Missing Melissa

Hello faithful readers who probably no longer bother to visit my blog! Yes, I apologize for being AWOL for so very long. If you would like to keep up with the lives of the Linenberger family your best bet would be to catch the sentence or two that I manage to post on Facebook each week. Yep, that's about it.

Oh, and you know those great photos of the boys I took for Christmas? The ones on the nice Christmas cards I had printed at my wonderful photo lab online? Well, they are still sitting on my desk. Labels, photos, and envelopes, all sitting there bundled together waiting to be put together and mailed. I do not think they will make it by Christmas. Sorry to burst your happy bubble! I kept thinking they would be out in time. I took the gorgeous photos of my young, handsome sons, placed them in a nice mpix card that was perfect, order the cards, the cards arrived, Christmas came and went. I'm really not sure where the past few months went. It's crazy! One minute it was summer. The next it is almost Spring. Well, at least that means we had a fast (although very snowy) winter. Maybe I will post those photos on Facebook now that I have announced that the cards will not be sent out... Hmmm... Maybe it can be time to update my family photos on Facebook so that you can see how wonderful our brown-eyed boys are doing. Yes, it is a plan.

I will post photos to Facebook sometime soon. But probably not tonight. Nope, not tonight. I just got home from Logan's parent/teacher conference (he is doing spectacular and they soooo adore him, who wouldn't!). Shaun dropped the boys off at scouts. I am just snuggling in bed for some reading...homework reading that is. I get to read three long articles and write one big message board post tonight. On the bright side I have finished all my other homework until this weekend. Also, Shaun and AJ are making a trip to Best Buy to shop for a new printer/scanner/fax for the downstairs office. I have the house to myself! Ahhh, the peace and quiet. I will enjoy the next hour of reading transformative mediation materials. All. by. myself!

If you are not my friend on Facebook yet... well, maybe you are not my friend then. Just kidding! Please be my friend. I love you all! Hopefully I will write on my blog again before another few months passes me by. I have so much to say and so little time.

Just Popping In

I just wanted to say a quick "HI!" It's been a while...I know. Life has taken off and we're crazy busy, as is usual for this time of the year. Here are a few reasons why:

Logan is playing football- two practices and one or two games, each week.
Logan's scouts and church activities
Shane's scouts and church activities
My church activities
My book club
Shaun's Primerica stuff (or rather the lack of business the past few weeks as he struggles to keep going)
My work
Shaun's work
My master's degree program online (VERY DEMANDING of my time)
AJ- enough said- We love the little guy and he goes everywhere and does everything with us. I'm surprised that he doesn't demand even more of our time. We've been blessed with such a carefree baby.

There's more...I'm just too tired to remember it all. Oh, and one sick kid a week for the past three weeks does not help. Mainly they have been sick for a couple days on weekends, but it does spill over a bit and causes us to get behind on, OH, HOUSEWORK. Yep, I'm not sure what that word means at the moment. It's not getting done. It hasn't been a priority. The house is messy but not dirty and gets picked up whenever we have friends over for any reason (photo sessions, dinner, visiting, etc.). Well, at least the rooms to be seen by guests get picked up. The other rooms are invisable so they don't really matter.

Yep, that pretty much says it all. Busy! One day I will have time to blog about my daily joys and rants once again. Today I will leave you with this beautiful little tidbit:

AJ SINGS! He has for the past two months- since about 7 1/2 months old. He started to sing at church when the congregation sang. Then he would sing when he would hear the organ or piano start. Next he started singing in the car/truck with the radio. Now he'll sing just to sing, even without accompanyment. Oh, and whenever he is in a large and excited crowd (football games especially) he sings because he thinks that is what they are doing and he wants to join in. It is soooo cute! Everyone notices and smiles and laughs. The funniest thing is that he has recently decided he needs to be just as loud as the people around him, which can mean that he gets VERY loud. I LOVE it! It melts my heart every time I hear him. This brings so much joy to my heart! I just listen and give him lots of hugs and kisses. At times he gets so into it that I have to hush him quickly when everyone becomes quiet at the end of a song. :)

I'M IN! EXTREME HAPPINESS

I have been on pins and needles over the past couple weeks (actually a couple months) waiting for news from my friend James at Creighton. He's my contact for my graduate school application. We've talked often over the past several months.

Today's conversation began with him stating "You're in!" but not until after an almost apologetic-sounding "Hello, how are you?" I was SOOO nervous! I read too much into it, obviously. I am now (quite literally) jumping up and down. This is what I have been working for, for years. I cannot explain the extreme joy that I'm feeling. Although, it is similar (but not in the same way) to the feeling of seeing your new born child the second they are born. Seriously! That happy. But it's a different kind of "child." Can you even imagine that feeling? I don't think anyone can, even after having a baby. It's the joy of the moment and it quickly disappears when reality sets in. I don't want reality to set in. This one comes with homework instead of diapers. Again, a different reality.

