Easton's Birthday Party (and a few other things)

Clear back in February, we had a friend birthday party for Easton that was really fun.

We reserved the gym at the church and had a Nerf gun war! We bought a whole bunch of Nerf darts, set up a few tables and chairs for them to hide behind, and had each boy bring a Nerf gun. Then, we kind of just let them go at it. What more could a boy ask for??

Here are some pictures of the fun:








It really was a lot fun. We had them play a few rounds of Steal the Flag and then, just let them have an all out war.

Afterwards, we had cake and ice cream and Easton opened presents. Dave's mom made Easton an R2-D2 cake. It turned out awesome! (I hope I got the name of the character right. I am not really a Star Wars fan.)




Easton was completely spoiled! Thanks, everyone!




There were many great things from our perspective about this party:

1. It was cheap!
2. It was super fun!
3. It was at the church!! We weren't stuck in our small house with 14 boys! :)
4. It was easy to clean-up. (And, I didn't have to spend a lot of time cleaning before the party as well.)
5. The party ran itself, I mean, we didn't have to do much.

It was a success. One of the best friend parties we have thrown, in my opinion.



A few days later, it was my 32nd birthday. I don't have many pictures, but I did get breakfast made for me that morning! Dave HATES eggs, I mean HATES them. So, he has never cooked them. But, in honor of my birthday he cooked eggs for the very first time. And, he did a really good job of it.




The kids helped and fixed my plate (thus the 3 marachino cherries included on my breakfast plate.) It was awesome and MUCH appreciated!!



Just a couple more pictures that I wanted to include. A while back, Paisley had brought home a bunch of little cups from school to play with for the weekend. She spent a long time building a cup pyramid and this is what the final product was:





It took her quite a while, and many times it fell down. But she was persistent and finally made it. She was SO proud of herself!

ANNOUNCING...

So, the amount of posts on my blog the last few months has been, well, less than desirable. I at least got in Easton and Avery's birthday posts. But, that is about it. There have been many things going on in our lives that have occupied my mind and actions, but, a big reason that I haven't been up to blogging is THIS:





Yep, it is what you think it is. A new little baby is on it's way to our home! Hurray! Yippee!! Yee-haw!!! Ummmm....YIKES!! :)

I have always kind of known that I wanted 4 children. Dave and I always knew we would have 3, but 4 has always been the debate. So, for the past couple years I have been trying to convince Dave that we need one more. I didn't feel like we were "complete" and I never went through the whole "last" pregnancy thing. I didn't appreciate with Avery that this was the "last" pregnancy, the "last" birth, the "last" newborn. I wanted to experience it all knowing it was the "last" time. With, Avery I never thought it was the last. (I hope that all makes sense.)

So, a little over a year ago, I got Dave more or less on board. I had my IUD removed in January of last year. I thought we would have a baby within the year. But, it just didn't happen. I didn't get pregnant month after month. I wasn't too concerned, more surprised.

Through that whole year, and the previous 2 years, I had been experiencing horrible back pain on my lower left side. I went to a few doctors and got a couple different diagnoses. By last year, I was taking 800 mg. Ibruprofen like it was candy. I had to take it almost daily for the pain. Finally at the end of last year, I was diagnosed with kidney stones in both kidneys. One very large one on the left side, and two smaller ones on the right. (This was discovered after I passed a kidney stone in September which was a horrendous experience!) So, in December, I had 2 lithrotripsy procedures to blast each kidney and break up the stones which I was then able to pass. Since then I have been pain free which has been wonderful.

Three weeks after my 2nd procedure, I got pregnant.

I really believe that I was meant to get my kidney stones taken care of before I got pregnant. If I would have gotten pregnant with the kidney stones, I would have been MISERABLE! I couldn't have taken Ibruprofen and I would have more or less had to have just dealt with the pain. I am soooo grateful that I was able to have the kidney stones taken care of and put that chapter behind me BEFORE I got pregnant. The timing was right.

So, I found out about February 8th or so that I was pregnant. I was pretty sure that I was, but a little afraid to take a test. Scared of a negative, I guess. I finally did and it was positive. I was sooo happy, but super nervous. I have been nervous so far this whole pregnancy. Scared of miscarriage or whatever. So, I waited quite a while longer than we normally do to tell everyone.

I have not been sick much at all. Just a bit nauseous here and there. The very worst part so far is that I have been EXTREMELY and COMPLETELY MISERABLY tired. I mean, I had to have one or two naps a day just to make it to the kids' bed time. It was horrible. But, now that I am in my 2nd trimester, I definitely am getting my energy back. It feels good.

