M&M+2

Saying Goodbye to 2011 and Hello to 2012!

2012-01-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

It's 2012. Seriously? Where has all the time gone?!?!

For Thanksgiving, we had a houseful...my Mom, Dad and brother Andrew came up and we had a nice dinner w/ them and all of Michael's family. Our theme this year was everything had to be homemade and the healthier (ie. good, whole foods and real ingredients) the better. It was a huge success and the food was wonderful! It's so easy to buy pre-made or boxed stuff from the store but it tastes sooo much better when you make it yourself, you have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment AND it's sooo much better for you!

For Christmas we headed down to good 'ole L.A. Pine or as Caden calls it, "Pine". My sister, bro-in-law and nephew, Jacob, flew up from Texas and we all headed down to my parent's house for the week. It was soooo good to have them here and they finally got to meet Emberly. Caden had a wonderful time playing w/ his cousin, Jacob, and we got to spend some time w/ other family too (Grandma Oster, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dennis, Aunt Renee and cousins Amelia, Ashley, Dakota, and Jack). We were all hoping for a white Christmas BUT the snow didn't decide to show up UNTIL we were driving them to the airport - of course! The kids didn't get to play in it but at least they got to see some :)

Emberly is almost 7 months old and earlier today she was gnawing on my finger, which she's been doing more intensely lately and something felt different. I felt around inside her mouth (as much as she'd let me) AND I'm pretty sure she has a tooth coming in on the bottom. Goodness - teeth already! Now the extra fussiness and not sleeping well the last couple days makes sense. I'm thankful it's taken this long though because Caden had teeth as early as 4 months. Crazy! She has another doctor's appt at the end of this month...so we'll get to see how big she is now. She's not crawling yet but is getting really close, she's starting to lift her belly all the way off the floor and has even crawled backwards a few times. I'm thinking it won't be long before she figures out how to go forward :) She likes to roll around all over the room and is getting good at turning to get where she wants to go. She's also getting really good at sitting up on her own. She's also started eating baby oatmeal....w/ squash next, yummm!

Caden's latest fascination is super heroes. He loves anything with Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Spiderman, Transformers, etc. and is all about the good guys getting the bad guys. It's funny because when he plays with his regular toys, like his cars or trucks, he asks me where the guns are and which bad guys they're getting. It's cute! :) He's still as curious as ever and wants to know what everything does, where it comes from, what it's name is, etc. etc. Also, a HUGE thing that happened recently is that he's potty-trained...at least mostly....he's wearing big kid underwear all day long and only wearing diapers for nap and bedtime. Yes, I'm so excited! I never thought this day would come!!!

As I'm typing, Michael is in India (hopefully napping after his long trip), on the other side of the world!!! He left yesterday afternoon and made it there a few hours ago. He was traveling for almost 24 hours straight. He's there for work and will be gone for just under 2 weeks. It's been awhile since I've posted so I don't think I've mentioned that Michael was promoted at work. His boss moved to a different department and Michael took their position, so he is now the Manager of the AP Department. It's such a huge blessing for him and our family but has meant extra stress on him the last few weeks because he has an open position that needs to be filled to help lighten his workload. I'm still working part-time, 3 days a week, but it's probably going to be for just a little while longer since they really want me to come back full-time but that's just not what's best for our family. Please keep us all in your prayers....pray for Michael to have safe travels, a really good trip and for him to find the right person to fill the void in his department and for me and my job, especially at home as I take care of the kids by myself while he's gone. I seriously don't know how single parents do it, it's a lot of work!

With it being 2012 and the New Year and all, here are a few resolutions for the upcoming year. I normally don't do New Years' resolutions but think these are good things to start doing for both myself and my family, New Years or not:

Make more food from scratch and use better ingredients (ie. whole foods, organic, local)
Be more intentional (I totally stole this from my sis-in-law Erin (check our her blog at http://www.christianmamasguide.com/) but it's so good and really hit a place in my heart. I want to be more intentional in my relationships with my husband and my kids and not just let life pass me by. I want to spend more times w/ my kids while they're little and I have the chance to be at home w/ them. I've talked w/ a couple people lately who have been telling me that time goes by sooo fast and I can already attest to that...I mean, really.....where did my almost 3-year old and 7-month old come from?!?!?!
Stop putting things off. (Do the dishes now, not tomorrow. Pick up the living room now, not later.)

So far, so good...but it is only the 7th....of January :)

And now for the toast to 2012 - There are a lot of things to look forward to in the coming year: babies to be born (a new nephew!), trips to be made, birthdays to be had and milestones to take place. Now here's to taking advantage of the time God has given me and making the best out of it! ....which at this very moment is going to lay down to try and get a quick nap in before the kids wake up! :) Cheers!

Pumpkins, Trips, Costumes ...

2011-11-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

We've been busy since our last post and this is what we've been up to....

After Labor Day I went back to work part-time, 3 days a week. Grandma (Michael's Mom) is watching the kids on the days I'm at work. She watches them at our house, which is such a huge help! Work has been up and down, which is pretty typical for this time of year. We're in the midst of Open Enrollment and are down 2 staff members so I've been stretched pretty thin BUT thankfully I'm able to keep on everything so I can still be part-time.

Our friend Carolyn visited from Texas for a few days, while she was here we went to the Pumpkin Patch and it was such a perfect day!

My Mom watched the kids for a night when Carolyn was here so we could go out. It was a nice evening sans kids, we went to the mall and then the Cheesecake Factory and caught up on things.

I made a trip down to Central Oregon a couple weeks ago with both kids. Michael couldn't take any time off so I braved the trip by myself! And I have to say I'm very proud of myself and my kids, they both did awesome!!! 4.5 hours one way is a lot of time in the car and we only stopped 2 times each way to take a little break and feed Em. Caden talked almost the whole time we were in the car (surprise, surprise!) and Em cried just a few times. :) We got to stay with Nana, Papa and Uncle Andrew in LaPine...and we made a trip out to Christmas Valley and stayed with Great-Grandma and got to see Uncle Linn, Aunt Denise and meet new cousins! Caden loved seeing all the mighty machines on the farm.

