Can you feel the love?

Jaedon just LoVeS to hold Owen - and Owen doesn't seem to mind it either ;)

It's really quite sweet.

Going (but not really) camping!

The church Brad grew up in (Pathway) goes on a week long camping expedition together once a year- that's the nice thing about smaller churches!! =) Almost everyone in the church goes camping or comes and visits the campsite sometime during the week.

If I were to guess I'd say it would be one of Brad's favorite memories of growing up. We've gone every year since we've been married (just have not been able to stay for a whole week yet) and this year was no exception. We drove up to Pioneer Park in Muskegon this past Tuesday. It was PERFECT camping day weather! We spent 3 hours on the beach (aren't those pictures just too cute?!) - playing in the sand, digging holes (which for some reason is so entralling when it involves sand) and Jaedon really surprised us by how "brave" (ie- Mama don't watch) he was in the water. He's my cautious boy- very aware of danger and tries to avoid it (ie- Mama stop telling me what's dangerous and how to avoid it! ;) The rest of the day we just lounged in the shade, Brad took a nap with Owen, we grilled some burgers, played volleyball and went out for ice cream. Of course, it wouldn't be camping if you didn't spend time around the bonfire at night! ;) It was a fun, no tent included, camping day!

Owen vids

So we were dinkin' around with the camera and this poor helpless baby. It sure tickled our funny bones... :) Brad

Seven Years

This past Monday Brad and I celebrated our 7Th Anniversary!

I love anniversaries. I love remembering our wedding day and our honeymoon.... and looking over how much we've grown (minus the waistline) and changed (like adding 3 kids!) since

June 23 , 2001.

I was telling Brad that it's really a shame that anniversary's are almost overlooked by the general populous. It seems that birthdays get more recognition than anniversaries (unless it's a milestone anniversary) and there is nothing that you DO to earn a birthday- except inhale oxygen for 365 days in a row. I mean really, you put your mom thru labor then as long as you continue to exist- you get to celebrate your birthday. Ok- so I like celebrating birthdays a lot too but why not put more emphasis on anniversaries? An anniversary is a celebration of another year of commitment and growth - not just existence! ;)

So after I told our waiter all of this at Carrabas, he brought us a free dessert.

Ok- so we DID get the free dessert- but I promise I didn't go all soapbox on him for it ;)

So our day was a ton of fun. We took the kids mini golfing at Craigs Cruisers. (their first time) Seth had fun just carrying his "stick" around and Jaedon had fun thinking it was like golfing on the WII and trying to "stay out of the water hazard" or getting a "bogey" (pronounced correctly and not boogie anymore ;) ). I'm not sure who had more fun playing around in the arcade either. Brad and I did some dance pad and Jaedon and Brad shot up some sharks. whatever!

We went out to pizza hut for lunch. Some of you know that pizza hut is an anniversary tradition for Brad and I. Our first anniversary Brad intended to take me out to some fancy shamcy place in Grand Haven - only he didn't realize that they were closed on Sundays! So, we went out to pizza hut (more our speed anyway) and have gone every year since.

After the yummy cinnamon sticks and a snooze, Brad and I did get to go out just the three of us (we took Owen of course ;) to our all time FaVorIte restaurant- Carabbas. mmmm....

Huge THANK YOU to the Gurks for watching the older two for us too!!! =)

typing one handed

so forgive the lack of capitals or the presence of typos- i'm trying to get these pics up while burping owen and the other three boys are on a bike ride. this is seth playing hide n seek. i love this pic!! =)

we went to a concert at a park in hudsonville the other day. the lakeshore Jazz ensemble was playing and we had fun swinging to the music. granddaddy dozed with owen. ;)

Update

Brad and Jaedon's new "toy". They LOVE it!!!!!!
Seths' sticky, slurpy, summery snack!
Growin' Owen

(okay so I'm not a fan of the rhyming thing but...)


