Family and friends!

Catch-up post #2:

We love having visitors!!!

And were so blessed to receive two doses of company this past month!!!

Our first visitors were our beloved GJ and GUS and GAN!!! They traveled from Kansas' sunny skies to our rather gloomy ones, but we had a few little breaks of rain and even a little sun and had a WONDERFUL time together!!

We started at our favorite lunch restaurant

then headed to IKEA for a little shopping excursion. The cousins tested out a couple of beds for us. This one was a winner!

Next we took them to our favorite local park,

and our favorite local beach.

On Sunday, Mama Bear and Daddy Bear had a murder mystery party to attend up the street so GAN helped prepare the "trashy" food we were to bring.

Bologna Pie? Yum?

And then everyone oohed and aahed (or should I say EWED and awed) at our "trashy" costumes before we headed over to our neighbors'.

GAN came over to take a picture of us with all of our "trashy" neighbors.

We weren't gone long and were back for dinner and then had to say our sad goodbyes. LB hated to see them go, poor little guy!

And BS was sad that there weren't going to be as many arms to hold her! She loved her GAN (and GUS and GJ)!

The next day one of Daddy Bear's friends from college was driving through and stayed a night and a day with us. We had a great time! He was LB's instant friend when he pulled out his iP*d and let him play games on it. We had nice weather, so took him to a nearby park, "Priest Point." It was beautiful and appropriate (considering he is a Roman Catholic Priest). We hiked through the forests and came to the "mud flats. " Apparently the tides roll in and cover the flats in the evenings. Glad we wore our old shoes. ;)

Pumpkin Patch

Whew! October has been a busy month! Today I'm trying to play catch-up in blog world so here is post #1, much too late!

PUMPKIN PATCH:

We had a fun time at the pumpkin patch with our wonderful neighborhood-family. You know the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child"? Well in this neighborhood's case, filled with air force pilots' wives who find themselves alone every other week, not to mention the frequent 2-month deployments, and army spouses who are left alone for a year at a time, it seems to be true. There are several groups of us on our street that enjoy spending time together and we made plans to head to the patch one rarely beautiful Saturday morning. Daddy Bear was out of town for work so I, Mama Bear, braved it alone with the kids.

This was fine because our "village" was there to help with LB so that I could make sure BS was fed and taken care of. I managed to get a few pictures of LB having fun in the pumpkins,

riding tractors,

and riding the "cow train."

I had to stay behind to feed Mili girl when it was time for a hayride but our sweet neighbors took LB with them and made sure to take a couple of pictures. Here is our dear friend, "Mr. Bill," a personal favorite of LB's.

The hayride dropped them off in the field of pumpkins so the "villagers" took pictures of the kids for me. This is LB with his two best girls on our street!

I even managed to rest my feet (and back) and chat with good friends while LB played on the playground.

We had such a great time but I was reminded of how thankful I am to not be a single parent. My crazy Braun family (minus one) was quite a sight as we were leaving the patch before our friends. Naptime was way overdue and LB had lost all but an ounce of his energy so I was left carrying both of our pumpkins (fairly small since I also had a baby on my front) and trying to corral a very tired LB on the long walk back to the front, through the checkout line, and to the car. I even managed to find BS's vest that I dropped somewhere between the hay maze and the petting zoo. UGH! It was not my idea of fun! I watched enviously as dads piled HUGE pumpkins into wheel barrows to buy for their families while their wives let the children play in the fields so that the kids weren't picking up every toy and piece of candy in the place like my PRECIOUS little 3-yr-old was doing. But I quickly brushed away my jealousy, thanked the Lord that I was not permanently single (just for a couple of weeks), managed to get LB to the car (with a few bribes and threats), and drove quietly home as my tired ones slept. Was it worth it? YES! Would I do it again? Ask me in a year! :)

Stay tuned for more October catch-up posts coming soon!!

5 months!

Can you believe it? We sure can't! Baby Sister is 5 months old! Since last month she has blossomed even more into a full-fledged baby (as opposed to a newborn)! She has taken many steps forward and only a few back (figuratively speaking of course).

Let's start with her steps forward:

-She is grabbing her feet and once has managed to get a few toes in her mouth.

-She is much steadier sitting up in your lap and her abs are getting much stronger. She can almost sit up straight from a reclined position on her own. She is still a few muscles away from being able to sit on her own though.

-She is a PRO at rolling from front to back. So much so that Mama Bear has to put a pillow under her to keep her propped on her tummy during "tummy time" or there is NO "tummy time." Because of this she may be behind her tummy-loving peers when it comes to crawling. But maybe that isn't such a bad thing. ;)

-She is squealing and screaming quite loudly, often to try to over-power Little Bear's loud voice. This is not to be confused with her loud and demanding cry when she is unhappy with something, but this squealing is for communicative (or entertainment) purposes. Cute...but LOUD.

-She is more and more interested in our food and will most certainly be ready to try some yummy table foods next month. She's even convinced us to allow her to taste a bit of bread and a grape tomato (yes, choking hazard--bad idea Daddy Bear). And would love to pull your entire plate or bowl into your lap if you are holding her while eating (which is her favorite spot to be during mealtimes).

-She is loving her big brother more everyday and laughing out loud at him often. Usually all he has to do is look at her and say, "Boo," and the giggles start rolling. just look at that sweet little smile.

-Her nap schedule is a little bit more regular and slightly predictable. She will almost always take a morning nap of sorts and a little longer afternoon nap...of sorts. This is very tentative and subject to change at a moment's notice, but there is a slight pattern. This is nice.