We went out for dinner to celebrate. I'd planned to cook. Plans change so easily.

Maybe one day I'll update my blog readers on the other goings-on in our lives. It's been a crazily (is that a word?) busy summer. Truly. This will make it even more so. First day of school for the kids- Mid August. My first day- August 30th. There goes the reality setting in. DANG IT! The moment has ALMOST passed. I will still enjoy the remnants.

AJ Stats Update

Today was AJ's "almost" 6 months doctor appointment. I had scheduled it a week early because my boss will be out of the office for a couple weeks so I need to be here as much as possible during that time. I'll also be out of the office for two days while she is away.

Aj is now:

Height: 25.5 20% of peers
Weight: 15 lbs 14.5 oz 23% of peers
Head Circumference: 44 60% of peers

What can I say? We have big heads in our family. I think the other two boys did, too. The doctor says his family is the same, which he pointed out makes us smart.

Aj sat for more than five minutes at one time last night. Soon he'll be sitting up all the time and it won't seem like a big deal, but it was. He was so happy and playing and then finally toppled over. He wasn't happy about that so we sat him right back up. He's funny- never cries because he fell, just gets upset a bit because he wants to be sitting up. He sat and played on the floor in front of me while I folded laundry and then while I sorted and put stuff away that we'd taken out of the car.

Tonight's agenda- Shane's first baseball game of the season. Tomorrow's- Shane's second game and Logan's first of the season. Saturday- Logan's pack fishing trip, cleaning at the church, and IF I feel up to it- a hike on the Konza Prairie. Heck, I'll probably go just because I've recently enjoyed the hikes I've been on and need to do more. Maybe I'll get Shane to tag along (willingly or not!).

Graduation and EXTRA Time

YAY!!!! WAHOO!!!! I've done it. I've finally completed my Bachelors of Science in Family Studies and Human Services (with an 'emphasis' in Coflict Resolution).

Now what do I do? Well, since I've been asked this question numerous times over the past couple days, and even weeks, I'm going to tell you. I plan to continue my education. I'm sure this is not new news. I've blogged about my dreams of continuing my education a few times in the past. I'm hoping to do so online via Creighton's Masters in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution program. See recent news about the application process here. I will find out more soon, and then find out if I have been accepted in August. I am very much a planner so waiting that long may be excruiating. I'll deal with it by staying busy, as usual.

Second question answered: Will this mean that I receive a raise or a promotion? NOPE. Not happening. My job doesn't work that way. This was just a stepping stone for me to get to the point that I could start my masters. Once I have a masters I plan to change jobs, hopefully. I love my job and my boss but I hope to work more directly with conflict resolution on campus. Right now I envision myself, someday, working in the School of Family Studies and Human Services as an instructor and somehow helping to assistant/associate direct/coordinate the conflict resolution program. However, there are a few different options for working in higher education conflict resolution so if other opportunities present themselves I may consider them.

Ok, so on to the next question I have been answsering non-stop. What will I do with all the extra time that I will have now that I have graduated? SERIOUSLY? What extra time? I never had time to take classes in the first place! I MADE the time to work my butt off after my children were asleep at night, on weekends, and any other time (lunches/slow evenings) that I had. I worked HARD to make time. It was never easy. So now, now that I have all this "free time," I plan to return to normal life. I plan to spend even more time with my husband and children, who really haven't missed out on time with me anyway because of my excellent time management skills, and spend a bit more time keeping the house clean. Yes, alas, I must do better at keeping my house cleaner. It annoys me that I haven't been making time to do that. Oh well, it's waited. Also, this summer we will have a LOT of time spent at baseball practices and games. Then, if all goes well, I will start the online masters program. See? NO EXTRA TIME!

Now to cook dinner (oh yeah, I'm cooking more again, too) and get Shane to his first baseball practice of the summer. I think I will take time to read while he practices and Logan plays with AJ nearby.

A Few Recent Thoughts

...that I wish I had more time to explain.

Life, well, has been life. I'm loving it. We're staying ubber busy and I just haven't had the time to post anything that we've been doing. So here are a few updates and thoughts that I've wanted to post about. Forget the pictures, they may never make their internet debut.

Please, people...learn to park. I'm tired of people parking too close to me and having to send the carseat through the wrong side of the car to be buckled in. It's happened a couple times recently and is very annoying. Also, stop dinging my car because you've parked too close and can't get out! This seems to happen quite regularly. I park in the middle. It just makes sense.

