Meeting the Fam

Darren and I both come from LARGE families, so our children are very blessed with a big support system of lots of people who truly love them.  I am so glad that they have so many wonderful examples and people to look to.  It is one of the biggest reasons that we wanted to come back to Utah after Darren finished school - so that they could be around all these people who care about them so much!  So, once Bronson was born, he had a lot of introductions!  The first people to hold Bronson after he arrived in our room (after Mom and Dad, of course) were his siblings.  And then he got to meet some more family. 

Just a few hours after Bronson was born, Bronson got to meet 3 of his grandparents.  My mom and Dad made the drive up right after Bronson was born.  I wanted my kids to meet him first so they were driving around in the parking lot and waiting for their turn.  They couldn't wait and I am so glad they were there to meet him so soon.  They do so much for us and I know that their family means everything to them!  

Bronson and Grandma B

Bronson and Grandpa B - If you can't tell by his BIG smile, my dad REALLY loves his grandkids.  I think that is when he is his happiest! 

Bronson and Grandma Pat - Darren's parents are wonderful to help us out all the time.  Grandma Pat was watching the kids when Bronson was born and brought them over for us.  Bronson is Grandchild #20 on that side of the family, but they are so great to do so much for ALL of those!

My little brother, Kyle, who is 12 came up with my parents to meet Bronson, too.  Unfortunately, the hospital had a rule that only siblings and those over 14 could visit.  My dad is a bit of a stickler for rules and so he told Kyle that he would just have to wait in the waiting room.  Darren took Bronson out and held him up in the window, but I still felt bad that he didn't get to hold him.  Later, my mom came back for another visit and snuck Kyle in.  He is really tall for his age, so he was easily able to pass for 14.  Bronson is very blessed to have TWELVE uncles and NINE aunts!!!  Kyle is the youngest uncle, but he is the first to hold Bronson.  Kyle is so much fun to have as an uncle - He is so great to play with the kids!

On Day 2, Bronson met Great-Grandma Pauline

And Great-Grandma Mary

And his very first Aunt!  Aunt Vanessa and her hubby Uncle Brian.  My poor sister Heather really wanted to be the first Aunt to meet Bronson.  She had her schedule all arranged so that she could come, but ended up having Bronchitis.  She decided she should stay away, which was for the best, but we were both so sad.  So, Auntie V got to be first!  Aunt Vanessa is the money aunt.  She loves to bribe the kids with pennies and every time we come home from seeing her I find all kinds of change in the laundry that was in the kids' pockets! 

And here are a few more pictures of Bronson with his brothers and sisters.  Boy, were they in love!  They wanted to hold him over and over and somehow he survived all the LOVE and hugs he got from them!  These were from their hospital visit on day #2. 

Logan is the best big brother any kid could want.  He is so kind and so gentle.  He talks to Bronson in the sweetest little voice and can't wait to teach him so many things.  He is so excited to finally have a BROTHER! 

Miss Rylee is such a little mommy!  She thinks she can do whatever mommy can do and she is a natural at holding little Bronson.  She really loves him....Maybe a little too much at times...

And sweet little Avery is just loving her tiny brother!  I hope that she still loves him after he comes home and she realizes that she is NOT the baby anymore.

Those were all the introductions while Bronson was in the hospital, but there were a few more a little later.  We took Bronson to Salt Lake for some newborn pictures when he was 9 days old (May 5) and he was finally able meet Grandpa Bill. 

And also Uncle Bradley.  I told him to make sure and post this on Facebook because the chicks would dig it :)

And the NEXT weekend, we went down for Mother's Day (May 13)and Bronson was able to meet some more family.  I didn't get too many pics, but here are a few...  Bronson and Aunt Heather - She was SO excited to FINALLY meet him after being sick with bronchitis!  He also met Uncle Jay and Robin and Ethan, but I didn't get pictures with them for some reason. 

Bronson and Uncle Dean - They were in Florida at Disneyworld when Bronson was born so this was their first chance to see him. 

Uncle Dean and Aunt Laura

He also got to see Uncle Jeff over Skype while we talked to him.  Jeff is a really great Uncle and LOVES his nieces and nephews so much.  I think leaving them was one of the hardest things for him about leaving.  So it was really fun to introduce him to Bronson, even if it was just over the computer!  

