Bubba

Dear Bubba,

Here is you at almost 37 weeks....your Dad took this of me before we were headed out the door to go to church! You continue to grow more and more each day. My pregnancy with you has been a breeze compared to your big sister's; however, in these last few weeks, I am more tired and sore than I was with Elli. It seems unreal that we will be meeting you soon. The doctor said I was about 2cm dilated, 80% effaced, and you were really far down already when I went to see him today. He seems to think my labor with you will go pretty quickly (this is the 2nd dr. that has told me that and it really makes me happy). We will be ready to welcome you whenever you decide the time is right, but if you could hold off just one more week that would work into our schedule great! See...I'm a bit 'under the weather' and don't think my body could take the delivery or getting up every couple of hours with you. So....if you could wait until I'm all recovered, that'd be great. Also, our patio is starting this Thursday....it should only take a couple of days to complete, but it'd be so nice for it all to be done before you are here. Your grandparents have also agreed to meet us 1/2 way with the boat this Sunday, so we could take Elli on a boat ride before the season is over and I really need to finish up some things at work (I'm pretty sure I will enjoy the boat more than Elli....this is the 1st summer I have yet to be on a boat). Although we are ready for you whenever, we would love it if you could wait until after this week is over (which I definitely think you will....only relatively small contractions so far....nothing too big).

You seem to be a lot stronger than your sis was when I was carrying her. I occasionally get startled with your kicks and you seem to be giving my ribs quite the beating. You also move so much more....I'm afraid what this could mean....not much of a sleeper? I will be shocked if you are not bigger than Elli was at birth, but I could be completely wrong.

Bubba, you should be happy to know that we FINALLY have a name for you! On Saturday evening I told your Dad just to make a decision on your name, so he did. Your name will be Connor. We haven't yet decided on a middle name or even mentioned it for quite some time, but we're pretty sure on what it will be. Unfortunately, we've gotten so used to calling you 'Bubba' that we still continue to do so. We'll be working on calling you Connor between now and your arrival so there is no confusion when you are here.

We are looking forward to meeting you and I know your big sis is anxious to love on a little baby....Don't wait too long!!

18 months old

HAPPY 18 MONTH BIRTHDAY ELLIANA!! The past 18 months have flown by and it doesn't some possible that Elli is already a year and a half!

Elli continues to have quite the personality and is constantly on the move. She has the sweetest little giggle that often comes out more when her 'Dada' is around. He can always get her laughing! She still loves her jewelry, putting on make-up, getting her toenails painted, and her purses. Her thing now is she'll pick up a bag or purse, put it on her shoulder, and tell me "bye" while waving and walking away. Here recently she has also picked up a new love for airplanes. She is constantly listening for them while we are outside and is the 1st one to point out that she hears one. Elli also loves looking through Scott's airplane books. We typically look through this at least once a day. In addition to airplanes, Elli also loves tractors. I'm pretty sure her love for tractors comes from the fact that she gets numerous tractor rides from her Papa's while we are in Indiana. She continues to have a love for all animals and isn't so shy anymore when she sees one. Dogs are her favorite and she is always pointing them out. Elli is really into reading and always wants to read a book. Ever since our weekend with baby Avery, Elli has been carrying around her baby, giving her a bottle and rocking her. She loves taking care of her little baby.

Elli's speech continues to develop. She is gaining quite the vocabulary; however, Scott and I are some of the few people that can actually understand her. She is leaving off all final consonants in words which makes it hard for the unfamiliar listener to know what she is saying. However, we can understand her probably 75% of the time given the context we are in.

Along with her sweet personality, she also is pretty strong willed. Elli has already been given many time outs. Her time outs aren't really timed. She is able to come out of time out after she has calmed down, said she was sorry, and gives a hug and/or kiss. These time outs have worked best at altering her behavior when she doesn't act appropriately.

Elli can now smile on cue which is pretty funny. Most of the time she doesn't give a huge smile, but rather an "awkward....I'm nervous in front of the camera" type smile. Here is one smile at lunch today and the picture below was before church on Sunday (the "awkward" smile)....

Please take note of Elli's dress. My mother-in-law taught me how to sew this past weekend. Although I still have a long way to go, I do feel like I learned the basics.

Here is what we made for Elli and the new baby. Now they will have matching outfits for pictures after he is born!!

One last picture of the dress with a smile....probably because we had told her we were going to get doughnuts!! We've been wanting to get doughnuts before church for quite some time, but have never made it out the door in time. Elli woke us up bright and early on Sunday morning, so we had plenty of time before church. She's never been so good in a restaurant before! She was loving every bit of eating her doughnut in the restaurant!

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Every kid should learn to drink out of the hose....

Elli saw bella drinking out of the hose the other day and had to join in! We thought it was so funny!

