{Hanging out with my boys}

I can't tell you how nice it has been since Luke has been home with us. I just love him so much. My favorite thing since we have had him home is when Nolan walks up to him and gives Luke a kiss on the forehead and says, "little Yukie." It is the most precious thing you ever saw.
I think Nolan is kind of getting the idea of having a baby brother. He walks around saying, "baby brodder Yuke." Nolan also likes to sit by me when I feed Luke his bottle. He thinks he's helping mama.
I was telling Jake that I don't think it is too bad having two kids. Jake just laughed and said he will ask me in a month if I feel the same.
We really are so blessed to have these two cute boys!!! They make me so happy. Nolan is so funny right now. He loves his Grammy and Granddad so much. His favorite thing is to go up to my dad and get right up in his face and say, "watcha doin'?" I love seeing Nolan with his grandparents. Little Lukie is such a good baby. He never cries and we never have to rock him to sleep. We just wrap him up and hold him for a couple of minutes and he is out. We can put him right down. This has been such a blessing during the night when I am up feeding 3 times.

My favorite thing about Luke right now is when he is on the verge of falling asleep and he busts out that little smirk right before he is knocked right out. You can't help but smile.
He is starting to have certain awake times, which are so much fun. We actually get to see his big eyes and cute personality. I love his long dark brown hair. He looks nothing like Nolan. It still is crazy to me that I am a mother of two!! But I love it and can't wait to Luke to be 100%. Hopefully in a week he will be off of his strict eating schedule and we can just work on fattening him up. He already weighs more than his birth weight. We went to the Pediatrician yesterday and he weighed 5lb 7 oz!!!! Way to go Lukie!!! I'll have to take a picture of him in just his diaper to show you how tiny he really is. We just love our two boys!!! Nothing better.

{He's home}

Yes, that's right my friends!!! After 8 long days of going back and forth to the NICU we have our precious little boy home. We are so relieved to have him home.
He is on a very strict eating schedule because he is still so tiny. We have to boost him with some calories and some MCT oil and feed him every 3 hours. Also, home health care from the hospital will be visiting us twice this coming week to test his glucose and we will be visiting the Pediatrician often to make sure he is progressing. Hopefully he can gain some weight and we can just feed him like a normal baby.
I'm sure things are going to still be a little crazy around our place but we are so happy to have Luke home with us. Thanks to our family and friends for all their support and concern. We are so lucky and know the Lord is watching out for us. Yah for little "Lugie!"

{Visiting little "Lugie" in the Hospital}

My parents are finally here! They came in late on Christmas Eve. We were so relieved to have them here to help us. Things have been a lot easier around our house because we don't have to worry about Nolan as much. They have been so kind and taking care of him. They finally got to see little "Lugie" on Christmas Day. They just melted when they saw how small he really was. I think the pictures of my parents with Luke are so cute.

{Christmas}

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. We really didn't have the chance to sit back and enjoy it. We were crazy going back and forth between the NICU and our house.
Nolan had a good time with his Grammy and Grandpa Russell. He was so excited to wake up and see them. He definitely got spoiled. We put all of Nolan's presents by his basketball hoop and then we looked at our tree, pretty much everything was gone. Not much left over for Jake, my mom, my dad, and me. Someone is loved a little too much.













Nolan had a blast with his new basketball hoop from Grammy and Grandpa. He played with it all morning. He loves it when we cheer for him after he makes a basket.





He was also spoiled with a cement truck, two trains, and lots of new books. This kid didn't know what to do with himself. He was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.



























For Christmas Eve we opened up our jammies from the Rabe family. Nolan thought he could climb in to the box after he opened it. Just a little too big to do that.

All in all our Christmas was the best it could be considering we had little Lukie in the NICU.

{Christmas Tradition}

Last night on Christmas Eve we decided to open our pajama presents from Grandma and Grandpa Rabe. We love this tradition but we were sad we couldn't be there with everyone. I miss seeing all the Rabe siblings run to see who gets theirs on the fastest. I think that Jake won this year, only because of the time difference. Nolan was lucky to get a surprise in his present with a cool car puzzle. He is in love with it! So we captured some of him counting and talking about colors. He is so smart and fun right now. Hope you enjoy this clip. Merry Christmas!

