Sweet...but slightly sour

My normally cute, sweet 2 year old is going through a rough spell right now. He is demostrating a split personality...

Sweet Leighton:
1-Tells his daddy "I lub you daddy" & wants a hug whenever daddy leaves for work.
2-Loves to hold his baby sister.
3-Enjoys playing with his big brother.
4-Sits with mommy, plays with her hair & gives hugs.

Sour Leighton:
1-Throws temper tantrums & screams loudly when told no.
2-Pokes sister repeatedly in the nose or head until she cries.
3-Pinches, hits & pulls Brecken's hair when big brother antagonizes him (or does this sometimes unprovoked).
4-Hits at mommy when she tells him no or to stop doing something.

Molars? Adjusting to new baby? Terrible twos? Testing boundaries? I think he's got a lot going on...but wow, hope this phase passes soon! It's a lot of work for mommy with disciplining...almost more exhausting than being up in the night with a newborn! Thankfully, sweet Leighton is around much more often than sour Leighton. Hopefully the visits from sour Leighton cease :)

1 Month Old!

It's hard to believe that Zoe is 1 month old today! The month has flown by. Her 1 month check up was this morning. Isn't her onesie adorable? My friend, Kara, got Zoe the onesie & neat 'monthly' cards.

Weight: 9lbs 4oz (52nd percentile)
Height: 23 inches (96th percentile)

She is starting to sleep for longer periods of time during the day & at night & is overall a happy & content baby. She loves listening to her big brothers & being snuggled by whoever is willing :)

9 Years

9 years ago today, I married my best friend!

In the past 9 years, we have:

Lived in 5 homes, in 3 different cities/towns.
Had 5 jobs between the 2 of us.
Had 3 children.
Purchased 80 acres to build a home on.
Started a grassfed beef operation.
Made many happy memories.

I look forward to what the next 9 years will bring us! Love you babe!

Vacation

Last week we took a vacation with my entire family to Branson. We spent a lot of time at the pool, took in a couple shows & visited some friends. It was a fun week & just good to get away!

Here are some pictures from our week.

Visiting friends - Brecken, Zoe, Leighton, Reese & Keira

Pool Time



Shepherd of the Hills Show


The Butterfly Palace

Noah, the musical

Blueberry Pickin'

We picked up our boys from the grandparents this weekend & were just in time to pick blueberries at Grimm's Gardens. We like to pick them & freeze them for use throughout the year. Our 'stash' is running low, so we were excited to be in the area when they were ready for picking!
The boys were interested in helping for about 5 minutes. The rest of the time, they chased each other up and down the rows. Luckily, the space between rows is pretty wide, so they didn't disturb the other pickers. I think it was somewhat nostalgic for some of the pickers - our boys' brought back memories of their children & they shared stories with us :)

We were able to visit friends over the weekend while picking up our boys. Zoe got to meet one of her future potential boyfriends (maybe we'll do a marriage arrangement...). View My Sweet Little Life blog to see pics! It's been nice having the boys back home. They are adjusting quite well & the weather has been VERY cooperative, so we can get out & about without getting little Zoe too hot!

Thank God for Grandparents :)

It's hard to believe that Zoe is a week old today. The past week has flown by! We are very thankful for the help we've been getting from grandparents. My parents got up in the middle of the night to stay with the boys while we went to the hospital & kept them until we got home. Mom also provided me with some laundry services & meals...ahhh.... The boys got to have a few days home, snuggling with Zoe, before Aaron's parents came and 'grandkid-napped' them for a few days.


Yesterday was our first 'girls' outing. Zoe had her one week check up. We ran a few errands & stopped by to visit a few people. Today, I am looking forward to actually doing some relaxing, in between loads of laundry :) Here's Zoe all dressed up for her first outing!

God is Great!

Our little miracle, Zoe Lynnae, was born on June 23rd at 9:19 a.m. She weighed 7lbs 8oz and measured 20inches long. The labor seemed pretty uneventful until the last 45 minutes. My contractions increased significantly at 8:34 a.m. I was measuring at 7cm. At 9:10, I felt my water break & felt like baby was ready to be born! The nurse agreed & called for the doctor...whom they couldn't find! The doctor came into the room at 9:15 & Zoe Lynnae was born 2-3 pushes later. As she was coming through the birth canal, the umbilical cord tore from the placenta.

Aaron & I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation until my OB later came in & explained it to us. It turns out that during this pregnancy, there was a condition called Velamentous Insertion of the umbilical cord. With this condition, the cord could have ruptured at any point during the pregnancy, resulting in the loss of the baby. We feel extremely blessed and thankful that God's protecting hand was with us throughout the pregnancy & delivery of Zoe. Our dear friends, the Carpenters, lost their precious baby, Gracee Lynette, to this condition almost 6 years ago. My heart goes out to them in what they had to endure.

