Birthday Fun

On Chase and Owen's Birthday, July 1st, I had a friend come visit Hattie.  She brought donuts and superhero themed plates and cups and presents!  We had fun!

 When Daddy got home from work we opened presents right away cuz the boys had been waiting all day!  They already got a new bike from us and got some other nice things from friends and family.

 New Super Man shirts from Hattie.  They were a hit!

 Chasey

 Chase was so proud and happy to be 5!  He kept saying to us all day, "5".  Whenever he did something he said it was because he was 5.  I love it!

 Birthday cake for the birthday boys

 My 5 year old lovies

 Digging in

 Yum Yum

 Our family of 5 with the birthday boys of 5.

2 Weeks Old

Hattie was 2 weeks old yesterday! What a sweet baby she has been.  So far she eats, sleeps and poops.  Hattie loves to be held upright so she can stretch her head back.  She rarely cried, even in the night when she's hungry.  She is a very noisy sleeper, always grunting, snorting and making other strange noises.  We just love her to pieces and feel so fortunate to have this little blessing in our family.

Hattie had her 2 week Dr. appointment today and she did super!  The Dr. was very impressed with her weight gain and so was Mommy.  She now weighs 8 lbs. 15 oz. (74%) and at birth she was 8 lbs. 6 oz.  She was 21.25 inches long (91%) and her head was in the 97%.  This is so different from our boys who were in the 10% or lower for all their stats at this age.  Hattie did go potty all over the table at the Dr., which was the only thing out of the ordinary.  :)  We are so happy she is healthy and growing as she should be.

Happy 4th of July . . .

from our firecrackers to yours!

Hattie's Birthday

Hattie's birthday was June 20th, which was 10 days early.  The night of June 18th I had been up every hour at night with cramping and contractions, however I didn't think anything of it because I'd been having contractions since I was 30 weeks.  Throughout the day on the 19th I continued to have cramping.  At 6:00 that night we were having dinner and I noticed my contractions had become more intense and painful and I decided to time them.  They were only 2-3 minutes apart!  I called the Dr. and she suggested I come in to be assessed.  The boys were a little sad and wanted to come with us, but once they saw Nana and Papa they were fine.  When we got to the hospital about 7:30 I was dilated to 2 and the nurse wasn't really convincing us that I would get to stay.  We had to walk around the maternity floor for an hour and during this time the pain intensified and I had to stop walking and breathe through the contractions.  The walking had done the trick though and I was admitted at 9:30. Around 10:30 I got an epidural, which was a relief.  The Dr. and I discussed how my first 2 epidurals with the boys didn't work well so she was very cautious.  She gave me a big bolus of meds to get things going and I had some relief.  However, they had me laying almost flat on my back, which was extremely uncomfortable.  The nurse suggested we try to sleep, so Jeff went to sleep and I tried to relax.  About 12:30 the pain became really bad again-in my low abdomen.  I couldn't believe I was feeling pain.  I told this to the nurse and she got this strange look on her face.  She said, "You must be progressing quickly."  She checked me and I had dilated to 7.  The pain continued, we woke up Jeff and said, "A baby is going to be born very soon!"  He couldn't believe it and shook off the sleep.  The anesthesiologist came in again and gave me a bolus shot again to help with the pain.  It reduced the amount of time I was in pain but there was still pain.  10 minutes after being a 7, I was a 9.  The Dr. was delivering at Abbott and wouldn't be able to make it in time so another Dr. was called.  Dr. Angelots arrived around 1:50 and I was ready to go.  They got things ready in the room and after 10-20 minutes of pushing Hattie was born at 2:39, just perfect and pink.  She layed on my stomach and I was so delighted all I could do is smile.  I had thought I would cry a lot, but was so relieved to be done with labor and have her that I just got a little choked up.  She had some amniotic fluid she kept coughing up because she it wasn't squeezed out when being born because she was born so quickly.  They had to keep getting it out and she wasn't really crying, so the nurse took her to make sure she was breathing ok-which she was.  She was just perfect and so round and plump.  My placenta and umbilical cord were very big, the Dr. noted, saying I had provided an ideal growing environment.  :)  We stayed in the room for 2 hours then were moved to floor 4 at Southdale Hospital about 4:30 a.m.  We set off the baby stealing alarm by accident.  Jeff and I were on cloud 9 and were so happy and excited there was no way we were going to sleep.