 
 For Memorial Day, (May 28) we spent the day with the Webber side of the family and Bronson finally got to meet lots more aunts and uncles and LOTS of cousins!  I didn't get too many pictures for some reason.  This is Bronson with his newest cousin Bridger.  They are just 2 weeks apart, but little Bridger is so tiny that Bronson looks HUGE next to him!  His cousin Madi spent most of the time holding him.  She loves babies!  He got passed around a lot and was perfectly content with all the new faces to entertain and snuggle him.  

On Father's Day, we got a picture of Bronson with his closest cousin on the Boman side, little Robin.  They are a little more than 3 months apart.  It is so fun to have cousins close in age! 

What a lucky little boy!!!

Bringing Baby Home

April 29 - The day we went home!  I was really excited to get out of the hospital and home to the kids and to share our sweet baby.  Maybe too excited!  I kind of overdid it that morning...  I was also feeling about nervous about handling 4 little ones, especially when I couldn't lift them and still wasn't feeling great.  And I wasn't sure how they were going to do with the baby! 

The Pediatrician came at 6 am to check Bronson.  SO early!  And then I had a hard time getting back to sleep.  I was feeling the best I had felt, so I got up and got showered and started to get all ready to go home.  While I was showering, Daddy cuddled up with Bronson.  So cute!

 Then, Darren had to go home to get showered and check on the kids and bring back the van and the car seat and all of that.  While he was gone, I got all the way ready and packed everything up and was feeling really great!  I hadn't been out of bed that much the entire time in the hospital.  Bronson and I were just waiting around for Daddy, so I took some pictures.  Ok...  a LOT of pictures! 

A rare moment when he is crying.  He is SUCH a good baby and doesn't cry much! 

All swaddled up

I love all his thick, dark hair!  

Logan saw this card in Bronson's bassinet and thought he won an award.  So funny!  I'm sure if it really was a contest he would win for sure! 

He looks so peaceful, but he has NO idea what he is going home to! 

This was on the wall of our room. 

Daddy finally got back and we were ready to go!  We had to check out with the nurses and stuff and I got Bronson all dressed in his little going home outfit.  He looked so sweet!  It was his first time in real clothes other than the little hospital t-shirt.  He had a cute brown onesie that said "Little Brother" and a little soft blue velour sweatsuit and an adorable little knit hat. Sadly, this outfit only fit him for about a week! 

Bronson with Mom and Dad.  I was surprised that they let me walk down to the car!  I have always had to go out in a wheelchair before, but they asked me if I wanted to walk so I did.  A nurse did walk out to the car with us though.  

All loaded into the car seat for the first time.  He looks SO tiny! 

Our home away from home for a couple of days. 

Bronson in his going home outfit

When we got home, we found a fun surprise!  Grandma Boman had helped the kids decorate the house with posters and balloons.  So much fun to come home too and they were so excited about it and couldn't wait for us to see it!  

As soon as we came through the door, they were there to greet us.  Well, mostly they were there to greet Bronson!  I don't think they cared too much to see us.  They were VERY excited older siblings! 

 Getting mobbed! 

The kids fought over who got to hold him first.  Somehow, Rylee won! 

 

Rylee LOVES her baby brother and probably wants to hold him more than anyone else.  She LOVES holding him and thinks she is a lot bigger than she really is.  She will start shifting him all around and it scares me to death!  And when she decides she is done, she will just kind of drop him.  A little scary...  She does also love helping with anything related to him.  If I ask her to do things most of the time, she sometimes whines and complains or just flat out refuses.  (Not all the time...just sometimes...)  But, if it is something for Bronson, like a diaper or something, she is ALL over it and does it quickly and loves helping.  She also loves looking at his clothes and picking things out for him to wear. She says, "Ohhh...this is so freakin' cute!" 

Next up, was Logan!  I am so happy he finally got a brother and he is in heaven! 

What a great big brother!  He loves to snuggle right up to Bronson and told me that snuggling babies is his favorite.  He puts his head right up against Bronson's all the time and loves it.  And holds Bronson's little fingers...we still haven't gotten rid of that habit.  He thinks that Bronson is just like him!  Everything Bronson does, he says "That is just like me!"  For instance, Bronson had to be fed with a little tube and syringe once the first day and Logan insisted that was just like him and his feeding tube (which he had in his nose for almost 2 weeks...).  Bronson had to be on the bili lights for awhile and Logan told everyone who would listen that "Bronson has problems just like I did."  (Logan was in the NICU for 2 weeks.)  Bronson also seems to enjoy sucking his fingers, which also makes Logan quite proud.  I think its funny how much he wants them to be alike.  It wouldn't be a bad thing if they were.  Logan is a great kid and will be a good example for little Bronson.  I think he is going to be VERY excited when Bronson can actually play with him and he can teach him all about Star Wars and sports and legos and boy stuff. 

