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| My sis is in heaven getting a little girl! |
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| And Kyle was literally jumping for joy when he realized Baby B is a boy! |
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| So happy for them! |
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| Baby Cole is so excited to be a big cousin x 2! |
Thursday, September 20, 2012
A Buddy and A Boss
Cole was super excited on Tuesday to find out if he was getting boy or girl cousins. We found out he is getting one BOY (a buddy) and one GIRL (a boss) cousin!!! It was so much fun for my sister and brother-in-law to include us when they found out. My sister is super creative and had a balloon shop fill two boxes with the appropriate color of balloons. They did not know until they opened the boxes what each baby's gender was. Their reactions were priceless. I hope my sis doesn't mind that I am sharing some of the pics on my blog. I am thrilled to get a nephew and a niece! I can't wait to spoil them!!!!
Our Nations Capital
Matt and I went to Washington DC on September 7-12. We went because Matt had passed all of his CPCU exams at work and they sent us on an all expenses paid trip to the conferment conference. Luckily we were not required to go to all of the sessions about insurance and we were allowed to explore the city.
We went with a list of places that we really wanted to see. Neither one of us had ever been to DC before and we were really excited to hit all the major sites.
On Friday when we got there we went to the National Zoo first and saw the famous panda exhibit. Then that night we hit up a Washington Nationals baseball game. Their stadium was amazing!
Saturday, we started our day off bright and early with a tour of the White House. It was pretty cool to say that we have been there, but we only saw about 4 rooms. Not that I was expecting to see the President's bedroom or anything...but we didn't see much. One thing I found interesting was the wallpaper in the rooms we saw was made out of silk. It was pretty fancy. The only question I asked the Secret Service was if all of the huge beautiful flower arrangements in each room were real...and they were! After the tour we walked over to see the Washington Monument. Then we we also went to the Museum of Natural History. Then went to Ford's Theater. This is where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. They had a lot of very interesting things to see. Including the seat he was in when he was shot. And we finished the day off by going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
On Sunday we rented bicycles and rode to Georgetown. It was a pretty cool area filled with high end stores and a lot of restaurants. The bicycle ride was a bit terrifying on the streets of DC. But we made it...and then took a cab back to our hotel :). Late on Sunday night we went with a group of friends to a place called Bier Baron. It is a bar that has the largest selection of beer in the US. Our bartender knew everything about each beer on the list. The list was about 10 pages long. We were impressed.
Monday we got moving pretty early and went to the Holocaust Museum. Talk about a sobering experience. It's hard to believe something that terrible actually happened. I'm glad we went though. Then in the afternoon we had a tour of the US Capital Building. It was probably my favorite building in DC. It's beautiful from the outside and even more so inside. Plus we got quite the history lesson while walking around. Monday night we took a bus tour to see all of the major monuments. We actually got off of the bus to see the Lincoln Monument, Jefferson Memorial, MLK Jr Memorial, Iwo Jima/Marines Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and Korean Memorial. They were awesome to see at night all lit up.
On our last day, Tuesday, we crammed everything else that we could into the day. We started the day at Arlington National Cemetery. It was breathtaking to see how many white stones lined the grass. It just went on for miles. We saw the JFK Eternal Flame and gravesite, General Robert E. Lee's home, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as the changing of the guard ceremony. Then we walked around the cemetery to see the Pentagon. It was actually 9/11 and the President was at the Pentagon. We saw his helicopter fly over us at the cemetery. Then we went and had a tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Next up, the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. We also walked to see the WWII Memorial. We finished our day by walking around the Museum of American History.
I'm sure I have already forgotten some things that we did or saw. In between seeing all of the sites, we ate a ton of awesome food, navigated the somewhat intimidating metro, and saw some very intriguing people. As you can see we were very busy. We walked non-stop the entire trip. But looking back we are glad we did not spend time just sitting back relaxing because we got to do and see so much. We joked that we needed a vacation from our vacation.
Cole stayed with my parents and also spent a lot of time with Kate and Kyle too. He was one spoiled and loved boy!! We missed him but kept so busy that 5 days away just flew by. Although I got the best sleep I've had in 9 months while we were in DC :). It was so great to get home and see him though. I swear he changed so much in a week.