AJ's firsts: Giggled for the first time on the evening of Saturday, Narch 20th, the day we left my grandparents' house. I was wishing they were there to hear it. Baby giggles are HEAVEN! Rolled over for the first time early yesterday morning- Shane was the only one to see it happen. He's been sooo close for so long. He rolled from his back to his belly. Go figure. He had to try the hard way first. We thought he would have rolled during spring break but he waited a couple more weeks. Ate food- baby oatmeal in breast milk to be exact. He ate several bites and really seemed to enjoy it. It was enough to take place of a regular meal- nursing. Later he got to play in his brand-new exersaucer (walker type thingy with lots of toys). He LOVED the toys and the fact that he was standing up. He loves to stand. When I took him out of that thing to feed him he finally realized that he was tired and hungry so he got fussy. Then he slept fitfully as usual. I'm working on that, can you tell? Eating food and lots of playing should make him tired enough to sleep for more than three hours in a row, right? If I remember correctly (it's been too long) I'm pretty sure the other two boys were sleeping through the night be now. In fact I know they were. I remember other people telling me how "lucky" I was. It wasn't luck- they were just very good babies. AJ is too. I just need more sleep!

This weekend Shane will be camping with scouts for the first time without Shaun in about a year. Tonight we will be having dinner with my friend, and mentor, Terrie. We're bringing her to HuHot Mongolian BBQ because she hasn't been there before and would have joined us a few weeks ago but had a class to teach that evening so we're getting to it now. She likes that type of place and of course we eat there almost weekly. Terrie and I are celebrating her receiving a teaching award, which she will be presented at my graduation. That will be a special day for both of us. Mark your calendars--- May 15th!

Tomorrow Shaun will be taking his insurance test in Topeka. We'll leaving here between 8 and 9, drive to Topeka, scope out the place he'll be testing at, go to Heather and Jeff's house to hang out, and Shaun will go back to town to take the test. He hasn't taken ANY tests since high school so he's been studying every day/evening for about a month or more now and he's been doing great at the online practice tests. According to his friends who have taken it if he's doing as well as he is on the practice exams he SHOULD easily pass. If he doesn't I'm going to blame it on his nerves. He's extremely nervous about this. He's done everything else perfectly: all the studying, training sessions, and practice tests. After his test we'll probably hang out a little longer, maybe go out to dinner, and then hit Sam's Club for our monthly/quarterly shopping. We've been there more recently this time so we don't need as much which is nice.

We had pictures taken in Texas at a JCPenny's. We weren't very happy with their service and the photos didn't turn out the best. In fact they even lost several photos of AJ due to a hardware malfunction. We weren't willing to wait another hour for photos to be taken again so we ordered a couple things and left. They arrived here a couple days ago and look better than I'd remembered. I wish I could take my own family photos! Too much work to be both in front and behind the camera... I'll post a link, if I remember to get around to it, sometime soon. I've been meaning to show those to everyone since mid-March.

I'm ALMOST into graduate school! I still need to take the Miller Analogy Test (MAT) and get a better score than the one practice test I've taken. I hope to do that later this month. I have to really. It's the only thing my admission's rep is needing from me now. After this month I won't be able to take the MAT but would have to take the GRE or some other horrible test. No thanks! I'll do the analogies test and hope for the best. My vocabulary is not as great as I thought it was... I will be studying the test-taking skills and some other materials for the next couple weeks. I still need to schedule the test too. That will help me organize my studies since I will have a set deadline.

Ok, that's already too much for today. You now have my permission to get back to whatever important things you should be doing. Thanks for reading! :) If I remember the other little items to post I will. But in shorter posts.

Old News

When uploading pictures tonight, from Thursday evening, I found a few others I wanted to share. In February we spent a weekend in Kansas City. Shaun attended courses on insurance in preparation for his upcoming insurance test. The boys and I just had lots of fun playing. On that Saturday the boys and I hung out with my friend Trudy and her son Gage. They live in Liberty so this was a great chance to see them. We met at Hallmark's Kaleidescope, had lunch at Fritz's, and then spent the afternoon at Science City.

Here's proof of the fun we had:








Before heading home we dined at the T-Rex cafe:




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On a different note, we've had visitors in our yard. Unwanted visitors. Here's one of them.



One recent Sunday morning three coyotes found their way to our yard, not once, but many times. They repeatedly made their rounds in and out of our yard. They've been seen by neighbors a few times since then. So far they are staying away from people and are easily shewed away. Our dogs shouldn't be threatened because they are behind high fencing with no way under. However our neighbor's dog and their house could easily be in harm's way as they have a low chain-link fence with an easy entry point at the end of the driveway simply by jumping down into their dog's area. Like us, they have a dog door. Scary!

Three Months Old and Traveling Again

AJ is now three months old! He's growing quickly and is more expressive everyday. Almost everytime we look at him he's sliming or soon will for us. It doesn't take much to see that beautiful baby smile. Now of course it's followed by coos and throwing his head back because he's excited. So cute! Whenever he sees or even hears us he gets all giddy. Ever since he first smiled he's been quick to smile, for any reason. We love making faces or talking to him just to see the smiles.