Great Grandma with Emberly

4 Generations

Caden and Em with Uncle Linn

Caden hugging on Em in Great Grandma's yard

Caden being cute!

Emberly chilling in the tree

Caden being silly with Great Grandma

Cousin Savannah, Caden, and Emberly with Great Grandma in Christmas ValleyI don't have any "size" updates on Emberly yet because she doesn't have her next Dr. appt until the end of the month. Since I went part-time my insurance changed and we had to find a new Dr. for her so it took awhile :) Lately she's been rolling over and figuring out how her hands work. Before she would reach for things but it was only on accident when she grabbed something, now it's intentional and she knows how to do it. She's growing like crazy! And more recently she started sleeping through the night again....for about a month she was waking up around 3:00/4:00 every morning and wasn't able to go back to sleep on her own but now she might wake up, cry a few times and then go back to sleep on her own. Yay, I see more sleep in my future!!! :) She also must be getting teeth in because she's really slobbery and constantly putting something in her mouth to chew on, and she has the occasional red cheeks too. So far no teeth have broken through so we're just waiting....

Em at 4 months, sleeping with her thumb in her mouth

For Halloween, Caden dressed up as Super Man and Emberly was a lady bug. We went to the Harvest Jam at church for a little while and Caden played some carnival-type games...he got candy for playing each one but he really didn't care about that part, he just liked the games! :) After the Harvest Jam we went over to Andrew and Wren's to hangout for a little bit until it was bedtime for all the kids. Caden can't get enough of his friends!!!

Caden hugging on Emberly :) Sooo cute!!

"Superrrr Man!" So serious too, haha!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is 3 weeks away!!! I'm still so amazed how fast time flies when you have kids. Busy, busy, busy! We're going to have Thanksgiving at our house this year and will be in LaPine for Christmas. Annie, AJ and Jacob are flying up for Christmas so that is going to be wonderful!! I'm really looking forward to both, I love Holidays! And I don't get to see my sister enough so I am very excited!!!

Emberly - 2 month checkup

2011-08-15T22:27:00.001-07:00

Wow, time is flying by. It's hard to believe Em is already 2 months old and Caden is 28 months old. We took Emberly to her 2-month checkup today and here are her stats:

Height = 23" (74.73%)
Weight = 12 lb (80.05%)
Head = 15" (32.68%)

It's crazy to see her stats because she's so much smaller than Caden was because he topped the charts in all areas.

Miscellaneous Pics

2011-08-08T14:31:00.001-07:00

And here are some pictures from the last few weeks...most of them have been altered using Instagram.

I love that app on my iPhone!!!

Our 2 little monkeys!Posing? :)

Sleeping beauty

Playing outsideCutie pie!
All smiles!
Playing at the park for Uncle Eli's birthday

Pictures from Michael's Bday

2011-08-08T14:10:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our adventures on Michael's birthday -

Walking to the streetcar from work
Riding on the streetcarYes, this is mostly what Emberly did the whole day :)Riding on the Max trainDinner with the family at Claim Jumper

Happy Birthday Michael!

2011-08-03T12:01:00.001-07:00

Michael had his golden birthday this year - 30 years old on July 30th. We went on an adventure to try and do 30 things...this was our day:

First we made breakfast at home, went to Dutch Bros for his free bday drink, drove to Con-way, walked to the streetcar, walked around Pioneer Square, rode the Max to the zoo, went to see the Elephants, rode the Max back downtown, walked along the streetcar line, stopped at Cupcake Jones for a cupcake, ate lunch at Hungry Planet and Hot Lips pizza, drove home, took naps, went to dinner at Claim Jumper with his parents, Heather and Eric, and then Michael had a free bday cupcake from the restaurant. Phew!!! Such a long but FUN day! Since that wasn't 30 things his bday celebration spilled over into Sunday. After church we made an impromptu, adventurous trip to the beach...where we: drove to Seaside, walked the pier, got taffy and jelly beans, went to Costco in Warrenton (random, I know) and ate hot dogs, drove to Battery Russell, went to the beach and took some BEAUTIFUL pictures, went to Dairy Queen, and then drove home on Hwy 30. Another long but FUN day!!! I'm not sure we made it to our goal of 30 things BUT we got pretty close.

Happy Birthday Michael!!! You are a wonderful Daddy and Husband. We love you and are excited for the many years to come!!!!! Thank you for being you and loving us!

4 Weeks Old (almost...)

2011-07-10T15:13:00.001-07:00

Here is an update and some pictures from the last couple weeks.

The first 3 weeks my Mom and/or Michael were able to stay home with me and the kids, which was so nice to help me get adjusted to having 2 kids while figuring out nursing, sleeping, eating, etc. Michael ended up taking almost 2 weeks off and we were able to go on several outings as a family...shopping, zoo, walks, etc.

Here are some pictures we took at the zoo. My nephew, Joey, went on a short vacation with his Oma and Opa in Oregon so we got to have him stay w/ us at our house for a few days.

Caden LOVES his cousin, Joey, AND tractors!!!

Caden LOVES elephants too!

And here are some pictures of Caden and Emberly.

Family and Prayer

2011-07-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

My family –

Caden is doing really well. He grew up overnight. It made me cry to see my little boy, who is no longer a baby! He's been a great helper and is having fun getting to know his little sister (playing with her feet, holding her hands, snuggling her face, talking to her...) Sooo precious!

Emberly is doing great. She's sleeping and eating well. I forgot how not fun engorgement was. Word to the wise: it will get better! So far she's adapting well and is a wonderful addition to our family. She's finally here!!! And not to mention the fact that she is absolutely beautiful!

