Every moment is a blessing

I've been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I am. I know I lose my patience a lot (as most "normal" moms do, in my opinion), but as Jimmy nears the start of Kindergarten, I keep thinking about how different his life would be if things had gone a little differently on that April morning five yrs ago. Not everyone knows this, but I came close to missing out on seeing Jimmy grow into the amazing little boy he is today. During childbirth, my (his?) placenta ruptured and I bled profusely for a few hours after delivery. My obstetrician took me into surgery to remove the remains of the placenta and stopped the excessive blood flow. I am truly blessed that we were in a hospital in a developed country when I gave birth to Jimmy. I know that is kind of a strange thing to say as an American... we take for granted the qualified physicians and hospitals that we have in every town. But we were living overseas, and when we considered an international move, the health care of the destination country was not a deciding factor (as a couple of twenty-somethings with no kids).
So for the past few days I have been able to laugh a lot more, and smile easier, and even keep my voice calm and loving (compared to the norm), thinking that had God not guided our decisions back then, I would not be here to enjoy this time with Jimmy. It would be a nanny or daycare worker making his lunch (this was my thought as I used a half-loaf of bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich because I kept burning them), searching for his Transformer's leg (at the VERY bottom of the overflowing toy chest), or reading "just one more" Curious George book. And the saddest thought is that the world would be short of thousands of giggles every day if Jimmy wasn't a big brother... just ask Susie and Gabe... if you can catch them at a serious moment.

Not that I'm making excuses for neglecting our blog, BUT... I really want to enjoy the last few days of the summer. I know that once Jimmy is out of my constant supervision he will mature so much, and I really want to soak up all of the innocence and sweetness I can. Check back for updates after September 2nd (Jimmy's first day), and until I get that free minute, remember to cherish every moment; even the bad times should make you appreciate the good times that much more.

Ahem, remember me?

This is a post I started about a month ago, and never got around to finishing... hope it still makes some sense. :) Gabe is almost 7 months now, Susie just turned 3, and summer is almost over (and it was shorter than usual, from what I've been told).

"Well, Little Gabe is almost 6 months old now, and Susie is almost 3 yrs. Jimmy turned 5 since my last update, and we've been to Denver twice. Some of the biggest things that have happened are

-Sam finished his first semester since transfering to UNL (online) for his MBA... after this semester he will be caught up to where he was when he left USC. Dang it that they don't transfer all of your credit hours!

- Jimmy turned 5. YEA!

- Jimmy was diagnosed with a spermadic cord hydrocele and had it repaired at Presbyterian St Luke's Hospital in Denver. This was basically the same surgery as a hernia repair. We were really worried because the local radiologist described it as a complex cystic structure and said he had never seen anything like this in a child before. Turns out they are fairly common, and it wasn't that big of a deal to fix it. It did require general anesthesia, but it was same-day surgery and Jimmy was back to normal in 24 hrs.

- Sam and our neighbor built a fence around our backyards, so now the kids can play safely and we can enjoy a meal outdoors without people spying us through the empty lot behind our house.

- I joined a book club, and met some really great ladies through the club (I had met a few before, but got to know them a little better now).

I still feel like I'm waiting for summer to start, since it just hasn't gotten that hot here in Big Sky Country yet, but I'm hopeful. "

I'll post pictures at a later date...

The Best Big Brother and Sister Ever!

Jimmy and Susie have been amazing older siblings. They are both so excited to see Gabe every morning, and they want to be a part of everything he does. Whether it is helping with his bath, finding a pacifier or wiping some drool from his chin, they want to be involved. Jimmy goes beyond helping with the everyday tasks, and he seems to have bonded with Gabe. One day I let Gabe nap on the middle of my bed while I showered. When I was done, I came out and saw Jimmy laying next to him, talking to him in a soothing voice, telling him all about his toys and giving him advice on life. Susie is great at giving me up-to-the-minute updates on Gabe: "Gabey's eyes is open", "Gabey's eyes is closed". She has also renamed all of her baby dolls "Gabe"... She differentiates them from her brother as "My Gabe" vs "Gabe" or "Gabey". Susie also makes sure that "Gabey" is never without his lovey, at least not unless she is playing with it. :)

Jimmy talking to Gabe
Susie kissing Gabe's feet

They are both wonderful helpers and very loving with their baby brother, and Sam and I are blessed to have such incredible kids.

Grandparents and Grandkids

Now that we live closer to our families, both sets of Grandparents were able to come and visit when Gabe was born. Gramma Paula arrived a few days before and relieved my fear of having two kids under 5 in the delivery room with me (Thank you, Paula!). Pop (Tom) decided after Gabe was born that he would rather drive to Bozeman and meet his new grandson than hang out in Rocky Ford alone all weekend, so he arrived on Friday. Abuelo (Ray) and Nana (Juanita) drove out on Saturday as planned and arrived in time for dinner.
Here are some pictures from their visits.