Of course, like any baby, he has his upsetting moments as well. He still gets gassy, still taking Mylecon with every feeding, and takes Gripe Water when it's really hurting him. Some nights are better than others. He hasn't been sleeping through the nights as well recently. He's been up with gas and has been a little fussy on and off over the past few nights. I'm really needing my sleep now that I'm working and taking classes at the same time. I get tired very easily. Luckily I'm always busy so I don't fall asleep. Once I hit the pillow at night I'm out fast. I hope this doesn't last too long!

AJ is also having a hard time with being bottle fed at daycare. I didn't realize it was still such an issue until this morning. When I dropped him off I found out he had taken two bottles yesterday morning without crying. I didn't know he'd been crying with every bottle! Poor baby. I'd much rather breastfeed him all the time but that's not possible. So, instead I'm pumping three times a day and freezing it. I'm currently making more than he's eating by bottle so we have a drawer full of milk in the freezer at home. I know at some point I'll not be making enough for him so I am storing it up while I can. We do bottle feed AJ in the car during trips and sometimes when we're out so I knew that he didn't particularly like bottles but I'm sad to hear that he's still having such a hard time with them at daycare. I purposely gave him bottles at times over the two months before he started daycare to try to get him used to them. I guess that didn't work. This next week, while I'm off work and school for Spring Break, I plan to try a couple other bottle nipples to see if we can find something he likes better. These nipples also seem to fast for him so I'll be looking for something slower.

About next week...when I agreed to come back to work earlier than my planned 12 weeks I asked for Spring Break off. This will give me a full week with all three boys. I've been looking forward to this. I don't know when I will get vacation time again since I've used all of mine for maternity leave so I plan to enjoy every moment. We are planning to visit my grandparents in the Dallas, Texas area. My grandmother met AJ when he was about ten days old but my grandpa wasn't able to visit us then. While in Dallas we're planning to find some fun, but inexpensive, activities to do. One each day. The rest of the time will probably be spent hanging out at my grandparents house and doing anything they want to do. Of course we plan to include them in any and all of our activities as well. This will be the first time we've been to Texas in several years and just had time to have fun. The past couple times, which were of course fun as well, we've had other plans, such as Thanksgiving dinners and wedding dress shopping for my youngest sister.

I'll be posting some pictures of the boys and AJ's three month photo shoot at home tonight, either later this evening or in a few days. You'll love them!

Back to Work and AJ Update

Today was my first day back to work after my nice long 10 1/2 week maternity leave. Most of that was unpaid of course, but totally worth it. It was a hard day for me, to be so far from AJ for so long. It's going to be a hard week and I can't imagine it getting any easier for a while. I LOVE babies and especially my own. Who wouldn't? The bond between a mother and her baby is indescribable. I wish I could describe it because it's AMAZING. You carry a baby while it develops within you and then give birth to it, spend lots of quality time with it, and will never loose that bond. I have spent nearly a year with this little guy one way or another so it's very hard not to be with him now. He's perfect too. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. We are VERY blessed.

AJ did very well at day care today and did ok with bottles although he probably would have been a bit happier if he'd eaten more. He takes bottles once in a while but will now be needing to take them all day while we're apart. Of course that means I'm taking breaks to pump. Fun! It is nice to have breaks from my work. I hadn't really taken planned breaks previously.

Last week AJ had his two month checkup. Newest stats:

Height/length: 23.25 inches _____%
Weight: 11 lb. 7 oz. ____________%
Head Circumference: ____ _______%

Uh, yeah. I don't remember! I'll fill in the blanks later.

Today's First: First full day at daycare. Beginning the first week of full-time daycare. (Sniff, sniff)

Below is a photo taken by my dear friend Terrie when AJ and I visited her at work last week. She sent this photo and one of her with AJ to me this afternoon to lift my spirits. She's so wonderful!

Two Month Old

AJ is now two months old! I'm sure I'll repeat this-often- time is going by way too fast! Here are some little informational tidbits about AJ:

Smiles - a LOT - and has a beautiful smile

Coos - a LOT - whenever he's awake and happy and especially when his parents or brothers are talking to him. He smiles and coos and has conversations with us.

Loves people- at this point just about anyone who smiles at him. He gets LOTS of attention everywhere we go. Strangers smile at us all the time just in passing because he's so darned adorable.

Loves to get his diaper changed. Smiles and coos then too.

Does not care too much for getting into his carseat but once he's in it doesn't mind it too much. Naps there very well and travels well. Doesn't like to be put in his bear coats either. They make him look like a little teddy bear- again more smiles from strangers and friends.

Has grown out of three or four sleepers/outfits already. Sad!

