Cuz leavin on a Jet Plane

Grandpa L* is turning 90! I'm looking forward to spending time with him and family. I'm sure this celebration will be filled with lots of memories! 

I must admit though, I'm also looking forward to a few nights sleeping in a hotel room. I can't wait to roll around in my bed with pillows all to myself. I plan on sleeping sideways across the entire king sized bed!! WHOO HOOO!!

So kiss me and smile for me! 

Sam had such a great time at his bday party! I think the highlight for him was shooting balloons with a Red Ryder BB gun. He also really enjoyed his Captain American suit that GaGa & Grandpa got him. I can't believe my little boy is 6! This is going to be an amazing year for Samuel! I've never known a kid so eager to start school. Next fall he will enjoy seeing friends everyday and learning to read and write. I'll have watch out for him searching for instructions on bomb making while on YouTube! :) Sam is so bright and charismatic, I can't wait to see where he goes in life!

Happy 6th Birthday Samuel!

Happy Birthday, Samuel, you have big boots to fill now!

Happy 11th Birthday M*!

Christian's 13th Birthday Party!

 The cake!

The food!

The fun!

The song and presents!

10 signs your not getting enough sleep

#10)  Inability to Handle Stress.

Check! I've always though of myself as patient parent. And for the most part I am. But with days and days on end with very little sleep, my kids will tell you I tolerate very little.  The idea of going to the grocery store with kids in tow, seems like an impossible task. 

#9) Poor Memory.

Check! Forgetting my keys everywhere can't only be attributed to being an introvert who brain is constantly churning. No half the time it's just because I'm just too sleep deprived. Lost keys, forgetting diaper bag, missing appointments, did I brush my teeth? I've now started counting kids before I leave the grocery store. YES! No one's been left behind yet! 

#8) Inability to Concentrate. 

Check! You know how hard it's been to complete this post! I keep getting distracted by all the cute baby pictures I've been searching through! 

#7) Increased Appetite 

No check on this one. I think stress maybe keeping that one at bay! Gotta have a healthy balance right!? 

             Lack of Sleep

+ Stress 

                 = Healthy Appetite

#6) Vision Problems

Check! I swear I just saw this...

#5) Poor Decision-making

Check! I keep staying up at night after the little ones go to sleep to enjoy my grown-up alone time. Made that bad decision again last night! YAAAWN!

#4) Diminished Motor Skills. 

Check! I'm usually excellent at typing. This post is taking forever to pluck through! 

#3) Relationship troubles.

Hmmm. I think this one stems from research being done regarding the lack of sleep resulting in diminished sex drive. While that is being studied, it is a fact that children who keep Mom from being able to have alone time with Dad is what diminishes sex drive the most!

#2) Medical Problems

HA! Moms aren't allowed to get sick! This is how I felt when we all got the flu a few months back...

#1) Mood Swings

Check, check, CHECK! And I'm not only person in this house who isn't getting enough sleep. It's so fun around here! WHEEE!

I'm at the end of this post, and look over at my angelic daughter napping next to me. I feel a little bit...

Thank you WebMD for informing me on all the signs to look for. In my next life I should get my option of being a cat that sleeps all day, or an adorable sloth!

Happy Birthday Dane

Samuel's 5th Birthday

Yep, Sam is a whole hand! I can't believe my little boy is already 5 years old! This was a big year for Sam. He became a big brother (which he LOVES), got a big boy bed (which he refused to sleep in), got rid of diapers and binkies (took his sweet time on these), and has discovered video games (I really wish I could go back on this one)! On the other hand, some things stayed the same. Still loves pirates, cowboy boots, and snuggles while playing with my hair. He's still very much a little boy. I treasure all the many firsts he's still to have!

Favorite present... Mincraft blanket made by Aunt Jenn.

My girls on thier 1st Birthday

                Madelyn                                                                          Emmalyn

The picture of our two girls on their first birthday. Maddy had classic Minnie, and Emmalyn loved her pink Minnie dress. That's about where the similarities end. Maddy was shy and clung to me, whereas Emmalyn was silly and outgoing, taking in every part of her party. Maddy had long hair and big brown eyes. Emmalyn's eyes are still changing. They've gone from deep blue to green, and now hazel. Maddy took a few first steps on her birthday, and Emma was running about.

