Some Squishy Goodness for Ya'll

We've been in the south for a week and a half and it's creeping in...ya'll.

 I can't believe this little man is a week old.

And I can't believe how many hush puppies I've eaten.  Or how dumb founded locals are with my exuberance for them.

Sweet little Abraham is growing and growing.  He loves snuggling with his daddy and grabs a hold of his shirt even in his sleep.

 

Now, by growing and growing I mean maybe nearing 7 lbs.  He's wearing newborn sized pj's in that picture and clearly having some troubles filling them out.

 

I couldn't resist seeing how cute he would look in his newborn cloth diapers.  He only has 2 that will actually fit his twiggy legs though, so it's back to disposables for another week or two.


























We miss our girls fiercely, but cuddling this little guy makes it a whole lot easier.

Our New Littlest Love

Abraham Christopher came screaming into the world on Wednesday, June 20th at 11:35 a.m. 

He weighed in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. - not too bad for a 38 week baby!

I'm in scrubs because he was born by c-section and K asked me to be the one to go into surgery with her.

Once he checked out and was shown to have great Apgars (9 and 9), we got to go out into the hallway to meet daddy for the first time.

He did not like being poked and prodded in the nursery.

But all was made better when he got to nurse for the first time.

On Thursday, June 21st his birthmom, K, signed away her rights.  She was incredibly strong.  She told me she cried out all her tears the night before and loved the decision she made for him.  She always referred to us as his mom and dad and told me she now understood why he was born.

And just like that, we had a son.

It won't all be finalized until December, but he's not going anywhere! 

We are madly in love with him.

Ridiculously exhausted, but head over heals for this little man!

His sisters call him A-bee-ham.

We call him ours.

In The Home Stretch

It feels pretty surreal right now that we are less that a week from meeting our son.

I will be busy, and kind of hard to reach over the next week, so here's the plan and what to expect from us.

Sunday will be crazy.  My parents are coming down to pick up the girls and take them back to Iowa for our time down in Louisiana.  I will be spending the day getting them all packed and ready to go, washing all our laundry, getting the house spotless and ready to sit empty for a few weeks, and getting ourselves packed.

Monday morning we will hit the road.  We will be traveling through lots of rural nothingness, so I have no idea how in touch I will be able to be.  We will drive all.day.long., then stay overnight somewhere along the way.

Tuesday morning we will finish the trip off and get settled into our temporary home.  Tuesday evening we get to have dinner with K.  I'm very excited about that part.

Wednesday is baby day!  Not sure yet on time of delivery, but I we will be at the hospital all day.  We will have our own room at the hospital, and will stay there for a couple nights until he is released.  I will be desperate to show you all pictures, but won't be able to until after papers have been signed, so you will have to patient with me.

We will then get to hang out in Louisiana until all our cross-statelines paperwork is finished so that we can legally take him out of the state.  That will cue the beginning of the long journey back home.  A trip that will take considerably longer than the trip down since we will have a 2 week old in tow.  Let's just hope he's a good rider.

I'm not sure what kind of internet connection I will have available, so I'm not sure how updated I will be able to keep the blog.  I will try to post pictures and updates to Facebook and Instagram (embehrens626) whenever I'm able though.

The Wait Is Almost Over

We found out yesterday that little man either needs to decide to make his entrance soon, or else he will be given an eviction notice on the 20th!  That means that, at most, we only have a week and a half left of this wait!  Hallelujah!

That also means that he has defied the odds in ways neither we, the doctors, or K thought he could or would.  He will technically be considered full term if he waits that long. 

This little guy has had so many people praying for him, I can only see it as a work of God that he will get to stay in so long. 

Memorial Weekend

We made no big plans, because well, we can't really plan past the next day right now.  But we had a great weekend relaxing and enjoying ourselves.  Grandpa Bruce came down for a visit.  "K" called to see how we were doing.  Overall, a great time.

Evelyn discovered the wonder that is the sprinkler.   Yes, I make my little fair skinned beauty swim in what practically amounts to winter clothing.

Mind you, this is the child that screams and cries when you attempt to wash shampoo out of her hair ever so gently with nice warm water.  But freezing cold water blasting out of a sprinkler?  No problem.

Scott made so delicious smoked meat.  Well, everyone but Annabelle thought it was delicious.  On other occasions she has chowed down on similar food, but this day it was boycotted in fantastic toddler fashion.

Here Scott is with his lawyer face on attempting to convince a 1-year-old of the delicious attributes that smoked pork provides.

Not convinced.

Evelyn takes over trying to show her how it's done.

Grandpa, don't let them make me eat.

He's on my side!  Wrapped around my little finger.

Now that I have you, you can finish off my water for me.

And my dinner.

I win!!!  Now where's dessert?

The Waiting Place

That's where we are. 

It's this strange, surreal place where you are waiting for a woman to go into labor.  Labor that will send your whole world into a crazy, amazing, and life-altering upheaval. 

It's a hard place to be in though.  I've found my general anxiety level is higher than usual right now.  I can't really plan anything other than for the next day.  I hardly even want to do a big grocery shopping trip better yet make plans for the weekend.

In the long run it will be a really good thing.  He's only 35 weeks gestation right now, so every day he can spend on the inside is extremely beneficial to him.  We just didn't think he would stay in this long, so it's getting really hard to be patient! 

Meanwhile, I'm half packed in a couple suitcases, constantly checking flight schedules, doing laundry every few days, and attempting to keep the house "ready to go out of town" clean (this is laughable if you know me very well). 

I'm not a patient person.  Lord, help me.