Wakes up happy every morning- we wake him up to change him before seven everyday because otherwise he'd leak. He fills every diaper (all day). He then lays in his bed (cosleeper) beside mom and smiles and coos until he happily falls back asleep about 30-60 minutes later. He sleeps on and off all morning. He's more awake in the late afternoon, evening, and late at night. He has gassy evenings and other times on and off.

Likes his swing. Likes his playpen. Likes his crib- especially the mobile Aunt Betsy is letting him use. It plays night and jungle sounds as well as music while the leaves go in and out covering the little animals. When it stops (automatically) AJ cries! He REALLY likes it. He also likes his mobile which clips onto his carseat or playpen.

Absolutely LOVES his brothers. As soon as they get home from school they run to say Hi to him. When AJ is awake he's smiling and cooing and making happy noises right back. He really responds to them. He also likes for them to hold him and play with him. He's got them wrapped around his little fingers. :)

Aj is finiky. Ok, so he takes after his mom there. No matter what mom eats (which is sometimes everything in site right now) he gets gas. However when she eats anything even the least bit spicy or something that might give anyone a little gas, that's when he shows off his gas abilities- and gets extremely fussy. Poor guy! Mom tries to be good and eat only foods that won't produce as much gas but that's hard to do! He doesn't seem to have any problems with specific foods at this point.

Sleeps a lot still. Yay!

Has good days and bad days. Who doesn't?

LOVES baths and showers. So relaxing!

Much prefers being held to being laid down- even to sleep. He does best when swaddled to sleep. Likes to be rocked and sung to when tired. Likes to be gently bounced when awake and fussy.

Gets passed around at church and other times we're around friends- a lot! Who can resist holding him?


I'm sure there's more but that's a good start! More pics to come in the next few days. AJ is awake and fussy now!

Special Days

Over the last week...

Shane got his first zit (a HUGE excitement for him)
AJ is now 6 weeks old
Logan turned 8 years old
Logan was baptized and confirmed a member of our church
Heather, Jeff, and their 6 week old, Garrette, visited
AJ got his baby blessing (now named in the church records as our son)
I got nothing done (hmmmm, nothing new there)

Oh, but I did have a book club meeting at my house and we did cookbooks and had lots of yummy food. That and cleaning half the house should count for something.

Here are the pictures to go along with the events:

Colorado Pics

These are all from January 1st and 2nd. Enjoy! As you can see the boys had lots of fun ice skating and sledding. AJ also had his first bottle on Jan 1st.

One Month Old

AJ is now 5 weeks plus two days old. He was one month old last Saturday. I can't believe he's already that old! On one hand it seems like he has been part of our family forever but on the other hand it seems like he was just born. This past five weeks have flown by! Here are AJ's statistics as of today's doctor appointment:

Height/length: 21.5 inches 38%
Weight: 9 lb. 15 oz. 45%
Head Circumference: 38 45%

The poor little guy got his second Hep. B shot today too so he's been sleeping most of the evening. I hope he sleeps well tonight!

AJ also had a "first" today (that was his second doctor appointment). Today, for the first time, he stayed with a baby sitter. He is going to his daycare (an in-home provider who I've kinda known for several years) while I go to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45 so he's there about 9:00 to 11:15 two times a week.

Before this I had only left AJ at home, I think twice, for short periods of time with his dad. Today I left him for a little longer, with a stranger. Well, a stranger to him and someone I know but was only slightly acquainted with before now. Good thing I trust him and his wife! Randall is the daycare provider and stay at home dad- his wife works at K-State in IT and sells Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. I met Randall through his wife and have a least one friend who had brought her kids to Randall's daycare for a while. Anyway, Randall seems like a great guy. I left AJ with him with no reservations. It was a little hard for me, but I was in a hurry so I left quickly. When I got back Randall said AJ had done well. He had a couple dirty diapers, drank his bottle, and slept. He only cried for a short time when he needed to be changed or was hungry. Overall it sounds like AJ did great. Whew! I can now breathe a sigh of relief. That's one first I don't want to worry about again. It's always a little nerve racking to leave a baby for the first time!

On another note: Logan's new favorite saying is "i-yi-yi" (pronounced eye-igh-eye) or however you'd spell that...whenever he's annoyed. He says it A LOT!

Shane's news: he's going on a Klondike Derby campout- camping in freezing temps tomorrow night followed by some special cold activities on Saturday which include packing a sled and mushing it (his friends will be the dogs). Shaun is going too. Fun for him! Logan, AJ, and I will be home and cozy in our beds.

Little Brother Gets Ready to Meet Big Brothers

Here are a few more pictures from Wednesday and today!


This is how the older boys first saw their brother about an hour after he was born. Very hard moment for me!


Shane


Logan


Flowers from my family and the Provost's office at work lined my wall and were noticed by everyone who stopped by (doctors and nurses)!