The creation & safe arrival of a baby is truly a miracle! Praise God!

Update

Aaron & I went to my 40 wk appointment this morning. I am 2cm dilated, so a 'little' progress from last week. My doctor stretched my cervix in an attempt to move things along...and I'm waiting patiently to see if that works.

I also found out that I have been wrong on my due date this whole time. We are actually due tomorrow, not Wednesday...so I'm sure the baby is quite confused as to when he/she is supposed to show up. I've had a little talk with it & hoping that it knows the game plan now.

I have also let it know that we have made a decision about the names, so it need not worry about being nameless anymore. Additionally, Aaron has his farm list done...and we have our childcare arranged, so the baby should have no hesitations about joining us now.

The Name Game

I don't know what it is this time...but we are all of a sudden a little indecisive on our names... We chose them several months ago & then tabled the discussion until just recently. In the past week, I think we have looked at more names than we did with BOTH Leighton & Brecken...and now I'm starting to fret that this child may be nameless when it's born. Just kidding Nonny.

At this point in my pregnancy with Leighton, he had just made his appearance 30 minutes ago. I think it's making me more anxious for this one to hurry up & get here :) If it shows up in Brecken style, I have another 11 days...

Catch 'em being good

Brecken & Leighton have reached that phase where they like to wrestle & beat on each other. For the longest time, Leighton would just get away from Brecken, but he has now chosen to fight back...and sometimes start the wrestling matches. I know this phase will continue on for....EVER. Growing up with 3 brothers has somewhat prepared me for that. Anywho - the moments where they are sitting nicely by each other seem to be growing fewer in number, so I have to catch those on camera when the moments arise!



We are still waiting patiently on baby W3. I think Brecken is in the biggest hurry. When I returned from my doctor's appointment yesterday, he looked at me & said, "How come the baby is STILL in there?" Mommy is officially ready - all bags are packed, childcare is arranged, etc. Daddy still has a few things he wants to get established on the farm. He's scheduled to get those finished up Wednesday evening, so I guess after that, baby can make it's appearance :)

Hurry up & wait!

After a busy week of bible school & the Cloud County Junior Miss program, I decided that I needed to tackle my list of things to do before baby. I successfully knocked everything off the list, besides packing my bag & the boys' bag! I can officially say that we are 'ready' for this baby to arrive...however, BabyW3 has different ideas. At my 38 week appointment yesterday, the doctor said I am still only 1cm dilated. I think I was a little disappointed...but Aaron gave a big Yahoo! Apparently his list isn't done yet :)

Aaron & I made our predictions last week about baby - this is the first time that we have disagreed on the gender. We both predicted correctly with the boys...but one of us will tarnish our 'spotless record' this time. Any predictions from all my readers?

Gender - Weight - Length - Date

If anyone is super close, maybe I'll have a prize for ya :)

Birthday Party

Here are a few pics from the birthday celebration this weekend. We had cake (isn't it great - check out Wendy's Party Treats), homemade ice cream & presents at the park & then spent some time playing in Poppa & Nonny's pool. We finished up with a BBQ. It was a fun-filled day!

Look Who's 2!!

Leighton is officially two! The two of us went to Manhattan this morning for his 2yr check up. He did great during his appointment & didn't even cry when he got a shot! He just said OW!

He is 37 1/4 inches tall (98th percentile) & 24 lbs 15 1/4oz (12th percentile).

We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday with family this weekend!

36 weeks

We are starting to feel like baby time is right around the corner! I'm anxious to see what the doctor says tomorrow! Brecken was born at 41 wks & Leighton was born at 39 wks...the big question is when this one will decide to make it's showing.

We have things pretty prepared - minus who will be taking care of the boys when we go to the hospital. There is a window of about 3 days when my entire family (siblings, parents, cousins, EVERYONE) will be in Kansas City...so hopefully baby doesn't choose one of those days to arrive! Friends...be on alert...you may get a call :)

Reesey Roo

This week was my last week watching my niece, Reese :( My sis-in-law has been gracious & is giving me a little break before baby is born. We have enjoyed our days with sweet little Reese & will miss seeing her so much! I'm going to miss doing the girly stuff (especially fixing her hair), but I'm sure my brother & sis-in-law will let me 'borrow' her every now & then :) The boys are going to miss fighting (or playing, I mean) with her. They were starting to make her scream like my brothers used to make me...so this might be a good thing. They might start acting like cousins, instead of siblings! Love you Reesey Roo!

