Cuddling

Andrew wanted to lay down with Riley while he was watching Thomas; don't they look adorable together??

Hiccups

Riley had the hiccups tonight while Andrew was holding him and everytime he would hiccup Andrew would laugh hysterically!!














I also pumped some tonight so Andrew could have a part and feed him and he did a great job holding the bottle and making sure Riley was eating good!!

House Showing

Laurie called me tonight to let me know that the first person called wanting to look at the house!! There has been over 250 views on Realtor.com, so hopefully there will be more in the future. It probably would be rare for someone to fall in love this early but it would be pure luck on my part and would fall into place quite nicely!! They are coming by on Saturday so wish us luck!!

Brothers

Andrew is doing such a great job as big brother!! He likes to hold and kiss Riley constantly and tells me he loves him!! Riley is always trying to move his head around when you put him over your shoulder so Grammy put him on his stomach to see what he would do, he tried lifting himself right up...STRONG BOY!!

Homecoming

We were discharged Wednesday evening at 5pm. Here is Riley in his new little oufit and Andrew getting ready to take his baby brother home for the first time!!

Celebrating Riley

Here are some of the snapshots captured from Riley's first few days!! We had our family close during this special time and got some really good pictures!! Andrew loves Riley so much and enjoys kissing him all the time!!

Riley Alexander Brockman

Riley was born Monday, May 18, 2009 at 6:39 pm at MidCoast Hospital. He weighed 6 lbs 7.9 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

FOR SALE!!

Our house is OFFICIALLY up FOR SALE!! I noticed the signs when I drove in this evening and they look very professional!! Now we just hope to get some nibbles, haha!!

39 Week Check Up

I am still 2-3 cm dilated and 70% effaced, so he hasn't made any progress in the past week or so. But, because we are getting so close to the deadline for when we need to fly out, she is going to do an evaluation each day and try stripping my membranes and see if that urges things along. If he hasn't done his own thing by Monday then they will induce at that time! So, I will keep everyone posted when the little guy arrives, which hopefully will be soon!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Andrew bought me some gorgeous flowers for my little garden out front for Mother's Day (of course he had some help from Grammy & Grampy on the financial part!) It looks awesome, I am very lucky to have such a special son!! He also got me a bouquet for the patio table to liven it up when the real estate agent comes to take her pictures on Tuesday during the listing tour!!

Adam

Adam was able to call tonight for about 6 minutes. He was very discouraged because he didn't pass his sit-up test, but the good news is that he isn't being recycled. He is able to re-do the test during week 7 and hopefully he will pass during that week, but if for some reason he does not, he will be sent to a seperate unit and have to re-do the test everyday until he passes, and that would put him behind to graduate. But, we are going to be positive and say he is going to pass with flying colors the next time. He said this was a really hard week because they had the obstacle course Wednesday (this was the only fun thing, but still a challenge, but he passed!), the gas chamber Thursday (He said they are in the regular uniforms and then they have to put a padded suit over that with a mask, go in the gas chamber, remove the mask, take a deep breath while reciting their oath, and then run outside, run a mile lap without being able to see anthing and coughing constantly, NOT EASY he said) and the Friday was the sit-up test. Apparently he was able to do 82, but 12 didn't count because he didn't go far enough down on them, so he failed that. I could tell as soon as I picked up the phone that he was sad and he got a little choked up at the end of the call, said his time was up and hung up. I tried to stay positive, but I want to reach through the phone and bring him home. But, I know he has to make it through this, and he will do great! He is a little nervous about BEAST week, but I am thinking he is just a little overwhelmed because originally he was excited, but I guess they learned some new guidelines they have to pass during that as well and he is getting nervous with all the pressure. So, not a good week, but hopefully the next time we hear from him he will be in better spirits. Just keep him in your thoughts, he needs all the good vibes going his way he can get!!

Nature Walk

This afternoon we went for a nice long walk on the bike trail with Grammy and we collected some nature artifacts to keep as a memento. We then glued them onto this paper and Andrew did some artwork to make a "Nature Collage".

Piano

Last night Andrew was sitting at the table playing his piano while I cooked supper; he was getting right into it and doing a great job!! We took a picture to send to Daddy, but thought you guys might like to see a video of the real thing!!

From Andrew

Apparently Andrew has been working on a little project for Mother's Day at Lindi's house the past few weeks!! He gave me this cute little plant along with a wonderful hand-colored card today when I picked him up!! Lindi said she bought assorted bulbs, so it will be a nice surprise when it starts to bud!!

38 Week Check Up

At this week's appointment, I measure 2-3 cm dilated and still 70% effaced, so he has only made small progress, not enough so that I wanted to induce. However, he is at 0-station which means that his head is right at my pelvic bone, so labor could happen anyday on it's own!! I am hoping he will decide to make his appearance on his own, but if he hasn't done so by next week's appointment, then she will induce at that point. I will keep everyone posted and hopefully he will come SOON!! She also said it is very common for babies to be born on storm days (not sure why) but we are supposed to have rain for the rest of the week, so maybe that is a good sign!!

Crib

Andrew and I made Riley's crib tonight and put a nice assortment of stuffed animals at the foot of the bed!! We are very excited to see him in it!! We also finally finished putting away EVERYTHING in preparation for the real estate agent to come tomorrow; it took us all night, but at least we got it done!! We got all the bottles washed, sanitized and put away, all the clothes are washed and put away, everything is organized, and OF course the handsome bed!!!

Adam

Yesterday we got a letter in the mail from Adam that was dated from last Saturday, he said that his detail (the job each individual has to keep up with each day) is "Bed Alligner" which just means each morning and night he has to make sure all of the beds are lined up and the same distance apart. He said it was really easy!! He mentioned that they gave him the nickname of "Hunchy" because of his back, but said he didn't mind because it seemed harmless when they said that. But, he is definitely sounding more upbeat during his letters!!

Then, today he was able to call and talk for 30 minutes; their unit did their details without any direction and that is how they earned the long call; he said it has been a really tough week and 2 of the guys were recycled. Apparently their TI flipped out at them earlier in the week because she had found a gum wrapper (they are NOT allowed to chew gum) and made them stand up against the wall, flipped all of their beds over, yelled in their faces, threw their stuff from their lockers at them, and after making them pick up all their stuff and neatly re-fold it all while shouting at them, made them do push ups for 2 HOURS! It sounds like a nightmare to me, but he said he stayed calm and just did what he was told and got through it. AAHHH!! He also said that one of the guys slapped another guy's butt in the shower and got sent back to Week 0. He has his official "Sit Up PT Test" on Wednesday, but has been practicing a lot and is only 6 off from what he needs to be, so he is not nervous about that any longer. He likes most of the guys in his unit and even said he has made a lot of friends, but there are still a few guys that seem to clash with everyone else and cause problems out of the 54 of them!! He gets his official blue uniform tomorrow and gets his name stitched into the uniforms he already has as well!! He said that most of the tough stuff should be over except for BEAST week (out in the wilderness) which is week 6. I reminded him that we are almost half way and he sounded very excited about that and we talked about the plans for the weekend we come down!! This week should be a good week and hopefully he will be able to call again next weekend as well!!

My Ultimate Baby Shower

Yesterday was my baby shower that Mom and Pa threw for me; we had a really good turnout, about 30 people; the decorations were wonderful, the food was scrumptious and we all had tons of fun!! I got lots of nice stuff and people seemed to enjoy themselves as well. Everyone there said it was one of the best baby showers they had been to, we had an opportunity to play a lot of games and just spend time with everyone!! Now Riley has the go-ahead to come ANY day!!!