Wade Family

Langston 5 and 6 months

2012-01-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have gotten so behind a blog posts. I get in this rut and although I will check other people's blogs, I just don't feel like wrting anything on mine. So here is a brief update to catch up from some of the past two months.

The 5th month Langston learned to roll over from her back to front. She was so close at the end of last month that it didn't take long. She continued to move everywhere on the floor and grab and play with all kinds of toys. Chewing was still crazy along with the drooling. Nursing and sleeping continued the same as I expect they will for a number of months since she is sleeping through the night and taking consistent naps. We celebrated her uncle Gary and aunt Tina's wedding along with Thanksgiving this month.

Month 6 came and went in a blink because it was the month of December and we had just celebrated Thanksgiving and we were kicking in the Christmas celebrations. Langston cut her first two teeth this month. That was about a month sooner than the boys because it was right after she turned 5 mnths and they were both around 6 mnths. Since cutting teeth she has not sucked thumb hardly at all, although she still loves the paci. She also learned to roll in the other direction at the beginning of the month. This causes her to just roll back and forth to amuse herself. We started putting her in the exersaucer at the end of 4 months and once she was 5 mnths a lot. She will play in this for a long time and it is really strengthening her muscles. Her first Christmas was fun and we got to spend a lot of time with family which was good. At the end of this month we went for her 6 mnth check-up and she was 16 lbs and 26 3/4 in. This is still above average in height and 45 % in weight. Again, still right between the boys.

Langston 4 Months

2011-11-18T22:03:00.000-08:00

I need to start writing down all of the new things she is doing each month because by time I post these updates I have usually forgotten. I will see how well I do. At her 4 month appt. she was 14 lbs 9 oz and 25 3/4 in long(60% in weight and 88% in height). This is right about where Easton and Kenan were. I guess my kids just gain at the same rate. She is still right in the middle of them height wise and Easton was a little heavier and Kenan was the same weight. This month Langston really started playing with things. I mentioned that last month she started batting at her hanging toys, well now she grabs them, holds them, chews them, etc. She loves to play. She is also moving all over the place. Not actually going anywhere, but by turning her head and arching her back she can go all the way around in a circle on the floor. She is so close to rolling to her stomach from her back. Last week she was just 2 inches from the ground and then she fell back again. I expect it will be anytime now. Kenan didn't roll over until close to 6 months, but Easton was right at 4 months.
     She nurses around 5 times a day every 3-4 hours. She is consistently sleeping 11 hours at night now. If I don't have anywhere to go for the day she can sleep until 9 or 10 in the morning because she usually doesn't go to bed until 9:30 at night. We are on a later schedule than most. If I have to go somewhere and get her up, she will go back to sleep for her morning nap pretty quickly. Right now she has moved into the pattern of morning and afternoon naps. They are not always the same time like they are with your first, but I am happy she takes them whenever they fit into our schedule. It is so much harder when you have other kids to work around. Kenan didn't use anything to soothe himself to sleep, Easton took a paci, and although Langston uses a paci also, I think we may have a thumb sucker on our hands. I find her sucking it more and more each day. I am pretty sure she uses it at night to soothe herself.
     Oct. 24th Langston laughed out loud more than just her normal coo laugh. Now you can get her laughing a lot. She loves to watch the kids and they can really make her laugh. The girl I watch Isabelle had her laughing at this big Halloween balloon she kept hitting. It was so cute to hear. She still loves to hear people talk. Now she is so nosy about conversations she will stop nursing just to listen to what is going on. It gets annoying when I am trying to get her to finish eating.
     Similarly to the boys Langston doesn't like to be held when she is tired. She will just keep crying until she is in her crib and able to relax. This is confusing for those that watch her because most people think babies would like to be held to relax and fall asleep. Well not if you have a babywise baby. This is good for me at home, but sometimes it doesn't work well when we are out and about and other people have her and all she wants is her bed. She has also developed the dreaded bald spot at the back of her head. I try to keep her from laying as much now that she holds her body up really well and can sit in other positions. Her hair is also so much lighter and thinner now. She still has hair, but as her head has grown her hair has not kept up. I hope the new growth starts soon so it can start thickening up again.
     Finally, drool and more drool. Kenan had a bib on all of the time because of drool, but Easton didn't drool much at all. Well Langston takes after Kenan. I will need to get some girly bibs because I think she will need them if I don't want her entire shirt to be wet. She can pull out her bow and have it in her mouth for just a few minutes and it will be dripping with spit. Gross, I know.

Jilly, Izzy, and Langston with Langston's doll

Meeting her great-aunt Kim

2nd cousins Hannah and Caitlin

2nd cousin Jordan

Grandpa Greg

great-aunt Lynne:Lynne likes that they have the same initials L. W.

She was making a funny face here

Camping at Lincoln for Halloween fun

2011-11-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Last year we went up on a Saturday to join Nick's brother Gary and his (wife tomorrow) Tina for their annual Halloween camping trip. We just ate dinner and did the trick-or-treating and then drove home that night. This year, after camping once already, we decided to stay the night Saturday and hang out at the park on Sunday. Needless to say the kids had a great time. So far Langston has gotten to go camping in utero and at 3 mnths where the boys had to wait awhile. They love it and talk about it all the time. Now for those who know us, this is a new thing for us and something I never thought we would do more of. I don't think we will ever do much summer camping, but I could see us going at least once in the spring and once in the fall every year now. No primitive for us, but we are definitely getting into it if it is an electric site. The boys would love a camper, but I am okay with a big tent. So far we have borrowed Gary and Tina's which is a three room one and I love that size. We are looking to get one similar if we make the purchase.

September and October

2011-10-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

This fall we have done some fun things as a family, although not as many as our busy summers. Early in September we went apple picking down at the new Englebrecht Orchard on Petersburg rd. Easton loved to tell people how we went apple picking.

Friends of ours, the Shepherds, came into town for one of the weekends in September. It was nice going out to eat with them kidless on Friday night and then going to the zoo on Saturday.

Izzy, Ethan, and Eli

It was fun to see them all play together.

We had two birthday celebrations in September, Navy's and Tenley's. Both parties were a lot of fun and the boys like helping them blow out their candles and open presents.

The first week of October brought the Fall Festival. We usually go a number of nights because Nick's birthday fall on fall fest week and he loves it. I think we were down there 4 nights total if you include the night we worked the booth with our small group. By the third night with the kids I had reached my fill of fall fest. A new item we tried this year was the Donut Bank burger. It was actually really good if you like glazed donuts.

The rest of this month was filled with soccer ending, camping at Lincoln(post to follow), the Scott chicken Supper, Kenan's first report card (which was awesome), and much more.

3 mnths old

2011-10-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is so late:
Langston was three months old September 27th which was also her cousin Tenley's first birthday. Last month I didn't post a weight and height because she hadn't gone to the doctor yet. She went at 11 weeks and was 12 lbs 9 oz and 24 in long. This is less than Easton was at this age, but still more than Kenan. Everything checked out great and she got a few shots. She cried a bit in the afternoon, but that was all. None of my kids have been bothered by their shots much.

We have now become busy with school activities so the fun places to go each week have decreased. We have started our routine of library on Tuesdays and nature center on Wednesdays. Last week was the first library class and she loved watching all of the kids. I have taken all of the kids when they were around three months to the birth through 2 year old class at Oaklyn. This particular Tuesday her cousins Navy, Tenley, and second cousin Owen were all there. She has also enjoyed going to football games and Kenan's soccer games.

Sleeping has just improved over the last month. She sleeps from around 10pm-6am most nights and then goes back to sleep for another couple of hours. She will take a good morning nap and afternoon nap and then is up most of the evening until bedtime. Langston also seems to be very observant and good with her hand coordination. She started batting at her toys that hang down over the playset and carseat much earlier than the boys. She just stares at them and keeps hitting them and trying to get them to roll or rattle. I have some video on my phone, but I don't feel like looking for my cord to upload it. Another difference is her love for talking. It doesn't matter if you are talking to her or she is babbling to you, she loves talking.

At the zoo

At Navy's 1st birthday party while she was getting ready for bed.

Easton and Izzy

I love to cheese

The girls

Soccer

2011-09-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

So we decided to sign up Kenan for soccer this fall because he had been asking to start playing a sport and this was the first one of the season. Nick agreed to be a coach because he said that he would rather be in charge than someone else. At first I think he was regretting his decision, but I think as the team progressed with practices it got better. Let's just say he knows why he is a high school teacher and not with 4 and 5 year olds all day. These pictures are from the first game. Kenan looks like he is all about it, but don't let him deceive you. He is so aggressive when he plays sports at home, but when his on the field with the team he is very passive. He will run and keep up with the game, he just does not like to be in the chaos trying to get the ball. He rarely touches it, letting others do the work. He says he is having fun though. Being the competitive people we are, his dad and I would like to see a bit more involvement if we could be honest. He wants to play basketball this year as well, but I don't think Nick wants him to because he can't handle it if he has the same attitude towards basketball as he does soccer. We shall see. We still have eight more games this soccer season.

warming up

Easton was excited to sit with the team on the sidelines.

