Christmas and my Boys

So, here is our very first family picture! It was Christmas Eve so we decided to dress up a little for the Christmas Eve service at church. We had a wonderful Christmas! It was pretty relaxing for once! My whole family came to our house Christmas morning. They made it even in the blizzard, but just barely- my Dad and brother had to take their 4 wheel drive vehicles to pick up all of my grandparents first! Then we enjoyed a nice breakfast (which I made all by myself! But it wasn't anything too difficult... I did most of it the night before) and opened presents and visited. The nice thing was Isaac woke up at 7 and stayed awake until 11 and then took a 4 hour nap in the bassinet! Everyone arrived at about 10:30 so I got to enjoy myself while he was asleep. I kinda feel bad because I know people want to see and hold him, but I didn't want him to be too overstimulated either. Tyler had a great Christmas... it was so fun because he understood so much more this year. The look on his face when he first woke up and saw his presents was priceless.

Here is my cute little Isaac on his first Christmas! He is just so adorable. I wish everyone could see him in person because I really don't think pictures do him justice. Dean and I wondered what little nickname he would get because Tyler has always been "punkin head." I know it's probably silly but so far I've been calling Isaac "peepers" because I just love his eyes and he makes the cutest little noises (peeps). He has his daddy's eyes and he makes the cutest expressions. He is such a good baby. Tyler would never sleep unless we were holding him it seemed like, but Isaac will sleep anywhere and for good lengths of time. And Tyler LOVES him, still! People keep asking me how Tyler is handling things and he's just fine, like nothing has even changed. He still loves to hold him and gives him kisses all the time. He's even protective of him! When I was giving Isaac a bath Tyler was watching and said "don't get water in my baby brother's eyes, mom." Then when the nurse had him at his 2 week appt. Tyler told her to be careful and not to hurt him. SO SWEET! I love my boys......

He's Here!!!!

Isaac Dean was born Dec. 14 at 11:46 pm! He was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely perfect! If you can't tell from the pictures he has red hair!! So cute!!! Everything went really well and I feel great. Can I just say, this boy did NOT want to be born on his due date (the 13th). I had contractions on friday that kinda hurt and then nothing on Saturday. Sunday they were back, but I figured it was false labor again. WRONG. It was early labor! When they got pretty close together around dinner time we decided I should go get checked... that way I would be sure to get those antibiotics in time if I needed them. We ate dinner, showered, got some stuff together just in case, and left. I was dead sure we'd be sent home. My midwife just happened to be there with another patient when we arrived so she checked me and said I was at 3-4 cm. She went ahead an stripped my membranes and said, there, now you're at a 4-5! Needless to say, I wasn't sent home after that. We arrived at the hospital at about 8:30 and Isaac was born at 11:46! It was really fast! Good thing too, cuz this time I didn't have an epidural :-).

Tyler absolutely adores him already. He wants to help us all the time and he'll sit and hold Isaac for as long as we'll let him (someone helps him, of course). He kisses him a ton and loves on him. It's just so sweet. He is such a good big brother already!

As for me, I feel great! I really do. I felt pretty good after I had Tyler but this time I feel even better. I hardly have any pain at all. I can't believe it. I just feel like I went and worked out... my muscles are a little sore. And I'm tired. Praise the Lord! I'm so glad he's finally here!


This is the outfit Dean went and chose for him to come home in.... a little Christmas suit!

Baby Update...

Well, I had (hopefully) my last appointment tonight. I am 1 cm dilated (whoop-dee-doo) and he is really, really low. She said she'd be surprised if I made it to Monday!!! Yay, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! She couldn't help me out by stripping my membranes yet, something about my cervix being up around his head or something? Sorry if that's too much info. However, if I hadn't had him by Monday I'm going in and they're going to do it first thing in the morning. Dean and I are thinking it will happen Saturday. There is a full moon (which actually starts tomorrow) and there is supposed to be a big winter storm. Dean really wants us to have him while there's a blizzard for some reason... something about it adding to the excitement :-). Not to mention that's my actual due date anyway. We'll keep you updated!

