January 2013

Happy New Year!
This month we stayed in quite a bit with all the crazy sicknesses going around, and the cold weather. Katelyn is changing and growing so much. The kids still constantly love on her, sometimes a bit too roughly, but overall seem more used to having her here.
The big thing this month is that Abigail got glasses! She;d been having headaches, and we found out that she has astigmatism, so she got glasses the last week in January, and has been soo good at wearing them and taking care of them. She's adorable in them, too.
We did get quite the scare this month with a serious tornado warning. The carterville sirens were going off outside while the radio warned us to take cover, so we woke the kids and spent about an hour waiting it out in the downstairs bathroom. It was both scary and exciting.

February 2013

Let's see..



Valentines Day.
It was so fun to have Parker more involved this Valentines. He enjoyed receiving valentines at the library on the 12th, and Abigail LOVED it! Of course they loved getting candy too, but they looked at and laughed at their cards for the next few days. On the actual holiday, I had to take Parker to the doctor for his bloated little belly (for which he has to go on a lactose-free diet for 2 weeks), while Abigail went to our neighbor/friend Jenny's. They made a little craft and played BINGO, so she had a blast. We then met up with Nate for lunch at Moe's, ice cream at Cool Spoons, then after saying goodbye to Daddy, we went to the Castle Park. It was fun, and after work Nate brought sweet Valentine gifts and cards home for all, so it was a very eventful and memorable holiday :)
Great news is that despite Abigail and I getting glasses, Nate still has 20/20 vision :)

December 2012

This was quite the month with adjusting. Nate was back to work full time, the kids were still getting used to having a baby in the house, and we stayed indoors a ton due to the cold.
Nate got an entire week off for the holidays so that was really nice to have him home. We had all the plans to go places and see things, but it was just sooo cold, we stayed home. We did get snow though, so he went out with the kids for that, and they had fun, except Parker wasn't a big fan of the cold. We got a sled, but the snow was so soft it didn't slide.

June 2011

 This month we had the usual day to day activities, like sharing toys with Parker, swimming in our new pool, and babysitting Cadence and Annabelle, and watching Parker grow and chunk up more each day.
We also got the chance to spend Father's Day in Round Rock with Brandon, Julie, and their family. Nate's parents were there as well, and it was a really fun visit!

November 2012 Part 1

Before our little Katelyn arrived, I was trying to soak up all the last moments with only 2 little ones.
Our life was busy and full of creative ideas from Abby and Parker, who loves to do what she does.
Our typical routine was this:
Wake up at 8. Breakfast at 8:15. Play. Snack. Nap for Parker at 12:30ish, while Abby played educational games on the computer. Eat lunch. Play outside. Eat dinner. Play. Clean up. Bedtime.
We'd throw in trips to the park, storytime at the library on Tuesdays, and weekly store trips. I had it all figured out with 2, and the thought of a third was both exciting and a little scary :)

Katelyn Elise Sewell

My mom is a saint. She offered to come out and help when our little #3 came along, and unlike her older brother, this little lady was willing to stay put until grandma could come and ease all stress with babysitting, cleaning, the works. I'd started having contractions on and off, so when my mom got here, I went all out, mopping the kitchen floor (on hands and knees), lifting my kids, even shopping and using the eliptical at Sears. It worked enough. I started having contractions again - at least enough to justify going to the hospital. What I failed to check in advance was who the on-call doctor would be that day: Dr. Scott Joyner, who also happens to be our bishop. I was a bit hesitant, but determined to have our little lady that day (also happening to put exactly 4.5 years to the day between her and Abigail), so he went ahead and broke my water (quite awkward) and about 4 hours later, our beautiful little girl was born, weighing 7lbs 6oz, and with a ton of auburn hair. Her sweet little cry sounded just like her siblings, and she was sooo sweet. She really has such a calm disposition. Nate got to cut the cord, and she got her first bath there in the room. 

Nate went home that night to be with the kids so Mom could come meet her, and they brought the kids to meet her the next night. 

It was really sweet, the hospital gives a nice celebratory dinner in the room for 2, so I asked Mom to be my date. It was great.

We stayed 2 nights at the Heartland Regional Medical Center, and we finally settled on her name just before leaving to take her home. I'd been set on Sadie Kate Sewell, but Nate wasn't a fan of the name. We both liked Katelyn, (it was weird/tough though, our neighbors and friends the Allphins have an infant named Katelyn as well) and when we saw her, that name fit her best. We ran through a ton of other names to be sure, but nothing else fit as well. It was funny, we even settled on Katelyn Elizabeth and wrote it on her birth certificate, but changed our minds last minute to name her Katelyn Elise after one of Nate's grandmothers. 

The name fits her perfectly.  

Abigail's 3rd Birthday!

Abigail was pretty lucky this year. We decided to not have a friend party, but since her birthday was on Sunday, we celebrated on Saturday, too. It was a ton of fun.

Saturday: we left early for the Zoo in Monroe, then went to the Pecanland Mall to go on the carousel, then opened a gift at home.

 

Sunday: we went to church, decorated Abigail's cake, then had a small family party with the grandparents on skype. It was fun, and she was hilarious. She has such a vibrant and fun little personality!