Shea's Days

Pax's 1st haircut

2012-02-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

Pax got his first hair cut about a week ago. I didn't really think he had much to take off but we had Tristan's hair cut at 1 year so thought we would keep up the tradition.

Josh loves this picture because of the look on my face. I was really trying to make it fun! Plus, I was shocked by how much hair he did have in the back that came off. It was amazing!
He looks so much better now and for the most part he handled it all really well. The stylist was great about it all and it was over quickly!

Aidan's Birthday Celebration

2012-02-12T10:37:00.003-07:00

Aidan had a fantastic birthday party! Here's the small group of boys that he had over.

Aidan decided to have a "hot dog bar" as hot dogs are his very favorite food. We followed that up with gifts.

Around 10:00 p.m. they were finally ready for the cake. Aidan chose an ice cream cake again this year!

They made it to bed around 1:30 a.m. but got up at 8:30 a.m. because they only had a few hours to play together. (Pick up time was noon.) I didn't think they would get any outside playing in due to the snow but these Colorado boys are not wimps. They played football in the snow for almost 2 hours and came back with frozen hands and feet! I quickly put the water on for cocoa!

It was a great sleepover and I'm happy he had a good birthday.

Third day of Florida

2012-02-07T08:24:00.001-07:00

So our third day of Florida was mostly spent on the soccer field. It was the day that we played the semi-final and championship game. We finished up at the field around 3 p.m. At 5:00 all four families got together for a celebratory dinner at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.

Another beautiful hotel! The details are amazing. This hotel really seems to be in the middle of a forest.

A view of inside:

This is where we ate! It was an interactive dinner with the staff. Lots of yelling, games, and good Lord don't ask for ketchup :0

After dinner we visited our first theme park! Disney's Hollywood Studios! There were two rides that were a must do there and we got them both done twice. The Roc'n Roll Roller Coaster, also known as the Aerosmith ride, and the Tower of Terror.

This is the outside of the Tower of Terror ride. It was fun to go at night because it really made the atmosphere for the two rides we wanted to do but I felt like I missed out on really seeing the park.

Happy 12th Birthday Aidan!

2012-02-03T16:56:00.003-07:00

Our middle son (it seems so weird to say that when he was our baby for 11 years) is 12! Happy Birthday to you Aidan!!!!

I love these pictures, they show how grown up (and serious) he is! My friend Lisa took them in Florida without him knowing.
Although it wasn't his wish, we had a snow day today! So far we have 6 inches of snow and it's still going. Josh and I took the day off and we've had a blast hanging out together.
His sleepover is tomorrow night. Pray for us, ha! Josh and I are partied out and can't wait for this one to be over before it's even began. Not that I don't love my Aidan though ;)

Pax's B-day Night and Party

2012-02-01T09:00:00.001-07:00

So the night of Pax's actual birthday was on a weeknight so we just went out as a family and had a little fun! Aidan took him on a little ride -

I thought he might be scared of Chuck E but he wasn't! He just wanted to be up there with him!

On his tippee toes!

No one was around so he got to share the stage!

It only took Pax about an hour to loosen up and explore a bit!

Josh and the boys made me play this game that you hold onto these metal bars that vibrate at an unbelievable speed. It actually made my chest hurt!

Our little ticket collector!

Aidan is a great big brother and took Pax up into the playground.

So we had our party for Pax this past Sunday. Here's the cake:

They offer this miniature cake free for the birthday boy! How awesome is that?

Happy Birthday to you Paxie!

I love the looks on the big boy's faces! They all truly love him and treat him like he's their little brother.

He was extremely cautious with the cake! We all waited for him to dive in and start throwing it!

I think the little bit that actually made it into his mouth came from me.

Now he's going! He didn't really eat it at all, just mushed it around!

All done! Thankfully we had help cleaning up! (He spent about 20 minutes splashing around in the kitchen sink while everyone else ate cake and ice cream!)

Second day of Florida

2012-01-30T12:46:00.002-07:00

So on our second day of Florida - the boys lost one of their soccer games so we decided to get them out for a bit. Not to mention we had had enough of the hotel's food and wanted something new. Downtown Disney here we come! Downtown Disney is like a boardwalk with restaurants and shops. See Pax - he's the only one dressed appropriately for our adventure.

Lots of fun little sculptures to play around with and take silly pictures!

Cool restaurant!

Got the girls in for this one.

Our little trooper, he could be dead tired but didn't want to miss a thing!

The Lego dragon in the water!

The Lego store is so cool! You can't walk around and not stop in there. Very crowded though!

Goofy's Candy Store had some awesome treats! Guess how much this rice crispy Mickey was? $50

Happy Birthday to Paxton!

2012-01-25T08:27:00.003-07:00

I have to take a break from our vacation posts to wish my little miracle boy a very Happy Birthday today! I can't believe you've been in my life for an entire year!!

Lots of love this morning before school and we'll continue it tonight! I normally would hate being at work on such a special day but I'm fortunate enough to be in the same place that I was exactly a year ago! (I'll go visit his delivery room in a bit.) Happy Birthday Paxton!

Our first day of Florida

2012-01-24T13:53:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in the first post that our first couple of days were cold. Here's a picture of Pax - thank goodness I had packed his jacket and hat!

The 2011 College Cheerleading and Dance Team Championship Competition was also being held at the ESPN's World Wide of Sports Complex while we were there. A lot of the colleges stayed at the same hotel as we did. Here's a picture of a school practicing. Our room was to the right of the Coca-Cola cup!

Saturday night we ventured out for our first family dinner. The boys weren't very happy with me because I took them away from their football game at the hotel.

Josh got us reservations at Boma at the Animal Kingdom's Lodge. Every hotel at Disney has a different theme and are unbelievable! The Animal Kingdom Lodge is African themed and has a lot of animals.

Here's a picture from inside:

Pax took every opportunity he got to explore. He loved their flooring in the lobby - he was able to slide around!

See the hidden Mickey in the rock? We learned that a fun game at Disney is to try to spot the hidden Mickey's. They are everywhere - the hotels, the rides, and the restaurants.

I see it, I see it!!!!

Our dinner at Boma was wonderful! I loved the food and had fun trying new things!

3v3 World Championship

2012-01-22T17:33:00.012-07:00

The main reason that we ended up in Orlando last week was that Aidan's 3v3 soccer team qualified for the 3v3 World Championships at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex. Here's a picture of the team before their first game Saturday.

Notice the gloves? We saw all types of weather in Florida - sunny but cold, sunny and beautiful, then rain.

This picture is from Sunday which was a much nicer day of weather. Unfortunately, they lost this game though. It would be there only loss!

My favorite soccer picture. The team huddled up for a prayer before their semi-final game Monday morning.

Aidan in action. They finished strong and won their semi-final and went on to win the Championship game.

Aidan and the biggest trophy he's received yet!

Our Championship Team!

Our team's biggest fans! We are all very proud to have represented Colorado Springs!

Aidan's gift to Pax

2012-01-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

a lollipop on his wrist! He absolutely loved it!

Big Boy!

2012-01-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

We've upgraded to our big boy car seat now! (a few weeks early but we couldn't wait) I spent weeks shopping and searching online for the perfect seat and I think we chose a winner! Look at that smirk ~

Who would have imagined...

2012-01-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

that a lid could create so much fun!

Our TX Christmas

2011-12-27T20:01:00.012-07:00

Pax and I made a quick trip to Texas to celebrate Christmas but more importantly to let Pax meet the rest of his family for the first time. We had a great time and it was definitely worth all of the travel to start these awesome relationships. Here's Pax with my dad, Grump:

Pax and I with my grandparents -

Pax and I with Ani and Sissy!

Caeli and Mr. Pax

Mom and Dad

Caeli, Pax, and Anica. Pax liked the rocking recliner so much I've considered getting one! If only I had somewhere to put it, ha!

Paxton and his cousin Lincoln. They were born 19 days apart. We were so excited to get to meet him for the first time.

Alyssa and Pax.

(Hi Ms. Alyssa! Thanks for reading my blog and posting such sweet comments. I loved seeing you. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying your break from school.)

My sisters and I!

