It's been a long time

So it's been a long time since I've blogged. Not sure if I remember how. We lost our camera and so are using my mom's 'til we get a new one. We've done quite a bit since the last post. Thanksgiving in Elk Horn. We got to see Grandma Hoegh, Grandpa Burger, Robby's, Reggie's, David, Chad's as well as Rod, Brent's...and that might cover it(it's been a while since then). I think we even have a few pics of Bri on Halloween in her little piglet outfit. It was good to see all of them. But the real excitement was visiting Chad and Jaime and their newborn Caedrian. We ended up getting stuck in Denison b/c of the blizzard conditions but we enjoyed ourselves a relaxing weekend stuck inside. Craig and Sharron Van Kley were there to keep us company and Mom and Dad came up to visit the new one as well so it was a good time. Anyway, that's about all I've got going on but in the theme of Thanksgiving, we're so very thankful for all of our journeys as well as all of our family and friends that we can gather with....And speaking of family, Bri is crawling, babbling and kinda walking all over the place. She's got to get ready to be a big sister. Aubyn is feeling...OK most of the time but the little peanut is wiping out her energy that's for sure. Regardless we're very thankful to God for Bri and the little one inside.
Check out Chad and Jaime's blog - http://www.vankleys.blogspot.com/

random pics

Here are some random pics from when we went to my parents' place a couple weekends ago as well as some around the house here. Last weekend we enjoyed some time in Sioux Falls with Owen and Leah and the girls. Bri got a touch of bronchitis(sp?) which wasn't any fun, especially when she got X-rays. Anyway, I stayed home from work a couple of days to take care of her which was fun. She's doing good now. We just got swings in our park in our back yard and she loves them. We'll get our money's worth out of them today again.

7 months+

Well, she's been getting bigger by the day. She's laughing at pretty much everything and she and I have been doing some tricks. In the past month, we've been able to go to Des Moines to see Reggie and Laura's new little Ryan. Robby and Erin made it with their little Titus. The following week Elise, Addie and Bradyn were here. This week our good friends from Atlantic(Jim, Danelle and their kids)came up to see us. It was really good to see them.

Photos by Leah

Question: Where did you get those professional pictures taken? Answer: Photos by Leah. I realize you didn't know she was a professional photographer but obviously now you know. She's for hire. She's expensive but worth it. She went to great lengths to get Brielle to smile and laugh(litterally showing up in a clown suit). Thanks for the pics Leah!

Misc pics from Owen

a bunch more pics

more wedding pics plus some

A bunch more pics mostly from Abbie and Mike's wedding

Been Travelin'

So we've been traveling all over. Plus I haven't posted in a while. Anyway, here are some pics from Kyle and Logan's wedding, Abbie and Mike's wedding(reception and after), time at lake Shetek with Owen, Leah, Clara and Elsie(Brent and Nancy were there for a day as well), time at Okoboji with Elise, Seth, Addie, Brayden(Pat and Marlene) and a few random ones. Brielle travels pretty good, is sleeping good, smiling all the time, hates tummy time, loves her walker and testing her vocal chords. Teeth have not come in but as much as she drools and bites on her hand it'll be any day. Thanks to Brent and Nancy and Curt and Nancy for providing a memorable time at both weddings. It's great to spend time with family. And speaking of family, it was great to be around my entire family. Janna made it up from Phoenix for a few days, we'd love to see her more often:)

4th of Julyish

Here are some random pics from around the 4th. We traveled down to Elk Horn for a 4 day weekend which was a good time as one would expect with multiple Hoeghs getting together, especially when Brielle is there. She's talking more and more, reaching for things, eating her rice cereal good and is still a happy baby.

Brielle's dedication

What a great weekend! Grandpa Burger, Grandma Hoegh, Mom, Dad, Elaine, Kalie, Henry, Chad, Jaime, Jerome(Ashley), Jacey, Owen, Clara and Elsie all made it to Brielle's dedication church service. Brielle wore a gown that my Grandma Burger had made 35 yrs ago. Her mom helped crochet it. Janna, Jaime and cousin Amy all wore it for their baptisms. It was special to see Brielle in it. Grandma would have loved to have seen her in it. The whole day was very meaningful for us. Afterwards we played yard games, ate and sat around and talked. Thanks to all of you for coming. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

Yankton and beyond

Lots of pictures so beware. My cousin Scott got married, then my family went to Yankton for a few days of boating, biking, campfire and more. Brielle wants to go back as soon as possible. We'll have to work on that. Everyone made it except for Janna:( Janna, you better make it for the next outing. The following weekend Aubyn went with Leah to Lake Shatek with her family while Owen, Jerome and I traveled to Mizzou for a b-ball tournament. Brielle missed me but let me know it's ok that I go to things like that.

