Wordless Wednesday: Just One of the Guys

Emma will look for any reason to take her clothes off right now and as soon as she saw the boys with their shirts off she ran over and told me, "Off, off! Please!"  How could I resist?  And look at that belly! She's worked hard for that bad boy! <3

Giddy Up Horsey!!

When we came home with Emma's new pink, fuzzy blanket, she was excited to get it open.  We had to lay it on the floor and she would hop and jump all over it.  Aiden decided he wanted to get in on the fun so he came over and laid down as well.  I had to get dinner started so I left them to play.

I heard Aiden trying to get Emma to lay down with him under the blanket, "like you're supposed to", he was telling her.

She wasn't very interested in sitting still so she decided to lay on top of the blanket.

Which turned into Aiden being ridden like a horsey.

 

 

 

Aiden didn't seem to mind, in fact he was laughing hysterically.  Then she went from horsey riding to just attack mode.

 

I love watching these two play together, well, until someone gets carried away and one of them ends up mad...

Getting Ready for Em's New Bed

With Baby #3 on the way and due this summer, we know it's time to move Emma out of the crib and into her new big girl bed. 

She still loves her crib and hasn't climbed out in awhile,  well except for that time the other day when she was having a meltdown and I put her in there until she could calm down. Then she met me on the steps about 2 seconds later.

I'm not ready for this moment. At all.  To me, it's the last little bit of holding on to her as a baby.  Once she's moved, it's official that she's a big girl!  Plus, I like to sleep and I love the quiet at nap time.  I'm worried when she has the new bed, nap time and sleep will become a battle.  For now, I can just lay her down and she'll talk to herself, sing, and play until she falls asleep, then when she wakes up it's the same thing.  She very rarely cries or yells for us to come get her.  Without being confined I just know she'll be up and down, up and down, and up very in the morning.  Maybe she'll surprise me, she does like to sleep and has always been a great sleeper.  That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

We have my cousin's little girl's bed and I love it! It's a princess bed and it is adorable!!  But I'll be honest, I've been stalling to put it up.  Patrick was ready the day we picked it up. Me?  Nope.  My first thing was that we had to get a blanket big enough to cover her on the bed.  Found one.  So my next excuse was that I wanted to get her a little pillow that would match her room.  It came in the mail the other day. 

Sigh...I'm out of stalling tactics.  I guess Emma will be an official big girl any day.  Stay tuned for more on how it goes!

Here's a couple pictures of her new blankie and pillow:

Aiden likes the blanket too!

 

Trying out her new pillow

Happy Birthday Christy!

Today is my sister, Christy's, birthday.  Notice there are a lot of family birthdays in February?  Christy used to try and tell me that I had to be adopted because my birthday was in September and everyone else in my immediate family is in February. 

Hope you have a great day! Happy 30th!

I'd also like to wish my Uncle Wayne a happy birthday today too!  Told ya, lots of February birthdays!

Y3W: 17 Week Update

How Far Along: 17 weeks

Total Weight Gain: We'll find out next week.  I'm guessing I've gained at least 8 lbs since I was there last!

Stretchmarks: Thanks to Emma I have a couple tiny ones, but not from this one yet

Sleep: I've had a couple nights this week where I could not fall asleep, but the past couple of days, I've been sleeping great.

Best Moment This Week:  The kids are starting to talk to the baby.  Emma thinks you need to poke or talk through the belly button for the baby to hear. Aiden just knocks on my belly and asks how the baby is doing.

Movement: Maybe or could be gas still. I can't wait until I know for sure that's what it is.  It's starting to stress me out because I feel like at this point I should be feeling movement.

Gender:  Unknown. 

Labor Signs: No thanks

Belly Button: Inny

Cravings: turkey burgers, paninis, potato soup, diet coke (guess my aversion to soda is over!)

Wedding Rings On or Off: On

What I Miss:  Hanging out with friends and not having a glass of wine

What I am Looking Forward to:  We're getting a new entertainment center this week and I'm excited for it to get here.  Hopefully we like it since we ordered it online and haven't seen it in person yet

How Big is Baby:  About 5 inches or about the size of a turnip

Next Appt:  February 29th

I'm Not Ready!