{Our little Christmas present}

Lucas Jacob Rabe
5 lbs 3 oz
19 inch
Born December 20, 2008
1:12 pm

He is finally here. We are so excited he finally has joined the family. But we are sad to say that he was admitted into the NICU right after birth due to a very low blood glucose. He has been in there from day one. They told us it is common to have a baby with such a low birth weight have problems regulating their sugars. We are hoping and praying that there will be nothing else wrong with him.
He is doing well. He was hooked up to an IV and was only given that the first day. Then they slowly starting feeding him, not from me, early the next morning. On Sunday afternoon they asked me to start trying to feed him so that we could regulate his sugars. He is now almost to the point where he is only feeding from me. They have been supplementing formula after I feed him to give him more calories and boost his sugars.
He is also on an antibiotic and zantac. They thought he had stress ulcers because he was spitting up fluid his first day. He had a chest x-ray and that came back great, nothing wrong. They are running one more test called a CMV. I'm not terribly familiar with this but it may be the cause of why he can't regulate his sugars. The Neonatologist doesn't seem to think that is the cause so we are trying to be optimistic.
Luke is so dang cute despite all that he has endured. He came out so tiny but just perfect. No bruises or rasberries. Just PERFECT! We love him so much. It has been really hard to not be able to hold him all the time and see him. Things have been a little crazy running back and forth between the NICU and taking care of Nolan boy. It was pretty sad today when they discharged me and I couldn't take my little guy home. We know he is in good hands though. I still go back all the time for feedings. In fact, the nurse told me they want me there all day tomorrow and possibly to do an all nighter to get him 100% breastfeeding. Then hopefully we can take him home if his glucose readings are consistently high enough. So keep little Lukey in your prayers so we can get him home before Christmas!
Thanks to all our friends and family who have been so concerned about our little guy. I know that our prayers have been answered. And thanks to our amazing neighbors who have so willingly taken Nolan so that Jake can come to the hospital and spend time with Luke. We are so blessed. We love our little family so much!

{Happy Anniversary}

Okay, I know our Anniversary isn't until the 19th but this baby may come any day now and I really want to tell Jake how much I love him!
FIVE YEARS!!!! Wow, time has flown. Who would have guessed that in those five years we would have two kids and moved halfway across the country. It has been so much fun!
I am married to the greatest man in the world! He is so good to me. He works so hard to someday have a wonderful career to provide for his family. I feel so lucky that he chose me to take him on this crazy adventure of med school.
And let me tell you ladies... Jake is one sexy beast! I still am mesmerized by his bright blue gorgeous eyes, his cute freckles on his lips when he has been out in the sun, his wonderful chiseled body, oh man I could go on and on about how sexy I think my husband is but I will spare you the details.
I think the thing I love most about Jake is how much he loves me. He tells me everyday in so many ways how much he loves me. Whether it be just saying it or by helping me out with Nolan when he gets home or giving me a neck massage even after he has had a very long day or telling me how beautiful I am. I am so lucky. Jake is so good to me. I love him so much! I can't thank Heavenly Father enough for helping me find Jake. I think I might even be okay with spending FOREVER with Jake. Ha Ha, I tease.
I still feel like we are newlyweds. Our marriage, at least for me, has been like a breeze. It has been so easy being married to Jake. He is my best friend and the man I am so in love with! Thanks Jake for "taking a dive" and marrying me. And thank you so much for giving me two little boys. I love the relationship you have with Nolan and can't wait to see what you have in store for this next little guy. Nolan loves you so much. He gets so excited to see you everyday. While your at school he says, "Daddy school, go car ride." He thinks about you all day. My favorite is when we say bye to you in the morning and Nolan says, "By daddy, yuve you." It melts my heart. I love you Jacob Rabe! Happy Anniversary!!!!