Fun Fun...

...and more fun. Everyone seemed to remember my birthday this year which I was hoping they wouldn't. My co-workers decorated my office very creatively and topped things off by putting my stapler into jello. Aubyn took me out to eat with Keith, Neliegh, Owen, Leah and Brielle. Aubyn knows I don't like big parties so she came through for me. Then was Kalie's wedding which was alot of fun as well. Congrats Luke and Kalie! It was good to see all the relatives over the long weekend. Speaking of relatives, Brielle will have a little cousin coming from the Van Kleys! Chad and Jaime are expecting in December! Congratulations you two!

Tulip Time and more

Owen's came down to see us and we threw a party for them including 2 parades a day for 3 days and topped off with fireworks for Owen's birthday. We go all out for our visitors typically. Good times had by all even if Clara threw up all night. She still woke up to tell Owen that we need to hurry to get to the parade. She was fine the rest of the day. Some other pics are of Aubyn giving Brielle a bath outside as it was so nice.

Exciting news!!

Last week Brielle rolled over 8 times in one day! After a few days of showing off, however, she has decided not to roll over anymore but I'm sure she'll pick it back up when she's sick of us making her try. Here are some random pictures from the last couple of weeks, including last weekend when Jerome graduated from NWC. It was a good weekend to have my parents up friday night and saturday. Chad and Jaime came up on saturday which was good as we haven't seen them in a while. They told us they'd come back again soon. Some of the pictures show Kalie's Bridal shower that Aubyn, Elise and Elaine organized. The last picture was from yesterday and shows Bri getting too big too fast. There's no question that the highlight of my day is when she smiles at my voice when I get home. Aubyn thinks she's laughing at my looks but either way she's smiling.

3 months...We made it!

That's right we have survived to the 3 month mark and its a good thing we have. Brielle has decided its ok to sleep through the night. She's gone the distance the last 5 nights. Keep up the good work little one. Aubyn now has to have a full year of good sleep in order to make up for lost time.
My mom came up and watched Bri this past wednesday, which was alot of fun for all of us. We had pictures taken today because of the 3 month celebration mark. Here's the site. "brielle" is the password if you need it.
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?r=1&e=6592680

There's no question

There's no question that Brielle is the cutest daughter I've ever fathered. That's really all that needs to be said but I'll say more. Brielle is doing good, still waking up once a night at around 3 or 4. She's getting more of a personality, smiling more often and following what's going on in the room even more. She's still a handful for mom and dad(mostly mom) but she's doing good.
This weekend Jerome, Jacey and I drove down to Bolivar, MO to spend time with Robby and Erin and play in a basketball tournament. We won. Later that night(3:00am) we went to the gym to play some 2 on 2. I'm too old for that but don't regret it for a second as it was a great time. Definitely enjoyed seeing Robby and Erin as they are some cool kids. And as always enjoyed spending time with Jerome and Jacey as they are some cool kids as well.

Easter weekend

We were able to go to Elk Horn to spend some time with Dad, Mom, Jaime and Chad, Jerome, Jacey and their friend Brooks,(unfortunately the Phoenician Janna didn't make it back) as well as Blair and Scott Hoegh. On Easter Sunday we were able to go to church at Christ Community Church in Omaha with the whole clan as well as my Grandpa Burger. He got to see his great grand-daughter for the first time which was fun to watch. The church service was very good, reminding us of the significance of the day. We're reminded of the amazing sacrifice Christ made for us and the promise given to us through His actions. While holding Brielle during the service, I realized that the most important prayer I can pray is that Brielle will grow up to know Christ personally and accept Him as her Savior. We live in a broken world and we are all broken, but we have hope in Christ. Praise God!

