Tooth Fairy Time!

For a few months now, Eathan has had four loose teeth. Some more so than others. I have been keeping a very close watch on them, and I wanted to make sure that I got to see this milestone, if possible. I also wanted to continue a tradition with my children that my mom did for me. I wanted to keep all of their baby teeth for them. Is that weird?! I have all of mine, and they just sit in a little drawer in my jewelry box, but I just can't bring myself to throw them away and I don't think I could just trash my children's either. So, yesterday, when he came home from school, he was super excited to show me that one of his teeth had gotten quite a bit more wiggly. It was pretty loose, but I've seen kids with teeth that were much more loose than that, and they had held on for weeks. So, I really wasn't too worried about it. Yesterday was also Halloween, but since we don't really celebrate Halloween, we call it Hallelujah Night. At our church we have an alternative party every Halloween and we call it Hallelujah Night. My husband took all the boys down to the church to play games, eat, and have fun for a while. I stayed behind to clean up a little because we had some guests coming over for a little while. When they got back home from the party they were super sugar-charged and completely filled with excitement tell me all about the fun they had just had. After hearing their stories, I hurried them to get their teeth brushed and to go ahead and get in the bed since they had school today. About 15 seconds after Jonathan tucked them in, Eathan was up out of bed, which is completely normal for him, but he usually takes at least a few minutes before his first attempt at stalling sleep. He told Jonathan that he thought he lost his tooth. We went to his room to look in the bed, but he soon explained that he didn't know when he had lost it. So, at some point between leaving for the party and bedtime he lost his tooth, and literally, he lost it! I was a little sad and really surprised, but things always happen when you least expect them to, right? I took a late night trip to Walmart after our company left, and I picked up a pack of these two really cool tin boxes. They were also magnetic, which I thought was so perfect because my big boys have magnet boards right next to their beds. I also got some sparkly blue scrapbook letter stickers to personalize it for him. Sparkly because fairies are always associated with sparkly and glittery stuff, I think. (I don't know much about fairies, seeing as I am drowning I testosterone.) I made sure to get a cool, boy color though to make is more masculine. LOl! Anyway, I checked out the sale isle, and while I was digging through piles of junk, I found a really cool Avengers Wonder Tube. Which is a tube, filled with water, glitter, and confetti. As well, as some pictures of Super Hero stuff. Like, Iron Man's face or Captain America's shield. So, you can look at it, and try to find a certain number of shields or Iron Mans, etc. I also found a pack of two carabiner hooks. I have one on my key chain so that I can easily hang them up or clip them to the diaper back or my belt loop, and the boys are always trying to get me to give it to them. On the way through to the check out, I also grabbed him a pack of M&M's because those are his favorite. I think I spent about 15 dollars in all, but the 2nd tin box, and some of the stickers are also going to be used when Evan loses his first tooth. So, I am trying to be frugal but still fun! When I got home, I personalized his box with his name, and took all the stickers and packaging off of everything. I grabbed a flashlight as snuck into their room. I was really trying to be super quite, but it was so hard! He is on the top bunk, and his magnet board is across on the wall right next to his bed. I was too afraid that I would wake him when I was struggling to reach across to the board so I ended up just sitting everything really, unorganized-like on a ledge next to his head. I forgot to add that the "Tooth Fairy" also wrote him a letter. It was a really fun experience, and I think he thoroughly enjoyed this very long-awaited event in his life! He is 7 years and 8 months old, and most kids his age lost their first teeth at 5 or 6. I am so proud and excited for him and this new chapter in his life. He is really growing up fast, and It is so bitter-sweet. I am just trying to hang on to every moment long enough to really let it all soak in. I don't want to look back on a single part of any of my children's life and feel like I wasn't completely all in at every moment. I am so thankful for every precious moment spent and memory made. Thank you Jesus for your many blessings on me and my family!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I am back!!

