You are truly your father's son.

Just so my bloggy friends can see the resemblance between Bret and the clone that grew in his wife's belly for nine months:

Bret with big sister Adele. Nice face.

The Little Bub*, getting ready to go home from the hospital. Again, nice face.

You can tell he loves getting dressed.

Bret again, with another crazy face.

Little Bub on his birthday. Happy to be in this world. :)

Now for some happy ones:

Bret at probably 3 months old.

Little Bub. Much younger and not smiling, but you can see it.

Okay, maybe only I can see it, but seriously, these boys are twins. I absolutely love it!

It's amazing to see bits of Little Bub in Bret's face and vice versa. 

Especially because they're both so freaking cute.

Traditional sleeping daddy/baby picture.

And just for fun: this is a little of what I get to look forward to:

Bret at 1 year old.

Bret at 3 years old. He turned blonde at two, then went dark again around his teenage years.

I love that face!!!! This seriously looks like Little Bub too.

*I've decided to do away with the nickname Abraxas-Fitzwilliam. It just didn't fit at all. Plus it was a huge mouthful. I like Little Bub way better and it sorta goes with Ladybug too.

Let me introduce you to someone

Last Thursday, July 19th, 2012, we went to the hospital.
Arrived at 9:40 am.
Received a blessing from Bret and my dad.
And lots of love and support from my mom.

Prepped for surgery.
With a platelet count at 81, I was able to get the spinal block and stay awake for the c-section
Tender Mercy #1

Bret sat right beside me until at 12:05 pm, I heard the most precious, anticipataed sound in the world:
The cry of my newborn son.
I won't call that a tender mercy. I'll call that the best, most incredible miracle ever ever ever #1.

Daddy went to be with the baby while they cleaned, measured, weighed, and wrapped him. The baby, not the daddy.
The final weigh-in: 9 lbs, 15 oz, 22 inches long.
BIG boy!
I prayed he'd at least be under ten pounds. We were one ounce shy.
Tender Mercy #2, with a little bit of heavenly sense of humor.

Then, with Mommy very hopped up on demerol, they brought him over.
I couldn't keep the tears from flowing.
He is beautiful.
And, just as I hoped, looks exactly like his Daddy.
Tender Mercy #3

I think he looks like Ella in this picture.

And he's perfectly healthy
Best, most incredible miracle ever ever ever #2.

They took him away while the doctors finished me up.
Getting my insides shoved back inside me didn't feel good, since I was only numb from the waist down.
And I remember hearing the casual conversation while these people were finishing major abdominal surgery on my body. I had a mental image of myself snapping my fingers above the drape and saying "Um, hello, focus, here, people!"
But they know what they're doing. And they did a fantastic job.
Incision healing well. Pain is manageable.
Tender Mercy #4

Then we go to recovery, where Dad is bonding with baby.
I give nursing a try.
We decide on his name. (Sorry, won't be posting it on the blog).
And just stare at this little one.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur.
Nurses, meds, adorable baby. Bret, family visits, baby. Kisses, loves, more staring at baby.
"I can't believe this is my baby!"

This is actually day 2. Pay no attention to the sleep-deprived, shell-shocked, unshowered mother in the background. The baby is way better looking.

 Proud Daddy.

Doting Grandma.

Next few days were not as enchanting.
Baby continues to do well, while Mommy battles post-partum hypertension and pre-ecclampsia.
Icky medications that made me feel like crap.
Frustration.
Tears.
NO sleep.
Five days of half heaven, half torture.
Cluster feeding.
Growing to HATE that STUPID blood pressure machine that keeps rolling in every few hours spouting stupid numbers that are way too high!!!

All the while, this sweet baby snuggles, sleeps, smiles, cries, wants his mommy, loves his daddy, meets extended family, and tries (along with mommy) to learn to nurse.
We get the hang of it. Not a total breeze, but not a terrible struggle.
Tender Mercy #5

Then, at LONG LAST, the doctor came to tell me I could go home. I wanted to throw my arms around the guy. But I didn't.
That would be weird.

I'm still on high blood pressure meds. And it's still a struggle. Will these cankles ever go away and stay away?
But I've got LOTS of support from my incredible husband and wonderful angel of a mother who has come to be with me while Bret is gone at school. She brings me cookies and makes me dinner.
The woman deserves a medal of honor.
Tender Mercy #6

So here we are.
Almost a week after this precious, handsome boy came into our family.