God is Awesome

I just had to write and tell you of an amazing thing that happened last night. Reading a devotion yesterday morning, the Lord really tugged at my heart to give to those who are truly in need instead of keeping my "riches" to myself. This was especially appropriate since Christmas is upon us! We have been struggling over knowing how much we are able to give to help others have a blessed Christmas this year. After reading the devotion a realized that even if we don't have a lot, we still have more than a lot of people out there.

Anyway, Dean (who is a cable tech) installed cable for an older man that was pretty sick and depressed yesterday. The man's clothes didn't fit because he had lost so much weight from being ill. His pants would fall down to his ankles if he let go of them. My husband got home and told me about this man and we decided to go buy him some pants and shorts that might fit and take them and leave them on his doorstep anonymously. Upon our arrival to his house last night, Dean discovered him in his backyard, curled up on the sidewalk with blood everywhere (and really, it was EVERYWHERE) and severe head lacerations. He was conscious but had lost a lot of blood. Dean called 911 and tried to keep the man still until help arrived. I was in the van with Tyler and I still didn't know what was going on. I was worried because Dean was taking a long time, and then I saw the ambulance and fire truck lights. I got out to see what was going on and I thought I was looking at a crime scene.

Had we not gone back when we did this man probably would have died. He told Dean earlier that nobody was around to help him, he was completely on his own. Who knows how long it would have taken someone to find him! It looked to me like someone beat up this man but after the police investigated a little they think he had too much to drink (he also told my husband he was an alcoholic) and he fell down his cement stairs and badly injured himself. I don't know how someone could injure themselves that badly but I guess the police know what to look for. The Lord definitely had is hand in the situation and put us there for a reason. It just amazes me how He orchestrated the whole thing. Oh, and while Dean was there earlier he was able to share the gospel with him a little and encourage him. Praise God ! He is truly awesome!

Please pray for this man and his healing from his illness, injuries, and addiction. I feel that from now on, even if we never see him again, he will hold a special place in our hearts.

Just ONE more thing...

.... To worry about, that is! Nothing too major, I don't think, but annoying if nothing else! I tested positive for group B strep. I know it's fairly common and I probably should worry too much, but I am anyway. Here's the thing. If my water breaks, Isaac is at risk. I have to get my behind to the hospital FAST. If it doesn't break, he is fine, but I have to have antibiotics in my system for at least 4 hours before I deliver. My worry here? My labor with Tyler was 9 hours. This one will probably be shorter, and I was hoping I could stay home for a while. Now I will be too freaked out! My mom's labor with my oldest brother was 9 hours and her second was only 4 1/2. If I follow her pattern... well, you can see my concern.

So, today I call our family Dr. to ask his policy on the whole thing as far as Isaac is concerned. I had been told before that they only keep the baby longer in the hospital if the mom hasn't had the antibiotics in her system long enough before the birth. Come to find out, our Dr. keeps the baby longer no matter what. I'm not sure how much longer,but I know how much I hated being in the hospital when we had Tyler and I was only there for a day and a half! Ugh.

I am thankful that they are going to make sure Isaac is ok, of course that is number one priority! I'm just annoyed with the whole situation and hoping everything works out ok. After researching it on the internet I'm a little more freaked out. Isaac could come down with some serious stuff if he gets it, but I guess the chances are slim. I'll just have to pray alot and hope the Lord takes care of him!

On a more positive note, only about 10 days till my due date! My midwife doesn't think he'll come early at all since Tyler didn't, so I'm trying to prepare myself for possibly being overdue! I hope not.... but nonetheless he'll be here soon!

