Brecon's Birth Story

July 5th The day before the "big day". This was taken right before my last doctor's appointment ) . I was going to my doctor's appointment (hence the picture in front of the tree) I really wasn't surprised when she said I was a "2" and 50% effaced. She was a little "rough" with me, maybe in the hopes of getting the ball rolling. I wasn't having any contractions before the appointment and thought that I wouldn't have the baby for another week or two. The rest of the day I felt a little weird, but we all relaxed and spent the evening together. We went out to dinner that night to celebrate making it to the due date. I really thought that this baby was going to wait for another week or two.. but I was wrong.

The next day, we were all able to run errands around town to our most visited stores (Wal-mart, Home Depot, and Lowes) and we pretty much went up and down every isle. I was having tightening and pressure around every 8 to 10 minutes, but nothing that lasted very long or was very painful, so we didn't think it was the "real" thing. Then they started to occur every 5 to 8 minutes apart, again I didn't think it was anything to be worried about. After going to a friends party, and having all the ladies time the contractions (which were 5 down to 4 and even a 3 minute contraction) they all agreed that maybe I should get Ben and go to the hospital. This was around 10:00 at night when Ben was running around the house like a crazy person trying to pack all our bags, and we still forgot our camera and other essentials (like things for the new baby!). Luckily we didn't turn around for them. The car ride was when things started to get uncomfortable and I was really concentrating on breathing when Cael asked "mom, why was you breathing like that?" I couldn't help but laugh and tell him that baby brother was trying to get out. He accepted the answer and then gave me his favorite blanket to "help me feel better". After dropping Cael off at a friends house and a total 45 minute drive, we got to the hospital around 11:00 and they took us back into Triage around 11:15 and checked to see that I was a 6. Then after a contraction that made my body push on it's own at 11:25 or so, I made quite a mess when my water exploded everywhere. I heard one of the nurses say "I've never seen that happen before!" They raced us back to a room. The nurse was telling me NOT to push, but it was my body pushing. They got everything set up and ready to go. It was burning, the stretching and pressure. In a moment I was trying to put on a strong face, trying to remain calm... I'm not ready for this... I breath in and out. Just keep breathing. The clock is ticking, minutes pass, contraction, body push, breath, wait, contraction, body push a little harder this time AND the baby is here!and the little guy arrived at 11:40, just 20 minutes before midnight and a Lucky Birthday (I know I already mentioned this before, but that's alright) Boy...what a night!


After the whole event, Ben whipped out the camera and snapped this lovely one of me. Ben and I both laugh that I have on his University of Wyoming Wrestling shirt (Go Pokes!) but it was just what I threw on the way out the door
Getting all cleaned up after his entry into the world
The proud daddy. When asked how everything went he says "it was easy"


Brecon wasn't too happy with this last one... but momma sure is proud of her little guy

We are all doing well and adjusting to having a new baby in the house. We are just excited, even though we weren't "prepared" for baby Brecon to come when he did, we are glad that he is here. Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Baby Brecon

Happy Birthday!!!!

Here are some quick pictures of our baby boy Brecon Eugene Platt, born on the 6th of July 2007 at 11:40 pm. He weighed 7lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long. He was determined to come when he did and we barely made it into the hospital room, but everything turned out amazing and we wouldn't change a thing. We were hoping for a Lucky 7 birthday and they even had us in room number 7... but our boy was not going to wait another minute. He is doing really well and acting like a typical newborn: eat, sleep, and poop.

Of course Cael was very excited to be a big brother and he absolutely adores Brecon already.

Our Old House

As many of you know, we moved to San Antonio, TEXAS last year because Ben was starting his Internal Medicine Residency at Brook Army Medical Center. We bought a 25 year old home in a nice little community, which happens to be within the boundaries of the San Pedro Ward (which we love). Except for living in a hotel for almost a month, the move was a success and we have enjoyed living here for the past year.


Also, because our home was a little "older", there were some things that just had to be done. We scraped the popcorn ceilings and retextured them, scraped the walls and retextured them as well, removed wallpaper and painted everywhere, replaced some toilets, installed new lighting in the bathrooms, rearranged some kitchen cabinets, put tile in the kitchen, entry way, laundry room and bathrooms, and installed wood flooring in the living room, dining room and library/office room. It has been a journey, but we can say there is only one more thing for us to do in order to make the remodel a success. This would be replacing the countertops in the kitchen, but something we are waiting on at the current time. And now I would like to pleasure you all with some pictures of our home... BEFORE the changes took place.

Here is our Home. The newest addition we did here was a new roof that was done the early part of March. Thank you Home Owner Insurance!



Here is the kitchen and the lovely wall paper that was removed, and the cabinets around the refrigerator were adjusted. Crown molding was put on top of the cabinets to help them become a little more distinct.

The other side of the kitchen. We also put in new appliances and different hardware (handles) on the cabinets.

This is our living room. We really thought the wood beams were very unique and the rock fire place is such a great addition, although I feel the mantel needs to be a little bigger :) We put in wood floors in this location.


Sorry I didn't turn this picture of the middle bathroom. Out of all the wallpaper removal, this stuff gave me the hardest time coming off. Don't you love it? Connected to this sink area, is a toilet and old white metal tub which Cael adores. He can slide from one end to the other and back again during bathtime, and if I'm lucky, he doesn't splash out his entire bath water:)
Cael's favorite tub....



The other guest bathroom. We put in a pedastle sink and new toilet, removed the wallpaper and put tile on the floor in here.