MN trip+

This week Aubyn got a wild hair and decided to drive up to Minneapolis to see our new nephew. Her sister(Elise) just had their second child Brayden a couple of weeks ago. She had fun spending time with Elise and seeing Addie take care of both babies. Then on Wednesday Owen, Leah, Clara and Elsie came down to visit. We played some ball and ate some good food that Leah prepared. Thanks Owen and Leah for coming to visit. There are some pics of both Aubyn's trip and of the Owen's visit. Not sure if I got them all on there or not but take a look.

7 weeks and counting

Over the past couple of weeks, we've enjoyed seeing the subtle changes in Brielle. She's starting to smile every once in a while(Aubyn thinks only at her). She's sleeping better most of the time anyway. There have been a few times where she's slept from 11:00 at night until around 5:00. Of course Aubyn woke up and checked on her every half hour after 3:00 so her sleep is still limited but we're making progress. The next night she slept 2 and a half hours at at time. It's been a continued challenge finding time for our normal life activities such as cleaning the house, working out, talking with each other and just relaxing. We're surviving but sometimes it feels like just barely. It's an adventure that's for sure. Luckily we like adventures.
Over this past weekend, our friends Nick and Amy came to visit with their girls Kate and Brooke. It was a fun weekend seeing them. They are very good friends of ours and we basically consider them family.
Tomorrow we have to take Brielle in to get her shots. That might be interesting.

Missouri trip

Are we crazy? Probably. Do we care? No. After nearly 5 weeks of only heading at furthest 12 miles away to Walmart, we decided to take a trip to southern Missouri to see my cousin Robby coach in the final 8 of his class. Only minutes into the game I could see that his basketball experience, and overall care for the kids makes him an outstanding coach. He coached a very good game, the kids played a good game and they ended up losing a heartbreaker when the other team scored with less than 2 seconds left to put them up 2. Afterwards we spent time with Robby and Erin in Springfield, as well as the next day in Bolivar. Those two are quite a pair and enjoy spending time with them. Sunday we drove to Des Moines where we stayed at Curt and Nancy's home. On Monday we watched Nick Harthoorn(college roommate) coach his team to a victory at the state tournament. After that we stopped in Elk Horn to stay at my parents' place. It was a very long and challenging learning experience traveling with the little one. We stayed in Kansas City the first night, Springfield the second, Des Moines the third, Elk Horn the 4th. Through it all, it was very much worth it to see everyone that we did including Robby, Erin, Susan, Rod, Curt, Nancy, Jake, Nick, Amy, Joel, Kurt, Arloa, Reggie, Daira, Mom, Dad, Jerome and Jacey.

4th week(more pics)

Well this week went by pretty fast. She'll be in school before we know it. Actually this week Aubyn's sister Lynnae came back and is staying with us. She is great with Brielle. This probably because she's a neonatal intensive care nurse. Two nights this week Bri slept pretty good in the night, on one night sleeping from 10:30 until 3! Not bad. The other nights weren't quite as good. Either way Aubyn is doing a great job of handling it and Lynnae has helped alot. Some of the pictures in this post are of my cousin Owen's 7th grade game that I got to watch him coach. Also, Jerome's final game as a Red Raider, which is sad. Jerome's had a great attitude through it all and really didn't want the season to end. The next morning I got to help out at Owen's 7th grade practice. The Kid's love Owen and he does a great job with them. I had a lot of fun. Right now I'm just watching Brielle sleep. She's doing good now but the last couple of days she's been sleeping for what seems like an hour at a time at most. Regardless of what she's doing, she's a cute baby. Take note of my sweatshirt in the first picture, it's wet but not from the bath. Good times!

Thanks Grandmas!

This past week we are able to have both grandmas help out on a pretty much full time basis. Tuesday and Wednesday Elaine spent each day here helping out around the house. Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday, my mom was able to stay here. We really appreciate both of them giving there time to help us out, especially as Brielle has been a handful at times. Regardless of how tough she's been to figure out, the whole experience has been great. Of course, that's me speaking. Aubyn is the one who has to get up with her in the night. Luckily there have been some times I've been able to share in some of the duties at night. Aubyn has done a great job with it all though and takes most of the workload. We got to attend the NWC senior night on saturday. Jerome is the only senior and when they spoke about him the crowd gave him a standing ovation. He'll be missed by his teammates for sure and he's so well liked around campus that everyone enjoys when he gets in. It was good to see him get in and contribute even though the team came up one point short in the end. His 2nd grade class that he student teaches came to the game to surprise him and then lit up with excitement when he talked to them afterwards. We're awefully proud of Jerome for being Jerome.

