Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and it was fun bringing Jake! He enjoyed the hayride out to the pumpkins and loved feeling all of the pumpkins. I look forward to making it an annual family tradition!

Back to Blogging!

Well I don't even know where to begin.....

It's been a long time since I've blogged and I wanted to be able to use this to keep pictures and records of Jake's life- but so much for that. I'm going to try to stay on track now!! I wanted to post about him and what he's doing- because I have already forgotten what he was like a month ago!!

Jake is 5 1/2 months now and time sure does fly when you're having fun. These last few months have been so enjoyable- it's amazing to witness and be apart of such a sweet little boy's life. Travis and I are really loving being parents and it's a lot of fun. Believe me, it was quite an adjustment for me in the beginning- Jake cried a lot and had a hard time taking his naps during the day- but we stuck with a routine and now he sure is an easy baby! He seems to be loving life!

He started eating solid foods about a month ago and loves everything he's tried except sweet peas- he shivers almost every time he eats them :) He eats every 4 hours now- and is taking 2 naps each day with a little catnap in the evening. He is doing so much better at night too. Bedtime is about 7:45pm and he will still wake up a couple times between 5am and 7am because he wants his pacifier- but then he doesn't wake up until 7am. We are still swaddling him and I think that may be changing soon... He can now sit up by himself and loves to have all his toys around him on the floor. It's so nice to not have to sit with him all the time on the floor. He still spits up A LOT!! It's so disgusting because he is constantly staining his cute outfits and he wears a bib all the time- it's so hard finding ones that match his clothes and he has to have about 3 outfits in his diaper bag each day- needless to say I do A LOT of laundry! :) Jake is such a social little guy- he smiles and talks to everyone and seems to always be happy- it's been so much fun having him in my life- I love him so much!!

Jacob Lance Brunner has arrived!

Our son is finally here :) I'm so happy to report that I am a new mom and it could not be any better! Jacob Lance Brunner was born at 12am May 6, 2010. He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long.

My labor and delivery experience was unbelievable. I really honestly was in denial that I was in labor for a while- I just couldn't believe that this was really happening. It started out on Wednesday morning May 5th when I woke up in a complete sweat and felt very nausous. I called the doctor's office and they said to just go to the hospital. I called Travis and my Mom and they came home to get me. I arrived at the hospital and they hooked me a baby up to check everything out. I had been feeling some burning pain the last few nights- but nothing that would keep me awake. Anyway- everything looked great and while I was hooked up to the fetal monitor I had those pains again and the nurse looked at me shocked to tell me that I was having quite a big contraction! I had no idea.... So she checked me and I was 100% effaced and dilated 2 cm. That was great to hear. So we left the hospital and went to lunch and Travis went back to work to finish some things up because my Mom had this feeling that we would be back at the hospital that night. Well sure enough as soon as I got home I cleaned the house and started having regular contractions. They started every 20 minutes and soon were every 10 minutes. I went walking, got in the hot tub and could not sit down. We waited for Travis to get off work and headed back to the hospital at 6pm. They checked me and I was only 3 cm dilated. I was kind of bummed but knew that I wasn't leaving the hospital because the contractions were every 4 minutes at that point.

I labored in the hospital and Travis and my Mom were SO helpful. I couldn't have stayed focused without them. To make a very long story short, my labor went very fast. I was unable to get an epidural and was 10 cm dilated at 11pm. At one point, his heartrate went down and I couldn't push for 2 contractions- which was really difficult and Travis got really scared and nervous. But Jake recovered quickly and it took some time and a lot of effort on my part- but our little man finally arrived at 12am on the dot!

I wouldn't have changed anything about the experience- everything was great and he came out so perfectly! He is already so loved by so many people and I'm so happy he came in time for me to celebrate Mother's Day. Now I know why that day is so very special.

The Brunner Family

38 weeks & Baby Jake's Room!

Well here is a picture at 38 weeks- I definitely look how I feel! I've had a cold now for the past week and a half and I am feeling really run down and tired. The pregnancy is going great though! I'm starting to feel pressure and burning in the lower half which I guess is a great sign! We go to the doctor tomorrow to see if there's any progress- but that doesn't mean much really. I could have no progress but go into labor any time now. I'm getting so excited and anxious to meet Jacob and start our family together. Travis is getting to excited too and we finished our labor and delivery classes last Monday. They were very informative and I loved going and visiting with all the other pregnant moms. We went to a hospital orientation at St. Joe's this week just to check everything out and register so we don't have to worry about doing that when the time comes. Everything is just getting so close and there's nothing more for me to do now! I'm still reading a lot of the baby books and reading about breastfeeding and scheduling so I'm getting a better idea of what to expect.
I'm so glad that my Mom has taken over the main responsibilities at work. I've been going in for a few hours a day- but I don't have to be there at set times unless she has appointments or stuff to do. That has been really helpful because this cold will not go away! I'm thinking good thoughts that I won't go into labor until I can breathe through my nose :)

Below I've finally posted pictures of his room!