Nick's dad is helping to coach

Langston 2 months old

2011-09-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

So, time is continuing to fly by. Langston is now 2 months old and getting bigger every day. It is fun having a baby around the house again, and since she is so good it hasn't been that stressful either. So far I have been blessed to have even tempered babies even if they show their true colors once the toddler years hit. This month hasn't been nearly as busy since school started for both Kenan and Nick. We hit up the Reinhart Reunion and the Indy picnic, met some good friends of ours for the first time, visited Aunt Edwina and Uncle Art in Louisville and went to the zoo there, went swimming for the first time(and a couple of times since), hiked at Wesselmans, visited the Boonville Splash Park, hung out during Kenan's soccer practices, enjoyed the first football game, and much more.

Langston continues to eat every 3-4 hours during the day, but her nights have gotten longer. For awhile she had gone from 4 hours at a time at night to 3 hours because she got a cold and I think it woke her up. As she has gotten better the nights lengthened even more. Last week she had an 8 hour stretch at night and since then, most nights have been 6-7 hour stretches with a couple hours after that. She started smiling at us for real at about 5-6 weeks old, even though she still doesn't do it a ton. Usually it is right after she eats and she is in a good mood. I did love it last week when I had been at church without her because I came home to see her grin so big at me when she realized I was home. She stays awake more during the day although she still sleeps after each feeding. Sometimes it will be almost the whole time between feedings, where other times she will be awake a lot longer. If we are out doing errands and she is in the seat, she will snooze the day away. She has started to coo and make more noises as well as chew and suck on her fist any chance she gets. I don't think it is teething yet, but we shall see. When she is awake she can be very active and kick and move her arms like crazy. That is fun to watch. I don't have any weight and height stats right now because her appointment is behind this month. She doesn't go in until she is about 2 1/2 months. I don't like that because I want to compare her with the boys and that will be harder to do. Oh well, we shall see soon enough.

At the Louisville zoo.

Great-great-aunt Edwina, Uncle Stephen, and Tenley

They both crashed.

Isabelle loves to hold Langston. Granted it is for 10 seconds or less and then she is done.

Saw this on a card and thought it was cute.

Almost a smile

First football game.

Great-aunt Lynne

Family Time

2011-08-31T21:37:00.000-07:00

Since school has started we have spent the last two weekends of August with both sides of Nick's family. First we had the Reinhart reunion that is always in the middle of August. We met on Saturday for a pitch in dinner and saw some of his cousins along with some of the extended family. Then on Sunday we gathered again for a church service and catered meal. We skipped out on the service this year because it is almost 2 hours long and there is no nursery for the kids. The kids could do okay for about an hour, but beyond that would be pushing it and we would have been outside the rest of the time. It is nice to get to catch up with some of the family you hardly see. I really only took a couple pics of the kids just to document Langston's first reunion. I was not in a picture taking mood that weekend.

With Grandma Pam. The Reinharts are her side of the family.

The next family event was going up to Indy to visit with Nick's dad's side of the family. On Saturday we first got together with some of Nick's friends from high school who live in Indy as well. We met at a park that was actually just minutes from his aunt's house and played and hung out for a couple of hours. It was nice to catch up with the Mounts, Slaters, and Rabucks. After that we had dinner with some of his cousins and aunt Sherrie. We spent the night at a hotel, which the kids love to do. They were especially excited to get up and swim after breakfast. Once we checked out we met back at his aunts for a picnic lunch. We had a great time visiting that weekend and we loved meeting Corbin, Nick's cousin Doug's youngest. He was born last September and this was the first time we have been able to get together.

Alexa wanted to hold Langston the entire time.

Even Mitchell got to hold her.

Aunt Sherrie

Chillin at the hotel

She was a little cold after her dip in the pool.

Cousin Angela

Noel and Corbin

Doug, Drew, and Mike

Easton and Corbin were cute together

Alexa, Alison, Jessica, and Tina. Tina and Gary just got engaged that week.

Grandma Pam, cousin Brian, and Aunt Dawn

Uncle Gary relaxing with Langston

Kenan's First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Kenan is attending Scott Elementary this year for kindergarten. We decided to have him ride the bus so I wouldn't have to load the kids up to take and pick him up. It works out good because the pickup is two houses down on the corner of our street and another. Yesterday morning he climbed on just like a big boy. I told him as I was waiting that he was making me cry because I could feel tears welling up. He just looked at me and smiled. The hardest thing was Easton not being big enough to go with him. First Easton was sad when Kenan put on his backpack because he didn't have a little one. Then when the bus came into view Easton said "woohoo the bus" and then when he realized only Kenan was getting on he started crying. That afternoon when Kenan got off the bus I asked him how school was and he said "it was wonderful." The one thing I found out he didn't like was music class. He doesn't like to sing in groups. Today he had gym and he was much more excited about that.

Langston's First Time in the Pool

2011-08-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

So you would have thought Langston's first time in a pool would have been in the grandparents pool, but it wasn't. After 15 or so years their pool finally gave out last week. This came at a pretty good time with school about to start, but for those of us at home we could have still had a month of swimming left. Since we still like to swim we have had to make due elsewhere. So this past weekend we used Burdette passes Uncle Jonathan had given us and headed to the westside with some of the family. I didn't have a suit for Langston yet but I wanted to still take her in. I had a tiny cloth swim diaper I had used with Kenan so I just put that on with a onesie outfit. She sat on my lap for about 5 min. She cried right at first because I think it was a bit cold, but after that she just chilled on my lap.

The next time Langston got in the water was this past Tuesday in our backyard kiddy pool. I had since borrowed a small suit from a friend and since it was sunny out she wore a hat as well. Again we only sat in the water for about 5 min. or so because I didn't want her to be out in the sun for too long. She didn't cry at all this time and actually seemed to enjoy it.

Aunt Rebecca and cousin Navy

You have to take two pictures to get them all in it where they are looking.

Easton had to show us what he was doing as well.

So sweet

Holiday World, CMOE, and 4H Fair

2011-08-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

With only two weeks of summer break left we decided to go to Holiday World and then enjoy the 4H fair. We had purchased tickets for Holiday World at the beginning of the summer knowing we would go sometime. I was just waiting until Langston was big enough to leave because we didn't want to take her and have her out in the heat all day. Also, we wanted to be able to ride some of the rides all together since Easton was tall enough for more of them this year. My parents and sisters decided to go on a Monday and we figured it was a good enough day to join them. With all of the heat we had been having it ended up being a great day. It had rained the night before making things a bit cooler, but the clouds only hung around for the morning. By the time we got there it was nice and pretty out. We ended up staying from open to close making the most out of our day. We still didn't get to a good number of rides because of the lines. Kenan can go on almost all of the attractions now and he would to if we had time. Next year we may have to get there more than once to hit everything. Easton had a lot more fun this year as well because he could ride on a number of family rides. He looked so little with all of the big kids, but he would even go on the roller coasters if he was able to. He is fearless and wants to do everything his big brother does. Angie my sister-in-law watched Langston and she said she did a great. I missed my little girl since this was the first time leaving her. She had to have four bottles and she had only had one previously two nights before. I think she did okay with them but was glad to have me back.

The same week we went to Holiday World was the Vanderburgh County 4H Fair. The last couple of years we have bought passes and gone almost every day. This year with Langston and the heat we ended up going only Friday and Saturday night. Friday night my sister Michele sang in the talent show and they had the Tractor Pull. We mainly walked around and looked at the animals and got food after the talent show because the tractor pull is really loud. Nick did take the boys over to the grandstands to watch a bit of it though. Saturday night was the demolition derby. Nick and I have gone almost every year as long as we have been together. Since exposing the boys to it they now love it as well. This year Nick's parents came with us for the first time. My sister Michele also came as she has the past couple of years. We like to pick a car and see whose car makes it the farthest. Kenan won twice and Michele once. This was the first year we saw the whole demo derby because they shortened it for fear of rain. We even had time afterward to ride some of the rides. Kenan went on one of the big ones with my sister Michele and I even rode the Zipper.

Finally, the Friday we went to the 4H we also went to CMOE with Angie and Tenley. Gretchen had given us free passes so we had to add to our full summer by using them. Isabelle went with us as well.

All Tenley wanted to do was grab Langston's bow.

One month old

2011-07-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little girl is already a month old. She is already getting so big she doesn't feel as small anymore. At her appointment last week she was a little over 3 weeks old and already weighed 9 lbs 3 oz and had grown half an in. The doctor said he wasn't worried about HER eating considering she had gained almost 2 lbs in 3 weeks.

