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!