Brandon update

So that Laura will continue to watch my blog I am posting a couple of pictures. These were taken during Brandon's first week, and the camera was left in Steve's car for the past couple of days, so we need to take some more of him this week so you can see if there is a difference. To me there is a big difference.


{Every morning I get up and get Steven ready for school and leave Brandon in his Daddy's care. Steve swears that babies love pillows.}

Brandon is such a precious baby and we are enjoying him so much. The boys seem to have already gotten bored with him, but that just means there is more time for me (and Tawna)to hold him. He seems to sleep more than the other boys did, but like Steve says I may have just forgotten. I gave him his first bath yesterday and he didn't really love it. I didn't take pics because I didn't have the camera, so I will take some next bath.
{OK, so this isn't the most attractive picture of Brandon, but we loved his stretching pose.}

{And here is a quick picture of Steven on his first day of class in his desk. He is really enjoying school which is such a relief for me.}

You are my sunshine :)

Here is a video that Steve took of Brandon today at nap time. Make sure you turn your sound up. :)
Enjoy!

Steven's First Day of School

Today was Steven's first day of "grundschule" here in Germany! The Germans make a very big deal of the first day of school and we did our best to fit in. :) One of the cool things they do is give their first graders these cone looking things that are filled with candy and toys. Everyones cone is decorated differently and they have some very unique and adorable designs on them. I really enjoyed looking at them.
{This is the cone we made for Steven. It came with a ton of pieces that we glued all together to make this soldier. It was pretty cool. }
{Here is our neighbor with her cone. She and her Mom are going to help Steven and I figure out this German school thing.}
{Me and Steven on his first day of school. You will notice that he is in long sleeves and pants. Our highs are in the 60s this week. }

Steven got a teacher whom he is familiar with from going to a german language class this past year. So, I think that will make him even more comfortable at the school. His language is very good and we are excited for it to get even better. He just needs to learn more vocabulary, but we are very proud of him. Today was more like a party for the kids, but tomorrow is his first day of class. He starts at 7:50am, so there goes our summer break. :)


I also want to thank you all for your comments on our newest addition. Tawna did an awesome job of keeping you all informed of what is going here, and I am glad that we have got her interested in the blogging scene. We are so much enjoying Brandon and we love having the "biggest baby EVER". His look is changing every day and he really is adorable. His eyes have been a little swollen since his birth but that is going away now too. Here are some pics for your enjoyment.





{He's still got the chubby, chubby cheeks.}

Day #2

As we were getting ready to go to the hospital to see Teresa and Brandon, the boys were playing outside. All of the sudden Steven started crying because he had been stung by a bee. There was no stinger in his ear, so it obviously wasn't a bee, and after about 5 minutes his ear was HUGE. Anyone remember in the movie Hitch with Will Smith when he has that allergic reaction to the food and his ears got all swollen and fat? That's what it reminded me of. It's still pretty funny to look at Steven.

We went to visit mother and child in the hospital after the "hornet" fiasco. Teresa is looking and acting great. Brandon is already doing a great job being tough and handling the head-dropping and screaming from his older brothers. While Jacob was holding him he started shaking him and saying "Wake up baby!" He's a crack up.
Brandon is not as overly huge as his face looks in the pictures, though he is still shockingly heavy. Teresa said he weighs the exact amount she gained throughout her entire pregnancy. Way to go her!
Steve went to go pick them up from the hospital a few hours ago so they should be home anytime. The boys and I are very excited. Here are some pictures from this morning.

Mother Teresa Strikes Again

(This is Tawna)
As many of you have probably already heard, Hughes boy number four was born today at 5:29 P.M. Finally! He was due Monday and all at the house, and church, were becoming extremely impatient with him. His name is Brandon Curtis Hughes and he was 9 lbs. 11 oz. and 22. 4 inches. Teresa went to the doctor this morning at 9:00 and he said nothing had changed; she still had not dilated at all and she only had one small contraction while they were monitoring her. So, she came home, layed on the couch for about 10 minutes while the boys finished a movie, then we headed off to The Vivarium. The Vivarium is a little zoo that is about 20 minutes from home that apparently the boys love and I enjoyed it very much too. It really was cool. Anyway, we were starting to walk over to see some other animals after checking out the kangaroos when Teresa stopped. So I turn around and she says "My water just broke." My thoughts: "Oh crap." But all was fine. We rushed to the car, Teresa ahead of the boys and me. I was trying to round them up and tell them that we had to hurry and leave but they just did not understand that the baby was COMING! Probably because we had been telling them that for the past week...
By the time we got to the car her pants were soaked all the way to her ankles. She called Steve as we were getting in the car so I drove her to the hospital and Steve made perfect timing, running in the doors as I was driving out. We drove home, got her bag, drove it back to the hospital, then made a McDonalds stop before going home since the boys were quite upset that we had to leave The Vivarium so quickly.
Here is what happened at the hospital through what Steve just told me. They took her in, the nurse checked her and told her she was only at a 3 so to go walk around for an hour then come back. After about 40 minutes the contractions became so strong they had to go back. The nurses were still trying to clear a lady out from the Birthing Room who had just given birth so they told Teresa she was going to have to wait. She was having very strong contractions at this point and told the nurse "I have to push! This baby is coming out!" so she walked over to the Birthing Room, they called the doctor, and within 10 minutes little Brandon was out. He only cried for about 10 minutes and was "awake and looking around" the rest of the time. Both mother and son are doing well and we will go visit them tomorrow morning! Here are some pictures that Steve took of him tonight:
[This is the first picture I saw when I turned the camera on and I could not stop laughing. He is honestly the fattest human I have ever seen.]

