Cavity Free are We!!!

While I was in the hospital having Katelyn, there was a news story on the Today show that prompted me to call and set up dental appointments for the boys.  I had been meaning to do this for Tyler since last fall, but then I got pregnant and it slipped to the wayside.  The news story said children should have their first dental appt when they get their first tooth, so I realized Luke was overdo for a check up too.  I've heard great things about a local pediatric dental group, so we decided to check them out.  They were fantastic!!  They have a large open area with the chairs were the hygenists do the cleanings, so that if you have multiple kids, they can actually all be seen at the same time.  I was able to sit there and watch Ty and Luke at the same time, so we were in an out in less than 45 minutes.  Not only was the staff super efficient and speedy, but they were so friendly and patient, too.  Tyler was squirmy and Luke was a little uneasy with the "stranger", but both of their hygenists were so great with them.  And the Dr. was wonderful, too!  Final results??  Both boys were 100% cavity free.  Good to know all that ice cream they ate with Nana and Pap this summer didn't have any negative effects.  :)

Here are the boys checking out the awesome fish tank in the waiting area.  They had 2 nemo fish and a Dory.  Big hit!!

They gave the boys these cool sunglasses to wear, to protect their eyes from the super bright light.

Not only was this our first trip to the dentist, but it was my first outing with all three kiddos all by myself.  Luckily Miss Kate behaved herself, too!

 All-in-all it was a great visit.  Hoping our visit in February goes as smoothly.

Our baby girl is here!

After 39 long weeks, we finally have met our precious baby girl.

Katelyn was born Monday, July 26 at 11:12 in the morning, weighing 7 lbs, 11 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.  That's exactly how long I was when I was born, too!  She's longer than either of the boys have been.  Let me tell you, this little gal has completely grabbed us by the heartstrings.  She is amazing.  Here she is just a few hours old, being introduced to everyone.  Can you see Luke's face?  He was so excited to see Mommy and meet baby Katelyn.

 This weekend, daddy was scared of having a little girl and today, holding her...he looks as comfortable as can be.  Everyone told him that having a daughter was amazing, but I'm not sure he really got it.  I think he gets it now, though and it is so beautiful to watch.  Hmm, makes me get teary eyed just thinking about it!

 The boys are in love with her, too.  It is so precious to watch.  Tyler is the proudest big brother and very protective of her already.  And Lucas just loves her to death.  The smile on his face when he looks at "baby" (as he is calling her, hopefully we'll get him to say Katelyn before too long) is so incredibly precious.  He really is taken by her.  I remember Tyler not being too interested in baby Lucas, but Lucas is so VERY aware of her...in fact, I'm thinking we are going to have a little trouble helping him to understand that she's not quite ready to play with yet!!  Poor little girl, with Daddy and these two older brothers, she's going to be one very loved and VERY protected girl.

We are so excited to welcome this little girl to our family and can't wait to watch her grown!

Almost here

Our precious gift from God is almost here!

The countdown has begun...oh who am I kidding, I've had this countdown going for weeks.  But I can really countdown now, b/c we know that baby girl is going to be welcomed into this world for sure on Monday morning around 9 am!  I know after she is here I will miss this (being pregnant and feeling her all cozy inside of me), but right now, I'm so ready for her to be out here with us and to hold her in my arms! 

Tyler's Monthly Faces

4 Years Old

 

3 Years Old

 

2 Years Old

 

 18 Months Old

 One Year Old!!

  Eleven Months Old

Ten Months Old

 

Nine Months Old

 

Eight Months Old

 

Seven Months Old

 

Six Months Old

  

  Five Months Old

 

Four Months Old  

Three Months Old

Two Months Old

One Month Old

 

Birth Day:  June 5, 2006

A Jumpin' Good Time

Can you believe that this little guy...

is now this not so little guy?

For T's fourth birthday we celebrated with a party full of friends at Jumpin' Jimmy's.  It was a GREAT time and all of the kids had a great time.  This was the first time we did a party away from the house and the extra expense was so worth the convenience of going somewhere, messing up their facility and coming home to a still clean house!  Plus, being 34+ weeks pregnant, having no prep or clean-up was almost a necessity this year.  :)

And honestly, it was such a hit with all of the kiddos.  They really loved all of the bouncing...

They even had a Scooby Doo house.  :)

Daddy took a turn coming down with Luke.  He was having a hard time climbing to the top, so Daddy helped him.  They both had a blast!

and the timing was perfect.  Just as they were all bounced out, it was time to head to the party room for pizza and cake.

 Since he has become a huge fan of Scooby Doo, we HAD to have a Scooby Doo cake.  

He loved it and did a great job blowing out all of his candles!  Wonder what he wished for?...probably to watch more Scooby Doo shows!  :)

This little girl even came dressed for the party!

They had an awesome throne for the birthday boy.  All of the kids had a lot of fun sitting in it.

A great day for a great little boy.  Happy 4th birthday Tyler...we love you so much and have loved every minute of the last four years with you!!

New Rooms for the Boys

With little baby girl coming this summer...isn't she cute?

Anyway...with new baby girl this summer, we had to do some rearranging of bedrooms in our home to make room.  Well...I guess we didn't HAVE to, because we did play with the idea of putting the boys in a room together, but since they are both such great sleepers, we decided that putting them in a room together might just be begging for sleeping troubles.  And, since we were fortunate to have bought a home with unfinished space for a 5th bedroom, we decided to finish out that area to give us room for all of the kiddos upstairs, and still have a guest room.  Our old guest room is the only upstairs bedroom with direct access to the hall bathroom that the kiddos will share.  I didn't want baby Kate being bothered by Tyler needing to use the restroom in the middle of the night, so I vetoed the thought of leaving everyone where they were and just transitioning it into the nursery.  And, b/c I am fearful of Lucas having easy access to a bathroom in the middle of the night, we couldn't just move him into that room and leave Tyler in his current room.  That being said, we had no choice but to move Tyler to the old guest room, Lucas to Tyler's room and put Katelyn in Lucas' old room.  Yes - musical rooms it is!  Haha!!

It was a bit of work to get it all prepped and moved, but I am so pleased with the results.  I love walking by their rooms and seeing how it all worked out.  I love how much more of a home a coat of paints makes a house feel.  After a year and a half, I'm truly feeling at home! 

So, for the room makeovers - I gave each of the boys a coat of blue paint and then a bold stripe through the middle of the room.

Tyler - of course - chose red...

 and it was green for Lucas!

Katelyn's room got a fresh coat of a beautiful light green with a brink pink stripe...so cute! I LOVE it! 

Blog Hop: Before & After

It's time for "Before & After" again.  To join the fun, post your SOOC (straight out of the camera) photo, as well as your edited version.  Be sure to visit Pixel Perfect to see other fun edits, or to link your own.

SOOC:

Edited (with Adobe Lightroom):

Katelyn's Monthly Faces

9 months

8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

 
1 month

 3 weeks

  Birth Photo:  07/26/10