Growing Up Too Fast

Has it really been almost a month since I last posted?!?

You can all call me a big time slacker, but I have had such good intentions. Boy does having a baby right before the holiday season add a completely new dimension to an already hectic schedule. I guess it doesn't help that I had a birthday party at the house for Ainsley's 5th the week before Thanksgiving, I offered to host Thanksgiving, and now I am preparing to host our church's annual cookie exchange on Tuesday. The bright side to this is that we have "decked the halls" and our house is so festive. Also, I really have to give credit where it is due. My fabulous husband is the number one decorator in our house and he goes ALL OUT. To give you an idea, we rent a storage unit for all of our holiday decor. Marcus has worked tirelessly to get the house ready and he even changed the tree this year. We have our "formal" tree in the living (reverent) room, which he is doing in earth tone blue and silver with tons of ribbon, bulbs and black picture frames hung as ornaments full of our family memories. I boast to everyone that he is the decorator and I am merely the clean up crew and I don't mind at all!

As for Kanyon, he is growing like a weed. He is still such a fabulous little baby and we feel so blessed every day. In fact, as crazy as it sounds we sometimes wonder if it can really be true that things are so "normal" right now in our lives. The most difficult thing right now is that I am so ready for a full nights sleep. However, when I wake up to feed him I fall more in love and I just think about how I missed waking up for Eden. We seem to miss her more than ever right now and the girls talk about her all the time. It's difficult, bottom line and she still occupies my thoughts every day. This time of year is rough because she is missing from everything we do, all the pictures, parties, memories. We have been bless though with a very healthy, happy baby and we are totally in love with him.

Enjoy the pictures, I will show off our tree very soon!

Emerson can not get enough of her brother. She says being a big sister is so much better than being a little sister!

Kanyon at 4 weeks! He LOVES his bath, especially when I get him as deep in the very warm water as possible.

The birthday girl at her party. We had a balloon guy come and do a show for all the kids. He was a hit!

Like father like son! Is it just me or is he the spitting image of his daddy?

Ainsley woke up to roses and her favorite breakfast, Fruit Loops, on her 5th birthday.

The girls just can not get enough of their brother and he loves the attention.

The Birth Story

Getting home and getting settled and I finally found a few moments to update everyone.

As Marcus said, Kanyon Bryant was born on Thursday the 29th at 1:16 pm. Obviously, Marcus and I were both very anxious going into the c-section and just couldn't wait to hear that everything was fine with our little man. The moment they pulled Kanyon out he was crying and that was so reassuring. He had quite a bit of fluid in his lungs, but that can be common for c-section babies as they are not squeezed through the birth canal. He quickly resolved that problem and stayed by my side the entire time without needing the nursery or any other interventions. My surgery went as expected, but after returning to recovery I was still bleeding too much. I needed a few different medications and some extra time in recovery before they felt my bleeding was under control and no longer a problem. Poor Marcus, I could see the concern on his face thinking that my baby is perfect this time, but now it's a problem with my wife. We had to have a little drama I guess. I am feeling good now, 6 days later, and am savoring every moment with Kanyon AT HOME. The rest of our hospital stay was very uneventful and relaxing. Thank you to everyone that called, texted, and visited not just to meet Kanyon but to wish me a happy birthday. It truly was a sweet 35th birthday for me with my sweet little baby at my side.

Kanyon breast feeds very well and loves to sleep. He only woke up once last night to eat! I have to admit that I am spoiling him a little more than I did Ainsley and Emerson because I just never want to put him down. I have even given in to letting him sleep on my chest during the night and I NEVER thought I would do that. My how certain experiences change everything. He had his first trip to the pediatrician yesterday and passed with flying colors. He has even gained weight from birth in his first 5 days, which doesn't surprise me as he is a good eater! I am learning how to change a little boys diaper and yes, we have all been peed on a few times. It's a good thing I have lots of newborn sleepers because yesterday alone he peed on 3 of them. I really need to learn how to do the diaper change or wear a mask. The girls think it's hilarious though and we all end up laughing by the time it's over.

My hospital is still allowing healthy siblings to visit so we surprised the girls and brought them to visit a few times. They were very hesitant the first time they saw Kanyon, but warmed up to their brother very fast. Emerson asked me, "mommy, is this where Kanyon is going to live?" referring to the hospital. When I told her no, he will come home to our house she started clapping and jumping around. Now, every time she says the family prayer she thanks Heavenly Father for letting her baby brother come to our house to live forever. They can not get enough of him, but I love to watch how sweet and tender they are and so very helpful. I can imagine they were nervous to get attached at first, but seeing now that he does normal baby things they are hooked. Every time Ainsley sees him she says, "he's just soooooo cute!"

This has been our little fairytale so far and I am so thankful for how blessed we are. Kanyon brings a very sweet, special spirit into our home and when I look at him I get a feeling that Eden is smiling down from heaven so happy for all of us and definitely a part of this special time.

On my way to the hospital!

Meeting their brother for the first time.

Marcus's mom, Dorothy, Super Girl, and of course we dressed Kanyon up as well.

"Mommy, I put on sanitizer, can I hold him?" I hear this at least once an hour.

Even daddy is hooked, and tired! Boy bonding time I guess.

Could my Ainsley look any happier to be a "big, big, big" sister