Well, here I am again... a few years later. I have tried to update my profile and my layout, etc. Hopefully, I got all of that done. So yes, here I am again. I am going to try this blogging thing once more. I hope that I can stick with it this time, and hopefully, be more consistent. I have looked through all of my old posts, and I can genuinely say that I am so happy that I took the time to post those, and I certainly wish I would have continued to do so. So, let me get you all up to date. When I left you last, I had just had my third little boy. Well, he is TWO now! Crazy! He enjoys going to Story Time at the Library, Playing any kind of ball (whatever his brothers are playing at the moment, usually), and going to the parks. Evan had just recently turned 4, I believe, and he is now SIX! He is in the 1st grade, loves school, and is an absolute social butterfly! He thoroughly enjoys sports. Right now, he is playing 6U tackle football, and they have had an undefeated season! He and his team are going to play their first playoff game this weekend. He also plays instructional league basketball, and this will be his second year playing. They will probably start practicing very soon. He had also played two years of T-ball. I am not sure if we're going to let him play another year of t-ball in the Spring or if we're going to move him up to baseball. That is still a little ways off though. I believe, Eathan was 5 1/2 the last time I posted. He is now SEVEN and a half! Crazy! He is in 2nd grade now, and he is very brilliant. His teachers have said he has very gifted qualities. He is very artistic, and he loves to draw pictures, and write a story to go along with it (future author and illustrator (;)! He played football last year, but decided not to play this year. He is about to start his very 1st year of basketball, and he is super excited about that. He skipped all the instructional years, and is going straight into the more competitive age group now, but I am pretty sure he can hold his own. He has such natural talent, and is generally very athletic. He has played 2 years of t-ball, and he played his first year of baseball last year. He is wanting to play again this Spring too! My tiny toddler and little preschooler are growing into precious little boys, and before I know it they will be young men! Now, we're watching our newest addition outgrow the baby stage, and he's moving even faster through this toddler stage. He wants to be big like his brothers! I am feeling so blessed that God has entrusted my husband and I with the upbringing and protection of these three precious angels! I just pray that we're able to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and I pray that they will be admirable men of God one day and do the same with their future families. As for me and my husband; We have now been married for 8 years!!! It does not seem like that long! Although, time does fly when you're having fun, and we have been having the time of our lives! I am dreaming of renewing our vows for our 10th, and possibly having a second honeymoon! ;) FUN! Here's to being dedicated and diligent about this blogging thing! See you all soon!

Something New...

I have decided do some vlogging!!! Go on over to youtube for new and more frequent updates! Our username is xoxThePagesxox! Or get there by clicking the link below!

 http://m.youtube.com/my_account?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google

Sorry It's Been Soooo Long!!!

Our newsest little addition, Ean John, was born at 38 weeks and 1 day, September 9th, 2011 at 12:08 am!!! He weighed 6 lbs 12.9 oz and was 18 3/4 in long! He was perfect and healthy at birth and we're all still doing great one month later! Both of his big brothers have adjusted wonderfully, and they love him very much! I will give a detailed labor and delivery story in another blog very soon! Until then...

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Hope you enjoy these albums!!!

We Finally Know The Gender!!! It's A Boy!

