2 Months!

Jaemus was two months old yesterday. He was extra sweet on his special day and gave me some great smiles and laughs. The past week he has really become social and after a good nap he smiles, and coos, and talks to Bailey and I. It has been really fun.

For now, I think I have this boy down. We had a few tough weeks of figuring him out because he is sensitive and specific with his needs. He is a home-body and appreciates quietness. He is very consistent with eating every two hours in the day, playing for about one hour, and then begins to fuss because he is ready for about an hour nap. When it is nap time, he will have a melt down if I am not quick to swaddle, lie him down, and place a pacie in his mouth. He also loves his head to be rubbed and falls asleep nearly instantly. At night he just started giving me a glorious 6 hours! He wakes up at either 4 or 5 am and then will go back to sleep for either 2 or 3 hours. It has made me feel so restful and I literally praise God for the sleep.

Jaemus favorite time of the day is bath time. He has always loved the warm water and is so happy we hate to take him out. It's funny to remember back when he was born and they were doing their routine checks he was fussing and crying but the second they stuck his head under the warm facet water he stopped crying and fell asleep. He remains to still be that way; if he is fussy he will calm down in the soothing water and enjoy kicking his legs and moving his arms.

Lucky for me he also enjoy walks now. I love getting out on family walks and I have been disappointed in his hatred for the stroller. He has been much better at allowing me to put him down now and so walks have become part of our routine; especially in the evenings. He still enjoys the sling but he has discovered the joy of laying on his blanket and moving his limbs or sitting in his swing while looking outside or watching Bailey play. It has been nice for me to not have to wear him 16 hours a day. =)

We still have two weddings this month one of which requires a flight. So, hopefully our little home body can hang in there!

Nothin' But a Blur

I can't believe July has come and gone and Fall is quickly approaching. There are so many things I have been putting of until "the fall" and now I am realizing that is next month! My brain is mush and I am so tired. There have definitely been some days that I have been more tired than I have ever been in my life. That is saying a lot since I have pulled many all-nighters, studied for finals with little sleep, drove all night, but nothing beats mother-hood.

This month is busier than July for us so I am sure it will be a blur as well.

I feel like Jaemus should be 6 months old but he is only about to be 2 months! I have to remind myself on the difficult and confusing days that he is still such a little guy! He is doing great but has given us a few tough weeks of fussiness that has forced us to slow down and give him more quality attention. He easily gets over stimulated and is a bit of a home-body right now. He will completely melt down with too much noise, especially groups of people talking, and he really just prefers peace and quiet. Difficult to give that with a rambunctious two year old but he does not seem to mind Bailey in his face when he is happy. Jaemus has also gotten real smiley and responsive just this week. This last week has been the easiest with him and it has been rewarding to see him joyful and listen to him coo so sweetly.

The highlights of July included spending the 4th with the Johnson's Part II again at Eric's parent's home. It was a super relaxing day of Latter Ball, swimming, a nice walk, and fireworks. Bailey has not stopped talking about fireworks since! We were able to watch fireworks from their backyard that over looked a lake that had a firework show going on. It was perfect.

How cute are they? Taking a breather and watching some Jana Alayra.

Brandon's friend Jacob got married and requested that all the grooms men had mustaches. Well, if you know Brandon, you know he can't very well grow a mustache and envies all guys with scruff. So, he did the best he could and then filled it in with my eye brow pencil. It was hilarious and nobody noticed except his friends of course.

A wonderful picture of Jacob and Brandon

We also officially became a family and purchased a Minivan! It is quit glorious with all the space and I enjoy being a minivan mom. Here is our beautiful Kia Sedona.

I turned 25 on the 20th of July. I feel pretty solid at 25. A wonderful husband, two adorable children, and a minivan. What more can I want?

Bailey and I made Sleeping Beauty's cake and homemade apple sorbet with my new ice cream maker that I got from my parent's. It was a good day!

Bailey has been taking swim lessons at the Australian Swim school with Brandon. She is doing so great and loves it! She loves all the games and songs and it has been such a special time for Brandon and Bailey. Here is Bailey after she just dove for a ring.

And Jaemus is getting cuter and cuter all the time! He is also never not growing! I feel like I never got an infant as he is already wearing 3 month clothes and was nearly 12 pounds three weeks after he was born. He is always pulling really funny faces that we love capturing on camera.

Here are some cute kid highlights.

Watch it.

