Paige

We took pictures of our little cousin Paige, and even though she wasn't really in the mood, we got some really cute ones! We just love having such a cute model, makes it easier on us ;)
These pictures are some of my favorites...there are a few that make a great series with her "baby".

snow day

My little snow moose :) Today was the first time that Coy has been playin in the snow. We put on his boots...hats...mittens...snowpants...jacket... and ya know what? He was too afraid to walk, we had to carry him to the door and outside. He wasn't quite sure if it was POSSIBLE to walk in all that stuff. Haha!

Im sure it's easier taking a little diaper waddling boy outside...with a diaper, you don't have to worry about getting them to go potty before you go outside, or have to shed each layer one by one when they come in to go. So...yay for that :)

5 bucks to anyone who can guess his REAL age! heehee. He had too much fun...

Welcome to Snowman Making 101

While the big boys played outside, we stayed inside where it was warm, where there was Auntie Sarah, where there was gin rummy, and where there were FRESH BAKED COOKIES!

p.s. Bentley is 4 weeks old, and weighs 10 lbs 4 oz.

I love watching them grow...although it is waaaay too fast!

Follow Up

Bentley's follow up went really good this afternoon...they figure it was just a "freak" thing where they must have accidently hit an artery, and then it didn't decide to bleed till several hours later. Of course we're still waiting for blood work results from MN, but they wont be back until next week. At least they're expected to come back normal! :) Whew, what a scare!

It's going to be kind of a fun weekend... Chase flew in today to be with Sarah...Grandma and Grandpa B are going to be there tomorrow...Grandpa, daddy, and uncle dale are going to a Griz game tomorrow ...and Grandma is going to hang out here with the grandsons! Sunday is special meeting, and sunday evening we have our worker visit with Eldon Coles. So...we better get caught up on sofme sleep to enjoy this fun weekend. But before that, we're hittin a potluck for some good food and comapny :) happy weekend everyone!

Brave Trooper

Some may have heard that Bentley was in the hospital last night...and I'll explain why. :(

Yesterday he was circumsized at about 10:30 in the morning. We were required to stay a half hour afterwards to make sure that he wasn't bleeding, which he wasn't, so we went home. After normal diapers (not much blood) all day, Sarah was holding Bentley, set him down at 7:30, then noticed blood on her shirt. His diaper was soaked with blood, soaking his jammies too. We hurried into the ER in the 0 degree weather. Our poor baby had an IV, and blood drawn numerous times, wearing heart moniters, while nurses were desperately trying to stop his bleeding from his circ. They also took my blood if there be need for a transfusion, which thankfully there wasnt.We got transferred upstairs to a room in PICU, where we settled a little easier. It took over 3 hours for it to stop bleeding, and he stopped just in time, as they were just calling a crew for LifeFlight to take him to Spokane. (he must have known his mommy would get sick in a helicopter) Down in the lab, they tested his blood for blood disorders, clotting disorders, and checked his platelet levels. ALL of which came back completely normal. Then the big questions was WHY he was bleeding sooo much!?! We still don't know exactly, but it may be a deeper blood issue (they're sending blood to a lab in MN too) or there may have just been an artery clipped during the circ. We'll hear more later when test results come back. We are watching him closely...he's able to wear a diaper now, which is nice :) We were released this afternoon, and hope to get a good nights sleep tonight, and pray for no more bleeding. We have an appt scheduled for Friday afternoon to get his site checked by his pediatrician. The picture was from this afternoon, once he got all his moniters taken off. He was sooo good thru being poked and proded, he only cried a small handfull of times, and his vitals stayed super strong even though he had lost a lot of blood and was being handled constantly. He's so strong and such a trooper for putting up with this past day!

New "Ahts"

How do we feel better about this cold weather? With CUTE "AHTS" of course!!
Mommies, if you're looking for cute hats this winter for your sweet bundles of joy, check out Lindsay's Green Vanilla Baby. Also check out her store on Esty! Thanks sooo much for making them for our boys....they're so super cute!

Coy has been a GOOD big brother! Sometimes a little TOO good...know what i mean? Oh well, makes Bentley tough :)

• So, Im always worried about my milk supply/quality, which clearly is OK....

I took Bentley in to the Nursing Nook (nursing store in the Birth Center) to weigh him on Wednesday, and he weighed 9 lbs 6 oz. Which means...he gained 7 oz in 12 days!