5 weeks vs 35 days

I know...it's the same thing. When I think about having around 5 weeks left until Baby W3 arrives, it seems like a long time - plenty of time to get everything on my list finished! Then, when I think about it being 35 days, it doesn't seem so very long...especially when you throw in activities on the weekends: Leighton's birthday party, Cloud County Junior Miss, a friend's baby shower, getting the cows set up on our farm (which is more Aaron...but leaves me with the boys) AND activities in the evenings: hosting Scramble at church, Junior Miss meetings, PEO meetings, Praise band practice...NOT to mention, the multiple trips to Manhattan for doctor's appointments, a week of Bible School...wow. It's going to fly by!

And since I think posts without pictures are somewhat boring...here are a couple pics.

Leighton was not impressed that Aaron put him in sweatpants...while daddy was wearing shorts, so he 'made' them into shorts.


And a pic of Brecken relaxing on the couch with Beemer.

Good Weekend

It was a great weekend - pampering/relaxing on Saturday...productive on Sunday!

Saturday:

1. Big Truck Day - boys loved seeing the big trucks & tractors

2. I got to spend the afternoon in Manhattan, with one of my best friends from college, Kate. We ate at Rock-a-Belly, got manicures & pedicures & ended with massages. It was fun catching up & enjoying an afternoon in 'paradise'. I even got to sneak in a little shopping, which was a treat without kids :) Kate & I got a good laugh out of the fact that we had both botched our manicures before we left the salon...we evidently couldn't keep our hands still for 10 minutes while they dried. No wonder our kids can't sit still in church! We were better at keeping our feet still :)

3. I scheduled a sitter for Saturday while I was gone, so Aaron was able to get all the posts in for our corral. Now he just has to get the panels installed!

Sunday:
1. Aaron & Brecken spent some time at the farm finishing up the posts, while mommy & Leighton cleaned house.
2. Later, Brecken & I went to the farm to do some work in the garden, while daddy & Leighton played & water flowers at the house.

The kids were exhausted & went to bed early & easily, so we were able to sit down & relax with a movie!

A Weekend of Transplants

We had a busy weekend of transplanting items from our house to the farm!

The chicks are officially out of my house & in their new home. The chicks on the left are the ones we brought home last month - our 'fryer' chickens. They've grown a lot!


We also transplanted 6 of the 10 trees we planted last spring. We started them at our house so we could keep them watered & moved them to the area that will eventually be our backyard on the farm!


I had to include some pictures of Leighton being his ornery little self. He was making all kinds of faces for me while I was taking pictures. This was when he wasn't listening to me about the hot fence. I'm afraid this child is going to have to learn the hard way...

A little ironic??

So...regarding the chicks. Our heat lamp is out at the farm with our other chickens. We thought the chicks would be 'warm enough' in our house until we got a 2nd light, but I started feeling sorry for them AND they were peeping WAY too loudly.

I was standing by my kitchen counter, where my crockpot was currently residing, in the on position. And I thought...hmmm, that's quite warm. Maybe the chicks would like to experience that warmth. So, yes, the chicks moved from a folding table, to my kitchen counter and are LOVING the warmth of the crockpot.

The irony: I'm roasting a chicken...

I'm sure that none of you will ever eat anything I prepare ever again...but I assure you, my kitchen counters will be disinfected several times before I prepare you anything.

Chick Population Increases!

Our 30 layer chicks arrived today in the mail! The postmaster said we should have ordered ducks....since it was raining. They are currently residing in our house, but will soon be moved to the farm with the fry pan chickens. Hopefully there will be no hard feelings between the 2 groups, when they 'find out', some of them are for eating :)

After a little bit of research, we decided to go with Buff Orpingtons. They are supposedly good for eggs, as well as meat. We are excited to have fresh farm eggs down the road & hopefully will have enough to share with others!

Who needs a big house?

I'm sure most of 'my followers' know we live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house right now...and the rooms are pretty small. Everyone has been wondering (and asking) where we plan to put this 3rd child when it arrives! Yesterday we got the room rearranged & were able to fit 3 beds (1 twin, 1 toddler & 1 crib), as well as 2 dressers. Amazingly, there is still floor space (even enough to fit the portable crib, when my niece is here).





I am also happy to report that with this new set up, we are in the process of completing another task on my to-do list. I didn't intend to move Leighton into the toddler bed right away, but thought it would be a good idea to let him see it...and get familiar with it. Yesterday at naptime, he went & laid down in it. I closed the door & he didn't make a peep & napped for 2 hours. Last night at bedtime, he went to bed without a fuss too! He did wake up once at 3:30 and struggled a bit to go back to sleep, but eventually did! Yahoo!

Daddy's hat....Big brother's shoes...

There's just something about his attire today that makes me smile....

Easter 2009

We enjoyed our weekend with family. Brecken & Leighton had a great time playing with their cousins (or 'My Girls', as Brecken calls them).

I took MULTIPLE pictures of the boys & never did get a 'good one'. No big surprise...they couldn't sit still for long.




Group picture of all the cousins on Easter Sunday!