Dressin' herself

Brown sweater, coral sundress, pink pajama pants, yellow socks and sparkle shoes =


Apparently she was inspired by the packet of Skittles she ate that day ;)

Sole Survivor

That's Justin's name for Tessa; the Sole Survivor.

Because she's the only animal we've ever had that can put up with the constant abuse cuddling.

Awww :)

And then shortly after this picture was taken, Wrestle Mania began... because you know, don't want to make it too peaceful for mama ;)

Megan's new nursery

I know, I know... you're probably thinking, 'wasn't her room already done?' And yes, it was. But everytime I went into that room, I couldn't help but think that it was too boyish.

But because I'm pretty frugal these days, I decided to change it up just a little bit by adding some new things and tweaking some existing things. So this was the room before and this is after:


I bought the wall decal and the pink bedding for super cheap and then changed out the orange paper lantern for a pink one. But other than that, I kept everything else the same including the paint colors, furniture, curtains and lamp. And just with these few changes, the room has been completely transformed :)

Dance party USA!

Tonight we danced. And danced. And then danced some more. I wish we could say that we rocked out to some pretty sweet music but I can't. Because the only song the short people wanted to listen to was "Jesus Loves Me"... over and over and over again.

So that's what we did for a good 30 minutes. And while most of the pictures came out like this,


I did manage to capture a couple good ones:


Don't be jealous of their moves. Clearly there's a lot of talent in this house ;)

Miss Megan's first bath

Well, it wasn't as relaxing for her as I had hoped, but she did eventually warm up to the idea...


And although the bath wasn't a hit, she was a big fan of the cuddling and lotion massage I gave her afterwards:


Who can blame her?

Twins

Hmmm.... you think Lauren and Megan just might be sisters?!?

Girls

I can't believe I have TWO daughters. Two little girls to snuggle and cuddle and love on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with my son. But a mama can only pretend to be interested in trucks and insects and action figures for so long :)


I can't wait for the tea parties, sleepovers and mani/pedis with my girls!

Daddy's little girl

Already wrapped around another little girls finger :)

Jake's first smiley face

Pretty good if I do say so myself ;)

Megan cuteness overload :)

Megan's birth story

On February 9th, I went in for my 38 week appt. and found out I was 4 cm's and 75% effaced. And because Jacob had low fluid levels when I was pregnant with him, the midwife sent me over to Labor and Delivery to have the fluid levels checked. Turns out, baby's fluid was perfect (as were the heartbeat and movement) but they weren't seeing enough "fetal breathing" so they asked us to come back the following day to be rechecked.

So the next day, Justin and I went out to dinner at his favorite place (iHop) and then headed over to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors and I was having zero contractions, which was a bummer because I was SO ready for the baby to be born. I even remember turning to Justin and telling him, "this is pointless because I'm not in labor. I wish they'd just send us home already". Ahh, things would change verrry quickly :)

A few minutes later, my midwife Tamsin came in and checked me before I was to have my fluid levels checked. As she was checking me, she says, "Um, your water just broke". Justin and I were shocked because my water never broke with the other two pregnancies. We were SO excited; our baby would be born very soon!

Within the next 30 minutes, I was taken to the labor room and preparations were made. Everyone was called and Judith showed up about 20 minutes later to help coach me. At 10pm, the anesthesiologist came in and gave me an epidural. There were some serious issues with my blood pressure dropping, but once I was stabilized, they started the Pitocin (because my water broke but I had no contractions). I was at 5 cm's at that point.

The contractions were consistent and strong but I fortunately felt no pain. At this point, I decided to take a little nap. I slept for like an hour and then woke to extreme pressure. I breathed through 3 contractions before announcing that I felt the urge to push. So the nurse quickly summoned the midwife to check me and she said, "you're 10 cm's and ready but do NOT push yet!"

The next three minutes were a blur because the nurses were frantically getting everything prepared. And when they were ready for me, I began pushing. It took 4 pushes, and suddenly my midwife announced, "It's a GIRL!". At 3:03 am on February 11, 2011, Megan Leah Brown was born! They laid her on my chest and she was gorgeous with a head full of dark hair, much like her sister Lauren had.


It was a perfect labor and could not have gone any better. And when Megan was laid on my chest, I felt complete :)

Megan Leah Brown

February 11, 2011 3:03 am

7 lbs, 11 oz.

19 inches

Out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
John 1:16

Long awaited...

