our big news + newborn photos

I honestly didn't think the day would come. But it has. We are moving this little family of ours back to the country, back to Idaho. I still can't believe it. We've been in this big city for 8 years. 8 years!! It has become our home. The place where everything happened. I moved here as a single girl with no job. All of my belongings in my Mazda 626. Today I have a master's degree, a husband, three kids and an apartment full of stuff.

Brian is going to be working for my dad on the farm. We are going to live in a house. It's going to be great. But boy, we are going to miss this place.

On to other things. Before I cry. William's newborn photos make me so happy. He was just short of one week old when we had these taken. I'm so happy that Stacy captured our family and our home so well.

 I'm so glad we captured William's newness because today he looks like this... so chubby!

And just for fun, here we have Tyler and then Johnny as newborns. What do you think? Who looks more like little Willie?

photo dump - the first 2 weeks

william

We are thrilled to announce the birth of our third baby boy!

William Beus Merrell

March 17, 2013 at 1:08 am

9 lbs 6 oz, 22 inches

William's birth was pretty exciting from start to finish. My water broke Saturday evening around 8:30 pm at the Olive Garden of all places. It was 6 days before my due date. Brian, the boys and I had just finished up dinner. Literally moments before the excitement began, Brian and I chatted about what a great evening it had been. Johnny and Ty were so well-behaved and pleasant. They ate without complaining, colored quietly while we talked and charmed the waitress by sweetly asking, "Can I have more lemonade, please?" We decided we would have to do this again before the baby arrived. Brian even directed a comment at my stomach, "Don't come yet, little guy."

 {39 week belly. I snapped this photo with my phone right before we left for dinner.}

{Brian and the boys riding the choo choo train at the mall}

But our little guy had another plan. Thank goodness for Brian who remained as calm and cool as a cucumber. He had us home in no time, arranged for someone to come stay with the boys, and sang them to sleep while I showered and packed a bag. We were at the hospital by 10 pm at which time I finally felt relaxed enough to notice that I was having mild, regular contractions. Over the next three hours they grew in intensity. By one in the morning the contractions were very intense and were coming quickly. I asked to by checked again to see how much progress I had made. At 1:00 am on the dot, the nurse told us I was at  7 cm and that she would go ahead and page the doctor. But the doctor didn't make it. Exactly 8 minutes later I was holding my sweet baby in my arms. No joke. It happened THAT fast. 

Unfortunately, when a 9 lb baby comes that fast, it causes a little bit of damage. I didn't get to spend much time with William after he was born. I had some bleeding among other issues and the doctor, who eventually did arrive, spent a couple of painful hours taking care of that. When the sun came up that morning I was very anxious to spend time with my boy.

And so was Dad. We both thought he looked a lot like Johnny. Since bringing him home, he has taken on a few of Tyler's features and his own look too.

It took us a couple of days to choose a name for this little guy. We went to the hospital with a couple of ideas, but William wasn't on the list. On the morning he was born, both my mom and sister separately suggested William (they swear they didn't talk to each other about it first). The name fit him just right and is perfect because it's a family name too. Brian's grandfather and brother are both named William. And as an added bonus, Johnny and Ty can actually pronounce it! So far they also call him baby bruder, Will, Willie and Mr. W.  

Introducing Will to the boys was so fun. They are so interested in him and want to touch and hold him often. 

Johnny is especially sweet with him.

My mom took amazing care of the boys while I was away. She is such a loving grandma.

When Ty was born I was anxious to get home and rushed out of the hospital as fast as I could. This time around I really enjoyed the special time with my sweet baby and also really loved the time to connect with Brian. We have three kids! Ahhhh. 

Now we are home and adjusting to life with three little boys. It's busy and there is more poop and pee flying around (Johnny and Ty included) than I would ever care to admit. But we are all in love with little Will.