Now let's look at the steps backward:

-The last two or three months our little princess was sleeping from around 9 or 10 at night until anywhere from 4 to 6 in the morning and then would go back to sleep until 7 or 8, sometimes 9. This was so wonderful! We loved the sleep she was letting us get and were really delighted at our good sleeper. Funny how things change. :) Now she is sleeping from around 8:30 or 9 at night until 1 or 2 in the morning when she wants to eat, then back to sleep until 5 or 6, up for another feeding, usually going back to sleep for another couple of hours. Though we still can't complain that we aren't getting enough hours at night, we wish they were a little more consecutive. We just remind ourselves that everything is a stage and this too shall pass. The next stage may be more or less pleasant than the current one, but EVERYTHING is a stage with these little ones.

Oh, our little Mili is such a delight! She is a lovable, huggable, roly-poly little bundle of 5-month-old joy! Her smiles continue to melt our hearts and we can't wait to see what this next month will bring! Thank you Lord, for our sweet baby girl!!!

Base Life

It's been nearly 6 months since our big move and we are feeling pretty settled. However we thought it would be easier to find a Church community once we moved out here. We have found it to be a bit of a task. We are still searching and feel like we're getting closer.

What we have stumbled upon in the meantime is something we did NOT expect-- a WONDERFULLY loving, vibrant neighborhood community. We could never have dreamt of having such caring, giving people all around us. While we were in California we had NO worries about Shaddie Bear or our house, garden, etc. because it was all in such great hands! What a blessing!!

Little Bear has made some great friends already and so have we. And Baby Sister has 3 new baby girl friends on the street--one is about a month old and the other two are expected to arrive in the next couple of months.

Daddy Bear has to work the occasional night shift so the kids and I try to do something fun to keep our minds off of his evening absences. At just about any point in the day we can walk outside and find friends to talk to, but there is a group of us who gather quite frequently (5 houses in a row) and we really enjoy spending time with each other. Last night we had a Brisket BBQ and a cookout with some of these awesome neighbors.

Our fire-pittin' dry nights are almost over here as autumn is arriving. :(

S'more please!!

Missing Daddy Bear!

Thank you Lord for unexpected blessings!

4 Months!!

Precious Baby Sister is 4 months old! My how time flies when you're having fun!

Mili girl has quite the personality. We continue to enjoy her adorable smile and get to hear her sweet giggles more and more everyday.

She is still waking Mama Bear up once a night and eating several meals a day. She naps in between every feeding during the day but sometimes just for a brief 10-15 minutes before she's up and ready to play (or eat) again. She loves her swing, bouncy, floor activity mat, and activity jumper. Anything that keeps life exciting. She's a little small for the jumper but we stuff a couple of blankets around her and she's ready to stand and enjoys the toys.

Mostly she loves to be held and she loves talking to and smiling at her family. She even started holding toys and bringing them to her mouth this month. Look at that concentration!

Oh, and she LOVES her hands. Every finger ends up in her mouth at some point throughout each day. She sometimes tries for the whole fist.

Little Bear loves her as much now as ever. He's sooooooo sweet with her and has fun making her smile and laugh. It is so much fun watching them interact with each other.

Little Bear is finally figuring out how to keep Baby Sister sitting up while he holds her.

Their new fall hats!!

Just can't get enough of our baby girl!

3 months!!!

Can you believe our little Mili girl is 3 months old (a little older than that even since I'm so late getting this post up)??? It seems like 3 days ago, and at the same time 3 years ago, that she joined the Braun family! Growing quickly, isn't she?

She is such a happy smiley baby these days. Except when she's crabby. You can't tell from these pictures but her hair is turning more auburn everyday and her personality matches it. She knows what she wants and how she wants it and when she wants it...and she'll let you know! Who DOES she get that from??

She gives us little laughs every once in awhile--both when Mama Bear tickles her tummy and sometimes during good games of peek-a-boo--and her smile still radiates the room! Her eating habits are much more relaxed, with 2-3 hours in between feedings. And she's sleeping mostly through the night, twice now making it for 8 hours straight!! Naps are few and short-lived but occasionally she'll sleep for an hour during the day which makes Mama Bear very happy because that means she can actually get a little something done around the house. It's getting her to sleep that's the real trick. No one knows how best to get her to Dreamland. Not even Baby Sister herself. Being held, swaddled and in the swing, swaddled and laying flat, reclining in the bouncy seat, being walked, being rocked. You name it, she has fallen asleep that way, but will it happen again? We never know which way will work the next time. Our little girl is a feather in the wind! And such a gift!!!!

Of course she still likes to stretch out her little limbs--her favorite pose.

And she's doing better with tummy time...

...but she's really figuring out that the rolling over technique gets her out of it. Her back is definitely her preferred position.

Who's that baby in the mirror?

(check out the bald spot she's starting to rub from her beloved time on her back)

Feeling soooooooo blessed!!!

Headed home!

Little Bear's last appointment in California was this morning. The cardiologist said everything looks good! The stitches from the drainage tubes are out! And we are headed home tonight!!
We are still cautioned to keep LB germ-free for 6 wks and to watch for signs of infection because we aren't out of the woods with possibilities of infection to the heart. We will probably continue to be a bit overprotective. I think he is destined to be a bit sheltered, maybe for the rest of his life. But he's alive, gaining strength by the day, and God does indeed have more and bigger plans for LB's precious life on earth!! We know there will be at least one more surgery but hopefully we won't be facing that for several more years.
We are all sooooo thankful for life, health, and plane tickets home!!!!!