Life with Ben

Happy Halloween! I'm just sitting here waiting for any trick-or-treaters to come knocking on our door. (Sadly, I don't think we'll be getting many...) Since I'm biding my time, I thought I'd share some updates on our little Benjamin Joel! He's just the cutest thing ever! We're really getting the hang of having him around. I'm not sure if it's getting easier because he changes so much from day to day, but we're definitely more comfortable having a baby in our home.

At his 2 week appointment on Friday, Benjamin tipped the scales at 7 lbs 7 oz and measured 20 and 1/4 inches long! The doctor says he's doing just great! He's got a little stuffy nose so we have clean out the boogies every now and then and his poor little eyes have a minor infection, but we're taking care of that with some drops. He's just amazing! He's a great little eater and he's constantly filling that diaper up, so at least we know he's growing well! I feel very lucky that Ben is for the most part a very calm little baby. He squawks and grunts throughout the day, but it's pretty rare that he will wail and cry unless he's just STARVING! We are noticing that he's beginning to have a "crabby" part of the day, usually in the late evening. That's okay with me, though. He's sleeping so much better in the night between feedings with a good cry around 9 or 10 pm. He makes me laugh all the time because I'm starting to recognize some of the faces he gives me. Little pursed lips and a furrowed brown normally mean "I'm trying to poop." (That's my favorite look.) He often has a very intense and worried look on his face when he's studying someone or something. Also, every once in awhile I swear I see a little smirk!

Here's a "Mom, I'm trying to poop" look:

I'm glad to say that our little Ben is thriving! Sadly, I haven't fared so well. Last week I landed in the Emergency Room because part of my C-section burst open and sprayed infected fluid everywhere. Seriously, it was disgusting. My doctor had to anesthetize me and re-open my incision to clean it out as much as possible. Since then I've been in the hospital every day to get it re-cleaned of goop and fluid and re-dressed. Luckily the infection has stayed localized to the incision, but I'm on an antibiotic and watching for a fever just in case. Now I'm just waiting for it to heal! If it doesn't look good by tomorrow's appointment at 8:30 am, I'm going back in for surgery so the doctor can reopen it and take a closer look at what's going on. Please pray that everything will go well! I've had to rest and take it easy, which is killing me because all I want to do is get back to normal so I can focus on being a mom! We've been so blessed to have great help from family and friends so that Benjamin is taken care of while I heal up.

Well, our little man is changing every day and it's so fun to watch him grow! I feel so lucky to have such a sweet baby. Joel and I are enjoying him so much! It's amazing how happy such a tiny person can make a family!

He's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, I can't believe that I actually have five minutes and a little energy to sit down and type out this post, but I wanted to let everyone know that I delivered our little bouncing baby boy last week on October 15th! Oh my gosh... He is divine. He is an angel. We are the luckiest, luckiest family in the whole world! We named him Benjamin Joel Tjarks. He was born by Cesarean at 12:21 pm, weighed exactly 7 lbs, and was 19.5 inches long. Here's a quick little story about how he came to be!

On the morning of Thursday, October 14th, I woke up with (now this part is embarrassing) wet undies. I figured the baby had been on my bladder and I has just leaked a little urine through the night. However, I continued to feel consistently damp throughout the rest of the day until Joel finally made me call the hospital at 8:30 that night to get a second opinion. Well, they advised me to come in and get tested to make sure the dampness wasn't amniotic fluid. We were totally shocked to find out that it was indeed my water leaking and I was to stay in the hospital until the baby came! Auughhh! Scary!

They took my to my room and started me on Pitocin to kick start some contractions. The only problem was that since my water had broken so much earlier in the day, I was on a time line to deliver the baby. The hospital policy is to deliver within 24 hours of the water breaking to avoid any infections. Sad to say, I wasn't progressing fast enough so we had schedule a C-section for Friday at noon. My doctor was out of town for a conference but we were lucky enough to have a wonderful "substitute" standing by - Dr. Njagi. Baby Ben came out to greet us at exactly 12:21 and spent some quality time with Dad while I got stitched back up. Standing by were two very excited Grandmas and two very excited Aunties! Auntie Amy is taking all the credit for his perfectly timed arrival! She took a risk and bought a plane ticket on the slim chance that she'd be here for his arrival.... and amazingly enough my water broke the very day she flew in. It was so meant to be!