Michael was sick once we got home from the hospital. Really sick! He had a high fever and other cold-like symptoms, so with a new baby at home he quarantined himself away from all of us for 4 days. It was not fun!!!

My Mom was able to stay with us and was a huge help with Caden, Em and the house!!! I would have gone crazy if she hadn't been here. Thank you!!!

My prayer –

Thank you God for my family. Thank you for a fast and safe delivery of my baby girl. Watch over my children as they grow, protect them from the evil one and draw them to you. Help Michael and I to be good parents, setting good examples for Caden and Em and showing them how to love. Give me patience (I know I need it) and help me to be selfless.

Labor and Delivery

2011-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here is my "Labor and Delivery" story –

Tuesday, June 14^th: On the way home from work we decided to go to the store and pick up a few things for my "hospital bag". I had kept putting it off because I thought it could wait until Thursday since I wasn’t scheduled to go in for my c-section until 10:30am on Friday (June 17^th) morning. We went shopping at Walmart for a few last-minute things (toiletries, present for Emberly from Caden, trail mix and m&m's). While we were walking around I started having contractions, nothing too strong or abnormal. At 7:30pm my contractions were about 6 minutes apart. We grabbed dinner on the way home and then I watched some TV for awhile and Michael “packed” my bag once we got home.

Then around 8:30 the contractions started getting closer together, about 2 minutes apart. Michael asked me if we should go in and I told him I didn't know. When Caden was born I was induced 3 days after my due date and ended up having a c-section after pushing for 3 hours with no progress, so this was all new to me. Also, not to mention the fact that I had a scheduled c-section on the 17^th. Michael called my mom to get her opinion and then called Labor and Delivery at the hospital. They told us to come in if we felt like I was going into Labor. By this time, I started helping Michael pack everything into our bags because he was being too slow. Close to 8:45pm the contractions were still 2 minutes apart but much stronger (unable to talk, had to stop moving and work through the contraction, etc.) We decided we needed to go to the hospital and Michael called his mom to come watch Caden. That 15 minutes of waiting seemed liked forever!!! I was trying to finish packing and Michael was frantically getting stuff into the car (car seat, boppy, bags, etc.) all the while Caden was following me around copying what I was doing through each contraction. Most of the time it’s cute when he copies but this was NOT one of those times!!!

As soon as Sharon got there we jumped in the car and headed for the hospital. On our way we saw a cop turn around right in front of us on Hwy 30 before Cornelius Pass. Thank you Lord for looking out for us and that we didn’t get pulled over because Michael was driving F-A-S-T! My contractions were getting so strong by the time we headed into Hillsboro that I didn’t know if we were going to make it. I kept telling Michael to “hurry”.

We got to the hospital around 10pm and pulled up to the ER entrance. Michael ran in and said, "Someone needs to help me, my wife is having a baby." He came back with someone and a wheelchair and they wheeled me in and took me up to Labor and Delivery. They asked me questions as I worked through my contractions and took me into a triage room so they could check me. Once I got there they asked me to change into a gown and climb into bed. At that moment I didn’t know if I could get into the bed, it seemed like such a huge task. I remember telling the nurse, "I don't know if I can get into that bed". I decided that I HAD to do it so I forced myself to stand up and put the gown on and then while I was trying to muster up the strength to climb into the bed another strong contraction came and MY WATER BROKE!!! Michael ran out of the room and told them my water broke and the nurse came rushing in to "check me", sure enough the baby's head was down and I told her to “hurry” because there was so much pressure that I knew this baby was coming! The doctor's came in next and checked me and then wheeled me away into a delivery room. I remember one of the doctor’s saying, “you had a c-section the first time is it ok if you deliver vaginally?” and of course I said “yes!”

We got into the room and everyone was running around getting everything setup and waiting for my info to be put into the system. The doctors were getting me prepped to push while the nurses were trying to get my IV in. I wanted to yell at those nurses because it took them forever to get my IV taken care of. I had to keep yanking my hand back from them each time a contraction came. Buh! My hands were so hot and sweaty that they couldn’t get the tape to stick so they tried 3 different things until they finally got a mesh wrap to go over it.

Once I got into active labor, I pushed for a total of 24 minutes and then Miss Emberly Mae arrived at 10:54pm!

I. Cannot. Believe. It. A successful VBAC with no drugs!!!

This whole experience was so much different than last time. Here are a few differences:

I was wheeled in through the ER and didn’t just walk in nonchalantly with my bag in tow.
Emberly arrived much faster (3-4 hours instead of 20 hours) and in a very different way (naturally instead of surgically).
NO MEDS instead of an epidural and whatever other meds they gave me during and after surgery.
I was able to hold her right away and keep her once she was born instead of only seeing Caden for a brief moment before they whisked him away to get him cleaned up.
I was able to eat right away instead of waiting until I was able to “pass gas”. The nurse brought me a ham sandwich while we were waiting to be taken to our room.
The nurses left us alone and only came around to take our vitals or give me meds.
Emberly passed her jaundice and hearing tests the first time.
We were discharged from the hospital at 11:40am on Thursday morning (we hadn't even been there 48 hrs yet).
The pain was sooo different and I didn’t have major surgery. *It was hard for me to stand up straight for several days because my back was so jacked.

