Merry Christmas!!!

I had an ideal plan to send out Christmas cards this year, but seeing as I am adjusting to becoming a mother of two... yeah that didn't happen!! So, I figure the next best thing is to post the pictures I would have used for the card, on here.  I like to think that the Wood family is going green this holiday season. 

 

We had an amazing Christmas!! I will post all about it one of these days. We just wanted to make sure that everyone knew we were thinking about them this holiday!! Love you all!!

First Bath

Maybe it's just me, but there is something exciting about giving your newborn a bath for the first time. I think it could be one of my favorite milestones that a baby hits. Not only do they look totally adorable soaking wet in the tub, but lets face it the true reason we all love the first bath is, that stinky belly button has fallen off and is completely healed!! I am always reminded of the Sex in the City episode when Miranda's son's (wow I think I just realized he has the same name as Brayden!) belly button falls off and the cat is playing with it. I can totally relate to that panicked, gross feeling.  Anyways these photos were just too cute not to share...

He is so tiny in this tub that we have to hold him the whole time! It's so funny to have a "normal" sized baby!! LOL He did great with the water. He really only cried when he got out...maybe we will have a true water baby on our hands!!

There were times that he was suspicious of our motives...but he quickly got over them.

Hands down my favorite bath photo!! I love how it looks like he is trying to be modest (must take after daddy because mommy is anything but modest).

Oh Christmas Tree...

Every year we have the tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. However, this year was a little different... we had a 1 week old, are living in a new area, and it has been down right freezing here!! We were lucky enough that Saturday that number one, it was above freezing temperatures, number two, I felt way good after having Brayden, and number three, that everyone was up here already!! We went to Apple Hill for our tree hunting. The weather was actually pretty warm (I was roasting under that sweater and baby!) Another bonus was that dogs were allowed, so Shaniko and Emerson got to come with us. This place was a little funny because when you find the tree you want, you yell "CUTTER!" Then a teenager brings us the saw to cut it down. Now, when we first arrived and heard all this yelling we thought a kid was missing...LOL.  So, it was nice to see that it was just teenagers running with saws rather than a child lost in the woods.

 Here we are as a family of four with our tree!

Jacob loved pulling the tree, he pulled it almost the whole way! He also has a new obsession with pockets. He loves any sweatshirt he can stick his hands in. The top left photo of Jacob just cracks me up because he is so proud of himself to have his hands in his pockets.

After we got our tree, we started a new tradition in our new house... decorating!! Jacob loved decorating and having the lights on the tree. He is especially fond of a Mickey Mouse ornament...whenever he sees the tree he goes up and gives him a kiss. He liked the ball ornaments because they were fun to throw into the tree, needless to say they are way up high now.

Jacob was the honorable member of the family that got to put "Stewie" on top of the tree. Stewie is a stuffed owl that Mike and I got a long time ago, from who knows where. It's one of those things that makes us chuckle every time we see it, and we have no clue why.

With our tree hung and our lights outside, we are officially ready for Christmas! I am so excited for Brayden's first Christmas and Jacob's first Christmas that he can really understand! It's gonna be so fun!!

Thankful...

Now that it is almost mid December, I figure it would be a great time to write about Thanksgiving!! Our week of Thanksgiving got a little busy, you know with the addition of our fourth family member and all. However, we did not let a life altering event to allow us to miss one of my favorite holidays. This past Thanksgiving will go down in history as the most casual Thanksgiving we have ever had. I think everyone was in sweats and I'm pretty sure none of us left the house (well maybe we went to the park). We had great food! As if with Debbi cooking that was in any doubt. I should mention that there were both a ham and a turkey for 10 people (in true Burkholder fashion!). I may say that this was my favorite Thanksgiving ever!!  There is so much to be thankful for this year. 2013 has been really nice to us. We are so thankful for our healthy children, family, friends, and being a family everyday.

As you can tell by my hair...Thanksgiving was a very casual affair. This is my first photo with just me and my boys! (I can't believe I can say that!! I love it!!) 

 

Jacob really enjoyed his dinner. I can't believe how big he looks now!! 

This is what Brayden did all through Thanksgiving dinner. It was actually his first time in the swing.

Big Brother

 

I think one of the greatest fears about becoming a mother of two is, "How will the first child react to the new baby?" Jacob being so young when Brayden made his arrival, it was a genuine fear of mine that they would not get along. Mike and I having kids so close together, has always been the plan because we wanted "built-in" best friends. So, as you can see if the kids don't get along from the beginning, then our best friend plan goes out the window!! I should have known that Jacob would make an excellent brother, but I'm sad to say I underestimated his sharing abilities as a 21 month old. However, Jacob is all about Brayden! The first person's name he says when he wakes up in the morning or from a nap is "Brayden." He constantly wants to "pet", kiss, and hold Brayden.  He somewhat views Brayden as his own personal fan...he is always saying "Brayden watch Jacob!" LOL it's pretty adorable. Our morning routine has turned into Jacob reading to Brayden...