Then is was Miss Avery's turn....  The pictures of her aren't very good.  This is probably because I don't dare to move very far away from her or move my arm to focus the camera because I never know how long she is going to be interested in holding him.  She does LOVE her new baby though! 

I love how proud she looks!  She really is so happy to be a big sister and the first couple of weeks I was home from the hospital this little girl was an ANGEL!  I couldn't believe it!  I was so worried about how she would be, but she was SO great!  Sadly, it didn't last too long, but it helped me get through the first couple weeks so that was a big blessing!  I think she has a bit of a love/hate relationship with our new baby.  She LOVES him but she doesn't love how much time it takes for mom and dad to care for him and all the attention he sometimes gets.  She is adjusting though.

Then we did some sibling pics....  Having FOUR to get to look at the camera and smile is SO hard! 

And then we took a few pictures of our family of SIX!  Crazy how BIG our little family is starting to feel!  I LOVE all these guys SO much! 

My mom was there so she was able to take these pics for us.  Both her and Grandma Pat were so good to take care of us during this time.  They did so much for the kids, got my house so clean and my mom even had a delicious Sunday meal prepared when I came home from the hospital and I was SO excited for some good food.  The hospital did have a great menu, but it is still cafeteria food and homecooked meals are just so much better!  Especially roast and mashed potatoes!  Yummm!!!

 Bronson also had some special "big brother/sister" presents to give the kids.  Avery and Rylee got some coloring stuff and Logan got a little lego set.  It was to try and help some of the jealousy and give them something to do during all the feedings!  They were very excited! 

I also had a LONG talk with the kids about all the help I was going to need. I also showed them my nasty scar to help them understand that I still wasn't feeling great and they couldn't jump onto my lap or be too crazy with me and I couldn't carry them around.  I think it helped them to understand better but poor Avery looked terrified!  (On a side note, my girls were playing hospital the other day and pretending to have babies.  They would take turns being cut open and then they would say they were dead and then they would say they came back to life, so maybe I didn't explain it all that well...) 

There was also some serious explaining when I fed Bronson for the first time.  Avery looked at me, rather disgusted and said, "Why is your boob out?"  and then said, "Why is he EATING your boob?"  Logan also likes to refer to it as "milking".  Not my favorite.  Like he says, "Is Bronson milking?"  Or "Has Bronson been milked?"  Not sure I like the obvious cow reference...

After we got all settled in, or at least were home for a bit, we had a yummy dinner.  Then, I was definitely feeling the effects of the busy day and was in some serious pain.  The Dr on call only called me in Ibuprofen to go home with, which was weird because they usually give me some of EVERYTHING and I don't really use it.  That first day I was wishing for something a little stronger...but I made it through and was feeling pretty good within a couple of days.  My Dr felt really bad when he found out they didn't give me anything else for pain though. 

Here are a couple pics of sweet Bronson getting comfortable at home.  He sure is cute and we are all in LOVE with his beautiful olive skin and his BIG dark eyes and ALL that hair and his gorgeous long lashes!!! 

I was SO excited when I got these pictures!  I have similar little smiling ones of all my kids in their first week and it was so fun to compare them!  We definitely have a bit of a cookie cutter mold at our house because they look SO much alike! 

We had a nice, relaxing family Sunday evening at home.  We just all hung out and stared at the sweet baby and watched some AFV.  We also Facetimed with some family so we could show off our little baby.  It felt so great to be all together again!  It was also starting to feel a bit overwhelming, especially knowing that Darren was heading off to work the next day!  But, we made it through!  And, since I was mostly just stuck on the couch with my camera right next to me, I took lots more pictures of little Bronson.  I just couldn't resist....

 

 I love when he actually has his eyes open!

 He always looks a bit drunk after eating...

 Getting ready to eat - I love how he opens his mouth like a little bird and searches all around for his food.  He is such a good baby but isn't very patient when it comes to eating! 

 I love baby yawns! 

 Showing off his umbilical cord and stretching out

 He looks so tiny in his swing.  I love when they are all bundled up.