Wow... I should have made several posts before this one. I think when I left off I was nearly 11 weeks. At 11 weeks 5 days I had another early ultrasound to check on the bleed I had. It was still there, but it wasn't any larger. There was no active bleed at all! God answered our prayers! He is so good! At this same ultrasound I learned something else... or so I thought. I didn't even ask the gender because I just knew it was too early, but while I was in the adjoining restroom getting dressed I overheard a conversations between the ultrasound tech and my youngest son, Evan. She asked him if he thought it was a girl or a boy. He said, "girl!", which didn't surprise me at all. Then I was almost positive I heard her say, "so do I."!!!! What!? Did she really say that? Maybe she was just making small talk with a three year old. I am sure she really wasn't able to tell this early... Well, when I came out she was telling me about their conversation and that he said he thought it was a girl. I was like, "Well, how early can you tell?". She said, "I looked!". I was like, "really?! did you see anything???". She said, "I think it looks like a girl!". I was secretly ecstatic! I didn't show it, but I was overjoyed. She did tell me that it was still very early, and not to go paint the nursery or anything. (which we didn't do, thankfully!) The pregnancy continued to go well with no more complications. At 15 weeks 4 days I had my first "normal" appointment! My midwife did check me though because I had been having contractions, but everything was great. I guess after 2 previous pregnancies I just really notice early braxton hicks a lot more. At that appointment I learned that at 19 weeks and 4 days, on May 2nd, I would find out the gender... for sure! Surprisingly those next 4 weeks kind of flew by. We've been very busy, and I really just didn't have too much time to think about it. If you would've asked me what I thought the gender was. I would have told you that the pregnancy had been different compared to my boys, and the ultrasound tech thought it was a girl, nearly everyone thought it was a girl, so I think it's probably a girl. The last week before learning the gender though, I would see pictures of our family of 5 pop into my head, without thinking too much about it, and I would see another baby boy. When I really thought about it, I would say that I think it's a girl, just with the knowledge that I had, but when I didn't really try to think about it, and I would see these visions, or pictures in my head, I would see a baby boy. That last week before, my boys changed their tune also. They had said the whole time that they thought it was a girl, and they wanted a girl, but all of the sudden they decided they wanted a boy, and they thought it was a boy. Even my husband, who also thought it was a girl, told me he was starting to think it was a boy. I tried to block all of these boy images and things out. I kept just telling myself girl, girl, girl. The night before the ultrasound, and the day of, I was so nervous that I was sick! I had never been that nervous for an ultrasound, not even the ones to check on the bleed. I wasn't really excited about it at all. I was almost dreading it, and I think it was because I knew deep down that it was going to be a boy. I laid down on the table... I barely had enough time to get comfortable, and she put the thing (whatever it's called) on my belly and the very first thing I saw was the potty shot... my eyes immediately shot over to my husband to see if he saw. I think he did. At that moment I went into shock, and thank goodness because I prayed that if it was a boy I would take it well, at least in front of everyone, and that I wouldn't cry. (Which I did cry when I found out Evan was a boy! I felt like such a brat!) On the surface I think I took it better, but on the inside I was just blocking the emotions out.
Now before everyone goes and thinks I am a horrible mother, and that I shouldn't be like this. That I said in the beginning I wouldn't care what the gender was, and blah blah blah... I will love this baby boy the same as if he were a girl, and the same as my other children, and one day I will be thankful that he is a boy and not a girl! I am so thankful that he is a healthy baby. That was honestly my first concern. I know God knows best. I prayed throughout this whole pregnancy that the Lord would give us the gender that would best suit our family. The gender that would be best for each of us, and the family as a whole. I want a girl... desperately, but I do not know what's best. So, I am glad I know my Lord, and that I can talk with Him, and that He will do what is best for this family! I trust in Him!
Anyway, the ultrasound tech apologized over and over, and bless her heart, I did not want her to feel bad! She has an 80% accuracy guessing the gender with early ultrasounds. It just so happens that I fell into the other 20%. I thought the nub looked like a girl also. I researched early gender photos, and information, and everything pointed to a girl, but surprise! lol! The ultrasound tech is great, and I am not upset with her. I am a little upset with myself for letting myself get caught up in the idea of a girl before I truly knew. I pretty much had everything planned for a girl. I was just waiting for this ultrasound and then we would just have to follow out with the plans. We don't have many boys names picked out... I haven't even really thought of a theme for a boy... I am going to have to rethink everything! I know everything will be fine, and this is far from the "end of the world", but I think I am just in that very emotional transition period. I honestly feel as if I am mourning the loss of my little girl. I really feel as if I have lost her... like she was right there, so close, and now she is gone. It almost feels like a death. I know it sounds awful! I am sorry! I feel like I can't truly enjoy my baby boy until I go through this grieving period for my little dream girl. I know things will be fine, and soon enough I will be excited over this baby boy, just as I was for my dream girl. I have been through this feeling twice before. Nearly 6 years ago I longed for my first baby to be a girl, obviously he wasn't, and then I just wanted one of each with my second, but he was another boy! It just gets a little harder each time, but everything will end up okay. I know it will!
Now, since I have gotten out all of these awful feelings I am having... one good thing is I have only gained 2 lbs! yeah! I had my midwife check where I was at weight wise with my other pregnancies. At this point with Eathan I had gained 5 lbs, and with Evan I had gained a whopping 7 lbs! I feel good about that! We don't have a great list of boys names yet, but my husband loves the name Eli... which I love also, but I know so many kids with that name! I just can't do it! One of my husband's best friends has a kid named Eli. My two favorite boys names all along have been Elliott and Emmett. My husband does not like either of them! hah! So, we are on the lookout for boys names beginning with and E. Most of them are embarrassing or weird! If I only knew I would have to find 3 E boys names I might have chose something beginning with another letter! I know we don't have to give the baby and E name, but how could I have leave him out?! We'll see how it goes though. Um, haven't really thought of a nursery theme yet, but I might just do a color theme. I really love the turquoise blue, and ocean colors, i guess or like a really bright blue. With Eathan we did mostly red/black stuff, and Evan did a lot of green. So I am thinking this bright blue or maybe orange... I don't really know yet though. These are just thoughts. The hubby and I haven't had a chance to discuss much. I am excited to go through my boys baby clothes and see what we have! We don't have a whole lot because about a year or two ago I donated most of their baby clothes. I am pretty sure I donated most of the bibs, burp cloths, towels, etc! I know I have a few of their "special outfits" left. I will probably have to buy quiet a bit though... We gave away a lot!  Here are some ultrasound photos, and belly photos...

