One Month with Nathan!

Our sweet little Nathan turned 1 month old yesterday! I cannot believe a whole month has gone by, yet at the same time it seems like our littlest guy has always been a part of our family. Nathan is such a calm, happy and alert baby. He spends long periods of time every day wide awake observing his little world. I don't remember either of our other babies staying awake calm and happy so often at such a young age.
 

just hanging out watching the lights through the window

enjoying some bonding time with all the Boyer boys :)

He also continues to be a pretty good sleeper, giving me a least one stretch where I can get 3-4 hours of solid sleep! It's been really helpful since I have two other busy boys to keep up with during the day. His longest stretch of sleep usually starts at about 10 or 11, so my good sleep is in the middle of the night when you need and want it most; another blessing. He does have rough nights where he is up every 1-2 hours, but those are rarely consecutive. He can nap through almost anything, and I attribute that to his in womb conditioning of listening to his brothers act wild including jumping on my belly and probably knocking him around a bit. The noise level has only increased for him since his arrival, so he has had to adapt to a less than quiet sleeping environment. We don't have any type of sleep routine yet, but I think he will adjust beautifully when we do start having more of a schedule for naps and bedtime.

fell asleep while playing on his special "legacy quilters" blanket

he seems to love his bassinet

napping on momma's chest (wish I could do this every day!)

the bassinet my siblings and I used

Nathan is eating well and seems to be growing right on track too! During the day he likes to nurse every 2-3 hours (with less time between feeds towards the end of the day). His cheeks are filling out and his belly is getting nice and round. At his two week check up he weighed 8lb 4oz and was 22 inches, so he had grown 14oz and 1/4 inch since we left the hospital (5 oz more than his birth weight). Dr. D said that he was "very mature" because he was already starting to make some eye contact and was holding his head up well for his age. It always makes my heart feel so happy when we get a good report from the pediatrician; what a blessing to have healthy children! Due to his speedy arrival there were a few extra concerns, but God was with us and everything turned out great! Another issue with Nathan's accidental home-birth was that the hospital could not fill out the paper work for the birth certificate or his social security number. The government really makes you jump through hoops and grills you with questions to get them after a "non institutional birth." Just what you want to do when you are caring for a newborn.

 tummy time, "learning to crawl" according to his big brothers

I'm official...and loved the process.

Unfortunately he seems to have his first cold. He is a bit congested and has a gunky sounding cough (especially in the evenings) for the past 2 days. This breaks my heart, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much. I guess it's all part of having 2 older siblings who bring home germs from school and have a hard time keeping their hands and kisses to themselves. Although I am a bit worried, with the viruses that go around this time of year, so I may end up taking him to the doctor if it doesn't clear up soon (Prayers appreciated). I'm trying my hardest to savor every sweet moment with my Nate. I know how quickly he will grow and change; he has already changed so much! He is starting to smile, attempting to roll over, lifting his head off the ground during tummy time and finding his voice. Won't be long and he will be running around and wrestling with his big brothers! We are all so thankful for the smallest member of our family, and love him more than we could describe! Thank you God for Nathan!

 

Blessing Nathan

Yesterday I was blessed with a "sip and see" at our church with my good friend Celice who also had a baby boy recently. Our sweet boys, Nathan and Jack, were showered with lots of snuggles, love and gifts. They had a "diaper fund" jar for each of us as well, and everyone was so generous! I'm feeling very thankful for all the wonderful people in my church family.

Nathan and I with Celice and Jack

Lovely handmade decorations and yummy treats! 

We also participated in a very special baby blessing ceremony on November 9th. One of our elders prayed over Nathan and our family,  which was a very special moment during a wonderful morning celebrating all the new babies at our church. I wish I had pictures, but life with three is a bit more hectic, and we had to rush to Levi's soccer game (which was his last game, they won and he scored a goal, yay!). We didn't have time to get everyone together for a photo, but were blessed to have both sets of grandparents there for the blessing as well as Aunt Erika. 

God certainly had his hand in our decision to place membership at legacy over 7 years ago. Philip and I are so glad to have our church family's support as we try to raise or 3 busy boys to become men who love God!

Halloween with our Minions

We had a very nice, Halloween this year. Levi and Joel decided several months ago that they should all be minions and that their Dad should be Gru (from one of their favorite movies, Despicable Me). The costumes were pretty simple, but the boys loved them! They were so cute as Kevin and Stuart, and baby Nathan even wore a minion suit I found on etsy. Philip dressed up for the first time in years, and was the perfect Gru with his striped scarf.

We went to trunk or treat at church on the Sunday before Halloween, and the boys had a blast collecting candy from their friends at church. Their costumes were a hit, and Nathan's birth story was a big topic of conversation with the grown ups. Countless people came up to me (I stayed in a chair with Nathan practically the entire evening) to see Nathan and ask if he was really born in our bathtub. Ha!