Caden: List 1

2011-04-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Caden likes to:

Play with cars, trucks, fire trucks, tractors, trains, airplanes, race cars and monster trucks
Play with his trains and track
Play with Legos
Color in his Mickey Mouse, Thomas & Friends and Diego coloring books
Read books (his current faves are several stories in a 5-in-1 Book of Berenstein Bears)
Count to 15 (his favorite numbers are 14 and 5)
Sing the "ABC's", "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Say, "Hi, I'm Caden. I'm 2", "Come back", "Oh man", "I coming", "Sticky", "Down, down" (which really means "Up, Up" :)
Point out the moon and/or the sun, planes, birds, clouds, rainbows, rain, snow and anything else in the sky
Watch "Umi Zoomi", "Dora the Explorer", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and his all-time favorite "Mighty Machines"
Go to Church and see his friends
Talk to people when we're at the store
Talk your ear off (he's quite a good talker for just turning 2!)
Eat: FRUIT (berries, mango, grapes, oranges, melon, bananas), Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, cheese (especially Laughing Cow wedges and cheddar), spaghetti, bagels, hot dogs, ice cream, pizza, popcorn, juice, milk, bunny (Nesquick) milk, waffles, yogurt, cereal, sausage, bacon, french fries, any green vegetable (broccoli, green beans, lettuce, peas)
Take "naps" (day or night) with his blanky (any of his soft, fleece blankets)
Have his feet tickled
Be outside
Go for rides in the car
Boss the dogs around
Play with his uncles
Take showers
Listen to music really loud and dance
"Watch" football and the Blazers on TV w/ Daddy
Throw stuff (which is NOT a good thing - we're working on it...)
Play with balloons

Caden doesn't like:

BUGS
Time out
Dirty diapers
Being without a diaper
Haircuts
Sun shining in his eyes
Having dirty hands

I thought it would be fun to make these lists so we can remember what he likes as a 2-year old 10, 20, 30 years from now....I know that seems like a long ways from now but the last 2 years have seemed like only a few months.

Photo Shoot

2011-04-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

Michael and I had an impromptu photo shoot with Caden yesterday. :) Such a cutie!

Decorating and Rearranging

2011-04-15T20:09:00.001-07:00

So, the nursery is almost finished. The walls are painted, the furniture is setup, the curtains are hung, sheets, clothes and blankets are bought, the letters for her name are painted and waiting to be hung.....now all we're waiting for is our little girl to arrive. Today is the 16th which means she is due 2 months from now - 8.5 weeks to be exact. Pregnancy seems so much slower this time around....mostly because I'm like, "been there, done that" and I just want her to be here! I know I will have many sleepless nights and will be pushed beyond my limits with a 2-year old and a newborn at the same time...but I'm ready. Crazy, I know?!?! Also, I'd like to add that I passed my glucose test this time around with flying colors....praise the Lord! I know this isn't very exciting to whoever is reading this but I feel the need to document it :)

Just a few pictures of the nursery:

Picture frames, storage boxes, lamp and a blanket.

This is the teal wall with the tree decal before we put it up.

And here's the tree with the butterflies.

The crib with a blanket one of my co-workers made.

Here is a picture of Caden's new room with his big boy bed and his Thomas and Friends bedding.

Our house is in the process of getting rearranged....we moved the computer area into our room and are transforming the computer area into a kids/guest room. There's not a ton of space so we're trying to be creative!!!

2nd Birthday

2011-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Caden had his birthday at the beginning of April. We can't believe he's already 2!!! It's amazing how time goes by so much quicker when you have kids. We kept his birthday low-key this year...mostly just because the weather has been so awful and we weren't able to do anything outside. Boo to the rain!!! On his actual birthday we had spaghetti for dinner and cupcakes from St Cupcake (yummm!). He got Duplo Legos, Diego pictures for his viewer and a fire truck book.

Yum, peanut butter chocolate with banana!

We also had a small birthday party with Michael's family a few days after his birthday and he got a fun new Thomas Train set from Uncle Eric, a package of rubber balls from Uncle Gabe, a basketball hoop from Aunt Heather, Grandma and Grandpa and some coloring books, stickers and colored pencils from Mommy and Daddy. We had pizza and salad for dinner and ice cream sundaes w/ chocolate chip cupcakes for dessert.

Yay, Thomas!

Ohhh, a candle!

Here's Caden with his Thomas the train tattoo.

Caden,
We are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are such a sweet boy and we love watching you grow up. We can't wait to see what God has planned for your life and what kind of big brother you're going to be. We love it when you say, "Come back" and "Hi, I'm Caden" when we get you up in the morning and repeat everything we say :) We love your hugs, kisses and whispers...we love you sooo much and are excited for what the future holds!

Counting and ABC's and Nursery

2011-02-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

Caden amazes me every day with how much he knows and how big he's getting.

Last night Michael, Caden and I were hanging out in the living room. Caden had taken all the pillows off the couch and was jumping into it from the couch. As he stood there he counted before he jumped off and said, "1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18!" and then leapt off the couch. Michael and I both stopped and asked him what he just said because up until this point we'd only heard him count to 10 and now he had added 3 more numbers. Now, granted 18 doesn't come after 12 and most of the time he skips #2 but STILL....counting that high at the age of 22 months. Crazy!!!! He is such a smart little boy. Occasionally he will say parts of the alphabet, "A, B, C, D....G, H, J...." and sing parts of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." It is so cute!

We've been thinking and looking on the internet a lot to try and figure out how we want to decorate the nursery for our baby girl and we think we've figured it out. We found a picture on etsy.com (see below) that has a turquoise wall w/ a cherry blossom tree wall vinyl that looks amazing!

In the picture the cherry blossom tree has red and white flowers but we are going to get it in fuschia and white. So our colors for the room will be turquoise, fuschia, white and dark brown. The brown will be incorporated into the tree trunk and all of our nursery furniture is chocolate brown. It's been hard finding bedding that's the right colors...for some reason all of the crib bedding is pastel pinks, purples, yellows and blues, so we're going to have to be creative but are up for the challenge. Once we start getting stuff we will post pictures.

2010 Holidays

2011-01-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was laying in bed debating if I should get up or not I decided that I need to post about our holidays from 2010. So here goes!