We really had a great trip and Pax was a complete angel! I can't wait to go back again soon.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T16:14:00.026-07:00

What a wonderful Christmas we had! Here's a recap for you:

Our 3 boys! Yep, they look a little tired! Tristan and Aidan were sleeping beauties, we woke them up at 8:30.

Stocking time - this was probably the funniest thing of the day. Pax was extremely dramatic with his stocking.

What in the world could be in here?

What are these? Lollipops?? Are they real???

Yes they are! My favorite thing ever! WooHoo!!!

Throughout all of our Christmas activities - nothing was more fun for Pax than climbing the stairs!
Even Opal got a few gifts! So far so good too. We're almost at the end of the day and she hasn't torn it apart yet!

Pax's toys were a hit with the big boys too!

Aidan's such a great big brother! He put together all of Pax's toys for him.

Aidan and I had a deal that if he got all A's and B's for the first half of his 6th grade year he would get a new phone. I'm so happy to say that he did it!!! Way to go Aidan!

Here's the boys opening their last present. They both got an I-Pod Touch!

Ahhhhh Dad! You are the best!!!

Hugs from everyone!

And here's the aftermath! The boys had a fantastic Christmas which made my Christmas fantastic too. Hope that you all had a wonderful day filled with love and laughter just like ours.

PE is just like a playoff game - didn't you know?

2011-12-11T06:41:00.004-07:00

As is Tristan's character - he goes all out in PE at school. The boy can not just play for fun. So, Wednesday afternoon I get a call from the school that he needs to be picked up and will probably need stitches. (Nevermind that I'm at work in the middle of pumping!!!) I get there and see him calmly laying in the nurse's office. He tells me that they were running sprints in the gym and he slipped and hit his chin on the floor. The nurse is pretty sure that he needs stitches and with one glance I am too. Off to the ER we go.

If you don't like blood please skip the next picture!!!!!

........

I can't tell you how many times we heard, "that's a good one."

Two hours later he's all stitched up! 6 stitches and a pretty bruise. He was such a trooper, didn't shed a tear! Had lots of questions but the medical staff was awesome. He'll get them out in a week.

Weather

2011-12-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

It's funny in a way that I've had to make the rule that the boys can't wear shorts unless the temperature for that day is expected to be above 57. Yep, that's right all of you Texas people - 57 degrees.

Guess that's Colorado for you.

Halloween Recap

2011-12-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

How does a month go by so quickly? Here's a very late recap of our Halloween:

Pax and I in our matching outfits!

Us by the pumpkin that Aidan carved.

Pax's first lollipop! They are a favorite now.

The crew! Bet you can't guess who they all are! Left to right: Josh as a flag football player, Jake as a mummy?, Tristan with the gold skeleton mask, Jack as a nerd, Aidan as pumpkin face, and Brendan as a morph - whatever that is. Everyone ended up at our house again for trick or treating but that's just the way we like it!

Tristan's Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

Tristan's team played a tournament over Thanksgiving in Las Vegas! They left early (4 am) Thanksgiving morning and returned Sunday night. Man, did I miss him!!! He had a blast and only had positive things to say about the entire trip.

The team waiting on their van in Las Vegas.

Their team prays before every game. Look at those mountains in the background!

Does that guy in white look huge or what? Love seeing T with the ball.

Here he is again! He had a very successful weekend on a personal level. 4 goals in 4 games! He scored half of their team goals!

It was so hard for me to get the texts and calls from the parents who were able to go. I was ecstatic that he did so well but sad that I wasn't able to watch it in person.

Celebrating one of his goals! Way to go Tree! The team finished with 1 loss and 3 ties. Even though they didn't win - their team needed this trip for bonding and the experience of it all. All I know is that I'm super happy to have him back home.

Our Brown Thanksgiving!

2011-11-28T18:34:00.008-07:00

I had to post this picture because it's rare to catch Jeremy in a true smile. Here are the 3 Brown boys together!

Jeremy was able to bring his 3 children with him. Left to right: Terrance - 15, Marcus - 15, Jeremy and Laila - 10.

A view of the crowd before Thanksgiving dinner. We had 15 people in all. 8 family members from Texas, us, and 3 friends.

Sitting down for a second.

Josh and Paxton. He really didn't know what to think about all of our company.

The kids took over the dining room table.

All of us! Notice Tristan is missing? He was in Vegas and I'll blog about that next! We had a great Thanksgiving with our family. They rented a van and drove up here Wednesday and left Saturday morning. Our short time together flew by. Can't wait until we can do it again!

Pax's 9 mo photos!

2011-10-30T20:35:00.007-06:00

Let's begin with our favorite - this picture captures Pax's personality completely!

And this one shows how happy he normally is!

Cutie pie!

Oooohhh, is that a scary blue monster?

This is my blankie. My daddy sometimes calls me Linus.

Paxton!

Happy Halloween to you all!

9 months old!

2011-10-27T19:51:00.004-06:00

18.6 pounds (14th percentile)

28 3/4 inches (69th percentile)

He has a little eczema still that she gave us a prescription for but that's the only concern I had. He got his first half of his flu shot and everything else looked great!

The past 3 weeks have been filled with lots of firsts for us. Pax started crawling and is now pulling himself up on his knees. This past Wednesday he got his first tooth and then Friday morning I found the second tooth! Our baby is growing up so quickly!

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-25T21:18:00.000-06:00

We had a blast! I love watching Pax's eyes light up at new things.
Look at this funny gray one!

Woah, this one is almost as big as me!

Tristan's 13!

2011-10-24T20:53:00.003-06:00

And he had a spook filled birthday party this weekend. Six boys spent the night and they went to a haunted house. Half of the boys had never been to one before; it was so cool listening to them talk honestly about how they were feeling. Someone was scared that he might pee his pants, another had butterflies, and the rest were scared. Would you think that 11-13 year old boys could be that open to each other?

They all made it through even though one boy wanted to take an emergency exit several times. At the end, they were all glad that they did it (the one who wanted to exit thanked them for keeping him in there) and they all said they'll do another one again in the future.

Sunday morning Josh took them all to play flag football at the middle school. They got three games in and had a field goal contest. Tristan was so happy and told me that this was the best birthday ever! Music to my ears.

Josh and I with our teenager.

Thirteen years ago, Tristan's birth made all my dreams come true. All I ever wanted was to be a parent and gosh does it fly by.

It didn't take long...

2011-10-20T05:44:00.001-06:00

One week into crawling and he's figured out how to open the doggie door!!! Wonder how long until he ventures out? I'm taking guesses!

Finished project!

2011-10-18T17:23:00.006-06:00

Aidan and Paxton's room is finished!

It took a while due to waiting for furniture to come in and then the decision about what to hang above Pax's crib. I have a great picture in the office at work but couldn't really take it down there so I bought these wall clings and I think they turned out pretty well.

Here's Pax's side of the room:

The middle/corner:

And Aidan's side:

I love the medal rack that I ordered! He organized them by place values!

What's new around here?

2011-10-12T18:46:00.003-06:00

Pax is crawling! Tristan got him going Saturday with a video game controller! What better way to spend our first snow day of the season?

Enjoying it while it lasted.

2011-10-07T09:18:00.000-06:00

The weather has been perfect lately! We've enjoyed an extended summer/warm fall.

He's 8 months old already!

This is a frequent face for Pax. He loves his tongue!

Tristan and Aidan playing tennis in the street.

When Pax gets excited he shakes his fists.

We have cooler weather coming this weekend. It was good while it lasted!

Last week

2011-10-06T09:21:00.000-06:00

So last week was rough. Every day something seemed to happen to us.

It started Wednesday when Pax got the bump on his head. We had dentist appts and all had been just fine until I needed to check out and I handed Pax to Tristan so that they could go into the waiting area to play. A couple of minutes later and I hear a loud thump followed by a scream. Yep, he had fallen and here I come rushing out of the back to get him into a sea of other moms standing there looking as if they had just seen an awful car crash. Definitely one of those horrible bad mommy moments you never want to relive. Come to find out - Tristan handed him off to Aidan and he decided to sit him on the couch. Thank God he was fine but it took a few hours and lots of loving to get over it. Unfortunately I couldn't get over my anger with the boys until the next day.