Updates

Sorry I don't write too often, I'm really not even sure how many people read this! I thought maybe I'd write something before Isaac gets here, at least. Only a couple weeks left! Oddly it still seems a long ways away to me, but at the same time it's going pretty fast. I had my 37 week appt. last night and everything is going really well. I lost 2 pounds this last week, but that's because my swelling suddenly went away! YAY! I have my ankles back!!!!! Baby is healthy, they think he'll be about the same size as Tyler but maybe just a little bigger... Tyler was 8 lbs. 2 oz., they think Isaac will be about 8lbs. 6 oz. or so. It will be interesting to see how close their guess is. Any guesses from you guys? Post a comment and we'll see who's closest! One bad thing is I tested positive for the Group B strep. For those who don't know what that is, basically it's fine for me, not so good for Isaac. I have to get antibiotics while I'm in labor. It's not really too big of a deal but I'm a little annoyed. Just one more thing to deal with!
Tyler is as precious as ever! And guess what??? HE'S POTTY TRAINED!!!!! HOOORAY! I know, I posted a long time ago that we were potty training (like back in March) but he never quite got there. It was always a fight and he did pretty well at home but as soon as we went anywhere or he got distracted at all he would have an accident. Really annoying. We decided to have him in underwear as much as possible at home and then just use pull-ups when we went anywhere. He always went in his pull up. Now, however, he has kept dry for like 5 days! Pull up and all! Yesterday I kept him in underwear even when we went out and NO ACCIDENTS! I'm so proud of him. I owe it all to the potty book we got him. This all happened after we started reading it to him!
Dean is just getting over a really nasty flu virus. He's had it since Saturday and I've never seen him so sick for so long! Today is the first day he feels pretty good and I'm so thankful since Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Just pray that Tyler and I don't get the same thing! I don't want to have a baby while I have the flu! I'll post some pics soon of Tyler taking care of his daddy. I ran out to get some lunch yesterday and when I came back Tyler had his Doctor kit out and was examining Dean. Totally his idea! Too cute!

Tyler's Ready....

So, I think Tyler is ready for Isaac to get here. (I have no idea why this is underlined, sorry). I've been getting stuff out to wash and put away and today I got the carseat ready. I was showing Tyler how it worked so we put his baby in it and he was thrilled! He carried it around for awhile and went and got him toys and stuff. It was really cute!



I can totally see him kissing Isaac like this in a few weeks! Only about 5 more to go!

More Tyler stuff...

I know, I don't blog about much else, but I have to blog about Tyler right now. Mainly because I don't want to forget all the stuff that's happened this weekend concerning him. So, I'm sorry if you're sick of hearing about him, but I just can't help it!

First, we went to dinner at Chili's last night. Tyler is really well behaved in public places and we take pride in the fact we can take him anywhere with us. last night was no exception! When we got up to leave an older lady who was sitting across the aisle and down a ways from us leaned out of her booth and thanked us. She said normally she and her husband avoid sitting by children at restaurants (but they couldn't avoid it this time) and we were a pleasure to sit by because Tyler was so well behaved. She said normally kids aren't disciplined enough and are really obnoxious to be around. Let me tell you, as a parent that is one of the highest compliments you can get! To have an unbiased stranger say something like that to you... well, we must be doing something right! Wait, strike that, I think the Lord has just blessed us with a pretty good little boy!

So a little later, Tyler says, "I'm not Tyler-man anymore (that's what we call him), I'm big brother. Isaac is little brother." So cute.

I cut Dean's hair last night and then he shaved off ALL of his facial hair. That never happens! So when he came in to show Tyler, Tyler says, " you look like Don (Dean's brother) but you're not Don, you're Dean-Dean." So funny, and Dean actually does look a lot more like his brother now! Tyler is just so stinkin smart sometimes.

Then tonight we went grocery shopping. A random gal at the store told us our little boy was really cute. Once again, unbiased opinion from a stranger! Sheesh, Tyler might be famous someday....
Tyler likes to "help" put groceries away so I had him take some stuff into the bathroom, thinking he would just throw it on the floor and I would pick it up later. Instead, I go in to find everything neatly stacked on the back of the toilet. How cute is that????

Ok, I think I'm done.... I guess I should put a disclaimer on here: Tyler is by no means perfect, but he is sure cute and pretty good for the most part! He has his bad moments, but don't we all? I just love this age... it seems like he says or does something new every day. I am constantly in awe of how much he learns and how smart and cute he is. It's great being his mommy!

