In LOVE with HIM

This is Chayce Bradlee Ercanbrack! He was born Wednesday, May 20th at 4:12 p.m. weighing in at 6 pounds 7 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long!

I had my Dr.'s appointment Wed. morning and I was at a 5. Dr. Jones told me to go home and get my stuff and meet him back at the hospital! I was so glad he wasn't going to let me hang out that far along! We were admitted to the hospital around 12...

















...And were given this amazing gift at 4!
















So happy that he was here!

















The fabulous Dr. Jones. He's an awesome OBGYN if you are looking!

















I was left in my delivery room as McKay and Chayce went down to get cleaned up. About two hours later I was still up there by myself and started to wonder what was going on. In the meanwhile...

















...Chayce was surrounded by a handful of nurses trying to figure out what was going on with his breathing and lungs. It was probably a good thing I was alone and oblivious to all of this.

I finally talked to McKay around 7:30 p.m. and he let me know they had to use a CPAP machine on him to help him calm down his breathing. His heart rate was fine, he was just taking breaths too quickly. After an XRay, they also found a little cloudiness in his lungs...so he was put on antibiotics. When they put a newborn on antibiotics they make them stay in the Level 2 nursery (in between NICU and regular) for 48 hours. Of course when I found all of this out I was VERY emotional. Mother Baby was really busy that night also so I didn't have a room and they were going to make me stay in the Peds unit. An awesome nurse (Kay) was my advocate and demanded I have a room close to the Level 2 Nursery as this was the only way I was going to see him (through visiting the nursery).

This was a sweet moment for me to hold him and know everything was going to be OK. Not knowing and understanding what's going on with your baby can be such a nerve wracking thing. I can't imagine what parents go through who deal with very serious complications and don't know if their baby will pull through. About 10 p.m. I was put in my recovery room (which was super close to the nursery...again Kay was my angel that night!)

This is us in Chayce's little home for the next two days. It's definitely a different experience than having your baby with you in your room. What a proud daddy with his two boys!

Our family of four! (Can I just say I am in LOVE with my boys...I wouldn't have it any other way!)

I met two of the most WONDERFUL women while Chayce was in the nursery...this was his first nurse Sherry who helped us both nights. We became friends and even had a nice conversation at 4 a.m. when I couldn't sleep the first night we were there.

We were lucky and had the same two nurses while he was there. This was Baeta (pronounced Baata - I need to remember this!) Another AMAZING nurse who was so awesome. I felt so lucky and blessed to have these two women there for Chayce and I during this time. They were so helpful and explained everything so clearly to me. I think we will make a visit to them to thank them for all they did!

Peyton is so excited to be a big brother and loves to give Chayce hugs, kisses, rubs his head, helps me burp him and can't get enough of him. I STILL can't get him to say baby brother consistently, so until he learns more about gender we may still get baby sister. It's so neat to look at these two now and think about the future and the relationship these two will share. What an amazing thing families are.

Well, there's the long story for everyone. I just want to mention how extremely grateful I am for being able to carry and deliver a healthy, strong, beautiful baby. It's my life's greatest blessing and it's hard to put into words the emotions of this process. Our family is truly blessed...thank you to all of you who have been so supportive and willing to help us during this time.

Trip to the zoo and budding photographer

A week ago Thursday Wendi and I were going to go to the zoo...until I was having contractions Wednesday...but no baby came of it. So we rescheduled for this past Thursday, and it was a success! I've been wanting to take Peyton to the zoo for awhile and I'm glad we got the opportunity while I only have one child to take!

Tyke and Peyt in front of the Rhinos...not going to happen to get both boys looking and smiling.

Carousel ride!

The penguins were my favorite part. We walked up to their area and nothing was out...and no one was standing around but us. About 10 seconds later a worker came walking out with a bucket of fish...and about ten penguins following her! It was fun to see them jump in the water and eat their lunch! Perfect timing!

Riding the train...I think this was Peyton's favorite part. Thanks for a great afternoon Wendi and Tyke! I'm excited for our summer excursions to start up again!

Last week I was searching for the camera with no luck. About 20 minutes later I found it under McKay's night stand in our room. I turned it on and found about 10 pictures like this...

and ten more like this...

I actually kind of like this picture! Pretty artistic right! Peyton LOVES the camera and wants to look at pictures of him everyday (I've created a monster!) Looks like he found it on his own and did his own photo shoot. After we saw these the first thing McKay said was "oh...now you have something to blog about!" I told him at least I keep a journal...