Then Thursday - we had 10 minutes to stop at home between school and soccer practice. Aidan was to get his evaluation with his coach before practice. He couldn't find one of his cleats and went out to the car to look there. Next thing I know, I hear the horn honk and I know that he's locked the car. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but because we only had 10 minutes I left my keys in the cup holder. UGGGHHHH! I don't have a spare key yet and had to call Josh at work to race home so that I could at least get the boys to practice on time, forget the evaluation. My husband rocks though and got the boys to practice and still got the eval done for me even though it wasn't at the scheduled time.

To end it all - Saturday was the day of basketball disappointment.

Thank goodness this week has been quiet for the most part. The boys are excited for Fall Break next week and I'll appreciate the break too.

Funny video

2011-10-05T12:58:00.001-06:00

Watch for the tongue action. He was cracking me up!

Notice the red bump on the left side of his forehead? I'll post about that tomorrow.

School pics

2011-10-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

I thought these pictures were great but the boys each had their own opinions. Tristan thinks that when you see his picture the only thing people will see if the little pimple in between his eyes. I laughed, who would have thought that teenage boys are into their looks just like girls are?

Aidan's comment about his was that people are going to say, "BAM, I see a whole lot of retainer!!!"

I like them though! I've been known to send them back for retakes but not this time!

A baby and a pen...

2011-10-03T11:39:00.000-06:00

His face was just too funny to not share!

If only I could have given him this too.

2011-10-02T07:35:00.003-06:00

We all strive to give our kids everything they want. I know that I do. Yesterday was the first day that I couldn't give Tristan what he wanted. To see his disappointment and hurt was almost too much to bear.

He tried out for his seventh grade basketball team. 4 hours with no breaks and 50 boys there for only 12 spots. We all knew that it would be tough but I don't think anyone thought that he wouldn't make it. Well, he had to walk up to the list at school last night and see that his name wasn't there. Oh my gosh, a huge pit appeared in my stomach and I was sick.

His close friends did make the team so we have that aspect too. As you can imagine his cell phone went crazy with text messages and calls so we put that up for a few hours until he could get his emotions under control. He cried when he got home and it killed me. (I'm emotional just writing this today.)

Before bed last night he was doing better. At least we were able to talk about it all. I'm so proud of him though. I think back to the one time that I remember trying out for something and I got so scared that I wouldn't make it that I quit before the actual tryout happened. And when I told my teacher that I was withdrawing; I saw in her eyes that she was super disappointed because I probably would have made it. I wasn't brave enough to tell her that I was afraid that I couldn't learn the dance the way they were teaching it. (Did you guess it? Drill Team in 10th grade.)

Soooooo, I'm a super proud mom right now that he did try. Just wish that this was something that I could have made happen for him too. Between you and I, I did ask Josh to talk to the Coach and he could but he won't. Guess we can chalk this up to a life lesson learned. Everything that has come so easily to him so far should be more appreciated now and he'll eventually learn to work harder for the things he really wants. (Although I don't expect to hear that from him today. We're only 24 hrs into it.)

On top of the world!

2011-09-08T12:49:00.003-06:00

Or so it seemed after that long of a hike!

Aidan making a grand impression.

Leaving his mark. When you summit a 14er, most people leave a note under a rock.

Tristan and Jack (Aidan's best friend).

Josh was there too but I haven't gotten the pictures of him yet. Will share once I get them.

Labor Day

2011-09-04T13:46:00.004-06:00

Josh and the boys joined our friends for their traditional Labor Day 14er hike. A 14er is a mountain at least 14,000 feet. You can see how many we have here at www.14ers.com They are hiking up Mt. Democrat and will cross over to Mt. Lincoln because they aren't that far apart.

Josh sent me this picture about half way up, it took them 3 1/2 hours to make it up to the top! I'm so proud of them, this is a first. Once they get home, I'll try to upload some more pics and details.

The most fun

2011-09-04T10:30:00.002-06:00

This will seem like a repeat to some of you but I have to blog about Mr. Pax. He cracks me up right now. Lot's of talking, funny faces, and engaging in conversations now. He is clapping his hands now too which is awesome and is a result of going to so many soccer games I think. He doesn't like it when I yell so I've always concentrated on including him with clapping and saying Yeah!

Here's a clip of a conversation:

I'm not ready for him to crawl yet but it will happen soon I can see. He gets up on his knees now to reach for things. Baby gates here we come.

Luca's memorial

2011-09-04T10:12:00.003-06:00

There was quite a bit going on after Luca's death to remember him. Tristan's team had to play in a tournament the following weekend and they had his number added to the sleeve of their jerseys. They played their first game with only 10 players on the field instead of the normal 11. (This symbolized being a man down.) There was a moment of silence mid-day with a balloon release at the field. Their second game was played with them all wearing a skull cap because that's what Luca wore during games to keep his hair pulled back. They did go on to win the tournament also which was awesome. What a trying weekend.

His celebration of life memorial was the following week at New Life Church. There were over a 1000 people there. Not a dry eye left the service though - his dad closed the service and his speech was so emotional, so raw, the adults were sobbing. The boys were okay until that and then it all seemed to hit them. We weren't able to stay afterward for the dinner (no appetite) and Tristan cried all the way home.

Something like this though does make you appreciate your family even more and realize that you can lose someone unexpectedly so cherish every minute.

7 months old today!!!

2011-08-25T13:09:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it!!!! Here's the happy little guy with my friend Karol.

Enjoying his new bathtub! The duck actually quacks too!

One of his most recent milestones, holding his own bottle! We have started mixing in some formula as I'm struggling to keep up with his needs while at daycare. He gets 3 day time bottles with half breastmilk and half formula and that's working really well now.

Other milestones are - saying da-da-da-da and ba-ba-ba-ba, eating second stage foods, hating to have his face or nose wiped off, rolling over front to back and back to front (not that he'll do this in front of me though but I find him in bed in the mornings opposite of how I put him), got his first runny nose/cold this week which stunk but he's a trooper so it hasn't been that bad, and he loves to play peek-a-boo among other games.

Gone too soon.

2011-08-17T13:15:00.006-06:00

Unfortunately, Tristan has lost a friend and soccer teammate. I never thought we'd be dealing with this at the age of 12. Here's a post from his parents this morning:

Luca Update from Petra & Henry -

Our sweet and kind boy Luca was fighting for 5 days and this battle he just can not win. This afternoon, he will be taken off life support and can fall asleep forever peacefully.

Knowing his helpful character and kindness, we decided he would be proud to be a life saver for other children in need. He is donating his lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas tonight and there are already children waiting for his gift of life !!

We are so proud of him and cherish every minute of the 12 1/2 years with us. He touched people's lives with his upbeat and funl oving ways and his fingerprints are everywhere. Now he will live on forever by helping others survive.

Thanks for all your help, prayers and support during this horrible time. He knows he has a ton of friends who love him and everyone gave him the strength he needed to live until today !!

Please take good care of all your children and loved ones. Watch closely what they look at on the internet and things they talk about with friends. We feel we did not know enough and this lack of knowledge made us pay a high price !!

Love and hugs from the our family to all of you !!!

(Luca, Tristan, Jack, and Aidan at Cotillion earlier this year.)

They are suspecting that Luca lost his life from the "choking game". He was alone though so unfortunately we'll never know what happened.

Vail

2011-08-13T22:09:00.007-06:00

The boys worked so hard all summer playing soccer that they both qualified to go to the Regional 3v3 soccer tournament in Vail, July 29-31.

Pax's first vacation! (yes, Tristan's mouth is blue from a snowcone!)

Gore Creek was a 2 minute walk from our condo. It was beautiful!

Pax stopped and smelled all of the flowers.

It's so beautiful during the summer; I can't even imagine what it's like during ski season.

Another pretty flower!

Aidan's team. We all stayed in the condo together and had a wonderful weekend. It was so much more than just soccer. A weekend to get away from the normal hustle and bustle. I could use more of these for sure. Tristan and Aidan both got 3rd in regionals by the way.

I've been talking with Sissy and we might plan a family trip here for anyone that's interested! More details to come.