It's been a while

It's almost been a week since my last post and I think too much has happened to recall. To start, on Sunday Brielle threw a super bowl party and invited my cousin Owen, his wife Leah and two girls Clara and Elsie as well as my cousin Lisa all from Sioux Falls. It was alot of fun to see them and them see Brielle. They are some awesome family that we enjoy spending time with. Unfortunately no pics were taken...my bad! Wednesday my parents came up early for Jerome and Jacey's game(both played=we won;). Aubyn and Brielle even made it to the game. It's alot of fun for us and Grandma and Grandpa to spend some time with Brielle, we look forward to more of them. There have been a couple rough nights and one tough day especially for Aubyn as Brielle doesn't clean her room and go to bed when she's asked. For now we'd settle for her to simply fall asleep and keep sleeping at 3:00am. No allowance for her this week. We've gotten meals and gifts from friends, neighbors and family. We appreciate everything and most of all enjoy them all sharing in our happiness. I hope to include some pictures of those gifts at some point. Here are some random pictures mostly from this week.

Going Home

On Thursday we left the wonderful staff at the hospital and headed home. It was an emotional day but a very good day as we got to introduce Brielle into her home. We are very grateful for the hospital staff especially Dr. Shepard who performed the C-section and Gwen Starkweather as well as the entire nursing staff who took care of us and our new little one. We are also very thankful for each of our friends and family who stopped by or sent packages. I know there have been several times where Aubyn has commented that many of her friends have had such encouraging advice. We do appreciate each of you. Above are some pictures from the past few days at home. Little Bri is sleeping good for the most part although at times is like her father and refuses to go to bed right after a meal as we'd like. Unfortunately there is no nurse to help us now. When Tina, one of the nurses asked us if she could do anything else for us, we told her she could come help at home. She laughed, but we were serious:)

Is she changing already???

Question: Am I over the top with the pictures and posts on the blog and am I overly obsessed? Answer: Debatable but probable. Question: Do I care and will I apologize for that? Not a chance. We can't stop watching her every movement and smiling at her little faces. Things are going good, Aubyn is getting more and more attached with that motherly instinct kicking in. I'm very proud of her for already taking such good care of little Brielle. Feedings are going much better and she has dad's appetite which is good. After one day she was down to 6 lbs 15oz. After two day she's back to 7lbs 2oz. Hopefully nothing but up from here. Pictures above include the first time we bathed her and washed her hair. And yes, I think I'll continue being obsessed:)

Visitors for Brielle

Brielle has been introduced to alot of people in her less than 24 hour lifetime. Aubyn's mom Elaine was the on-call nurse who wasn't allowed to be in the surgery room during the process but was able to be there shortly after to see us and of course little Bri. Aubyn's sister Kalie as well as my brothers Jerome and Jacey were all able to stop by a few hours later. It's great to have all of them so close by. My mom and dad along with sister Jaime drove up this morning and will be back again in a couple days. Aubyn's sister Elise drove from Minneapolis last night with her daughter Addison. Addison is two and is excited to share her toys with "cousin Brielle". Each family member has enjoyed holding her and are reluctant to give up their time once they've got her. It was so good to see each one of them meet her and react to seeing the miracle that God has blessed us with.

Weadababyitsagirl!

That's right, We had a baby, its a girl!!! Brielle Janae Hoegh, 7 lbs 7 oz. 21 inches long. Aubyn started having some more serious contractions on Saturday at 9:00AM. So after waiting it out until after church on Sunday, we went in. The doc checked a few things, and said "it's time to have a baby". Shortly thereafter we were in the operating room behind the curtain with several doctors performing the C-section on her. Towards the end I peaked over the curtain and watched them pull her the rest of the way out, turn her over and announce "it's a girl", and "what's her name?" Aubyn quickly responed by saying, "Brielle Janae" then looked to see if I agreed. I watched them clean Brielle up, I cut the cord and then was able to carry her to Aubyn. After Aubyn got a peak I carried her to the nursery for measurements. During the next hour while Aubyn was getting stitched up, I was able to have some quality father-daughter time with the little peanut. I hope to have alot more time like that with her in the future. They performed the usual tests and an EKG on her and everything checked out great. We have a beautiful healthy little girl. We're so excited! Later on, Aubyn was reunited with Brielle. Both mom and baby are doing great! Praise God for this little miracle! The three of us could not be happier! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.