I LOVE this picture :) all ready for trunk or treat :)

Joel is obsessed with this costume and wears it often (including all day and to Levi's school pick up on Halloween)

On the actual holiday we carved pumpkins, had pizza on minion plates and then trick or treated on our new street. Joel wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin guts and was so funny about getting his hands dirty. Philip finally convinced him to try touching the seeds and he ended up getting one small handful out of his pumpkin. Both boys were very specific about the faces on their jack-o-lanterns. Joel wanted Daddy to make his and for him to have square eyes, and circle nose and a diamond mouth with four teeth. Levi wanted to draw his own and insisted on him having two faces "one that was saying boo and one that was welcoming". Ha!

pumpkin carving pro :) drawing his own faces

 

 

thus is so yucky!!!

our sweet littlest pumpkin just soaking up all the carving fun!

our boys in their halloween finest and their finished pumpkins

 
We had a fun time trick or treating, and the boys were so cute humming the Despicable Me theme song while running up and down the street. It was nice to meet some of our neighbors while taking the boys house to house. We also decided to drive them over to our old street to see our old neighbors. Mr. Hans and Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Gloria were so excited to see the boys and meet Nathan, we really do miss having them as neighbors! It was great Halloween, but I think I might not ever loose the baby weight with all the candy in our house!

Gran

The day after Nathan's birth my maternal grandmother, Norma Jo Asher, or as she is known by most of our family, Gran, left this earthly life for her eternal home in heaven. Her funeral will be this evening, and just thinking of her life and what it meant to me brings tears to my eyes. Words cannot express how special this woman was, and how lucky I feel to have had her in my life all these years. Growing up with such a wonderful Grandmother was truly a blessing, and she made a huge impact on me and helped shape the person I am today. I think one of the greatest testaments to her character is seen in her four wonderful children. My Mom is such an amazing person in large part due to her raising, and my Aunts and Uncle are also such admirable people, a true testament to the remarkable woman Gran was. The love and respect that her children have for her is also a sign of how special she was.

I also want to say how proud I am of my mom for taking both of her parents into her home. She sacrificed so much time and gave so much emotionally and physically so they could each have a respectful and love filled end to their lives. What a blessing Gran was to all of us and what a blessing my Mom and Dad were to her. Having her there in my parents home was priceless and created an environment where strong relationships could be built and maintained between her and her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren right to the end.

Gran with some of her family on her 90th birthday - family was her greatest love & where she most invested herself

one of my favorite pictures - Mother's Day 2014, these women make me who I am (I can only hope to be like them!)

Gran took extra time, and effort to be very involved in my life as well as that of my siblings. From my earliest memories, Gran was ever present at my sporting and school events, birthday celebrations and more. She and Grandad rarely missed an special occasion no matter how small, and I never doubted the love they had for me! I shared many a special meal with Gran during my school years, and as a testament to how much I valued and looked up to her, I even took my friends to her house once a week throughout those awkward high-school years to have a special home cooked meal with my grandparents. I will never forget those delicious meals and how special they made me feel! Philip even joined me twice and Gran sure did love watching him chow down on her home cooking!
 

from my wedding rehearsal, August 2005

You can see her pride! (8-20-05)

Some of the traits I now have as a woman and mother I attribute to Gran's influence (as well as my Mom who helped pass along some of Gran's life lessons and traits). My love of cooking and baking, gardening, sewing and spending time outdoors are all partially a result of my many hours spent in Gran's kitchen, at her sewing table and in her backyard and garden.  When I think of Gran, one of the things that first comes to mind is her sweet singing and humming. She made up songs for everything! My Dad and Mom both also have this fun habit, and with all of their influence, I find myself singing often during the day and making up silly songs for my boys. Several of the songs that I sing to the boys at nap and bedtime are songs that I learned from Gran (or that my Mom sang to me that were from her childhood). I could go on and on listing things that Gran valued and taught me to value (such as reading and education), but I would never be able to make a complete list.

The most important thing she passed along to me and our family was a love for God and an ability to see his love and blessings in everything from the smallest flower to the miracle of childbirth. There was never a doubt in my mind that Gran knew God and loved him! She sang to Him, prayed to Him and spoke of Him on a daily basis. Her legacy of faith will go on and on in her over 50 descendants! 

The time she invested into her relationship with my boys will always be one of my most treasured memories, and I know she had a positive impact on their lives even if their memories of her are few as they grow up. Levi and Joel were her "little pumpkins" and they both loved spending time just sitting and talking with her, cooking and baking in her kitchen or swinging and singing with her on the porch.

swinging and singing with Great Gran summer 2014

Gran has had failing health for the past 12 plus years, and has experienced a lot of pain and discomfort. Her positive attitude throughout her battles with lung cancer, degenerative shoulders, angina due to congestive heart failure (and a quadruple bypass), arthritis, a torn achilles tendon, and the list goes on have been inspiring. I hope that as I age and have the aches and pains that go with that process I can keep my head up and see the beauty in my life as well as she did. About a week before Gran died I was able to spend some one on one time with her in her bedroom. She was no longer able to get out of bed on her own, and her breathing was very labored, but she still rallied and brightened the room with her smile. Making me feel loved and special was one of her gifts, and that day, despite all her pain and troubles, she succeeded at doing just that one final time. We talked about how much we loved and valued each other and about my growing belly, we talked about our wonderful family and how blessed we are, we talked about the gift of faith and knowing that we would be together again in heaven. It was a truly special time I will never forget. She said something to me towards the end of that time and I'm going to end with her quote. It is something I will hold in my heart and remember forever.

Gran's first time to hold Levi, I love her sweet expression

Gran's first time meeting Joel, you can see how much she loved him!

"Try to think of all the blessings you have in your life. Try to list and count them all. You can't do it! I was trying to measure all my blessings and I couldn't even keep track there were so many. Isn't that amazing! God can bless one simple woman so many times she can't even keep up. And He does that for everyone! He even knows what each blessing is! What an amazing, wonderful God we have!" ~Gran, October, 2014

Norma Jo Greene Asher

November 2, 1919 - October 20, 2014