• You KNOW you're a tired mama when you find that you're nursing pad is on BACKwards. Sticky on sore is NOT a fun combo...o.u.c.h.

• Yes, tired...but Bentley's doin really good. Most nights he gets up 1-2 times..and just to eat, then fall back asleep. I love it ! :)
  
  

A week ago today was a wonderful day...Thanksgiving day! (hmm..seems longer then a week ago..haha) Mom and Dad B came bearing turkey, chicken, mashed potatos, dinner rolls, the works, and Hugh and Carmen came with awesome salads and all their cute kids. Kenny and Lichen came with amazing pumpkin pie! But besides all the good food that made it a good day too...was the fact that we have amazing family, which is super high on the list of things that we have to be so thankful for. Bentley, although he slept the whole time, got to meet his grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins! And Coy had so much fun with them too! After dinner, the kids got to go down to the school and play on the playground there, since the weather was wonderful too! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving too! I feel we are so blessed, and for that, we are thankful for too!

Kadyn's a great entertainer! :)

Dinner...and two little boys chompin away :)

Lichen and Bentley relaxing! Not too hard to do that with a cuddly baby! Meanwhile, Spencer and Coy doing "boy" things in the next room.

A room full of special family, and a set of special Grandparents!

When we got home from the birth center on Friday, Sarah made a special sign, just for Bentley :)

Adrian, Anna and the girls came for a visit Saturday, and here are all the second cousins! That fun number of 5 will turn to 6 in a few weeks, when Ella, Tessa and Jaci get a new baby too!

"ock, ock, ock" goes the big brother rocking the wee one :)

Oh, this is just the beginning..... LOL

Doesn't this just make you smile? He's been doing really really good with a new baby in the house! Every once in a while he'll get mad that I'm nursing Bentley and kind of screeches, but with Daddy home, he's usually always got a bud. Who knows what we'll do on Monday when he goes back to work....but we'll get through it! I guess he'll have to run to Auntie Sarah then! And he also screeches at Bent sometimes when he's crying, trying to say "shut up" i guess??

Well, all for now. Im usually a few days behind, so within the next few days I'll get Thanksgiving day pictures and details posted!

Hope everyone's been having a nice holiday! And you ladies...you're SOOO crazy if you got up early for shopping today!! But I must say, I hear there are GREAT deals out there! We got our great deals at Old Navy...and at a safer time...say like 4 pm :)

On Nov the 19th...

On Nov the 19th, we began the LONG day, but amazing journey to meet our second, precious son, Bentley Armour. I woke up early Thursday morning at about 7 with contractions, lost my mucus plug and had bloody show. I ran to wake up Sarah with the exciting news, then jump in the shower because I knew it was going to be a long hard day ahead of us. Throughout the morning I did a little laundry, packed my bag and took a walk. Logan came home from work around 2, we went for another walk, during which my contractions timed 5 minutes apart. We called our midwife and told her we were on our way in!! :) Once at the birth center, I was just about 4 cm dilated, so we took yet another walk. When we got back, we got more settled in, and my rushes were beginning to require more attention. Coy was having a hard time at home with Auntie Sarah and no mommy and daddy (pretty sure he knew something funny was goin on..) so she brought him in, where they played and he visited me in the tub (where I labored most). Coy was happier then...he even got down in my face while I was having a hard contration...almost comforting me....so I thought, until he mimicked the noise I had just made. haha! Once it got late, him and Sarah headed downstairs to an extra bedroom for a little sleep.
Most people say that their second labor is somewhat easier and faster...but NOT OURS! It was shorter time from very start to finish, but definately harder and at least 5 more hours of hard, active back labor. But once again like with Coy, I only pushed for a few minutes. Just when I thought the night would never end, the clock struck 1 (am that is) and I spent my very last ounce of energy on delivering a perfect 9 lb 15 oz little human being that we immedeatly knew would complete our family! Auntie Sarah and big brother Coy met Bentley when he was just seconds old, and were as in love with him as mommy and daddy were.

The LAST maternity picture! This is at the birth center, at about 6 pm.

(Im counting on all our readers being mature mommies themselves, but if this picture is offensive I will take it off) Bentley was water birthed, just like I had imagined him being born. I felt most comfortable here, and had no tearing at all.

And just let me say, that I have an AMAZING husband! He was there for me thru each and EVERY rush, comforting, offering great encouragement, and massaging my back and hips. We never called in our doula...Logan was all I needed!