The last couple of weeks have still been fairly busy. We have gone to the Rochelle-Lander pool to swim. Although Langston just slept and I just waded. Langston has gone with me to two summer musicals. I am starting her out early since it is something I enjoy. We finished the summer reading program at the library, visited my grandma in the nursing home, started watching Navy and Isabelle again, swam at Oak Meadow with the Ryans, went to movies at Mesker, swam at Rebecca's aunts, went to the girl scout summer social, visited with mommy's friend Christina who is home from Africa, gave Langston her first bottle, and enjoyed Chuck-e-cheese. This week is the 4-H fair and we are looking forward to the demolition derby on Saturday.

Langston has been waking up a lot more during the day and actually a little more often at night. Now that she is more alert she actual wakes up to eat pretty much every three hours like clockwork. That is okay though because I am still able to sleep in after her six o'clock feeding. We shall see how I am once school starts and I have to stay up to get Kenan ready.

1st real bath wasn't until she was almost three weeks because the cord took longer to fall off

Langston's great-grandma Kathy

1st bottle(3 1/2 weeks)

Mommy's friend Christina

The Garden is Still Hanging on

2011-07-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

I finally pulled up my lettuce and broccoli from the garden. The lettuce looked good but was bitter tasting and the broccoli never produced fruit. The peppers are pretty pitiful, but two of them have a few peppers actually growing so I have left the, Everything else is doing well. I have picked squash, zucchini, yellow zucchini, cucumbers, some cherry tomatoes, and carrots. This past week is taking its toll on the garden though because I have had to prune back several areas on the squash and tomato plants that have browned and turned yellow from the heat.

Yellow zucchini, yellow squash, and green zucchini

Kenan was the one who wanted to plant carrots. These are the first ones picked.

I have lots of green tomatoes and not very many red yet.

cucmbers, squash, and zucchini

Bike Riding

2011-07-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Kenan was so excited last week because he learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He tried Tuesday night, but ended up having the training wheels put back on. Then Wednesday he wanted to try again because the neighbor boy was learning. It didn't take him long to get the hang of it this time. Since last Wednesday we have probably taken him out almost every day. He keeps getting better and better. He even said to me, "Mom, aren't you so proud?"

Here is Easton riding his bike.

Two Weeks Old

2011-07-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

The first two weeks of Langston's life have been great. She is sleeping fairly well for a newborn with stretches of 3-4 hours at a time at night. I think you are just used to less sleep with each consecutive kid, so it doesn't hit you as much as that first one did. If I take away the interruptions, I am still getting 7-8 hours at night. I don't nap throughout the day when she is sleeping because 1)she is always sleeping 2)we stay pretty busy enjoying summer stuff.

We got to enjoy 4 nights of fireworks over the holiday weekend. Three of them were shows we went to and one was fireworks we set off ourselves. We have been to the library twice, the drive-in, miniature golfing, bowling, and have run numerous errands. Langston just comes along and fits right in. Right now she is still sleeping a lot, although each day she does have a bit more awake time.

Cousin Tenley with Langston

Great grandparents Fern and Bill

My napping family. Notice who isn't napping?

Staring down his ball.

Easton really got into his shots.

At the drive-in with my sister and her boyfriend and his daughter.

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the Fourth this year by attending a lot of fireworks displays. We started out by going to Eagle Golf Course out here in McCutchanville Saturday night. They do a great show for the residents of the subdivision every year and we have gone over to watch the last couple of years. It is cool to be so close and they also last a long time.Nick's parents, his grandparents, my mom and Michele, my brother Stephen and his family, and my brother Jonathan and his family all attended.

Sunday night we went to my parents for dinner and then were planning on doing our fireworks that night. Since it was raining so much we decided to postpone them. Angie and Stephen were doing worship over at Northwoods church for their Fourth celebration so we went over there to hear them. Afterwards they still had their fireworks display so we stayed to watch those.

Monday, Fourth of July, we had a relaxing day. We went bowling with my family that afternoon, grilled out some steak for dinner, and then went downtown for the fireworks. We met my sisters, mom, Angie, Stephen, and Tenley downtown and walked to the riverfront where we sat right on the hill sloping to the river. It was a great spot.

Finally we finished up our fireworks on Wednesday night because that was the next night the majority of my family had off. We had a good selection of fireworks that we started around 9:15. We were almost done when some guy from the street over came by and said his dad was trying to sleep and sent him out to find out who was doing fireworks and tell us he was going to call the sheriff. My brother, a cop, kept his cool and told him we were on our last one and the guy was fine with that. We so wanted to tell him we looked it up and it was still legal in Indiana for us to set them off until 11 pm, but we didn't.

The cousins

Tenley liked the little chair

Shooting roman candles

My flash was so bright Navy couldn't be in a picture without closing her eyes.

Bringing Home Baby

2011-07-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

After Langston was born we stayed at the hospital for the next two days. Tuesday was a nice day with just the right number of visitors, not too few and not too many. Grandparents Pam and Mike brought me a blue coconut cream slush that evening, Maria Roate brought some choco-cremes(?), and Mandy Randolph brought some candy snacks from Fresh Market. Those were nice treats to end the evening. Langston got her pictures done Wednesday morning. She looked so cute in her green tutu and pink bow. The rest of the day was spent relaxing with our daughter before some family members arrived for a small birthday party St. Marys provides. Finally about 9:30 Wednesday night Langston was discharged and we left to go home. The boys stayed with us after the birthday party so we all got to go home as a family.

Visitors throughout the stay

Brittni Danks

Proud big brother

Easton with Langston

Aunt Michele

Leanne, Jonathan, and Bekah

Our nurse from the day, Amber

Aunt Rebecca

Amanda and Cooper

Emily and Izzy

Mandy

Grandma Wendy

Grandpa Mike

Cousins Emily and Owen

Her bow always ends up over her eyes

Family Photo

About to take her first car ride

And now there are three(and one is a girl!)

2011-07-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

So it is 10:45 on July 4th and this time last week we were sitting in our hospital room waiting for them to bring Langston to the room for the first time. I can't believe a week has gone by already. I wish I would have gotten a post up sooner, but I wanted to stay in order so I had to update a few other posts first. So, let me fill you in on how things played out last weekend.

I can actually start with Saturday because that night I started having more regular contractions around 5:00. Nick had gone to a basketball game so I just started timing them. They were anything from 5-9 minutes apart and not super strong so I just kept doing things. When he got home around 9:30 I thought we would take a walk. Some were closer now, so I really thought it may be the night and I put together a bag for the boys in case. We loaded the boys in the stroller and went to walk around the neighborhood. When we were walking they were coming almost 2min apart exactly. This got me excited, but I knew I needed to stop and rest again and time them to see if they stayed close. I really was unfamiliar with this part of labor because my water has broken with the boys both times and that is when I went in. So I laid down for around 2 hours and they went back to 6-8 min apart. Finally I told Nick we should just go to sleep and if they were going to come they would wake me up. And did they, NO. I woke up the next morning feeling hardly anything. I took about an hour walk while everyone was still asleep and probably only felt one or two. All day that was the case so I didn't think much about it. That night my sister and brother were at our house watching shows and I started to feel contractions again. This time I was standing up watching some tv and doing some dishes and they were about 3 min. apart consistently. I should have laid down again, but I was anxious. After about an hour, we asked James if he would stay at the house while we went into the hospital. We planned on walking the parking lot there in case they got closer before deciding to check things out. We got to the hospital around 12 and walked for about an hour. The same thing seemed to be the case though. On our drive in when I had been sitting they had slowed way down, but when we were walking they were 2-3 min apart. Finally around 1:00 am Monday morning I decided to go in to the building and just see what was going on. Sure enough they practically stopped while they monitored me so we decided to go home. We rolled into bed around 2:45 am. Well 4:15 am and I wake up pretty sure my water had broken again. I had been asleep for an hour and a half. Now the ironic thing here is that not only has my water broken with all three kids(which doesn't happen often), but all three have been an early Monday morning. I went to the bathroom and then walked around a bit to make sure, Yep, I could tell. I wasn't feeling contractions yet, so I told Nick we would sleep for about an hour more and then go in once the main doors at the hospital opened. My brother had been asleep when we got home, so he had decided to just stay over. This worked out great since we were able to just leave again. We arrived at the hospital around 7:00am. I probably should have stayed home longer and just got contractions going there, but once you know things are happening you get anxious and just want to see how far along you are and how things are going. It was funny because our nurse from earlier came down to check me in and I told her I knew I was staying this time.