Well, life has been crazy to say the least. I'm still recovering from my surgery and Joel has been absolutely swamped with tests in school on top of learning how to be parents. We're sleep deprived and barely remember to eat, but I can't imagine being any happier. Ben fits into our life just perfectly. He is so sweet and we love him to pieces! It's such a miracle that we brought him into this world. We're a very happy family!

His first breaths

With Mommy during the surgery

Welcome to the world Little Ben!

With Grandma and Grandpa Tjarks (Nana and Papa)

With Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Dave

With Daddy!

With Crazy Aunt Becky!

With Auntie Amy

Halloween Traditions!

I know it may only be October 9th, but our baby could come literally any day now so I wanted to make sure that Joel and I had the opportunity to celebrate Halloween with our annual traditions before things get too crazy! I get really, really excited about this holiday and Joel doesn't so much, but he does let me have my fun and plays along! Every year, (usually just a week before Halloween), we do the following: buy our carving pumpkins, carve away, make apple cider and Halloween snacks to nibble on, and watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! It's so fun! I was absolutely EXHAUSTED getting everything ready this year, but it turned out to be just perfect! We had a wonderful night! It's exciting to think that next year we'll have a one year old to celebrate with us! Yay! Here are some pictures of our fun!

Here's our pumpkin carving movie!


Take a peek at the buffet I had set up when Joel got home!


Here are a few close-ups. We dined on mini hotdog mummy wraps, mini mummy pizzas, ghoulish pan-fried onion dip with veggies and chips, Halloween cupcakes, and homemade orange-cinnamon apple cider! Yum!










And... Tada! Our finished products! I carved the pirate crossbones and Joel carved the smirking pumpkin face! Don't you love Halloween?!

Baby's Room!

I'm SO excited to share some photos of the completed baby's room! There's nothing left for us to do now except wait for him to come live in his little jungle babies-themed home! Thank you so much to my mother-in-law Susan and aunt Beverly for this amazing gift! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first picture is the rocking chair and crib. The theme came from the blanket my mom made hanging from the crib. It's amazing how perfectly the jungle babies decor matched the blanket! It was so meant to be! Everything's ready to go - from the boppy on the rocking chair to the night light plugged in for late feedings!


The changing table was custom built by Joel's Grandpa Tjarks, Gene. He has an amazing gift! What an artisan! It's nice and spacious, and holds all the important things like diapers, wipes, lotions, baby care supplies, blankets, and towels! As you can see, all we need now are little buns on that changing pad!


This is the guest bed for the grandmas and other visitors who come to stay! The painting above the bed is a specially made custom painting for Joel that he bought while living in Brazil. The little child with Christ is so perfect for the baby's room. The quilt on the bed was another gift handmade by Joel's talented aunt Pam, who just took up quilting two months ago! Amazing!


A little closer look at the supplies on the changing table... Don't forget to notice the jungle babies rug on the floor!


Another view of the crib/decor.


It's the details that count! Don't you love the matching light switch plate and lamp?! (No, that is not our baby in the frame... yet!) The silver train money bank is a special gift from my Grandma Garton. It's representative of my family history. My great-great Grandpa worked on the Chicago-Milwaukee Great Northern railroad.



One last peek! Don't you love those cute smiles on the little jungle babies' faces?!

Baby Shower #2

Baby shower number 2 took place this past Saturday on October 2! It was a beautiful and festive party with a gorgeous brunch buffet that took place at my mother-in-law Susan's house. Joel's aunt Beverly Rice flew all the way out from CA to throw the shower along with Susan and my sister-in-law Katie. I can't even describe how hard they worked to make this shower so perfect! First of all, there were SEVEN brunch/dessert dishes that were prepared, cooked/baked, and served completely by the two of them! Plus the house was decorated just beautifully with fresh flowers, balloon bouquets, and other decor all following a chocolate, teal and green color palette.



We had a huge turnout of family members and friends who live in town, and oh my gosh...this baby boy is so ready now. Between the Black Hills shower, my sister Amy's obsession with baby clothes shopping, and this shower, I won't have to buy Baby Tjarks a single thing to wear for at LEAST an entire year! I also received other really great gifts including a breast pump (yay!), story books, baby supplies including diapers, towels, lotions, soaps, care items, etc..., a changing table custom built by Joel's Grandpa Tjarks, and the most FUN things for me - baby room decor!!! I was so excited about the jungle babies room decor items because I secretly have been pining to decorate his room but I never would have gone out and bought it myself. I went right to work almost the second we got home! :) I will definitely post pictures of his adorable room once I finish with the wall decals!

