Birthday Boy!

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Jaren!

Today Jaren is 2!  

The girls are so excited to have a birthday party for Jaren.  They remember last years party where Jaren got to eat his first piece of cake and made a mess. They cant wait to do it again!

We dont get to spend as much time with Jaren as we would like to.  We all really miss him when he is away.  The girls are great at including him in things even when he isnt here.  They save things for him for the next time he comes, and when we do something fun, they always want to do it again when Jaren is here, so that he doesnt miss out.  He really has two big sisters that adore and love him so much! (And a little sis now that I am sure will love her big brother also!)

I was going through Jarens scrapbook to find some pictures to scan for this and I read this quote that is in there.  It really explains how I feel about Jaren.  It says:
"However motherhood comes to you, it's a miracle." - Valerie Harper

Jaren is a happy, lovable boy that is blessed to have a family that loves him so much!

Jaren, we hope you have a great birthday and we will have a big party soon!

Love,
Daddy, Heather, Kaden, Brylie and Ellie

Jaren as a baby

Last years birthday!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Today is my baby brothers b-day!  He is 26 now!  I cant believe it, he is my age now!  This is the only good pic I could find of him, from high school prom...haha

I am in Maryville today hanging out with the family.  To celebrate we had meatloaf for dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Ryan was my best friend growing up.  I made him do everything with me.  Since we moved around a lot as kids, he was my only constant friend growing up.  We arent as close now as we were when we used to play "Barbies meet the Ninja Turtles", but I still love the kid.

And ladies out there....he is single....so let me know if you want the hook-up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO!

Birthday Girl!!

Happy 8th Birthday Kaden!

So, we have another birthday in the house!  We have plenty of celebrating at our house in Jan-March, since that is when everyone has their birthday except me.

Kaden turns 8 today.  I cant believe my first baby girl is that old.  How is that possible?  My sweet little innocent girl is growing up and wanting to wear make-up and have Justin Bieber posters on her wall.  I dont think I am ready for all this!!

Today is a thursday, which means it is a gymnastics night.  Kaden wanted to have her birthday dinner the night before, so that she wouldnt get sick at gymnastics.  So, the celebrating started on wed night.  For dinner I told Kaden she could pick her favorite food and we would make it, or go to the restaurant that had it and get it!  She decided to have noodles with Alfredo sauce, corn, apples, and fruit dip.  This is something that we eat ALL THE TIME!  But thats what she wanted, so thats what she got!

Then Grandma Kelli and Grandpa Scott came over, since Gpa has meetings in Platte city on wed nights.  Aunt Nic also came over.  We had cake and ice cream and opened most of the presents.

Kadens favorite present was a sewing machine that Gma and Gpa gave her!  Tomorrow we are sewing a purse!  Kaden also got a camera from her dad that she has loved using!

Today, Kaden took cupcakes and drinks to her classroom and had a party.  The forecast was calling for snow today and Kaden really wanted school to be cancelled.  It wasnt, but they did get out one hour early because the roads were getting bad.  Then gymnastics was cancelled because of the snow, so we stayed home and celebrated more.  

I remember 8 years ago on this day.  It was my first day off of work, I had quit my job so I would have 2 weeks vacation to prepare, before Kadens due date.  Well, that morning my water broke and I had to call and get Matt out of class to come take me to the hospital.  We got to the hospital around 10 am.  I wasnt in any pain.  They gave me pitocin and we tried to get labor going.  I was bored all day and couldnt eat.  We watched movies, and played Uno.....WAITING.  They asked me all day if I wanted pain medicine yet and I said no, I wasnt feeling pain, I could feel the contractions but they didnt hurt.  

That evening at 7:30, I got up to go to the bathroom, when I sat back down in bed, the pain hit me ike a ton of bricks.  I was screaming out in pain and wanted the epidural now!!  The nurse checked me and it was almost time to push, no time for an epidural.  I asked to have ANY kind of pain meds and the nurse said NO!!  Kaden was born at 8:52 pm.  It was a very painful experience!!