First Snow

Since it has been snowing all weekend (!) we decided we'd better get Tyler some new snow boots before all the stores ran out. After church we went boot hunting and actually found some! It's crazy how there is never a lot to choose from when it comes to boy stuff, but there is girl stuff EVERYWHERE. One store had probably 10 different styles of girls boots and not ONE for boys. Ridiculous. Ok, rant over.

Tyler has been fascinated with the snow and has been wanting to play in it ever since it started, so we decided to let him play in it for a while after we got home (since it's just melting now anyway!). After we got all his snow gear on he had a blast! He did not enjoy it this much last year! He and Dean attempted to make a snowman, but it crumbled when Dean tried to out the head on. They had a snowball fight after that!

I just did three new posts....

So keep on scrolling down!

Prego Update!

It's been a while since I've posted a pic of my growing belly, so I guess its about time I did. Everything's going really well! No problems at all, I just feel huge! I have 2 1/2 months until my due date, which I know isn't long but it seems like forever. I am 29 1/2 weeks along right now and this baby moves around like crazy! I swear he's trying to escape through my belly button. So that's about all for now, here are some pictures for you to enjoy..

Finishing the Basement

I don't know why this is underlined... sorry... anyway, Dean started working on our basement the past couple of weeks! He is such a good dad, he lets Tyler go down with him to "help". Tyler is so cute, he takes his own tool set down wityh him and has a little leather pocket he calls his tool belt on too. We also got him some little work gloves to keep him from getting splinters and he wears this gigantic safety glasses sometimes. He is so stinkin cute! Here are some pics of him helping Dean carry in the 2x4s... It took probably 3 times as long but Dean is so patient with him! What a good Daddy!




Here he is with some of his gear on... and that is his toy saw he's using on a scrap piece of 2x4...

More Tyler entertainment....

I haven't posted anything in a while, and what I have posted isn't really deep insight into my life... so I thought I would catch up a little and post some newer pics and stuff....

First of all, this is Tyler's new favorite thing to do while I clean.... I just give him the vacuum and away he goes!


What do you see when you look at this candle? Does the wax look like anything in particular? Tyler saw this at the dinner table one night and said, "look! A deer!" Dean and I both looked around, not knowing he was looking at the candle, and I said "where's a deer?" and he said "in that candle.." and pointed. Sure enough, if you look closely it looks like a deer laying down and looking over it's shoulder. What an imagination!

High School Musical

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My Cute Son

So we're parking on the street downtown this morning, and this is my conversation with Tyler:

Tyler: Where we goin, mom?

Me: To that store over there.

Tyler: (pointing to a store right next to us) That one?

Me: No, we have to cross the street.

Tyler: Like Jesus?

Me: Uhhh..... ?????

Tyler: Jesus died on the cross.

Me: (hysterical laughter)

I just thought it was so cute!!!!!

My Hubby.....

I saw this on a friend's blog and she tagged anyone who read hers. I figured since most of my posts are about Tyler or me being pregnant, it might be a nice change of pace to post a little about my wonderful husband.....

