Brennas First Christmas- good food, fun friends, sharing and making memories

We had a fun filled X-mas this year.

We started christmas eve up in Brainerd, MN with Mikes family, we had ribs and watched home movies of the Foys xmas from years past

On Christmas day we opened up presants (Brenna was spoiled of course) and had a great dinner of Eleanors famous meatballs.

Then the day after Christmas we drove down to OShkosh. The timeing was great b/c the Baetens were having a christmas party and all of our family friends were there.. so they all got to meet Brenna!! This is the same fun group that we go camping with each year. :-) It was so good to see everyone!

Santa delivered presants that night and "santa daave" handed them out!

The next day was made for relaxation.. we had comfort food through out the day, played mario-cart and watched tv till we fell asleep with exhaustion.

Before we left on Sunday we got a 4 generation picture on the Lyster side.

Mike and I feel so truley blessed for such great family and friends.

Happy new year to you all!

Bbbbrrrrrrr

Its a cold one today...-6 outside! Hope everyone is keeping warm.

Brenna got her first little cold last weekend..just a runny nose and we think

she may be getting in her first little teeth.

We stocked up onbaby tylenol, calming bath soaps with lavender and Vicks vapor rub for babies!

Hopefully that will get us through the winter.

I started my 12 hr shifts this weekend and Mike took care of Brenna and did such a great job while I was away. They came to visit me around lunch time on Sat and Sun so i could feed her and get my kisses in. They sure got their bonding time in.. she is such a daddys girl :-)

We are always fubbling with the camera when Brenna is smiley..f inally we got one of her at the end of our xmas card shoot.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much this year to be thankful for.. one being our little

butter-ball Brenna

She had her first Thanksgiving meal up in Brainerd with the Foys.

She got so much attention from the grandparents and great grandparent she slept really good after that trip!!

Here she is is with Great Grandma Foy and uncle Matt.

layin' around

Over the last few weeks Brenna has found her fingers and just loves to suck on her thumb. She now has started to grab onto things too like my hair and necklace.

She loves the jungle play mat that Uncle Chris and Aunt Anne Marie got her. I'll have to get a video of her on it... it's so cute, but for now here is a clip of Griffin and Bren doing what they do best! laying around and looking cute of course :-)

Back to work

On Nov 5th I headed back to work at Mercy Hospital.

The night before I got everything ready, my outfit, brennas outfit, diaper bag, milk supply, my lunch...being back at work was weird and was hard to be away from Brenna for 8 hrs. I made it through and its been getting better each day.

I start working more day shifts in december and then Brenna will be going to her in-home day-care called Little Lights which is just a mile away from us. My day-care provider has two little ones of her own, tons of educational toys and a great day care atmosphere. We are so excited to have found a place we trust and a a place for Brenna to thrive in while we are away :-)

Above is a picture of Brenna with a bonnet on that I use to wear when I was a baby. She is starting to fill out alot more and is fitting into her 3-6 mo old clothes now. We had to put away the newborn outfits for they were too tight!!! crazy to think!

Shes been holding her head up on her own

Gooing & Gaaing alot

Responds to her name

Full control of head

She has started to grab at toys hanging above her and also has found her fingers!!! mmmm

She has always been a good sleeper and has been sleeping through the night for almost 2 months now. Just like me she likes to sleep in too.

She is almost 2 feet tall and weighs just over 12 pounds.

Halloween Fun

Halloween fun

Over the weekend we took Brenna on her first Trick-or-Treatin' around

our neighborhood cul-de-sac. All the neighbors loved our little

chili pepper!

On Saturday night we went to a friends house for a costume party.

Momma Chili pepper, Baby Chili Pepper and Crazy Lady

HApPY HaLLOwEen



Last weekend my neighbors Kate & Chris had a Halloween party for all the young kids in the neighborhood.

Superman #1 is Isaac & his sister Morgan was a bride

Brenna-Chili pepper

Anna-Little Red Ridding Hood

Will- Superman #2


Lucy-Monkey

Ian-Tiger

Halloween is Kate's favorite holiday so she went all ou! There was brain punch, pumpkin shaped cheese, sausage, kit-kat fingers,haunted music, fog machine, and fun gift bags filled with spooky stuff.