The Tourist.

Let me just add- Bailey is so much fun! I just love her age right now and enjoy listening to her thoughts all day long.

We are all about bed time cuddles.

Tummy time guy.

I just love these two!

1 Month!

Jaemus was 1 month old yesterday! We feel like we have had him forever but at the same time he is growing up so fast! He has already gained almost 3 pounds and grew 2 1/2 inches! He fit in newborn clothes for about a day and has grown out of the 0-3 month size and I just put his 3 month clothes in his drawers today.

Jaemus has had a busy month of two weddings, two wedding rehearsals, and one Bridal Shower. It has been a tiring month of sleep deprivation, constant nursing, entertaining a two year old, and attending a lot of social events. I feel I will never catch up on normal things!

Bailey adjusted very well to having an infant around and she surprises me with the gentle patience she has with him when he is fussy. She lights up when she sees him after waking up or coming in after playing.

So far what I have learned about our little guy is that he is hungry a lot, loves to cuddle and be in the sling, will let us know when he is tired, hungry, uncomfortable, wet, or just needing to snuggle. He keeps me busy but he is so sweet and I love to snuggle him. He gives me about a 4 hour chunk of sleep in the night and then two or three hours after that. He is an early riser of about 5 am and then wants to eat every hour until about 8 am. So, I am tired! We have been very house bound because he is unpredictable with his feedings and it is difficult to time anything out.

He seems to be responding to Bailey in a positive way that is really sweet. He seems to light up when she is in his face and she sings to him, pinches his cheeks, and gives him "choo-choo kisses." Bailey likes to snuggle with him in the morning in her crib and talk to him about Peter Pan and her new obsession, fire-works. Their growing relationship melts our hearts.

We love our babies and our so blessed!

Congrats Leann and Patrick Reich !

My dear friend since the 7th grade got Married June 25th. It was a super fun wedding and our favorite thing was the photo booth. Any reason to dress up and be goofy we are all about.

I was able to pull off being a bridesmaid and Bailey a flower girl with a two week old! It was smooth and only manageable with lots of help! Brie came with me and Jaemus to take pictures while my mom got Bailey ready for the wedding. My dad came with her and they took care of the kids during the ceremony. By the time the reception started I had Brandon there too and we had a lot of fun. Brandon and I actually got a whole hour and a half date! After dinner I nursed Jaemus and my parent's took both kids home and Brandon and I danced it up, ate cake, heard the speeches, and watched all the fun activities. Then we rushed home in time to feed Jaemus again. It was seriously a fun and relaxing hour and half.

Bailey loved dancing.
Congratulations you two and we wish you the best!

Father's Day

Brandon was so excited to spend his Father's Day with the gift of his new little boy. He has been saying how content he feels with his sweet little girl whom he adores and now he has his son whom he has been enjoying snuggling and comforting. Brandon never ceases to impress me with his sacrificial love for his family. He is always putting us first with joy and never hesitates to chase Bailey around for "fishy kisses" or walk around singing to Jaemus until he falls asleep. And on top of that he always make me feel loved and cherished. We are truly blessed to have him every day.

Father's Day morning after I fed Jaemus, Bailey and I left in our PJ's to get starbucks coffee and a to-go order of breakfast from Mimi's Cafe. I am not savvy enough with the two kids to whip up a glorious breakfast without me making a huge mess, feeling stressed, and taking way too long. So, take-out it was!

Brandon taught Sunday School that morning and then we saw both sides of our family that day. So, it was busy but an all around good day.

Here we are taking a family photo and look closely at Bailey. She always wants to have a hand on Jaemus when we take a picture but this particular time we couldn't get her from either strangling him or blinding him- she adores her little brother.

This is Brandon's Bible study he taught the kindergarden through 5th grade on Father's Day. It is a great reminder of who our true Father in heaven is and how blessed we are to have a God that loves us.

God is Our Loving Father

Some people grow up with good dads, while others may not have a dad, or if they do, he may not be a good one - so to imagine God as a loving father can be difficult. The Bible teaches however that while God is holy and awesome, He is also a personal loving Father. His fatherlike characteristics include creator, provider, protector, comforter, disciplinary, and a father of who loves unconditionally.

