blood flow to his lungs – and help him get more oxygen flowing thru his blood stream. As with all procedures involving the heart, there are risks. (Worst case scenario – the procedure could loosen a blood clot, that could find it’s way to his brain and cause a stroke.) But we’re praying for best case scenario – that it would be successful, that Joel would become stable again and that he would be able to go home with Steph and Toby to grow and await his complete repair surgery in a few months.

It is so good to know that our Heavenly Father’s plan is more incredible that we could ever imagine – please pray that Steph and Toby would find complete comfort and peace in His loving arms. He is our ultimate healer, since He is our creator – pray that he will guide the doctor’s hands and give them wisdom as they seek to help little Joel.

Thank you so much for your prayers, Christ is our ultimate source of strength & healing.

Blogging a Christmas List?

I imagine it's quite tacky to blog a Christmas list, but I've been having many requests as to what Leeann wants/needs for Christmas. So please, take this list as no obligation to give something to her, but only as a guide if she is already someone on your list...

*Contributions to her 529 college fund (really, please always consider this an option when purchasing gifts for her. Even $5 will help tremendously when saved over time. Wrap it up with a color book or some other little trinket if you are wanting to make sure she has something to open from you! Just having finished college ourselves Rob and I recognize how valueable this is & will become to her later in life--and it's tax deductible!)

*Another gift that's always worth giving is swim lessons, music lessons or gymnastics. Or as she gets older, sports registration/gear, or money towards camp and other youth events.

* 3T Footie pajamas.
*3T Winter clothes. Especially jeans and sweaters.
*A CD player for her bedroom.
*Veggie Tales DVD.
*Plastic Food.
*Fischer Price Little People.
*A bike.

DISCLAIMER: This really, truly is not meant to be tacky or beggarly (is that even a word?) I assure you Leeann is not doing without, nor will she starve or die of boredom anytime soon! We also recognize that Christmas can be a rather stressful time of year both mentally and on the pocket book... we both come from big families! Please feel no obligation to get anything for our kids, and if you do want to get something, feel free to keep it small and simple! I'm still amazed by how grateful a two-year old is over a box of color crayons!

As for Baby Buhl, let's be honest... he'll be 3 weeks old and really doesn't need anything! Feel free to give him a big hug and a kiss for Christmas! We've been so incredibly blessed with so much stuff for him through baby showers and such, feel free to cross him off your list this year :0)

Baby Name Game Hint #8

Hint #8: His name cannot be found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

Baby Name Game Hint #7

Hint #7: He does not share a name with a Biblical Prophet.

Thanks Grandpa for some 'clue help' :0)

17 Days and Counting!

My dear, sweet, stubborn baby remains in the breech position after an attempt at an external version (where they try to make him do a sommersault and land head-down). It was somewhat painful, although not unbearable. She again assured us that it is not likely that he will turn at this point--he's obviously quite comfortable where he is!

I was quite happy to see that he is indeed a boy, without a doubt. I have remained slightly paranoid about him popping out a girl and not having a name! The ultrasound tech hasn't been wrong since 1982 though, and it was really very obvious so my paranoia can rest now! It wasn't a very in-depth ultrasound but everything seemed to look good so far.

So, we scheduled a C-Section for Friday, December 2nd at 12:30 in the afternoon. If all goes well we should all be able to come home by Sunday afternoon. I'm excited to have a date in mind now, it puts me to ease a little just knowing when to have the room done, my laundry done, my grocery shopping, my Christmas shopping etc. And I'll know to get a good nights rest too!

With that, I'll be going now, I have to think of approximately 17 more baby name clues, including one for today... I'll be honest I'm kind of running out of ideas! I'll post again as soon as I think of one.

Reverse Bed Time

This evening Leeann insisted "Mommy, nigh-nigh" so I crawled into her bed like a "Big girl" and she covered me up with her covers and read me a story. It was quite sweet!

Mommy and Daddy got to go out to Applebees for dinner tonight using a Pastor's Appreciation Gift certificate and a family in our church who offered us babysitting for a night out--We even splurged on a maple blondie for dessert. Um, yummy! We are grateful for God's provision and for the people that He puts in our lives!

I did some Christmas shopping today and spent some time with a good friend just hanging out doing what girls do. It's nice to have someone to share things like Christmas shopping with!

Tomorrow is my version, I go in at 11:00 and I'll post an update as soon as we get back. For now, I'm going to get off here! And you should too--don't you have anything better to do than read my boring blog?!?!? *smile*

A Little Request from Grandpa Buhl

Grandpa Buhl would like to request that other people make their guesses via comments on the blog so he can see what other people are guessing. I think he's feeling left out that he's the only one commenting (although I have recieved many individual emails)! It's pretty easy to do--just click the comment button at the bottom of the blog and follow the easy steps. Of course, I'll only reply to the ones that come with $$$ :0)

Grandma Rosenthal pointed out that she doesn't know family names from my side and many don't know family names from their side... so that's a question that I will answer. Feel free to ask if any particular name is a family name and I will let you know.

Baby Name Game Hint #6

Are we having fun yet? Rob and I have enjoyed hearing people's guesses, even those unaccompanied by $$$!

We've decided that Rob's parents (Hi Janice, Hi Steve!) are putting in as many guesses as possible so at the end of this whole ordeal they can say proudly, "I just knew it, I knew it all along. I guessed that one by day 6!") Ah, the joy of being Grandparents!

Hint #6: His name starts with a consonant.

I know, this one isn't very exciting and doesn't really eliminate a whole lot... but it certainly eliminates some! Besides, yesterday's hint should give those of you who want to think real hard many to eliminate. I'll know by tomorrow whether baby's coming in two weeks and we can spice up the hints, or whether I need to drag this game out for another month. Good luck!