Bentley got a fractured shoulder, which he favored for a little bit, but healed quickly being wrapped up in a blanket.

Here is Bentleys welcome crew!


Auntie Sarah is sooooo awesome! Thank you so much for helping us with Coy, and being supportive and helpful throughout the day!


Starting on the left, is Linsey (RN, birth center manager) Jeanne (our wonderful midwife) and us. This was about 1on Friday afternoon as we were just leaving. Our experience at the birth center was so nice and we felt safe and so comfortable. Bentley was the second baby born there...so we got beat by a week. And yes, Coy's sock IS missing...he and Logan ran down to the grocery store quick, during which he somehow lost his sock... :)

And here's our new little scrunched up sweet pea!
Im on antibiotics for a breast infection, and recovering from a high fever, so im sorry for this post not being done FRIDAY, like I wanted to do! :) I have lots more pictures and fun stuff to post, so hopefully I will get to them tomorrow!

Bentley Armour

Bentley Armour Braaten

8 lbs 15 oz 21 inches

Nov 20 1:09 am

We are home and in our own warm bed now, proud parents once again, and proud big brother!

oh wait, there's more!

Since we have such an out of control child (far from it, actually) we occasionally need to keep him tied... as you can see, it was much fun! Later, Coy had DADDY tied at the belt loops! (Since we have such an out of control daddy too...haha)

SOMEHOW, an arm got loose during the night. Didn't seem to bother him at all though.

We saw Jeanne today, and Im THIRTY NINE weeks pregnant! With only 6 more days until our baby's due date, Im feeling so ready. But then at the same time realizing that once I go into labor, that there is no more just Coy, but that there will be TWO, and ALWAYS two from then on. Eep! I hate to complain, but the last trimester of this pregnancy has been nothing but incredible back pain (with no relief from the chiro or PT), heartburn and no sleep. So...for other then the most obvious reason, Im anxious for it all to be over. And the good news, is that Im 75% effaced, and about 2 cm dilated. And.....we're still in the running for FIRST baby born at the NEW birth center :D We can't wait for baby's birthday!

cousins

Once again, Im WAY past due on a blog post...but I'll summarize the best I can what we've been doing (besides waiting for a baby) these past few weeks!
Ellen, Trapper and Quiana made a trip to Montana, and we got to have them stay at our house for a night! Then for the weekend, they headed over to Hugh and Carmens, where we all met for a day of lots of fun and cousins!

Years ago, this was the go-cart that belonged to Logan, Kenny and Rodney. NOW...it's Trapper, Spencer and Coy who have laid claims to it! OH yes, we can't wait till they're all a bit older, driving and fixing this thing... :)

And what farming buddies Trapper and Coy are...Trapper gets the farm all in order, and Coy pretends to know what he's doing, but mostly mixes up what Trapper just fixed. Oh, and he's a grandpas boy too...he's sure got good grandpas!

And here we are...LAST week, at 38 weeks pregnant. Yes, it's a nice little seat for Coy. He will be mighty dissapointed when mommy's BIG tummy is gone though..he also likes to "gick gick gick" (tickle, tickle, tickle) my belly button the is now nearly an outie. :)

long time coming...

We got a new freezer, and what better thing to do with the box than make a fort? There's also a sign that says "Boyz Only". Hmmmm. That's ok though, cause this mommy is too big to fit in there anyway!

We found a cute zebra costume for Coy. We're not much for halloweeners..but it's cute!

Or maybe he shoulda been a witch. His strange fascination with the broom usually only leads to frusteration...he can't figure out how to "unstraddle" it.

Mom and dad moved Auntie Sarah out this past weekend!!! It was a short visit from mom and dad, but was special to see them again. We sure wish we lived closer! We miss them so much!

Oh, and this is just Coy eating cucumber.

Grandpa, Coy, and Daddy :)

Aunt Mary got a brick dedicated to Uncle Aaron at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, so we had to go and see if just after they laid it.

Coy and Grandpa gettin some excersize...hehe.

We wanted to take Coy trick or treating to some elderly friends of ours...but we didn't get very far before our little zebra fell asleep. Makes a mighty fine pillow I'd say... :)

I just like this picture ;)

Sunday morning shaving time! Coy was sooo eager to help Daddy shave. He even shaved his own lips...no hair there of course, but tickled a little :)

I might just hire him to carry another diaper bag soon... :)