Gramma and Gabe in the hospital

Pop and Gabe, One day old
Gramma and Gabe at home

Pop, Sam, Jimmy and Gabe - the Brubaker Boys

Abuelo and Gabe

Nana and Gabe

Abuelo, Nana and the Brubaker Grandkids

Abuelo and his little rascals

Introducing Gabriel Thomas Brubaker!

On Thursday, January 29th 2009 we welcomed our newest addition to the family. That morning I was contracting and went to the hospital where the doctor decided to go ahead and break my water to move labor along. So at 8:40 my water was broken, a few hours later I started experiencing the loveliness of back labor, and at 3:08 PM beautiful Gabriel Thomas was born. When he came out he was as purple as can be, which was the only thing to lower his APGAR scores, but his color rebounded quickly and he was very alert. He weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz, which is WAY bigger than I ever expected. Big brother Jimmy was 7 lbs flat and Big sister Susie was 7 lbs 11 oz, so I never expected a baby who was over a pound bigger than the last. But we'll keep him. :) He was 21 inches long and while it took a little longer for labor to progress than with the other kids (6 hours from water break 'till pushing, while the other two were 5 hours), the nurses and doctor said his birth was fast, and that it contributed to some slight bruising on his head (which I never could see, but they are the professionals, so I believe them).
Gramma Paula was watching the older kids at home, so she brought them to the hospital once we were out of the delivery room. Sam had gone with Gabe to the nursery to get his immunization and first bath, and I was waiting in the room to see my kiddos. They were so excited to meet the baby, and Jimmy was impressed that my belly wasn't "SO BIG" anymore (thanks kid, I was so afraid you would ask why I still looked like I had a baby in my belly).

When daddy got back with Gabe the kids and Gramma took turns holding him, and then they had to go eat dinner and go to bed while Mom enjoyed the peace of a night in the hospital (not so much).

I had planned on milking the delivery for all it was worth, and staying the full 48 hrs allowed by insurance in the hospital, but after that first night I changed my mind. It was so hard to sleep with nurses coming in and out all night, and I really missed my bed, my refrigerator and my satellite tv. So as soon as all of the tests were done on the baby, we got packed up and went home. Paula made us dinner that night and I got to tuck my little, um... big kids into bed. All in all a pretty good couple of days!

Wah Wah Wah

I try to schedule my OB appointments for when Jimmy is at school, but once or twice I have had both kids with me for an appointment. They get a big kick out of hearing the heartbeat, and when we come home they will get their toy stethoscopes and "listen" to the baby. In fact, they don't EVER use the stethoscope on people's hearts, always on the belly (which is interesting, because the doctor uses a doppler, not a stethoscope).

I love being their patient as they hold the chestpiece to my belly and then they say "wah wah wah" over and over.

And then inevitably they will have to listen to the "baby" in each other's belly and also in Daddy's belly.

Knock, Knock!

Jimmy and Susie have become obsessed with knock knock jokes. I guess we owe our "thanks" to Shelby, Aunt Sommer and Uncle Danny. This summer Shelby learned the joke
"knock, knock
who's there
Shelby
Shelby who?
Shelby coming 'round the mountain when she comes! toot toot!"
So Jimmy started making up his own knock knock jokes, the punchline of which were usually something like "picture carrot" or "car tree"... he really doesn't get the notion of a pun. Well, after our Disney trip, and another week with Shelby, the kids have been on a knock knock kick.
Now Jimmy has a few memorized, such as "Pencil fall down if you don't wear a belt" and "House the weather outside." But Susie's jokes usually go something like this:
"yawk yawk! yawk yawk!" (that's "Susie" for Knock knock)
"who's there?"
"Ummmm... "(looking around)... "House" (or picture or baby)
"House who?
"That house" (pointing to the doll house, or "that baby", "that picture")
"ha ha ha ha ha!"
She is so funny when she says "yawk yawk!"... her eyes go all crazy and she gets so excited that her hair practically stands on end.
Good times, good times!

Happy 2009!

This year for New Years we decided to take a little road trip and explore another Montana town. So we packed up the kids and headed to Billings, about 2 hours away. We were there in time to have lunch at Olive Garden and do a little window shopping at the mall. Then we took the kids swimming in the hotel pool, where Susie and Jimmy took turns jumping off the walls and splashing us. That night we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and went out for ice cream at Cold Stone before heading back to the hotel for a family night. We snuggled in the beds and watched "Finding Nemo" until everyone fell asleep. Our goal was to make it until the East Coast Countdown, but since we had such a full day, not a one of us managed to stay awake past 9:30.

