Collin's Blessing Day

Collin Dane Reeder was blessed/named by Daddy at Church on August 1st. Here are some pictures of him and his adoring family. We especially love the picture of the three boys together. Oh, the fun times we'll have with this crew!

Didn't Have to Wait Long...the Collin Story

Well, I guess Heavenly Father knew I was ready to be done, because the day after writing my last post Collin Dane Reeder was born. Here's the story.

I started having contractions at about 2:30am. Very reminiscent of how labor with Nathan began. I kind of slept and kind of was awake until 6:30am when Brian woke up and I asked him what was on his schedule at work for the day. He asked, "Why is something happening?" and I confirmed that "yep, I was having contractions, but I don't like to get to excited about things until I know for sure where they are going."

I called my Mom to warn her that she would probably be needed to watch the kids and then after some contemplation and deciding that it probably wasn't the best idea to keep our zoo visit for the morning on the schedule, called my sister-in-law to cancel that.

After everyone was up and moving, we decided Brian would go to work for a couple of hours and grandma would come to our house with my sister-in-law Caryn and her kids. That way, grandma could take our van and my kids back to her house after everyone played for a bit.

During this whole time I was having contractions every 5-10 min, but they weren't that intense so I wasn't too worried. The crew got here about 9:30am and we played with the kids, ate pizza, and shared labor and delivery memories. About 10:30 everyone started guessing what time the baby would be born. My Mom said around 6pm and Brian said 2:20pm. My contractions were getting closer (like every 3-5 minutes) so around 11am the crew decided to take off. I still wasn't convinced that I was that close, so I held off for a while longer while I pittered around the house cleaning a few things and getting all ky stuff together. Finally about 11:40 we headed to the hospital.

I was having contractions all the way there but still thought I remembered them being harder with Nathan and thought I was probably about a 5cm or so. We parked and I had to stop on the way up to the hospital a couple of times because I couldn't walk through the contractions any more.

When we got there I started checking in. It's amazing at how many times they make you answer the same questions. I had pre-registered, but it didn't seem to matter and I still had to give a medical history and answer other questions first to the treage nurse, then to the medical students, and then confirm it with the resident. By the time the finally checked to see how far along I was (about 12:45) I was dilated to a 9 and they wisked me away to a labor and delivery room.

Going in, I kind of wanted to do it without an epidural but wasn't dead set on it. Unfortunately, I gave into the temptation for a little relief and went ahead and got one. I'm not sure if it helped or not. The contractions did seem a little less painful towards the end but I could definitely still feel them and my legs didn't feel numb at all until after everything was done. The one thing it did do was give me something to focus on other than the contractions....although I still kind of wish I had done without!

When I was finally ready to push, it went super quick. Three or four pushes and he was out. He looked pretty blue when he came out, but pinked up fast. He weighed 7lbs and was born at 2:20pm on the dot just like Brian predicted...he was pretty proud of that.

So far he is a very easy baby, and we are so glad he is here with us!

When will he get Here????

Ok, so I'm trying really hard not to get antsy about this baby coming already...I mean it's still 2 weeks to my due date. Everyone telling me how I look like I'm about to go any minute isn't helping either becasue then I just get frustrated that I'm not! Also, I'm starting to feel like my life is on hold and I can't do anything until he gets here. Mostly this has to do with the inability to move very well with the huge basketball in my stomach...

I can't seem to get the house picked up or cleaned because it take so much effort to pick things up that by the time I get a few put away the kids have taken out twice that much...then when they finally are asleep and I do pick up, I'm just way too tired to do any actual cleaning and then mess is starting to drive me nuts.

I can't seem to find the desire to start some new project to keep me occupied. Partly because I know I probably won't get to finish it anytime soon...and I hate unfinished projects. Secondly because a lot of the projects I want to do take more than a few dollars to do and we don't have the mula right now:(

I can't exercise or go running to start training for the marathon I want to do in January.

I can't seem to keep up with the kiddos when it comes to energy and they are getting frustrated that I don't want to spend all day swinging, lifting, building, and playing.

