Taking baby Brandon home...

Here are a few pics of when we first took Brandon home. There is one of Kimball next to Brandon's bassinet, one of Mike with his boys, one with Tiff and her boys, and one of Kimball with his baby brother.

Labor Day... November 12th!!!

We welcomed our second child into the world on November 12th, 2008, Brandon David Matusek, named after his Uncle Brandon who has the biggest heart in this world! Labor started at 8:30 in the morning as very light cramps. There is a picture here of Mike and I in the car outside of the hospital shortly before we were admitted to the hospital. I was 5 cm dilated at the point. 

When the doctor broke my water at 12:15, it only took 2 and a half short hours until Brandon David graced us with his presence. I got an epidural, but didn't get to enjoy it because right after it was administered Brandon came. Figures, right?

The stay at the hospital was short.... which was nice! We left the next day in the early afternoon. We were visited by my brother Corey and his family and also by my grandparents and the bishop. All visitors were stunned by the amount of hair that Brandon has... just wait until more pictures are published where you can really get an idea of this kids wild hair! Kimball has adjusted as well as could be expected. He loves to hold the baby and give him hugs and kisses. He says Brandon so cutely too! 

HALLOWEEN

I do have to say, we love Halloween! Between the decorations, the costumes, pumpkin carving, trick or treating and giving out candy, our family has lots of fun. Kimball was a little ghoul this year, and his Mike was the daddy ghoul... kinda. These are a few pictures that we took on Halloween. The pic with me and Kimball was taken at the Trunk-or-Treat that was hosted by the Stake. There is a picture of Kimball with his Uncle Corey and cousin Elena at the Trunk-or-Treat. One of the pictures is of Mike and Kimball, and then one of kimball getting candy from one of the cars. Last there is a picture of our family.

Pumpkin Carving

We had Tiff's brother Corey and his wife, Daymi, and their children Kelvin and Elena over for a pumpkin carving fest. We had a little dinner of homemade Chili and Cornbread. We had some HUMONGOUS pumpkins waiting to be carved, Corey's family had 2 to carve and our family had 3. Kimball's pumpkin had a Winnie the Pooh face on it, Tiff''s had a witch and Mike's had Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Well, it has been quite a while since I have updated my blog... I have all kinds of excuses though! First of all, the Fall semester was very busy, and tiring, especially being pregnant. In November we had our baby, and if that wasn't hectic enough, I had to make sure that I passed all my classes so I could graduate. After graduation, things became even more hectic than before when we started preparing for our move, and in the midst of this, we were having fun with all our family and friends during Christmas. I think I am done giving excuses...so I will pick up where I left off, which was shortly before Halloween. Here are a few picture that we took on a Sunday. We had made cookies and then built a fort with Kimball. That was such a fun night, complete with a little boy sneaking cookies! In the fort, Kimball was playing around with the flashlight and everytime he turned on the flashlight he chanted this little tune, it was sooo cute!

General Conference

Well, we had a wonderful weekend listening to General Conference for the LDS Church this past weekend with our family. Mike's parents and his sister came up to spend the weekend with us. It was wonderful to listen to our Prophet Thomas S. Monson's words and those of the general authorities of the church. Mike and I were particularly surprised to hear that there will be a temple built in Rome, Italy.  Mike served his mission in Italy and he was not expecting the temple grounds the church owns in Rome to have a temple for at least another ten years or so.  What a wonderful blessing for the members in that area! Here are some fun pictures of Kimball with his Grandma and Grandpa from this weekend.

Halloween Decor

Well, this is mostly Mike's doing. Our family enjoys halloween time, it is so fun! So this is a picture that Mike shot of the entrance to our basement apartment. We have since added a scarecrow and will soon add carved pumpkins.  On halloween night we will complete the scene with some special effects.  We have a fog machine, a cd with scary halloween tunes, and we'll also have our lights on. We went all out last year with a sweet setup, complete with a graveyard in the grass but we only had like 4 little trick-or-treaters. We toned it down this year, but it will still be enjoyable. We look forward to Grandma Moore's halloween party the monday before halloween!

Only 7 weeks to go!

Well, our long awaited arrival, Brandon David Matusek, should make his grand entrance into this world in the next 7 weeks.  We are so excited! The doctor has agreed to set an induction date the week of Thanksgiving sometime. He is also head down at this point, so it looks like we won't have to deal with a breech birth. I failed my first glucose screening for Gestational Diabetes but I passed the second test and therefore do not have GD, but I need to watch it closely in future pregnancies. 

Under Arrest

We have too much fun sometimes with Kimball! Especially Mike because I can't exactly run after and chase Kimball very well right now! The other night we were enjoying a fun evening at home, and Kimball grabbed Mike's winter gloves. He decided it would be fun to walk around the house with them on, and we got some great shots of him! This one looks like he is under arrest. The other picture is of Daddy and Kimball playing with the towel after Kimball's bath. Is there anything more precious in life than moments like these with the one's that we love most? I am so amazed with my little family! Mike is a loving and attentive father and he spends as much time as he can with me and Kimball (and baby Brandon). Kimball has the cutest personality and is just a joy to be around (when is isn't tired). He knows Jesus Christ and lights up when we say his name. He loves to pray, and we are amazed at how he folds his arms for the whole prayer. If we forget to start our meals with a prayer, he is quick to fold his arms and look expectantly at us, as if to say "I'm waiting!" 

Temporary Postponement of Education

A few things have come up in the past week and a lot has been on our minds.  We usually aren't the type to make sudden changes in life but for us the time has come to make one of those changes.  We've decided to postpone my education and transfer to Idaho State University after Tiff graduates in December.  As far as graduating next April is concerned for me that won't happen since I would need to retake some essential credits that are different from BYU-Idaho.  I will still major in Physics but at this point it is unclear how long it will take me to finish a Bachelor's degree; currently I could take an Associates in Physics with my transferring credits but I am unsure if I want to do that yet.  The end goal of course is to finish with a Ph.D. in applied physics from ISU so in the long run it will be good to be there now.

We will be moving to Pocatello in late December if all goes according to plan which means we'll be closer to Utah for those of you who live there.  On a side note, it is really nice to be done working for BYU-Idaho as a custodian.  I have a part-time position in Rigby cleaning up Community Care and I am waiting to hear from other jobs I've applied for.  We'll keep you posted on our transition.