A new room

2011-08-13T21:44:00.005-06:00

We decided to keep all of the boys upstairs with us for the time being. The basement bedroom is where we thought Tristan would move to but it's a little too far away for our liking right now. Tristan will keep his room upstairs and Aidan is going to share with Pax. We needed to make room so decided to get rid of the oak bunkbeds. I hated to do it, but they took up most of the space in the room. Here's Pax's new crib. It's convertible and will change to a toddler bed, day bed, then a full size bed. Aidan's medals from soccer used to hang from his bed frame. Luckily I found this shelf online and we'll hang it on the wall. (This is the picture from the website, not Aidan's.)

Here's the dresser that I had to order because nothing is ever in stock when I want it!!!! It should be here in 2 more weeks. I can't wait because having an unfinished room is irritating.

Aidan on his new bed. It's a cherry wood day bed with a trundle bed for company. Not sure how much company he'll have in there with the baby though!

I'll post a completed picture once it's all put together!

6 month dr appt

2011-08-13T21:29:00.002-06:00

15.15 lbs (23%)

26 1/4 inches (50%)

He didn't quite double his birth weight but she was happy with it anyway. He does have a bit of eczema on his neck, chest, and elbows. She said it would probably get worse before it got better and gave me pointers on managing it.

He does have a toe issue and once he starts walking she might have to refer us to an orthopedist. His third toe on each foot has a ligament that is too tight causing it to pull down. It makes his second toe (next to the big one) look like it's sticking up above all the others. It could be painful and might need surgery but for right now we are just stretching it and doing our "toe therapy!" (look at his toes in the pictures below and you'll see the troubles)

Pax's 6 month photos

2011-08-13T21:24:00.006-06:00

What a complete angel he was during this photo session! He posed for every picture like a pro!

It's been a while.

2011-08-13T21:17:00.002-06:00

Lots of things going on and I have not had the personal time that I would have liked lately. I'm hoping to get the blog caught up this weekend. It took me a minute to remember my password to get into it, ha. Here goes....

Rare opportunity

2011-07-18T21:06:00.004-06:00

Tristan got to ride a horse! Not just any horse either, this is Parker. He's a show horse, one that competes in jumps and stuff. The cute gal leading Parker is Arden. From what her mom tells me - she wins a lot in the horse shows with Parker.

He was excited but a little scared too!

First time at the playground!

2011-07-15T20:52:00.000-06:00

And he loved the swing just like I thought he would!

Allergic reaction vs some sort of bite?

2011-07-14T20:39:00.005-06:00

So last Friday, Tristan woke up (around 10 am) looking like this. The right side of his face swollen and red. The only complaint he had was that his eye was "folded up and he couldn't see well."

Josh got home an hour or so later and I knew it was bad when he told me to go ahead and see if we could get him an appointment that afternoon. We weren't sure if he had an allergic reaction to something or if he might have been bitten while he was sleeping.

The doctor thought it was an allergic reaction but honestly couldn't be positive. He said to keep up the benadryl and add ice to take down the swelling. He thought Tristan would be fine in a few days. He did question us a bit and after talking it out we think it was an allergic reaction to some sort of weed from the front yard. The day before the boys were picking weeds in the flower beds and Tristan said that Aidan threw one at him. Bingo!

When you don't use gloves while picking weeds or shower that evening you might just wake up looking like this! Guess he's got a pass from weeding for a while!

Luckily the next morning he was completely better. He went on to play in a soccer tournament and get 3rd place!

Our 4th!

2011-07-06T16:48:00.003-06:00

What a nice quiet fourth of July we had! We didn't do too much (I worked five hours) and got a chance to spend some time at home to rest. I made chicken enchiladas for dinner and because of the fire ban here we didn't see many fireworks. The boys lucked out and had some leftover sparklers from last year.

Pax's first 4th! He ate away most of his day!

Shelly and I

2011-06-29T18:12:00.004-06:00

These are from a few weeks ago but I wanted to share them still. We all had a wonderful time with my sister Shelly when she came out. Love ya lady!

Guess who's sitting up?

2011-06-29T18:08:00.003-06:00

and he just turned 5 months Saturday!

Aquarium

2011-06-08T17:07:00.012-06:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we were able to break free from soccer and enjoy the Denver Aquarium. Josh surprised us with dinner there and a table right next to the fish!

The boys did a great job taking pictures.

You never know who might swim by either!

And the yummiest dessert ever! Cheesecake with a raspberry sorbet on top! It was delicious!

And the best thing ever was watching Pax's eyes light up at the fish! He loved it!

Proud momma!

2011-06-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

So Friday, May 27th was our last day of school and graduation day! Here's Aidan accepting his diploma from his teacher. She even did a fist bump with him!
Aidan and his two buds from his class!

Tristan really shocked us by pulling in 4 big awards. Here's the fun one - The Worker Bee!

Here's the awards for straight A's all year long. Language Arts and Western Hemisphere!

And the grand finale - The Gold Presidential Award for Academics. This is only given to those who maintained a 3.8-4.0 GPA all year long.

Here's a shot of him at school receiving the awards. He doesn't look happy huh? He gets embarrassed but I'm so proud of him! What a year T!

Pax was so good during this really busy day. He watched most of it until I looked over and discovered he was no longer chewing on Dad's finger - he had fallen asleep. I couldn't resist taking this picture.

Very rare!

2011-06-06T21:17:00.006-06:00

I bought an African Violet before Pax was born and once the flowers were gone I knew it would be rare to see new blooms. Well, we got them! They are even more beautiful than the original ones.

Lots more to catch up on but honestly not sure where to begin. I'll get to work on that soon!

District Track Meet

2011-05-26T12:14:00.000-06:00

Aidan qualified for three events again this year: long jump, 200m, and relay. Yep, the same as last year. I'm very proud to say that he got 3rd in the long jump and his relay team also got 3rd. This is out of the entire school district (9 schools) so it's a big deal. The long jump was really important to him since he got second last year. Take a look at these pictures:

4 months old!

2011-05-25T18:54:00.003-06:00

He's right on target for everything except his weight! He's dropped to 32% on the chart and weighed in at 13.15. His doctor wasn't too happy and it was a question on our list also. Because I'm breastfeeding and I recently went back to work, I had no idea how many ounces he was supposed to be getting in a bottle. Come to find out, it's 4-6 ounces at a time and we haven't been anywhere close to that! So that's our project - increase his milk quantity and to start cereal.

Pax is sleeping in his own bed now and sleeps through the night. At least as far as I know since he's not in our room anymore. This was important because I was returning to work. Pax is being watched by a wonderful woman who loves him to death; it makes being at work so much easier for me. We are both exhausted though, still adjusting to our new schedule.

I can't believe Mr. Pax is already 4 months old!! This is such a fun time and age. Here's to a fun filled summer!

"Paxing up" my office

2011-05-17T20:30:00.004-06:00

Had to go in over the weekend and add my new little guy to the mix! These are the photos that the photographer gave me free to put up at the hospital. A little advertising never hurt!

Here I added another picture of Pax and also one from our maternity shoot. I'm sure my patients will love it!

In the corner there you'll see me and my boys! First day is tomorrow, wish me luck!

Braces are off!

2011-05-13T12:25:00.004-06:00

Aidan's first set of braces have done their job! His front teeth are no longer crossed so the braces were removed. He does have to wear a retainer 24/7 though.

Once Aidan loses all of his baby teeth he'll get his full set of braces. Tristan will beat him in this though as I expect him to get his first.

Me

2011-05-11T18:46:00.000-06:00

As is the norm lately, me time doesn't come until everything else is done. And I still find myself typing this while nursing a baby.

So, the surgery was rough. Recovery has been rough. I found myself to be in that "worst case scenario" that I dreamed up. I was in pain, uncomfortable, and had a ton of pressure down under. On top of all of that I had a complication that landed me in the ER a week after the surgery. I felt like I was going to die!

Now that I'm in that third week after surgery things are really looking up. Thank goodness too because I was really regretting the surgery those first two weeks. The pressure is gone and most of the time I'm okay. The past few days I've noticed a painful burning sensation that happens after carrying Pax for a bit. Hopefully nothing is wrong though, I have to carry him.

I see the doctor for my post-op next Tuesday and will return to work Wednesday. It's been almost four months now that I've been at home. Long time huh - I've never been bored either! There's so much to be done around here all of the time, not to mention all of Tristan and Aidan's activities. I still manage Aidan's soccer team but did resign from Tristan's in January. So, managing the house, the soccer team, a baby, the three big boys, and my milk supply is a lot of work. I can't imagine adding my job to this also but we'll see how it all goes soon enough.