Now with the boys I had a number of people in my room for my labor so I like to let people know early in case they want to come. I know I think it is beautiful to see a baby being born and I don't mind if others want to be a part of my delivery. I texted a few friends, but a knew most were working at this time. One of my good friends, Amanda, asked if she could come though. She has been at the hospital with both boys, although for Easton she had to leave early and missed his birth. I was glad to have her come if she was able to work it out because I knew I would be walking a lot. My contractions were still very inconsistent even though my water had broken and I knew they need to start coming on stronger. After getting my antibiotic because I tested positive for Strep B Nick and I started walking. When Amanda arrived she took over. The halls on the maternity floor get old really fast. Around noon we came back to the room and the nurse checked me. I had progresses about a centimeter which was good, but I still needed contractions to pick up. While she checked me though I did lose some more water and I think things got stirred up a bit. because during the next hour as I got more antibiotic I started to feel the contractions more regularly. By time we started to walk again around 1:30 pm. They were becoming painful and could be timed better. Amanda was great because she just kept me going trying to got things moving as quick as possible. After and hour I was getting tired because the contractions were now painful and quicker so we went back to the room. I had progressed to 6 cm and I still hadn't gotten an epidural. This was a first for me because usually I am throwing up by now because of the pain. I think since the contractions started so much slower this time it was allowing me to handle it better. Even though I didn't know if I would go the whole way, I thought I could keep trying. The next 2 1/2 hours became intense. Amanda was behind me massaging my back and Nick was in front where I could squeeze his hand. I don't know what I would have done without both of them. Finally around 5:00 I decided to get an epidural. I had thought maybe this time would go faster and I would be fine, but I realized I was starting to tense up too much and was hitting a wall. Although I know I could have made it, there were things I loved about my last two deliveries I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy if I kept going at this point. I love being able have people in the room for the birth and talking with them and just anticipating getting ready to push the baby out. I also like having the energy to push quickly. Both of these things I would have struggled with without an epidural. I am so glad Amanda helped me get as far as I did though. Even though it was painful, I wouldn't trade the process. I think it helped me to get to the point I was at because then I progressed really quick right after the epidural. By about 7:10 I was ready to push. By this time there was a room full because many of my friends had come by after work. Any boys went out to the hall(except Nick) and any girls who wanted to stay did. I think my mom, Gretchen, Michele, Pam, Emily Ryan, Amanda Seymore, and Nick were all present as Langston Hildegarte Wade arrived at 7:26 pm Monday June 27th. After that it was chaos. But coming from a big family I like that. Some of my small group came in, along with many other family members and a few other close friends. Rebecca, my sister'in'law, brought the boys in to meet their baby sister. They were hesitant at first, especially because they saw me and thought something was wrong. They eventually warmed up. It was great. I have said this before and I will say it again. Even with the pain, anxiety, and all the other emotions that go along with labor, it is my favorite part of pregnancy. I love the days my kids were born. I even miss them when it is over. As the people trickled out, I nursed Langston and the nurses got ready to take her to the nursery for a checkup. Nick and I said goodbye to the boys and got ready to spend the next two days getting to know our new little one. It had been an awesome day.

Just checked in

Before the contractions were that bad

Amanda and me in between contractions

During a contraction

Finally I was pushing

May I present Langston (she is still a girl)

Have you ever seen a placenta? Now you have.

First diaper put on was by dad

I love my doctor, Dr. Brown

Proud daddy and his kids

They love their sister

A few of my small group members

Izzy had to be there. She had been at Easton's birth as well(not it in the room though)

Our family

Our June Fun

2011-07-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Even though I was at the end of my pregnancy, I did not want to let that take away from the fun we like to have in the summer when dad is home. We have already been to the Splash Park in Boonville (and don't forget ice cream at Tasty Freeze), down to the pool on Lincoln, swimming at mom's, to the zoo, library programs where we are participating in the summer reading program, downtown for the air show, the drive-in, and more. Here are some of our fun pics.

The pool downtown on Lincoln

Downtown for the Air Show

Boonville Splash Park

At the drive-in to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and X-Men First Class

Easton's Half Birthday (#2)

2011-07-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Last year we started the tradition of doing a half birthday party for Easton since his birthday is right after Christmas. It is such a hard time of year to get people together for anything other than holiday parties and I didn't want to lump it together with one of those. Also, he doesn't really need any other presents at that time and in the summer he would be wanting some new stuff. Especially with his siblings celebrating right around that time. We do a little dinner and cake celebration for his actual birthday though, so we are not forgetting it. If he wants to change this tradition when he gets older we will.

So for his second half birthday he wanted a Cars theme. This was an easy one to go with considering Cars 2 was about to come out. We celebrated a little earlier than I usually would(June 12) because I was 36 weeks pregnant and was afraid we wouldn't get to it if we scheduled it for the end of June. I didn't have a whole lot of energy as it was. To do something different we had a cookie cake which I decorated with some cars figures we had bought. Since he is younger he didn't care about playing any games, so it was just a nice family gathering. Thankfully the weather was much cooler than Kenan's birthday weekend.

He liked his decorations

A sand and water table from the Wade grandparents

The babies were getting some ice cream bites

Enjoying his homemade ice cream

It is so hard to get a family photo with these crazy boys

Annual Indy Picnic

2011-06-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in June we went up to Indy to visit some good friends of Nick's from high school. Although we don't see each other often enough, I am glad that we can still stay in touch and catch up on the goings on in our families. It is always a fun time. This year we were missing the Mounts because they were on vacation celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. Yay for them. I love it that our friends are demonstrating that true love with God at the center can make for healthy marriages that last a lifetime. And this is even when God has brought storms in many of our lives to weather through. May we all continue to put God first in our families and reap the harvest from it.

We had a great visit and I am glad we chanced it. I was a little worried because I was 35 weeks pregnant that weekend and I had Kenan right about that time, but my Doctor thought I would be fine. The only problem seemed to be the heat and some swelling. I was glad Jess Rabuck was feeling pretty good that weekend as well. She was 13 weeks pregnant and for most that is over the sickness hump, but not for her. She usually suffers with extreme sickness for most of the first half. She did say she was starting to have some better days and Saturday of our picnic turned out to be one of them. The kids played really good together and loved playing on the slip and slide and little pool in the backyard. Thanks for hosting one again Slaters.

Breakfast at Rabuck's house Saturday morning.

Isaac Rabuck and Easton Wade

Ashton Slater

Grace Rabuck

Ainsley Taylor after Dave got done styling her hair.

Garden is Improving

2011-06-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

So earlier I wrote about my garden problems this year. With the lightening of the rain and some sunshine it has started to come around. I did have to do a magnesium treatment on my tomatoes to help with fungus, but it seems to have done the trick. I will probably have to continue it throughout the summer though. I have also had to spray the squash with some insecticidal soap to keep away the insects, but so far I don't think any bigger critters have come to feast. I do have some chicken wire if I need it, but I hope not to.

Lettuce that has finally grown.

Swiss Chard, broccoli (that may never fruit), carrots, and some cilantro on the side

Tomatoes with some basil along the sides

Peppers

First cherry tomato growing

Squash, zucchini, and cucumbers

Garden as a whole

A perennial from last year with some flowers I started from seed. They are just starting to bloom.

Kenan's 5th Birthday

2011-06-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

For Kenan's Birthday this year he wanted a super hero theme. The main ones that we went with were Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. I will have to say, Batman and Spiderman were easy, but Superman is hard to find. That stuff is more of a collector thing and they don't really even have decorations for it. I improvised though. As usual, we did a family cookout with just his good friend Isabelle being the only kid besides the cousins invited. We have so much family it would be huge to invite them and kids, and I am not ready for two parties yet. We like to use the theme and dress up a bit if it fits, so we had masks for people to wear. My dad came as the Joker, but took his makeup off shortly after arriving because it was melting and he was scaring a few of the little ones. Even though it was hot, we had a great time. Kenan said his favorite part was the silly string fight which I labled the web fight after spiderman. Now we are getting ready for Easton's half Birthday party this weekend. :) Next year we may have to combine some because we will have a third in the mix.

Cupcakes decorated by me. I was very proud of these and Kenan thought they were cool.

Batman defeating the Joker

The Superman Family

Batman Brothers

The kids table(minus the babies)

Baterang Game

We've Been caught!

Super Heros Unite

First Family Camping Trip

2011-05-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took the boys camping for the first time. Not only was it the first time with the boys, but for Nick and I to go together as well. Neither of us are big camping people, so it is just something we have not chosen to do together. We like the outdoors, just not sleeping outside. The boys got flashlights and sleeping bags for Christmas this year from their uncle Gary, so Kenan had been asking to go. This past weekend happened to be Gary and Kenan's birthday weekend and Gary was going camping with his girlfriend, Tina, so we decided to tag along.

