Liam's Visitors

We are so very blessed by the sweet words of encouragement and love that have been sent to our family after the arrival of our sweet son. Both Ray and I cannot express our gratitude for each of you. We also loved having sweet visitors come to meet our little guy. We were so excited to share him with the world.

Thursday afternoon, our Fantlet friends came and brought big sister to meet her little brother. The kiddos were so very excited to see our tiny little Liam. It's amazing to think we are adding another little kiddo to our growing group.

 

 {sharing Liam with our Fantlet friends}

 {Kristin snuggling Liam}

 {The kids loved our room with a view. They enjoyed watching the cars and the emergency helicopter that landed next to the hospital.}

 {Aubrey hearts Bryson}

Thank you to our Fantlet friends for loving on our little girl. From sleepovers, play time, jump places, princesses, and Easter hunt fun, our little girl absolutely adored her time away while we were in the hospital with baby brother. 

Friday afternoon, two of my first grade team members came to visit Liam in the hospital. It was such a special treat to have Keri and Tanya love on our boy. They truly have a heart of gold and I am beyond blessed to work with such amazing women. I love my firsty team! I am so grateful for you!!!

 {Keri, Tanya, Liam, & I)

 {Keri's first baby holding experience was a success!}

 {Tanya Love'n} 

Later Friday afternoon, we had a super special visit from Oma, Opa, and Bubba (my older brother). It was so special to see my family and watch them love on our little Liam. After weeks of waiting on this little guy's arrival, we were so very blessed to have him here and celebrate his arrival with our loved ones.

 {Oma's little newborn love}

 {Oma & Opa}

 {Oma, Opa, Aubrey, Liam, & I are enjoying opening presents and visiting}

 {Bubba with Liam}

My sweet friend, Stephanie, came to the hospital to visit Liam. It is always so special to share our love with our besties. Thank you girl for coming and spending special time with us to celebrate our little guy.

  {Stephanie, Liam, & I}

Michael also stopped by the house to love on Liam. I am so thankful for these sweet besties. We are so blessed to know that Liam is so very loved.

{Ray, Michael, & Liam}

Liam's Story- The Delivery & Our Family of Four

On Thursday, March 24th at 2:05PM, Liam Owen Zellner made his official debut into the world at 39 weeks and three days old. Weighing in at 7 pounds and 7 ounces, our little boy is true perfection and love. With one dimpled cheek, a dimpled chin, 10 long fingers and 10 long toes, and lots of dark locks, he quickly melted into our arms and our hearts.

Enjoy our little boy's story. A story that was written before us. A baby that was perfectly planned and given to us by the grace of God. We are so thankful to be his parents and begin our adventures as a family of four.  


Liam's Story 
For weeks we waited (impatiently) for our little boy's arrival. While pregnancy is a true miracle and blessing, I have to be honest and say Liam's pregnancy was not an easy one. But knowing he was growing big and strong inside me, I could take on the world (just with a few more aches and pains this go round). At 37 weeks I had found I was already dilated and progressing quite quickly. My goal was to make it past Spring Break and then little man could arrive any day. Of course our he had different plans. He sat cozy for the next few weeks. At my final appointment on week 39, I found myself at the doctor's office not feeling well (nothing new). He told me that my blood pressure was the highest it had ever been. Secretly I had been wanting to just be induced as we were so ready to see our little boy. But when the doctor peeked his head back into our room during the appointment and asked how would we like to have a baby the following day, my heart leapt into my throat. It was everything I had hoped for. I just couldn't believe the day was finally here. Thursday we would be meeting our little boy and our family of three would once again expand to four.

With bags packed and a special dinner and play date with big sister at Chick-fil-a, we dropped off Aubrey at the Fants (Blog post to come), and spent one final night with the husband. With overwhelming excitement and knowing that we would be awake at 5AM to be at the hospital by 6AM left us with minimal sleep (typical for parents with newborns). We couldn't wait to welcome our little love into the world.