Me a couple hours ago with AJ. He's now in his "going home" outfit.


Earlier this afternoon.

Now in his outfit:



Shaun and the boys picked out the outfit a couple weeks ago. They had fun doing so!

We'll be heading home in a couple hours and hopefully we'll take lots more pictures. I'm sure we'll have a busy evening once we get home too!

Just the Facts

Somehow I forgot to add this to the previous post:

Andrew Justus (AJ) Linenberger
Born December 9, 2009 at 9:42 AM
Weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces
and measuring at 20 1/4 inches long

If weighed a few moments before he would have been over eight pounds, however he was given the time to empty his bladder...which took a while!

If there is anything else I'm forgetting feel free to let me know.

Welcoming Baby AJ

Guess what?! I had a baby today! Wahooooooo! And, I did it drug free! Yay me! That or I'm nuts...I haven't figured it out yet.

First...the labor and delivery story:

Yesterday was Shaun, my husband's, birthday. We thought it would be great to have the baby yesterday but that didn't quite happen. My friend, Heather, however did have her baby yesterday! We went out to dinner last night, in a near-blizzard, for Shaun's birthday and then to run a couple errands. The weather doesn't bother us. While it was windy the visibility was fine and it wasn't snowing very hard. The roads were alright too.

Shortly after arriving a Della Voce I started to have contractions. I'd had them very early Sunday morning as well so I wasn't about to get my hopes up, even if it was Shaun's birthday. Well, they were about 4-6 minutes apart for the next two hours and were seeming to be fairly strong. We had my bag in the car but I wasn't sure that this was the "real thing" so we ran a couple errands and then went home to see what happened. After walking on my Gazelle for about 15 minutes I noticed that the contractions had all but subsided. While running the errands and while at home the contractions were only about 10 minutes apart and were not as strong as they had been. I was exhausted so I decided to wait it out and try to sleep. That worked! I was able to get a few hours sleep while the contractions weren't strong and was able to get rested for today. However, I was awakened at 2:25 am with much stronger contractions.

That's when I decided that maybe, just maybe, this was the real thing. I wasn't able to go back to sleep because of the strength of the contractions so I went to the living room and played on my computer (checked email, Facebook, etc.). At around 3:30 I woke Shaun up, told him that my contractions were anywhere from 2-9 minutes apart and growing stronger. I hadn't really paid attention to the exact timing because some of the contractions were pretty weak. I asked Shaun to wake up and come to the living room with me to time my contractions and help me get through the stronger ones. Instead he went back to sleep... go figure! :)

I was able to get to about 5 am without waking my family up but at that point I knew that my contractions were more regular and strengthening. I was also paranoid that they would disappear again. It was time to go! I woke Shaun up again, twice, and woke the boys up. Slowly everyone got up and ready. I was already dressed, packed (cameras and computer and a couple other last minute items), and ready to roll. We left the house about 5:50, after figuring out the workings of the car seat. We hadn't put it in the car and hadn't even figured out how to release the seat from the base until then!

Arriving at the hospital at 5:55 am we came right up to the OB wing and checked in. I was immediately checked internally and found out I'd progressed from dilated to a two at yesterday afternoon's OB appt to dilated to a four at check in this morning with contractions every 3-5 minutes. Wahoooo! Dilated to a four means they consider you to be in active labor. I was so excited! And a bit terrified at the same time. I'd decided to go drug free and keep moving as much as I could. I'd decided this probably months ago and now it was time to see if I could handle it! We called my sister Betsy at 6:30 and she called our family, my boss, and a couple friends for us. We also called a local friend who was able to come watch the boys in the waiting room for us until AJ was born (kids must NOT be left unattended- according to at least five signs in the waiting room). We also called Anne, my friend and doula. Because of the hospital's current policy on visitors due to flu season only Shaun and Anne were allowed to be in the OB unit with me. The boys weren't allowed in and were not even allowed to see their baby brother except through the entrance door windows. That was really hard for me!

Anyway, so while we waited we walked. And walked. And walked. Ok, only three times around the small OB unit but it took a while because of the contractions and we took our time. Anne arrived about the time they needed to monitor me again and Shaun ate his breakfast while I and the baby were monitored. Then Shaun went out and hung out with the boys and his friend who was watching them. Anne and I walked, and walked, and walked (three times again). My contractions were again growing stronger but I was doing quite well. I also sat on the exercise ball a couple times for short periods. At the next check I was dilated to a seven! Wow! It was going fast and I was thrilled. My contractions were now every 4-6 minutes but no one seemed to be concerned since I was still progressing.

It was now time for the hot tub! I knew I wanted to spend some time in the hot tub because I'd done it when in labor with Logan. Again it worked for me. I was having VERY strong contractions and they got more and more frequent to the point where they were not really going away before rising in intensity again. After only 45 minutes I got out (very slowly because of the intense pain) and was checked again. I had quickly progressed to a nine!!! According to the nurse I was "pushy" even though I didn't think I was quite ready to push. She called the doctor and he was there maybe two minutes later. Wow! I guess I was doing this whether I was ready or not!