She also stuck her face in the pool to try and take a drink after she saw Bella do it!

We made an impromptu trip to the zoo on Saturday (and were one of the few crazy people that did this in this heat) after our 1st choice of going to the pool was ruined due to thunder. We had a good time and Elli always loves seeing the animals. Above is a picture of her intently watching the fish.

Elliana also experienced her first ride on a train. As you can see from the picture above, she was a bit scared when it started, but I think she ended up enjoying it. Notice who she has her head on...Elli has a special place in her heart for her 2 Papa's. She was attached to her Papa Lindvall all day Saturday.

HAPPY 18 MONTH BIRTHDAY ELLI BELLY!!

Brauchler Reunion/Anniversary Party

This past weekend, Elli and I spent a couple days in Mansfield, OH for some family events. Elli had her first hotel stay and did great, especially because it had an indoor water park! It was just Elli and I staying in a room, as Scott was in IN for his high school reunion and then went to Chicago for work.

We went to our family reunion on Saturday during the day. The reunion was like always...tons of sausage (we are German), cornhole, and tables full of people playing cards. Luckily, there is a playground there for all the kids to play. I should mention that there wasn't one little boy at this reunion....unfortunately, this little guy will be the only boy in the family.

Elli enjoyed swinging outside....

Elli hasn't ever paid much attention to babies; however, she fell in love with her little cousin, Avery. She was very interested in where Avery was and wanted to hold her multiple times. She will be such a good, big sis.
This hotel had an indoor water park. Elli LOVED the slide....of course she was too small to go on it herself. I had the opportunity to go on the slide multiple times on Saturday morning, as all the guys were golfing. Amber and I took turns taking Elli down the slide. And yes, as you can imagine, everytime I went down the slide my bathing suit top slid up exposing this big, pregnant belly for the whole pool to see. I was happy when the guys were back!
Elli had the experience of playing basketball for the 1st time. She loves playing with balls, so this was quite a treat for her!
Little Avery spent most of the weekend like this.
Anything to keep these 2 entertained. Papa was pushing Elli and Kensley in the chair down the hall while we were trying to pack things up. They loved it!
I LOVE this next picture. Again, trying to keep the girls entertained while packing things up. We gave them cups full of ice to chew on to keep them busy.
On Sunday, we got the whole Brauchler side together (with the exception of Scott) to celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary party. Lunch was a bit crazy seeing as how there were 6 kids and 1 baby. Can you tell who all the girls were attached to this weekend?? The whole Brauchler family minus Scott and baby Lindvall
I thought I was taking a picture of all the great-grandkids and then I realized that my Uncle Randy's kids aren't "great" grandkids :) Anyways....there are all girls in this family. And because it looks like everyone else is done having kids, it is up to Amber and Jeremy to bring in another boy to this family (you guys ready yet?)
From left to right: Mila (Andy's daughter), Elli, Cami (Andy's daughter), Adison (Randy's daughter), Kensley, Grace (Randy's daughter), and Avery.

I always thought Elli was favoring Scott; however, this weekend everyone commented on how much Elli looks like me and how much Elli resembles my baby pictures. We're looking forward to seeing who this little guy will look like. Only a few weeks away!

Happy Birthday Dada

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADA (tomorrow)!! Elli and I have been practicing for about a week now singing "Happy Birthday" to Scott. We've probably already sang to him at least 10 times and I'm sure we'll be singing "Happy Birthday" the rest of the week! Scott turns 29 tomorrow and we've been gradually celebrating his birthday. Last night, Elli and I made him pizza and his birthday cake (she loved decorating the cake with M&Ms....especially when she learned how good they were to eat....1st time she'd ever had them). I have pictures of Elli (with chocolate all over her face) and Scott right before we lit the candles to sing to him....now, if I had more energy I'd go get the SD card and post them....but we just got home from our friends and I'm exhausted. They'll have to wait for another day.



(Please excuse my bad singing)

Scott, I hope one day Elli and "Bubba" realize just how lucky they are to have you as their Dad. You are the best and we don't tell you that enough!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
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The next video was taken around 7:15 or 7:30 at night after a busy day....Elli was so slap-happy. However, this has been consistent in our house the past week or so. Not many people get to see her like this....in fact, I'm not sure that anyone else has seen her like this. She tends to be shy around everyone, but Scott and I. I'm sure people would think she was a completely different child if they saw her with just us 2 in the house. Elli is so quiet around others; however, this weekend I actually asked Scott when he thought she would start knowing to use her "indoor voice." :)


Did you see her shrug her shoulders?? She's always shrugged her shoulders, but these days she seems to over exaggerate the motion. It's really funny if you can see her face while she does it! She provides us with endless entertainment!!

