Thanksgiving

We survived another Holiday. Holidays are a little more crazy now with kids. We first went to eat with Brett's family at his Aunt Maribeth's house. The Boys were starving, and just about ate all the appetizers before the big meal, which consisted of Cheese and Crackers, plus pretzels and chips. But then the Turkey came and Brennnon loved it! But the favorite of his Thanksgiving meal was mashed potatoes, he had them everywhere. Braxton, on the other hand was a little more picky, but filled up on bread and butter, and sweet potatoes. Plus you can never have enough pickles and olives when you are a kid. Well, a short 4 hours later we were off to house #2. This time with my family, we went to my God-mother Joann's house, of course the boys ate again, and that included Daddy. Mommy had to have some cranberries though, since that is what the baby always seems to want. After a few hours there, we had pumpkin pie, and of course again the boys ate. Both Braxton and Brennon demolished their pie that was covered with whip cream, but then again who can blame them. Soon it was time to go, and on the way home, Brett and I were most Thankful for all the family and loved ones who fed and filled our boys so that they were quite the whole way home. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Fall 2009

Well, it has been a crazy few months for the Gunter family. First of all, about #3, we went in for the 12 week appointment about 3 weeks ago, and everything looks great so far. He/she is measuring right on schedule for May 20th, and plugging away at getting bigger. We have been contemplating names, and want another "Br" name for the boy, but can't seem to find a "Br" name that we both really like for the girl, so that is still a work in progress, but hey, we have until May right?

On Another note, the boys went trick-or-treating this year for the first time, and walked all the way around the block, even Brennon, who actually ran, he has more energy then the entire family, and the fire to fuel it. After we went to about 15 or so houses, Braxton asked if "he could go back to Braxton's house" and Brennon just finally decided that he was done, so he just laid down on his back on the sidewalk, needless to say, we went home after that. But all in all they had a great time and still have Candy to prove it.

Braxton is doing great in Preschool, even though he is one of the youngest kids, he can count to 20, knows and recognizes all his letters, and numbers, and colors and shapes. But most importantly, he is learning the functionality of a classroom. He even has a little girl in class that has a crush on him, her name is Kenzie, and she is so cute. She has to sit at Braxton's table for snacks, and hang up her coat by his. The funny part is Braxton has no idea. Her Mom had to tell me, that her daughter talks about him all the time as her boyfriend. And see, Daddy is worried about having a girl, what about cute boys?

Brennon, was enrolled in a play group this fall with other kids his age, and was actually a little bored, since physically, he tries to run and jump and climb like big brother, where a lot of these kids could not keep up with him. But he is very interested in Basketball, especially when big kids come into the gym and play, he will watch for hours. He is starting to talk a lot, which is nice to hear. Now we just have to get rid of that paci. He carries 2 around at all times.

Both of them, are really aware of Santa and Christmas trees this year, especially Braxton, so maybe we won't have the Traumatic experience we had last yea, when we go visit the jolly old man.

I have pics, lots of pics and will post them soon, I promise. Hope everyone has a Wonderful Thanksgiving.

