Happy Birthday!

Ellie Grace turned 1!

I Love This Man!

Matt, thanks for being a wonderful husband and amazing dad. We love you and appreciate all you do to provide for us and how you lead our family to knowing Jesus more.

Happy Father's Day!
Jamie, Nathan, and Ellie Grace

What a Weekend

Two weekends ago, We went to the ER. It was around 11:30pm and we were all on our bed. Next thing we know, Nate falls off the bed and hits the back of his head on the corner of our dresser. The blood is flowing! I'm afraid to look at it, but finally work up my nerve. It wasn't a big cut, but it was deep and obviously needed some stitches. Funny thing, earlier that day Nate told me he wanted to stay up till 1 o'clock in the morning. Well, he got to stay up until 2! Not a great pic. He ended up needing 1 staple.

The next night, Nate is riding our big leather tote that we store blankets in like it's a horsey. Well, lets just say the horsey bucked him off and this happened....

We ended up taking care of this one ourselves.

Again, not a great pic. The next day was probably the worst b/c his eye was basically swollen shut. I'm sure this is just the beginning of our ER visits.

Sweet baby girl

These next two crack me up!

Strengthening our core!

TuTu Bowholder

I order this off etsy and LOVE it. I already have it completely full.

Roll Over, Roll Over

Ellie Grace rolled over on Saturday Jan. 23rd. I couldn't believe it. I kept putting her on her tummy and making her roll over again and again. enjoy!

Thanks Channel 4!

Matt took Nate sledding today. We do not own a sled, so Matt took a cardboard box. A little Ghetto I know, but Matt wanted to take his little guy out so bad. When they got to the hill, Channel 4 had just pulled up and asked Matt if they could interview him. After the interview, they gave Matt their sled to use. I guess they felt sorry for Nate and his cardboard sled. Here's a cute video. Nate had a blast!

Disney World

Matt's parents took the family to Disney World for Christmas. We had a wonderful time and hope to go back soon. There were 16 people total, 8 adults and 8 kiddos under the age of 8! Each family had their own cabin which was so nice. We could just let the kids run around and not have to worry about them being too loud. We were able to go to all 4 parks, plus both Universal Parks. Nate had his picture taken with several characters, but his favorite was definitely Spiderman.

OMGoodness! The cutest baby on the plane! I am obsessed with these flowers. The bigger the better!

Our Cabin

Hollywood Studios with MiMi and PaPa


Nate did the Pirate League at Magic Kingdom.
He wanted his daddy to get his face painted too.

Nate with Spidey. Too Cute!

The cousins. Aunt Alissa made them shirts that said "Thing 1,2,ect.."
Nate wore "Thing 6" and EG "Thing 8" representing their birth order.

We piled in two of these bikes and raced around the Boardwalk. The kids loved it.

Ok, so did the adults!

A cool dessert at one of the restaurants

What a wonderful daddy!

Newborn Pics

Ellie Grace is such a good baby. At 3 months, she was 50% in height and 30% in weight. She wakes to eat around 5:00a.m., so I am sleeping really well. She hardly ever gets upset, even when her brother is squeezing her checks together. She is cooing, laughing, smiling, sitting with assistance, pulling toys to her mouth and rolling to her side. We are enjoying every minute with this precious girl.

Father/Son Camping Trips

One of Matts favorite childhood memories is going on Father/Son camping trips. In October, he and Nate went on their first trip with some other dads and boys from our church. They had a blast!

My Boys

Setting up camp

Nate shot a gun and a bow

Nates best buds: "E" and "N"

Hutch caught a big fish!

Spiderman

Nate was spiderman for Halloween. He continues to wear his costume everyday and some day several times. I think I got my monies worth. We went to Haunt the Zoo with some friends and then Nate and I went to Trunk or Treat at church.

Brotherly Love

Nathan LOVES his sister! He calls her his sunshine and tells her all the time how much he loves her. When she cries, he tells her not to be afraid that bubba's here. Our prayer is that they will be great friends and treat each other better than their best friend. Here are some sweet pics:

All I want for Christmas is...