We ended up having a great time. I would have preferred going for the first time when I was not 33 weeks pregnant, but I did my best. We were just going to stay Saturday night, but when there was the threat of bad weather we decided to stay Friday night instead. When the weather ended up staying nice, we decided to stay Saturday as well because we were having a good time (and I was not looking forward to packing up all of the stuff you have to bring to camp). Going camping one night is almost not worth the time and effort. Gary and Tina have a camper, but they used to use a big three room tent that they let us use. This worked out great for our first time because there was plenty of space and since we were at the campsites with electricity we even had a fan in the tent. It rained just briefly, but both times we were still in the tent or camper. Also, we were right across from the shower house and restrooms which made it nice for this pregnant girl.

We did a variety of things such as going to the nature center, playing on the playground, riding scooters, and going on an edible plant hike. But the boys favorite activity had to be playing in the sand on the beach and swimming in the lake. They loved this. I joined in a bit because I was hot, but Nick just watched us. On Saturday night Nick's parents came up for dinner and Tina made jambalaya over the fire. It was really good.

One thing I am extremely grateful for is that our boys like to sleep. The sun came up around 5:30 and although it woke Nick and I up, we had no problem falling back asleep. Now most kids would have gotten up as well, but luckily our boys slept until almost 8 the first day and and even later the second. Not that we needed to sleep that long, but it gave us time to get up ourselves and get ready for the day.

I would have to say the experience was a success because Nick even said he wouldn't mind making this a birthday tradition for Gary and Kenan (and Nick is even less of a camper than I am).

Kenan's Preschool Graduation

2011-05-13T11:59:00.001-07:00

Tuesday May 10, 2011 Kenan had his preschool graduation from Friends Forever through CFC. He has gone there the past two years and we would highly recomend it for anyone looking for a preschool. They had a very nice program which consisted of the kids singing many cool songs while wearing shirts they had made, a picture slide show, and the awarding of diplomas. When they awarded the diplomas, the kids had changed into caps and gowns and looked so beautiful on stage all in white. Kenan was a little shy at first, but warmed up quickly and really got into the songs. He was so proud of himself as he came off stage. Easton was the first to greet him and it was the cutest sight. I can't believe he will be going to kindergarten next year.

His teachers Ms. Michelle and Ms. Betsy. They were so good with him.

At the cookie reception afterward.

Here are some pics from the singing part of the graduation, as well as one last pic taken outside his classroom before graduation started.

The Past Few Weeks

2011-05-09T22:32:00.001-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been full of sickness for our family and combined with the constant rain it has been nice to have some sunshine. I taught multiple Truth Talk classes at North last week and that was a stretch for me because I was starting to come down with the illness that has gone through the family. Monday I barely had a voice and was lucky to even have that since I couldn't even talk on Sunday. I felt fine though so I didn't think anything about it. By Wednesday I had a voice again but was starting to feel miserable. Needless to say I had to call Chris and have him teach the last class Thursday by himself. Thanks Chris Chaudoin. I feel so bad because Nick came down with this stuff Saturday. He thought it was his allergies kicking in because he was outside in the yard all Friday, but today he was miserable and had a fever and chills. He has been confined to the bedroom and says he is feeling better and will be at school tomorrow. It is the last two weeks before finals and he is trying to finish everything up. He never gives himself a break.

Besides being sick and being cooped up in the house, I have been trying to get my garden going for the year. It started out well, but hit a stand still a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if it was the rain, my soil, or something else, but the plants I started outdoors kind of stalled and have not grown the way I would have liked. My dads lettuce is already edible and mine has looked the same for a couple of weeks. It isn't dead. It still looks good, it is just barely growing. I have since added some organic fetilizer and feed in hopes that it will help before it gets to hot for those veggies. The transplants on the other hand have had their share of problems as well. Right when it started the never ending cycle of rain I think they were at the point of needing to be either placed out in the garden or transplanted to bigger pots. I didn't want to spend money on more pots or soil so I decided to wait it out and that turned out to be the wrong idea. Everday they started to look worse. Finally I got them transplanted thinking they would turn around. A few have, but the tomatoes just got worse. I don't know if they developed a disease or were just poorly nourished. I ended up going to buy some plants this weekend and pulling up the transplants. It saddens me because last year I was so proud of the fact that my garden turned out great and it was my first year and I had done everything by seed. Oh well. I just hope the new things I planted stay alive. I am really trying to figure out what I need to do, whether it be to the soil, etc. There is a lecture at the library this saturday about vegetable gardening and I plan on going. Maybe my questions will get answered and everything will turn around.

Johnson Visit for Easter

2011-04-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got to celebrate Easter with my sister and her family as well as spend a couple of days together. The last time we had seen them had been last July and we hadn't even expected to see them this soon. A couple of months ago Allen decided he wanted to drive across country and stop in multiple cities along the way for his business. Heidi and Nara decided to come along if the could make an extended stop in Evansville to see family. Except for the constant rain, we had a great visit.

They arrived late Thursday night, but we didn't get to see them until Friday. Some of the girls decided to go get pedicures while Jonathan watched the kids. Thanks Jon. After that, Nara came over to our house to play for the afternoon. They had fun because I was watching Isabelle so it gave her another girl to play with. Friday night after dinner we hung out at Jonathan's house and played games.

Saturday we had pictures scheduled at JC Penneys for the grandkids. They looked really cute together, but inevitably we could not get all of the grandkids to cooperate at once. We ended up with a very true to life picture :) That evening we through an early birthday party for Nara because she is never here on her birthday. She was very excited because she didn't know we were doing that. Gretchen's boyfriend came with his daughter Maggie and the kids had a blast together. After everyone left, Nara spent the night with the boys. We thought we may have to hear Kenan and Nara talking all night, but they went to bed really well.

On Sunday the kids woke up to have breakfast and then go through their Easter baskets. We picked my sister up for church and met some more of my family there. We were hoping to get in an outside Easter egg hunt, but by time we got together that afternoon it was raining again. Kenan came out and said,"Why did God have to ruin Easter with rain." He wasn't happy about the fact it had been raining so long. We helped raise his spirits a bit by having an indoor egg hunt with the cousins. My cousin's wife Alicia and her kids, my aunt Tina and Uncle Matt, and my Uncle Kenny and Aunt Caroline joined us for dinner. It was a nice celebration.

The last day together was pretty relaxing. Kenan got to stay home from preschool so he would have more time to play with his cousin. Emily my cousin came over for lunch with her son Owen. She had missed Easter even though she had planned to attend so she brought the Greek salad she had already made. My aunt Lynne stopped by as well to visit. Some of the guys went to a movie together while Heidi cut hair(something she always gets roped into doing while she is here). Later that evening about 20 of us got together at Zuki to celebrate Jonathan's birthday. It was a lot of fun. We sat at the Hibachi tables so that those who didn't want sushi could do the Hibachi. Jonathan of course got a big boat of sushi. The kids loved the food and were entertained by the chefs as well. Finally we finished up at Stephen's and Angie's house for coffee and brownies.

Even though we were sad that their stay was so short, we had a great time with the Johnson family. Hopefully we can get out to California to visit them again after Langston is born.

Last Leader Day of Preschool

2011-04-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

So, Wednesday was Kenan's last leader day of preschool. I can't believe he is already going to be in kindergarten next year. I have enjoyed going and helping out on leader day, as well as seeing how much he has grown over the last two years. This year since Easton was older he got to come along to all of the leader days. He really enjoyed it. Usually he thinks it is his school as well. I think he is going to be more of the show off though because he already is more outgoing than Kenan when we are there. Kenan is doing so well though, and I can't wait to see him excel next year. (tear for the end of a season)

2011 Garden

2011-04-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

As I said in my earlier update, we decided to do a garden again this year but this time in our backyard. I hope this is a family tradition we keep up because I love doing it for multiple reasons. Instead of doing a garden directly in the ground like last year we are doing raised beds because our soil is not very good. Right now we have two done, but we plan on adding a third. They are 12 inches tall and 3 feet by 6 feet in size. In the pictures you will see that only one is filled and planted in, and that is because I wanted to get out some spring plants this year. I will finish the second one and add the third in a couple of weeks when we transplant my indoor plants and direct sow some others. The seeds I started outside so far are two kinds of lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, broccoli, and carrots. Inside I have started peppers, tomatoes, multiple herbs, and some different varieties of flowers. The pictures show a progression of how things are growing so far. Kenan even started a few peppers and herbs to put in the windowsill, and they are coming up good as well. He is excited to see something he started from seed grow and flourish.

The Farm

2011-04-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

At the end of spring break we went to visit my great aunt and uncle with my brother and his wife and daughter. My aunt and uncle live on a farm in Charleston, which is on the Indiana side close to Louisville. We hadn't seen them in awhile since my aunt has had some health issues. It was a nice visit and it was the first time they had seen Navy, my brother's daughter.