6 weeks or less....

Less than 6 weeks to go....

*Picture was taken this past Sunday at 33.5 weeks.

"Bubba" continues to grow and move at a constant pace throughout the day. I'm still feeling pretty good with the exception of enlarged ankles/feet and some decreased energy level :) The heat is starting to get to me a little as temperatures have reached the 90s recently. This pregnancy is flying by....my next doctor's appointment is in 1.5 weeks where they will be checking to see my progression. I can't believe we're already to this point.

When I was in my last couple weeks of my pregnancy I got rear-ended on my way to one of my doctor's appointments. Well....guess what happened last night? This time, I was on my way home from the dr. and a 17 yr. old and 2 of his friends rear-ended me right at our roundabout. The 17 year old was a mess....no no....not because he hit a pregnant woman that was about to pop, but because his car was pretty banged up, his windows were tinted (he was afraid he was about to get a ticket), and had no license or registration with him. Both friends tried to bolt after it happened, but luckily the cops got there in time to stop them. The front of his car was completely messed up and our car sounds like a motorcycle and can't be driven. Although I thought I was fine with the exception of being a little sore, the dr. wanted me to go to the hospital to get monitored for a few hours. My friend, Kelli, came to the hospital and hung out with me there....Garrett went to our house and hung out with Scott for the evening (Elli was already in bed). The dr. did an ultrasound after they monitored me for a few hours and the baby passed with flying colors! Baby boy is head down and they said he should stay that way until delivery. I made him double check that "Bubba" was in fact a he and tried to talk the dr. into giving Kelli a quick scan so we could see her baby....unfortunately the 2nd didn't happen. Scott filed the claim last night....the insurance company can't get a hold of the kid's family, so we just wait. I'm thankful that Elli wasn't with me and extremely thankful that I only have a 17 month old and not a 17 year old :) I left the hospital and told the nurses I'd see them in a few weeks at delivery!

*"Bubba" as you read this when you're older, please note that your father and I have been going back and forth trying to find the perfect name. Our friends have even searched their baby book for us and gave us a list of possible names. Just as we think we're getting closer at giving you a name, we add another name into the mix. You will have a name by the time you enter this house, but I'm afraid we will continue to call you "bubba" until a decision has been made.

July 4th weekend

Happy 4th of July!!So far we've had a great summer and know that here in a couple weeks we will be making some big adjustments with a new baby. We're enjoying our last couple weekends together as a family of 3 + Bella (with the exception of the 17th when Scott makes a quick trip to IN and then heads to Chicago for a few days and Elli and I travel to Mansfield for 3 days to stay in a water park hotel...and we have some family functions that weekend as well, but I think she'll be really excited about the water park. It is so nice that some of my family lives only an hour away...makes traveling so much easier).

We've had a great weekend and are extremely sad to see it come to an end. We had originally thought we'd take Elli somewhere not too far away over the weekend, but decided we'd stick around home due to some big upcoming purchases here within the next couple months! We rarely spend 3 day weekends at home....it was so nice and I'm glad we decided to stay around here. Although we didn't go anywhere, we managed to do a couple new things that we'd never done.

So....how did we spend our long weekend??

Elli and I made a quick trip to Mansfield on Friday to see my dad and grandparents. My dad was painting their house and managed to get away for a few hours to spend some time with us. Elli was all ready to go with purse in hand and sunglasses on for the ride.

Elli then got to go swimming.....

Grandma and I sat and watched while my dad and Grandpa chased Elli around the pool. It was so nice to be the one not chasing her around....I enjoyed just watching from my seat! We ended our trip to Mansfield early after we got ice cream since Scott got out of work early.

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We didn't have the best weather on Saturday, so we decided to take Elli to the mall play area. They had re-done the indoor play area since I had been there last and it is so nice, but was very crowded....

This picture made Scott and I laugh, but it probably doesn't have the same affect on people that weren't there. She was ducking her head to make sure she didn't hit it.

We ended our night having dinner out with some of our friends! They left their kiddo home with their parents (a luxury we don't have), so they got to help us entertain Elliana while at dinner :) Ha....so much for a kid-free night for them!

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We wore Elli out on Sunday and it didn't help that she hardly took a nap that day!

So....the picture above is a fake smile, but at least she is starting to smile on command. We had a little extra time in the morning. Last week when we went to church the toddler room was all full due to the child dedications, so she had to sit in the service with us. Luckily, our friends helped us entertain her during the service. This week, we made sure to be their extra early to get her a spot in the toddler room.

Looking at Daddy!!