So, everything is going well. I went to my 2nd doctor appointment today and was able to hear the heart beat. That is such an awesome, awesome sound! I was so relieved to hear it and know that the baby is doing just fine. I am losing a bit of my nervousness and now becoming just plain EXCITED!

I absolutely can not wait to hold this new baby in my arms. I completely love the newborn stage. It has to be my favorite part. I am trying, however, to cherish every part. A few months ago I received my "last" postive result on a pregnancy test. (Hopefully.) :) Today was the "last" first time to hear the baby's heart beat. I am trying to really enjoy every bit and not take any part for granted. It does make me a little sad, but also excited to put a chapter of life behind me and move on to the next one.

The kids are SUPER excited about their new sibling!! Avery is already rubbing my tummy and talking to it. I over heard Easton tell Paisley that they need to "figure out what we are going to name the kid." :) It is going to be so much fun to enjoy this new baby with children who are old enough to really enjoy it with us. When the baby is born, Easton will be 9 1/2, Paisley will be 8, and Avery will be 4 1/2. It is quite a bit bigger gap that I imagined we'd have, but I don't think I will regret that. This baby is going to be loved more than I ever thought possible!! :) (And probably spoiled more than I thought possible, too!)

I set up the appointment for our ultra sound for May 24th, 5 weeks from today! I am really excited to find out what our last child will be. Either a second boy or a third girl. Dave and all 3 of the kids REALLY want a boy. I don't have a preference. I am just over the moon that we are having a baby at all. So, I will take either one happily.

But, just for the record, I am thinking it's a girl. :)

We will see.

Happy 4th Birthday, Avery!!

It really doesn't seem like 4 years has passed since we had our 3rd little baby! I know I always say it, but time really does fly! But, yes, our baby is 4!



I have said that I understand how people always "baby their baby"! I mean, she is 4 now, and I still am guilty of babying her a little. I do treat her differently than I did Easton and Paisley when they were 4. They seemed much older at the time, but I had a younger child at that time, too, which makes a difference. She knows she is our baby and often takes advantage of that! :)



I just want to remember how Avery is right now:

Avery is very much a girly-girl! She loves princesses, dress-up, Barbies, Strawberry Shortcake, make-up, pretty clothes, beautiful hairstyles, tiaras, shoes, and playing house.



Avery LOVES stories. She will sit and be read to for as long as someone will read. She, of course, loves girly books. She can "read" Pinkalicious from memory, and can do most pages almost word for word.



Avery LOVES dolls! There literally isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't play with one of her MANY dolls. She is always wrapping them in blankets, rocking them, asking grandma (me) to babysit, feeding them, cooing to them, telling us to "shhh" when they are napping, and just being the best little mommy that any doll could ever hope for. She also LOVES real babies. They are SO much better than dolls. She is drawn to any baby that she sees. She oohs and aahs over them in books, on TV, and in stores. It is so cute. Her love is a little frustrating when she won't leave someone's real baby alone, but she always does it with a loving heart. She will someday be the best mom.



Avery loves her brother and sister. Nothing makes her happier than when Paisley gets home from school and will play with her. They love to play Polly Pockets together, or watch a girly movie together, or have Paisley read her a story. She loves to rough house with Easton, and he is really sweet to play with her and teach her new things. He often plays "school" with her and teaches her letters, numbers, and coloring. He then will always give me a report card so that I am aware of her progress!



Avery loves going to preschool. Right now she goes two days a week for 2 hours each day. She looks forward to each time she goes! She always is happy when I pick her up and very excited to tell me about what they have learned that day.



Avery loves to sing. Just lately she has really started being able to memorize and sing songs to us. I never get enough of her sweet voice. The other day as we left church I heard her singing "I Love to See the Temple" so sweetly. It made my day.



Avery is my buddy, one of my very best buddies. We have definitely had more alone time than I had with Easton and Paisley. I know that comes with being the baby in the family. But, we truly are friends. I would rather wait for her to get out of preschool to come to the store with me than go while she is at school. I sometimes feel a little lost without her since we are constantly together. She loves to be with me, I know. That makes me feel so good. The other day I left her with Dave for a minute while I ran something to Paisley at the school. When I got back, 5 minutes later, she said, "I missed you, mom!" :) I love my buddy.



I love my blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty. She is so sweet and kind. I love it when she tells me that I am the "best mom ever!" Of course that isn't true, but I am so glad to know that at least for now, she believes that! :) She is such a cuddly little sweetheart. We are so very very blessed to have this little ball of energy in our family. It would be so different without her.

Happy Birthday, baby!

Happy Birthday, Son!