Spring Break St. Louis Trip

2011-04-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

Since we didn't have a lot of time to go anywhere big over spring break, we decided to go over to St. Louis for a couple of nights. We got a good rate on a Days Inn, that although older, had a big indoor pool, indoor playground, and video arcade. It also had the continental breakfast which is always good for families. When we got there we just let the boys swim and then we went to dinner at the connecting restaurant. It was okay food, but we should have driven somewhere we knew of. The next day we went to the zoo. It was great weather for this. Again, when we came back to the hotel Kenan wanted to swim. Nick decided to take him while I stayed with Easton to nap. For dinner we went downtown to the Old Spaghetti Factory. This is a great place for families because you get a lot for your money. Afterward we took a carriage ride around Laclede's Landing. The next morning before we left, Kenan again wanted to go swimming. Can you tell which kid loves the water? I took him this time. After breakfast we headed home. We all wish we could have stayed a bit longer, but it was nice to get away as a family after a hectic winter season of basketball and drama.

Bugsy Malone Jr.

2011-04-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

A few pictures of my drama students from this year. Most of these were taken before the show of the different groups. I didn't want to bore you with the abundance of ones during the show, although I am very proud of these students.

Girl's Regionals

2011-04-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Girl's Basketball Regionals. The boys love to go on trips with the teams Nick helps coach.

Nick made a bet with the girls that if they won sectionals he would paint his nails black for the Regionals games. They painted them in front of the school during the pep assembly that day.

Time to update

2011-04-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

So, one of the reasons I don't blog as much as I do is because I like to include pictures with my posts and that is what seems to take the most time. Because of that, it has been almost a year since my last post and I apologize. I really would like to be better at updating this thing. I won't go back over the whole year because that would take forever. Instead I will give some 2011 highlights without pictures just to make sure it gets published.
Again the majority of our January and February was spent at basketball games. This year Nick transferred to North High School and was a part of the girl's program. He has worked with the girls before, but after being with the boys for 5 years you have to get used to the pace again. We had fun though and the best part was a sectional win. Second win in school's history for the girls.
I once again directed the school musical out at St. Wendel. This year we did Bugsy Malone Jr. It is a gangster musical written to be played by kids so it worked out well. In the past I have had practice 3 days a week, but this year I went to two day a week practices and just made them longer. Babysitting two kiddos and having older kids just makes it harder to get out to school three days a week. The kids did a great job(and my kiddos did well with everything also). We even had an article in the paper this year about our drama club. I am so proud of all the students I work with accomplish. Some people wonder why i continue to do something that takes so much of my time and I don't get paid for it, well here is one reason. This is a letter from a parent of one of my quieter students: "Thank you so much for all of your work and dedication to the St. Wendel School play! (Student's name) really enjoyed the experience and it was a great confidence builder for him!! Thanks for making a difference in his life!" Now I don't share this to make myself look better, but to show why I do what I do. Whether it is my kids or someone elses kids, I work with them to make a difference. Help them achieve their best potential and see the person they can become. That is what I have always loved about my career path. Whether it was when I was a full-time teacher, or a stay at home mom/part-time teacher.
The second aspect of teaching I have dome this year was to work with the Evansville Christian Life Center in a program called Truth Talk. It is an abstinence based sex ed. class that is taught to 5th-9th graders. It starts with a one day class for 5th a builds from there. I observed a bit last year and then got trained at the end of the school year. This year I have taught at Harrison, Plaza, ECS, and Lincoln. I will finish up with North in May. I have really enjoyed getting to share what I feel are vital truths to students at such a pivotal time in their lives.
The boys are getting so big. Easton just got potty trained last week. Although he does not have it down pat, he is doing great and will just get better. He really has been so much easier that I thought because he loved his diaper. I couldn't have asked for a better transition. This is good to because our third child, Langston, is due at the beginning of July.
Kenan is finishing up his second year at Friends Forever preschool. He has flourished this year and is starting to get excited about kindergarten next year. We had looked at sending him to ECS for the half day program, but felt it wiser with our finances to not spend the extra money. He is enrolled in Scott for next year and we are attending kindergarten roundup tomorrow. So far I am happy with what I have seen there, his favorite part is that daddy's new school is right down the road.
Finally, we are doing a garden again this year. Instead of at a friends house though, we put raised beds in our backyard. So far two are in and we will be putting in one more. They are 3 feet by 6 feet and 1 foot tall. The only thing planted outside so far are the cool crops such as spinach, lettuce, swiss chard, and broccoli. Inside we have started numerous herbs, flowers, tomatoes, and peppers. Kenan helped plant so he is very excited to see them growing so well. Hopefully I will get some pictures up soon, but that is all for now.

The Garden

2010-06-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

So this year my sister-in-laws and I decided to do a garden together. We started out planning to do it in Rebecca's backyard because she has the most space for one, but we ended up using some ground that a neighbor from church leases for a small fee. We thought this may work better in case nothing grew and we had just torn up Rebecca's backyard for nothing. So one weekend in early May we went out to start planting. The space that we had to use was much bigger than we planned on, but that was okay we could just use part of it. Also, we had an abundance of different seeds but we soon learned that we had missed the planting time for a few of our seeds. We may try those in the fall, but we shall see how the rest of the summer goes. The first things we put out were watermelon, cantaloupe, yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. We had started tomatoes and peppers inside, but they were not strong enough to transplant yet. Needless to say we did not know what we were doing. We were following a book and even then we were just winging it. The guy whose land we are using(Bud) had said he put down shredded paper in between the plants to help retain moisture and keep weeds from growing as much. Since we didn't have shredded paper we thought maybe sheets would just work. I don't know how much it has done, but it does look funny.

These pictures were after planting the first plants.

The beginning of cantaloupe.

After a couple of weeks we came back and planted the tomatoes and pepper transplants. Bud came out with a huge bag of shredded paper that he put down around the tomatoes. I guess he felt sorry for us with our paper sheets. In the row to the left of the tomatoes we planted carrots, onions, and lettuce. Who knows what we did, but none of that grew. We have since replanted that row with beans and they have come up pretty nicely.

Our first round of watermelon seeds bombed completely. They are the hills on the far left. We replanted with some new seeds and this time they all came up. Two of the cantaloupe hills came up so we let those be. All of the squash, most of the zucchini, and a few cucumbers came up really well. That is the row in the middle.

As we soon realized we had a large amount of land to weed since we spread the garden out so much. We didn't think that through very well. We decided to let the ground we weren't using just go to weed and concentrated on the rows between the plants. That is proving to be quite enough to keep up with.

Cantaloupe getting bigger.

Cucumber and yellow squash

Zucchini

The whole garden coming along pretty well.

Squash blossoms

The new watermelon. It looks like a lot of space, but they are bigger now and already taking up a lot of this and the fruit hasn't even started yet.

The yellow squash and zucchini have been the best so far.

I was so excited to see our first squash.

Kenan likes to help, but mostly he just plays. He is sitting in front of the watermelon and then our tomatoes are in front of him.

This was a fun day. The first zucchini picked.

Holiday World

2010-06-22T19:51:00.001-07:00

The first weekend in June we went to Holiday World with Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Angie and Uncle Stephen. It started out a little cool and cloudy in the morning(which was just fine with me) and ended up being a perfect sunny and 80 degree day. Last year Kenan loved Holiday World because he was able to ride a good number of the rides. This year he was just as excited. Easton was a bit upset that he was too little to ride some of the rides that Kenan was able to, but we made it work. Since we had some prego girls with us who couldn't do a lot, Easton had some buddies. The morning consisted of riding rides followed by lunch with the Expressway Dodge group. Angie's dad works there and he was able to get us tickets that included the park and lunch for a great price. After that we spent most of the afternoon in the waterpark. Kenan's favorite part was Monsoon Lagoon. He could have stayed there all day. Angie's parents were nice enough to watch Easton while he took a nap so the rest of us could go on a couple of the big slides. Kenan was tall enough for a couple of them. Finally, we went back in the park and closed it down on a few more rides. We were there from open to close(10 hrs) and we could have done more.

Easton couldn't make it to the end.

Kenan was tall enough for the bumper cars this year.

Easton just had to watch

Easton took a nap for most of the time at the waterpark.

Monsoon Lagoon

New Year's Eve through Kenan's Birthday (end of winter and spring)

2010-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

So I have decided that I have trouble keeping up with a blog. It is not so much that I don't have time to write in it, but every time I sit down to write I don't have the pictures on the computer or edited that I need to go with the post. Therefore I don't post and then another month goes by before I try again. This has been the longest gap yet, which is why I am covering such a big span of time. Hopefully I can stay caught up a little bit better this summer.

So, back to New Year's Eve. This year we did a family party and went to my brother Jonathan's house for the festivities. Both boys were up at midnight which I know is crazy for most, but Easton did have a nap from 9:30-11:30, he just woke up shortly before midnight because he was not in his own bed. The highlight of the evening was playing rock band with the family.

