Ruff Life

This baby business is hard work!! This little creature (who has taken over my room) hurts my ears and wakes me up at night. I don't know when his visit is going to be over, but I'm starting to think he might actually be a permanent resident. Good grief!

He's cute and all. I get to sniff his head sometimes. I still don't really want to sit too close to him. He makes weird noises and occasionally he spits at people (or worse)! Not sure what that's all about. He makes really loud noises that I can't figure out how to stop. I usually run to Mom and see what she thinks about it. So far, Mom and Dad can get it to stop pretty quickly, but sometimes it seems to go on forever! He's a funny dude though. He doesn't seem to walk and all he does during the day is sit in these colorful contraptions that toss him back and forth or rattle him really fast. Seems weird to me, but he obviously likes it.

My favorite thing about this new invader is these blue little plastic bones I see in his mouth every once in a while. I decided to try one out myself, and they were pretty good to chew on. It was all fun and games until Mom and Dad saw me chewing on it and got mad. The new guy should learn to share his toys, shouldn't he?? That's what they always tell me when my cousin Bailey comes over and wants to play with my toys. I don't get it.

Well...the creature is finally sleeping, so I guess I can catch some shut-eye too. Mom says you sleep when the baby sleeps. Luckily the little guy hasn't taken my spot on the bed just yet!

Night on the Town

Drew had his first dinner party last night! I was craving some Italian food, so Uncle Adam and Aunt Heather went out to eat with us at Dibz. It was so much fun to get out and be social, and Drew was an angel and slept soundly the whole time. It was a fun night!!

Look Mom -- No Hands!

We've gone hands free today, which makes it so nice to be able to sit and type or do things around the house and still be able to keep Drew close to me. He really loves his swing, but he was spending countless hours in it. I'm suprised he's not sea-sick from all the rocking! So, I figured it was time to see how the baby carrier worked. So far, he seems to like it. Thanks Susie and Tom for this wonderful gift! Not only will it be great for family hikes, but it's really handy now too.

Ladies Man

Drew was a true Ladies Man last night! He went with me to our Sunday School's Ladies Night Out, which was a dessert "show off" contest. He had a great time...although he didn't know it because he slept through the whole thing.

The sweets were fantastic! One was truly amazing in taste and looks. Elizabeth outdid herself on a cappuccino mousse brownie torte with a fancy Pirouette cookie crust! It tasted even better than it looked. She (of course) won the "Best Presentation" prize and also got the most votes for "Best Chocolate." Lucky for me, she could only win one award. So, the "Next Best Chocolate" prize went to me for Pudding Cake!! Jenny won the prize for "Best Non-Chocolate" with an amazingly delicious warm caramel apple creation. The other desserts were fabulous too! Too bad Drew is too little to indulge on all the yummies that were there. Although, I think he still felt the sugar high anyway!

Bath Time

Drew had a big day yesterday, and it all started with his first bath! He didn't seem to mind it as much as I thought he might. We loaded the tub up on the kitchen sink and washed away. He seemed to kind of like it at first...probably because it felt so good to be clean! By the end though, he just looked like he was cold and really happy to be in a dry towel. Regardless, it was a fun first bath. Dad did a great job at bathing Drew while I stood back and played paparazzo!

After the bath, it was time for our first photo shoot. Lori Barnidge, a photographer in our Medical Education Alliance, and her husband Michael came to our house for Drew's first professional pictures. Drew did really well. He didn't fuss too much, and he only really sprayed us once during the "naked baby" pictures. It took all hands on deck to get him posed and keep him happy, so we don't have any snapshots of the session, but we'll have the real pictures for you to see soon!

Happy Valentine's Day

It was Drew's first Valentine's Day and he did it up in style! He was given an adorable little "Be Mine" outfit by some friends of ours, the Hoopingarner's. It even had a fuzzy pair of wings on the back! Too perfect for our little angel.

Drew and I made Dad some chocolate covered strawberries and a strawberry cake for Valentine's Day. Dad and Kobe gave me a cute box of chocolates. It was a fun day as our newly expanded family had more love to celebrate this year!

We're Home!

We finally made it home from the hospital on February 2nd! Here are a few pictures of our homecoming and Kobe meeting his little brother.

More Pictures!

Bossen Family Photo:


Snuggling...


With Gram and Grandpoppy:


All dressed up and ready to go home!

He's HERE!

Andrew David "Drew" Bossen

January 29th, 2008
9:41 am
7 lbs. 2 oz. 18.25 inches
...and absolutely perfect in every way!...

Andrew, Jennifer and Drew are still in the hospital, and everyone adjusting well!

It seems that Jennifer may need to go back into surgery today to cauterize the wound from her C-Section as some of the blood capillaries are bleeding a little more than they should. Say a prayer for the Bossens today that everything goes well for Jen's 2nd surgery and that there are no further complications so that Mom, Dad and Baby can continue getting to know each other without any other concerns.

Many hugs--
Stephanie (Jen's Sister)

Nesting

Drew has furniture, Andrew assembled the crib, and I'm nesting.
Gram came up to Temple for a couple of days and worked herself (and me) to death...but the house is ready and our closets are wonderfully organized!!
Kobe was left wondering what in the world happened to his room and his twin size bed that he used to have!

Baby Bump Watch

Merry Christmas 2007

Stephanie created the cutest Christmas cards for us this year, but DHL has held them hostage in Waco for over 2 days now. So, I'm putting it on the blog for you to see. They'll be "Merry after-Christmas" cards (hopefully) if the DHL truck can ever find it's way to our house!! Makes you glad Santa has reindeer and doesn't have to rely on DHL!
Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas...almost!

