Thanksgiving Goodies!

This and this are what I'm taking to our family get-together this thanksgiving. Thank you, Pioneer Woman and Paula Deen! Yum!

I made a calender for our homeschool wall for November and put little cut outs of fall-ish and Thanksgiving-ish things all around it. On Thanksgiving Day I put a little pumpkin pie. The girls saw it Nov 1st, and since then have assumed Thanksgiving is the day we make pumpkin pie.

My New Business!

I am starting a business as a Mary Kay independent consultant! I have been challenged by my director to have 24 people order at least $24 worth of products each from me within 24 hours. This challenge will help me get my inventory started. If you choose to help me start my business and meet my challenge, you get your order TAX FREE!

Even if you have a consultant you are working with, I respect that and will not pressure you to switch. However, could you help me get started by placing one order with me?

If you purchase anything you are not happy with, you get to exchange or return it at 100%.

Are you low on any of your skin care or makeup?

Would you like to try a product?
The microdermabrasion kit, ultra moisturizer or the light-weight mineral makeup? These are some of my favorites that have instant results that I love.

Do you want to target some problem areas before the holidays get here? If you have problems with puffiness under your eyes, dark circles, shiny spots, fine lines and wrinkles, acne, or your skin just needs a boost. I have some award-winning product suggestions for you.

I believe in these products and this company. Their products are hypoallergenic, they work and they are cost effective. Case in point: the mineral foundation makeup is $18. That is so much cheaper than any other brand out there and it wears better than Bare Minerals. Why wouldn’t you switch and put that money toward something else?

Although I will gladly work with you at any point in time, I can only offer the tax free orders for the next 24 hours. So act fast and save. My personal website is coming soon, but for now you can visit the general website here at marykay.com to browse the products.

Once you know what products you’d like to order, you can e-mail me at jen.brewer@marykay.com

Why did I choose Mary Kay?
There are a few reasons. I have a desire to help women see themselves as God sees them. Beautiful. While external beauty is just that, I do believe so many women have believed lies that say they are anything but beautiful. I pray that God will give me influence with the women I meet through this business to help them find their true identity in Him. Secondly, I have had a desire for a long time now to work in the skin care industry. I have a genuine interest in helping women take care of their bodies and skin. Even the science of it is fascinating to me! This will open the door into that field and one day I hope to become a medical aesthetician. So you can trust that I am working with nothing but the best interest for your skin in mind. Last, I love being a stay at home mom and homeschooling my kiddos. The structure of this business allows me the flexibility I need to be the wife, mom and teacher I want to be to my family.

Thanks guys and I look forward to working with you and hearing your feedback on the products!

If you’d like to host a facial party, glamour party or just receive a free facial or custom makeover yourself, please let me know and I will set one up for you. Or if you'd like to talk and ask questions about starting your own MK business, just contact me. I'll answer any question you have.

Party in Heaven

This past week was a day I will never forget. My sweet, giving, precious and full of life daughter gave her heart to Jesus. Emery Kate Brewer is now a daughter of The Most High!

She has been asking us questions over the past month about heaven and Jesus (or G-jus as she refers to him). Last Wednesday, October 28, 2009, we went to lunch before heading over to gymnastics and she said she wanted to be with Jesus in heaven forever. I said “You do? Well, let’s talk with daddy more about it tonight.” We talked about sin and how Jesus made a way for us to have a relationship with God again. Then later that night, Jamie explained what sin was and how Jesus came to die for our sins so we could have a relationship with God again if we ask Him to forgive our sins. She said she wanted to ask him to forgive her so she could be with him forever in heaven. So she did. Amazing! Wow, how can it get any better? We made her a heart cake for her “birth”day and took her to pick out her own bible with her name on it to celebrate.

My life is so rich of what is important it humbles me.

Thank you Father and forgive me for whining about what isn’t important.

Lk 9:25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

Rolls!

When was the last time you made something so good you made it again the next night? Ummm…..last night. I made these rolls for dinner last night and “had” to make them again tonight because I ate the REST OF THE PAN all by myself today. Mercy! These were so good they reminded me why I usually don’t have bread with dinner…. because I’d be as big as a house! Cheap, easy and delicious!