This Friday the 31st all the kids will be getting back together to go trick or treating around the cul-de-sac to show off the costumes to the other neighbors. I know Brenna will stay nice and warm in her "Chili" outfit.



Here are some pictures from past halloweens at the Foy household..hehe






Mike as Dog
the bounty-hunter

Miranda as the
tooth fairy



















Our cat Squirt as "Squirt-enstein"

A bachlorette party where we were all devils and the bride-to-be
was the lovely angel.

Grandparents ga'lore!

On the 18th we had both sets of grandparents come up to visit. We had a fun filled day in Stillwater where we went for a lunch cruise down the St.Croix River in the ol'fashion paddle boats. (you may remember that mike and I got engaged on these boats back in 2004)

During the 2 1/2 hour long boat ride we enjoyed a nice lunch, great view and a fun family photo shoot.

The weather was great..a bit windy, but nice and sunny. It definitly was one of the last "Warm" days of the year. the trees and foliage were at peak for the season! Fall has arrived!

Since we were in the area we went over to the gazebo in Lowell Park that we got married at 3 years ago. Memories!!!!

We wrapped up the evening with Mikes homemade stew and playing some wild rounds of Catch Phrase.. things got a bit loud and crazy at times. That game goes down as one of the funnest to play especially after a few cocktails!
**no pictures were able to be taken during the game due to so much laughing we were all crying.. :-) "full of beans"

The Foy family

It's already the middle of October


and the leaves are falling outside while


the pumpkin-spice candles are


burning inside.


I try to get outside as much as possible these days before the weather gets too crummy.





Brenna is starting to get more on a schedule with eating and sleeping. She hardly fusses, unless she is super hungery..then watch out! :-)





I have been on the hunt for day care services when i go back to work Nov 4th. We checked out both centers and in-home places. I like the in-home better and will be making a decision on who to pick in the next week. It's hard to think that i'm not going to be with her every day. I'm enjoying every second with her and Griffin these days.





This weekend both sets of grandparents are coming for a visit to see their grandchild who is growing very quickly these days!!







"Little peanut"

Road Trip

Over the weekend I took Brenna on her first road trip down to Madison.

On Friday we met up with Grandma Lyster in Sun Prairie WI, went out for dinner and enjoyed taking lots of pictures of the new great-grandma.

Sleeping in the sun after a long car ride.

Then on Saturday we headed over to Mazomanie WI for my girlfriend Emilys birthday party/Mary Kay event! We got little makeovers and enjoyed lots of yummy food while getting pampered. It was so nice to see her b/c we usually once get to see each other 1-2 times a year.

Saturday evening we made our way East to Jefferson WI to see Great-Grandma & Grandpa Rueth! My mom met up with us too while we were down there and we got a great 4generation picture. It was so nice to see them all and be with great family and friends over the weekend.

Happy Birthday

Sept 26th....Happy Birthday to Grand-mama-la Lyster!! Brenna will be celebrating as well...
(Shes turns 1 month old!!)

Today I started using my breast pump and we tried a bottle for the first time.
It was a bit odd for her at first.. more came out of her mouth and onto me than in her mouth. But shes getting the hang of it. Now I can leave the house and Mike can watch/feed her if need be!

What a fun month it has been, thanks for all the love and support.

Last Thursday

Brenna slept through

the night! I of course

woke up numerous times to make sure she was still breathing!!

Last weeks doctors appointment also put to rest the worries Mike and I were having.. like all these weird sounds she was making.. "is that ok"... yup said the doctor..perfectly normal.

Being a new parent definitely brings out the worry wort in you. Besides the scary sounds she occasionally makes she is a happy baby who loves to explore. Shes already lifting her head to look around and step with her feet when held.

She gives us smiles at the oddest moments.. i'm thinking its gas related..but who knows with her.

She is growing so fast so i try to take pictures and video as much as i can, her hair is lightening up, shes 8.6 pounds and eats and sleeps a bit less then the first week.

things Brenna loves

-Her swing

-Taking baths

-Getting a fresh diaper on

-Being held in daddys big arms

-Going for walks

-Going shopping with mom

-Her fist in her mouth

-Daddy singing to her

things Brenna does not love

-dirty diaper

-having gas.