And the list goes on.

I've pondered why I didn't feel this way with Isaac or Nathan and then I remember...oh yeah...I was teaching crazy inner city 10th and 12th graders the day before Isaac was born and I spent the weekend moving out of our house and into another the weekend before Nathan came. I think I need a major life even to keep my mind off of this:)

Ok so that was pretty negative. I really am also very grateful just to know that I will be having a healthy baby boy sometime in the next couple of weeks. I just have to keep reminding myself that occasionally! Hopefully I'm not the only one like this at the end of pregnancy!

Isaac and His Body

In prepartion for the potty training that we started with Isaac in Feb. I read several books and all of them said to use the correct words for various body parts. This has somewhat backfired with Isaac.

He loves the "p" word. Yes, you know which one I'm talking about. These days not only does his "p" tell him when he needs to go to the bathroom, but also if he is hungry, tired, etc. It took me a while to convince him that his tummy told him he was hungry not his "p".

Now he is mixing up other body parts as well. "Mom my toes say I'm tired," and "Mom, my fingers are hungry," are common phrases I hear.

Somehow I'm sure we'll get all these body parts sorted out, but it sure does make life interesting!

Family Photo Shoot

Nathan Turns TWO!!!

Wow! I now have no kids under the age of two...at least for another 3 months. Nathan had a great 2nd birthday. Our friends came over in the morning to play and help me make his awesome train cake. Thanks Texas we couldn't have done it without you! Then later in the day grandma and cousins came up for the celebration. We went to the local park and had pizza, played, and then ate cake and opened presents. This birthday cake was much more exciting than the last. As I was cutting pieces for everyone, Nathan decided to just help himself and starting grabbing handfuls and putting them on his plate. I think his favorite...the favorite...present of the night was the toy animals grandma got him. Everyone grabbed a few and were playing and we had a hard time getting Nathan to open more presents. Luckily his little cousing Jenny was only to willing to help! When we got home the boys just wanted to play with all the new toys even though it was past bedtime. All in all, a fun day!

A visit from Friends

We had some good friends from our time in Springfield come to visit so we had lots of fun this weekend. We went to the zoo and also braved the beach at Galveston. It was tons of fun having them here and ever since they left this morning, Isaac has been asking me where they are. We miss you Lindsey and Tricia!

Baby # 3

I guess I should make an official post since I've had the baby ticker up for about a month now. Yes, we are expecting number 3 in June...the 27th to be exact. My kids seem to like 7's and so do I. My birthday is 10/7, Isaac's is 9/27 and Nathan's is 3/17. Though I have to say I'm kind of hoping this one comes early again like Nathan. I had an early ultrasound at 11 weeks and it was already pretty obvious that we are having another BOY. I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed at first, but I love my boys and now am excited as ever. We were totally girl focused though and are having trouble coming up with a boy name we both like. I guess time will tell.

Sand Box Swimming Pool Adventure

Even though it is cold outside, Texas cold like 50 degrees, I can't seem to keep the boys in the house or away from the water. Lately they've decided that filling up the rest of the sandbox makes a pretty fun mudpit. They've done this several times now and after about an hour, I have to very wet and cold kids (not that they seem to notice) and a very wet back yard. This means time for a warm bath...and they enjoy that too! Can't wait til it warms up and I can just fill up a pool for them and not feel bad!

Home Depot Project

The first saturday of every month home depot does a free kid's class. The first time you go they give the kids and apron and then they earn a pin for each project they complete. This month they were making wood calendars that let the kids keep track of the month, day, and day of the week. I knew Isaac would love it because we had a little christmas decoration with blocks that you change each day to count down to christmas. They boys had fun hammering the nails in and helping put the stickers on. Thanks Home Depot. Lowes also does classes like this but we've never gone before. This next Sat. they are making clin banks so I think we'll try it out!

A couple of hours later...

It's Snowing...in Texas???