Click HERE for the link to the recipe at ye ole Pioneer Woman. I bought the bag-o-frozen rolls in the freezer section at the grocery store. Plan on setting them out after lunch to give them time to rise before dinner, then butter, season, butter, bake, (and yes) butter then enjoy! By the way, if you're at all southern have a glass of sweet tea handy when you eat these babies.
Salty sweet heaven my friends!

Passing it On..

I’ve known from very early on Bella is a lot like me, but I have to say I was caught off guard the other day when she handed me a paper while we were all cleaning the house and said, “Here you go mom,. I’m all done with my list.” The first line was a mess up, then "potty done", "Room Clean" Living Room Clean".

What's going on here?

Most of you who are reading this know what we are going through right now. A Pastor in D.C., Mark Batterson, posted this on his blog and I thought it captured very well what God puts in my mind every time I start to think,"God, what are you doing? I hope you have something planned or we are dead." Then He responds, "Remember the Red Sea, trust me."

Have you ever felt like God made a mistake?

That is how the Israelites felt with the Egyptian army breathing down their necks and the Red Sea staring them in the face. And here's the thing: God led them there. From a military standpoint, they should not have been there. They have no escape route. They couldn't retreat or advance. It seems like God has made a mistake. And the Israelites let Moses know about it. But God had them right where he wanted them.

Sometimes God leads us to a place where we have nowhere to turn but to Him. It's often the last place we want to be. But it's the best place to be. Here is the great irony: all of us want to experience a miracle. We just don't want to be in a situation that necessitates it. But sometimes you need to be between an Egyptian Army and a Red Sea so God can reveal more of His glory!

And just when you think God has made a mistake, He parts the Red Sea.

Slow Down!!!

I am still here..for the time being. I have so much to post but no time to do it. Grady is 4 months old now, eating cereal and now starting veggies this week. The girls are learning so much in school. We are being stretched beyond our wildest imaginations to believe God and follow him. So much to share, but it will have to wait. Have to go start school. Just Saying "Hi" and hope to post some more soon, but don't hold your breathe! Just pray for God to sustain us and open a door.

Brew Crew Favs - links

I L-O-V-E this website. I can't tell you how many times I've referenced it in the middle of the night. SUCH a life saver. It's called the medicine cabinet under the Keeping Kids Healthy website. It has the medication and dosage by weight for almost any over-the-counter medicine out there. Here is the link for the infant site, there is also newborn and toddler, etc... http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/infantmedicinecabinet.html

Playin' Mama

Grady is so convincing when he cries, I mean seriously...

Grady at 15 weeks

Grady has been busy the past week. He started cereal at bedtime and really does well with it. The kid can eat. (shocker I know) He also started reaching for objects this week. I let him start watching some of the Baby Einstein videos last week too and he is mesmerized. He sits in his bumbo or exersaucer and enjoys the show! He is in 6-12 month clothing unless it is narrow and then he goes up a size. Bella is really loving talking to him and taking care of him. She constantly tries to make him laugh. She sits next to him in the car and does awesome helping him keep his pacy in. Last week Emery climbed in the car and sat next to Grady and she was so proud of herself. She talked to him and helped with his pacy and best of all she pointed out to Jamie all the traffic signs and what to do at each one! He likes his pacy, but I have a feeling when he decides on which fingers he is going to stick with, I think they will win out. He sleeps through the night usually 10-12 hours, awesome, but still eats about every 3 hours during the day.

I can't get enough of this sweet baby!!! He is so cuddly. He just loves to be snuggled. I am trying to soak up EVERY single minute I get to cuddle him or kiss his super soft cheeks and neck. When I kiss his neck he lays his head back, closes his eyes and gets the biggest smile. He'll just lay there with his head back and soak it up. He loves it almost as much as I do, almost.

Here is a video of him tonight laughing at Jamie!

Looking for something new to try for Dinner?

Apple Dijon Pork Tenderloin anyone? We are having this tonight. Yum! I can't wait. It is so good and it's been awhile since I've made it. The sauce has a honey mustard flavor to it. Great alternative to grilling a tenderloin when it rains! I'd probably serve it with rice and asparagus if I cared much for either, but since I don't' I'll do sweet potatoes and green beans. O.k. maybe I'll do the rice to be healthier. Click here or the title of this post for the recipe.