 

Liam's Arrival March 24, 2016

I have to say going in to be induced left me with a lot of questions. Would it be a faster delivery? How would I feel? Would my water brake on its own this time? Would the epidural work? How big would my baby be (even if 39 weeks is considered full term)? Of course you can see I never worry. Ha! Understatement. Even with all of these thoughts on my brain, I was rather calm the morning of his delivery. We arrived to the hospital and I was quickly put on Pitocin by 6:30, a medicine to start contractions. By 8:00 I had my epidural put in (it was amazing). A few hours later after still being able to feel my feet, move around, and only had minimal numbness, I did get an extra shot of "juice" just in case. Throughout the course of the morning, I took several naps, caught up on a few updated text messages from family and friends, chatted with my love, and then my water broke. By 2PM it was time to push. By 2:05, Liam had arrived.

Our Liam was perfect!

I absolutely adore this picture of our little guy including his squishy face and his head full of hair. We also think it is so fun that he looks a lot like his big sister. We are such proud parents of this little guy and could not wait to share him with friends and family.
 

"How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he brings;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives

Liam is coming today!"
- Ray (daddy)

My heart melted when Aubrey met her baby brother. She came into the room with her "Big Sister" shirt on and said, "Dat's Liam right der. He's sleeping." She peeked into the blanket at her baby brother and even softly touched his head and kissed his face.

 

Liam's story will forever make an impression on our hearts. Our lives will forever be changed and while I know we will face our fair share of challenges more importantly we will also share in the beautiful moments of life and the craziness of parenting two babes. So bring on the sleepless nights, the newborn diaper changes, and the baby tears. This mama is so excited to hold my babies tight and to know that our crazy adventures in parenthood have officially begun.

Baby Bump'n #2: 39 Weeks

Number of weeks: 39 Weeks +2 days
Measurement: I am measuring right on track per my weekly doctor's visits.
Baby Size: At  39 weeks, Liam is the size of a mini watermelon.
Heartbeat: will update
Pregnancy Clothes: I am so thankful for sweet friends that have let me borrow their clothes. I'm feeling pretty frumpy and large these days. Some clothes fit but mostly are stretched to their limit.
Sleep/How I'm Feeling: Honestly I feel blessed and miserable all at the same time. I hate to say that I'm miserable as I know it is a true miracle to hold this little babe. A second pregnancy is always different, but I have to say it hasn't been the easiest of pregnancies. From lots of pain, sickness, body changes (which I can handle), blood pressure and sugar issues, nerve pain, contractions each day which have  honestly made me think we were a go several times... it has been truly hard. I also think waiting these extra weeks when we were all thinking he would arrive a few weeks early has put me in a bit of a funk. Now with all that being said, I absolutely love what each of these things mean. It means that my little man is getting bigger and stronger each and every day. Those kicks and jabs while painful mean that he's thriving and doing well. So with any negative I'm experiencing, I truly praise God for allowing me to grow this little life and for all the AMAZING things that will come of this short little difficult pregnancy experience.
Most Memorable Moment: I  have to say while I am honestly sad each day that you are not here with us (yes I know you will come in your own time and each day you are in my belly you are growing bigger and stronger) I have loved spending our borrowed time with big sister. I love hearing her little voice pray for each one of us including her baby brother. In my hormonal state I cannot say I haven't cried several times worrying about the changes that will take place once Liam arrives... but I know that Aubrey will be such a good big sister and maybe over a bit of time will come to love the change and her sweet baby.
Moving and Grooving: It is crazy how much you move. During the day, you like to do yoga stretches that roll my whole belly from side to side. Your favorite are rib kicks and jabs to the nerves in my legs. It definitely makes for some interesting little moments for mommy as they are very unexpected. At night, you are participating in a full out dance party or practice for your first marathon. You are a mover for sure!
Cravings: everything from sweets, chips and queso, margaritas, and wine. (These stay true)
What I look forward to: I have my final appointment this afternoon to check on progress. I will absolutely update as I'm so excited and looking forward to seeing when we may see our little man.

