Four Months of Fun!

Brooklyn's Birth Announcement

This is a link to her birth announcement from Shutterfly

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Brooklyn Marion is here!

Brooklyn Marion Wassmer was born on May 19, 2011 at 11:45pm, wieghing in at 5lbs 2oz and 17.5 inches long. She is a tiny little thing! I was actually induced early because she was showing signs of slowed growth, so much that she was measuring close to the 10th percentile which is when doctors start getting worried that something could be wrong. Ever since 29 weeks I was having many Braxton Hicks contractions so my doctor did a test that showed that I was at risk for preterm labor. Fortunately she did not come early, but she did stop growing after about 32 weeks. So, at 38 1/2 weeks I was sent to the hospital to get her out of there. I checked into Avista Adventist at 9pm on May 18. I started having regular contractions in the morning but they didn't progress me to quickly. It was in the evening when we started the pitocin and my doctor was able to break my water. Once my water broke, major contractions came and once I started pushing Brooklyn was out 11 minutes later! A quick little thing.

Healing has gone well, and we are all still adjusting. Ryan gets better with her more and more every day. Being a new mom again has it's new and old challenges. Brooke has taken to nursing better than Ryan, however she's not as good of a sleeper at night as Ryan was when he was a newborn. She is the LOUDEST sleeper I have ever heard - snorts, grunts, sighs, whimpers, squirming, crying out for only a moment, etc! I think she'll be making an early trip from the bassinet to her crib in the other room.

Having a tiny little newborn again is brings such joy to my heart. I truly love how small they are and all their looks and moves. I enjoyed each stage with Ryan and I look forward to the same stages with Brooke. The sleepless nights will end (some day), but I really do cherish the moments of holding her and she rests her head on my shoulder, or sleeps in my arms. Ryan hardly ever slept in my arms. It truly is a wonderful blessing and I am continually humbled by how good the Lord has been to us.

Ryan has grown so much in the past few months. He now likes to put two or three words together, such as, "I love you mommy," or "thank you daddy." He really is so sweet. Even his little tantrums aren't all that bad (when compared to some other children his age I've seen). Not that Ryan is above throwing such tantrums, I just think he's really laid back. All in all, things are going well here at the Wassmer household. There are more adventures to come and many changes will happen so quickly.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

Well, a lot has happened since last Fall. I am currently 26 weeks pregnant with our little girl! Ryan is going to have a sister! The ultrasounds show she is growing well and all looks good from our end. My official due date is May 29, but Tom has his heart set on June 3. We'll see! Below are some pics of our little girl that I received free as a volunteer for Alternatives Pregnancy Center.




Ryan and his sister's 3D shots A shot of her face


We also got a chance to have a photographer take our family shots this past Fall. We had them taken as a part of our Christmas present to our parents. We chose one of our favorite shots and had them printed on canvas, and it turned out really good. All the shots were great, and I love how it captures our life as it was then: the 3 of us enjoying each other. We can't wait to add our little girl, but it's also fun to have a memory of when it was just "us three."

Kristol Kumar Photography

In preparation for little sis, we are moving Ryan to a new room and keeping the nursery the same. Tom wanted to add some new dry wall and smooth out the walls (same as he did for the living room before Christmas). The pics below are just precious as Ryan jumped in to help all on his own. He picked up a mudding knife, dipped it into the bucket and started spreading it on the wall. Just adorable.

Christmas 2010 was fun. Grammy and Pops came from NJ, Nana and Papa came from Genesee (35 mins away) and all uncles were there. Ryan got an all-terrain wagon and an inflatible jumper thingy. He loves jumping and he LOVES this jumper. We have to hide it when he's not using it or we have a melt down on our hands. Ryan also helped daddy set up the Christmas tree. Ryan loves his daddy and just loves being by his side. He's also my little helper, assisting me with sweeping and mopping. He also likes to empty the dishwasher and put things in the trash.

Just a couple weeks ago he started copying everything we say. It's fun to hear him mimick our words and try to say things like "cool," "oh yeah," "yogurt" (which sounds more like go-gu), among other words.

We look forward to many more memories made this year with the addition of little sis (name coming soon) and more holidays to enjoy.