Ravens?

These are tough times in the Brewer casa, which is not really our casa, but anyway...The last 4 months have been some of the toughest times of my life. Thankfully I am not alone. My husband is an amazing friend and we have made up our minds to link arms through this life and do this together. Have you ever followed God through some tough decisions and then He went silent? Welcome to my world. The closest thing I can compare it to is the life of Elijah.

God told Elijah to tell the King it wouldn't rain. Elijah did even though he could have lost his life doing so. Then God told him to leave and hide himself by a brook. God said he would give him drink from the brook and send the ravens to feed him there. (Ravens??? Seriously??? Nice!)

Then, after awhile, the brook dried up.

God then told Elijah to go to a land where He would send a widow to care for him. When Elijah met her, he ask her for bread and water. She replied saying she only had enough to make her and her son one cake and then they would die. But God did a miracle and spoke through Elijah and told the woman her oil and flour would not run dry till it rained.
Very fascinating story go read it all here .

It feels like we have been being fed by the ravens so to speak the past four months and now the brook is drying up. I had hoped it would then say, "but then God sent Elijah back to Israel where he became king and God restored to him ten fold what he had given up." But no, he then gets sent to ask a widow for her last bite of bread that she was making for her and her son before they died of hunger. Really?! It goes to show you that our idea of provision is not necessarily God's idea.

Goodbye Aunt Evelyn

My strong, brave and sweet Aunt Evelyn passed away this weekend after a 2 year battle with cancer. She didn't want to go yet and that made it all the more difficult. She was walking and talking Wednesday and 3 days later she passed away. I will always remember her smiling. She loved me and I knew it and I am forever grateful. She brought a joy into every conversation, never afraid to challenge you or tell you like it is but always cheering for you in whatever your heart desired to pursue. I look forward to seeing her face in heaven one day. Here she is with uncle Whitey holding Bella when she was about 9 months old. I'll miss you Aunt Evelyn.

Gymnastics

The girls are getting to take gymnastics for the first time thanks to Nana and Papaw. This week was their first class and they loved it. It's a 4 and 5 year old class and they let Emery come on in so they could both be in the same class. Most of the girls in the class are 4, but Emery was taller than all of them! I took them this week and let them pic out whatever outfit they wanted for their class. They were so excited!
In the class, both of them were chomping at the bit to do everything. I think this will give Bella a great outlet for exercise and she really enjoys learning to do new things. Emery will enjoy the physical aspect as well. It will be a great environment for her to work on her listening skills too! They were so cute in their outfits and Emery even wore her hair in a ponytail the entire time. The child doesn't want anything in her hair ...ever. So this was a huge hurdle for us!

These girls have so much energy. I think they could do this everyday!

12 weeks

Chunky Monkey, I mean Grady, is 12 weeks old this week and 17 lbs. I think he is looking forward to football season as he gives us a huge smile when we do the kickoff chant. (see pic below) He is standing up while we hold his hands and seems to have lots of strength. Still "talks" and laughs a lot. Trying to find his thumb these days, but enjoys a paci too. We will see what wins out.

He is always holding on to a blanket or your shirt when you hold him. I got him a little mocha colored blanket so at least if he has one it is a good strong color. ;o) He still fights naps during the day, but is sleeping a good 9 hours at night now!!!

I'm afraid he is a bit of a mama's boy. He will cry when someone else holds him after approximately 2 min till he either sees or hears me. I promise I didn't do that on purpose. In all fairness since he is eating every 3 hours and takes atleast 30-45 minutes to eat, and I am the one putting him down for his naps all day, he can only be without me for about an hour out of every 3 hours. So we have had some time to bond. However, I told him he could be a mama's boy because I won't let him be a wimp or be lazy. That is a huge pet peeve of mine...mamas babying their boys that is. You all have my permission to call me out on that one if I'm still putting his toothpaste on his toothbrush past the age of 5, k?

Here's our latest pics of our dollop of baby.

