BLAH

Has anyone else been feeling the blah-ness?

A big contributor...

Puddles in the yard

AND

Dirty, dingy snow banks...yuck!

AND

The absence of the sun

I wish I were here...

Jacks Birthday Pics

Jacks was so excited to see his dino cake. He ate the whole volcano which was made of rich buttercream frosting. It makes me sick just thinking about it, but he enjoyed it and had a great birthday.

Jemma's 1st Cake

I decided it was about time to get some pictures up of Jemma's 1st birthday. She throughly enjoyed her cake, and her new skirt (and toothbrush courtesy of Bennett)

Bennett's 1st Ski Trip

Matt took Bennett skiing for the first time last Friday.
Bennett has found a new love.

He begged Matt the ENTIRE next day to take him again.

Return of the Evil Squirrels

Bennett thought it would be a good idea to feed the squirrels peanuts on our back deck...

I didn't...

He won...

They scare me...

Jacks Turns Three

Three years ago today...

Jacksen Matthew was born Monday, February 5, 2007 at 2:20 pm

He was 8 lbs 21 inches long

I went into the hospital Monday morning with a little trepidation. I had known they were going to be starting me. It was difficult to get any sleep with all the anticipation. I finally gave up trying after I had a dream... I was finally delivering my baby only to discover I had birthed a baby horse. I was so disappointed because I had really been looking forward to another baby boy.

When I got all settled in my room they checked me and discovered that I was actually already in labor. I was 4 centimeters so they waited until 9am to give me any pitocine. At 12:30 I was finally at 7 centimeters and asked for some pain killers. They gave me 1/2 a milligram and I was out. I mostly slept until I frantically woke up just after 2pm saying I needed to push.

The nurse gave me a look like..."Yeah right, you were just sleeping" but graciously checked me and discovered that indeed it was time to start pushing. They called my doctor to come to the hospital, but it was questionable about whether she would make it in time or not. The doctor breezed in 10 minutes later, just in time to throw on a pair of gloves and catch my beautiful baby boy.

Matt was a little disappointed. He had wanted to deliver this baby, but things had happened so fast there just wasn't time.

6 days old

3 months old (Weird...I just noticed that this picture and the one above of this post and Jemma's b-day post were taken on the exact same day, just 2 years apart.)


7 months old


11 months old


All boy...Loves bugs!



Jacks hates being cold, but loves eating snow.


Animals are a favorite for Jacks.

Jacks has brought so much laughter and love into our family. He's such a sweet boy, but certainly enjoys being the rough and tumble sort. Everyday Jacks does something new that makes us laugh and love him even more. He's so animated in his actions, we can't help but find him adorable...which he knows and uses to his advantage. Jacks speech has been a little delayed, but is catching on quickly and learning how to express himself. One thing about Jacks is he loves animals. He loves dogs, cats, horses, you name it, he loves it. Right now he especially loves carrying around things. He always has some sort of small toy in his hand at all times, whether it's a toy dinosaur, train, or animal, he doesn't care...as long as it goes along with him.
We love Jacks so much, and are so blessed to have him as part of our family.

Jemma Turns One

One year ago today...

Jemma Julianne was born Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 4:30 am.

She weighed 6lbs 9 oz and was 19 inches long.

I had gone into the hospital Tuesday night at 8pm to get antibiotics because I had tested positive for Group Strep B. I was very disappointed when the doctor called the nurse and told her not to start me until morning. He wanted at least 2 full doses of meds in before they broke my water or gave me pitocine. I was so disappointed. (Or mad, however you want to call it.) I leaned over to Matt after hearing this news and claimed I was going to have this baby in the middle of the night just so the doctor would have to get out of his nice warm bed to attend my delivery.

The nurse decided to check me and was surprised that I was 4 centimeters and having strong contractions... (Ha! My plan to ruin the doctor's night was working.) My labor moved along and at about 7 centimeters I asked for a little pain medication to take the edge off the pain. I forgot to tell the nurse that I'm pretty sensitive to meds and to only give me half the dose. She gave me a full milligram and knocked me out.

The doctor was called in at about 3 am. He poked his head into my room to check on me and then left to try and catch a couple more zzz's. As he exited my room I gave Matt a wicked grin...I was pretty pleased with myself. I woke again at 4:15 and was ready to welcome my baby girl into this world.

7 days old (And really smiling at me)

3 months old

5 months old

7 months old

8 months old

Jemma is the sweetest little baby. I couldn't have asked for better. She is always quick to laugh and smile, slow to anger and cry. She loves trailing after Bennett and Jacks and follows them around everywhere. On January 30th she took her first baby step, and is now practicing constantly. Before she goes anywhere, she stands up and tries to take a couple of steps first. Jemma loves to participate in conversations by nodding her head and babbling at us like she has some great big story to tell. She often crawls around the house calling out "Dada, Dada" until she finds Matt. Jemma has blessed our lives so much. She is such a sweet girl.

I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Boo-hoo-hoo

It is with regret and shame I inform you that I foolishly laughed at my sister, Michelle. She cried the day she dropped her two girls off at pre-school. That teasing has now come back to bite me.


Jacks first day of pre-school was today. He's in the speech therapy program at the elementary school.

As I dropped him off at his class, he quickly withdrew his tiny hand from mine, and happily hung his backpack up on his hook. He excitedly washed his hands, and immediately headed off to hang with the other kids...

I shed a tear or two. The pre-school teacher (who laughed) said he would be fine as I babbled about how small he was.

Once I felt my nose starting to twinge I thought I might possibly loose it (unacceptable for someone like me who prides themselves on not being a ninnyhead at things like this) (I mean no offense to others)

When we went to pick Jacks up he was soooo dissapointed he had to leave (another fracture to my heart)

I just can't wait til next week to see what I do when the pre-school bus comes to pick him up at the house. I hope I don't decide to chase it down the road after Jacks had boarded.