Grant Beckham Dowden

Our sweet son, Grant Beckham Dowden, entered the world at 10:30 AM on October 22, 2009. He was 8 lbs. 1 oz and 20 inches long. I was scheduled for an induction that morning, as I was 40 weeks and 6 days pregnant. It was meant to be his birthday either way. My water broke while we were in the hospital, before I was induced. The morning went fast...thanks to my wonderful epidural!!!

Grant is perfect and healthy. We are so blessed. We have all been adjusting this last week to our new addition. Mallory, who is almost two, has been having a rough time, but we know in time it will balance out. Brynn loves to hold him and is sure to be constantly watching him and looking out for him in the years to come. Beau has been amazing, as always. He truly is an incredible husband. He chose not to deliver Grant, but was and continues to be a wonderful support person. He had this week off from work and I could not have done this week without him. We'll see how this next week goes as he goes back to work. Hmmmmm.... it could be interesting. We have been blessed by wonderful support from family and friends. Thanks to all of you who have celebrated with us and supported us.

We have yet to get a decent picture of the three kids together... that's what happens with a 3 year old, 1 year old and a 1 week old... we'll keep trying. Of note, you can see part of a blue sticker on Grant's stomach. It actually says "Bravery Award" and Brynn stuck it on him. Brynn received the sticker after getting her H1N1 vaccine. I think it's fitting that he was wearing it while his sisters were holding him!

The above picture is Grant at 6 days old. Grant has the same initials (GBD) as his daddy, grandpa, and great-grandpa. We chose not to make Grant the fourth in line to carry on the family name, but we chose to keep the same initials. We had a really, really hard time choosing his name and finally decided on his name about two hours after he was born.

Welcome to the world dear Grant! We love you!!!

Birthday!

We have a 6:30 AM induction scheduled to finally meet our little dude today! I am 40 weeks and 6 days pregnant and he is currently showing no signs of making a grand entrance any time soon on his own. So.... here we go!

Due Date

Well today is our dear boy's due date and we have not had the privilege of meeting him yet. Hopefully soon! We'll let you know when he arrives!

Waiting....

Pregnancy at 36 weeks...


Pregnancy at 29 weeks... (Yes, that's me eating a large Godiva chocolate bar. Don't worry, I didn't eat the whole thing all at once!)

OK, lets be honest here. I am furiously trying to catch up on my blog because I have been a slacker for some time. It is now getting late and I am going to turn in and go to bed. At some point I hope to finish blogging September and now the beginning of October... but who knows what that will look like or if that will ever happen. If you never see pictures, please know that we lived during that time and it was good :) I am now 39 weeks pregnant, due October 16th. We plan on this being our third and final child and they say its a boy. The hospital bag is packed, camera in the car, the girls clothes are lined up in the hallway for my amazing mom to take care of them whenever this little one decides to enter the world. We are incessantly doing laundry and picking up trying to make sure things are in order. I am scared out of my mind about doing labor... again. I am trying to remind myself that there is an end to it. I also know that I am SO ready to have my body back (knowing that it won't be pretty, but at least I can bend over easier to play with the kids, run around the yard easier, and sleep on my stomach).

We know we are blessed to be having this new little guy in our family. We also know our lives will be forever changed. Such excitement to come! I also do know that several people think that we're crazy for having an almost 4 year old, an almost 2 year old, and a newborn. In reality that puts us at three kids that are three and under. Yes, we realize this, but I think it will be good. I may be out of my mind for awhile with sleep deprivation, but this too shall pass.

This pregnancy has overall been good. I was VERY sick with Brynn and Moderately sick with Mallory, so this pregnancy in that regard has been much easier... I would put this one in the category of Mildly sick. I am excited to get rid of the moo-moos (a.k.a. maternity clothes). I also won't need any more zip-lock bags in the glove compartments of the cars to have for when I vomit in transit! Beau is an amazing husband and has been so helpful and supportive during my pregnancies even though at times (or more often than that... ) I may be emotional or complain :) I couldn't imagine being married to anyone else or having these amazing kids with anyone else by my side. Hopefully, the next post on here will be of our new little one! Good night!

A Trip to the Science Center

In August we had a fun day with Brandon and Marli, cousin Emerson, and Papou and Cici. They were kind to meet up with us in the Lansing area. We had a ton of fun playing and then had a nice lunch together before heading home. Here, Uncle Brandon and Emerson were checking out the mouth.

Papou and Brynn examining dentition! Yeah!

Marli and Emerson playing...

Fun with bubbles!

Papou and Cici with their three grandchildren: Emerson, Mallory, and Brynn. We were again reminded that we need to take these pictures earlier in the day instead of later. It is not easy to get little ones to pose for pictures!!!

The girls' blankies

Never leave home without em'!

Sisters- July 2009

The Girls- July 2009

Brynn: 3 1/2 years

Mallory: 1 1/2 years

Camden's 4th Birthday... which was in July

OK, as I try to catch up on my blog, we can't forget our dear nephew's birthday. Camden turned 4 in July and his birthday party was at the park. We had a great time. The kids enjoyed watching the helicopter land and take-off from the hospital.