For Thanksgiving we went down to my parent's house in Central Oregon and played in the snow. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and a surprise guest showed up to hang out for the day -- my grandma! We don't get to her see that much because of where we both live and it had been several months since she had seen Caden last so it was a wonderful surprise. We stayed through Saturday and even managed to make it into Bend on Black Friday to do a little shopping, it was a little crazy but didn't seem as bad as the last couple years. Since it was snowing during the week it was a MESS on the way home. I think it took us almost 2 hours to go a 25-mile stretch on the top of Mt Hood. We figured there was an accident or something that had slowed traffic down so much but we never saw anything if it was...there were just a lot of cars. Thankfully we had plenty of things in the car to keep Caden occupied and we didn't have a screaming 18-month old that whole time.

For Christmas we made a trip down to Texas to visit my family. My mom was able to come with us, which is always such a huge help with Caden. I still wasn't feeling all that great on this trip so I took any help I could get. We had a wonderful time hanging out at C&E's and Caden had an awesome time with his cousins. Of course, being the youngest, he was the one always following behind but for the most part the kids did a great job playing and including him when they could. Carolyn was able to drive down from Dallas and hang out for a little while too, so that was fun! We flew home early on Christmas day -- Caden was awesome on the plane and even took a nap, I might add. He is such a trooper and a great traveler!!! Once we got home, we all took naps since we had been up so early and then headed over to Uncle Eric's house for Christmas dinner with Michael's family. We were glad to be able to spend time with both our families over Christmas.

Here's a picture of Caden with Nana before we left for Texas.

Caden had so much fun playing on the Power Wheels Jeep.
He was good at pushing on the gas pedal but not so good with steering! :)

Michael had fun dressing up as Santa Clause...

Me, Joey and Jacob liked him but Caden and Kate not soo much!
Here's a picture of Erin, Kate and Nana.
We're so excited for Cam and Erin, they're having another boy and are due a couple weeks before us!
One of the nights we were there we had an "Iron Chef" cooking competition.
Here is a picture of the Roasted Red Pepper Chopped Salad and Naan bread (in the background) that the girl team made. Soooo yummy and soooo fun!
Here's Caden playing with Aunt Annie and Uncle AJ and his new puzzle.
And here is a family picture from Christmas Day that we spent at Eric's house with Michael's family.
We hope that you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and families.

Thank you Lord for another great year and we're looking forward to another one in 2011!

The Balance of Power Has Been Restored in the Pierce Household

2011-01-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Geesh, it's been awhile since I (Mollie) posted last...

So, 6 months later...Caden is running around everywhere, talking up a storm, and LOVES cars, trucks, trains, planes and tractors. He is such a cutie and such a blessing! He gets to be more and more fun the older he gets.....we're thinking about starting to potty train soon and getting him a big boy bed. He's growing up so fast!!! Thank you God for such a wonderful, healthy, loving little boy who brings so much joy to our lives!

He's also going to be a big brother!!! We found out yesterday afternoon that our baby, who is due on June 15th, is a GIRL! After having a boy, I wanted a girl so that we had 1 of each....some people thought it was a girl, others were adamant that it was a boy. I on the other hand, had a "feeling" that it was a girl but didn't want to get my hopes up too high because I didn't want to be disappointed. To some people that may sound awful but I really did want a girl this time and thankfully, the Lord has blessed us with one. During the ultrasound yesterday, the baby was wiggling and bouncing around everywhere so it was hard for the ultrasound tech to get some of her measurements and she had to try multiple times before she got everything she needed. The baby had her legs crossed most of the time so the tech tried from all different angles to make sure that it was a girl and that there was "nothing there". I told my mom the story after and she wanted to know if we asked the Tech if she'd ever been wrong because her answer to us was that she was "confident" it was a girl. Especially since most of the time with a boy it's pretty obvious....

I had a feeling it was a girl because my pregnancy has been different this time around. With Caden I didn't feel as sick during the first couple months and stopped feeling sick altogether at 16 weeks. This time I felt awful, awful, awful for a couple months and I still feel sick at just over 18 weeks! :( Toward the beginning, it was constant nausea and I ate a TON of tums and not much else and now it's kind of hit and miss and I still feel nauseous from time to time. Oh well, it's all worth it and I know other women who have been through much worse. So I really can't complain! Thank you Lord for giving us a baby girl, who's healthy and beautiful! It's so amazing to me how detailed and informative ultrasounds are, I loved being able to see her this early and sooo little.

Through all of this, Michael has been amazing. He really should win the "Husband of the Year" award. Those first few months I did absolutely NOTHING when I was at home. I only had enough energy/strength to make it through the work day and some days I wasn't even able to that.... He was so awesome and took care of everything for me and Caden....getting or making all our meals, going to the store for my cravings, taking care of Caden, changing all his diapers, taking care of the animals, and the list goes on and on. I know I am blessed beyond belief and know that some husbands wouldn't do any of those things. Thank you God for such a loving and selfless husband and father to our child!!! I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Some people have asked if we know what we're going to name her and I believe the answer is, "yes", BUT we're not going to tell until we get closer to her arrival. It is possible that we could change our minds and we really want to make sure that it's not going to be one of the top 50 popular girl names for 2011 like Caden ended up being for 2009! We thought we were picking a real unique name for him but apparently everyone else did too :)

More to come later, we're talking about how we want to decorate the nursery and will post pictures/ideas once we get it all figured out.

Caden is walking!

2010-06-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of Caden walking...he still crawls every once in a while but is very mobile. He really likes his basketball too! :)

Caden Walking from Michael Pierce on Vimeo.

Caden's 1st Birthday

2010-05-10T21:56:00.001-07:00

I know this is a little overdue since Caden turned 1 on April 6th.
Here are a few pictures from his birthday parties.

I'm not sure how the last year went by as fast as it did!

Yummm, he likes cupcakes!

