My Two Guys

After Blake's incredibly sweet post, I have to return the love to both him and Finn. Most people wouldn't believe it, but Blake is the sweetest, kindest, most patient, and most adorable dad I have ever seen. He had to teach me how to swaddle this little guy properly and he can rock this baby to sleep in no time at all. He is such a great help in the middle of the night after feedings and he changed every diaper for the first 3 days while I was restricted to my bed. He is just such a natural at all of this and I am so lucky to have a husband like him.

Now, I have to gloat about my little bundle (actually, "big" bundle). He is just the cutest little thing. I have to smile every time that I look at him. When I was in labor, I was thinking that there is NO WAY that I will ever get pregnant again. I was telling myself that people who have more than one kid are stupid because they willingly go through labor after they've already experienced the misery. Then, the minute that I held him in my arms, I was already convinced that it was all worth it and I could absolutely do it again! I am having such a blast taking care of him. Here's just a little list of the things that I already love about him: he smells soooo good, he always rests his head on his little hand when I'm burping him, he has the cutest little nose, he has gigantic feet with super-long toes, his toes flex back when he's eating a good meal, his hair is super, super soft.

I hope you enjoy our pictures. We'll be taking some more soon since he is already changing so much chunkier every day!

This poor little guy had to be under the lights for his jaundice, but his little sunglasses were so cute!

Here is his going home outfit. We were so excited to finally get him all dressed and take him home. The nurses all loved his shirt...he (and Blake) were quite popular with all the ladies. Yikes, it's already starting!

Right when we got home, we introduced Finn and Molly to each other. She's very interested in him and has lovingly accepted him into our home. She's going to be a great big sister.

And just to emphasize the gratitude that Blake already mentioned, I really want to thank our amazing family and friends. Clint, Andrea, and Bronco took such good care of our little Molly while we were in the hospital. Plus, we have already been treated to so many great, delicious meals. Thank you so much to everyone who has been such a help. We love you guys!

The Journey

I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank my wonderful wife and to give everyone the details. It all began on Valentines. We were at Clint and Andrea's house when Liz's water broke. We ran home and got the car that had all of our stuff in it. By the time we left our house Liz's contractions were 5 minutes apart. When we arrived at the hospital she was dilated to a four and moving fast. By 11PM she was at an 8. Our little guy decided he was going to be like his dad and not make anything easy. He was posterior and refused to turn around regardless of what Liz or the nurses would do. Let me say that I am so extremely proud of my wife and the powerful woman she is. She pushed and pushed and pushed for nearly 2 hours with out complaining. At that point because Finnegan wasn't moving and Liz was exhausted the Dr decided it was best to get this baby out by cesarian. Liz wasn't overly excited about this but who can blame her after all of the hard work she had done. They got Liz all prepped and a few minutes later our little guy was here. I am so grateful to Liz for everything she has done for me and our son the past 9 months and especially the last 48 hours. There is truly no way for me to properly say thank you for this little guy. He is absolutely the coolest thing I have ever received, I can't describe the way I felt as I first got to hold him. The way such a little thing can make you feel and make you want to be better in ever way you can. I have always loved Liz very much but over the past few days that love has grown more than I thought it could. She is a great mother already and an amazing wife and woman. I also wanted to say thank you to friends and family who have been there at the drop of a hat to help us with our other baby (Molly). To those of you who thought of us, prayed for us, visited us, brought us gifts and joy, thank you. I am the happiest and luckiest guy on earth. I love you Liz and Finn!

P.S. Liz is recovering extremely fast and Finn is doing well, we should be home soon.

He's Here!

Finnegan Blake Holloway

Born February 15th 4:46am

Weighing 8 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long

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Liz delivered by cesarean. She did a great job and is doing well.

Blake couldn't be more proud of her and Finn.

Place Your Bets!

The official countdown begins. At this point we have no clue what this kid could come out looking like. Any one familiar with Blake's side of the family knows that some of the siblings have dark hair, Blake was blonde, and Donovan is a full blown red head. Liz's side brings big heads and HUGE babies as well as a mixture of dark hair/dark eyes or blonde hair/blue eyes. We found this site that allows family and friends to make their predictions. Feel free to take a guess. The site scores like golf (the lower the better). Once our little guy is here we will update the official stats and declare a winner! Feel free to pass this along to others who may be interested!