I love Christmas time!! This year we've been celbrating a little extra. The Ellison side of the family headed to San Antonio December 9th-11th to celebrate the season early. San Antonio has been a fun family tradition for the Ellison crew in years past, so it seemed like the perfect idea to visit again this year! We stayed in the Marriott on the river and had a wonderful time exploring San Antonio. We took a riverboat ride the first night and had a great time watching Avery as she took in the Christmas lights on the river. We stopped for dinner at Casa Rio, and then walked up to the Alamo to see it decorated for Christmas. Then it was party time. We all headed to "Gram & Grandpoppy's" room for presents and to feast on all the fabulous goodies they brought. We exchanged Christmas ornaments and all of the grandkids (yes, even the ones not born yet) got to open presents.

The next day, we toured the Alamo and walked through the Menger hotel and explored the mall a little. The boys played golf while the rest of us shopped like we used to do in the old days! Avery was the star of the show all bundled up in her little white coat with fur around the hood. She looked like an angel, and everyone stopped to say hi to her. She was so much fun to be around! We laughed at how this might be the last manageable road trip for a while, as next Christmas there will be 3 grandkids under the age of 3!!

We made some really wonderful memories on the trip. Thanks Mom and Dad for one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever!!

Shower Time

What an amazing group of friends I have. November 18th I was showered with blessings from many friends and family at Drew's baby shower. The hostesses were: Heather Bossen, KiKi Brabham, MarrGwen Dickson, Tamy Dillon, Jennifer Hannah, Lesley Hennig, Joni Lidiak, Elyse Spencer, and Stephanie Poage. Joni won the prize for traveling the furthest...she flew in from Kansas City to be a part of my big day. What a sweet friend!

The whole weekend was a big event. It started with picking Joni up at the airport in Austin on Saturday morning. We then hit Freebirds (as every good Aggie should do when they're within a few miles of one) with my parents. Joni, Mom, and I went down to Christmas Affair after lunch to do some shopping and had a great time. Then we headed back to Temple to show Joni the exictement of our tiny town. We went to Nami's for dinner with Adam & Heather and MarrGwen who was also in town from Austin for the shower. We had a great time.

Then Sunday we went to church and it was shower time!! The shower was at Belton Church of Christ. Jennifer Hannah made the cutest diaper cake for the centerpiece of the decorations! The food was great, and about 35 friends were there to help me celebrate and prepare for Drew's arrival. I was overwhelmed with blessings that day.

Where Does The Time Go?

Ok -- so I'm WAY behind on my posts!! :) Lots of exciting things have happened since Septmember!

Andrew has a JOB!! He signed a contract to join RGB Eye Associates and we'll be moving to Sherman, TX in late June 2008. We're really excited, as this is Andrew's "dream job" that he's had his eye on for the last 2 years. It's amazing to see how God's hand has been in this all along. The practice is owned by an incredibly smart, talented, generous and God-loving doctor who has been in practice for around 20 years. He decided to expand his practice in anticipation of retirement on the near horizon and began looking for 2 partners. He hired the first partner 2 years ago. That partner was one of Andrew's upper-level residents from Scott & White, and someone who had been a good friend for several years. There was still room for one more partner, and Andrew got the spot. It's wonderful to have your dream job AND to be able to practice along side friends that know you, know your talents, and love the Lord. We're very excited about Andrew's future out in the "real world".

So, along with the new job in a new city comes the need for a new house!! Shortly after Andrew signed his contract, we started looking at housing and stumbled upon some new construction that was perfect for us. We found it early enough that we're able to customize it to our tastes, but we don't have to deal with construction financing or the headaches of a true custom home. We went up a few weekends ago to look at the lot and see it all with our own eyes, and we loved it. There's even a 15 acre city park right behind the neighborhood with huge fields and a little lake to fish in. Drew and Kobe are going to love that.

Belly Bump

By popular demand....here are some of the latest pics of my ever-growing belly bump.
Drew is kicking up a storm these days. From what I can tell of his patterns now, he might be a night owl like me! He doesn't do much in the early mornings, but I can feel the dance party starting about 10pm. Maybe one day the two of us can convince Andrew that night time is fun time. Sleep is overrated!

It's a BOY!

Watch out world, there's soon to be another Bossen Boy on the loose! We had our sonogram and found out that we have a wonderfully healthy little boy on the way. There's no doubt about it...he's definitely a boy! The sonogram was just amazing. You could see his little legs and feet, his hands and arms, and his little perfect backbone. That's about all I could see on my own. Andrew and the doctor kept talking about the kidneys, stomach, and all sorts of other parts that just looked like grey fuzz to me. But, I was glad to hear it was all in there and working well! My due date was confirmed for February 4th.

A funny story about the sonogram day:
I was in the restroom after the sonogram and thought I was by myself. I was so happy about all of the news we had just received and was actually giggling and laughing out loud. A million things were running through my head. As I was washing my hands and laughing some more, I said out loud "I can't believe it. I bet I'm going to get tinkled on a lot!". Then I heard a flush and realized I was NOT alone. Needless to say, I scurried out as soon as I could. No telling how crazy that other person thought I was!

Andrew and I are so excited to meet our little boy face to face in just a little over 4 months.

Drool in the Pool

We went to Lion's Park today for "Drool in the Pool"....an all dog swim day and fundraiser for APAC. Kobe had so much fun, and he was the best swimmer there. He even caught the attention of Rockin' Rick's band who played with him. The Temple Daily Telegram took lots of action shots of him and got his info, so he might even be in the paper!