Introducing Luke William!

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but a lot has been going on! If I ever get around to editing my photos then I'll share what we've been up to soon, but for now all those photos have taken a backseat to the biggest news that's happened... NJ is here!!!

Introducing my new nephew, Luke William!

He's freaking adorable, isn't he?! Luke made his grand appearance on August 18, 2009, at 9:00pm. He was 8 lbs and 21 inches long at birth, and he is just perfect! He looks so much like his mommy, my sister Amy!

Here she is waiting for him to arrive. She had just gotten the epidural and as soon as I walked in the door I could tell that she was feeling good as she immediately said "Bec, you should have gotten one of these!"

Scott was pretty excited and anxious for their little boy to arrive

Amy ended up going in for a c-section after a while, and luckily it wasn't an emergency so Scott could go in with her! We all waited for them in the waiting room, taking bets as to what time the baby would actually be born, and wondering what they would name him.

We waited...

and waited...


and waited some more.

Finally, my dad found a friend of his in the OR (pays to have a dad that works at the hospital!), and he popped his head in the room. Scott tossed him his cell phone, on which he had taken pics of the baby, and dad came back victorious and we all oohed and aahed over the pictures! Then Scott came out with him laptop, on which he had uploaded a bunch of pictures, and we went through all of those twice, while he went back to have some family time with Amy and their newest addition. Right before he headed back there he said, "Oh yeah, and his name is Luke William!"

As we were going through the pictures a third time, they wheeled Amy and Luke by the window for us to see! Amy looked great, and we were amazed at how quickly she seemed to be bouncing back from her major surgery!

Luke definitely looks so much like his mommy! He has her eyes and lips, and Scott's hairline. The jury is still out as to which parent contributed his nose. He has a cute little flip nose, which Amy had when she was a baby, but looks more like Scott's nose now.

After they got settled in their post-partum room, we all got to go back to see them and hold the baby for a few minutes. Then we let them get their rest, with promises to return during visiting hours the next day!

And While We're On The Subject Of Blessings...

In case you can't read it, Jack's shirt says "I'm gonna be a Big Brother... but I'd still rather have a dinosaur!"
Yes, we've been blessed again, and Jack is going to be a big brother! I pretty much knew that I was pregnant right away since I felt so similar to how I felt when I was pregnant before (but much more intense!), but I didn't find out for sure until the Friday before last. It was the Longest Weekend Ever, because Dave was on a 72 and I didn't get to see him until Monday morning! It was soooo hard to keep it to myself until he got home, but I managed! Usually when he gets home from work Jack yells "It's daddy!" and runs to give him hugs and kisses, so when he got home on that Monday morning, I gave Jack the positive test to give to Dave. He was pretty happy :)

It was even harder trying to keep the secret until after Amy's baby shower! I almost told my mom so many times (Dave kept saying to me "I can't believe you haven't told your mom! You tell your mom everything!"), but I really wanted to wait until after Amy's baby shower. Father's Day was the next day, and it was the perfect time to tell my family, since my parents and my brother and sister were all in the same place for once!

I had this shirt picked out ever since before I was even pregnant with Jack! Even before I knew how I wanted to announce #1, I knew how I wanted to announce #2! The link to ordering this shirt has been on my computer for years, and I was thrilled when I was finally able to order it! I am due in late February, so I told my dad that not only was this for Father's Day, it was for his birthday, since his birthday is February 15th!


Jack is excited, too, for as much as he can understand. Here was our conversation:

Me: That is a pregnancy test
Jack: It a pregnancy test!
Me: That means momma is going to have another baby!
Jack: Momma has baby!!!!!! Momma have babies!
Me: Well, hopefully only one! You are going to be a big brother!
Jack: I be big brother!
Me: Do you want to be a big brother?
Jack: *gasp* YES!
Me: Are you excited?
Jack: Excited the Pregnancy!

And I ordered this shirt for NJ, too!