1. What is his name? Dean Allen Giesbrecht
2. Who eats more? At the moment it's a toss up... I probably eat more!
3. Who said I love you first? Dean told me he loved me before we really even started dating! Kinda freaked me out at the time, but I soon came to learn that he had loved me for a long time and just not said anything up until then... he couldn't wait to tell me!
4. Who is taller? Dean. He's just right.... not too tall, not to short.
5. Who is smarter? Hmmm... I don't know... I might be a little more book smart, but Dean definitely got the street smarts and more common sense!
6. Who is more sensitive? Dean is a sensitive guy, but I'm the emotional one for sure!
7. Who does the laundry? Me, and I HATE doing laundry. Sometimes he helps me put it away...
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the bed from the foot of it, he does.
9. Who pays the bills? He does. I used to, but somewhere along the line he took over.
10. Who does most of the cooking? Me. Dean will grill if we BBQ, and he also tries to get me what I want if I'm craving something or don't feel like cooking. Otherwise I try too cook as much as possible.
11. What meals do you cook together? usually anything that involves the BBQ, but I will still tackle that by myself if he's not home.
12. Who is more stubborn? ME
13. Who is the first to admit that they are wrong? Dean... he won't let anything fester, and I like to dwell on things, so he'll come to me first to resolve the issue even if it was mostly my fault!
14. Who has more siblings? Dean- 4 brothers and 1 sister, I just have 2 brothers.
15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Dean (and I don't mean that in a bad way!)
16. What do you like to do together? We like being with family or just hanging out at home, watching TV or movies. We try to take Tyler to do something fun on Dean's days off. I don't know, we just like being together!
17. Who eats more sweets? Me. Dean doesn't even like sweets much, and I have to have something just about every day!
18. What is his guilty pleasure? Ice cream in coffee
19. How did you meet? I was in third grade and we met at church when I started going to Calvary. He hung out with the boys who picked on all the girls so I didn't like him much... he swears he didn't pick on us but I say he's guilty by association. Then we went to high school together and became friends, and the rest is history!
20. Who asked who out first? We knew we liked each other so we just decided to start dating. He asked me out on a date after that but it wasn't like the Jr. high "will you go out with me" crap.
21. Who kissed who first? It was a mutual decision.... after we started dating we decided to wait a while to kiss, so after a couple months or so we decided we didn't want to wait anymore! (But I think I may have initiated the conversation :-))
22. Who proposed? Dean
23. His best features? Where do I start??? His eyes for sure, his mouth/goatee, build, and his behind is pretty cute too.... does personality count as a feature? Because I honestly didn't think a guy like him existed...
24. What is his greatest quality? He is truly a man of God, and it radiates thru his relationship with me, with Tyler, and with how he handles everyday situations (at work and home). I couldn't ask for a better husband, and I am so thankful he chose me to share his life with!
25. I tag Anyone who read all of this. :)

Pictures from Mexico

So here are some pictures from our trip! They're a little out of order but it doesn't make much difference. this first one is the city of Creel, where we stayed. It is beautiful there and I took this from up on the rocks behind our hotel...


This is Dean and I at the top of Copper Canyon. It is amazing and about 4 times bigger than the Grand Canyon. Not the greatest picture of me but my husband looks GREAT!


This is a woman from one of the Tarahumaran tribes there. We went to two villages to do outreaches and deliver food and clothing. We also did clown skits and Dramas and then shared the Gospel with them. It was a really amazing experience!


This is a little boy Tyler and I played with before the outreach started. they had so much fun and Tyler did really well playing with them!


During the outreach we put Tyler in the back of Pastor Gonzalo's truck (the pastor that lives in Creel) and he loved it! He didn't want to get out and I was thrilled because I didn't have to chase him around!


This is VBS (Vacation Bible School) at Pastor Gonzalo's church in Creel. We had the opportunity to go help after the village outreaches. Gonzalo's wife Crystal led it and Dean and Tyler were helping with the actions to the song up front....


The kids did a craft at VBS and here is Dean helping some of the boys....

This is actually the beginning of our trip on the tour bus... it was Tyler's naptime. The ride was about 33-36 hours, so we were glad to get off!

We had to get food ready for the outreaches, so this is some of our team dividing up flour... notice the white powder on the floor?


We dressed up the little boys as clowns a few times.....


This is our team doing a craft with some of the children at the orphanage. We made sock puppets with them and they loved it!


This is Chico... he's a Tarahumaran evangelist who speaks Spanish as well as tarahumaran. He translated the Spanish into Tarahumaran at our village outreaches. He is such a sweet person, we really love him!

So that is our trip in a nutshell. On a side note, there was a mass shooting in Creel the night before we left. It was awful. We heard the semi-automatic weapons from our hotel, but didn't find out what happened until later that night. Most of the victims were minors. A group of men (including Dean) went out that night to minister to the families or do whatever they could to help. They talked to a family who had lost the the father and 1 year old son. It was horrible. The Lord really protected our team... we had been in the town only about 45 minutes before the shooting happened. Please, whoever reads this, pray for Creel and the families that lost their loved ones!