-having to wait to eat till mom gets

out of the shower

-hiccups

Brenna and Griffin

What a fun weekend we had. Got to see both sides of the family over the weekend and had a doctors check up for Brenna and a home OB checkup for me. Both mommy and baby are doing great!

Mommys loosing her weight and baby is putting it on. Brenna is already gotten back up to her birthweight and some... 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Shes one good eater!

Breastfeeding is going well. She eats every 2-3 hrs for approx 10 min. Each day she stays awake a bit longer.

Baby Foy arrives!

Brenna Linn Foy

Born Tuesday, August 26th at 12:16am

7 pounds 6 ounces

21 inches long

lots of brown hair!!

Labor went so well. I pushed for just over an hour and both Mike and I thought it went so smoothly. Mike was a great support, didn't pass and let me sqeeze his hand till it almost fell off!

I had a great nurse that helped me through all the fun phases of labor. she was awesome..gotta love those nurses!!

Brenna and Mom... 8 hours after the birth

Time for the Foys to see their newest addition to the family!!! Can't wait for the Lyster family to meet her!

its TIME!

All through the night last night I was having contractions.. about 10 min apart..
since i got no sleep last night...(again) i had to call into work. For the "fun" of it i got an appointment to see my OB/GYN to see if I had dialated at all...

and no my surprise.... I was 5 cm!!!!!!!! He could even fell the head!

So we are off to the hospital.. it is 3:45 on Monday afternoon (My b-day) and we are going to have baby foy sooooon!

Will keep you all posted!!!

love MIR!

bring on the contractions!

Sunday morning around 3am I awoke to contractions. about 10 min apart. I couldn't sleep so i ate some cereal, played with Griffin and watched the clock tick tock away.
The contractions were only lasting for 30 seconds or so and were kind of sporatic..making me think Braxton Hicks, "false labor".
I called work around 5am to talk with the charge nurse and we agreed that walking probably would be the best for me so I decided to go into work unsure of what the day would bring.

By the middle of my shift they were every 30 min or longer and i was feeling ok most of the time.
Tomorrow we will see if I am progressing.
Tuesday we have a neighborhood get together/ice cream social so I would hate to miss that..so anytime baby wants to come after that would be GREAT!!

Week 38

My 38th week checkup went well.

No changes yet~ the doctor said I could go up to 42 weeks, and then

they wound induce labor. I'm hoping the due date IS the date!! :-)

Everyone at work states they are ready to wheel me on over to Labor and Delivery if my water breaks while at work! I'm just hoping i'm not in the middle of something with a patient when it happens.

On Sunday night I was laying in bed and baby foy got hiccups! It was the cutest thing EVER!
For about 2 minutes my belly was twictching every few seconds, i couldn't help but giggle.
Other than the hiccups, nothing much new here.
I have a feeling she is going to go past her due date so tomorrow when I go in for my weekly exam I am going to ask the doc what the plan should be if I do go over.

This weekend Mike heads up to Brainerd for a fantasy football get together. He will be gone for for 30 hrs so keep your fingers crossed that baby foy doesn't decide to come during that time! yikes!!

I just fininished reading this book called 'Being BabyWise'
One of the main concepts of Babywise is that you separate your babies activities into three basic cycles of feedings,then waketime and then sleeping. Not sleeping after eating. This is suppose to aid in your scheduling and help baby sleep through the night earlier. I have picked up alot of great advice from it and can't wait to put it into action.

Baby shower

BABY SHOWERS ! ! !

I'm a little behind on getting my baby shower pictures up...so here they are!!

Baby Shower in St.Francis MN, from my nursing coworkers.

My coworkers sure did shower me with so many wonderful gifts! I am sooooo thankful. What a great group of women I work with!!!

The game was to make a diaper out of toilet paper.. i got to pick the best two. THEY WERE ALL HILARIOUS!

A bunch of us went out after the party for a cocktail at the Rum Shack! We rarely get to go out with each other due to everyones crazy work schedules... it was definitly well deserved!

***

Baby shower in

Oshkosh WI

***
The first weekend in August my mom and sisters threw a baby-book shower for me. Each guest was to bring their fav book from childhood/raising kids. By the end of the day I had a full library of great classics from 'The hungery little caterpiller to Richard Scarey books"

the Lyster gals~

My "aunties"- what a great group of empowering women!

Thanks to everyone I feel prepared for baby Foy!!!