Viewer Discretion Advised

Don't let the title scare you off, it's just a pregnant belly. On another note, this is Aubyn in her 37th week. The hospital shots are when she's waiting for her ultrasound before her 'External Cephalic Version'. This 'version' procedure is when the Dr. tries to turn the breach baby into the correct position for labor. It was a long day, we got to the Dr's at 8:15 and left at 2:30. The major point was when the Dr. pressed firmly on Aubyn's stomach against the baby with both hands. One hand holding baby's butt up and the other pushing the head over. After 10 seconds or so, baby's heart rate dropped slightly(not uncommon). The Dr. let up and waited for it to rise again. When it came back up, he tried an even firmer round of pushing for 10 or more seconds. The heart rate dropped again, significantly this time, so he let off. After a few seconds of it not coming back up to the correct pace, the dr. asked Aubyn to turn on her side, then the other side, then asked the nurse to get Aubyn some Oxygen. Another nurse left the room quickly and 2 other nurses came quickly in. By this time the heart rate had sped back up quite a bit and after probably only 30 seconds to a minute, but what seemed like 10 minutes, the heart rate(which I was watching on the monitor)was back to a comfortable level(mine was racing). The dr. told the nurses things were fine and everyone calmed back down. Normally the dr. tries 3 times but after that one simply said 'baby doesn't like that, sorry'. The 75% success rate that the doc had was no match for the odds that the baby is a stubborn Hoegh, not doing anything that wasn't his/her idea. Thankfully though he/she is still a very healthy Hoegh. After that experience, we'll gladly deliver by C-section. Aubyn and I are both relieved its over, happy we tried and thankful for baby's healthy beating heart. We also now understand why she was admitted to the hospital, in a gown with an IV ready for a seemingly simple procedure. If the heart rate would have stayed down they would have had the baby out by Emergency C-section in a matter of minutes.

In the 36th week!

Here is Aubyn at 35 weeks(1/09/10). We were heading out the door to watch Jerome and Jacey's game. We lost the game and its obvious to all Hoegh's that we need more Hoegh minutes on the floor. I hope they figure it out.
Back to Aubyn, She's feeling good still with just around 2-4 contractions an hour. They've been pretty light but every once in a while she'll get some more achy ones. She says "I'm not worried about it". I think that's her way of showing confidence in her pain tolerance. She also just told me that she doesn't like pain but she's not afraid of it. These are quite the statements considering we had our first birthing class this week. They showed us some video of labor. If Aubyn isn't afraid now, she won't ever be. I'm not nearly so tough. I got the picture after seeing 30 seconds of the video. I didn't need to see the next 15 minutes. I will admit that its educational and eye opening but enough already. I'll do my best to give her support.
A couple of these pictures show Aubyn lying at an angle upside down, holding headphones to her belly to get the kid to flip. She thinks its trying but hasn't gotten there yet. We'd sure like it to flip but regardless are extremely thankful for the overall health of both Aubyn and baby to this point. Side note: I'm almost a week late on this post, so really we start the 37th week tomorrow. Wow we're getting close!

Aubyn's baby shower

Here are some pictures of Aubyn's baby shower. It was held at Rachel Fernstrum's home just a block away from ours. Rachel and several of the other gals who were there attend Monday evening bible study with Aubyn. Others who attended are some other neighbors and friends as well as Aubyn's mom and sister Kalie. Luckily I wasn't invited but I can say second hand that alot of fun was had by all. Aubyn really appreciates all who made it and all who put it on as she's sure it was a lot of work. A special thanks to Rachel as well as Neliegh Ranschau for making it a very special day. Also, a big thanks from both of us to all who brought gifts and advice as the D-day is fast approaching we realize how unprepared we are. Everyone has been so supportive and helpful already which eases our worries.