{Baby Shower}

I seriously have the bestest friends ever out here!!! Kelsey and Amanda threw me a baby shower on Saturday. They are so sweet. I felt so stupid having one because I'm having another boy and usually you don't get one for that. But I'm so thankful for all they did.
The food was AMAZING! They made yummy wraps, lemon cake, artichoke dip with bread, chocolate cookie dough bites, fondue, eggnog, etc. Oh man it was good! Also, Kels put together this cute little Christmas baby tree. She put socks, binki's, beanies, and teething toys for the ornaments. It was such a cute idea! The presents were set all around the tree just like Christmas presents.
I got some wonderful gifts. It's funny how you forget about all the little baby things. I forgot about the little mittens they wear so they don't scratch themselves. One of the gifts was a cute my first Christmas onsie. So fun! He is our little Christmas present. I can't wait!
I had a wonderful time with all my friends. Thanks for all your support through this entire pregnancy! I'm sure I made it so that none of them ever want to get pregnant. It's really that bad! Anyway, I only have until Saturday! Wahoo! I hope that this baby stays cooking until then. But I'm so ready to be done. Stay tuned for new baby pictures.....

{one wintry storm after another}

We have been dumped on the past week with snow! I love it! I'm not sure if most people like it but it really makes the holiday season so much more special to me. But the reason for posting this picture is because if my cute husband. You know how we just built a snowman about a week ago? Well, since it has been snowing a ton Jake decided that he would pile snow over the snowman everyday until he got a big hill. Then he really thinks he is going to rent some ski's and take Nolan for a ride down that small hill. I guess it's the best hill we can get around here. Jake really wants to teach Nolan to ski this winter. I say go for it because Nolan loves the snow. If we take him outside while it's snowing he sticks his tongue out and wants to eat it all up. So cute to see! I'll have to get him on video some time. But here is the start of our soon to be hill if it continues to snow. I hope we get a lot this year!

{Nolan's new favorite chair}

I think we are in the clearing of all illnesses, well for Nolan that is. Jake took these pictures a few days back of Nolan's new favorite chair. We finally have room in our apartment to use our big bag. This was Nolan's haven for about 2 1/2 weeks. He has really become attached to the silly thing.
This kid was totally pampered when he was sick. To help him take his mind off of how he was feeling we would turn on "Super Why" and "Elmo's World" and let him watch all morning long. Thus the new favorite chair. I love how he has his football in hand in these pictures.
Jake loves it now because Nolan will actually play catch with him, kick the soccer ball to him, and play basketball too. Our little boy isn't so little anymore. Back to the sickies, Nolan is now back to his normal fun little self. I can't tell you how happy it makes me.
But just as I thought we were clear of all the crud, Jake came home yesterday from studying with the whitest face ever! He has just thrown up outside and felt like crap all day long. In one of his classes he had to get up and talk but had to keep excusing himself because he was going to throw up. Poor guy! After he got home he threw up again and again. I was so worried so I called a couple of the guys in our cul-de-sac and asked them to come give Jake a blessing. Jake was so embarrassed that I asked them to but I told Jake that he needed to humble himself and accept the blessing so he could quickly recovery and get back to his studies. Finals are next week. So he got the blessing, which was an amazing blessing I might add, and he didn't throw up at all the rest of the night. He woke up this morning feeling so much better and headed off to school once again to study hard.
I don't usually talk about stuff like this on the blog but I was truly humbled by the gift of the priesthood. It is amazing! I know that through our faith that Jake can get through the rest of this week and next week. I wish I could explain how wonderful it was to hear a worthy priesthood holder give a fantastic blessing.
I really don't know why everything has fallen in to our plate this last month but I know that the Lord isn't going to give us anything we can't handle. I think the hardest part of it all is that I can't take it away from Jake or Nolan. They mean so much to me and to see them so sick breaks my heart. Jake is such a trooper too. He has sacrificed a lot of his study time to help me with Nolan. I have been praying that the Lord will bless him through these big tests. I know he will do a great job! I love you honey! You are my favorite. I am so thankful for my sweet little family. Now I have to focus all my prayers that I won't get everything that they have had so that our new addition won't come in to this world sick. We can't wait for our special Christmas present.
One last thing, Nolan was coloring the other day while I was getting his lunch ready and he said, "color picture for Yuke." (Which means Luke) He wanted to color a picture for his new baby brother. Luke is the name we are most likely going with, that is why he knew the name. But I thought that was so precious. I hope these boys are the best of friends.