While some parents may say “I brought you into this world... and I can take you out!” - it is a funny threat of sorts, but the truth is - sometimes we try to bring children into this world and cannot, and sometimes we do not try to bring children into this world and they come anyway - but God is truly the one who creates the miracle of life and brings children into the world

Psalm 127:3 - Children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward

Psalm 139:13 - For you formed my inward parts, you wove me in my mother’s womb

God provides for our needs great and small

Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

God is our protector

Psalm 32:7 - You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

God is our comforter

Psalm 34:18 - The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

God disciplines HIs children out of love

Proverbs 3:11-12 - My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof,For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

God loves His children

Romans 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God will always be there for you as your Father

Psalm 68:5 -A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

The Arrival

Jaemus came at a great time for us, since I had just had two days of fun and relaxation. I had been having contractions all week and they were beginning to frustrate me and distract me with their disappearance. So, on Thursday I put a lot of effort to put distractions aside and enjoy my last few days with Bailey and some time to myself. Bailey and I spent the morning at Irvine Park where we rode the train, Bailey rode Dan the pony and we went to feed the ducks but ended up feeding a gluttonous peacock instead that blocked us from the lake and ate all our bread- pretty funny. It was a really nice morning and I loved having some special time with her.

After that Bailey went to my mom's house for her nap and I went and got a manicure and pedicure treated by my dear friend Natalie. She had empathy for my frustration having just been through this a few months earlier herself. She sent me to a salon she enjoys where they massage your arms and legs with hot stones. It was super relaxing and I loved every minute of it. Plus, I had beautiful hands and feet for labor- pretty important.

My awesome day continued with a nice evening with Brandon and Bailey followed by the best nights sleep I have had in a long time.

I woke up Friday morning refreshed and early enough to kiss Brandon before he left for work

and Bailey happened to sleep in until 8:30am! This gave me an hour and a half to shower, watch the news, and eat breakfast. The morning kept getting better with an early morning visit from Natalie, Emily and Evan. They were in town early that day and came by for a couple hours. It was a fun morning to spend watching Bailey play with Emily and enjoy talking with Natalie totally enjoying the distraction. I never would have expected that by 1:00pm I would be having contractions that appeared promising.

By 3:00 pm I was convinced enough to tell Brandon and gave him the option to come home before traffic. He came home right away in a bit of a nervous frenzy trying to rush me off to the hospital but I assured him I was fine and that we were good to spend some time at home. I truly did not think that we would be going to the hospital until much later in the night but by 7 pm we decided to head over there. I was happy to have dinner with Bailey and time to repeat the hospital plan with her. She totally had it down- "mom and dad will go to the hospital to have the baby while she stays with Nana and Papa. Then we will come home with her baby brother." She was really cute when she repeated the whole plan.

We arrived at Saddleback about 7:30 and walked around before checking in. We had to check in by 8 pm to enter in through the women's hospital side, so I made Brandon walk with me until 7:55. When we got in I did not feel like Jaemus was going to be born soon. I was having consistent contractions but I didn't feel they were intense yet. However, I was so wrong and so was the nurse- when I checked in the nurse even said, "we'll see if we need to send you home for a little while." But I was 8 cm dilated and we were all very surprised so I was admitted into delivery right away. And 2 1/2 hours later I was holding Jaemus Lee.

It was exactly what we prayed for, a smooth, safe, and quick labor. The pain was intense but it was easier to get though it having had the experience. Brandon was the real champ. Using our previous experience he was really confident and encouraging. His energy kept my spirits up as he was able to motivate me and remind me it was almost over. He never let go of my hand and he rubbed by back or shoulders the entire time. It was much easier for the both of us this time knowing the signs that it can't be much longer.

The reward was a beautiful healthy baby boy. Brandon and I felt so humbled sitting there looking at our son realizing how good the Lord is to us. We were both surprised by his size, and dark skin and hair. Bailey too had dark hair but we both were for some reason expecting a light haired boy. However, Jaemus has soft dark hair on his back, side burns, and is tanner than both of us. He reminds me a lot of my younger brother, who too a big baby, tan, with a hairy body and full head of dark hair. Ryan (my little brother) is super cute though, so I can definitely live with that.

Jaemus Lee Bridgman

Friday June 11th at 10:26pm Jaemus was born! He weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 20 3/4 in. long. All our prayers were answered in that we had a smooth, safe, and quick labor, and Jaemus is healthy and so sweet. Bailey adores him and we are loving life.

Thank you family and friends for all your prayers and support! Your prayers were felt and we are humbled by God's goodness in our life!

More to come but here is our cute little guy.