CLICK HERE!

38 Weeks Down, 2 To Go...

I am officially 38 Weeks and this little boy has made a comfy little bed on my bladder. I promise that I'm not complaining because I have had a great pregnancy! Here is a picture of me from the other day. I was modeling my new Target pajamas and Blake decided to take a picture so everyone can see my big belly. I think it's getting smaller as he continues to drop lower and lower...and for those who are wondering, my waist is now 43 inches.

Also, now that we are getting closer to the due date, we have been working very hard at getting the nursery completely ready. Clothes have been washed, folded, and put in the correct drawers (that pretty much sums up what I have done for the nursery). Now, let me tell you and show you what my husband has been doing. Those of you who know Blake know that he is quite particular and very, very picky. A nursery with the basic baby blue or pastel colors would NEVER be good enough for him or his son. I would be perfectly fine with that, so HE took over. He wanted to have a pirate theme, which I think was his excuse to have skulls, black, and gray in his kid's room. However, he really surprised me with his hard work and great ideas. Here is the end result:

These curtains were sewn by HIM.

He found this dresser on Craigslist, painted it black, and added the skulls and crossbones.



The walls (painted exclusively by him) were first painted in a light yellow, then covered with a faux paint to look like a treasure map. To top it off, he ordered this treasure map to tie it all together.



And, finally, the crib...yes, he did the bumper pads himself.

Some may think he's a little on the "metro" side, but I think he's already an awesome dad. Plus, he's a great husband because he did this all himself. And, I will always remember how hilarious it was to see him sitting in front of my sewing machine with the measuring tape draped over his shoulders as he created this nursery a little bit at a time. I love you, Cakies!!

One Last Baby Shower...

So, let me start by saying that I have fabulous friends and family. First of all, Tenneal did such a great job at being the "hostess with the mostest" by putting together a beautiful baby shower for me in her immaculate home, making delicious food, and impressing everyone with how awesome she is. Secondly, my sisters-in-law, Melissa and Andrea did a great job of putting together games, food, decorations, and making the coolest invitations ever! Thirdly, my friends and family who came to my shower gave me so much love and lots of thoughtful, wonderful gifts. So, I just want to say a big Thank You to my incredible friends and family. I am so excited to have my little boy in 4 short weeks and I am also so excited to know that I have the best family and friends to rely on when he's here!!

The shower was a Pirate theme, so here are some of the decorations along with the diaper cake that Andrea made. How cute is all of this?

Tenneal, of course, wanted to play the "Poopy Diaper" game. If you haven't played this before, this is when you melt a candy bar in a diaper and make everyone try to guess what type of candy bar it is. The players can smell (maybe even taste) the candy to accurately guess. Basically, the main point is to get funny pictures of people playing with a diaper that looks like it's full of poop. Tenneal can't just make things simple so she added pieces of corn to several diapers just to throw us off. Did I mention that she's awesome? It was hilarious!

Thanks again to everyone who helped with the shower and who was able to be there!

Christmas 2008

We had a very Merry Christmas this year in California. We left early on Christmas Eve to spend a few days with the Holloway family. Sandi had a very busy schedule set for us with lots of fun things to do. On Christmas Eve, we got to meet little Rylan for the first time, we had a delicious dinner, watched "A Christmas Story", and Blake read Luke 2 to everyone. On Christmas morning, Blake woke me up at 5:45 so that we could see what Santa brought for us...then I went back to sleep for 2 hours. Blake was so excited to open presents and get the day started, but he had to wait for everyone else to wake up. We had a really fun day with everyone. We got lots of great stuff, but the best part was watching Reese and Drake open their presents.

The rest of the week was exciting as well. Brent and Sandi rented Duffy boats for the family and some of our friends to crusie around the harbor and look at Christmas lights. It was a blast! I could not believe how amazing some of the lights, houses, and yachts were!

I also wanted to say HAPPY 5 Year Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I can't believe that it has been 5 years already! I am so happy and lucky to have such an incredible husband! And I simply cannot wait to continue on this amazing journey with our little boy! Blake will be such a great dad and I know that we have some great times ahead of us...until then, enjoy the picture from our first Winter Formal. I think I was 16 and he was 15 at the time! That was over 10 years ago! Yikes!!