Borich Fam in Philly...

OK, so now that we will periodically be taking Mykah to an airport that she can fly non-stop to Salt Lake City to see her dad, we figured we should turn each place into an adventure. This particular adventure involves Philadelphia and we had a great time! Joe & I are both history-loving dorks on the inside, and it's trickling down to Mykah, because she digs history, too! Philly is very historical and we're blessed to be able to experience it firsthand.


Independence Hall.


The Liberty Bell, which we found out symbolizes religious freedom, not freedom in general. Until the famous crack couldn't be repaired, it hung in the tower below.

Coolest story behind this architecture...The British taxed individual walls of homes, so that's why all the homes are right next to each other. They use the same walls to avoid being taxed too heavily...Love thy neighbor takes on a whole new meaning with homes this close!

Home of James & Dolley Madison pre-presidency

To feed our need for an accurate history lesson, we employed Camilla & Woody (horse-drawn carriage) for a ride around the area. Mykah loved the stories by Camilla and Woody, see below, and Max loved riding around-not walking! Corny, but very fun and very educational!

Woody...

Benjamin Franklin's gravesite...


Home of Betsy Ross, where she sewed the first flag...

Since Josh took over the pack & play, Max got to experience big boy hotel life! Looks pretty comfy, doesn't he?!

Little Miss World Traveler, who fortunately, is only gone for a week this trip!

So, are you noticing the time frame for this post? Yes, I'm posting after Mykah is already home because the week she was gone was very interesting at the Borich abode...I haven't been feeling well lately and the doctors haven't been able to find anything wrong. Early Friday morning that changed when intense pain sent me to the ER. Turns out I have 2 kidney stones. One is still in my kidney, but the other one was about an inch from my bladder, and at 6mm in diameter, was mostly blocking the tube from my bladder to my kidney. Apparently, this causes the kidney to swell, creating the pain previously mentioned. Side note: this pain is worse than labor! So, I had to see a urologist the same day, who told me I was not likely to pass it on my own and would need surgery. During surgery later that day (this is all on Friday) the doctor discovered that the stone was actually embedded in my ureter, not good! The surgery was done with a scope, they used laser to break the stone apart, then left a stent from my kidney to my bladder so it can heal from the damage done by all the inflammation. I go back in a week to have the stent removed (ewwwwww) and hopefully, this drama will all be over!
Also, poor Mykah's flight was unable to land in Philadelphia when it was supposed to on her return trip. They re-routed to Dulles Airport to refuel, so instead of getting to the airport at 4:25, she got there at 9:30-then there was still 4 hours to drive home. There was a wonderful woman who was traveling next to Mykah who had an 8 year old herself and she let Mykah borrow her cell phone when they landed "at the wrong airport". (according to Mykah) So I was able to calm Mykah down, but it sure felt yucky to be that far away from her when she was scared. Please thank God for the woman with such kindness in her heart. I thanked her profusely, but really, are there enough words as a mother to express that kind of gratitude?
I'm tired! Thanks for listening...

Change...

Nothing proves how fast life changes more quickly than a newborn. As I've stared at Josh this past 2-1/2 weeks, I've been forced to acknowledge the changes in our lives. In 2 short years, we've had many... and time has shown me the incredible blessings and trials that come with change. I love reading friends & family's blogs because, just as our lives change, so do the lives of the ones we love. Unlike P.B. (pre-blogging), we get to give each other a small taste of the laughter and tears that propel us through time, as we weave in and out of each other's lives.
Enjoy the newest pix of Josh- his 2 week check up was fantastic...he's grown 1/4 of an inch and has gained one ounce for each day he's been home. When we left the hospital, his weight was 7 lbs even, he now weighs 7 lbs 12 ozs! He'll be ready to play football any day now, but since I'm not going to give up nursing just yet (it's obviously working!), football will have to wait!!!





I think the last photo is pretty symbolic-unintentionally. Joe is going to support our family single-handedly and I know he's up for the challenge. He's always up for a challenge, right?! Honey, do you see the total trust on Joshie's face? Turn to the rest of us and you'll see the same trust. Love you 2 pieces...

And then there were 5...

Welcome Josh Thomas Borich! Josh was born on February 25th, 2009 at 5:12pm Eastern Standard Time (finally!) He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 ozs and was 21" long. We are extremely blessed to have added another healthy baby to the Borich family! Get ready for an abundance of pictures... Bear with us!!!!




Mykah is the best big sister ever (sorry to all other big sisters, but it's true!) She has been waiting (not so) patiently for Josh to join us. I love the pure joy and love written all over her face in this first picture of the 2 of them.



Max, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less about Josh or anything else when he got to the hospital to see us. He found the chocolate cake that Nana got for Daddy and that was the only thing on his mind. We'd say "Max, this is your brother, Josh." and he'd say, "Mmmm, good cake!" So we let him enjoy the cake!!!!




Proud Nana! My poor mom has been here since Feb. 15th. I can't even pretend that I've been a good hostess...the misery that I was in at the end of my pregnancy was impossible for me to haul myself out of, even to spend time with my mom. Hopefully, I've been less of a beast since the birth. Mom, we couldn't have done this without you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here for us-in more ways than one. We thank God every day for you... You continue to show Joe & me what kind of parents we want to be.




The new Borich family picture!




My beautiful husband and new son. There aren't words to describe the love that I feel for my husband. He's been through so much this last month, but not once did he falter in his role as father and husband. Joe, you are my rock. You own my heart and my soul. Thank you for this beautiful child...





Our amazing kids...




The Borich boys...We finally got a little interest from Max- yes, we were out of chocolate cake at this point. Mykah and I realized about this time that we are now out-numbered. Mykah reminded Joe that it doesn't really matter, though, because "Mama is still the queen". Have I taught that child, or what?! Everyone has proud moments as a parent...this is one of my proudest! I even got a little teary-eyed! (Hormones?)




Getting ready to go home from the hospital!






Picture this all you dads...My sweet hubby went to pull the car to the front door of the hospital to take the newest addition to his family home. He made a couple of other trips out to take all of the gear and hook up the base to the carseat so we could just load up Josh and go. My mom, the nurse who was escorting us out and I were waiting in the lobby, wondering what the heck was taking so long! When we saw Joe walking back into the lobby, we knew the news couldn't be good...the battery in our car had died! The semi-funny part was that we'd been waiting for the battery to die at a REALLY inopportune time, but this was almost unbelievable! Luckily, Mom was there with our other car...but we had to wait longer for Joe to move everything he'd already loaded into the other car. Could this have been a lesson in procrastination? We finally did make it home-after 5 hours of errands on the way home-including a new battery!!!

Josh was exhausted from all the effort it took to be so stinkin' cute!





Kisses for "Baby Dosh" -the official Max name




Joe was holding Josh this morning and Max crawled up on his lap, too! By the way, Max is doing great with Josh. We were worried about him, but he seems to be fine with having someone new in our house. His last day in daycare was Friday, so we'll see if he makes the transition as smoothly as it seems. A mom can dream, right?




I think Josh will spend lots of time in this position, just chillin' on Daddy's lap!




That's it for now. My broken tailbone (thanks, Josh) will not allow me to sit on this chair ANY MORE...We love you all & miss you terribly! Any chance the addition to our family will get any of you to come out here and visit?!