I also need to wish my Mom and VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY yesterday. We had a fun evening with the family at the park eating yummy Brick Oven pizza and salads from Rumbi. My Mom is such an amazing woman and I love her so much. She's decided to take a year off from teaching next year due to some voice issues she's having. During this time I'm looking forward to being with her more (but don't worry Mom...doesn't mean I'll ask you to babysit all the time :) My Dad surprised her with tickets to the American Idol concert for her, Chels and I! I'm excited to go...I've really enjoyed it! (Although BOO that Adam is in the finals over Danny...I DO NOT like him!)

Today's Update

Just got back from the Dr's and thought I'd quickly give an update on what's going on before I get Peyt back from Lisa. I'm at a 4...so funny that my body likes to sit there! Dr. Jones said that had I been at a 5 today he probably wouldn't have let me go home. But now I'm home and will wait another week. I'm really OK with that. I'm not miserable and I want him to be as healthy as possible. We'll see what happens this week!

Six Years...and Two Years

Happy Anniversary McKay! It's been a great six years! We had a fun evening at Chef's Table and walking around the mall. It's nice just to be out with the two of us. Love being married to you!


Also Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and family. I hope it was a wonderful day yesterday (sad to say I didn't get one picture!) I've been a Mom now for two years!


I do have a funny story from last night (I hope Wendi is OK with me telling it!) My nephew drew my Mother in Law a cute card for Mother's Day. As he was drawing it he kept talking about Yoda and all the things he says. One of those sayings is "Size isn't everything." So Tyler then draws a picture of Yoda on her card and asks his Mom how to spell it...so Grammy's card said..."Grandma, Love Tyler...Size isn't everything." I laughed so hard when I saw it...such a cute thing for a five year old to do. Pam looks great so she doesn't need to worry about it anyway, but he was just wanting to share his Yoda knowledge :)

We've almost made it a week at a 4 now. I go back tomorrow so we'll see where we're at!

The Labor Thing

I do this purely for the record. I don't like pregnant pictures of myself, but you have to remember somehow...this is me at 36 weeks!


Last night was interesting...about 3 p.m. I started having my usual brackston hicks contractions; however, they started to come at regular intervals about 5 minutes apart. I started to have other pains but nothing too severe...the age old question EVERY woman who has had a baby asks themselves: Should I go to the hospital? Obviously I didn't and I'm so glad I didn't because I would have paid for nothing. It's such a hard thing to know when to and when not to.


My only reasoning for wanting to go without strong contractions was that I'm at a 4, and my body pushed itself to a four without much (if any) pain. With Peyt I sat at a 4 for a few weeks and was at a 5 when I went to be induced. Oh the next few weeks are going to be so fun! We'll keep you updated on all the excitement.

For now, no baby. McKay and I celebrate our six year anniversary tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy a nice night out together...minus the hospital.

We LOVE Spring

(I'm hoping my text doesn't wrap around the pictures this time...I keep trying to figure out why it does it sometimes and not others...it BUGS ME!)

We've been doing some fun things around here lately. I'm trying to get some good quality time in with Peyton before this baby comes (which by the way, may be sooner than my induction date of June 1st...I'm dilated to a 3, almost 4, and according to them not even at 36 weeks yet...we'll keep you posted! When I tell some women that they can't believe I'm walking around...some people are in full blown labor before this point!)

Peyt and I have spent many days at the park swinging, sliding and running around. McKay has also started his hard work in the yard to get it in good shape. He was such a nice husband and let me buy a swing set for the backyard...and Pam and Wayne gave us a tramp for Christmas! We will have a fun yard when it's all said and done and it will be a lifesaver with a new baby and a two year old! Peyt has had fun playing with Dad in the backyard and being a helper.

I had to post this pic. This Peyt's new smile with raised eyebrows and a big grin. I love it.


















Loving being outside and raking with Dad. We had SO much dead grass matting down our yard. It's amazing what happened after it was all raked up (not quite done, but almost). The yard is greening up quite well now.


















Trying so hard to be Daddy's helper!

Today we got to visit the PG firestation. Peyton LOVES trucks and anything with wheels. He loved it except for the point when the fireman lifted him into the ambulance without Mom...didn't know what to do, but he got over it.




















My little truck lover. I told him we were going to the firestation yesterday and he kept bringing it up.

