I wish I would have done "before" pictures because we installed all new doors and baseboard throughout the entire house. There's also crown molding in his room that I didn't take a picture of. You can also see crazy Sandy in the background :)

I'm so proud of Jake's closet because Travis did all the shelves and designed it himself! I have such a handy husband and I love that he will tackle any project. He is constantly wanting to do something and be productive and busy- I love that about him!

And yes, there is a picture of Tiger Wood's in this room. :) There was a discussion about that, and I decided it wasn't that big of a deal to have it in there. Travis's Grandma bought him that autographed picture years ago and I think it goes very well with the room! :)

Oops! I realized I didn't take a picture of the window with valence, but it's in there! I also plan on having family pictures taken when he's born and put them above his dresser/changing table. I also want to buy some wood letters of his name and put them above his crib. I found a bunch online that can be painted in sports themes. I'm not that crafty so I will probably buy those ones instead of trying to do them myself!

Anyway- I'm so happy with how his room turned out and the entire house for that matter. Thanks to my husband and me working really hard- we were finally able to come to a finished project and it was well worth it.

Easter - 34 weeks

Easter went a little different this year with the fact that it started Snowing!! Landen had to hunt for eggs inside my Mom's house but he didn't care at all. He had so much fun and I think we hid the eggs 55 times! Then he started hiding the eggs and we all had to take turns finding them. He did a pretty good job hiding them :) We went with my family to brunch at the Blue Lake Casino and it was very disappointing! The had a buffet but it wasn't even breakfast food- it was dinner food and just not what we were expecting. Oh well, we know now!

Above is a picture at 34 weeks- as you can see we're both growing!

Baby Bowdy

I wanted to post about this sweet little boy, Bowdy. Granted I don't get to see him very much but everytime I do he is the sweetest, happiest baby I've ever seen! Whitney babysits him on Thursday mornings now and she will bring him by work for me to say hi. The other night we had Sister's Night at my house and he was the laugh of the party! As you can see from the picture below, I don't remember who was making him giggle and smile so much but it sure doesn't take very much for him to smile! He's so cute and turning into such a big boy. Congrats to Clay and Rachelle :)

Pa and Landen

The other day Landen was over at my house and he went outside to see his Pa driving his tractor on Auntie's street! Wes had gone to the gas station to fill up and knew Landen was over at my house. It was the cutest thing watching Landen see his Pa. He was amazed and thought it was the funniest thing that the tractor was on the road. This was a subject of conversation for about a week- Landen won't forget it!

Baby Shower!

Get ready for a lot of pictures!! We had Baby Brunner's shower this last weekend and the celebration started on Friday at Katherine's mom's house where we decorated cupcakes and cookies. Whitney and Landen came up and Landen helped by testing the cupcakes!

Below is a picture of Katherine decorating the baseball cookies- they turned out so great! Thanks to Katherine and her mom, we had such cute special treats at the shower.

There was so much food too! Betsy opened her house to us and everything turned out so nice.

Opening presents was quite the adventure! Everyone was so generous with their gifts and I got so many hand made blankets and burp rags- they were very special. Landen was also a good helper- he had been so patient waiting to help me open all the gifts.

Travis came by towards the end to see everything and help finish off the food! He was amazed at how many gifts he had to put in the truck ;) We are so lucky to have such great family and friends who love us so much.

This last picture sort of captures how I was feeling at the end of opening all the gifts! It's weird being a first time mom, because I don't have a clue about what I'm going to need or not need. I'm so thankful to have so much family around and close friends who all have kids so they are able to explain things to me. The next day Whitney, my Mom and my friend Kristen came over to help me organize his nursery and set up the closet and dresser. It was so much fun and I am so excited for Jake to finally get here. I now these last weeks probably will feel like they're dragging by- but I know he will be here before I know it!