The next day we took advantage of the New Year's sales at Dillards and let the kids spend some Christmas money at Build-a-Bear. It was Susie's first trip to that store, and she made a doggy dressed as Ariel (complete with red wig and glittery fins). We ended our vist to Billings with lunch at Red Robin.

I know, it sounds like all we did was eat, and I guess that's kind of true, but out of all of the places I mentioned (restaurants and stores), the only one we have in Bozeman is Cold Stone. So we really had to take advantage of all of our favorite eateries... Besides, I'm pregnant, so you also have to give me a break if all I wanted was to fulfill some cravings!

Maybe we should look into a different car

This morning Sam got up super early so he would have plenty of extra time for his commute to work in the fresh 8" of snow. About five minutes after he walked into the garage, my phone rang, and it was Sammy, asking me to come out and drive so he could push his car out of the driveway. We think a combination of the ice and packed snow in the gutter and the depth of the fresh snow in the driveway high-centered his car, and it took one and a half hours to get the car clear. We pulled it back into the garage and then he tried to find a supervisor at work to run the Maintenance crew. Unfortunately, Sam must be the only person who didn't take today off (being the day after Christmas AND a Friday), so he ended up going in a few hours late. Good thing we have one four-wheel drive vehicle (that is high enough off the ground it doesn't drag the top few inches of fresh snow). :)

Lonely, er I mean, Relaxing Montana Christmas

We haven't spent many Christmasses outside of Colorado, but this year was one of the few away from family. Because Baby 3 is due in early February, I was advised to not travel very far from home. So Sam, the kids and I hunkered down in Bozeman for the holiday.

We attended a Christmas Eve service at one of the churches we've been "shopping", then came home, had a light dinner of dips, appetizers and cold shrimp (similar to what we would have had if we were in CO and went to my sister's Christmas Eve party). Then we all opened some Christmas presents.

Jimmy got a real tool set, a tool box and some wooden boards from Pop and Gramma. He loved them, and concentrated really hard as he drove nails and screws into the boards. I was so impressed with his patience and skill!

Pop and Gramma (or "Grammy", as Susie calls her) got Susie some Fancy Nancy dress up clothes, and there isn't much Susie likes better than purple boas!

Then it was time for jammies and leaving cookies and milk for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer. We also sprinkled some Christmas Dust in the snow to help Santa and his reindeer find their way to our house. Then we tucked the kids into bed and had some eggnog. Sounds magical, right?...

In case you are wondering... my mind HAS blanked out the whining, crying, and fighting that happened all day when Jimmy wanted to open a gift early, or when he didn't want to go to church, or when he refused to eat anything besides cookies... minds are great at protecting our memories!

This morning Sam and I were so excited to play with the stuff Santa brought the kids, but the kids SLEPT in!!! Around 8 AM they finally came downstairs and saw their gifts and the stockings. Then the fun began again! Santa brought Jimmy just what he wanted, "a giraffe that falls down," and he brought Susie a baby (the baby is part of a family in a dollhouse). Jimmy also got a Leapster2 handheld game.

Jimmy with his Giraffe that falls down.
Susie playing with her dollhouse... it took a while to get her to look at her stocking with all of the fun stuff in the dollhouse.

After presents, we had a super-sweet breakfast (Caramel-soaked French Toast) and watched Wall-E. Then we went sledding (Daddy and Mommy got the little ones their first sled), came home and snacked until dinner time. Jimmy played with his new Mr Potato Head pieces and his video game while Susie played with the dollhouse and new Princess dolls. Mom and Dad even got a little nap!

Here are a few pictures from the first sledding excursion.

Even I couldn't resist testing out the new sled... but just to appease baby, Sam, and the doctor, I didn't go down head first on my belly like I wanted to.
Susie finally warmed up to the snow, after two and a half months in Montana. Although she was even happier when she ditched the hat and unzipped her jacket. She still thinks she is in the Southern heat!

We all pitched in and buried Jimmy in the snow. Once he was covered (except for his head), he wanted Susie to throw snow at his face. Silly kid!

We hope all of our loved ones had a Wonderful Christmas!