Homeschool - Day 1

Overall it went well. Grady's schedule works well so that he needs to eat about the time we have a snack and play break. Emery is my biggest challenge. She's not ready attention span wise for a good bit of it. I will need to find some stuff she can do on her own, while I'm teaching B. Bella does great, but starts to loose interest when I have to spend so much time keeping Em into it or out of trouble! I needed this first week to see how Emery was going to do with this and what level she should be at, so I expected a lot of this today.

My personal biggest challenge is being patient and o.k. with repetition. Knowing it's o.k. if they don't completely get it the first time we talk about it. Covering one lesson for 2-3 days. I know repetition is the way of learning at this age, I just have to adjust back to their age!

What I'm using and doing has changed a bit since my last HS post. Art is just mixed in with the various subjects, usually either bible or science.

Here's our day:
Bible - taking a scripture and breaking it down and learning it over 1 week.
Reading - Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
Handwriting (em - tracing workbook) Handwriting without Tears
Snack/Playtime
Math - Math U See
Science - Sonlight Science K (we may break this down and use it over 2 years)
Spanish - Just using a Spanish work book and picking and choosing simple words and phrases)
Lunch
Game time

Grady @ 10 weeks

The little man is growing so fast I can't keep up. He turned 2 months and I've just now gotten to blogging. He had his 2 month check up yesterday. He is 75th percentile in height and head circumference and "off the chart" in weight at 16.1 lbs. The doc is really pleased with him and said he is proportionate and just a big boy. Which I happen to notice when I am putting a 6-12 month onesie on him or carrying him around with one arm (this doesn't happen for long).

Although Grady has been a wee bit high maintenance, these last couple of weeks he is chillin' out some. Still eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day, but is waking up happy and cooing, able to wait a few minutes to eat if necessary and going down for his nap MUCH easier. The best part is he is going to bed around 9pm and sleeping till atleast 4am if not longer, eats and goes right back to sleep for another 4 hours. Mama is happy!

Grady got a swing this week and he LUVS it! Good thing because he got 4 vaccines via injections and 1 oral yesterday. Last night broke my heart and I would've called the doctor if they had been open. Every time he would move his legs he would let out this shrill of a cry, and yes this was after having tylenol. I didn't know if it was his tummy from the oral vaccine or the tenderness from the shots. Neither of my girls were this sensitive to shots, but neither of them had the oral vaccine either. What's a mama to do? I didn't sleep much for worrying about him. Thankfully he was better this morning. And the swing..oh it did wonders!

Other than that, his hair is growing, I promise it's at least a quarter of an inch now and the boy loves to talk. He tries his hardest cooing and smiling. Jamie thought he was going to get a break with a boy from all the talking..hahahaha! Bath time is one of his favorite things. He loves kicking his legs. I think he likes it so much cause this is daddy time AND he gets to splash.

That's Grady in a big nutshell this week. I'm going to try to do a weekly update.

The big sisters are doing well after a fun week visiting Grammy and Grandy, then off to camp, fish and hangout with Nana and Papaw on the lake while mommy and Grady worked a consignment sale. Next week we start homeschool Pre-K for Em and KINDERGARTEN for B. Can you believe it?!

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Make this and you will thank me. It is my version of a Southern Living recipe. (aka more sauce)

What you'll need:
8oz Bow Tie Pasta
2 Tbsp Olive oil
3 Tbsp chopped Onion
1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped Spinach, thawed
3 grilled Chicken breast, cubed
2 (14.5oz) cans Italian-style Diced Tomatoes
2 (8oz) containers chive-and-onion Cream Cheese, room temp
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
10-12 oz shredded Mozzarella

Preheat oven 375
Grill and cube your chicken.
Cook bow tie pasta.
Drain spinach in a colander pressing with paper towels to get most of the water out.
Meanwhile, grab your 9x13 dish and spread olive oil on bottom; add onion in a single layer. Bake for 15 min or till onions are tender. Transfer onion to a large mixing bowl.
Pour your tomatoes into the same mixing bowl. (I use my chopper to chop up the tomatoes so it makes it more like a sauce, right there in the bowl)
Add cream cheese and mix with a whisk or fork till nice and combined.
Add spinach and stir, then chicken and pasta.
Mix everything well and pour into your 9x13.
Top with mozzarella.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake additional 15 min or till bubbly.
Done.