I hope some day we get to go back to DC and take Cole when he is old enough to appreciate the the significance of everything there. I can't believe I waited until I was 29 years old to travel there. I would recommend it for anyone! Even if you are not really into history (like me) the city has something for everyone.
We went with a list of places that we really wanted to see. Neither one of us had ever been to DC before and we were really excited to hit all the major sites.
On Friday when we got there we went to the National Zoo first and saw the famous panda exhibit. Then that night we hit up a Washington Nationals baseball game. Their stadium was amazing!
Saturday, we started our day off bright and early with a tour of the White House. It was pretty cool to say that we have been there, but we only saw about 4 rooms. Not that I was expecting to see the President's bedroom or anything...but we didn't see much. One thing I found interesting was the wallpaper in the rooms we saw was made out of silk. It was pretty fancy. The only question I asked the Secret Service was if all of the huge beautiful flower arrangements in each room were real...and they were! After the tour we walked over to see the Washington Monument. Then we we also went to the Museum of Natural History. Then went to Ford's Theater. This is where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. They had a lot of very interesting things to see. Including the seat he was in when he was shot. And we finished the day off by going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
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| Seat that President Lincoln was shot in (Ford's Theater) |
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| Natural History Museum |
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| The Hope Diamond |
On Sunday we rented bicycles and rode to Georgetown. It was a pretty cool area filled with high end stores and a lot of restaurants. The bicycle ride was a bit terrifying on the streets of DC. But we made it...and then took a cab back to our hotel :). Late on Sunday night we went with a group of friends to a place called Bier Baron. It is a bar that has the largest selection of beer in the US. Our bartender knew everything about each beer on the list. The list was about 10 pages long. We were impressed.
Monday we got moving pretty early and went to the Holocaust Museum. Talk about a sobering experience. It's hard to believe something that terrible actually happened. I'm glad we went though. Then in the afternoon we had a tour of the US Capital Building. It was probably my favorite building in DC. It's beautiful from the outside and even more so inside. Plus we got quite the history lesson while walking around. Monday night we took a bus tour to see all of the major monuments. We actually got off of the bus to see the Lincoln Monument, Jefferson Memorial, MLK Jr Memorial, Iwo Jima/Marines Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and Korean Memorial. They were awesome to see at night all lit up.
On our last day, Tuesday, we crammed everything else that we could into the day. We started the day at Arlington National Cemetery. It was breathtaking to see how many white stones lined the grass. It just went on for miles. We saw the JFK Eternal Flame and gravesite, General Robert E. Lee's home, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as the changing of the guard ceremony. Then we walked around the cemetery to see the Pentagon. It was actually 9/11 and the President was at the Pentagon. We saw his helicopter fly over us at the cemetery. Then we went and had a tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Next up, the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. We also walked to see the WWII Memorial. We finished our day by walking around the Museum of American History.
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| JFK Gravesite and Eternal Flame |
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| Air Force Memorial |
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| Flags at half mast @ Washington Monument on 9/11/12 |
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| WWII Memorial |
I'm sure I have already forgotten some things that we did or saw. In between seeing all of the sites, we ate a ton of awesome food, navigated the somewhat intimidating metro, and saw some very intriguing people. As you can see we were very busy. We walked non-stop the entire trip. But looking back we are glad we did not spend time just sitting back relaxing because we got to do and see so much. We joked that we needed a vacation from our vacation.
Cole stayed with my parents and also spent a lot of time with Kate and Kyle too. He was one spoiled and loved boy!! We missed him but kept so busy that 5 days away just flew by. Although I got the best sleep I've had in 9 months while we were in DC :). It was so great to get home and see him though. I swear he changed so much in a week.
