Nursing Nine

I just had to take these pictures of our sweet little Finley today. Poor thing. That's all I can say when I see these cantankerous nine puppies thrusting themselves at her, fighting over which "one" is theirs....ugh. I only have to nurse one and there are days when I want to quit. Can you imagine nine?

I seriously can empathize with this poor little lady.

Hungry pups!

Look at this face, it says, "Help me!"

2 months!

I remember with Landon I was SO on top of things. Every month, on the day he was one month older, I had a new pic up. Here we are and Nohemi is almost three months old and I'm just now getting her two month pictures up. Oh well.

Man, is she a joy! She is so laid back and smiley (as you can tell!). She is so cuddly and she just brightens a room. You can already tell that she's really curious about stuff but that she has a lot of focus. Something on the ceiling will catch her eye and you can not do a thing to get her to look away from it. It's so fun to watch her interact with her big brother too. She just adores him! If he's in the room and talking she just watches him and listens. Really cool.

Cute photo

Had this idea today and just had to do it....Lando's hands, our wedding rings, Nohemi's feet...

One Month

Ok, she's really 6 weeks but this picture was taken when she was a month old! She is SO beautiful and we are absolutely in love with her. At her one month checkup she was 10 lbs 10 oz (up 2 lbs 2 oz) and 21 1/2 inches (up 2 1/2 inches)! She is SUPER chubby too! We love all her little rolls all over her body. Landon was NEVER a chubby newborn, he didn't get his chunk until he was about 5 months old.

She is smiling so much now and it just makes her little face even more beautiful. She is especially smiley in the morning or after waking up from naps. And the most incredible part is...she has slept 9 hours straight for the past four nights! Incredible! She is such an easy baby and is totally laid back. I keep praying and crossing my fingers that she'll have Mike's "chill" personality instead of my crazy, high-strung one!

We adore this little girl and big brother is still totally in awe of her. He checks on her first thing when he wakes up in the morning, tells me "baby cry" if she is fussy and puts her pacifier back in her mouth if it falls out. It is SO awesome to watch the two of them interact. She follows him around the room when he's jabbering and pretending to be Spiderman. She definitely knows her brother's voice!

On a side note: I just HAD to post this pic of Landon...is it totally horrible of me that I think he's adorable when he cries???

The Diedrich's House

The Diedrich family has such a special place in our hearts. They are not only great friends but they are also supporters of our ministry in the Dominican. They have been so generous and gracious and they really just mean the world to us. When I think of Christmas, I think of the Diedrich's house. It's so cozy. Fireplaces, a barn with horses, homemade cookies...I get excited just thinking about going to their house. (I'll have to post some pics of their family later!)

But this afternoon, we were just relaxing by the fireplace and I had to snap some shots of my little family. What an incredible blessing this time in the states have been. Although we came home under some undesirable circumstances, God has definitely blessed us while we've been here. Enjoy a few pics of our little family!


Content little Emi


There is just SOMETHING so adorable about a little baby's cry...for a short time anyway :)


The "bobo" that she only likes sometimes...not like her brother who had it attached at all times!


I just love, love, love this picture. Landon and his lizards, Dad hanging out and Emi passed out without a clue!


Our little guy plays so well by himself...definitely like his Daddy in that sense.


Such an imagination (he gets THAT from his Mama!)

A Daddy and his Girl

Had to post this picture. So adorable.

2 Weeks!

Our little girl is two weeks old!

One Week Old

What a quick week it has been.

Nohemi is a week old already! She is eating well, sleeping about 23 hours a day and fitting in so perfectly with our little family.

Nohemi Ruth Braisted

Our little Emi is here!!!! And she couldn't be more beautiful. She arrived by C-section at 8:09am. She weighs 8 pounds, 1 ounce and is 19 inches long. Everything today went beautifully and the staff here at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia are taking incredible care of us! Thank you for all of your prayers. This day couldn't have gone more smoothly.

36 weeks

And the countdown begins...the waiting game is here. She could really come any day but I do have the benefit of knowing she won't come any later than November 21st. So we have 20 days left. And believe me, I am ready!!!!! I have loved this pregnancy so much and being pregnant with a little girl made it that much sweeter but I am ready to have a normal body again and hold my baby girl. I am SOOOOO uncomfortable. It feels like she gains a pound a day. Back pain, heartburn, 18 trips to the bathroom, tossing and turning at night, leg numbness, contractions that lead to nothing.....nothing fun about the last month of pregnancy. Some women just exude loveliness through their pregnancy, I just am not one of those people, I guess. Maybe it is partly because of having a toddler as well. Trying to work through all those pregnancy issues while still attending to a very energetic little boy who needs my attention. THANK GOODNESS I have Mike. He has been such a huge help these last few weeks. Letting me take naps when I'm exhausted, taking over the night shift if Landon wakes up crying, playing with Landon and wearing him out so he's not so much to handle....I have thought so many times, I have more and more respect for single mothers who do such an amazing job raising their children without that second person there.

Not much news to report other than at our last visit we had an ultrasound and she was already 6 pounds and very healthy. I had gained another 5 lbs in 2 weeks (ugh!) and am up to 20 lbs gained so far. She was also in the head down position (which I already knew from the constant pressure on my pelvis).

My belly is just all baby. When she moves you can see her little foot or butt change the entire shape of my belly. If I've been sleeping on my side, you can see this huge bump of her body on that side and the other side is flat. It looks a little creepy.

This will probably be the last photo I'll post of the belly until Nohemi is here. How sad and exciting all at once! We can not WAIT until she is here. Thanks for taking this journey with us.