This is what's going on at our house this morning. Hard to believe that a week ago we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. It's not sticking to the ground yet, but it sure is coming down good. Weather channel predicts 1-3 inches. We shall see. Maybe we'll even get to build a snowman!

Cool at Last

We spent most of the day out and about. First we woke up early and took care of the yard work. Then we headed to the park and to do a little shopping. We finished the day at the zoo with a train ride to herman park. What a fun day. I love cool weather.

Isaac

I've been trying to get out of Isaac what he might like to be for Halloween. I really want him to WANT to be it because we have a hard time getting him to wear costumes. Last year it just about killed us to get him into a pair of chaps and a cowboy hat for five seconds to take a picture. Anyway, I was talking to him asking him if he wanted to be a pirate or a fireman and he looked up at me and said, "Mom, I want to wear my clothes. I just want to be Isaac." What do you say to that???

On another Isaac note...he loves orange shirts and we have a hard time getting him in anything else. He also loves orange lights...anytime we're driving he tells me, "Mom I don't like red, I don't like green, I just like orange." My three year old definately has a favorite color!

Lastly, he definately knows his age. Before his birthday, if you asked he would say...I'm almost three. Now if you ask how old he is he says 3, what his name is...3, just about every question about him can be answered with the number 3!

Isaac's Dora Birthday Adventure

Isaac turned three a week ago and yes we had a Dora birthday party. I know, I think Brian is mortified that his son loves Dora. We're hoping to move onto Diego and other more manly cartoons soon!

For those of you who watch Dora, you know they always go three places. We needed to help the pirate piggies find the buried treasure, so we used map to help us know where to go. First we had to cross star bridge and open the star gate by finding all the stars.

Next we had to cross the fishy ocean. We sailed through blue balloons and paper (didn't get a pic) and then we caught some fish.

Lastly we went to sandbox island where we dug up the buried treasure.

After finding the buried treasure we decorated treasure chests and then had "cake" and presents. Isaac isn't a big cake fan so I made a platter of some of his favorites...cookies, strawberries, muffins, and candy. His big present was the sandbox, but he also got some fun new games and blocks as well. We had a blast.

Long Overdue...

Ok, so I have been a very bad blogger of late. There's just something about not having your own computer handy that keeps me from getting it done. Anyway for the update.

In May we moved to Texas to live with my parents where Brian was starting to work at a new practice. It's been a full house, since my brother and his wife and new baby who just graduated from BYU also is living with my parents this summer.

We've been playing weekly ultimate frisbee with Julie's friends, we went to Galveston and saw that is wasn't totally washed away by IKE, we've spent time with cousins, gone to the park, and just enjoyed being with family. We've also been house hunting this whole time and finally found something we hope to move into in mid-September. Brian's excited because it means he won't have to do his hour long commute any longer...hurray!

Right now we are in WA visiting Brian's family. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and we've had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of our trip.

A Trip to TX

At the end of march I was able to make a trip out to TX with the kids to see family. I drove down all by myself which was quite an adventure. We made frequent stops, but we got there eventually. Actually, Nathan was really good, it was Isaac that kept whining! While in TX we got to visit with family. Isaac and Nathan love playing with their cousins and especially with Grandma. I also got to go see LEs Miserables with my sis, mom, aunt, and sis-in-law. It was absolutely amazing. I've been wanting to see it ever since I read the book last summer (totally reccommend it to anyone looking for a good book) for a book group. Lastly, if you hadn't heard, we are MOVING TO TEXAS. That's right sometime in the next month and a half we will make the move. Brian was originally going to buy a practice in the Houston area he found and liked, but Heartland liked him so much they offered to buy it for him and let him run it in order to keep him. We feel good about this decision since it will be less risk for us in this economy...plus we will for sure always get a paycheck. Anyway, that's it for now.

(Pool pic is at the Y in Springfield)

Nathan's Birthday....way late

The morning of his birthday I found Nathan inside my pots and pans cuppard. Later that day we had a little party at the park with some friends and then also that night with family. Nathan did a great job enjoying his cake!