Jack and Grandma

And yesterday Dave came home and we gave him his present: a Chef's shirt! He thought it was pretty cool and said he'd actually wear it when he grills! He made such amazing ribs the day before for the baby shower, that I couldn't resist getting him this shirt! I went for black, since I thought it'd look cleaner than the white, and got the short sleeves since he grills. We may go exchange it for the long sleeve version, though, since he said he could just roll the sleeves up if he needed to.

More Blessings, And A New Monkey In The Barrel

We had a very fun, very full weekend! You all know that Sunday was Fathers' Day (more on that in a post to come later this week... probably tomorrow), but Saturday was my sister's baby shower! I am so thrilled for Amy and Scott, and I can't wait to meet NJ (his womb-name, as they still have not picked his real name. I've been given permission by Scott, however, to continue to call him NJ after he's born, no matter what they decide to name him.) Upon finding out that Amy was pregnant this past Christmas Eve, I, as the sister of the mom-to-be and the future auntie of NJ, offered to throw the baby shower!

Oh, and have I ever mentioned before how blessed I am? I have? Good. I'm so blessed. If you've ever been to Casa de Chaos then you know how small it is. It's not really a good place for a massive baby shower (Amy decided that she wanted it to be more of a party than a shower, and so we invited boys too, which more than doubled the number of invitees and attendees), but with all the unexpected events that have occured over the last several weeks, Casa de Chaos has become considerably smaller. But that's not what I meant by being blessed. I am blessed because I have such a wonderful family, that is composed of the mosts wonderful, supportive, and giving people I know.

First, my Uncle Greg and Aunt Sandra were so generous to allow me to use their house for the shower, which not only allowed more space for the party (can you imagine how cramped it would have been had it been held at Casa de Chaos???), but also allowed me to spend my time preparing for the shower without worrying about cleaning and reorganizing and rushing through last minute fix-it projects that are constantly needed here. Second, my mom, grammy, aunts, and even a cousin were willing to help me out even more by bringing a sidedish or two to the party, which greatly relieved my day-of prep work, our pocketbook (which has been unexpectedly shrinking right along with Casa de Chaos' unexpected shrinkage), and my stress level! Third, my mom watched Jack all Saturday morning, despite having him all Thursday afternoon, so that Dave and I could prepare for the party without neglecting our son! Okay okay, I know this wasn't really a sacrifice on her part as she assures us that she'd drop anything to watch Jack on any given day, no matter what she had planned (and I really don't think she's exaggerating at all!), but it was a HUGE blessing to us!

The blessing of having these particular weights lifted from my hostess duties was further amplified when Dave was unexpectedly called away for a time (that we didn't have to spare!) on the DAY OF the party, in the middle of our major preparation- cooking the main course (ribs, yum! Dave makes them AMAZINGLY!). Our fourth blessing? My dad came over to take the first carload of stuff over to Greg and Sandra's house, since I was unable to leave the house during Dave's absence (I couldn't leave the oven/stove unattended!).

It's been 6 crazy weeks since Casa de Chaos got turned upside-down, and while most times we feel like we just can't get ahead of this situation (every time we feel like we might be getting a handle on it, something else happens to that takes us back a step), we are still just taking it one day at a time, and concentrating on our many, many blessings. As hard as things get, it could always be worse, right? And no, I'm not asking how they could be worse, because I don't want to find out!

Anyway, back to the shower... Amy and Scott decided that the theme of their nursery would be Mod Pod Pop Monkeys! Freaking. Adorable! So, with that as my inspiration, here is the invitation I came up with (in your brain, punch out holes where the two little brown dots are, and tie a brown ribbon through it to add some nice texture!):

The Cake I made!


The Party Favors

As I was performing my Hostess duties, I wasn't able to take many nice pictures, but here are a few snapshots from the party

Scott and Amy have discovered an easy way to eat cake when you don't have a TV tray handy


Little Avah


My mom and Savannah, one of my goddaughters


Aunt Sandra and her granddaughter, Melanie

Congratulations, Scott and Amy! I know you're going to love being parents and I can't wait to meet NJ!