Here are some pictures of the great day! Let's start with the goods! :) Do you notice the jungle babies theme? It's so cute!!!

Here we are in line to load our plates at the delicious brunch buffet! Note the delicious gourmet cupcakes made by our very talented family friend, Marie Tanner. They were all so good, but the chocolate was my very favorite!



This is a very, very, very special person. This is Beverly Rice, Joel's aunt. She co-threw the shower and completely made sure it was such a special day! Thank you Bev for everything! I'm so sad we didn't get more photos of the hostesses but they were just so busy doing an amazing job at hosting!


Here are the Grandmas! Nana is on the left and Grammy (maybe - she hasn't decided on a nickname yet!) is on the right. Nana (aka Susan Tjarks, my wonderful mother-in-law) is another co-host! I have a new appreciation for shower-throwing because I saw first-hand the hard work, time, generosity, and thoughtfulness that goes into planning such a great day! Thank you!


Here are the great-grandmas! G-Grandma Tjarks is on the left and G-Grandma Garton is on the right!
We got some REALLY great gifts! The third co-host, my sister-in-law Katie Hazen - (who sadly couldn't make the trip out from Utah but will be coming to meet the baby at the end of the month), planned a really fun "newly-wed" type game that I played during the gift opening. She talked to Joel before the shower with a list of baby-related questions that he had to answer. Then, during the shower I was asked the same questions and if I answered the same as Joel I got to open up a gift! I did pretty well!











Here I am throwing my head back in laughter at a particularly funny card from my sister Amy.


The shower was a hit! I'm not sure how to feel now because it was so highly anticipated due to the fact that it was SO CLOSE to my due date! Now it's come and gone and the only thing I have left to look forward to is delivery day! Ahhh!!! Well, at least now I am completely and totally prepared! Thank you so much to everyone who helped us celebrate and prepare for this tiny boy during both showers - Susan, Bev, Katie, Amy, and Becky! I love you all so much and am so grateful for your EXTREME generosity and thoughtfulness to make sure each shower was beyond perfect! This is truly a time that I will never forget!

Baby Shower #1

I've officially been way more than adequately showered with plenty of gifts, supplies, and fun things for our baby boy! I've been lucky enough to have 2 showers thrown for me; both absolutely wonderful and so, so, so much fun! I'm so excited to share some of my favorite pictures and memories from both! We'll start with shower #1. I wasn't aware of this shower. I had absolutely no clue it was going to occur! It was thrown as a surprise by my two sisters (Amy and Becky) during a family reunion out in the Black Hills earlier this June! I was only about 6 months along and they debated whether or not to do it since I wasn't near the end of my pregnancy, but it was such a perfect opportunity because it's so rare that all the women and girls on the Haiar side of my family can get together in one place anymore. I love that so many could be there! It made it so special!


The first picture is me just seconds after we walked in my aunt Becky's cabin and experienced the "surprise!!!" Joel and I were both shocked! I don't know how the entire family kept it a secret the whole time we were there!

The girls worked hard decorating the cabin! It was so cool! We may have been in the middle of nowhere in Custer, SD, but they sure knew how to throw a party! They even found a Dairy Queen to get my absolute favorite cake - ice cream! Check out how they even secretly assembled a diaper cake and totally decorated the place while keeping both Joel and me completely unaware! They are either really good or we are just plain dense! :)

My mom, me, and aunt Becky. She graciously let us throw the bash in her family's cabin.

Here I am with the culprits who planned, prepared for, and sneakily threw the party! I have amazing sisters. I'm so lucky.

I got great gifts including the crib bedding, bouncer, play place, receiver monitors, blankets, towels, and clothes! Here are a few pictures!



We played some fun games, too! Here's Becky telling the left-right story. We passed whatever party favor we had in our hands either left or right depending on when Becky said either word as part of the "baby" story she told.

This is my family: Quite a few of the girl cousins were there and almost every one of my aunts made it, too! Thanks for helping me celebrate! We may all be POURING in sweat sitting in that 100 degree cabin, but we still look good and it was such a fun surprise! This was something I'll never forget as long as I live!