The 2010 year started off the way the past few winters have with more basketball. Nick's team did better this year than last finishing above 500. This made him a much happier person. The varsity was not as successful, but he still had a fun season. Good thing because it turns out that he is going to North next year so this was his last season coaching at Bosse.

I began another busy season of drama with practices occurring Mon, Thurs, and Friday. This year we did a play called The Curse of the Cobra's Kiss. It was interactive mystery play that I think the kids had a lot of fun with. This was my 7th year as drama coach at St. Wendel. I enjoy it so much, but it has definitely gotten more challenging as the kids have gotten older. I know I have at least one more year in me, but I hope I can do more.

During January and February we had a number of fun snow days with dad, which we love. Kenan had a great time sledding this year. He even went down the big hills by himself.
Easton on the other hand was not a fan of the cold. I tried to get him out for a few pictures, but he wasn't having it.

Both basketball and drama season ended right before spring break. This year we went down to Atlanta for a mini vacation to see Nick's family. The trip included a baseball tournament, Coke museum, Georgia Aquarium, Nashville Zoo, and some outlet shopping. It was a nice break after a busy winter.

April and May have been fairly quiet with just the normal things happening in our lives. Easton has gotten to be such a big boy lately. He wants to do everything his big brother does. I have a feeling he is going to bypass many of the things Kenan played with and did in the hopes of catching up with his big brother. Kenan finished his first year of preschool with flying colors. The only thing that they said he had not mastered and was still working on was "singing, dancing, and verbal responses in group settings," which he obviously gets from his dad. I got the Ns in school for talking to much. I am thinking he will probably never master that because he may always be the shy one in class. I'll take the shy over the obnoxious any day.

This brings us to Kenan's birthday. This year he wanted to do a pirate theme since he had seen Veggie Tales The Pirates who Don't do Anything. It was the first year we invited a couple of friends. The two friends we invited were Jonathan Kelle and Isabelle Ryan. Jonathan was unable to make it, but Kenan was excited that Isabelle was able to come. The rest of our family was at the party as well, which makes for a large gathering. To try and expound on the pirate theme we decided to have a table with costume accessories that people could choose from as they entered. Two years ago I had done a pirate play, so I had a numbered of things to choose from. Nick's job was tattoo artist since we at least made everyone wear a pirate tattoo if nothing else. Most were good sports and got into the festivities. We finished off the party with a few pirates games, presents, and cake. Since some of the presents he got this year included super heroes, he is already planning out his super hero party for next year.

Late,Late,Late Birthday Posting For Easton

2010-06-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

So before I posted about this past spring I have to put up Easton's birthday photos which happened right after Christmas. We are going to have a half birthday party for him at the end of June since I don't like that his birthday is so close to Christmas. It is hard to get everyone together for another event and right after Christmas it just seems as if he doesn't need anything else. So we decided to do a small gathering for cake and ice cream to make sure that it was celebrated. It was a good thing we waited because many people were not able to make it, just as I expected. We still had a good time though, and Easton got red velvet cupcakes with homemade peppermint ice cream. He loved his cupcakes so much he had two of them and probably could have eaten more.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

So I know this is over a month late, but I am finally writing about Easton's first Christmas. If you take out the part where our whole family got the stomach bug within a matter of days (excluding Easton and Rebecca) we had a great time. Christmas Eve was spent going to church at Blue Grass United Methodist for a Christmas Eve service and then down to the Helms for dinner and presents. I love that we have appetizers as our Christmas Eve meal. Yum!! Easton is eating most foods now, so he had a great meal as well. Both boys really enjoyed opening their gifts and Kenan was super excited about his CARS scooter he got from the grandparents. It didn't end so well for me as I was the first one to get sick and needless to say I didn't get to enjoy my dinner for long.

The next morning I was feeling weak but better which was good because we had to drive to Indy for Christmas with Nick's aunts and uncle on his dad's side. The boys first opened presents at our house which was fun because Kenan ran right out to the living room as soon as he woke up. We did a music theme from us, so Kenan's big item was a keyboard and Easton got a drum full of kids rhythm toys.

The drive to Indy was uneventful which was good and we got to use our new car DVD system. Once there we had a great visit. None of this side had met Easton and here he was almost one. The highlight of the day was seeing Nick's family play Rock Band because that is usually not their thing. On the way home Kenan was excited to see snow because he had been sad all day that it hadn't snowed yet. He thought that is what Christmas is all about. When he saw it he said"Look at my Christmas snow."

Our last Christmas was supposed to be that weekend with Nick's mom's side of the family. His aunt Terri was in town with her family and we were also going to get together with his grandparents. Due to the illness going through our family like wildfire though we had to postpone it to the following weekend. We did visit with his aunt and grandparents that Sunday and opened their presents.

Finally on Jan.3 we celebrated for the final time. By this day I think Easton was growing weary of opening presents because we had to pull him back down a couple of times to finish up. We had a great day with Nick's mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, brother, brother's girlfriend, and her son. Since we had planned on staying there all afternoon we got to put together most of the big items and let the boys play with them which was cute to watch.

Another Christmas down.

Easton 9-12 months and the rest of us

2009-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

So I have been horrible at updating this blog for the last three months. With school starting back and cross country season at the beginning of the fall and now basketball season, life has just been hectic. You would think I would still have time to update a bit, but with Easton so mobile, and Kenan a ball of fire, I don't have a whole lot of time in front of the computer. If I am, my time this fall has been taken with a new volunteer job I have been doing with the church. Once I get done with that, it is usually on to something else. That being said, I will try to highlight the fun things that have been happening this fall.

Next week is Easton's one year birthday and I can't believe the year has gone by so quickly. He still seems like such a little guy to me compared to Kenan at this age. By one Kenan had about eight teeth, tons of hair, and was walking. Easton on the other hand still just has two teeth(although the middle four on the top are coming through), very fine blond hair you can hardly see, and is content to crawl instead of walk. Kenan was not much of a crawler which is why I think he walked so soon, but Easton can move really fast and I think it is just easier for him. I know some people don't like it once they are walking, but we are on the go so much I am ready for him to do a bit on his own so I don't have to carry him everywhere. He can move all around the furniture and push his push toy, just nothing on his own.

I am still nursing Easton and probably will for the next 2-3 months, although we will gradually cut feedings as he transitions to milk and his sippy cup. This is another thing he hasn't done as soon. Kenan loved using his cup by about 10 months. Easton doesn't really like it. He would prefer to drink straight from a big cup with me helping him. He is eating almost everything he can mash with his gums, although he still struggles with some veggies if they are not blended. I still haven't given him honey, strawberries, or nut products yet.

As the year has gone by Easton has gradually gone from the 95% in weight and height to the 10-15%. The doctor isn't worried though because he is a great eater and he is still gaining. He said this is just probably his normal body composition, he just gained well in the womb and came out on the big size. I would agree since Kenan was really large for a preemie, but if you compare their sizes over the year, by 6mnths they both have about the same weight and height and continue that. It has been fun to see the boys now interact so much and to see Easton's personality come out. So far he is a bit more laid back, but he still can have a temper when he wants to.

Kenan has developed a lot over the fall months. He started preschool at the beginning of September and I have loved seeing him meet new people and interact in a classroom setting. At first he would have preferred to stay home with me, but now he really enjoys it. Nick said we just do too many fun things. He has wonderful teachers, and I can see his desire for learning grow every day. He is also a great big brother. I know he is loving the fact that Easton can play with him a lot more, he is still just a bit too eager for some things. Many times I find him trying to get Easton to do something he doesn't want to do.

Sport season was another big highlight this fall. Kenan has so much fun interacting with the participants of the sports Nick coaches. He calls them daddy's kids. During cross country we had a runner go to Semi-state again so we got to go on an overnight to Brown County with some of the team. We did that last year as well, but this year Kenan really enjoyed it. Now that we are into basketball season, you can really see Kenan wanting to be a part of what daddy does. He will wear a whistle around sometimes and say that he is a coach. One of his favorite things to do is to ride the white buses that Nick drives the teams in. He thinks that is really cool.

As the year 2009 comes to a close, I am thankful for all God has blessed our family with and I look forward to another fun-filled year.

Easton 8 mnths

2009-09-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

This past month Easton has become so interactive. He just loves his brother and they will even sit and play(kind of) together for awhile. It is so cute. He doesn't like it when Kenan gets too rough though and thinks Easton can wrestle because he is getting bigger. We have started introducing fruits this month and have had bananas, apples, and peaches. So far he has been a good eater like Kenan was. I can already tell he has a few that he is not the biggest fan of though. Still no crawling, but he definitely is moving all around by scooting on his bottom or pulling himself towards things he wants. He is so quick if he has his eye on something. He also has been standing up against things a little bit, but he is still pretty wobbly with this. Kenan started preschool this month two days a week and it has been nice to get some quality time with just Easton. I can tell he is enjoying the individual attention and I have loved the extra bonding time. I loved that Kenan and I were buds and have missed the special times just the two of us got. I am trying to do that with both Easton and Kenan when I can.