Such a happy, loving boy.

Caden, we love you and thank God for you every day.
May you grow up to be a wonderful person who loves our Savior and lives for Him.
And may we bless you the way you have blessed us, baby boy!

May is here!

2010-05-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, here is an update on the Pierce family...

Caden is 13 months old and growing like crazy. At his 12-month appt he weighed 23 lbs 13 oz (63rd percentile), height 2' 8.75" (99th percentile) and his head was in the 99th percentile also. How did he get so big?!?! He's growing up so fast and is not a baby anymore....no more bottles, no more pacifiers. He has a mouth full of teeth too - 8 in the front (4 on top, 4 on bottom) AND all of his 1st year molars have come in, which brings the grand total to 12. Ridiculous!

He's not walking yet but does just about everything else. He'd rather climb on everything instead of trying to walk. :) A couple weeks ago he climbed up the stairs and acted like he'd done it a million times - it was crazy!

His Aunt Heather took him to his first swimming lessons last week and he loved it. She's going to start taking him weekly now because he enjoys it so much. I'll put some pictures up here when I get them....

The weather has been really nice lately, here's a picture from the weekend with Caden all ready for summer.

A couple weeks ago we went to a Mariner's game with my parents, here's one of the pictures from outfield. Such a cute little boy! :)

In other news - Michael found out that he is going to India for his job for 2 weeks in the summer. I'm trying to plan a trip to go down to Texas to visit my family for some of the time that he's gone, so that will be fun.

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday....Michael (and Caden) made me breakfast in bed, then we went to church, came home and took naps and then we went out to a Brunch Buffet with Michael's mom and the rest of his family. A wonderful, healthy child.....flowers, cards and good food - so much to be thankful for!

The Texas MacPherson's will be in Oregon this weekend so we get to hang out with them at the beach. It's hard being so far away from my family, especially my niece and nephews because Caden doesn't get to see his cousins very often.

I've been listening to the new TobyMac CD and am loving it - especially the songs "Tonight" and "Wonderin' ". Oh how I love Matt Thiessen from Relient K....if only I could see them this week with Paramore. That would be a great concert to go to - maybe someday...

Crawling....for real

2010-02-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that Caden has officially learned how to crawl.....and is getting into everything! Not only has he mastered the art of crawling but he's pulling himself up to standing now and has even taken a few steps while holding onto things. Now I'm just wondering how long it will be before he walks....the countdown begins!

Getting into the cupboards and playing with dishes and silverware is so much fun!

He is so proud of himself, such a big boy!

Wow, it's 2010 already!

2010-02-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

Caden will be 10 months old this Saturday. Where did all the time go? ...it seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. A lot has changed over the last 6 months, especially Caden! At his 9-month appt he weighed 22 lbs 11 oz and was 2 1/2 feet tall. He has 8 teeth; 4 on top and 4 on bottom, which is crazy because he got his first 2 around 4 months, the next 4 around 5 1/2 to 6 and the last 2 around 7 months. He looks like such a big boy when he smiles and you see his mouth full of teeth. Along with his teeth he has a very extensive vocabulary, it seems like he's talking or singing or screaming (maybe screeching is a better word, I don't know though...) all the time. Right now he's hanging out with Michael and I hear him saying, "ba, ba, ba, ba....bop, bop....ahhhh, ahh....mumm, mum, maaa...." It's really cute!

He's eating a lot of solid foods these days...cheerios, puffs, all different kinds of fruits and veggies, mac 'n cheese, chicken, breads, and yogurt. As far as his movement goes, he's "crawling" everywhere. Crawling is in quotation marks because he kind of does an army crawl/pull/kick-off thing. We've tried teaching him to crawl the "normal" way but he's already gotten so fast doing it the other way he doesn't practice for very long. He's been doing his version of crawling since Thanksgiving-ish time. He's starting to crawl "normally" a little bit more but he's also starting to sit on his knees and is trying to pull himself up when he's next to a chair or the coffee table or the couch. I'm seeing attempts to walk and then full-on walking not too far in my future. Other than all of his milestones and everything going on, he is generally a very happy baby. He's all smiles and doesn't fuss very much!

2 weeks ago we spent a week in Texas visiting my sister and brother and each of their families, which meant that Caden got to hang out with all 3 of his cousins at the same time for the first time. It was a lot of fun and a much needed vacation but we all came home sick with colds. The first couple days at home were manageable but then Caden and I got pink eye (courtesy of his cousin) and I got a really bad ear infection, so last week was NOT fun! Thankfully though Michael didn't get sick...God was definitely looking out for us because He knew Michael needed to be well to take care of me and Caden. We are on the mend and doing much better now! I told my sister, Annie, that we had a great time hanging out with them but not a great time coming home with their sickies! I'm hoping and praying that doesn't happen again. Other than being sick Caden did really well for his first plane ride. My mom came with us, which was soo nice, because she is such a HUGE HELP with Caden. He got a little restless and was tired of being held the whole time but all in all, we survived. :)

Also, when we were in Texas we got to see our friend Carolyn from college. She lives in Dallas now, so we rented a car for a couple days and drove up from Austin to visit her. We stopped at this place called "The Czech Stop" on the way and had some wonderful kolaches. If you don't know what they are, you need to have one, soooo good!

In other news, Michael has been on a "cooking kick" the last couple weeks and is now determined to make all of our meals at home for the next 28 days. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think it's great, don't get me wrong - no fast food, no buying out for almost a month, my husband cooking - but I'm just not very fond of ALL the dirty dishes his cooking is leaving behind! :)

So, here's to 2010, a lot of changes still to come....Caden's 1st birthday, Michael and I both turning the big 2-9, different things at work, new babies to welcome, and tons more "firsts", and some "lasts" for our family....and through it all I hope that we remember how BIG our God is and how GOOD He is, who has for the time blessed me with these....