The Waiting Game, Big Girl Cuddles, Potty Progress, & Daddy Yoga Lessons

While we have waited (impatiently) for little brother to arrive, I have to say I'm loving the snuggles, hand holding, and sweet time with big sister and her Me-mo. For weeks now we have waited on baby boy to arrive. It has surely been a "waiting game" as of late. From the beginning I made quick progress, but per my weekly doctor's visits and my last blog post, you can see little man is sitting cozy. Ray reminds me that he's already taking after daddy as he's so laid back and already showing signs of being a procrastinator. At night I feel like he's trying to run a marathon and have quite a few contractions, but by morning, they all seem to go away. With all this being said, his evacuation date is near and eventually mommy will be right that he will be joining us sooner rather than later. And while my spirits may have been a bit low due to our little waiting game, it has been fun to spend a little more extra time with my two loves. Now please don't get me wrong. Every day is not sugar and roses. These two and a half year tantrums have caught us off guard at times. From tears about green pancakes to wearing the same dog shirt (dirty or not) every day, to demanding a cookie for breakfast, it seems that our teamwork and trial and error has paid off and we are seeing such happier days from our little. We have had so much fun with this munchkin lately. While our options these days are limited as to what mommy can do (um shall I say pain and pressure as little man keeps getting bigger), we have found some great family options.

We took little miss to McDonalds for her first happy meal and play time. While the play area was a bit on the larger side and for bigger kids, she did enjoy the toddler play area and of course her french fries and ketchup. Daddy was asking if she would share. It became an adorable little game between the two. She was also so very excited about her first "Bar-me" toy.

When did our little become so big? Last week, we had gorgeous spring weather which allowed for a great afternoon at Hope Park. Aubrey surely loves her heart sun glasses and rock wall climbing. We may be a little away from rope climbing, but I love that she's trying. Her favorite by far will always be the twisty green slide. She could do it for hours.

Sunday our little girl decided that she was super interested in her little potty. This picture is Aubrey attempting to show 3 fingers to celebrate three successful tee tees in the big potty. By the end of the day, she had 6 successful potties and only 2 wets (one during nap time and the other while we were out visiting the Easter Bunny. The next morning and after school she was successful both in the morning and at night. It looks like we are definitely making some great potty progress in the Zellner home these days.

One of our favorite past times is reading stories. I saw this great groupon on facebook for children's bible stories. I am so in love. With Easter right around the corner, I love these perfect little books with great characters for Auby to see how Jesus truly loves us.

One of my favorite activities is taking Aubrey to the movies. With popcorn and baby blankie in hand, we are all smiles when we go to the theater. During Spring Break we took Aubrey to see Zootopia at the movie theater. It was absolutely adorable and Auby loves her animals. For days after, she would say, "I go to movies and eat popcorns." She and daddy have that in common for sure.

Our St. Patrick's Day was a little different this year. I just knew how excited she would be when she saw that our special leprechaun left her clovers that led to a few fun little treats including an adorable St. Patty's Day Minnie Mouse shirt and headband. Together the plan was to make green pancakes with green sprinkles. Well little miss was NOT having it that morning. Finally after much fuss and some coaxing, we got little girl to put on her shirt and eat some green pancakes. Before going to daycare, it was really cute how she climbed the stairs to pick up her "trees." (clovers) He it's about the little things right?!?! That night after daycare we enjoyed making green, mint chocolate chip cookies. We were surly all smiles for St. Patty's Day at this point.

 

While our afternoons have been a bit cooler these days, we found one afternoon that was perfect for an outdoor yoga lesson with daddy. I love a comment made on social media about Me-mo doing the corpse pose. 

One weekend afternoon, while mommy has been resting at home, we decided to make a fun little stop to our neighborhood Spring Festival with trains, kites, petting zoo, balloon animals, and even a fun visit from the Easter Bunny. Aubrey loved watching all the kites flying high in the sky. Even seeing Mr. Easter Bunny himself from a distance gave Aubrey big smiles. But when we saw a petting zoo, she was pretty much at a run to go see the animals. She loved talking to the goats, the bunnies, and even a "camel" and "horsey" or a llama and donkey. When it was time for the petting zoo to close, our little girl was not a happy camper. Oh how she loves her time on the "parm."

This blurry little munchkin climbed into bed with me and tucked me into the covers. We watched Me-mo together and spoke whale. It's the most hilarious thing! She even earned more tee tee candy or kiss candy. I'm so proud of our big girl.

I finally received this little Etsy cutie in the mail. Liam, I can't wait to dress you like your daddy. Bow tie or a collared vest, you sweet boy make us blessed.  