I was looking online last week and just happened to think about Kindergarten registration coming up.  I decided to check and see if our school district had anything listed about it even though I figured it wouldn't be until at least April or May.  I was wrong. Kindergarten registration is in March, as in less than a month away! No!

I am SO not prepared for Aiden to be old enough to leave me and go to school.  Just thinking about it gets me all worked up and sad.  Everyone tells me that once he starts, I'll enjoy having him there, especially since the new baby will be born right before he does start, but so far, I disagree.  Sigh...

Why do they grow up so fast?! Hopefully this will go smoothly and I'll be able to hold in the tears during registration.  If not, I'll just blame it on hormones. :-)

I'll let you know how it goes! Wish us me luck when it gets here...

And on a side note, today would have been my step dad, Kevin's, birthday. I know him and Mom are still up in heaven celebrating, being they were only a week apart!  Happy Birthday to you! Love you!

Wordless Wednesday: Sing Baby Sing

Last week Emma was singing up a storm! I have no idea what the song was, but it still makes me giggle everytime I watch it!!  Baby Girl is gonna be a star!!

Trip to Build-A-Bear

Yesterday was President's Day so kids had off of school.  Aunt Kelly said she was planning on taking her kids up to the Christiana Mall to visit Build-A-Bear and asked if we would be interested in going with her.  I thought it sounded like a great idea and being neither one of us had been there before we were probably just as excited as the kids!

We met bright and early to hopefully avoid any afternoon meltdowns and headed off.  (And thanks to Aunt Kelly for being prepared with the camera, most of these pictures I stole from her!)

We're on our way with a van full of kids!

Emma is wondering where we're taking her

Once we got to the store it was time for everyone to choose their bear, dog, cat, chipmunk, whatever their heart desired! Then decide which sound they wanted their pet to make, if any.

So many choices!!

Do you your puppy to bark, Emma?

Once you had your animal, it was time to stuff them!  The boys were great helpers here and made sure to help their little sisters with this part! Emma was too scared of the man working there and the noise the machine made to get down and do her own!

Waiting in line to stuff our picks!

Filling up Alvin with stuffing

Helping Emma fill up her new doggy

After your animal is perfectly stuffed, you have to pick a heart to put inside.  They had the kids rubbing the heart on their heads so their animal would be smart, on their ears so it'll be a good listener, on their legs, knees, and feet so it'll be able to run, jump, and play, all kinds of things.  When Aiden was watching the little boy in front of us, he turned around and whispered to me that he was not going to do that stuff.  He did.  Bashful little guy!

Getting their hearts all warmed up to go in their animals

After they get all stitched up it's off to give them a bath and fluff them up.  This was Ava's favorite part! Emma still wouldn't get down at this point.  I think she was afraid of the noise the dryers aka fluffers made.

Scrub-a-dub-dub

Fluffing up Alvin's fur

Ava getting Hello Kitty all ready for an outfit!

After getting them clean it was time to shop for an outfit.  And talk about choices! These things have way more options than I do when I get ready in the morning!

After making a hard decision of what outfit to get you're off to the computer to register and name your stuffed animal.  You even get a birth certificate for them to take home!  Word of advice for those who have never been (as we never had), don't fall over when they tell you the total.  Good Lord!!

That face made the prices all worth it!

We were all starving afterwards so we decided to hit up Chickfila for lunch and play time.  Unfortunately this Chickfila didn't have a play place.  Who would have thought?! I thought they all did!  So after lunch we hit up the playground down the highway for some fun before our long ride home.

Time for ice cream!

Emma loves fries!

Best Friends!

We had a wonderful time! Thanks Aunt Kelly for a great idea!

Here's everyone's new stuffed animal:

Aiden and Alvin

Emma and Puppy

Ava & Kitty

Hunter & Camo Buddy

Ronnie & Joey

2 Years Ago Today

Two years ago on February 18th my life change forever.

This story actually starts a few days before that.

 (Background info - My mom had been sick with cancer and then had open heart surgery so my grandmother had been staying with her to help take care of her.  My uncle, Darrell, had moved back home with my grandmother for a bit as well but since she was usually at Mom's house, he was home by himself a lot).

