Much easier...

I will have to say that I was all worried for nothing. We are completely binky free without any major issues (aside from getting up a little earlier & not napping every day). I've come to realize that Aaron & I were the ones that were really attached to the binky, as is evident by this picture.

He is doing EXCELLENT with potty training. Although we are still not accident free, he has been in underwear since the middle of last week, except for at night. Most mornings he wakes up dry & he is getting to the point of even going on his own! He loves the reward of M&M's. Yea - so happy to be close to having only one in diapers! When we accomplish the potty training, I'll probably move Zoe into the cloth diapers, so that will be a significant savings in the near future.

Brecken is a good encourager, so gets M&M's as a reward too.

Next transition...moving this little sweetie into her crib.

I wonder about myself sometimes...

As if life isn't interesting enough with my crew...I decided to make things a little more interesting. I was apparently feeling the need for a change, so decided to go for potty training & 'binky-be-gone' all in one shot.



BINKY-BE-GONE
We attempted restricting the binky to just bedtime, but (just like big brother) Leighton started requesting it(well, whining) ump-teen times/day. I decided if I was going to listen to whining, we may as well only do it once. I snipped the binky that was on the counter & quickly hid the rest. He whined & screamed for it the majority of the day but finally gave in to a nap at 2:30. I'm sticking to my guns on it & I know tomorrow & hopefully tonight will be better.

POTTY TRAINING
Yesterday, we opted for going potty outside off the deck. Today has been inside on the potty. He's had a couple accidents, but is doing pretty well for the most part. He really wants to be in big boy pants & wants to go on the potty so badly (for the reward of M&M's) that he sat in there for about 15 minutes after one of his accidents...thinking he would go more. I kept telling him that he probably didn't need to go again yet, but he kept trying.

Faceoff

For the past two weeks, we have been working with Zoe to take a bottle...without any success. We have tried 3 different people feeding her...with various types of bottles.

The Lineup: Avent, Soothie, Playtex, Nuk, Adiri
The Opponent: Cute, but stubborn, Miss Zoe

And...we have a winner!
The Adiri Natural Nurser is our new best friend. I was hesitant to buy a bottle that looks like a boob...but hey, it makes sense, & now, I'm it's biggest fan :)

2 Months!

**Update from appointment** - Zoe weighs 10lb 13oz & is 23" long

At 2 months you:
*Smile - especially for your daddy.
*Coo
*Hold your head up well
*Are not a fan of tummy time
*Get up once at night
*Prefer sleeping in your swing or bouncy seat
*Will not take a bottle

It's hard to believe you are 2 months old Zoe Lynnae! We go to the doctor tomorrow to see how much you've grown!

Day 1...weaning of the binky

Aaron & I have finally decided to wean ourselves from the binky...or I mean, wean Leighton from the binky. If the child could figure out a way to eat while sucking on his bink, he would have it in 24 hours/day. Brecken was about this age when we tried to restrict his binky use to bedtime/naptime. It worked briefly, but then I had to pull the mean mom trick to completely wean him.

I told Leighton that we needed to break him of his binky...and he said, NO mommy...DON'T BREAK ME! It's been 30 minutes since I took it. He screamed for the first 10 minutes, but is now distracted. We'll see how long that lasts :) I'd say pray for Leighton, but I think I may be the one who needs the prayers...

Beemer Update

We were able to bring Beemer home from the vet yesterday. He is acting normal, despite the large incision on his abdomen! We have to keep him crated because he thinks he can run all over the house & jump up on the furniture.

The vet called this morning with the test results & Beemer does NOT have pancreatic cancer. This is good news. The mass that they found is actually dead tissue around the pancreas. The vet said this could still cause issues later on, however, it is still a better diagnosis than cancer! Now, he just has to heal from the ruptured pancreas, infection & surgery.

He's enjoying the extra attention...

Puppy Prayer

Please say a prayer that our dog, Beemer, will pull through. On Friday, he got really sick all day (at our in-laws) and he hasn't eaten anything since. We picked him up on Sunday & I took him to the vet this morning. They thought it was an obstructed bowel, but upon further investigation via a surgery, they found that his pancreas had ruptured. The vet said it ruptured either because of an abscess or because of pancreatic cancer. We will know the test results in a few days. We're praying that it's the abscess, but he will still have a rough road. The vet said he has a 60-70% chance if that's the case. He's a sick, sick doggy...and we are very sad :( Aaron & I got Beemer a little over 7 years ago - he's part of the family! He has to stay at the clinic to recover, which makes it even harder. We want him at home with us.

Smiles

Zoe has been smiling for about a week now & I was finally able to catch some with my camera!

A Fun Visit

Our cousins flew their plane into Clay Center last night on their way south & spent the night. They continued on their journey today, so we took a trip to the airport to see them off! The boys had fun sitting in the plane & watching them fly.

Aaron & the boys checking out the plane.

Brecken, Leighton & Mitch

Trying out the headphones

They pulled the plane over to top of the gas, with the boys in it. I rode with them...Brecken was afraid they were going to put them up in the air.

Ready to go!

Leighton watching them take off.

Mitch 'waving his wings' at us.

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!