Great Uncle George was enjoying his candy bar.

Casie celebrating her brother's birthday....

The 4th of July

There was a 4th of July bike parade in the neighborhood of Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim, which is where we usually spend the 4th of July. The kids had fun decorating their bikes.

And they're off!

The festive cousins...

Mallory wasn't too much into the photo session, but she was cute!

Brynn is such a good big sister :)

My Birthday Turkeys

I love that we have wild turkeys that occasionally stroll our neighborhood. On the morning of my birthday, when I opened our front door, this was my view. I loved it! Very random!

Houghton, New York

After the June wedding in Hershey, Pennsylvania, we journeyed through Houghton, New York which is where Beau spent much of his childhood. He attended Houghton Academy and enjoyed touring the current school and seeing his former hometown.

Beau with his Headmaster, Mr. Stockin.

Brynn was posing on the campus of Houghton College.

Mallory enjoyed the free ride.

This is the Houghton, New York Post Office. I loved it. It looks so artsy and not like any Post Office I have ever seen. I had heard so much about Houghton and it was fun to take the tour and see part of Beau's past that has contributed to the man he is today.

Nathan and Heidi's Wedding- June 20, 2009

My cousin, Nathan Hauser, married an amazing woman, Heidi, this summer. We made the journey to Hershey, Pennsylvania. We were honored that Brynn was asked to be a flower girl for their special day. She loved it and did great... even with no nap! The wedding was perfect and couldn't have been more beautiful. It was wonderful being able to stay with our extended family that we love so much but don't get to see all that often. (Brynn is the little one on the left, next to her cousin, Casie, who was also a flower girl.)

Brynn, Heidi, and Casie... the ladies!

The kiss!

Our family, minus Mallory. She didn't attend the wedding. She was napping and playing instead.

The Wedding Continued...

A happy girl with her blankie and cup of milk!

Daddy and Brynn... quite a pair!

Brynn LOVED the wedding reception. That girl danced the night away. She loved it!

The cousins

Singing in the Rain

We had a special night out while in Hershey. Uncle Nolan and Aunt Amy gave us tickets to the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater while in Hershey. The "adults" sat at another table and us "kids" sat at our own table. This was the first time that we have been out with Andy and Andrea, without our kids, since we had kids. Pathetic! We had a wonderful time. Our dear cousin, Sarah, watched our four kids so we could enjoy the evening out. Thanks Hausers and Sarah!

Hershey Park

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!!!!

Mallory wasn't sure about the giant chocolate bar.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.... Daddy's favorite!

Brynn really wanted cotton candy and we gave in and got her some. She chose pink and was so excited!

The aftermath.... yum!

Hershey....

Everyone had fun riding the rides at Hershey Park.

We love cousin Sarah! She is amazing and so good to the kids. Here, Sarah and Casie strike a pose.

Aunt Amy and Uncle Nolan are great. We had so much fun staying with them and appreciate all they did to make our stay in Hershey incredible. They hosted a million of us in their house while being so busy with their son getting married. THANK YOU for the wonderful time and great memories!

Casie summed up our whole visit!

An update from yesterday

So, Winston was baby-gated in our bathroom last night at bedtime. He vomited at 1 AM. He then spent the rest of the night outside in our yard. Today I found 3 areas in our back yard with multiple candy wrappers that apparently had been vomited by a 90 pound furry beast. I was thinking we made a good decision by placing him outside. This was a big thing for a dog who thinks he is a person and part of the family. He has done much better as the day has progressed. Naughty boy. Anyone want a dog? :)

30 weeks

In the morning I will be 30 weeks pregnant with our third child. How is that? I feel like I should be young and in college... and then I realize I am quickly aging, married, have two kids and one on the way, and have a big dog. Our home computer is currently "fried" and so I have no pictures at this time to upload.

The excitement when I walked in the door from work today is that our 90 pound dog, Winston, learned how to open the lazy susan turning cupboard in the corner of our kitchen. This happens to be where I keep the baking supplies, peanut butter, etc. It also happens to be where I had Brynn's Halloween candy, Easter candy etc. that I have not allowed her to indulge in. Apparently he went for the two gallon size bags mostly full of chocolate. Wrappers were all over the kitchen and living room and he has spent most of the evening outside and is now on his 5th bowl of water. Hopefully vomit is soon to follow. Maybe I can pull the pregnancy card and Beau can tend to it tonight :) Actually, Winston may be spending the night in our bathroom so if he does get sick it will be on tile instead of carpet. Oddly enough, Winston has found large amounts of chocolate in the past (for example: my Easter basket that Beau "hid" on our floor before church and when we came home Winston had "found" the basket). He also has been able to eat that chocolate and the wrappers without getting sick. He also has proven that at times it makes him crazy sick.... such as the first night we were in this house and he vomited all over our light living room carpet within hours of us getting the keys to our home. That was one of my favorite moments of pet ownership.

Summer has been good. It has been weird cool and and rainy weather. Brynn enjoys riding her bike with training wheels. Mallory likes climbing and sliding. Life is good. More updates to follow!