I was working at the daycare when my boss came in and told me that there was a police officer at the front desk that needed to talk to me.  (Luckily, I was working with family and they knew I wasn't a criminal.)  I went out front and saw that she wasn't kidding, there was a lady that said she was a friend of my uncle & cousin who both work for the state police.   I believe my grandmother or uncle had been trying to get ahold of Darrell with no luck.  So, my uncle Ronnie went over to my grandmothers to see if he was there and found my uncle unresponsive.  I will spare you the details, as I never really asked myself, but I know it was messy and he was in bad shape.  He ended up in the hopsital and like I said, it wasn't good. He was on life support (I believe, sorry but this time is just sort of fuzzy to me.). 

It was in February a couple days before my mom's birthday when they found him and she had had a round of chemo that morning so they were worried about her being at home by herself.  The police officer told me that someone said Mom was watching somebody's kid and they didn't want her to be there alone so would I go over to her house to help her.  I knew that didn't sound right.  Mom's cancer had returned to her lung and she had a horrible time catching her breath at this point and couldn't get down and play with her favorite people in the world, her grandsons, so I knew she wouldn't be offering up to babysit anyone else's kids.  I decided to call her just to make sure and she told me she wasn't keeping anyone and that she was fine, I didn't need to come over.  My uncle is quite the worrier and he sent the officer over to drive me to Mom's which was literally across the highway from where I was working because it had snowed. Hahaha, that is so him! I told the police lady I would go over after work and it was fine I could drive myself.  She went on her way and I went back to work.  After a couple minutes, Mary Jean (my boss and cousin??) came in the room and told me that I should go over to Mom's.  I was never so glad that I listened to her that day.

I left Aiden at school and went over to Mom's and her and I got to spend the rest of the afternoon together, chatting when she could or letting her rest.  I made her a grilled cheese for lunch and she actually ate the whole thing, which wasn't usual at this point.  I was about 7 months pregnant at this time and she knew that I really wanted to stay home with the kids once this little one was born.  While I was making her lunch I remember her telling me that she didn't want to have to leave us, but at least she knew once she was gone we would be getting some money that would help us to make that happen and that made her feel really happy.  While I was there I kept asking if she wanted me to take her up to the hospital to see Darrell and she kept telling me no, that she was okay.  (It was like she knew she was going to see him again soon anyway.)

On Mom's birthday, February 16th, my Uncle Darrell passed away.

Fast forward two days to February 18, 2010.  I was back at work again feeding the babies in the infant room when Mary Jean and the secretary, Roe, both came into the room.  Mary Jean quietly told me that she wanted me to get my jacket and purse and get ready to leave.  I made some joke I'm sure and I remember Roe grabbing my hand and telling me that she loved me.  Okay, now my stomach dropped and I was freaking out.

I got my stuff and headed out to the lobby and who do I see?  The same police officer again.  I think I said something along the lines of, "You again? You've got to be kidding me?" I don't remember exactly but I'm sure it wasn't the most polite thing to say.  I couldn't figure out why she was there because Darrell had passed away 2 days ago.  She began to tell me that Mom had just gotten home from chemo and had collapsed.  That my grandmother and Uncle Wayne were there and Wayne had to do CPR and they called for an ambulance.  She said that Mom was on her way to the hospital and they had to incubate her, which meant she wasn't breathing on her own.  She said she was driving me to the hospital because she could get me there way faster than I could on my own.

My husband was working up in Maryland that day and I called him and told him what was going on and to get to the hospital asap.  I then called my sister.  When I was talking to her I think it hit me just how serious this situation was and I started to freak out.  I told her to leave work immediately and come down.

With lights and siren blaring the officer and I got to the hospital just after Mom and the doctors took us to a private waiting room.  Private waiting rooms are never good.  If things are gonna be okay, they'll stick you out front with everyone else.  When things are serious, you get secluded in the back.  I tried to convince myself that we were in the back because there were so many of us there.  All my aunts and uncles, cousins and spouses, and my in-laws were there.  We all tried to distract each other with small talk but we all knew what we were thinking.  Eventually the doctors came in and told us some things that honestly, are all kinds of fuzzy in my head...I think she had heart failure or a heart attack or something like that and then she was bleeding from her lung, I think.  When you're in the situation, you don't really hear a whole lot that they're saying.  I informed the guy that she was on blood thinners because she had had blood clots before and from his reaction to that, I knew it was bad.