Baby Name Game Hint #5

Hint #5: His name cannot be found in any of the first 5 books of the Bible.

Grandpa--this one should help you out a little... I know you've been wanting some clues that would make you open up your Bible. Of course that only leaves 61 possible books for you to look in! Good luck! (But in reality this does exclude quite a few).

Our Weekend

PARTY

Rob, Leeann and I went to my hometown, St. Helens, this Friday to celebrate my aunt Patty's 50th Birthday! It also happen to be her daughter, Jenni's (and probably my very bestest friend besides Rob) Birthday too! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNI AND PATTY!!! We had a great time and we got to stay with my other aunt Pam and uncle Steve. We stayed up way too late talking, but it was such great fun. The next day we had lunch at my very favorite restaurant in the whole-wide world--yeah for SunShine Pizza! Then... we headed home.

CAR TROUBLES

Car troubles only seem to happen when we are far away from home. We were about 7 miles outside of my home town headed back this way when steam/smoke started billowing from our heater vent by the windshield. We immediately pulled over, and clueless we called my dad. He came to our rescue and sent us on our way. Apparently we are not holding the water in our car--it's something that we need to get fixed! Anyway, we headed on our way and things seemed fine for the remainder of the drive anyway.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

The three of us decided to take a little Christmas shopping break at the Woodburn Outlet Mall. It was quite fun! I do enjoy shopping for people. Here's the problem though. I want to be thoughtful and practical. Christmas lists seem like such a funny thing, but I'd far rather get someone something that they'll want and use than something that they'll regift to someone next year. But does asking them what they want take the real fun out of Christmas? I just don't know! It's one thing to ask a parent what their kid wants because it's still a surprise to them and you can assure that mom and dad won't just throw it in the "that's too noisy" pile. But parents on the other hand--you can't really just ask their kids ya know! For that matter, Rob and I can't even figure out what we want, how is anybody else supposed to figure it out? Ah, the Christmas dilemma. Bottom line though, our Christmas shopping has to get done a little early this year. You just never know when and how this baby's going to come!

BABY BABY BABY

He's still breech. What more can I say? I've been beginning to experience contractions that seem more and more real, although I still don't know what the really-real ones feel like. I was getting a little paranoid last night though and quizzed Rob on how to get ahold of my doctor in an emergency, her name, where to find her # etc. Just in case! But I slept through the night without any problems and I haven't felt anymore contractions as of this morning, so I think I'm fine. We still plan to go in on Tuesday to try to flip the baby. I think I'll feel better when I get more questions answered then.

LEEANN

Do little girls come any sweeter than her? I'm not convinced! She's such an amazingly sweet, beautiful blessing from God! She had quite a cough this morning and I haven't been feeling great myself so Rob got her up this morning and stuck her in bed with me and encouraged us not to go to church this morning. That doesn't happen very often at all, but in my current state I was quick to oblige. Of course, it doesn't mean she's going to sleep in... she insisted on 'more' just after Rob put her down with me. Oh it would have been nice to sleep until 9:00. Maybe we can take an early nap today?

NURSERY

Rob and I did a little work in the baby's room last night. I organized and put away all of the baby shower stuff and I also got out all of his clothes and sorted them. I washed a couple of loads but I have several more to put through the wash today. This kid already has more clothes than I do and it's they are all in the 0-9 month category! What a huge blessing that is though. Rob's sister, Suzy has two boys who were born in December and January and she gave us all of their clothes. I tell you what--they are some super-cute clothes too! Many of them look like they've never been worn and are far cuter than anything I'd ever buy. I simply don't have any fashion sense, that's all there is to it! Suzy on the other hand most certainly does. She's letting my borrow all of her maternity clothes too. It's the first time in my life I've ever worn anything trendy either. It's a good thing, it helps me feel cute during my "I'm getting so fat" times of despair! THANKS SUZY!!

BABY JOEL

Baby Joel was transferred to Emmanuel Children's Hospital this weekend. Please continue to pray for him and his family as things seem quite unstable at this point in time. An excerpt from a recent prayer request reads:
"He has been diagnosed with a heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot, and was transported today (Friday) by ambulance up to Emmanuel Children's Hospital in Portland.
The doctors thought it would be best if he were closer to them because he may need to have surgery as a result of his oxygen levels falling. They HAD hoped to wait until he was 3-6 mos. old. In the meantime, has been put on a medication that will help open the affected heart valve. Unfortunately, this medication can cause the baby to quit breathing, in which case he would have to be put on a respirator." I was told yesterday that he was indeed required to be put on a respirator.
I'll keep you updated as I hear more. In the meantime, please, please pray!

Baby Name Game Hint #4

Hint #4: For all you Veggie Tale Fans--He has never been played by a Veggie Tales character (at least I'm pretty sure of this).

And just in case you were wondering... someone actually took us up on the Name Game Challenge! I won't tell you who, and I won't tell you where--but we've had our first contribution to the Baby Buhl College fund come in! And what a blessing it was! Don't get too excited though, it wasn't the $5,000 guess, because if it were than the aforementioned clues could become out-dated. We'll be sure to let you know if that happens :0)

Baby Shower

The ladies at the church threw me an awesome baby shower last night! If nothing else, I would have gone just for the food (check out the above picture... a chocolate fountain!) Thanks Kitty and Cherish for giving me and baby such a wonderful party! I got lots of useful and practical things and even a few special treats too (see the super-cool John Deere Cake Pan picture!) Thank you so much to everyone who came out to celebrate with me and for all of your generous gifts!