Peyt and most of the cute kids who were there. I love my friends and their kids. So fun to get together. You can see the one guy with the full on suit...I thought it would scare Peyt more than it did. The guys at the station were very nice to do this for us!

















All the cute kids...(left to right)...Brady and Easton (Sarah's twins...and she's expecting again! Yeah!), Cade (Michelle's), Emma and Caden (Amber's...she's expecting also!), Hallie and Savvy (Steph's) and Peyton. We missed everyone else!

This is Peyt and "Sabanna" swinging. Peyton always asks if she's going to be there when I say we are going to play with friends. I think he has a little "crush" on an older woman :) She's such a doll so I'd be totally fine with them dating someday Steph :)

Thanks for organizing this Michelle. So fun to get together!

I think we're also going to attempt the zoo for the first time on Thursday (as long as no baby is on the way yet!) I LOVE the spring and summer and the opportunity it provides to get out and do fun things. I think Peyton is loving it too!

No One Mourns the WICKED!

I had such a fun night with these lovely ladies last week. We gave Pam Wicked tickets for Christmas and the time finally came! Melissa (next to me on the left) sat on the phone for hours during pre-sale and got us six tickets together! What a babe! Pam treated us to a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill beforehand (thanks again Pam) and we had a great time at the show. I am spoiled and this was my third time seeing the show...it's so great! I think every Broadway show is great though! I just wish my husband shared that same love :)

I've been a bit behind on what we've been up to lately...which hasn't been a whole lot besides playing outside (well, me chasing Peyton around the park) and waiting for baby brother to come (although we still have a good month probably).

My cute sister in law met a nice boy named Kurt so we had a family party this week to meet him before he went to sell pest control for the summer...hope that all works out Ange...we like him!

Peyt and I had fun playing at Steph's house today and at the park...love my friends so much!

Lastly, I need some advice from people who have gone on trips...I REALLY want to plan to go somewhere fun with McKay this fall...Cruise? All inclusive? Just take a trip somewhere? Anywhere? I want to hear from all of my traveling friends on places/cruises they've been on...where you stayed is really the biggest info for me...I'm picky and need to stay somewhere nice (and very clean!) We've done Hawaii so anything besides that (not that I would complain to go there again though!) I would love to hear from you!

One Year Older Videos

I'm starting a new little business from home...introducing One Year Older Videos!

For all the info, you can visit www.oneyearoldervideos.blogspot.com, but in a nutshell, it's a fun way to show off your pictures! I make a video each year for Peyton's birthday and the first two have turned out great! I would love to make one for you too!

If you or anyone you know is interested, let me know by emailing me at lindsayercanbrack@gmail.com. I'm charging $25 instead of $40 for the first 25 people who have a video made.

Late Night Joy Ride

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning to banging sounds in my family room...looked over and McKay was fast asleep in bed. I got that panicked feeling you get when you think someone is raiding your house...

...until I heard little wheels rolling along the table.

That's right. Peyton somehow got himself out of his room (which has a door stopper thing on it so he shouldn't be able to open his door from the inside), came down the stairs in the pitch dark and was playing with his cars in our family room.

I came stumbling out and didn't even see where he was but knew he was there. He was sitting by the fireplace just content to play in the dark. I can't believe he didn't try and come get one of us.

I picked him up and climbed back upstairs as he was crying "Play cars...play cars." My response: "Child...it's four in the morning...not a time to play cars." We laid down in bed where he wanted me to sing more songs...I have no voice with a cold anyway and definitely no voice at 4 a.m. We made it through a half a song and he had to just deal with me laying there with him. I gave him about 15 minutes and left him wide awake laying in bed. I'm assuming he fell asleep at some point.

When I woke up this morning and could actually see, he had a ton of cars lined up along the table. What talent...he can line them perfectly straight in the pitch black of night.

From Shorts to Snowpants

Monday...shorts...Thursday...snowpants. Couldn't believe I saw this when I woke up!

















Dad made the best of it and took Peyt out to play!






















Peyt wasn't quite the fan...we need better gloves for him next winter.


























I need to have a better attitude about the moisture. It really is a blessing for us. I'm just ready for spring like everyone else out there!

We had a fun day today at Grammy Pammy's playing with Tykie and hanging out with Wendi. We love you guys! Peyt didn't get a nap so he was in bed at 7:30 tonight! Hope I'm not up at 5 with him!