They let us go in and see Mom and I feel like she was already gone.  The machines were there doing everything for her.

And she had no wig on.  Oh my goodness.  She would have been so angry to know they were letting everyone come in and see her and they didn't cover up her head!  I remember thinking that that day too and it made me smile.

After awhile of sitting with her, the doctor came in to tell us that she was pretty unstable and could have another "heart attack" or whatever it was and they needed to know if we wanted them to act or not.  I knew 100% that she did not want to be on life support ever.  When she ended up in the hospital earlier she had a bracelet on that said DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and she had told my husband and I this several times as well.  When the doctor informed us that it was less than a 5% chance that she would come back, we had to make the decision.  I knew the decision was already made, even though I wanted with all my heart for them to bring her back, she had told me what she wanted and I had to respect that.  We informed the doctors we were going to stop everything and let her go.

It's silly but the whole time one thing that really upset me is that I never got to tell her that we were naming our baby girl, who I was pregnant with at the time, Emma Cheryl (Cheryl after my mom).  I did tell her when we were there with her, but like I said we I got there, I just felt she was already gone.

We left the room and the doctors unhooked everything and after a couple minutes we were let back inside to sit with her for as long as we wanted/needed to.  It's really strange, on tv shows you see the doctors in with them watching the clock and announcing the time of death.  None of that went on.  There was one nurse that stayed in toward the back, but the machines were all quiet and I kept watching one, that I think had her pulse or something and it never really went to 0 that I saw, so I don't really know when she officially crossed over.

I will say that even though she had to go, I brought me great comfort knowing that she wasn't in pain anymore and I know she was in a lot though she would never have admitted that.  And I knew that she was finally reunited with my stepdad and love of her life, Kevin.  Knowing that helped me get through.  I knew she was so ready to be with him again and I know that everyday her and Kevin are both watching down on us.

So yes, 2 years ago, February 18th, was a day that changed my life forever.  It was a day that one of my best friends, the very best mother and Nana in the world was taken from us way too soon.  I miss her more than words can say and there is not a day that goes by that she doesn't cross my mind.  I look forward to the day when I get to see her again, hopefully it's not anytime soon, but I can't wait!

Darrell, Wayne, Mom, Ronnie

Mom & Kevin

Mom, Me, & Christy

Jace, Mom, & Aiden

Y3W: 16 Week Update

How Far Along: 16 weeks

Total Weight Gain: 0 according to the dr and our scale's battery is dead...oh darn!!

Stretchmarks: Just Emma's leftovers

Sleep: Great!

Movement: A little, I think.  I can't wait until I know for sure that's what it is!

Gender:  Unknown. 

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button: Inny

Cravings: Nachos and cake (Fatty!)




Favorite Moment this Week: I think Emma is starting to get it a little bit.  She'll point at my belly now and say "baby", then she'll look at hers and say, "baby". :-)



Looking Forward To: Listening to the heartbeat at my next appointment

Wedding Rings On or Off: Still on

How Big is Baby:  About 4 1/2 inches or the size of an avocado

Next Appt:  February 29th

Happy Birthday Mom

Today you would have turned 62.

We got a little cake to have because I think it's a good way for us to remember and celebrate you. Some may think that's a little silly since you aren't here anymore, but I believe you are still with us.  I know you'll be there smiling as the kids sing to you. Emma's "Happy. Happy." is pretty sweet.

This is how I imagine you and Kevin are up in heaven celebrating your special day:

We all miss you so much!!  Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!!

Wordless Wednesday: The Boy is Obsessed!

If it were up to Aiden, this is how he would spend his entire day...

What is it about boys and video games????

Happy Valentine's Day!