 Chase smiles at me wearing his big brother t-shirt

Touching Hattie's blanekt

 Gazing with love at their new little sister

 Owen gives a kiss

 Chase is unsure what to do

My big boys and my little peanut.  So happy!

 Owen's a big brother!

 Owen holds Hattie first

 Adorable!

 Chase's turn and he's excited!

 My 3 little ones.

 Chase and Hattie

 Owen wanted to touch all of Hattie, he was so amazed by her!

 Jeff went home about 8:00 and brought the boys back.  They were so excited and quietly sneaked into the room.  When I saw their little feet I got choked up and felt so blessed and excited to see Chase and Owen.  They said, "Where's my baby sister?" They hopped right up on my bed to see Hattie.  Owen wanted to kiss her right away!  They saw her in her isolate and were mesmerized.  It was very sweet. 

My Big 5 Year Olds!

Happy Birthday Chase and Owen!  I can't believe you are already a big 5 years old and are heading to kindergarten in the fall. I can't believe it's been 5 years since our lives changed for the better and you made them so much more rich.  Now that we have Hattie you seem much bigger and more independent than I ever thought.  You have grown up so much this year since being in preschool.  You know all your letters, sounds, are beginning to sound out words and spell, can count to 40 (missing 14-17), ride a bike, hop on one foot, write your name, and hit a baseball.  You are both very kind, loving, generous and giving to each other and your Mommy, Daddy and little sister.  "Bad words" to you are "poopy face" and "poopy butt" and the other day you asked what "stupid" meant.  I'm so glad you are not using words that I hear coming out of other kids' mouths.

 Playing outside

 Holding their little sister

 Big boy Chase with his new Hot Wheels bike.  He goes really fast!

 Look at Chase go!

Big boy Owen with his new Hot Wheels bike

 This is how I found the boys this morning. They were cuddling on my nursing pillow-the same one they use 5 years ago in the hospital when they were first born.  Love it!

 We're 5!

Owen, you are loving, energetic, goofy, sweet, sensitive and cautious.  You prefer to let others try a dangerous task first and then you decide if it's worth the risk to try it.  You love to cuddle, still suck your thumb with your little yellow blankey and your big blue blankey.  You are a good listener, most of the time, and love praise.  Lately you have become more shy around new people and hide behind me.  You still say "huh" for "the" and "us" for "we", but your speech sounds have developed very nicely. You have a great sense of humor and love to dance funny and be funny when you feel comfortable.  You are a good brother to Chase.  Your favorite colors are pink and purple.  You love gum, candy, snacks and junk.  You do eat your veggies and fruits very well.   Your favorite food is treats, favorite dessert is smores, favorite game is the Penguin Game, favorite animal is the zebra, favorite toy of the moment is Belle the Train (although it's actually Dino Bots or transformers) and your favorite book is about grapes (not sure which book this is).  :)

Chase you are outgoing, lovable, cuddly, enthusiastic, a goof ball, funny and enjoy doing things first.  You are cautious like your brother but are more prone to try new things and have excelled this year.  You easily go down the fire pole at the park, as well as all the poles and love to hang and drop from things.  You love your brother and helping him.  You love a good cuddle with Mommy and think your thumb is "delicious" while cuddling with your green blankey with the favorite nubbin.  You also have been a good listener, most of the time.  You are shy lately around new people and hide behind me.  You still say "huh" for "the" and "us" for "we", but your speech sounds have developed very nicely.  You love to be goofy and have a great sense of humor, as told to us by others.  Your favorite color is green.  You love gum, candy, snacks and junk.  You also eat your veggies and fruits very well.  Your favorite food is mac and cheese, favorite dessert is smores, favorite game is the Penguin Game, favorite animal is the tiger , favorite toy of the moment is Dart the Train (although it's actually Dino Bots or transformers) and your favorite book is about Lightening McQueen.

I couldn't be more proud of my two little boys.  Daddy and I talk about how proud we are of you each night and the little things you do that make us proud. We are most proud that you love Jesus and know so much about Him.  You listen intently to stories about him and even tell us the stories!  You know why He came to earth and died and love him with your heart.  You are the best two little boys a Mommy could ever have!

Happy Birthday my Loves!
Mommy