{Induced or come early?.....}

I went in for my 38 week appointment yesterday and I am only dilated to a 1. Sad, I know. I was hoping for more. But really that doesn't mean too much. My doctor is so awesome. I told her that I don't want to wait any longer than I have to with this baby. She asked when I wanted to have him and I said on the 20th. I think she was expecting me to say today, but I really need to hold out for Jake to finish up with finals and his last test is on the 19th. She said sure thing, that wouldn't be a problem because she is on call for the next two weekends anyway.
I'm so excited!!!! I can't believe he's almost here. I'm still very nervous about the delivery but I know I will survive. So if all goes accordingly, we will have this baby on December 20th! My doctor was so cute when I was leaving, she said, "hope to see you soon." And she gave me a little wink. She knows I want this baby out of me right now. Pray that I can hold out for my dear, sweet, hard working husband.

{let is snow, let it snow, let it snow}

It has been snowing like crazy here! I love it! It makes the holiday season seem so much more fun. This morning Nolan was so fussy we decided to take his mind off of his cold and take him out in the snow. He has the cutest little snowsuit, thanks to my madre, and we wanted to test it out.










Nolan loved it!!!!! He couldn't get enough of the snow crunching under his feet. It was a new sensation for him. Jake was home for a little bit this morning catching up on some much needed sleep and he was able to take a few minutes and build a snowman for the Nolan boy before he headed off to study.

There were so many fun pictures of Nolan I had a hard time not posting all of them. I just can't get enough of him. He is getting so big and is so curious about anything. He is going to be such a great big brother.


Here it is, the finished product, minus all the fixins for the face. We will put them on later when Jake has more time. What a fun morning. It really helped the time go by. I love moments like this one! It makes me so happy to see my boys having a good time together and for Nolan to become closer to his daddy.

{O Christmas tree......}

I don't think I have ever been so excited to put up a Christmas tree before! This will be our first official Christmas away from family. Seems kinda of weird but at the same time it is fun to really start our own traditions.
We got our lovely tree from the Rabe's. Ann decided she didn't want this one anymore so we grabbed it and ran. I really would love to get more decorations for the tree but we will wait until after Christmas when they all go on sale. But we took a picture from outside so you all can get a taste of our beautiful tree. See the snow in the picture. So fitting for the season.

Funny story about the tree. We have to put our own lights on it. We had four strings of lights, which should be enough for any normal person, but for Jacob Rabe it wasn't. I watched him put the lights on and take them off for over two hours. You all know how precise my husband is, which is a quality that I love about him so much. He finally got it right after we purchased some more lights. But we are so pleased with the outcome. I turn the lights on any opportunity I get. And since it gets dark here at 4 o'clock, I get ample time to have my tree lit.

{Naughty, naughty boys}

When Jake is with Nolan he automatically lets Nolan do whatever he wants. In this case, Nolan wanted to get up on the counter top. So what does Jake do? He puts him up on the counter and opens the cupboards for Nolan's delight. I think he took all my spices in and out of the cupboard for about an hour. Normally this would not fly with me, but because Nolan has been super sick I let this one slide. It was the first time we heard Nolan laugh and saw a smile in about four days.

We took Nolan to the doctor yesterday because he woke up with this crazy rash. The doctor told us he had Roseola virus. Lovely, she said it first starts out with three or four days of high fever, then the rash breaks out, then there are still two or three days left of him just being whinny and not himself. I don't know how much more I can take of this. He has been so clingy and ornery that I don't have any patience left. Our nights have been sleepless and poor Jake is still taking tests. I think that through all of this I am most stressed out about Jake. I feel so bad that he has so much on his plate to worry about. He has finals coming up in two weeks, a baby due, Christmas, and finishing up anything around the apartment. Jake really deserves a good break. Hopefully when my parents come he can be relieved for awhile and just relax.