I love this photo because Brayden looks so happy to be sitting next to Jacob (probably just gas, but hey I'll take it!)

This photo was the first time Jacob held Brayden. We have been trying not to push Jacob to do things with Brayden, so the jealousy factor wouldn't hit, so to my surprise when he asked to hold him!! This picture makes my heart melt!

Having a second baby has also meant adjustments for my routine... nap time used to be Jacob and I reading to each other, then laying down and falling asleep. The above picture is our new routine. We still read, but in bed now and both Brayden and I lay on the floor and fake fall asleep while Jacob truly falls asleep. I think these two are destined to share rooms because Jacob always wants Brayden to nap with him. In fact, Brayden is probably the best motivator for Jacob to do anything! "Jacob, Brayden wants you to take a bath." "Jacob, Brayden wants you to eat your dinner." "Jacob, Brayden wants you to go night night." Oh how parenting two changes things!!

Twins!!!

From the time that Brayden was born, Mike and I could not help but realize how much he looks like Jacob!! Honestly, we somewhat expected it because really, how much different do Mike and I look? As we have gotten to know Brayden even more, he is even more like Jacob with his temperament. I think I could count on both hands how many times he has cried in his two weeks of life!! He is a great eater and sleeper (well as good as a newborn can be). And even things like his belly button falling off early is the same!! LOL. I realize he is his own person, but it is fun to see the similarities.

It's also fun to see how Mike and I have changed/stayed the same in 20 months... (Jacob left, Brayden right)

Both of my boys love/loved being held skin to skin (and it's Mike and I's favorite time too!)... Jacob is right, Brayden is left.

They both sleep the same... (Jacob left, Brayden right)

Minus the chunkiness of Jacob, they look so much alike!! I must say though, the way Brayden eats, he is going to catch up to Jacob's chunkiness pretty quickly here. (Brayden top, Jacob bottom).

These two boys have really changed our lives for the better. We could not be happier or more proud of our little family!

Brayden Tyler's Story

Two weeks hiatus from blogging and I'm sure all our "fans" are eager to read something!! LOL

I'm going to bore you with a birthing story, so you have permission to just look at the photos. Brayden arrived very quickly on Friday, November 22nd at 7:19 pm.  I say quickly because I didn't start getting contractions until 3:45pm, of course it was right when I went to take a nap!! Seeing as I have never been in true labor outside of the hospital, I was not prepared to time anything. So, as I lay in bed with what I thought were contractions, I decided that I better download an app for this (what would we do without Iphones?). To my surprise they were 2-3 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds!! And as I remembered from nursing school, that's pretty close!! I called Mike and told him to come home and then went downstairs to tell Debbi it was time (yes, thank goodness Debbi had a random day off to be in Rocklin, oh that Italian timing!!). 20 minutes or so later (it felt like an hour) we were off to the hospital!! The car ride was of course painful, but Mike made me laugh the whole time. We got to the hospital at 5:15pm and they said "Oh my you're 7cm!" Right then I replied "I'm not having this baby naturally!" LOL. About an hour after that I got my epidural and things were looking up!! My doctor broke my water and within 5 minutes she told me to start pushing. I will never forget her placing Brayden on my chest...my first response was "He's so little!!"

He came screaming into this world, weighing in at 8 lbs 2 ounces and 19 3/4 inches. Way smaller than anyone expected. However, he had a great appetite to start and was breast feeding within 10 minutes!!

Here is our first photo together. I may look a little shocked, which I am!! I guess I had 9 months to prepare, but the 3.5 hour labor threw me for a loop, I thought I would have more of a transitioning period! LOL.

One happy daddy!!! He is seriously the best husband and daddy ever...I am truly so lucky to have him as my partner for life!!

Our first family of four photo!! It's a blog for another day, but Jacob has been an amazing big brother!!

Here is the collage of everyone who came to visit that night. Dayton, my mom, and Kiki braved the traffic to get to the hospital that night. Dayton cracked me up when we called saying "Could you have picked a worse time to go into labor than 5pm on a Friday?" LOL!!!

Here we are heading home!!! We only stayed for 24 hours, which was amazing because we were really anxious to get home to Jacob! It's amazing how different this labor was compared to Jacob...I think next time I'll try and have another 8 lb baby rather than 10!! I truly cannot express how good I feel compared to last time (I guess the pictures show it, because I actually have color in my face!) 

Aside from the slight anxiety of having a newborn again, I feel so much more complete as a family with Brayden here!!