Nine years ago, today (Yes, I said NINE YEARS) my sweet little baby boy entered the world. My life changed forever at that moment. I became a mother. The greatest joy of my life! Easton has been our guinea pig child, as all first children are. I remember being so worried about every little thing he did or didn't do. I have grown with him through the years, for sure.

Easton is me. His personality is so much like mine. (Poor boy.) I get him. For better or worse, I understand him. He doesn't like to be in new situations, like me. He is shy, until comfortable, like me. He has a bit of a temper, possibly like me I don't remember. :) He is soft hearted, like me. It is funny for me to watch him. When I am the most frustrated with him, I think to myself, "oh, poor boy, you are just like me!" :)

I love my son more than I ever thought I could. Easton has the kindest heart and is very sensitive. He loves his sisters IMMENSELY. (He may not always show it, but I know it.) He loves babies, and babies always seem to love Easton. My friend's little boy thinks Easton is just the coolest kid. Easton beams when I tell him that.

I thought that I would use this post to tell a little about what Easton is like right now, at 9 years old.

He LOVES football. He loves to play it and watch it. He has played several seasons of flag football and CAN NOT WAIT for this fall when he will start playing "real" football in pads. He is a good little player, too. He is small, but fast and aggressive. He has been able to throw better than me for years now. :) He also really enjoys basketball and baseball.




He loves to play video games. He loves to play fishing and hunting games on the Wii. He likes racing games. He loves to play his grandma's Wii Fit.



Easton's favorite foods: spaghetti, chicken nuggets, cream puffs, pizza, salad from a salad bar (he loves adding all the toppings), ice cream....and well, the list could go on. Easton is a really good eater.

Easton loves to be with friends. He loves to be the class clown. (That gets him into trouble sometimes, though!)




Easton isn't a big fan of school. He does love the social aspect of it, no surprise. He has a good teacher, Mrs. Boren. She is good and patient with him.

Easton loves to play with his cousins. He is lucky to have many boy cousins his age and they have so much fun together.

Easton loves fishing and just knows that he will love to hunt someday! :)






The funny thing is that Dave and I do not fish or hunt. He has learned this love from my brothers and dad. They have been nice enough to take him with them sometimes. This has been such a highlight for him in his life.

He loves to ride his bike. He is also very interested in driving anything that has a motor.

Easton really enjoys writing. Today for his birthday we got him a PS2 (ours finally broke after 9 1/2 years and we have so many games that we replaced it for him). We also got him a DSi game. But, his FAVORITE gift by far was the journal we bought him. He was so excited about it! He immediately started his first entry before he went to school. I took some donuts over to his class for his b-day. His class was at music when I got there, but I talked to his teacher. I guess he had insisted on the fact that they have show and tell, (which they NEVER have) and she finally relented and let him show the class his journal. She then had to end up taking it away from him because he wouldn't quit writing in it to do his work. :) I promised her that I would not let him bring his journal to school again! :) But, I am so surprised that he loves that so much. I am glad he enjoys writing.

He also loves to draw, and is getting pretty good at it. When he is in the right mood, he will sit and draw for hours. We have several "How to Draw" books and he loves looking in them and learning how to draw new things.

Easton has brought so much joy into our lives! It is all going by much too fast. I hope the next 9 years go much slower!

I love you, Easty! I hope your birthday is fantastic!

Christmas

Christmas Eve we told the kids that they couldn't get up until their alarm clocks said 7:30. If they did, then we wouldn't open presents until 8:30. (I know, we are SUPER mean!) But, it worked and we didn't hear any stirring until 7:30.

Santa had left each child 2 presents.



We should have opened the gifts from us first, because once they saw their Santa gifts, there wasn't much interest in anything else for a while. But, that was alright, we had nothing but time.

Avery got a Leapster.




Easton and Paisley got DSI XLs. Easton and Paisley have wanted DSIs since before last Christmas. All their cousins have them and they just think they are the greatest thing!






You can see how excited they were. That was awesome!

So, eventually we got around to opening the presents from Dave and I. Most of the morning was spent with their new video games. Everyone got in on the fun.




My dad and mom were there that morning. We keep saying that we need to buy grandpa a DSI with Mario Kart. He really likes it. :)




Dave had such a tiring morning that he just couldn't help but nap as Avery played her Leapster. Weird. He never naps. HA!



Paisley got some fake nails that she LOVED!



And, she managed to pull herself away from her DSI to do some art with the supplies she got for Christmas.



That afternoon we went to my uncle Chad's for lunch. It is always fun to spend time with my extended family! Later on we moved the party to our house where we had a gift exchange with my siblings.

We played games, talked, ate, and just enjoyed good company all day. It was a perfect Christmas!