11 weeks 5 days... Tiny feet!

11 weeks 5 days

11 weeks 5 days

14 weeks 1 day

YA! It's definitely a boy! Very first thing we saw...

top: Head is to the right... bottom: His little foot!

top: another body and head shot. bottom: arm and hand!

19 weeks 4 days... the day we found out that IT'S A BOY!

In other news... I am not sure where I left off with Evan's tonsil and adenoid situation, but on March 17th he had his tonsils and adenoids removed. It was a scary day for us, but he did great! It was over very quickly, and his recovery went well too! He was on his pain meds for a solid week though. If I let him go over the 6 hrs  or whatever it was he would be very upset for a while. He also isn't the greatest medicine taker, so that was difficult as well, but as long as he had his meds he was playing and  eating well. He isn't a big drinker anyway, so it was hard to get him to drink, but popsicles and jello really helped. I kept a cold mist humidifier running all the time too. After a week, we got him off the pain meds and on regular tylenol. He only need it for a day or so, and then he was good. The one thing that worried me the most was his little voice sounded like he had a bubble in his throat for over a month, I'd say. I was afraid he would have a permanent speech problem, but very slowly and gradually his voice has gone back to normal. Every now and then you'll hear a little bit of that "bubble" come back, but I think he is going to be okay! Praise God for all He did! For watching over my baby and giving him a quick and problem-free recovery!
Eathan has been playing a lot of t-ball! He has fun with it, but is not always into it. I don't think you can expect much from a 5 year old though. He is really great when he wants to be, but if he isn't in the mood then you aren't going to pep-talk him into it! He has his own way of doing things. He is a different little boy... very independent. He isn't going to do it because the other kids are doing it... which may turn out to be a blessing one day! :) I started off really pushing him. I'd yell at him to pay attention and do this and do that, but he doesn't respond well to that anyway, and I don't want to make him feel pressure at 5 years old playing t-ball. It's suppose to be fun, and if he wants to throw his glove in the air instead then so be it... Soon enough he will learn that when he doesn't pay attention he doesn't get to play the good positions. If he wants to be in on the action then he'll learn to pay attention. So everyday with Eathan is a learning experience. He is teaching me so much, and I thank God for him and Evan everyday! Also we're coming to the end of his first year of school! CRAZY! He is going to be a kindergartner! I think kindergarten is going to be great for him. More structured learning and constructive things to do! He does much better when he has to put his mind to things, and he is just so smart he is going to do great! Some pics of Eathan playing t-ball!!!

He did great fielding in his first game!

Excited little boy! Now this is what it's all about! :)

So proud that everyone was there to see him and cheer him on!

Hit the first ball that was pitched to him!

A little bored!

Daddy made him his own batting helmet... Has his number on it and PAGE! 

Over Spring Break we were able to spend the night and a day in Pigeon Forge, TN! It was so much fun and a great little break for us all! I have some pics from that...

All of us!

cheesin' it in the hotel pool!

GO EATHAN!

His favorite spot! (He could reach bottom here)

Such a sweetie! :)

My boys!

first time driving go carts on their own!!!! Evan couldn't even see over the steering wheel!

Go Eath!

Go Ev!

I got to ride the kiddie train! Wooohooo!

mini golf!

Alamo Steakhouse! YUM!

We also traded in our Tahoe for a MINIVAN! I am a minivan mommy now! That was a tough transition... never thought I'd be driving a minivan, but guess what... I LOVE IT! It's a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country Limited. It's great, and perfect for our family, and will be great for when baby boy 3 gets here too! Automatic doors and back hatch for when your hands are full, closer to the ground so I don't have to pick up my boys to get them in the car anymore, dvd player, navigation (which if you know me, you know i need!), leather was a must for me because my boys always managed to spill things in the car and leather is much easier to clean, most of all though plenty of room! ahhhhh! lol!

I can't really think of much more at the moment, and if you've managed to make it this far without falling asleep, I am sure you're ready for this to be over with! I will leave you with highlights from the last few months! Thanks for reading and I know I've said it before, but I will be working on trying to do shorter, more frequent posts! God is good, God knows best, I trust in my Lord, and in His timing!

New Puppy, BELLA!

FUN at the Fun Factory!

Getting prizes!

Evan and Bella

Eathan and Bella

Family fishing trip to Black rock!

My boys!

Evan

Eathan and His class pet that he got to take home for Spring Break, Zooty Za!!!

The boys and their fish!

My little fish!

Thanks Again! I am going to upload a separate Easter post! :)