This is Sarah, Shelly's girlfriend. I have the joy to announce that Megan Leah Brown has arrived! She was born at 3:03 a.m. weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. Happy, healthy and both of the beautiful women are doing well.

When I spoke to Shell this morning she sounded great and said that the kids were there to meet the new baby girl. I'm sure she's going to love her big brother and sister!

Can't wait to meet you Megan Leah!

Congratulations Beautiful Brown Family of FIVE!

My two... girls?!?!?

Appearance is something that just isn't a big deal to me when it comes to my kids. It used to be, very much so, until I realized that it's honestly not what's outside that counts, but what's inside (cliche I know but it did really hit me). And I'd like to think I have well adjusted, God-loving children and really, that's all that matters. Not the interesting clothing combo's or the 15 mismatched hair barrettes or the pink gawdy princess jewelry that someone insists on wearing ;)

And appearance is especially unimportant when it comes to jammies because really, who cares what they wear to bed? And that is why our son went to bed like this tonight:


Totally his choice. He wanted to wear "princesses like sissy" and of course, Lauren was happy to assist him :)


Clearly there will be some therapy needed for him when he's old enough to see pictures of himself in Little Mermaid attire, but for now, I think he's pretty... err, handsome :)

38 weeks!

I can't believe I have less than 14 days before I meet this little one (actually if I want, they'll induce me next Sunday if I'm not in labor by then so really it'll be less than a week!). Based on the amount of contractions and preterm labor symptoms I've had thus far, I was POSITIVE this was going to be a January baby. But clearly this baby takes after Jake and I.... stubborn ;)

Anyway, for comparison sake, here's the belly a month ago and today:


Um yeah, I feel as huge as I look.

How far along: 38 weeks

Sleeping: It's difficult to sleep anymore, but I'm trying to enjoy as much sleep as I can get because I know it's short lived ;)

Total weight gain: 30ish lbs (I have lost 2 lbs in the past 2 week though!)

Movement: This is the movin-est, active baby I've ever had. It's constant and now that there's so little room left, you can actually see limbs poking out. Crazy.

Food craving: Nothing really; nothing sounds good anymore.

What I miss: To be honest, I'm ready to have my body back. I'm done feeling exhausted and sore all the time.

What I look forward too: Cuddling with our new baby.

Milestones: At my last OB appointment on Wednesday, I was 4 cm's dilated, 70% effaced and baby was"engaged". I'm not quite sure what s/he is waiting for, but clearly labor's on the horizon!

How I'm feeling: As excited as I am to have baby here, I'm worried about labor. I know there's a window of opportunity for getting the epidural, and that ends at 7 cm's. Seeing as how I'm at 4 cm's already, I'm scared to death that I won't make it to the hospital in time to have the epidural before I reach 7 cm's. I distinctly remember the excruciating pain I felt while waiting for the epidural with Lauren and I never, ever want to experience that again. So, say a prayer for a healthy baby... and for an epidural, would ya? ;)

Special day at the Mills

With the clock ticking before baby Brownie enters the world, the Hubster and I treated the kids to a special day this past weekend. Luckily at 2 and 3 years of age, "special" can be as simple as a breath mint :) But we did a tad better than that and headed down to Ontario Mills.

First stop?

Build a Bear! We discussed ahead of time that we were going to pick out a special bear for the new baby since 'white b' and 'moosey' are so special to them. So Lauren and Jake both chose their animals and made 'em special for their new baby brother or sister :)


To be honest, Jake was excited to stuff the bear, but quickly lost interest and insisted we "put it back". Luckily the staff let us, so only Lauren took her bear home. And she was really proud that she made this stuffed animal for "her" new baby :)


The next stop was the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Both Justin and I aren't huge fans of the food (or the prices!) but it was all about the kids that day. And they love that place with all of the sights and sounds. Plus, there was a balloon artist there, so the kids were alllll excited!


(and yes, she insists on wearing a bazillion hair bows these days. It's a battle I'm not willing to fight. Besides, she's my fashionista).


After lunch, we walked around for a bit and then hit our last destination; the Hello Kitty store. I felt like I was spinning in a bottle of Pepto Bismol, but Lauren was enamoured with all the silly pink trinkets. We had prepared her that we were just going to look and not buy anything, and she was totally fine with that. Not once did she ask for anything. Whatta girl!


Anyway, we had a great day with our kiddos, spending time with them and planning for the final kiddo to arrive. We're all pretty excited to meet the newest member!