We started labor and delivery classes on Monday at St. Joseph Hospital. Travis was out of town and had to miss this first class but my Mom came with me and it was surprising because I didn't know what I was going to feel after seeing real footage of a birth and talking about the facts of labor. It was so great because for some reason I felt so calm and confident after just sitting through one class! I know that the adventure will be painful and indescribable; it's just going to be about being in the right mind set to get through it. Also- there is always pain medicine too! :)

31 Weeks!

He's getting bigger! I thought I'd post another picture because I feel like I've gotten very large the last few weeks. I caught Travis staring at me last night and I said "what the heck are you looking at??" He had a big smile on his face and said "you just look very pregnant!" I feel like I AM very pregnant- so I'm glad I look it :) It's been really neat feeling him move around- he moves around a lot! Travis has felt him a lot more now- because I just grab his hand when he's moving so Travis can feel him. I'm getting so excited to be a mom! We start labor and delivery classes in about a week and I'm really anxious to learn about what I will be experiencing and what to expect. I know every woman has a different experience- but I want to know all the possibilities of what could happen. I also am relaxed for now and I realize that I can't plan how the labor and delivery is going to go- I'm such a planner and have to be in control of everything but I realize that I can't control this!!

Disney on Ice

Last week Whitney decided at the last minute to get us tickets to go to Oakland and see Disney on Ice with Landen. She found out they were having an entire section of the show dedicated to the movie Cars, which is Landen's favorite! My mom, Whit, Landen and I decided to go down and it was the most fun! Landen hadn't stayed in a motel room since he could remember, so he was very excited.


Below is a picture of us walking into the Arena. He didn't know what to expect.

This is right before the show was to start- does he looked excited?!?!?

I had to take a picture because I wouldn't understand how they could have cars on the ice, but it was perfect for Landen, his face was priceless- he sat very quiet and still with his eyes and mouth wide open! It was so precious.

Below is a picture of our ride home; he was exhausted!! The trip was so much fun and my family is planning a trip to Disneyland at the end of the year, and I think he'll have a blast there!

As for everything else, I'm getting so excited to have Baby Brunner in our lives! I can't wait for him to be here- still 9 weeks away- but I know it's going to be here before I know it. And for now he finally does have a name!! Jacob Lance Brunner is what we've decided on :) Travis and I both really like the name and we'll probably call him Jake. We also both feel that if we see him and think he doesn't look like a Jake- he might get a different name; so we'll see :)

I promise to post pictures of our house soon- it looks so different now! Things are still so out of place though and the baseboard should be finished being touched up by next week, so things are moving along. Travis put more shelving in the baby's closet- so hopefully we have enough space for all of his stuff. After the baby shower I'll really have to organize and put everything away- it's just hard right now because I don't know how much stuff I'm actually going to have- I warned Travis though it's going to be A LOT!!

27 Weeks!

I'm 27 weeks today! Travis and I went to the doctor yesterday for a normal appointment- and it was the first time that not everything was right and normal. Every time I go they take a urine test and this time they said I had protein in my urine. If this is accompanied with high blood pressure, it could mean preeclampsia. I've never had high blood pressure problems and my blood pressure was fine yesterday. So that means I may have a bladder infection which needs to be treated with antibiotics because it could lead to a kidney infection which could lead to premature labor. So the doctor had me go to the lab at St. Joe's to get a urine test as well as the regularly scheduled glucose test. The glucose test is interesting because they make you drink this really sweet kool-aid tasting drink and then you have to sit in the waiting room for an hour before they draw your blood. I made Travis come with me because he had the day off of work so it wasn't so boring. Anyway- the urine results came back and I don't have protein in my urine nor do I have a bladder infection. So, I thought it was weird that the doctor's office thought I had protein when the lab says I don't. I have an appointment next week to get the results of the glucose test so I'm going to ask them that exact question because it kind of bugged me!
Everything else looked great with Baby Brunner. We were able to hear his heartbeat at 150 bpm and I measured 27 centimeters this time- so I didn't get to hear that I have a big baby. Maybe he just had a large growth spurt the last month!
I'm super excited for this weekend because the crib and dresser should be arriving today! The bedding arrived yesterday so I'm going to the paint store to get paint and Whitney and I are going to finish painting his room today so Travis and I can get everything set up this weekend. Hopefully I'll have some finished pictures to take!!