Well, Pax is awake again so off I go!

Paxi-poo

2011-05-10T09:01:00.008-06:00

That's what I call him, just like my Aidan-poo!

I need to update a bit about him as things are constantly changing! We all know that time flies but when you have a baby they grow so quickly and are constantly changing. It's exciting to see his personality emerging and to watch him taking in this awesome world of ours.

Easter morning. Josh got the bumbo for Pax because he loves to sit up! At 3 months old he's decided that he's a big boy and will only lay down to sleep!
These were taken within the last week. We've been working on our night-time sleeping arrangements. I have not slept through the night in almost 4 months now because I've become a human pacifier. As my return date for work comes closer I have to better this somehow! It's so hard though. We are making progress slowly, he can now lay down on his own and go to sleep. The waking in the middle of the night is still happening and unfortunately I think I'm going to have to let him cry it out. I'll keep you updated.

Such a cute expression. This little guy is so aware and interested in all that goes on. He loves to read books and will knock your phone out of your hands before you know it! We have awesome conversations too.

He's doing better in the carseat now. For about a month he would cry as soon as we put him in it but now he's okay for short distances. If he does cry, it's mostly because there isn't anyone back there to talk with him. (He enjoys our carpools alot!) Our lives haven't changed in the activity area, Pax comes along to everything that we do. He's a trooper.

I would guess he's about 15 pounds now but we'll know for sure at the end of the month when he visits the doctor. I'm blessed he's so healthy so far. The other boys have brought in a few colds from school but Pax has not caught anything. I worry a bit about his ears because he loves the water and will float in the big tub as long as you'll let him. We get pretty wrinkled, ha!

Enough about him though ;-) I'll post about myself tomorrow.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:21:00.004-06:00

I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day just like I did! My sweet family made me breakfast in bed again this year. Every year Tristan manages to do something different and more special. This year he spelled out "mom" with the pancakes and bacon. Can you see it?

Josh ordered the necklace that I wanted and thankfully he received it in the mail yesterday! I think he was sweating for the past couple of days but luckily it got here just in time!

Mother's Day happened to fall on Josh's birthday again. That's okay, I couldn't pick a better person to share my special day with!

Mom's visit

2011-04-27T17:12:00.006-06:00

My mom was here a week ago and we only have a few pictures from her visit. Unfortunately she wasn't here on vacation, it was emotional and physical support for before, during, and after my surgery. She did get to watch Tristan and Aidan play soccer and they both won!

Mom stayed in the hospital with me after the surgery. I hate being there all by myself and just did that when I had Pax so I was over the moon when she said she would sleep there Thursday night. (She doesn't like hospitals either.) With all of the problems with my blood pressure, nausea, that darn catheter, and all of the visitors I was so happy to have her with me. That's something that I'll never forget!

Here's a picture of Pax and I after the surgery. I didn't do much other than feed him for a few days.

Mom got to spend a lot of time with Paxton. They had some fabulous conversations and he took to her immediately!

Mom also got to help out in the homework area! I love this picture.

Thank you so much for being there for us Mom! I wish that I would have felt better so that I could have enjoyed your visit more but I'll never forget it. We didn't do much but we didn't have to either. It's the little things in life that matter the most.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T17:26:00.002-06:00

As is typical for us in Colorado, this is what we woke to today! Guess I wasn't going to the outdoor sunrise service that I had planned on huh? Had a pretty nice Easter anyway and hope the same for you all.

Surgery and my recovery after has been harder and more complicated than I expected. I'm hoping to see some improvement in the next few days. Unfortunately I wish that I hadn't done it but maybe that will change if I start to feel better and more like myself.

Big deal

2011-04-12T22:03:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow we pick up my mom from the airport! It's been over 12 years since she's come to visit and I'm so excited. I only wish that I wasn't having surgery on Thursday so that I could truly enjoy her while she's here. Oh, I haven't mentioned the surgery huh? I've been trying not to think of it because I'm really nervous.

I mentioned a while back that I was going to have my bladder repair done. Come to find out I need a hysterectomy along with the repair. I was floored when I heard that but it's a decision that my body has made for me.

I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to have Pax though and now I get to introduce him to my mom! I'll update next week probably. I would love everyone's prayers!

Our 3 sons!

2011-04-01T08:42:00.007-06:00

Doesn't this look as if he's thinking, "hum?"

Pax has had a pretty good week. He is a very "mouthy" little boy. He has to lick and taste everything that comes close to his mouth. Skin is his favorite though (wonder why) and he loves his fists, your shoulder, and watch out or he'll get your nose! He doesn't like his own saliva though and spits it out! Really, he spits! You can watch him do it and you can hear it.

Sunday was a beautiful day in Denver. In the Springs we woke to a very dense fog and about 2 inches of snow but Denver was warm and sunny. Aidan enjoyed it on the sideline of Tristan's State Cup game.

Tristan and Miss Opal. Tristan's soccer team is ranked #1 in Colorado right now and they are playing in the State Cup soccer tournament. They won their 1st two games and next weekend we play the third game before moving to the quarterfinals.

Our 2 week Spring Break is ending today and although I've enjoyed spending it with them I'm also a little ready for them to go back to school. Pax and I would like our peaceful house back so that we can resume the routine we had begun.

Soccer!

2011-03-29T11:28:00.003-06:00

Same game, second goal and he was the only one who scored on his team. The final was 2-0!

You can hear me saying, "Come on, look at Tree. Come on Tristan!" Followed by my scream!!!! Still love Troy's laugh.

A little soccer for you!

2011-03-29T11:15:00.003-06:00

Here's the play: Our goalie (Ross) throws the ball out to Jaylen who kicks it across and Eric gets a little touch on it and then Tristan has it. He shoots, he scores!!!

Don't you love our friend Troy's laugh at the end? You will also hear our friend Dee say, "T's on fire!"

2 month check-up

2011-03-25T12:33:00.003-06:00

How much do you think he weighs ? That was big question around here for days. Well, we were all wrong!!!! He's 12 lbs 6 ounces. Aidan had the closest guess of 12.4 but everyone else thought at least 13 lbs.

He's doing great, had nothing but smiles and giggles for the doctor today until the nurse came in with the shots. He cried of course but once I could pick him up he was okay. He's snoozing it off right now. Whew!

Forgetfullness

2011-03-21T15:22:00.002-06:00

I'm really not very good at this "mom of an infant" thing. I forget the diaper bag (among other things) constantly! We've gone out to dinner without the bag, I've gone to a friend's house without it. I thought I had the issue solved when I put it in the car and decided it would stay in there permanently. Then on Saturday when we were getting ready to go to Broomfield for a soccer game I got it out in order to make sure we had all that we needed for the long trip. Guess what? We went to Broomfield ( 1 1/2 hr drive) and I didn't remember to put the darn bag back in the car! This resulted in Josh having to leave the park and find a store to get diapers and wipes! Pax is almost 2 months old and I've got to get this under control, ugh!

Oh, and I'm finding gray hairs now! Wow!

Do you have your green on today?

2011-03-17T12:51:00.003-06:00

Paxton does!

Hope you have a great St. Patrick's Day!

The end of Cotillion.

2011-03-16T08:13:00.016-06:00

And it couldn't have come any sooner for these three! Although they are so handsome and I'll miss seeing them in their suits! (Jack is in the middle. He's a good friend of Aidan's.) The last class was held at the Broadmoor hotel. It was a big deal for some!

Aidan and his partner. Aidan actually doesn't mind Cotillion but that's because he loves the girls so much!

When they change partners the boys have to address the girls by making eye contact, shaking their hand, and introducing themselves.

A little swing for you! They learned the Foxtrot, Swing, and Waltz.

Tristan. Don't let the smile fool you, the announcer told them to smile at this point!

She was actually thrilled to be dancing with Tristan, ha!

Proud mommy! Tristan finished this class just for me and I appreciated it so much. Not to mention I promised him that if he finished he wouldn't have to ever take it again. Hopefully in the end, they learned something and will retain that knowledge for the future. (Aidan has been seen pulling out a chair for a friends older sister during dinner so something has made an impression.)