Last August Weekend

2009-09-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks we have lucked out and not had any plans either Friday or Saturday night both weekends. The first weekend we decided to use that and spend a lot of quality family time. Friday night we went to Long John Silvers for dinner (Nick's choice). This was more of a treat because we do not eat out that much. After that we took Kenan to play miniature golf for the first time. He had received free coupons for Walthers in the summer reading program at the library and we decided to take advantage of them. I thought he did a great job at trying to hit the ball considering it is not that easy for a 3 year old. Easton enjoyed watching us from the stroller. When we got home the movie Herbie Fully Loaded was on and since Kenan loves cars he sweet talked us in to letting him stay up even later and watch the movie in bed with us (to give you an idea, we got home at 10:30 and the movie was just starting).

The next day was gorgeous and we took a day trip to Garden of the Gods. This is the first year we thought Kenan would be old enough to understand the danger and not run off. It was the perfect day. When we arrived we had a picnic lunch at the campgrounds and then went to hike the overlook. We didn't get to be as adventurous as we normally are since we were carrying an 8mnth old in a carrier and holding a toddler's hand, but we still climbed a lot. Kenan didn't scare me near as much as Nick with Easton in the carrier. I guess because I didn't have control. Since it was a beautiful day we saw a number of people. There were even two older couples that took pictures of Kenan because they thought he was so cute climbing and jumping on the rocks. It was a fun day.

Triathlon

2009-09-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

For the past three years Nick has run the team part of the YMCA triathlon and each year Kenan has done the mini kids run. The first year Nick pushed him in the stroller, last year Nick had to carry him much of the way, but this year he was excited to be a part of it and ran the whole distance. Not that it is very for, but about a 1/4 of a mile is a lot for a three year old. When Nick was coming in at the finish line Kenan didn't even want to go congratulate him because he thought he would miss his race. I think this is a good experience to expose the kids to, and I am glad Kenan has gotten to participate. This year along with the medal at the finish line (and his Gatorade of course) they gave them free bike helmets. He already has one, but it is the next size up so he can still use it in the future.

Anderegg Farm

2009-09-10T20:59:00.001-07:00

So at the end of August we took a short trip to visit my great Aunt and Uncle (the boys great-great aunt and uncle) who live on a farm in Marysville, IN. That is across the river from Louisvile, KY. They had not seen Easton at all except through pictures. Jonathan and Rebecca were free that weekend as well and decided to go with us. I have always enjoyed going to visit them and spending time outside enjoying God's beautiful creation. We took a hike in the middle of the afternoon down to the cabin that they had restored awile back. The grasses were a bit long so Kenan was getting very itchy and was having trouble dodging the cow poop, so we did not walk much farther than that. That evening we went to church with them and took part in their ice cream social after that. The evening was nice a relaxing just hanging out and playing games after that. The next day before we left Kenan got to help feed the cows. I think he thought that was cool. What an enjoyable weekend.

August Fun

2009-09-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

So even after Nick headed back to school we packed in a lot more summer activities into August. The Sunday before school we went to The Reinhart Family reunion. This is Nick's mom's side of the family and it happens every year. It is nice to see some of the extended family. The next few weeks consisted of bowling, swimming, playing at the park, the zoo, and just some good ole family fun time.

Easton 7 mnths

2009-08-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

So 7 mnths have come and gone and Easton is growing up so fast. We went to his 6mnth appt. late, so it was almost 7 mnths when we were at the doctor. At this time he weighed 16 lbs 2 oz and was 27 1/2 in long. Longer than Kenan was and a little lighter. We began introducing vegetables this month, and so far he has had avocado, peas, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Next we will do butternut squash and carrots. He is getting two solid meals a day and is good little eater. For liquid feedings we are down to five. Although there is no crawling yet, his legs are getting stronger so I think he will probably stand next to things before he crawls. He does roll from place to place though. Nick loved being home with him this summer because he really started showing his personality. One thing we are not liking is the temper coming through. He can really lose it if he does not get what he wants. I am trying to stick to my guns and not go soft because he is the second child. It is so much fun seeing him begin to play with Kenan. He loves his big brother and will look all over the place to find him if he can't see Kenan.

July Fun

2009-08-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

During July, the only thing Nick had to do with school was cross country three times a week. Since he would start at 7:00 and get done at 9:00, that left us with a lot of time to do fun stuff during the month. One week grandma Pam was off work and we spent a lot of time hanging out with her and our cousin Alex. She got to come to the library classes and then swim one day. That night Kenan and Alex both spent the night with her. They had a blast together. The next day we went to Gattitown to eat lunch and play games. We were there for 3 hours. Later in the week Alex got to come over to the Helm house to swim with Kenan and Easton. This was the first time she has gotten to come over to swim. The weather couldn't have been better.

Next we went to Holiday world with the Helm grandparents. At first we did not want to go because we didn't think that Easton would do well for that long of time, but in the end we decided to try it. I am so glad we did because he did great and Kenan had a blast. The weather was perfect for both riding rides and swimming. We stayed from open until close. Kenan was so worn out that he fell asleep in the stroller in the parking lot on the way to the car. Kenan was tall enough this year to ride a good number of adult rides with a parent, as well as some of the big slides. He was not scared of anything and had fun with all of them. His favorite thing was playing in Kimba Bay. Easton even got to participate a little bit. He went on the Old Fashion Cars and the lazy river with grandpa Greg and Grandma Wendy, and then did the wave pool and the bakari river with us. A lot of the time he just slept and chilled in the stroller, but he had fun.

Finally, one of our favorite parts of the summer came, the 4H Fair. I love it, but it does make me a bit sad because it always arrives just a few weeks before school starts back up. This year we decided to get season passes because there was enough we wanted to do that it would be worth our money. During the day we went to a llama show, a model rocket show, saw some of the talent show, and some of the horse shows. In the evening we went to the motorcross, the tractor pull, and the demolition derby. It was neat to look at all of the different projects the kids have on display. I can't wait until Kenan and Easton are old enough to be a part of it because it is such a neat learning experience. This year Kenan said he liked the demolition Derby the best. The Barnards met us there that night and we had fun watching the derby, riding rides, eating food, and our highlight-both vans getting stuck in the mud. That was an experience.

Besides some of these bigger things, we spent much of July swimming, going on picnics and to the park, visiting the zoo, fishing, and going to the summer musicals. We had a blast together as a family this year.

July 4th

2009-07-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great time this Fourth of July (with a few minor mishaps included). We started of the weekend on July third watching some fireworks the Eagle Golf Course put off for the subdivision. Kenan was really into them this year and couldn't wait to go buy some of his own. Even though it was raining, we went to the Helm grandparents for a picnic on Saturday. By the time we got there it had stopped raining, but we still ate dinner inside. After dinner we did some sparklers and a few little fireworks before going downtown to watch the display by the river. As we were leaving, Gretchen (the boys aunt) did not see that we had stopped at the end of the driveway and backed into the van. Although I knew there was damage, we were running late so I decided to look at it later. When we got downtown and out of the car, I realized the door was definitely going to need to be fixed. This was turning into an expensive fireworks display for Gretchen. Since we were still running late, we hurriedly walked to the Four Freedoms monument where we like to sit. As we were just reaching the museum, the show started and in my haste to cross the street, I stubbed my toe reinjuring it from San Diego. At least the Firework display turned out to good. After downtown, everyone came back to our house to set off some more of our own. Easton had to go to bed, but Kenan got to stay up. He really enjoyed the whole holiday. We ended up having left over fireworks and set them off again the next weekend.

Easton 6mnths

2009-07-22T11:55:00.000-07:00

Although the date is almost at 7mnths, I am just getting around to journaling about his 6 mnth changes. On June 29th Easton turned 6 mnths and definitely hit some milestones as well. Almost to the day he started rolling over from front to back. He was already rolling from back to front, he just hadn't gone in the other direction. Within a few days he also started sitting up by himself. At first he needed a pillow behind him, but after a week or two he was able to stay for long periods of time without anything. I think it makes him feel a part of the group because he can see more of what Kenan and daddy are doing. He loves it. We also started rice cereal in the evening. He likes to eat, so he caught on fast. The first day we did it he got mad because I didn't give him enough. I hadn't nursed him yet so he was really hungry. Now he nurses first and then eats shortly after. The last milestone that has occured is cutting teeth. The bottom two teeth started popping through at the beginning of July. They still have a ways to go to be fully through, but they are getting there. He has done great with teething so far.