Rooster Catching

There was some excitement at Steve's Septic Service yesterday! In the last few days, a rooster has appeared in the yard and roams around Cockadoodle Doodling all day long. Wes ended up going around the neighborhood asking if anyone knew whose rooster it is, and no one knows but everyone knows that they have been hearing it! Well after my Mom heard him yesterday early morning she decided we need to call someone to come take it. Also- we have quite a few dogs around the yard, some more mean than others and I can just see one of Wes's dogs getting a hold of it and killing it and then they would probably end up killing something else. Anyway, Wes called the pound and after laughing at him over the phone they sent 3 people down within 15 minutes! It was hilarious watching them chase the rooster around- I had to go out and capture the moment!! I then asked the lady to pose for me- pretty funny! Oh- and I guess the animal control center will not kill him- they'll try to find a home for him for a while. Hopefully the owner will know to call them and go get him- I thought he was very pretty :)

Shopping Trip for Baby Brunner

My Mom, sister and I went to Walnut Creek this weekend for a baby shopping extravaganza! We went down with a big shopping list in hand and we got everything that I was looking for. It was such a fun trip- I love going there and shopping at all the nice stores and also eating at all the nice restaurants :) Katherine was able to spend a lot of time with us even though we were all sick with a cold or getting over a cold. This picture of us below is at the Cheesecake Factory- and we look tired and sick but we had a blast! :)



We found a Babies R Us and they had everything! It was neat because they had all the cribs, dressers and strollers set up so you could really see how everything would look out of the box. I'm the kind of person that has to be able to see things in person and I can't just order things online so I was happy to pick out everything.

Below is a picture of the stroller/car seat I picked out. I really like it and in person the lighter color isn't so light- it's a gray suede fabric and I think Baby Brunner will look very cute in it!

Here's a picture of the bedding Travis and I had picked out online. We are doing a sports theme in the nursery and we really liked the colors of this bedding. I had to order it though- so I won't have it for a while because Katherine and Kristen bought it for me and I can't have it until the shower- but I will probably steal a piece of it to go to the paint store to finish painting the baby's room.

Below are pictures of the crib and dresser/changing table that I picked out at Babies R Us. The pictures are showing the furniture in a cherry color- but I got the espresso color- similar to the color of the crib in the picture above with the bedding.

I also found this diaper bag at a really cute baby store in Walnut Creek- it's big and roomy but I also like that it is cute and looks like something I would buy to use as a purse- we'll have to get Travis a backpack or something a little more manly to use because I know he will not want to carry this one around!

I was so happy to be able to spend time with my Mom and sister- we realized we haven't gone on a trip with just the 3 of us for 2 years! Landen stayed at home with his Dad and Pa- so it was nice to have a girls trip. Whitney and my Mom had never been to Walnut Creek before and now they know why Kristen and I are addicted to it! I also loved seeing Katherine and spending time with her- she is such a great friend and I feel lucky to be able to see her so much! I got overwhelmed a couple times at all the things we were buying and making decisions- but I'm glad my Mom and Whitney were there to help me. I ended up crying as we were leaving Babies R Us(don't be surprised- I've been VERY emotional lately!) and I think it was because I was so happy and grateful for what my Mom was doing for me and Travis. She is so generous and giving with her time, money and patience. Thanks Mom, Whit and Katherine for a perfect weekend! Love you! I can't wait now for Travis and I to put all of these fabulous things together for Baby Brunner :)

Landen & Babies

My sister-in-law Kelsy came to visit me at work with her son Noah. Of course, Landen had to come over and see the baby and hold him:) Noah is so sweet and cute! It was fun and interesting having a baby in the office because the phone kept ringing and there were still things to do. I was holding him and multi-tasking a couple times and it gave me a VERY slight idea of what my life will be like in 4 months! Working and being a mom at the same time is something I'm going to have to learn to juggle.

I babysat my friend Kristen's son Isaiah a couple weeks ago and Landen had to come over to see the baby at Auntee's house. I loved watching Landen with him because he would not leave him alone! He was definitely in Isaiah's face a lot and didn't want to leave his side ;) I think he will be a great cousin and it will be so fun for Landen to have a playmate.

Big Baby Brunner

Here is a picture at 23 weeks! We went to the doctor yesterday and everything is going well with me and baby brunner. The appointment was pretty normal except the doctor started measuring my stomach. I guess you are supposed to be in centimeters (+/- 3 centimeters) what you are in weeks. So, I should be between 20 and 26 centimeters. I measured 24 1/2 centimeters which means I got to hear again that I have a big baby! :)

Everything else in our life is going great too! Travis and I decided to start quite a large project in our house- we are replacing all the baseboard and doors and painting the baby's room. I didn't realize what a project it was going to be! Travis's friend is a contractor, so he's doing a lot of the work- but I have to do a lot of touch up and puttying. Also- I'm super excited for the plans we have for baby brunner's room! It should be really cute ;) And yes, the baby does not have a name yet- that is a project we are working on too. I didn't think it would be this hard- but there's definitely a lot of pressure to pick a good name and something that we both agree on. I'll post before and after pictures of the house once I can take "after" pictures! ;)