2009-10-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

Almost 4 Months Old...

2009-07-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Caden has a doctor's appointment on Tuesday for his 4-month check-up so we'll have official stats then, but here are his "unofficial" 3.5 month old stats -

Length: 27 inches
Weight: 16.5 pounds

He's learning new things all the time...he's rolled over from his tummy to his back several times; he's trying to mimic us by sticking his tongue out through his lips and saying "mmm"; he laughed, like really laughed last night when he was playing with JJ (our dog) and he's always talking more and more and learning new sounds. He even practices those new sounds at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning! :) Yep, that's right, sometimes he wakes me up with his "ahhs" and "oohs" in the middle of the night.

It's so fun watching him grow, we absolutely love it!

Here are some more pictures of him -

Saturday Stroll

2009-06-14T00:31:00.001-07:00

Went to the farmers market and then to the cafe...Caden was good the
whole time! Even though it wasn't super sunny it was still nice to be
outside.

2 Months Old

2009-06-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Caden turned 2 months old this week and with it came the following…

Doctor and Shots…
On Monday we took him to the doctor for his 2 month checkup and his first round of immunization shots. Everything was going well and we had a happy baby until the doctor stripped him down and started poking him and then he was really pushed over the edge when the nurse gave him his shots. It was soooo sad and broke our hearts! Now we know what his “I’m in pain” cry sounds like….poor little guy!

Here are his stats:
Height - 24.5 inches (96th percentile)
Weight - 13lb 7.5oz (92nd percentile)
Head - 16.26 inches (86th percentile)

Sleeping through the night…
Last night marked another milestone for Caden because he slept through the night – yay! I fed him at 10 o’clock and then woke him up at 6:30 this morning to feed him again. He didn’t go to sleep right after I fed him at 10pm but settled in around midnight and slept until 6:30am. It’s hard to believe that he’s already 8 ½ weeks old because I’m not really sure where the time has gone!!! I’m heading back to work on the 22nd of this month so I’m taking in as much as I can right now….

We’re so happy and blessed to have such a healthy, smiley baby boy!

Baby at the Beach

2009-06-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

We took Caden to the beach over Memorial Day weekend and had a great time! I wasn’t sure how he would do being away from home that long and was a little nervous to take him BUT he did a great job.

We met up with friends at Hug Point for a few hours, walked around Cannon Beach for awhile and then stopped at Camp 18 for dinner on the way home and thankfully Caden slept or was happy for most of the time.

Here are some pictures of the group and Caden with his cool shades, poor child!

First Bath

2009-05-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Last week was Caden's first real bath. He's had several more since then but Im just now getting around to posting some pictures. At first he didnt seem to like it, I think the water was a little cold or something...but soon enough he realized it wasnt that bad and seemed to enjoy himself.

Caden Slideshow

2009-04-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

2009-04-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun video in case you wanted to hear him.

Caden Michael Pierce

2009-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Throughout the last few weeks of pregnancy Mollie has been having higher than normal blood pressure. The doctors have been concerned about both Caden and Mollie and monitoring the situation very closely. Finally his due date came and went and the decision was made to induce if he didn’t start coming by Sunday night.

Sunday – 8:00pm

We drove up to the hospital as the sun was setting over the pacific coast range. The weather had been extremely nice and in the high 70s most the day. We parked in the parking garage and unloaded a suitcase and several other bags of necessities (laptops, phones, ipods, baby stuff, etc). As we walked through the west entry to St V’s and up the purple elevators to the 3^rd floor we realized something…we may be entering this hospital as two but we would be leaving as 3!

We got settled into the room and not long after the Dr came in to discuss the plan…everyone has a plan..a birth plan, an induction plan, a recovery plan…sometimes however you have to plan that things won't go as planned…

By time they gave Mollie Cervidil it was probably about 10pm. Time to go to sleep and see what the morning would bring.

Monday 6:00am –

It started…lots of contractions and things happening pretty fast. Usually the drug takes about 12 hours…but it seemed to be working faster than that. Most of the Drs thought that it would still be some time so they put off checking Mollie until later. So we had a blueberry muffin and waited.

Monday 9:00am –

Finally checked to see what was going on…whoa, dilated to 7 or 8cm! The nurse went to get the doctor…I called Grandma Nanette and she started driving over from La Pine. Contractions continued to get stronger and the pain was getting really intense for Mollie. She decided to have an epidural and it was the last chance to do so. That ended up being a really good decision.

Monday 2:00pm –

Time to push…pushing, pushing and more pushing….lots and lots of pushing. 3 hours to be exact…Caden progressed down to 10 cm and was effaced to +1 but then at some point didn’t progress any further…

Monday 5:00pm –

This is when the Drs started getting concerned…everything was going fast and working great up until a bit into the pushing. They expected him to crown after about 1 or 2 max of pushing but it just didn’t happen so they recommended a C-section.

Monday 5:30pm

The anesthesiologist came in to prepare Mollie for surgery.

Monday 6:00pm -

Mollie was wheeled into the OR and I got to wait outside until they were finished with the anesthetics. Then I got to go in, with my camera in hand.

Monday 6:15pm –

Caden Michael Pierce entered the world kicking and screaming! He was born 8lbs 7oz and measured 20 5/8in. long. His Apgar score was a 9 and everything looked great. 10 fingers and 10 toes everything intact! Mollie did awesome and also got to meet Caden and see his pink screaming face.

Monday Night

Finally got be moved from the recovery room into our normal room that we get to stay in for the next couple of days. Caden is doing well…his breastfeeding is going good, and everything else is coming out the right way too. We got to see Grandma M and Grandma and Grandpa P, as well as cousins, aunts, uncles and other family members. It was a long day…but we’re now officially a Mom and Dad and Caden, our firstborn son is finally here. All of that waiting and all of those plans…they were finally worth it.