We're home!

We're back from Mexico! We had a safe trip and are very thankful to be home. I will write more and post pictures when I'm not so tired and have more time!

Soccer Mom

I'm officially on my way to becoming a soccer mom! This is the van we just bought today. We were going to wait a while to get a bigger vehicle but we saw this last week and is was a good deal, so we got it! It is so nice to have more room. We were a little cramped with just the three of us in our car.... adding one more to it would have been a pain!

Odds and Ends...

So we will be leaving for Mexico in just a little over a week! For those of you who don't know we're going on a mission trip with a group from our church. We're taking a big tour bus and it's about a 30 hour ride! Dean and I went last year and we loved it so much we wanted to go back again. I'm just a little worried because this year we're taking Tyler and I'm pregnant! We're really excited, though. Just pray for us!

Oh, and for the record.... I am NOT disappointed that we're not having a girl! I am pretty surprised at the response I get from some people when I tell them we're having a boy. They either are disappointed themselves, or they treat me like I must be disappointed! A few have been excited about it. I just can't believe people are like that! I NEVER said I hoped for a girl, I have always said I didn't mind either way. Dean's family doesn't seem to make girls, so I wasn't surprised in the least! I am ecstatic that Tyler will have a little brother.... they will be the same age apart that my brothers are. I wouldn't mind having a girl someday, but I would also be just fine having all boys. Really. Ok, rant over. I just wanted to clear that up!

It's a BOY!!!!

I had my ultrasound today and it's a BOY!!! We are so excited! Don't get me wrong, we would have been excited either way, but it's just so great to finally know! Everything looked great and he is strong and healthy and very active. The technician had trouble getting the pictures she needed because he was moving around so much. It was pretty funny. We had a small list of boy names picked out but so far our favorite is Isaac Dean. Here are my ultrasound pics.... the first is of his profile....And this is just to prove he's a boy.... not the most flattering pic but whatever...And here are his cute little feet....So there he is! Only about 19 more weeks and we can meet him in person!

Memories!

This is a really fun post!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. I will revisit your blog and leave a memory as well!! Happy Memory making!!

Sheesh, I don't look tired in this picture, do I??? Even though you can't tell from this particular picture, I'm feeling sooo good now. It's so nice! I'm feeling the baby move a lot, more and more every day it seems. Dean actually got to feel it last night, too! I still haven't felt it with my hand, but he did with his. We'll find out if it's a boy or girl a week from Monday. We really haven't had any idea until recently, but I'll keep it to myself and say later if I was right or wrong. Tyler is still very adamant that he wants a brother and a sister, so I still have to convince him that he's really only getting one or the other. Either way Dean and I will be happy, we really don't have a preference. Everyone assumes we want a girl since we already have a boy, but I honestly don't care one way or the other. I'm excited either way!

4th of July

We had a really great 4th of July this year! Tyler had so much fun. He is finally old enough to really enjoy holidays and understand a little more. We bought fireworks this year so we could see if he liked them or not, and he loved them! He was a little nervous at first because he knew they were hot, but he got used to them and even tried sparklers! Here's some pics of the day before the 4th.....


These are our friends Denver and Hannah, in case you were wondering....



Here are Tyler and Dean at the parade. Tyler waved as hard as he could so people would throw him candy. It was so cute! He loved getting the candy, but toward the end he tried to throw some to the people in the parade!


Our church did a big BBQ so we were there for most of the day. They had big bounce toys set up for the kids and of course Tyler loved that as well. This is him in the bigger one...
His Grandpa Warren took him for his first ride on a motorcycle while we were at church. I thought he's get scared but he loved every minute of it!
This is Tyler and his best friend Noah in the smaller bounce toy. I think he spent a good hour and a half in there!
Since our church is right next to the fairgrounds, we had an awesome view of the fireworks. Tyler really liked those as well, and it was the perfect finish to our day!