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| Cole and Grandpa mowing together |
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| Grandma, Grandpa and Cole |
Monday, September 3, 2012
Inspiration
The fabric that I ordered has been arriving in small packages all week to my doorstep. It's been like Christmas when I come home and get to open them up. I have received several monetary donations that I have used to purchase fabric...20 yards of fabric to be exact! The patterns and colors that I chose are just perfect for these teeny diapers. I have spent the last few days cutting the fabric and now I have a nice fat stack of diapers that just need to be sewn. I sense a "sewing party" coming up...anybody up for that? I do have the ambition to sew some of the diapers myself, but with as many as I think we can make I will need to outsource some of the sewing :)
Sitting at the kitchen table cutting fabric has given me a lot of time to think. I am so grateful that I have so many friends and family members who are willing to help me with this cause. We are so blessed to have such great support in our lives. Before I had Braelyn, I didn't spend much time thinking about how I could be inspirational to others. I always tried to do good for others and support causes that were close to my friends hearts, but I never felt like I did anything that could be truly inspirational to others. I can't help but to think that maybe part of the reason for Braelyn's short life was to show me that I can inspire others I encounter in my life. It's also taught me there are many people in worse situations than what happened to me. We can all make a difference in others lives if we put forth the effort. It may be something you deem as a small act, but to someone it could be the act that changes their lives in the moment.
With all of the fabric that I have, I figure we can make about 200 diapers (give or take a few). Since each family gets two diapers- one for the baby to wear and one as a keepsake- we can help about 100 families. This is incredible for me to think about. I know that when a family gets these diapers, it's because their baby has mostly likely passed away, but it brings me comfort to know that we are showing them love in those precious moments that they have with their child. Even if they don't see the love in that moment, I think they will be able to look back upon it and realize that there are people out there that care.
I want to share a story with you all about the day Braelyn was born and died. I thought twice about sharing this story because I don't want to sound ungrateful at all, so I hope I can type this in a way that explains my feelings that day. When Braelyn was born we got to spend time in the NICU with her. Matt spent most of the day there while I was recovering. She lived for 12 hours, but most people don't know that I really only got to spend about 2-3 hours total with her. Once we decided that we would take her off of life support we were allowed to hold her and talk to her. I am so thankful for that short amount of time that she spent in our arms. She died in our hands, and not laying by herself in an isolette. After she passed away there were quite a few logistical items that we had to take care of. In the mix of all of this we were asked if we wanted to put a dress on her and have pictures taken. Honestly, I didn't really want pictures of her after she had passed away, but something in the back of our minds told us to do it in case we wanted them later. It would be easy to have them and never look at them instead of not having them and not ever being able to take them later. The nurse brought in the dress--- It was this frilly, lacy, pink and white dress that was completely not something we would ever have chosen to dress our baby in. This is the part I want to be clear about: I am so grateful for the people who made this dress. I know the skill and love that was put into it was immense. And for that I'm appreciative. However, this dress was not what I had in mind for my baby to be dressed in. I felt so bad that it was the only outfit she would ever wear. I wished that I had something else to put her in at that moment, but she was so tiny I didn't have a choice. I will admit that this dress was the single source of laughter shared between Matt and I that day. It was so ridiculous that we could not stop laughing and telling Braelyn how sorry we were to dress her in this frilly dress through all of our tears. So even though we did not like the dress, I'm thankful for the moment of laughter that day.
That story is the reason that I am so passionate this year about making the teeny diapers. I want parents to be able to choose something that fits their style to dress their child in. When I saw these tiny diapers I so wished I would have been given one to put on Braelyn. They are simple, yet the patterns on the fabric is what makes each diaper unique.
Ok, enough rambling tonight. I am very excited about all of these diapers! Thank you all for the fabric, money, finished diapers, cutting time, and all the support to make this happen. You should all be so proud of yourselves!
One last tip...if you are making diapers to give to me please make two diapers out of the same fabric to package together. Each family will receive 2 diapers-- one for the baby to wear and one for the parents to keep. Also, I will do all of the packaging before I deliver them. If you have any other questions please let me know!
Ok, enough rambling tonight. I am very excited about all of these diapers! Thank you all for the fabric, money, finished diapers, cutting time, and all the support to make this happen. You should all be so proud of yourselves!
One last tip...if you are making diapers to give to me please make two diapers out of the same fabric to package together. Each family will receive 2 diapers-- one for the baby to wear and one for the parents to keep. Also, I will do all of the packaging before I deliver them. If you have any other questions please let me know!
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