I'm Not Afraid...

"I'm not afraid of pupcins (pumpkins) because ther jus plns (their just plants)"

By Abi Doehne

My Soccer Star

This fall Abi played soccer on a team with several 1st grade girls from her school.  They had weekly practices with games played on Saturdays. Luckily, the weather gods must have been watching over us because other than one game, we didn't get rained on.  As I recall, this is quite the opposite of when I played soccer as a kid and it was generally freezing and we were playing in the mud, in the middle of a downpour!
Watching Abi play, I'm not sure that soccer is her sport - she never scored a goal, in fact she didn't touched the ball much during games, however she never complained and for the most part, gave it her all throughout the season. She seemed to enjoy it (other than the day that she told me that "soccer was for boys") and I was really proud of her effort. After receiving a cupcake and a trophy at her last game, she told me that she would like to sign up again next season. We'll see if she is still as enthusiastic next fall...   

Abi's Team (minus 2 players)

A few of Abi's big kicks.  She is wearing number 7.

 Before this game, we watched the weather forecast and saw it was going to be raining.  Abi looked at me and said, "Well, it's too bad that our game is going to be cancelled because of the rain." Later that day, she asked her Grandma how she was going to play soccer while holding an umbrella :)

Of course our girlie girl needed a posed picture too! :)

Home

Brady singing his favorite song: Home by Phillip Phillips

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Or maybe I should title this post, "Brady Says the Darndest Things"....he has always been a funny kid but some of the things he has said over the past few weeks have really cracked us up!

* The other day when Brady saw a hot air balloon landing in a construction site, he said, "It is inappropriate to land a hot air balloon in a construction site!" (It is so funny to hear a 3 year old use the word 'inappropriate'.)

* As Brady was playing with his bulldozer by himself, we overheard him say, "Oofta toofta, this is hard work."

* Last week, after Brady pooped, he called for me (while sitting on the toilet) to help him wipe.  I did not hear him so when Josh went into the bathroom to see what he needed, Brady responded, "Next time the first person to wipe me gets a trophy."

* Brady is not sure how this whole breastfeeding concept works. When I told Brady that Natalie can't eat cookies yet, he said, "Yes she can. You eat it and then Natalie will lick it out." 

Guess Who?

It has been fun to hear everyone's opinion on who Natalie looks more like...Abi or Brady. When she was first born, both Josh and I thought she looked more like Abi but after looking at Brady's newborn pictures, I've changed my mind.

Abi

Brady

Natalie

You Know You've Been Married Too Long When...

you give each other the same anniversary greeting card!

Happy Anniversary Josh!  

Can't wait to see what the next 11 years bring us...

Three Weeks

My baby girl is already 3 weeks old! Remembering back to my births with Abi and Brady, the first two weeks are the toughest while everyone recovers, adjusts to their new reality and life resumes to some sense of normalcy. Overall, everyone is adjusting great.  Natalie is the perfect mix between Abi and Brady - she is easy going like Abi and a cuddler like Brady.  She is very sweet and gets more than her share of hugs and kisses - I have a feeling that this is going to be one spoiled girl! Just in the last week, she has become more alert, opening her eyes more and starting to make facial expressions. Her "witching hour" is generally from 11 pm to midnight each night when she is usually awake and crying, but once she falls asleep, she wakes up every 3 hours to eat until her normal wake up time at 9 am. During the day her favorite thing is to be held but she is also fond of the swing (which Abi basically lived in during her first 6 months of life). Given how fast the first three weeks have flown by, I am doing my best to remember and cherish all these newborn moments because soon enough I know she'll be all grown up and I'll be wondering what happened to my baby girl.

Abi LOVES being a big sister again.  I often find her sitting patiently next to Natalie, waiting for her to wake up and open her eyes so she can "play" with her. It's fun to watch her take on this motherly role.  The other day she told me that she "just can't keep her hands off Natalie" - she loves to rub her head, talk to her and show her things. Brady, on the hand, doesn't show too much interest. His behavior at times is a little less than desirable but I guess that is to be expected. At least he hasn't regressed on the potty training front, and for this I am extremely grateful! Oddly enough, this is opposite of how they acted when I was pregnant. Abi wanted nothing to do with me (or Natalie) when I was pregnant - she didn't want to feel the baby move or even talk about it. Brady was very curious about the baby in my tummy and would constantly ask me what Natalie was doing.

Natalie's Arrival

My original due date was October 8th however when I had ultrasound in mid-September, we made a decision to move up my delivery date based on her size.  Based on the measurements, she was projected to be approximately 10 pounds if we waited until her actual due date. We made the decision to move forward with a Cesarean Section on October 1st.  Natalie, however, had a different plan...

Looking back, it is not surprising that I went into labor a few days early. In the 24 hours leading up to Natalie's birth (on September 29th), I took a "stroll" through Ikea so we could pick up a few last minute things for the kid's rooms, attended Abi's soccer game, changed the sheets on the kid's bunk beds (which is enough alone to put someone into labor), ran errands and had our friends over for dinner. Actually, we never made it through dinner because before dinner was served, my water broke and we headed to the hospital.  Within 2 hours, our little Natalie was born weighing 8 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches.

First Moments

 

First Bath

All tuckered out after a rough night of being pricked and poked!

The next day, the kids and Arizona Grandma & Grandpa came by the hospital to meet Natalie...

After Brady met Natalie for the first time, he turned to me and said "Did your tummy go KABOOM and then she came out?"

On day 2, we finally got released from the hospital and headed for home...

Someone is not happy about being strapped in the carseat!

When we arrived at home, we celebrated Natalie's birthday - complete with cupcakes and presents! As we were celebrating, Natalie started crying. Brady looked up and said, "Is she going to stay here all night?" :)

B's Gift for Natalie

Abi's Gift for Natalie

A few cute pictures from the last few weeks...

Abi thought Natalie should nap with Rapunzel

My 3 Favorite People

My Big Helper

Natalie figured out how to suck her thumb and use the pacifier. We'll see which one sticks around!

This post would not be complete without a few thank you's. We are very blessed to have such gracious friends and family! A big thanks to Jami and Colin for helping - and educating :) - us when my water broke and we had to unexpectedly head to the hospital.  Thanks to our parents for all their help around the house and the many trips back and forth to school to pick up or drop off the kids. We also wanted to thank all of our friends and family for the overwhelming generosity - we appreciate everything you have done for Josh and I and the kids!

Welcome Miss Natalie Marie

On September 29, we welcomed Natalie Marie to our family.  She was born a few days earlier than expected, via cesarean section, at 9:17 pm.  She weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long.  Our little pumpkin is healthy and happy!