Here's me in labor when Shaun caught a quick picture...I think it was the only picture of me taken with my camera today! I was having a contraction but caught him!



After MAYBE 20 minutes of pushing (at very most) and after some very intense contractions and tons of pain...AJ was born! I couldn't believe I'd done it! I was soooo tired and weak. If I'd had to go through a longer delivery I don't know what would have happened. I questioned myself about being able to do this a couple times but of course it was too late by then. I was committed and my body knew it. And here he is...freshly delivered.



And here's the very proud daddy...acting all natural about holding his newest baby. He had been worried about having a baby but everything is sooo natural to him this time. I'm amazed!



AJ did also have his first "bath" today at the hospital and there are a few video clips of him right after delivery but I've not figured out how to do video on here since they changed things and I don't want to post them on YouTube so if you want to see them you'll have to visit me. Ha!

It's been a long day and even though the hardest part was done by 10 am I'm still awake and tired so I'm signing off now. Oh- the older boys got to quickly see their brother through the window and are thrilled. They then spent most of the day at our friends' home and then Shaun picked them up late this afternoon. He'll be working tomorrow and they'll be at school so I should get plenty of rest.

Good night! Don't forget to hug and kiss all your babies!

My Teenage Son!

This is my baby Shane. I think this picture was taken when he was around 3 months old.





This is my baby Shane now-- At 13 years old!





I cannot believe I am now the mother of a teenaged son. It SCARES me sooo much! So far: I haven't killed him. He hasn't killed me. He's a good, sweet-natured kid. He is extremely fun to be around. He's popular with his friends. He has a wonderful heart and cares a lot for others. He's sensitive but strong. He's my hero. Without him I definately would not be me today. I wouldn't be the mother I have become. I wouldn't be so dedicated to my education. I would not be so strong spiritually. I just wouldn't be me. I cannot imagine my life without this boy. Or my other son Logan of course.

Ok. Teary-eyed, I'll admit I'm getting a bit older, but hopefully also wiser. I could not have imagined my son being 13, 13 years ago. It amazes me! I could go on forever about how I feel today, and yesterday his actual birthday. I won't. Just cry and be happy with me. :)

I'm proud of who my son is and the young man he has become. I hope to always feel this way. I can't imagine anything better. I'm also proud of who he has helped me to become. As a young mother I could not picture the life we have today. We are very happy and safe and secure and that's what matters most. Our family matters most.

Lemons, Motorcycles, Baseball, and Horses

That sums up our fun week! :) Last week my mom and her husband were in town for one week of their summer-long motorcyle ride to visit many places and people. A few quick highlights: spending time with my mom, mom being there when I first got to hear baby's heart beat (see below post), the boys and Lester playing lots of Wii, the boys getting short rides around the block on the motorcycle (they got to wear the helmets we bought them last year for riding the four wheeler), lemons for dinner (explaination to come below), and more time spent with mom and Lester. Oh, and I told her a few times that we felt spoiled-- they cooked twice and bought dinner once. NICE!

Mom also dropped me off at work each morning and picked me up each evening. I LOVED THAT! This was so they could use the car to "play" with the boys while Shaun and I were at work each day. Their playtime included a trip to the library to sign up for the summer reading club- who better than my mom to do this, she's an elementary school librarian! They also got to go see the movie UP, which Shaun and I had secretly watched without the boys the weekend before during a date. Fun movie! On Friday, mom and Lester's last full day in town, they brought the boys to Time Out Corner and played mini golf on the black-lit, neon-painted course. This is one of our favorite family activiies. The boys love playing mini golf and the arcade games. I'm sure they did more but these are the activities coming to mind now. They all had lots of fun.

During the evenings, we went to Shane's baseball game one night and then Logan's another. Unfortunately Shane and Logan both had games at the same time the second evening so Shane and Shaun weren't able to watch Logan's game with us. We also spent parts of two evenings playing monopoly. Logan especially loves to play monopoly and has taken over the job of banker the last few times we've played. Somehow we managed to have lots of time to rest and just sit and visit too.

Lemons: Did you know that lemons and bacon make a great side dish for dinner? We didn't! One of the nights my mom and Lester made dinner they made "lemons" and bacon. At least that's what Logan thought it was and we didn't correct him. :) He truly believed it was lemons until I slipped a few minutes into dinner, after Logan had eaten a couple bites and declared they weren't sour but he still liked them. I accidentally pointed out that Lester had eaten all his "squash" by stacking it all and eating it in one fork full. Oops! Logan heard me right away. Darn it! It had been sooooo fun to play into his lemons dish. He really did believe it. It was too funny and we were all trying hard not to laugh. The next time someone makes yellow squash for you, just think of them as lemons. I like squash and liked the dish but Shaun and Shane aren't veggie people so as soon as they'd had a bite they were done. Although I do have to say that Shane ate a few more small bites, just because I said he had to do so, and without much fussing. It just wasn't something he wants again any time soon. He much prefered the bacon. Logan ate all of his, I think.