Well, we are two weeks and one day into our newly establishing family of five! Things are going- honestly, better than I expected. Owen is a good baby- he eats well and, as long as he burps, he is pretty easy going and happy. I was very encouraged when he was 8lbs 10ozs. at his 10 day appt.!! (he was 7lbs 11ozs. going home so he gained almost 1 pound in a week!) Nights are going ok too (ok last night's 2 hour awake time was not so fun) but he seems to have the nights and days figured out.
Jaedon really seems to love his little brother - and often will call him "my favorite brother". Hmm... ;) He baby talks to him (but so do we!) and likes to hold him too. I haven't noticed any regressive behavior in him so far. He and Seth still pick on each other but that's nothing new! ;)

Seth seems to like Owen okay too. I think he kinda forgets about him most of the time. He did have a few wake up in the middle of the night crying for Mama times - (like twice) and he seems to needing a bit more physical touch more than usual (he's not a typical cuddler like Jaedon) but I think he's doing well too. I think having Brad around is SOOOooo good...not just helpful for me but the boys get some one on one time with one parent or the other.

Tonight we're going to see Horton Hears a Who - Seth's first time at a theatre. I'm excited to see how it goes! =)

Happy Fathers Day, Brad

photo shoot

My friend Beth is trying her hand at starting her own photography business. She was looking for some test subjects and I had a few to spare! ;-) Here's what she came up with...

The other two...

Pretty great eh?
I don't want to post her info here w/o her knowing but let me know if you want her email.

Just pictures

Snug as a Bug

Weekend of firsts

Our first picnic

Our first walk

Going to church

We had a fun weekend together. We went to our Sunday School's picnic Saturday afternoon, had our first (short) family of 5 walk, and Owen's first time to church today. Busy busy! =)


He is doing quite well. 2 nights in a row he slept from 3/4ish until 7. Consecutive hours of sleep was REALLY nice for me!! =)

Tomorrow Brad is going back to work and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by that right now - but I'm trying to take one day (or hour or minute) at a time.

Brothers at Birth

Jaedon Isaac

Seth Broderick

Owen Malachi

Baby time

Well, we once again had a calm "going to go have a baby" experience. We dropped the boys off at Mom and Dad Howells' Sunday night. I made them some 'goodie bags' for them to have at Grandmas- stuff like books and new (to them) videos etc... oh...and toothbrushes!!

Labor

Just a disclaimer to read this at your own risk!

If you really don't want to know about labor- just look at the pictures and move on to the next post ;) (Dad, that was for you! ;)

Here's the scoop-

We got to the hospital at 3 am (yawn*) and started Pitocin around 4. Actually, pitocin went well this time- they started off slowly enough- I was just hoping my body wouldn't need it after a bit but they kept it going. Brad was able to snooze a bit (complete with snoring ;) and we played 5 crowns around6:30. (I won ;)

My doctor - (this is the first time my actual doctor delievered my baby) broke my water at 7:30 and told me the epidural doc. was on him way. I was very excited since in my labor with Seth, after they broke my water and I got my epidural, he was born about 1 1/2 hours later- I figured this would be the same if not sooner. So the epidural doc does his thing- was very nice (he didn't yell at me for "bleeding on him" like my doc. with Jaedon did! oye.) and I'm looking forward to relaxing and maybe even dozing a bit. Strangely- I'm still feeling the contractions. Hmm...

Well, to make a long story longer - after pumping me full of who knows how many meds, putting me on my side to help the meds get to the left hand side of my body (my right leg was numb as they come!) they determinded that the baby's head is probably against my spine (hence the back labor) and blocking the meds from getting to the "hotspot" (aka-anywhere EXCEPT my right leg =P )

I don't know if that's what "au natural" birth feels like all the time or if it was more intense because of 1/2 my body being numb... and I know I'm not the only woman in the world to deliver that way but wow. A direct quote from me in labor: " this sucks."

Anyway, that's the main, non-messy, details of Owen's birth. To me it was horrible but it was also the first time that IMMEDIATELY after he was born I felt bonded to him and felt total ecstacy (that could've been the drugs kicking in ;-).

Some of my favorites

Don't worry! I'll post more pics and write some... uhh...sometime! =) Just wanted to get SOME pics up and out there ;)

Owen and company