On Friday, Patrick came home from work and informed me that he was taking me out to dinner Saturday night.  Yay!!  When he told me that the kids weren't coming along, I was pretty surprised.  It's not an exaggeration when I say we never go out without the kids!  We've got maybe 2 or 3 people that we could ask to watch the kids, but I hate to feel like we are imposing so usually we just bring the kids along or go with take out.  Which is fine with me, by the way, because then I can eat in my comfy clothes!! :-)

The last time Patrick and I went out without either one of the kids was probably last winter.  Yes. I'm dead serious! I remember wearing a specific sweater and where we went to eat because I had just started Weight Watchers so it was a year ago!  And do you know what we did on that date...ate and then went kid free shopping!  Kid free shopping is awesome! You actually get to look at stuff and try stuff on without being in a big hurry.  So I knew exactly what I wanted to do after dinner this time!

He took me to McGlynn's for dinner and it was so yummy! I seriously think I could have eaten a whole second plate of food! It was snowing pretty hard when we left and I wasn't sure I felt like dealing with being out in the cold anymore, but I couldn't give up kid free shopping at Target! So I sucked it up and off we went.  

It was an awesome date night!! Being able to talk to Patrick throughout dinner about things we like to talk about and not having to correct someone every five minutes was awesome! And don't even get me started about having hot food! Heaven!! Then shopping! Sigh...

Thanks babe for the wonderful company and a date right up my alley!

I love you!! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Birthday Jace!!

Today my nephew, Jace, is 6 years old!  6 years!? How the heck did that happened?! 

Six years ago, I got a call from my sister, Christy telling me that they were going to admit her to the hospital and she was gonna have the baby. Not surprising to most people when they are expecting a baby, but we weren't expecting his arrival for a little while.  It was February and she was due in April!  I believe she was about 30, maybe 31 weeks along. 

Patrick and I rushed over to the hospital and were able to hang out with Christy for awhile before anyone else got there.  She seemed very calm about the whole crazy matter.  The reason they needed to deliver Jace was that Christy was suffering from preeclampsia.

They got her all ready and Baby Jace was brought into the world weighing in at 2 lbs, 13 oz.  He was SO tiny.  I still have pictures, but it's really hard to wrap your head around how small that actually is 6 years later!  Jace had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks but he was growing like a champ and was able to go home with just a little monitor that they had to attach to make sure he didn't forget to breathe when sleeping.

Six years later, you would NEVER know that he was a preemie! He is so big!

Happy 6th Birthday Jace!!

15 Week Update

How Far Along: 15 weeks

Total Weight Gain: As of my last doctor's visit 0 lbs and I'm not getting back on the scale until I have to go back!!

Stretchmarks: None from this pregnancy, just a couple small ones from Emma

Sleep: Got a new mattress and was hoping for a super, wonderful, comfy night's sleep. Nope, turns out I didn't hate the pillow top as much as I thought I did! This new one is kind of hard! I slept horrible the first couple nights, but now I have 2 pillows and sleep on sort of an incline and now I'm able to sleep much better!

Best Moment This Week:  I think I quite possibly have felt the baby moving a few times!

Movement: I think so! That or it's gas...I'll go with it's the baby moving! :-)

Gender:  Unknown.  I'm still trying to make that decision on whether or not to find out when we can. They should schedule that appointment at my next doctors visit!

Labor Signs: Nope!

Belly Button: Inny

Cravings: Ice, Granny Smith Apples.  Things I want nothing to do with: soda, sandwiches, bananas

Wedding Rings On or Off: Still on

What I Miss:  Being able to fit into some of my old shirts and pants

What I am Looking Forward to:  Feeling the baby move more!

How Big is Baby:  About 4 inches or the size of an apple

Next Appt:  February 29th

Baby #3, 15 Weeks

Wordless Wednesday: Always Accessorize

Emma is very aware of just how important it is to accessorize!

 

You work it, girl!

Super Bowl XLVI

On Super Bowl Sunday we had all of my in-laws over to watch the game. They are die hard Pats fans so it was a stressful game to watch and in the end a tough loss.  I was just happy to have yummy food.  (Hello inner fat girl :-)!)  Here are a couple pictures I got before everyone got here.  It just gets to crazy to remember to take pictures during the game!

Why am I wearing this thing?

Go Patriots!