Ahhhhhh...

2011-03-07T11:41:00.005-07:00

to be this happy and content!

It's official - we have our first smiles, semi-laughs, and cooing!

This little guy has stolen my heart!

Some progress!

2011-03-04T12:31:00.004-07:00

This week I've finally made some progress on my "to do" list around the house! I managed to clean out the junk drawer, the refrigerator, clean the house (thanks to the housekeeper), and add Paxton into our family collage. Still need to clean out my dresser but that will have to wait until next week as we are off to Denver for the weekend.

It'll be our first weekend away from home since Pax was born and hopefully he'll do okay at the hotel. I bought a travel swing just to be on the safe side!

Bathtime (Finally!)

2011-03-02T08:47:00.005-07:00

The umbilical cord is finally gone!!!!!!!!!!!

It only took oh - 4 weeks, 3 days!!! Ugh! He loves the warm water though and doesn't mind if it runs into his eyes. He even went to sleep pretty easily after the bath, I was able to do it on my own without Josh's assistance!

Yea for baths!

Colic

2011-02-25T09:16:00.002-07:00

It's official - Paxton has colic. I've thought this for over a week and now I'm sure. After doing my research they say that colic happens in 1 out of 4 babies and I guess I pulled the lucky card by having 2 out of 3 children with it. The plus side to this is that I've survived worse with Tristan. Luckily, Pax's happens anytime between 6-8 p.m. and the longest that he's cried is about an hour and a half. Josh is amazing with him though and can normally get him through it and off to dreamland in about 30-45 minutes. I have to say that there are some benefits to being older parents - you are more patient and wiser with some things. We didn't handle Tristan's colic as well.

Now that Pax is a month old - I think I'm more tired now then I was right after his birth. Could it be that you are living on adrenaline at first or does the routine with a baby added to your pre-existing family start to wear you down?

I had such grand plans to get a lot done during my time off and thought I would be Suzy Homemaker with breakfasts made every day along with dinner at night. Cleaning the house, shopping, and getting little projects done. It hasn't happened!!! I've succeeded with 2 dinners I think and 1 breakfast. The house has been vacuumed but that was it - so I caved, the housecleaner comes Tuesday. Ugghh.

I did get Pax's announcements ordered though and those have gone out in the mail. I can't believe it took me a month for this! I had a surprise email from the photographer that took our pictures and she has ordered some complimentary 8x10's for me to put up in my office at the hospital. What a surprise! It's to strum up some business for her from our patients but I'll take the freebies!

And to weird you all out - Pax still has his umbilical cord! It's been over 4 weeks and that darn thing hasn't fallen off. We are doing the alcohol and he hasn't had a real bath yet, just washcloths. If it hangs on until 6 weeks then we have to go to the doctor. Is this proof that he really wasn't ready to be born?

Paxton's Photos

2011-02-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous!!!!!

He was only 8 days old and even though it was difficult, I'm so happy we did it.

Pax is 3 weeks old!

2011-02-17T11:18:00.005-07:00

Oh my gosh, how time flies! If I was only taking my normal 6 weeks off, I would be half way done right now. We have been spending a lot of time getting to know each other and Pax is amazing. Here are the big things right now:

He absolutely hates the cold. Going outside into it, taking his clothes off, and diaper changes are rough. He should love summer time in Texas huh? He's a snuggle bug because of this. He likes to nestle his face into your neck and when sleeping he likes to be face to face with me. I think he likes to feel my breath.

He is also a very loud baby. He makes tons of noises in his sleep from humming to moaning. He's pretty noisy when he eats and even just sitting around he coos and talks to me already.

He is a pretty good baby for me during the day time but definitely prefers his daddy in the evenings. He likes for Josh to put him to sleep at night and luckily it's pretty easy for Josh to do.

Here's his Popeye face as we call it. It's the closest that we come to a smile during his awake times. He does smile in his sleep but I'm not counting those yet!

Pax's 2 week check-up

2011-02-11T12:15:00.002-07:00

Wow, we had a great appt today! I'm happy to say that Pax is perfectly healthy and loves to eat. He is now 10 lbs!!! He's also grown an inch too! Even though he's a big boy he's perfectly proportionate between his weight, length, and head measurements. Our pediatrician says that he's gaining an ounce a day right now and that would work out to be 2 lbs a month. This could continue until he's 5-6 months old. I was a little worried but he reassured me that you can not create a fat child from breastmilk. It's the other foods that are introduced in later that matter so just keep up the good work. Guess we will have a little Michelin baby soon.

His cord still hasn't fallen off yet which is a bummer because I can't wait to see how he likes a bath. We are both tired of the spongebaths!

Oh, and his pictures from that horrible photo session last week are so cute! I spent a fortune buying them but I'd rather have all of the shots instead of not choosing one due to money. We should get the pictures in a couple of weeks and then I'll have his announcements made. She asked me about putting some on her website again so I'll keep an eye out for that and share them early if she does.

2 weeks old

2011-02-09T10:52:00.002-07:00

Time is really flying!

Josh went back to work today so I'm officially on my own, oh no! I'm nervous and not sure why! You would think that I've never done this before by the way that I feel. Things will be fine I'm sure.

We have to venture out today to the photographer to view our pics from last week's session. Wish me luck and strength - he's heavy and that car seat is a bear to carry.

Aidan's 11!

2011-02-07T13:42:00.011-07:00

Aidan's birthday was last Thursday and he had a wonderful day! Let's make that a wonderful three days in a row. Here's what happened! He came home from school to his special request, an ice cream cake! (Please note the huge flames that Josh likes to create with the candles.) He opened his gifts and had a wonderful night.

Friday he didn't have school due to parent/teacher conferences so he got the day home alone without his big brother, that's always a special treat! Then that evening his friends came over to head up with him to Denver to go to an indoor racetrack! Here they are after their safety lesson, getting their helmets.

Ready to drive!!!!

Each race was 9 laps and at the end they got a printout with their stats! Here's the winner's podium but everyone got to get up and take a spot! The boys had a great time, their parents told me that they couldn't stop talking about it!

I have to say a huge Thank You to Josh for taking care of the party. He drove up there with 6 boys and chaperoned the entire evening while Pax and I hung out at home. He's a wonderful dad and helped to make Aidan's party a hit!

Saturday was Aidan's school district basketball tournament. He got a bye in the first round due to only losing one game in the season but had to win the second round game in order to advance to the next round and so on. His team won their second round game and their third round game to make it to the final! They also won the final!!!!! D49's 5th grade boys basketball champs!

Here's the team with the tournament bracking that was on the wall. (Aidan is the second from the right.) See how Aidan's no longer the smallest boy on the team? He might be tied for being the shortest but there are others now!

Here was Josh's and Pax's pick for the Superbowl! They were right!

Maternity Shots (Finally!)

2011-02-02T18:26:00.008-07:00

I was so excited to see these today! It seems like forever since I took them and I'm very happy with how they turned out.

This one is the one that she has added to her website so you have probably seen it already. We used the 4D Ultrasound picture of Paxton from 26 weeks.

This one I saw on her website and wanted to duplicate it. The fun thing is that Josh is the one in the background swishing the fabric out behind me! Today during Paxton's session I put the gold wrap back on and held him in front in place of my belly. Hope it turned out well but I won't know until next week.

Josh is such a great picture taker! I loved this shot the first moment I saw it! It reminds me of how happy we were at that time!

Ok, and now to the "risque" picture.... I wanted a picture to remember what wonderful things our bodies are capable of and I got it. Pregnancy is beautiful and truly a gift from God. We tried so hard for this baby and had to go through so much to get him that I never want to forget that struggle. It helps you appreciate life even when times get rough.

Pax's photo session was today and I wish that it would have been easier. She told me that the sooner we got him in the easier it was to get "cute" shots where she can pose him while he's sleeping. Unfortunately, our little boy doesn't like being undressed and cold. He also is a bigger baby so it's not easy to fold him up and roll him into a ball. He's strong and is a fighter! After two and a half hours, yes - I said two and a half hours, we called it. The photographer could have kept going but Josh and I couldn't stand to hear him cry anymore. It took us another two hours at home to get him settled and asleep from his trauma as Josh calls it. I get to go next Wednesday to view the pictures and I pray we have one or two that were worth all of the trouble. Don't worry - I don't think we'll ever do that again!