Non-stress test round 2

2009-03-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

We're here at the clinic doing another fetal heart check and ultrasound. They want to continue to monitor Mollie's blood pressure, but so far so good. They basically are trying to figure out if and when they need to induce. They won't have to if everything checks out (fluid levels, bp, cadens stats, etc). More waiting...for now :)

T minus 4 weeks and counting...

2009-03-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

T minus 4 weeks and counting...so now is when we become a little more impatient....we planned and prepared and studied and practiced (breathing) and prayed and planned some more...oh and don't forget purchased. Now we are at the point where we just have to wait...and that's the hardest part (for me anyway).

Its kind of like reading a book where the story keeps building and you know that in the next chapter is when all the action will happen....you just want to jump ahead but you keep patiently reading with anticipation.

Along with the countless books, films, websites and informational sheets on pregnancy and birthing, we've also seen a bunch of magazines (albeit the majority while waiting at the doctors office)...here's a fun magazine cover where you may recognize who is on it....

You too can make you own magazine! Here's the link. Enjoy.

Ughhh, we have to pick a name…..for a boy!

2009-01-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

We can't wait any longer to tell people what his name is going to be! First off let me just say that Michael and I were sooo sure we were having a girl because when we found out we were having a baby ALL we could think of were girl names!! But....neither one of us was the least bit surprised when the ultrasound tech said, “You’re having a boy”, since there are so many boys in both of our families. On my Mom’s side of the family, my Grandma has 1 great granddaughter and 10+ great grandsons, Michael has 4 brothers and 1 sister...

The girls are definitely outnumbered by the boys in our families which means all the good boy names have already been taken, or so we thought. We’d think of a name and then Michael would say something like, “oh, that’s my Cousin’s name” or “that’s so-and-so’s name” and we didn’t want to name him the same name as a Cousin or 2^nd Cousin or Uncle so we had to do some serious research.

We knew that we wanted something unique, not too popular but also a name that wasn’t weird, like “Kal-el” or “Pilot Inspector” or “Zuma Nesta Rock”. We also received advice from many people about being careful when you pick a name for your child because a) this is the name they will carry with them the rest of their life, b) you have to consider what their initials will be, c) the type of nicknames that school kids will come up with, and the list went on and on. Also, since our last name is rather short and only 1 syllable we wanted a name that had at least 2 syllables so it sounded cool. And we knew that his middle name would start with an M because we have talked about naming all of our children with M middle names, so his first name had to work with an M middle name.

We went through tons of lists of boy names, both online and in baby name books and would try and play the name game in the car….but nothing ever really stood out, Michael always suggested girl names which wasn’t helpful at all! :) He was then banned from making suggestions which left all the research to me. I came up with lists of names that he rifled through and picked out all the ones he liked. And let me just say for the record that he is picky! We were able to narrow it down to 3 names…

Now, I’m happy to report that we’ve finally come to an agreement and found the perfect name for our son - - Caden (Cade for short) Michael (because it’s his Daddy’s name)! :)

Tape and Paint (repeat 3 times)

2009-01-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Finally! We get to paint the baby room. One more step taken in this journey of becoming parents. Starting a few months ago we discussed what kinds of designs and colors to choose. We didn’t want to just paint it baby blue and call it good (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Mollie really likes the color brown and it goes well with blue so we decided to start off there and see what we could figure out next.
Well as you can see we decided to go with a dark blue and light blue argyle pattern with brown stripes. If you ever decide to paint any sort of pattern just be prepared to tape, tape and tape some more.
Was it all worth it? Yep, I’d say so. Would we do it again? Maybe…I guess it just depends on what idea we start off with and where it takes us.

Its kind of weird going into the room now...obviously he isnt here just yet so it could be anyone's baby room. But slowly and surely its starting to take shape and feel more like its a room that belongs in our house. Soon it will be a room we will no doubt be visiting a lot...to change diapers, feed or just hold.

Going back to the whole design thing. We're not quite done yet. We still have to hang the blinds, figure out some sort of curtain and decide whether or not to make a valance. Also, I put together the changing table and the chest of drawers. We plan on putting his name on one of the walls. A lot rooms that we saw had this so its not really unique, but I think it just starts to make it even more real, that he is actually coming soon and that this is his room.

Finally, one other thing that I think would be cool is a quote on the wall....not sure if I want to paint it or not though since we have those lame textured walls...but if anyone has any suggestions for cool quotes or verses that would be good for a boys room...let me know. Im open to suggestion.

Sunny and cold with a chance of angry

2009-01-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Today we went on two walks....great sunny day but a little on the cold side as you can tell from Mollie's rosey nose. We went to Java Vivace and enjoyed a lovely Mexican mocha this afternoon. I should have taken a picture of her afterwards to compare :)

p.s. pregnant women are sometimes emotional...

Yummy Orange Drink

2009-01-19T18:56:00.000-08:00

So a lot of these blogs during pregnancy seem to have your common topics. This one is on the dreaded GLUCOSE TEST!. Mollie didnt pass the first 1 hour test, but just barely. Luckily, today we found out that she does not have gestational diabeties! She had to take the 3 hour fasting test on Saturday, which was not fun. But in the end it was all worth knowing for sure. We had plenty of snacks ready to go as soon as the tests were over...After all, it had been about 14 hours since she had anything to eat....which may be doable under normal circumstances...but don't try to tell a pregnant woman not to eat for that long unless theres a really good reason. After leaving the clinic we ate breakfast at Shari's the closest place that serves breakfast all day. Another interesting fact about this whole glucose test thing...some places let you eat or drink stuff other than glucola. Here are some of them:

Pancakes with syrup
Jellybeans
80z of apple juice
12oz Sprite
1/2 cup of Gingerale

There are other various breakfasty type items, but you get the point.