Welcome to the world, little bub.

Tomorrow

We'll be having our baby by c-section at 11:30 tomorrow.

I'm terrified.

And excited.

Ready to not be pregnant anymore.

And eager to finally hold my baby.

Worried something will go wrong.

Hoping and trusting that everything will go right.

Freaking out.

At peace.

Wondering.

Worrying some more.

As soon as I can, I'll give updates.

Until then, here's to praying that everything comes out perfectly.

Pun intended.

It worked, but it didn't

I bet you thought I had a baby and that's why I haven't been updating.
Nope.

38.4-ish weeks.
Still very much pregnant.
Contractions on and off.

So my friend suggested I start a sewing project. Doing so made her go into labor with her last 3 babies.
It didn't work.
Started project. Finished project. Still no labor.
Sigh.

Anyway, here's my project, which actually DID work out:
I wanted to make something out of the fabric of a home-made maxi-skirt that got ruined, so I decided to make a cardigan using this tutorial. (Thanks, Pinterest.)

Here's the skirt. Somehow my sweat reacted with my SIL's salon chair while I was getting the most HEAVENLY scalp treatment ever.
Eh, it was worth it.

Luckily, the stain doesn't go all the way through and the fabric is the same on both sides. I had enough fabric to make my cardi!

First, I got one of my other cardigans that I wanted to copy and traced the front side and back sides of it, like instructed in the tutorial

I used tissue paper taped together to make it big enough.

The angles make it look weird. It's actually quite long.

Then I got a pattern for the sleeves from my pattern arsenal. I knew I wanted 3/4 length sleeves on this cardi, so I simply cut the sleeves 7 or 8 inches longer.

You can see the pin at the bottom of where I cut the sleeves. I also wanted there to be a seam running from my shoulder down the length of the sleeve to add some interest.

With this knit fabric, you don't have to hem. Hooray!
Pieced it all together, and this is what I got:

READY TO "POP!"

Cardi went on before the picture, and went off after. It's just too dad-gum hot to wear right now, even though it's super light fabric. 

Side Story: I HAD to go to Wal-mart to get some bubble gum so I could do a "ready to pop" picture. In the time it took to leave Wal-Mart, drive home, and take this picture, all the flavor had run out and the gum was stiff and nasty. Wal-Mart is like a mile away.

Bubble gum is so gross.
My belly is enormous.
My face looks totally fat in this picture.
Come on, kid. Time's up. Let's get out of here.

DAHHH!! In a good way.

So funny...
after celebrating the birth of our noble country last night, today I am having some major anglophile frenzies of delight.
(In case you don't know, anglophile means someone who has a rapturous love for England.)



The Williams are a lovely family from Wales who became close friends with my dear aunt and uncle while they were serving a mission for our church over there. As they served in the church alongside my relatives, they followed our story and struggles as we lost our Ella and were among the many who were praying for us during that difficult time. For that, I am so grateful to them.

A few months ago, the Williams came to the States and I got to meet them while they were visiting my aunt and uncle. It was such a joy to meet a faithful family who are so well beloved by my aunt and uncle. Just being able to meet them in person was truly a wonderful gift. Thanks for making friends with awesome Brits, Aunt Linda and Uncle Rex!!

And now, today, these sweet people send me even more love!
They know of my, shall we say, obsession about Britain.
I got a package in the mail today from the Williams family.

And I can barely contain my excitement.
Check this out!

A Tin commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (only one more year and the incredible Elizabeth II will have reigned as long as her great-grandmother, the amazing Queen Victoria.), even a small Bible also commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, picnic items featuring the Union Jack, pencils, candy, a SUPER cute onesie and bib for little Ab-Fitz, and even a little electrical plug adapter!

The adapter is so we can plug our American stuff into their British electrical sockets. It's even labeled "For your next trip!" How thoughtful is that?? I didn't have one and now I do.
No excuses now.

And I already ate one of these:

Brit-Kats!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!

I couldn't believe it. I'm all of a flutter. And so grateful for such thoughtfulness!

Cheers, Williams Family! Cheers.

Happy Birthday, USA

Go celebrate today.