No News

Now it is the 15th and there are still no signs that this baby is going to come soon. I am OK with this still except for the fact that it is getting old thinking every day the baby is going to come. The boys are also starting to not believe that this stomach of mine will ever produce a baby. Also, everyone that knows me: family, neighbors, church friends, are getting tired of seeing me pregnant when they have all expected a baby by now. And we are down to less than a week before Steven starts school. So, although I feel great, this waiting is getting a little annoying.

On another note.... a quick story about my boys. We went to this bounce house type of place (although it was much more primitive than any in the states). There was a ball pit and some little boy was telling Jacob that he couldn't come in, so Jacob came and told me. Well, first of all I was being too lazy to get up and take care of the problem myself, and second Steven does better with the language. So, I asked Steven if he would help Jacob. Before I knew it, all three of the Hughes boys were walking towards this poor unsuspecting boy in the ball pit, as if they were a gang. They were on it! My friend mentioned that anyone who messes with Brandon better watch out, because they may get a beat down. I love that the boys are friends and are there to protect each other.

Due Date!

So, here we are on August 13th, which is Brandon's due date! I went to the Dr. this morning, and he said I am not dilated at all, but it is getting softer?? He monitored me for about 15 minutes, and I had two small contractions in that time. He says we just need to wait for some real strong contractions and I will have the baby. :) I go back Wednesday for them to monitor me again, so we will see what they say then.

I am totally fine with being over due, and am still pretty comfortable. My bones hurt in the morning, and I still hate that a head is by my bladder but other than that things are great. I do NOT want to be induced, and I really think that if I let the baby come when he is supposed to I will have a much easier labor. So that is what I plan on doing. My only concern it that I am up against some deadlines. Steven starts school in 8 days, and I want to be totally involved in that. Which means, baby out and me out of the hospital. This is our oldest child, and he is starting at a foreign school, and the Germans really celebrate your first day of school. So I want Steven to know that we are excited for him and want him to be happy and comfortable.

I am getting the best naps of my life right now while Tawna is here. Most of my pregnancy, I would sleep on our uncomfortable couch while the boys watched a movie. Now I go all the way upstairs, and close the door, and don't get up until I feel like it. It has also been so much easier to be going to the Dr. all the time. It has been such a blessing to have Tawna here!

So, as for now, we are still just waiting. I was 2 days over due with Steven and Nathan, so maybe we can expect something on the 15th? We will see. I will keep you up to date though.

PS- Some pics from this week

{Steve cut Steven's hair and they wanted to see what he would look like with a mohawk. Mohawks are OK for 15 minutes right?}
{"Ginger the cat" is getting bigger, and we are still enjoying her}
{Tawna and I love this shirt that Nathan is wearing, so I took a picture of him. I don't know what that weird face he is making is for, but he still looks pretty stinkin cute. }

Our Week

This week has been pretty uneventful for us. We are just sitting around waiting for the baby to come. The boys are taking their summer break now during the month of August. Steven starts his 1st grade class on August 21st and Jacob and Nathan go to Kindergarten on the 1st of Sept. I am glad Tawna will be here to help with Brandon while I get the boys settled in to this new routine.

Our new ward was so wonderful on Sunday! I am really happy to be going there, and I feel like my responsibilities in the Darmstadt Branch ended just in time. I will be anxious for a calling again soon, but for a couple of weeks it is really nice to just sit and listen to someone else teach me. How selfish huh?

This week we had to run up to the temple to buy some new garments. So, we (Tawna, me and boys) walked around the temple a little and let the boys choose a picture from the bookstore. It is funny because in the states I think these pictures would be like a quarter, so I was surprised when she was ringing them up here for 1.20 Euro. Those are some expensive pictures that will end up bent and in the trash.


We have also been taking lots of naps this week. Steve let the boys stay up late one night to watch Harry Potter, so the next day we were all tired by midday.

And speaking of Harry Potter, we borrowed the first 2 movies from a friend of Steve's at work, and the boys love to watch it! They think it is fascinating, and they love to play wizards now. They all came in to the kitchen like this the other day and they were all holding paintbrushes for their magic wands. I can only assume the sheets were their invisibility cloaks. haha