H1N1

Well, our biggest fear has come true, our family got H1N1. It was scary, and since I am pregnant, it was even more scary. It all started with Daddy, and Baby Brennon, my sweet little boy. They both came down with what we thought were colds starting out, within 24hrs, they had very high fevers, especially Brennon, with 104. And then immediately moved into the chest with Respiratory problems, withing 36 hours, Brett had walking pneumonia, and Brennon had Croup, and a dropping oxygen rate. he slept with me in our bed the first night, when we thought it was just croup, as his fever kept going up and up and not being able to break it, no matter what I did, and no matter how much medicine we gave him, I got very worried. Brett already had pneumonia at this point and was sleeping on the couch to maybe try not to get me sick, but since I will never not take care of my baby, no matter what, I was bound to get something. As 4 am slowly came upon us, and as he was in nothing but a diaper, with a cold wash cloth on his head, Motrin every 4 hours, and trying to force him to drink water, we gave up trying to sleep, and decided to watch Elmo to calm him down. The fever went down a little, still at 102. I kept thinking to myself, I never remember Croup being this bad when Braxton had it, and after a steroid treatment. So we went into the doctor the second day in a row, at this point, the fever went back up, even with the Motrin, and his Oxygen level was down to 81, (anything over 95 is normal), fear ran through my body, and tears filled my eyes before the doctors could even say anything. Sometimes being in the medical field is not always a good thing. Our nurse ran out and got an oxygen mask, our Doctor ran in, and put on a surgical mask, and checked him out, and immediately said she was sending us to Lutheran. He was being admitted. Before we left, they gave him a double dose of Tylenol, only 2 hours after I had given him some, in need of breaking the fever immediately. As soon as we got to Lutheran, Auntie met me there, while Brett called the grandparents to watch Braxton so he could be up there with us. Because of the whole flu thing, no kids are allowed in Hospitals under the age of 18 these days, and parents or adults are not allowed in if they have a fever. They immediately got him hooked up to the pulse ox machine and checked his oxygen, after the oxygen and breathing treatment in the pediatricians office, his oxygen had gone up a little to 89, still not good, but now at least out of danger. He was started on Tamiflu right away, and within hours, the fever broke, and he was not as lethargic and the moaning had ceased. They tested him for everything, x-rays, for Pneumonia, swabs for Influenza A, RSV, and of course H1N1. Now, unfortunately getting the results for all of this is not immediate. The H1N1 test requires PCR which is a lengthy biology procedure that I have actually done, and usually takes 2 days. And the Influenza A test requires at least 1 day to get results as well. By this time, his oxygen had come back up, after 3 steroid treatments for the croup that he did have, and lots of Tamiflu, and Tylenol. We were then released from the hospital and suitable to go home. Thank God, right? Not even 3 hours after we got home, we got the call from the pediatrician office saying Brennon tested positive for Influenza A. Great!!!!! Also, Braxton was at this time coming down with the barking cough, but not the fever yet. I was purely exhausted at this point from not sleeping for 2 days and being Pregnant, and started to feel achy and feverish, and nauseated, which was weird because I have not been sick at all this whole pregnancy. So I called my OB, and after telling them the situation they immediately put me on Tamiflu. Can I take that being pregnant? And in the 1st Trimester? I immediately started to cry again, how could this be happening to us? My OB said that at this point I need to think of myself, MYSELF? Are you crazy I am a Mom, I stopped thinking of myself, when I became a parent, she said that the benefits outweigh the risks right now, and we cannot let the virus take over my body, because I don't have the immunities and power to fight it off like a normal person since I am pregnant, and the baby is going to suck all that I have out of me that is good to keep going. My fear just turned into a complete Nightmare. The Pediatrician also put Braxton on Tamiflu in hopes of the virus not getting out of hand like it did with Brennon. Well, then when we thought it could not get any worse, Lutheran called and Brennon tested Positive for H1N1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to just pray as hard as I could that my little tiny grape growing in me would be Ok. And guess what, I then got a fever, started throwing up so bad that I broke blood vessels in my eyes, and got body aches, so now I had to take Tylenol on top of the Tamiflu. And take care of 2 sick babies, and help a husband who had walking pneumonia. But after 3 out of the 4 of us being on Tamiflu for 5 days, on the 5th day we finally started to feel better, still sleep deprived but not fluish anymore. It seemed as fast as it hit us, it went away, although it was the most difficult 4-5 days of my life. I am still praying that everything is ok with the baby, and would appreciate any prayers that are willing to come my way as well. I think that we are finally on the road to recovery.

The Chinese say GIRL!

There is this crazy little thing called a Gender Prediction Chart, that was supposedly developed in Ancient China from very wise souls. On this chart you can determine the gender of your unborn child before the long-awaited ultrasound at 20 weeks, and since I am only about 8 weeks along, you can see how that could make a pregnant woman very anxious. According to the directions you must look at the age the mother was at the time of conception and the month in which conception occurred. And the results are GIRL!!!!! Now, this did not work for Braxton, but did for Brennon, so basically I think that I have a 50% chance of having a girl, :) Maybe I should just flip a coin instead.

On another note, everyone thinks that a girl is arriving in May, I won't tell everyone what I think it is, until another time, but the day we took the pregnancy test, and after I stopped shaking and told Brett that another little Gunter was on the way, we saw a Dragonfly on the window as we were all going downstairs to have breakfast, and if any of you know me, you know that I love Dragonflies, their beauty, mystery, and strength. And I always said that if we have a little girl I want to decorate her room in a Garden theme, with of course, dragonflies........therefore, Brett is now convinced that was a sign that his hair is about to turn grey a little sooner, and a little girl is on the way........

But, that will all be confirmed around Christmas with the highly awaited Ultrasound.

4 Generations of Gunter's

Over the summer, we visited Grandpa, and Grandma Gunter, Brett's Grandparents, and The boys' Great Grandparents. The Boys are the only ones in the family to carry on the name, and hey, we did pretty good, they now have 2 to follow through with that task. But, it is so shocking at how similar they all look in the eyes, even Braxton. I can't really see it in Brennon yet, but I think that's because he is the spitting image of Papa Mike.........I was just really proud of this and wanted to share.