This is the master shower and I wish this picture would show the step down. We lovingly call the "font" because of its' unique-ness. We re-tiled and bought new fixtures for this shower. (Again, sorry it isn't turned)




The dining room and it's original curtains and lovely light fixture.
and finally the backyard....
looking back at the house.... We sure love our trees!

I hoped everyone enjoyed the BEFORE pictures, because I have yet to take the AFTER... but look for them very soon :)

The End of June...

 

Another month has come and is almost gone, it really is something how quickly it all seems to go. We have been keeping busy and are starting to really get excited about the new future arrival of baby brother. I finally took Cael to Super Target to get his 3 year old pictures done (a little late, but worth the wait). The lady was pretty crazy and was treating Cael like a baby, for example she would say... "Oochy-Koochy" or "I'm going to tickle-tickle you". At first Cael looked at her like she was crazy because she sounded crazy to me. I finally told her to say "Cheeseburger" ( the magic smile word) and then the real smiles took place. We'll be picking them up on Thursday and sending them out to the families. Although I'm trying to debate whether to just wait for the new one and send the pictures of both of the boys together. We'll just see how I'm feeling :)

Here is a picture of Cael's cake. When I asked him what color he wanted his cake... well, see for yourself.... He loved it! Oh.. it was my birthday today--- HAPPY BIRHTDAY TO ME! I'm still closer to 20 than 30, so that is reassuring :)

Our Birthday Boy CAEL

              

....YOU'RE 3 YEARS OLD! You're 3 years old...
HAPPY Birthday dear CAEL-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!



CAEL IS A HAPPY BOY--- A JOY TO HAVE AROUND-- AND VERY, VERY, RIDICULOUSLY GOOD LOOKING! (try not to look at all of his bumps and bruises, he is a typical boy)

He has been excited about his birthday for quite some time, although he pronounces that he is "thlee" years old instead of "three", we are working on his "t-h" sound.
This morning, quite early I might add, he was awakened with a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday". He stood up in his bed, stretched his arms and flexed his muscles and proclaimed "look how big I am". Yes, Cael you are a big boy!

It is still amazing to Ben and I that Cael was born 3 years ago. Ben had just taken Step 1 of Board Certification... and the next day Cael was welcomed into the world. We were quite nervous about that 2-day test being scheduled so closely to Cael's due date, but thought afterwards that it was perfect timing. Somehow it all worked out, and it has been wonderful ever since. He really is a great boy and we love him very much!

The End of May...

7 weeks until the due date and counting.....

For all who want to see-- this is my tummy of our future baby. I've been alot better at taking pictures of my pregnancy (this time around) however, Cael was not so lucky. It was just something that didn't happen for the boy. Don't say anything, but we'll just pretend that this is me pregnant BOTH times around. Things are pretty much the same, we'll just have to see how much this boy is going to weigh in at and if he comes close to the 8 lb baby Cael was. I haven't had to get up in the middle of the night to go.. you know... so I consider myself lucky to get a good nights sleep. That will not last long once this little guy gets here, so I am putting away a "sleep reserve" for those middle of the night feedings :)

Also, for those who don't believe that Cael can ride his bike without training wheels... here's an okay picture of his amazing skill. We went on a ride today, despite the drizzle. This picture is at a park that we frequent, but I don't know who that little boy is chasing Cael around. Some neighborhood boy who was very impressed to say the least. I hope you can see the look on our boys face, he is very proud on himself.





And now: Here is a picture of Army Ben, on his way to do a presentation on Subcutaneous Hematoma Formation after Insulin Injections in an Anticoagulated Patient. He looks like he's ready to talk all about that stuff, right? Cael and I both thought he looked pretty cute as an Army man and the presentation went well, according to Ben. He also came home with a few items from some drug reps who were at the conference as well... We sure love the pens they hand out, as well as the notepads-- they are simply amazing!
Tomorrow we have many things planned as it is Ben's first day off in 2 weeks. I can't wait for the all day set of projects that will occupy our Friday Frenzy :)

Finally....

After many unsuccessful attempts to create a family blog, I finally figured it out! I'm sure you are all as excited as I am!
Just a quick update on the family:

1) Cael is tall enough and rode his first rollercoaster ride at Sea World. The Shamu Express was quite the exciting ride and we got some great action shots with our trusty camera. He was a little wary at first, but by the second time around he started saying "Woo Hoo" and he had a huge smile on his face.

2)Cael also learned how to ride his trusty Red Rocket Schwinn WITHOUT training wheels! You can believe that Ben was very proud of his 'big boy' and Cael was proud of himself as well. I had been to a Young Women meeting and when I got home they sure had a surprise for me. I almost started crying just because he is my baby and isn't supposed to grow up! When I said that to Cael he replied "I'm not little, I'm a big boy! "I guess that is what happens when your boy is almost 3 years old, they start telling you that they are big :)

3) We are having a baby in July! I'm currently 32 weeks along and we've been calling my tummy "baby brother" and are not quite sure on a name yet, although when asked what he thought of the name Connor, Cael said "that's a good name". So we will see if the little guy looks like a Connor. If anyone has any boy names that they would like to pass along, please feel free to send them our way before too long :)

4) Life is busy-- We are almost finished with our home remodeling and hopefully it will be completely finished by the time the little guy arrives. Our home was built in 1981 and needed some updating. It has been fun, although a little more expensive than we had originally planned for. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and so we are hopeful of its' completion

5)We just got back from the library for our weeks ration of new children's' books for Cael. We have read our own collection so many times that Ben and I have them memorized. We enjoy the change and have found some pretty entertaining books as well, such as "Drat that Fat Cat" and "Scaredy Squirrel" (really funny), just to name a few.

Well, that is our family update for now, hope that everyone enjoys it!