Serve with garlic bread and salad and it is a fancy meal!

This make a lot so you can also split it between two 8x8s.
Freeze one for later or take one to a friend. ;o)

Most of the time I'll grill the chicken the night before. Say if we're grilling burgers for dinner, just grill the chicken too then go ahead and cut it up and put it in the fridge so I can just pull it out when I'm ready to put it together the next night.

First Belly Laugh

Grady is 8 weeks here, and apparently very ticklish.
I love it.

Emery Kate Words

Emery is 3 and a half and I just want to squeeze her and not let go. She is growing up so fast. She can wear most 5Ts and reads letters phonetically. It just amazes us to watch her changing into such a beautiful little girl. She's been talking about G-jus (aka Jesus) and how He makes her heart clean. I am so thankful for God's gifts, Emery is wonderful.

Another of my favorite words she is saying right now is spuh-key-toes.

As in, "The "spuhkeytoes" like to bite me.

As in "The "mosquitos" like to bite me."

Brew Crew Favs - Baby Products

There are a few products that have helped us out in the past few weeks. So I thought I'd share.

Lansinoh Diaper Rash Ointment
Without going into too much detail, the stories of how boys always have something in their diaper every time you change them has proven true with Grady. So it's been a challenge at times to keep his bum from getting diaper rash. This worked fabulous! It all but went away after the first time we put it on him.

Aveeno Baby Wash
Grady has experienced a pretty rough bout with newborn acne. It's all hormones from me working their way out of his little body, so their is nothing causing it that we can control and it will all just go away on it's own soon. In the meantime, we have been trying not to make things worse. So we switched to this baby wash and it is great. Every few days I'll put a little hydro cortisone on him after his bath to help too. We've seen it improve tremendously.

Mylicon
We don't use this much now, but in the early days it helped Grady with trapped air in his belly. The doctor said it was perfectly safe to give him every feeding if we needed to. So, he had a little appetizer of Mylicon before each feeding for the first week or two. IT made everything work much smoother.

Grady is 1 Month Old!

Can you believe it? Life is so crazy with 3 kids 5 and under. Surprising, I know. Back are the days of ponytails, staying in our pjs all day, hoping for a shower, scrounging up a meal last minute, not planning to be anywhere before 11am and then it taking the entire day before to get ready to go.

Grady is doing well though. He usually eats between 9 and 10pm then sleeps till he eats from 2-3am then sleeps till 6 or 7am. Technically I guess he is just waking up once during the night to eat. During the day he eats every 3-3 1/2 hours, with a little longer stretch in the afternoon. My girls went 4 hours from the day they were born. That hour is a HUGE difference! I just keep trying to be thankful he isn't doing that through the night too!

We moved him to his crib in his room at night when he was 3 weeks. He sleeps better and so do I. He weighed 11lbs 13oz Tuesday at the doctor's office. I had to take him in to check out some newborn acne he has. No big deal, but I couldn't tell if it was newborn acne or a rash. It's not pretty, but we can't do anything about it and it will go away on its own in a month. Other than that, he is doing great. He eats well, but takes his sweet time and I still have to fight to keep him awake during feedings.

We've had amazing help from family and friends. Our moms have come and stayed with us and we've had family and friends bring us dinners too. We are so thankful.

Here is a picture of 3 generations of the Brewer men we took this week.

My B turned 5!

So Grady is one month old now, Emery is 3 and a half, and my first born turned 5 years old this week! Bella celebrated her actual birthday with breakfast with mommy, then lunch at Chuck E. Cheese with Nana, Em, her great aunt Jean and cousin Presley (mommy and Grady stayed home from the germ extravaganza), then a visit from Grammy and topped it all off with a celebration at Pop and Gana's where she got her requested brownie cake and FINALLY got to open her presents! B had been asking for a guitar for her birthday and had made the comment about one of the presents being shaped like a guitar box. Jamie gave her a hard time about it and kept trying to introduce doubt into her mind. So when she opened it and it was in fact a guitar, she immediately gave Jamie a look like, "See, I told you I was right, AND YOU WERE WRONG." (I don't know where she gets it)

There was no big party this year or big outing to celebrate, yet I was trying hard to communicate to B how special she is and just how much we love her. So when we were on the way home, she said "mommy, this was the funnest day ever", my heart melted.