Why kids shouldn't choose their haircuts

It started out innocently enough... Jimmy and Susie sitting in separate chairs at the neighborhood hairstylist. Jimmy was keeping the whole place entertained with his happy attitude and musings about Christmas, snow and being a big brother. Then his stylist asked me if his bangs were short enough and I made my big mistake... I said "Jimmy, what do you think? is that short enough?" even though I thought it was the perfect length for his hair. Well, he flattened and pulled his bangs and hair and said, "no, my hair is still falling down". So I let her cut them a little more... and he moved, so she had to cut a little more to even it out... and he moved again (see where this is going?). Add to his haircut Susie's never-ending static electricity since moving to the dryest state EVER, and we now have kids who could pass for Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber.

But I still think they look cute, it's just fun to tease.

December in Montana - in other words, SNOW!

When we landed back in Montana after our trip to Orlando, it was snowing and we had several inches of snow on the ground. It was quite the switch, after being in 60 and 70 degree weather in Florida for a week! Jimmy and Sam made the best of it, along with the biggest snowman I've ever seen.

Jimmy loves playing in the snow, and he even likes it when Sam throws snowballs at him or when Sam throws him in the snow (although he stipulates that he has to land on the grass, not on the sidewalk).

We made some gingerbread cookies, and the kids helped me decorate them. This one was Jimmy's favorite - it's a cowboy.

The kids had a really cute Christmas program at preschool. Susie's class "sang" Jingle Bells, Happy Birthday and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and Jimmy's class sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jesus Loves Me.

The Magic of DisneyWorld

Ok, I've been slacking, but I'll try to make up for it with a few posts tonight. :)

This month we went on a fabulous vacation to Disney World with Sam's family. The whole group was able to make it, and it was SO much fun. We had a group of 18, including the newest addition, Bennet (6 months). We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at the Hoop De Doo Revue, which Sam thought was the best meal (a direct quote was "Fried Chicken, cold beer and toothpics on the table... best meal ever"). Besides the food, the show was great and it kept all of our group entertained, from the little ones (Susie is so mesmerized it was hard to get a reaction out of her)...

to Pop, making music on his washboard.

And finally, we got some emotion out of Susie, when she was able to participate in the show.

Some other fun times were the first night in Disney, when we returned to our room we found that Woody and Sleeping Beauty had been there to visit and leave gifts for the kids - a cowboy hat and Sheriff's badge for Jimmy and a princess dress for Susie.

For weeks before the trip, when we asked the kids who they wanted to see the most at Disney, Jimmy said Woody and Buzz, and Susie said Jessie and Buzz (all from Toy Story and Toy Story 2, for those who don't know). So when we got the chance to meet these characters, we weren't surprised by Jimmy's enthusiasm (although he forgot to ask Buzz if he could press his laser)

But we were surprised that Susie decided to pout instead of give Jessie a hug.. We aren't sure why she had a little moment, but at least Jimmy and cousin Shelby enjoyed the moment.

Jimmy had to give Donald a big "Thank you" hug for helping make such a yummy breakfast at Chef Mickey, and Susie was happy for a cuddle with Cinderella at the Princess dinner.

The kids (and their folks) had a great time at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which is a comedy show at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We sat in the audience, and when they are telling their jokes and stories, they choose people from the audience to put up on the big screens. They chose Susie to "play" the part of "Boo" (the little girl in Monsters Inc). She did a great job, and she liked seeing herself on the screen. She even played "Peek-a-Boo" with the audience to fulfill her name.

For the most part we had nice weather, but one day we had some rain. It didn't slow us down, since the kids are used to the torrential rains in the southeast. We got some ponchos and churros, and carried on at the Animal Kingdom. Of course, the churros were probably the key. :)

We got to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas, which includes a special parade with Santa at the end, plus several hours in the Magic Kingdom with shorter lines and all the hot cocoa we could drink. It was so much fun to watch the kids' faces as they watched the parade.

Susie and Shelby loved the part of the parade with the Princesses.

Jimmy and Susie got a great view from atop the shoulders of Daddy and Pop. And Cinderella's castle looked so magestic all decorated for Christmas.

On our last night, the big kids (Sam, his brother Danny and their dad) went on a few rides at Disney's Hollywood Studios while the girls hung out with the kiddos. Susie and Shelby were still dressed in their Princess dresses from a late lunch with Cinderella and her family, and they played in a little outdoor area where we sat on benches. They were so cute and sweet that strangers were stopping to take pictures of Princess Cinderella and Princess Aurora playing.

One extra bonus to our trip was that our friends and neighbors from SC, the Salvuccis, arrived at Disney while we were still there. We got to have a few meals together and let the kids catch up. Jimmy and Logan have decided that they are going to marry each other, regardless of how many boys in Logan's class ask her, or how far away we live. Kathy and I had some good laughs and (amazingly) Susie and Lainey got along, no hair pulling or temper tantrums. The visit was fun (albeit short), and thinking of these great peeps makes me miss Summerville so much.