I love that our two girls are so different. Both are one of a kind and have brought me so much joy! 

Christian's 12th Birthday

I can't believe Christian is 12 yrs old! He is growing up so fast. Wasn't it just yesterday he was playing and watching Thomas the train. Next it was Pirates and Legos. Now his favorite shows are Gold Rush and The Walking Dead. And the only things he plays with now are the computer, PlayStation, and the Kindle. One thing that's stayed the same through out the years is his love of soccer. Christian is such a great player, his favorite position is right wing. He also tried paintball this year, LOVES it!

Emmalyn's 1st Birthday Party!

Emmalyn enjoyed her party so much! I mean really, really enjoyed it. I've never known a 1-year-old to be that engaged in a party. She loved seeing all her guests, clapped and danced when we sang the birthday song to her, and she played with ALL her cards and new toys. The only part she didn't enjoy was her cake. Yep, you read that right! She didn't want anything to do with her cake. GaGa made her a separate smash cake all her own, but she didn't even want it on her high chair! After lots of coaching to get her to taste it, she pushed it off her tray! Smash cake smashed into the carpet. Little stinker! So instead of birthday cake, she enjoyed her first See's Chocolate. Yum!!!

I can't believe she's already one! Seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Emma is so loved by everyone the other kiddos would fight over who would get to hold her next. Now they fight over who gets to play with her! I pray that we have many more happy and healthy birthdays.

Happy Birthday Emmalyn!

We celebrated today by buying a new pair of shoes at the mall! And then this evening, her first cupcake with the never-ending birthday song. Sunday is the big party out at Wenzel Mountain. Everyone is invited!

My 34th Birthday!

Celebrated today out at W* Mountain. It was extra special to have my nephews here with me today all the way from Las Vegas!

Emmalyn's Birth

It's kinda hard writing a birth story when you have a scheduled c-section. I arrived at the hospital, listened to the baby on the monitor for a few minutes, nurses me a bunch of questions, took the extremely long walk to the O.R. and Emmalyn came into the world. Not to exciting to read about. However it was the most scary and exciting experience for me! This is my first time actually making it to my scheduled c-section date. All my other babies decided to come out when they wanted to. With my other deliveries me being in pain, I was just so anxious to not be in pain anymore I didn't have time to think about how scary the process of having major surgery is. However this time having to walk into the OR was very scary! I looked around and saw all the equipment, doctors and nurses waiting for me.

Dane waited in the recovery room across the hall until my anesthesiologist had the epidural/spinal in place. My doctor decided to do an epi/spinal combo because she anticipated lots of scar tissue and didn't want a spinal to wear off halfway through the surgery and have to put me under general. The epidural placement did not go in easy, it was very painful and the anesthesiologist had a tough time getting it in the correct spot. Towards the end of her placing it I almost told them to stop and just give me a spinal. It was excruciating! Once in place it was so nice to finally have relief! For months I've been having contractions and round ligament pain, so to feel numb was heavenly! After my doctor came in and I was draped, Dane was brought in to sit by my head. Even though I couldn't see or feel anything I was very scared so  I ease dropped on the doctors. I could hear them discussing where to make the uterine incision. My placenta is in front, so I'm sure they were trying to figure out where the placenta ended and was safe to make the cut. Then to my surprise my doctor told Dane that the baby was about to be born, Dane stood up and started taking video!  Apparently my doctor and Dane talked before my surgery about getting video of Emmalyn coming into the world! How awesome is that! Here is that video. It's only about 30 sec long and it's not too gruesome at all, just simply amazing!

Emmalyn's first 27 seconds

Few minutes old

Samuel's 3rd Birthday Party!

Sam had a great birthday! Unfortunately, while waiting for the party guests to arrive, he took a nasty fall into the brick fireplace his bottom tooth punctured his lip! We had to leave and head to the ER, he was a very grumpy pirate! But once back was very excited to tell everyone the doctor glued his lip back together...got no time for stitches! I've never seen a three-year-old enjoy a party as much as he did! 

 

Another amazing cake Ga-Ga! Thank you!

Just got back from the ER. Time to get into his pirate costume!

He's been waiting patiently for this big moment. It's hard to be #3! Birthdays in our family go in the same sequence as birth order.

Samuel refused to let anyone leave his party. He'd stand at the door and say "Please don't leave my party!"