I love you B, you are amazing! I hope you always know that you are loved for being you. You are sweet, thoughtful, kind, loving, brave, smart, you have a great sense of humor, you love to make others laugh, you are sensitive to the voice of God, you have a hunger to know more of God and you look to help others. I can't wait to see the plans God has for you and watch you grow up into the wise young woman I know you will be.

Happy 4th!

We had a great time celebrating our independence and all those who have fought for it at the annual 4th of July party at the Cone's house. I made cupcakes to take and the girls and daddy helped decorate them. We got to visit with friends, eat great food and introduce many to Grady. The kids all got to enjoy sparklers, glowing bracelets, cupcakes, and playing with each other before heading across the street to watch the fireworks on the Marietta square. This is the first year we've taken the girls to see fireworks. I wasn't sure about the noise. They both cover their ears when they hear anything remotely loud. I thought for sure they both would be scared, but they loved them! Emery enjoyed watching for the ones that made a heart or a smiley face. Bella's favorite part was the BOOM! She was jumping up and down with excitement. Go figure.

Grady slept through all the noise like a champ. The minute we put him in the silence of the car he woke up...hungry. So we pulled through our old neighborhood where we knew their would be a good street light to see to change him and some of our old neighbors were still outside watching fireworks. We walked over to say hey and next thing I knew Shae had invited me into her home to feed Grady, got me a cold bottle of water and had my girls eating yogurt and chillin' out on her couch with her kiddos. All at like 11pm. Wow! Thanks guys! Marietta folk are great y'all...like family great.

Transitioning to 3

Other than sleep deprivation, the hardest part of bringing home a newborn for me personally has to do with my older children. Although our girls have welcomed and loved Grady into our family, I want to make sure they still know and feel just as loved as they were before the little man got here. I felt the same way for Bella when we brought Emery home. From the mama's perspective I probably am overly concerned, but practically my face time with them is drastically cut. The majority of my time is wrapped up in nursing, changing, and bathing Grady. Then there is laundry (oh the laundry), meals and (theoretically) rest. I love my girls and I look forward to being able to do more with them soon.

Full House @ 2 weeks

The girls had their doctor's appointments this week and they are both very healthy and very tall. Dr. Dixon said he estimates they both will be around 5ft 8" tall give or take 2". I'm 5'5 and a half, so we'll see. B had to get 2 vaccines, but she was very brave.

He is handsome, isn't he?

Brew Crew Favs - UPDATE - Summer Treat

o.k. the strawberry lemonade from Starbucks...they changed it...yep. NOT for the better I might add. Now it tastes horrible. Like watered down lemonade. Wouldn't drink it if someone gave it to me. So sad. Bad move Starbucks...Boo..hiss...

Life is busy

We have had a pretty smooth time overall..as much as you can with a newborn anyway. My mom has been here with us and it has been such a huge blessing. Although my recovery from the c-section has been my easiest yet, it still takes time and rest. I feel great but I may have an infection from the surgery, so another week of not being able to do anything except take care of Grady. If you know me you know it's hard for me to sit still and not do anything. Especially when it is all my mom, Jamie and I can do just to keep up with laundry and food!

Grady is doing well. He would sleep even better if he could keep himself from wetting through EVERYTHING! Seriously this kid will pee through his diaper, clothes, blanket, lap pad and sheet like it's nothing... everytime. The boy thing is new to me so don't know if there are any diapers that work better for boys or what, but if he could keep dry he would be sleeping another hour. And that hour is oh so important! Especially at 3am!

I am so thankful for my family. I am so grateful for my children, they truly are a gift from the Lord. Grace in the flesh, a gift I do not deserve. Maybe I can get a picture of us all today or tomorrow to post here, but don't hold your breathe, we're doing well just to eat and be clothed!