2 bathrooms! Where does a 3 year old boy go potty when the toilet is clugged? The garage of course! Yes you read that correctly, my son peed in the GARAGE. At least he went in the back corner.

The Delivery

I must say the second time around is much easier. We decided to induce on September 25 after sitting at a 4 and 60% for a week and having zero contractions. When we got to the hospital that morning I was a 5 and still nothing. The only part of my experience that could have gone a little better was the IV. I knew it was going to be bad when right before the nurse started she said, "Let me get a towel, this is going to be bloody." What? Are you serious? She then started the IV, but I could tell that things were not going well. Next, I here, "Shoot, I blew it (my vein)out." I can't believe this is happening! She tells me she's sorry and that I'm going to be in a lot of pain. Really? She gets another nurse. I knew she was trouble when she couldn't find a vein. She picks a spot halfway up my forearm. She to is having trouble and then I feel a sharp stabbing pain and she says, "I'm sorry, I quit." They both leave and we never see them again! An hour later, the day shift nurse comes in and has no trouble with the IV. It's now 8:00am, and we start pitocin. At nine, Doctor breaks my water...I'm at a 6. The doctor comes in at 10:00 and I am at an 8....she orders the epidural. To be honest, I didn't think the contractions were unbearable. I think I could have done it without the epidural, but I'm afraid of the unknown (not knowing how long labor will last. At 11:00, the nurse checks me and says, "Oh, you're having a baby don't move." I ended up waiting about 30 minutes for the Doctor (twice the nurses thought they were going to have to deliver the baby) and only pushed 4 times and out she came! So quick and easy and a wonderful experience. I took a shower that night, left the next day, and didn't need any pain meds. Such a different experience than Nate. Ellie Grace weighed 7lbs and was 20 inches long.

Update...LONG

Well, a lot has happened since my last post.

Nate turned 3 and we celebrated with a great party at Orr Family Farm. During the train ride, he looked up at his dad and said, "This is so much fun!" That little comment made this expensive little party worth every penny.

Nate started swimming by himself (with a life jacket, of course)! One day he decided that he no longer needed me and basically let go and off he went! He would spend hours in the pool swimming back and forth from the shallow end to the deep end. I was thrilled and he was so proud of himself. So, I started doing what every good mother would do....sun tanning poolside! :)

Pregnancy is going great. I cannot wait to meet this precious little girl. Nate can't wait for his little sister to get here either. Every time we go to the Doctor he asks if the Doctor is going to take Ellie Grace out today. Towards the middle/end of August I started having some preterm labor (more like false labor) so they did several Brethine shots (horrible!) and finally just sent me home with the pill form of Brethine. I took this until I hit 36 weeks on an as need basis. So of course, I had convinced myself that she was coming early. However, here I sit 38 weeks pregnant at a 4 and 60% with pretty much nothing happening. Shouldn't I be in hard labor screaming for an epidural right about now? I saw the Doctor today and she said I could be induced on Friday or come back on see her next week. So, after talking it over with Matt we are praying hard that she will come on her own by Friday, but if not she will be here on Friday with a little help! :) We do not like the idea of being induced, but I am so tired (and cranky).

Nate moved into a twin bed a couple weeks ago. He handled this transition like a champ. The first night he slept in his new room, he actually jumped up and down with excitement. He loves his new room/bed!

We also had to put our boxer down a couple weeks ago. She developed a neurological disorder and loss the use of her back legs. It was so hard to see her look so happy yet drag herself around. We were so worried about how Nate would react. I thought a new room, baby sister, and losing a dog might be too hard for him to handle so close together. We finally decided on what we were going to say. We took Nate outside and took some pics and then broke the news to him. He said, "Ok, bye-bye Brindi!" So, he continues to amaze us with how "big" he is. We have now realized that our Lab is also sick and probably won't be with us much longer.

Matt surprised me with a trip to San Antonio (ALONE). We had a wonderful time spending some much needed time together. I absolutely love spending time with my best friend! Thanks Babe!