She was of course, the most beautiful baby I had ever seen!

Kaden definitely has her own personality.  She thinks she is in charge of everything at our house.  She can be very bossy to her sister!  But she is also the sweetest girl, that cares about everyones feelings.  She has a soft heart for her peers that are different or less fortunate.  I am sure she will do great things.  Her heart is in the right place and she has the determination to do whatever she puts her mind too....even when you tell her she is wrong!  She is also a great helper!

Happy Birthday Kaden, we love you!

Love,

Mom, Greg, Brylie, Jaren and Ellie

2 weeks

Ellie is two weeks old now. She is such a sweetheart and I enjoy every minute with her. I just keep thinking she is too good to be true and I must be dreaming. She has started crying more and acting like her tummy hurts, and spitting up a lot after she eats. She had a two week check up and I told her doctor about it. He thinks she must have some acid reflex issues and put her on some Zantac. We are trying it for a week and seeing if it helps. We also have to feed her less at a time, and more often. So far she has been keeping her milk down better, but she still cries out in pain. She is such a sweetheart. I think she is looking more and more like her daddy these days though.
Thank you everyone that has helped us out! I am back to feeling like myself and it is awesome. It's great to be able to walk around and not have to sit down and rest every few steps! Now I am just sleep deprived, but I will take that over being fat and sore all over!

Oh no!

So, just a funny story to tell...
On thurs morning I got the girls all ready for school, they were just leaving for the bus when Kaden tells me that her tummy hurts. I told her that it must not hurt that bad since she was just now mentioning it. I told her to try going to school and if it didn't get better, tell her teacher and go to the nurse. Kaden told me that her teacher never sends anyone to the nurse unless they feel warm. So I told her "tell your teacher that your tummy hurts and you feel like you might throw up because then she I'll send you to the nurse for sure because no teacher wants a kid in class that is going to throw up."
Well around noon, the school is calling me. I answer it and the school nurse has Brylie in her office because she told her teacher that she felt like she was going to throw up!! I said oh really...ok I will come get her.
Brylie came home and had to lay in her bed all day since she was "sick". Brylie wasn't even really by us when i was telling Kaden that in the morning. Brylie is sneaky though and a little smart for her own good.
She never ended up throwing up....imagine that. I hope she doesn't use this excuse all the time. I tried making coming home sick- not fun at all so that she won't want to try it again! What have I gotten myself into?

BIRTHDAY!

We would like to welcome Ellie to our family!

Born on Thursday Feb 3, 2011 at 10:44 am

7 lbs 13 oz

20.5 inches long

The birth story:

We went to the hospital to be induced. We got there a little after 6:30 am.  We got check in and hooked up to the monitors. I was 4 cm dilated. A little after 7, they started the pitocin.  Around 8 they broke my water.  Around 8:30 I got my epidural :) I was 5 cm dilated. At 10:00, I told Greg, who hadnt had any breakfast yet, to go get something to eat because it might be a long day.  He was gone for about 5 minutes.  When he got back I started crying in pain and told him I thought the epidural wasnt working anymore.  I had to call in the nurse and she checked me and said it was time to push!!  The doc and nurses were ready fast and after three contractions of pushing, Ellie was born at 10:44!  I didnt even know she was out....Greg had to tell me!

It was the easiest and fastest labor I have had.  I couldnt have asked for things to go any better!  Greg was the perfect coach!

The girls got to come and see Ellie soon after she was born.  Their school was cancelled that day because of the snow and cold weather.  So, they were very excited they didnt have to wait all day.  The girls are great big sisters and love Ellie so much.  They are always wanting to see her, touch her, talk to her, and give her kisses.

Ellie has been a great baby!  She is so sweet and precious and we are so blessed to have her in our family.  It seemed like a long wait, and we are all so glad that she is here, safe, healthy and beautiful!!