1 week old already

It seems like only a few days, but Grady turned a week old yesterday. He is eating well and sleeping better and better everyday. Usually eating about every 4 hours. He had a 5 hour stretch last night! He had some major fussy times in the middle of the night while we were in the hospital and the first couple of nights home, then it moved to around 7-9 pm and then the past 2 nights have been smooth sailing. So great! So thankful!
The girls are doing great with him too. Bella could not be happier or more proud. She is always asking if she can help and loves to talk to him when we're burping him. Emery loves him and is just trying to figure out how to love on him without being too rough! Both of them cover their ears when he cries, but at least it doesn't scare them. Here are a few pics....

Going Home tomorrow!

It's been a day full today. We had a pretty good night last night with 2 good stretches of sleep. We woke up at 7am ready for food and then all the docs, nurses, techs, etc.. began their stops. Jamie went with Grady to get his circumcision this morning and apparently sugar water is miraculous. He did great! I got a great shower and then we all napped this afternoon. Grady is doing great, just having a few issues with gas. We are hoping Mylecon will be the cure for this tonight. We plan on heading home in the morning.

The girls are having fun with grandparents and had a special day today going to the Build-a-Bear workshop with Nana and Grammy. Gotta go feed Grady, so these posts might get shorter and shorter the next few days. We look forward to all being together at home soon. Full House here we come!

His name is....

Grady James Brewer

I'm thinking I'll call him 'Gray", but we'll see.
I know I'm biased, but is he not the cutest little man you have ever seen?!

We are doing great. He is eating and pooping like a champ! I just got rid of my IV and can start eating soft solids. I'm starving!

Our Son

Our little man arrived today at 2:44pm. He is 21 1/4" long and weighed in at 8lbs 6oz which is pretty good to have been a week early. We are zeroing in on a name and think we may have it but we're going to sleep on it tonight. Jen is doing awesome. Well I'm sure you are more interested in pics so without further ado...

Brew Crew Fav - summer treat

Starbucks' Strawberry Lemonade.
Had one of these this week and it is addictive.
Frozen strawberry smoothie with homemade lemonade sweetness.
Fabulous!

Summer Cut and the Tooth

Bella kept saying she wanted her hair cut like mommy's and Emery just wanted a haircut. Daddy is always saying we should get it cut short, so we surprised Jamie Friday when he got home with their new haircuts. Other than it making them both look about 3 years older than they are, I think it's cute. I'm a fan of longer hair, so hopefully this will let daddy get his fill of shorter hair. Maybe it will be easier and cooler for the summer too! They are just so cute I could still just eat em up!

Emery's tooth is turning gray. So, sad, but oh well, it could be worse I guess!

BEFORE:
(hard to tell with Em's, but it used to come half-way down her back)













AFTER:
(Em's is a bob just below her shoulders)

37 wk update

I had a doctor's appt today. All is well. I had contractions every hour for 3 days this past weekend that produced no result. Then they started again today. I mentioned to Dr. B that the baby hadn't been moving as much in the past few days and he sent me over to have a non-stress test. Apparently, the little guy doesn't care for the monitors on my belly. He perked up with a little kung fu action on those bad boys the minute they put them on my tummy. He appears to just be getting lazy in there since he seemed fine according to the test. Good news, I'll take it! They'll do another test on Friday just to make sure all is well.

This is Jamie's last week in SC!!! We are all thrilled and relieved. I think he is nervous I'm going to go into labor before he gets back though. This will give him one week to be here looking for a job before the little guy gets here the next week. Crazy!

Girls are doing well and ready for their daddy to be home. I think this had put a bad connotation on the word "job" for Bella. She has now mentioned that she doesn't every want to get married or have a job when she grows up. She just wants to live with us. HaHa..Ha.....ha!

I'm doing well. No issues with iron or sugar anymore. Only swollen hands and cankles, i mean, ankles. Very sore knuckles, like how people describe arthritis. Finally, I feel like I am 90% belly with a few attachments to support the baby transporter. Seriously, It's been real folks, but I'm ready too have my body back.

Thanks to my sweet friend Melissa, the girls had a blast playing with her kiddos the whole time I was at the doc and hospital (5 hours)! We are so loved!