 

While we are waiting for our little mister, I really do enjoy finding new activities to do with big sister. Tonight we decided to do a little water color painting on her cookie monster water color book. She loved reminding mommy that her paint cup was dirty and not to drink from it. It took her a little while to realize that she needed water, then paint, then book. Book overall she really enjoyed her little activity. Finger painting was also a hit. I surely love this borrowed time with my little lady. I can't wait to watch the two play together and how our little family will continue to grow and change as he arrives.

Baby Bump'n #2: Week 38: Sitting Cozy

38 Weeks and little man is growing like a weed. We are so ready for our little man to join our family. 12 days or less (I hope less) stand between us meeting our little guy. While I had previously progressed rather quickly in the beginning, it seems little man is sitting cozy. He is getting stronger with each day that passes so it does make this an uncomfortable last week or so, but when he's ready, we are as well. We absolutely cannot wait to share our little Liam with the world.

 



Number of weeks: 38 Weeks
Measurement: I am measuring right on track per my weekly doctor's visits.
Baby Size: At 38 weeks, babycenter says that little man is about the size of a leek. He is thought to weigh about 6.8 pounds and he is over 19.5 inches long.
Heartbeat: Heartbeat 145
Pregnancy Clothes: I am so thankful for sweet friends that have let me borrow their clothes. I'm feeling pretty frumpy and large these days. Some clothes fit but mostly are stretched to their limit.
Sleep/How I'm Feeling: Sleep was a thing of the past during the night. I have just recently been able to breath again. The last few weeks I was congested but am finally having some relief. I spend most of the night tossing and turning or getting up to go to the bathroom. I'm definitely in the later part of my third trimester so believing that I'll be comfortable would be silly at this point. I'm so ready for him to be here. It has definitely been a waiting game at this point. I have had several contractions that feel like it would be go time, but not enough to warrant a hospital visit just yet. Per the doctor, he's sitting cozy at this point. While I'm dilated to a 3 and over 80% effaced, I haven't made too much more progress this last week. Since little boy is getting heavy and bigger, I'm absolutely in more pain. He loves to sit on nerves in my legs which may cause them to buckle as well as my tailbone has been my biggest source of pain. I know the end is in sight and am holding on the best I can.

Most Memorable Moment: Liam's baby shower last weekend was purely the most memorable moment we've shared over the past few weeks. To see so much love from sweet friends and family has humbled me and truly makes me grateful to know that Liam is already so very loved.
Moving and Grooving: You are all boy and are getting so big and heavy these days little man! From belly punches, rib kicks, to sweet hiccups, and laughable rolls, you are surely a mover. I also have to say you are running out of room, so when you do make your moves, it's full belly roll'n over here.
Cravings: everything from sweets, chips and queso, margaritas, and wine. (These stay true)
What I look forward to: I cannot wait to see your sweet face. I cannot wait to hold you and to love on you. We are so excited for you to join our family sweet boy. While I know it is your timing, we hope to see you soon!

Celebrating Little Liam: Bicycle Boy Baby Shower

On Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate baby Liam with sweet family and friends. We are so incredibly thankful for the sweet prayers and praises for our little man and cannot wait to share him with the world upon his arrival.

{Stephanie, me, Daniela, & Kristin}

 

These beautiful ladies hosted a sweet bicycle themed baby shower for our Liam at Celebrity Café and Bakery. A huge thank you to Daniela, Stephanie, and Kristin for showering our growing family with such sweet baby love and celebration. We are beyond blessed!

 

 {Shower details}

 {My mom & aunt came to celebrate.}

 {My beautiful sister-in-laws, Becky & Rachel}

 {Oma creation}

 {Delicious red velvet and cream cheese cake}

 

The food from Celebrity Cafe was absolutely delicious. Our time of celebration was unforgettable. What a perfect afternoon of celebration and love for our little man. Thank you to our hostesses for putting together such a perfect afternoon of celebration and love as well as excitement and fun. Thank you to the wonderful friends and family who traveled to celebrate us.



 I absolutely adore the beginning details of Liam's nursery. I thank Kristin for this perfect décor creation. Where the trail ends, the adventure begins!
Here's to exciting new adventures!