I almost forgot! I had put horses as one of the title words and forgot to talk about it! That's what happens when I go on forever about other things... On Saturday we visited a friend's horse farm so that Shane could finish a few easy requirements for his animal science merit badge. That was very quick but we also found out that there is a horse merit badge so we had more fun with what we thought could be some of the requirements for that one. I still need to look it up and see how much we accomplished! We might have to go back, which we'll be very happy about. :)

My friend Pat has a few beautiful horses and is always willing for us to come out to visit. For a while I'd worked with one of her horses, mainly doing ground work with a program that perscribed very gentle, trust building training exercises. I very much enjoyed doing this and love horses but I became too busy with school work to continue. As Pat always reminds me there will be a time when I'm able to do more with horses again. I just hope it's not too much longer because I really miss it. Priorities are not fun!

While we were at Pat's the boys each got to brush horses (Logan's was a pony mix). They they each got to ride the horses at a walk in a small fenced in area. They had a blast! I also rode for a short time, also at a walk. I was being careful and we also found out the horse I'd worked with has gone lame on one leg due to an old injury. Anything more than walking was out of the question. Pat also showed Shane and Logan the different sadles, bridles, bits, foods, etc., and also how the horses are fed and cared for. We can't wait to see how much Shane's done on this badge without even knowing it existed until earlier that day!

Short Updates

1. I'm ready to go to Ireland! Ok, maybe not quite yet, but I did register and pay. I also received my passport, over Thanksgiving break. I am thrilled about this as I haven't ever needed a passport before now. Previously my short trips to Canada and Mexico, both just over the border while growing up, didn't require a passport. I also now have a passport card which will let me cross the borders without having the passport book. Of course that means getting my kids passports if I ever plan to bring them to Canada while visiting relatives in Minnesota. I'll probably do that at some point, just in case we get the chance.

2. I'll be photographing a wedding in late March! I'm very excited to do another wedding. The bride is a friend from church who has seen my photography over the past few years and knew she wanted me to be the photographer. We talked yesterday and it sounds great! Maybe I'll even get my website up and running before then. That's my goal. I'd like the wedding party and guests (and of course the bride and groom and their families) to have a way to directly order from me online but not have to go through another company's ordering process.

3. I have updated photos on Facebook so if you don't have a Facebook account, or if you're not yet my friend on Facebook, now might be the time to do so.

4. Christmas plans: We are hoping/tentatively planning to go to Colorado the day after Christmas, or possibly even Christmas Eve. You can go here to see more about our place in Colorado. I say "our" loosely as it actually belongs to my father-in-law's painting company.

5. Christmas cards: I hope to get these out on time this year. We'll see how that goes. I have the cards and evelopes and need to compile a list of addresses again. If I don't have your address please feel free to email it to me! If I do have it, you can email it to me too, just so that I have it in my email.

I think that's it for now! Take care and have a great holiday season.

Home and Family Life

We're really enjoying having my sister, Betsy, living with us. She's been such a great help. The boys are enjoying their "real summer" and I'm enjoying being less stressed. It's helped me so much to know that she is there for them when I can't be. I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom, but since that's not feasible for us, Betsy is the next best thing. As a stay-at-home Auntie, she's been able to bring the boys to the library, to play group, helped them get their chores done early in the day, brought them to fun places (like the museum on Ft. Riley yesterday), done crafts with them, and I'm sure many more things which I'm forgetting. She also likes to plan dinner, which is always wonderful!

Betsy was afraid I'd be jealous of her spending the time with my boys while I'm at work, but I'm not. Yes, of course I'd love to be there too, but she's getting some great bonding time with them. And they are loving it, too! Overall, her being here has been a wonderful experience for us all. No one could possibly know how much it's helped. Soon school will start- Logan's first day of kindergarten!- karate classes will resume, my classes will resume, and life will be back to normal. I'm happy to say that Betsy will be right there with us in this. She's going to be working and taking classes. The evenings and weekends will always be too short, and we'll never have enough time together as a family, but that's how life is. No matter how busy we are or are not, there's never enough time for fun and love.

Ok, so I know I'm painting a pretty picture here and it's not always so happy and pretty, but I hope Betsy is enjoying it just as much as we are. We really do appreciate her, and she needs to know it. I should also mention that Betsy and the boys picked me up for lunch today, and that's something else that we'd never get to do if she wasn't here.