Paxton pics

2011-02-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

This picture cracks me up because he looks like he's about to fly off like Superman! Matches his shirt!!!

Close up!

Snoozing in his boppy! He has slept in his basinet in the boppy like this for the past two nights. I think he really likes it! He wakes every 3 hours for a feeding and that's it. So far at least!

We are going to have Pax's pictures taken today by the same photographer who did my maternity shots. It'll be a while before we get the actual prints but I'm excited to get him in there and see what we can do.

Last picture post from the delivery.

2011-02-01T09:30:00.010-07:00

Last picture of me pregnant!

Josh and I played Scrabble until about 12:30 p.m.

What a beautiful day to have a baby! This was our view from the hospital room.

After breaking my water and epidural. Tad bit uncomfortable and I couldn't even turn over to see my picture of Pax.

The big boy at 8.13!

Tears of joy! I couldn't keep it together, I was so happy and had just done one of the hardest things ever in my life!

Us with our wonderful doctor. He is a gem!

Proud Daddy!

My wonderful nurse Kathy. I could not have done it without her! We were so lucky to have her all to ourselves during the induction. I had requested her once I knew my induction date and was lucky to get her one on one all day long!!!

Well, that it's for the recap! Sorry it's taken me a week to get it all done but we've been recovering from a cold and adjusting to this new blessing in our lives. Thank you God!

Maternity photos

2011-01-30T18:59:00.002-07:00

No, I don't have them yet but I hope to by the end of the week when we go to have Pax's first session done. But I did look at her site and happened to see something that caught my eye.

Click here and then go to "photography portfolio" on the left. Click "Maternity" and then at the bottom of the pictures go to #4. Look familiar? That's one of our shots that we chose and I came up with the posing myself! I can't wait to get the other pics!!!

Pictures from Pax's birth

2011-01-30T15:22:00.012-07:00

Some of these may be repeats to you but this is what I had on my phone. There are more pictures coming from the camera!

My strip! Pax's heartrate is on the left side while the contractions (mountains) are on the right.

The flowers that Stephanie sent me!

His card!

First picture!

The night of his birth. One moment of peace, we didn't get many of these.

Wednesday, one day old! That 0-3 months outfit fits well huh?

Thursday, ready to go home.

Tristan with Paxton. Unfortunately our baby had to come to a sick home. Lots of masks,
hand washing, and antibacterial hand rinse.

Pax's big day!

2011-01-26T15:59:00.005-07:00

This may be a repeat to most of you since Josh and I tried to text the big events yesterday but I want to have it on the blog also.

8:30 a.m. Arrived at hospital for scheduled induction.

8:45 a.m. I.V. is placed.

9:15 a.m. Pitocin is started.

11:15 a.m. 2 hrs of pitocin and we finally have a pattern to the contractions, every 2-4 minutes. Josh and I are playing Scrabble on our I-phones.

11:45 a.m. No real pain yet, holding off on pain meds.

12:30 p.m. My nurse checks me since we haven't seen my doctor yet this morning. Still at a 4, she increases the pitocin.

12:45 p.m. My nurse has gone to lunch and what do you know? Dr. O shows up to break my water. My cervix was extremely posterior so it wasn't easy for him to do it. The first try he actually hooked his own glove, ha! Lots and I mean lots of clear fluid.

2:00 p.m. Got the epidural. Pitocin had me contracting every minute literally. At a 6 now.

3:00 p.m. Epidural is only working on my left side. We tried to turn over onto my right but then the baby's heartrate dropped along with my blood pressure. Had to turn back to my left, put on the oxygen mask and get a shot of epenephrine.

3:25 p.m. One look at my face and my nurse checks me to find me at a 10, complete and ready to push. She calls the doctor and nursery to come for the delivery!

3:53 p.m. He's born, all 8 lbs 13 oz of him! He was 20 1/4 inches long with a 14 inch head! He was OP which means he was facing the wrong direction and on top of that his body was turned the opposite direction. Toughest delivery by far! His apgars were a 5 at one minute and then a 9 at five minutes. Little issues with respiratory and heart rate but it all cleared up. He was labeled Large for Gestational Age so we had to check his blood sugar every 4 hours for the first day. He only had one low test and all of the others were fine.

Daddy finally decided on his name - Paxton Emory Brown! We are all doing well and I'll have pictures up soon! Thank you for all of your loving support!

The day that I've been waiting for.

2011-01-24T19:58:00.003-07:00

I can not believe that tomorrow is really happening to me! The very thing that I've dreamed of for so long is actually coming true! Our family will be welcoming another little boy and it brings me to tears to think of it. It's so special and will be a day that I will never forget.

We are so excited and will try to keep you all updated as the day progresses. Please keep us all in your prayers!

Baby shower at the hospital

2011-01-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

My co-workers threw a baby shower for us a few days ago and here's a little recap! My friend Jessica made these beautiful cupcakes!

Some decor!

Left to right: Lori, my boss Gail, and Linda. Linda will be taking over Birth Certificates while I'm out on leave.

Tasha and Jessica (the one who made the cupcakes).

What's a shower without Karol? A funny thing to remember about this day is that I had to go and pick her up for work and take her home to make sure she didn't miss the shower. She didn't want to drive because there was still snow/ice on the roads. I wouldn't want to have a party without her!

Man, I wish I was looking at the camera! This is Jessica. She's a ton of fun to work with!

The diaper cake! This is so cool and I honestly don't want to use it! I get to look at it for a while though cause the diapers are size 3! Too cute!

It was a wonderful time and I'm happy to say that as far as material things go - we are ready for this little guy thanks to our wonderful friends!

38 week appt

2011-01-20T14:08:00.002-07:00

Weight - 22 lbs now!!! The longer I go the bigger this baby and my belly gets!

Everything else was fine. My doctor is guessing that he's about 7 1/2 lbs now and since that will be the biggest baby I've had we scheduled the induction for Tuesday, January 25th at 8:30 a.m. He did go ahead and strip my membranes in hopes that labor would start naturally but nothing yet. I will be perfectly honest with you though, that was one of the most painful things I've ever been through and if it doesn't bring on the labor naturally - it was not worth it!

For those who want to see my belly pic, look below...
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Cotillion

2011-01-19T02:21:00.011-07:00

The boys started their Cotillion class Monday night. They were not happy about it to say the least but weren't given a choice. See, I wasn't happy about the attitudes that I had started seeing and I would love to see more of a gentleman side to them. That's exactly what this class is for - "a program of dance and social etiquette education and training for young children."

They do have to wear a suit while the girls wear dresses, tights, dress shoes, and gloves. Aren't the boys handsome?

The results after the first night were mixed. Aidan gave it a 6 out of 10 and Tristan gave it a 1. He didn't like wearing the suit and also didn't like the fact that he had to hold a girl's hand for almost an hour. I guess next week's class can only be better right?

My two babies!

2011-01-11T01:12:00.000-07:00

This is how Opal and I sit most of the time nowadays. She rests her head on my tummy and doesn't even mind when the baby kicks her!

Went to the doctor for my 37 week appt and the details are:

Weight - up to 20 lbs now, ugh!
B/P - 110/70
Heartrate - 131
Fundus - he actually didn't tell me this time.

He did check for cervical changes and I'm still at a 3 but now 80% effaced. I contracted from 12:30 to 8:30 yesterday with them getting as close as 10 minutes apart. Thank God they stopped though because I was exhausted and really prefer to not have a nighttime labor. As you can see, it's 1:00 a.m. and I'm doing fine!

Baby Lincoln

2011-01-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Born Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 12:42 p.m.

Look at his hair!

7 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches

What a sweetie he seems to be!

The flowers we sent! Congrats to the Wood Family, we can not wait to meet him!

Another week has gone by!

2011-01-08T07:24:00.002-07:00

I've been concentrating on getting everything ready for this baby that another week has flown by without a post. Here's an update though.

Tuesday we had our 36 week appt. The stats are:

Weight - up 19 pounds now
B/P - 90/60
Heartrate - 135, this was from the ultrasound.
Fundas - almost 40 now!