3 Years Later...

I came across this super cute photo the other day, and couldn't believe how they have all grown. Colin, Vincent, and Braxton; Cousins, all the same age give or take a few months. As you can tell, it gets harder and harder to get all three of them to sit for a picture, but none the less they always enjoy getting to hang out and play together......

Back to School Night

Last Thursday night we went to Braxton's back to school night for a Spaghetti dinner. It was really cute, they ordered in Fazoli's and all the Teachers served the parents and kids dinner. We then were able to go and see his classroom, I have already seen it, but it meant a lot to Daddy for Braxton to show him around. The first thing he showed Dada was the computers, and then the books, and of course the potty's. The toilets are so little and the sinks are so short that I think it is fun for all of them to go the bathroom at school. We also got to see his surprise project, a scarecrow. All the kids made one with construction paper and paper plates, it was very cute. Dada was very happy with how nice his teachers are and how they really care about all the kids. Now, we just have to get him not to cry when he goes on Tuesday without us.......

And Baby Makes 5!!!!!!!!

Well, we have some very shocking but exciting news. We are going to have an addition to the Gunter household. That's Right, I'm Preggers with baby #3!!!!!!!!!! I am due around May 19th 2010. I know, I know, another May baby. Sorry..........

We are very excited, to add to our family, and the boys are very excited to become Roomies. I can't seem to get them to go to bed in their own rooms now, so this might work out really good. I am a little nervous about the whole thing, but I have faith in God that everything will work out. We don't have any more information at this point, except to relay the good news. But we will keep all of you posted as updates happen.

1st Day of Preschool

Well, it is official, Braxton has started School. He is not too happy getting up early in the morning, since he has been home all summer and has gotten used to sleeping in. But, otherwise is happy when we get there. On the First day he had to wear his "Pre-pack" into the classroom, but finally was ok with hanging it on a hook. And when the line wasn't moving fast enough to go into the classroom he yelled, "GO, GO" which the other parents got a kick out of. When I asked what he did on his first day of school he said "ate cookies." Awh, the important things in life when you are 2. The teacher said that he was a little sad when Mommy left, but realized that Mommy always comes back, and he gets to paint there, so what could be better. He even made a few friends, of course they are cute little blonde girls, but what can I say, he takes after his Father.........

He is one of the younger kids in class, so I think that he is doing quite well, all considering. Its a big adjustment leaving Mommy and going to school. Now Brennon on the other hand probably will run to school, he is so independant. He cried the whole time when we dropped Braxton off because he could not get out of his stroller to play and paint with the other kids.

Tiny Town

A couple of weeks ago we went to Tiny Town with the Cousins. Our boys are so lucky they have Cousins that are all about the same age and boys at that. We'll have to see what Stefy has, but as for now, poor Carlie is the lonesome princess. You know what they say when a slew of boys are born...........fast swimmers, hehehe, or maybe just the future of Calabrese trucking. :)

Anyways, tiny town is so cute with all the details, and best of all they have a TRAIN, which Braxton was absolutley thrilled and very serious about riding on, and so was Brennon, once we got moving. There were some houses and buildings that they could actually go in, and what was funny, was that the town jail was the one building that they wouldn't come out of; how ironic. Mommy had to actually go in there after them, oh my.

My Baby is not a Baby anymore

Well, I am officially sad. My little baby Brennon is not a baby anymore. Today we went and got his 1 year old pictures back from the Photographer and to my surprise, he looks so old, and even though we had a very hard time getting him to actually take a picture that day they turned out pretty well. Plus, I think that he is growing up even faster then Braxton did because being number 2 and only a year younger makes him want to do everything number 1 does. How sad.....................My babies are becoming little men.....faster then I had hoped.

Getting Started

Well, I have crossed over to the dark side. I have set up our first family blog. We have been getting requests from family and friends to have more updates, and news about us, but mainly the boys. Of course they would be the more popular ones of the family.

Where do I start? Well first, Braxton, our 2 1/2 year old, is learning to potty train, and is all boy. He rides a bike, is learning to play T-ball (courtesy of Daddy) and always thinks he deserves Popsicle's, and Ice Cream. Brennon, our 1 year old is full of vinegar and fire, and tries everything possible to keep up with big brother. He is making his presence known and no one better forget about him, otherwise he will let you know. He is currently walking and enjoys every minute of it, especially when he can play hide and seek and peek-a-boo with brother. They are the best of friends, and will always have each others back.........

As for us, we are approaching 5 years of marriage, and I am happy to say that it has been a great five years, despite the screaming at dinner time from the kids, not being able to hold a conversation for more then 3 minutes, and not being able to sit down and relax at night until 9:30 pm. And having every day feel as though there is never enough time, it has been a great 5 years...... :)

I will try to post some pics as soon as I figure this thing out.........