After Scott and I fixed a 4-star meal....no really....it was so good! We made ribs that were delicious and took forever to cook....we headed off to the New Albany pool. We were shocked that we had never been to this pool before. It was HUGE! The picture below is of just the kid area. This was only 1/4th of the pool. There were two huge slides (one that you rode on with a tube and the other a body slide) for adults. Scott enjoyed going on the slides and Elli thought it was hilarious to watch him go down.

Can you find Elli in the above picture??

We stayed at the pool for a couple hours and then went to get ice cream down the rode at a new ice cream place. (Sarah and Travis....we got one of those frozen yogurt places like the one we went to in Vegas right down the road!!)

Didn't I mention Elli was exhausted? She didn't take much of a nap that day despite our best attempts. Scott found her like this in her bed (she's sleeping with a pillow now and absolutely loves it). Scott and I spent a few hours outside just talking and watching our neighbors shoot off illegal fireworks. Did you know fireworks were illegal in Ohio....lame...I know. We had the hardest time finding some. We were excited to light some off only to realize Scott accidentally picked up a "poppers" package instead of fountains. For our fireworks, you pull a string and confetti comes out....lame....big disappointment....and such a waste of money....however, we did have a pretty good laugh!

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And because we were celebrating the 4th, we decided that doughnuts were a necessity for our breakfast this morning.

Nope....not a clown....that's our little girl! You might wonder, "Why are they in the office?" Well....we were skyping with my parents right before breakfast....Scott started breakfast while I finished talking and had to bring this little beauty in to show my parents before they left on their trip. Elli still loves skyping, but enjoys eating doughnuts even more!

"Open your mouth Elli" I know....we teach her the best manners while eating!

We met some of our friends at the New Albany parade this morning. This was the 1st time Elli had ever been to a parade and she LOVED it!! She especially loved getting all the candy and ran out like the big kids to snatch it.....Scott and I loved watching her!!

Notice the beads and the bracelet on the ground?? Well....she found the necklaces while I was going through some of my grandmother's things. I let her have them. She must have found them and that big bracelet before we left because she just had to wear them....at least she's festive!

She was too focused on the speaker to look at the camera.

It of course started raining a bit right before the parade!

Joe, Siena, Aubrey, Elli and Scott

We then had Joe, Rachel, and Siena over for a cookout after the parade. We put the girls down for a nap (which didn't last long) then went on a walk. We ended our day by taking Elli to the park to swing and taking Bella swimming in the pond! Elli was once again exhausted when we put her down for bed tonight. We have a busy morning, as we have to be out the door by 6:40 to get to an appt. for Elli. She didn't pass her last hearing test, so they are doing another test tomorrow....lets hope she's not too tired to cooperate!!

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We have another fun weekend coming up! We will be celebrating Scott's birthday this weekend which is on the 12th!

If I slack off on updating the blog it is because I have taken up a new hobby...SEWING!! I bought a sewing machine last weekend....it took me one week with help from a friend to figure out how to use it :) Sad...I know, but I haven't touched a sewing machine since maybe home ec class in 7th grade. Scott thinks it is pretty funny since I'm not extremely crafty, but I'm excited to learn how to use it. I've got 2 projects that I want to get done before this baby is here....1. making Elli a pillowcase that matches her bedroom and 2. making my 2 babes matching outfits when "bubba" arrives. Have you ever seen a pillowcase dress for little girls or a tie onsie for little boys? Well...they are pretty cute and I'm excited to start on these projects. I've already got all the material and I've been spending a lot of time on youtube.com trying to figure out how to make them. I don't understand half the terms they are using and have seriously considered getting "Sewing for Dummies" just to learn how to use my machine and get started. Once again...sad, but I only have a short period of time to get these 2 projects done and I'm not quite sure how to sew :) Wish me luck!!!!

Mason, OH

Last week, Elliana and I were able to meet up with one of my college roommates and her son. We ended up meeting in Mason, OH and went to the pool for the day.

Henry is exactly 4 months younger than Elli and is about her same size. Both kids loved the pool, but were definitely ready for naps by the time we left.

We told Elli to give Henry a smooch....and she did....

This is Elli at about 3:45 in the afternoon. Can you tell she's tired?? She had only slept about 40-45 minutes on our way to Mason that morning. Some kids can go without naps and sleep.....this girl is not one of them. She was passed out within seconds of getting in the car to go home. She slept the whole way home and went to bed for the night not too long after we got home.

BUT.....

before bed we had to give Bella a quick walk. This has become the norm....Elli holding the leash. It works a lot better when Bella is tired because she walks slowly, but when she is excited we have to hold the ball to keep her at our speed so she doesn't go too fast for Elli.

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We had such a busy week....we managed to get Elli's toddler bed (she's not quite ready for the bed, but we went ahead and got it so we wouldn't have to worry about it after the baby is here)and a double stroller. We are just about ready for this little guy.

More pictures to come later.....