They did the ultrasound to check the sizing and he's predicted to be about 6 lbs 14 oz and his head size 33 cm. This is an estimate though and they could be off a pound give or take. I was actually happy, I thought they might say 8 lbs or so!

The huge surprise at this appointment happened when I asked him to check for dilation. See, I had been having contractions on and off for over a week but knew something was up because I had had 3 in the hour I was at the office. He did and I was a 3!!!!!! I couldn't believe it.

So, needless to say - I'm trying to keep this little guy inside until later next week. Wednesday is my last training day at work and we are having a lunch/baby shower. Plus my doctor just told me yesterday that he was out of town this weekend so don't go into labor then. We'll see each other Monday at my appt hopefully, ha!

New Year's

2011-01-03T02:13:00.002-07:00

Our New Year's Day snow angels! The two boys who made these truly are my angels and I can't tell you how much I love them.

We had a pretty good snowstorm that hit us Thursday, Dec 30th. Completely ironic that the boys and their friends were competing in an indoor soccer tournament called the Blizzard Cup! The semi-finals were Thursday and they not only made it to the semis but won it so continued on to the final that evening at 5. They took their opponent to overtime but lost then by 1. I was so proud of them for being the youngest team in their division (11-14 yrs old) but playing with such integrity, determination, and teamwork. It was 3 days of awesome soccer!

(I've only recreated the exhaustion again for myself after all of this though. It's 2:20 a.m. and my body is so restless that I can't sleep but I know I'm tired. That's frustrating and then when I think about working all day tomorrow it makes me angry. Oh man, when will I learn?)

Christmas Recovery

2011-01-03T02:10:00.003-07:00

(Opal enjoying her quiet Sunday morning.)

This picture says it all! We continued our peaceful recovery from Christmas the day after.

Christmas Recap

2011-01-03T01:48:00.009-07:00

What a wonderfully peaceful day Christmas was for us! We never left our comfy pjs or our home and that was just perfect for me! I didn't feel that great all weekend, some contractions and just an overall exhaustion had hit me. I didn't let it ruin the special day though!

Aidan and Fushigi! He's wanted this all year. I had hoped he wouldn't be disappointed as it's "as seen on tv" and you know how much you can believe in those infomercials. He watched the dvd and has managed to learn two of the tricks though. It's hard for a child to do with their small hands though.

They got a new football and each got their first pair of receiver gloves. The gloves were first on each of their lists and I bought them myself but practically had to lie and stomp my feet in the stores when they were shopping for each other. They wanted to get each other the gloves and couldn't understand why I was telling them no. Ugh, I think Tristan's shopping experience even made me cry!

Tristan got the Loopz game. As usual, I haven't seen this out since Christmas day.

Aidan and I. Told you I was exhausted!

Opening Tristan's gift to me. A sweet little heart necklace, he's a charmer ladies!

Dad and the boys trying out their new soccer chairs that Shelly got us! We were in desperate need of these as she saw personally during her trip. Ours were missing carrying bags and falling apart.

Another game that seemed like a hit, Cuponk! This I also have not seen out since Christmas day.

Even Opal loved her gifts! She got the new little stuffed animals without stuffing! Believe it or not, they are still around to this date so far!

34 week appt

2010-12-24T11:41:00.003-07:00

This picture isn't me but it's so relative to this post I had to use it!

Here are the stats from our latest doctor's appt:

Weight gain - up to 18 lbs now!
Blood pressure - great
Heart rate - 140's
Fundal measurement - now it's 38-39 cm. So much for things slowing down since the last measurement. When my mouth dropped open he felt around and said it's not extra fluid, just a big ol' boy!

We have an ultrasound on the 4th to check sizing and then see the doc right after to discuss the findings and what our plans will be.

Catching up!

2010-12-17T14:53:00.005-07:00

Oh my goodness, this week has just gotten away from me! Last week of school before Christmas break, expecting our first big winter storm that didn't come when we thought, work, Christmas prep, all on top of being 8 1/2 months pregnant! Craziness.

Our storm that we expected to wake up to Thursday morning ended up coming in around noon on Friday. The boys had a half day on Friday so I just decided to take the day off and work on Saturday. This was a blessing because I had a few hours at home alone to wrap gifts, work on our never ending laundry piles, pay bills and handle email situations. Thought I would get this post done also but I'm doing it now from work on a Saturday, see?

My maternity photo shoot went really well Tuesday! Well, until the very end of it I guess. The "fainting bug" almost got me again! After about an hour and twenty minutes of being on my feet and taking directions for poses I had to ask for a break because I was about to faint. I felt it coming for a good 5 minutes or so but could not get the words out. It's weird because I can hear myself telling myself to sit down but I don't know if I'm embarrassed or if really I can't say it. Anyway, the photographer was great and Josh was even greater. He got me seated and ran off to a gas station to grab some water and a candy bar. A few minutes later I was fine although I was a little nauseous and after looking at what we had taken on her camera we decided we were basically done anyway. Then the reality that I'm sitting on a stool naked with a gold wrap around my waist hits me!!!! It makes me laugh even now.

Josh thinks the pictures will be beautiful and from what I saw on her camera I agree. He's now talking about putting one or two on the wall, it's not what I had in mind I promise! We get to choose the ones we want on the 6th of Jan. I think I'll go back to have his first pictures taken there even though it's really expensive. Her newborn shots are awesome! Oh, and our poses were Josh and I together, my bare belly with our hands on the sides, us with a bare belly and the ultrasound picture held in front of my belly, me wrapped in the gold material and it flowing out behind me, then I'm wrapped in a gold material around my waist and my arms are covering up top. I'll share them once I can!

These aren't the best quality pictures but when I saw myself I laughed. Is that a basketball under my sweatshirt?

Nope, all baby!!

32 week appointment

2010-12-10T14:03:00.002-07:00

Heartrate - 140's
Blood pressure - 112/60 a little higher but still normal!
Weight - up to 15 lbs now.
Fundus Height - He said I was measuring at 36!!!! No joke, I'm 32 weeks measuring 36. My doctor's exact words, "you've exploded!" Not something an 8 month pregnant woman wants to hear.

I'm not stressing anymore about it though. I have another appt in two weeks and I hope to not see that much of a difference in the measurement, maybe it'll even out? We have an ultrasound scheduled after New Year's to check the baby's size and I guess I'll find out then what he suggests to do if anything at all.

It has really given me some incentive to get things ready for the baby around the house though. I'm washing everything, starting to get things out of boxes and put up. I may not really have 50 days left before he's here!

Maternity Photo Session

2010-12-09T03:00:00.002-07:00

Alright guys! I'm having maternity photos taken next Tuesday and I'm looking for ideas for some different and beautiful poses. The lady who will be taking the pictures has a website and you can look at some of her pictures under the portfolio/maternity section here. Would love your input!

Another baby shower and a big surprise!

2010-12-08T12:39:00.008-07:00

My dear friend Lisa, shown here in the green, threw another baby shower for me this past weekend. I had sooooo much fun! She made a wonderful brunch, had some really fun games, and every one's generosity in the gift area was simply amazing. I'm blessed to have such great friends.

Yes, we played the game with the melted candy bar in the baby diaper! There were 5 different ones to guess which kind of candy bar it was! Here's Rebecca taking a whiff!

We are writing down our guesses for the diaper game!

Almost time to open the gifts! See my belly?

A cute little outfit with a soccer ball of course!

My friend Wendi made this basket for us and it was beautiful! It included a hand-made hooded towel and blanket also. Her thoughtfulness was overwhelming.

And while I was having a blast with my girlfriends, Josh was out getting our family a new car! He got us a 2010 Saturn Outlook!

Just a quick look inside. It seats 7 which will allow me to continue my carpools after the baby arrives.

What a surprise huh? He is simply the best!

The last time that I'll see him before he's born!

2010-12-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

We got to see a myriad of facial expressions from this little guy! Even a smile!

Unfortunately his cord was around his face alot but this picture was cute because it looks like he's hugging it. It's a little scary though, I'll be mentioning this to my doctor in a few days.

Another sweet face!

And a little bit of a pout! He's definitely gained weight huh?

I can not wait to meet him in person!!!