My Baby Turns 3

Now there are lots of things that change your perspective, none quite so much as having a baby. Perspective on priorities, needs, and especially time. Before I had kids three years didn't seem like that long, but now it is the measure of a lifetime. It has been three years since Aden was born and he changed my life in so many ways. I love him and think the world of him. He is a great fisherman, a fantastic big brother, and the reason I laugh daily. We had a party with Grandma's and Grandpa's, Aunt Tammy and some cousins. There was ice cream and cake and a great haul of presents!!Aden couldn't even wait for me to bring the cake to blow out the candle! So we re-lit and blew them out a couple more times for good measure. Aden got to help cut his cake...which he was so excited to be finally eating it!

...in fact he couldn't even wait for a fork!

Thanks to Tammy and the kids for the great power toolsThanks to Great Grandma and Grandpa Peacock for the cool outfit and cars with a twirly track for them to go down on...and the plaid tissue paper which Aden was a fan of for some reason.

And a big thank you to Great Grandma and Grandpa Lake for the cool card and MONEY.Thanks to Grandpa Bert and Grandma Belinda for the loudest toy ever....and an awesome truck that has compartments for all Aden's toy cars. ..it also came with a ton of new ones!Chris and I gave him a RC car that he absolutely LOVES...sorry no picture, don't know why...and Raleigh gave him a book of puzzles...Tonka trucks and that sort of thing :)

And we can't forget Great Grandma Barbra, Thank you for the card and gift card I am looking forward to seeing what he picks out to buy with his own moneys.

Aden's Cake!

So I found some adorable little lights at the craft store that inspired this cake for Aden's birthday
Aden loved helping mommy make the cake....he was the official taster....he did a great job :)

He even kissed his brother so he could share some with him

Here is a little video of the cake from all angles again it is a video from my phone so the quality isn't great but it gives you a little bit of an idea of what it looked like with the lights flashing :D Aden was so cute! He loved his cop car cake so much that as I was finishing the decorating he told me "good job mommy good job!" He was beaming and I have never felt such a sincere compliment in all my life...so worth the all day project it turned out to be. He also had to see the cake every few minutes...it was the last thing he wanted to see before bed on Thursday and the first thing he wanted to see when he got up on Friday...thankfully that night we ate it so the madness could end, but I loved that he got such joy out of something I made for him.

Bath Time Stories

My good friend and coworker Kresta gave Raleigh the cutest bath robe for Christmas. I couldn't help the mini photo shoot that followed his bath. There is also a short video that I shot with my phone...so sorry for the poor quality but he was so cute and he was even telling stories :)

Welcome Visitors!

Chris's dad and step-mom came all the way from Washington for a visit. We were so happy to see them and this was their first time meeting our new little man. Now I'm not one to put words in someones mouth but I think from the pictures it is perfectly clear they are as in love with this little boy as we are....but then again, what's not to love ;) Grandma spent much of their visit just like this...loving on baby Raleigh.

She told me that holding babies gives her peace and calm :) Grandpa likes to play tough guy but you can tell from the pictures when it comes to his grand babies he is a softy :D

And while they were here Grandpa fixed our drain (thank you so much by the way) and Aden had to get his tools out and help Grandpa...he was so cute down there fixing the dryer along side his grandpa!

Christmas 2009

The loot...this is what it looked like after Santa came but before the kids got to it. Chris gave the kids a ride in to see what Santa brought.
I wish I had a better angle but Aden's face was priceless!

Aden using his new walkie talkies....with

Grandpa....who is going to kill me when he sees this....bed head and all...holding one of the cutest babies ever! This is Raleigh's idea of a great Christmas....sleeping and being held. The dynamic duo together on Christmas morning!

When Aden discovered his stocking it wasn't the candy that interested him.....and he was bound and determined to hold every one of the cars all at once....he obviously needed more hands :)

More of Raleigh doing what he loves!

Christmas Eve

This year we had EVERY member of the family present for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It was fantastic! We all stayed at my Mom and Dad's house (even though Chris and the boys and I live in town) It was so fun all being under one roof. We got up Christmas eve morning and had a HUGE breakfast. After that had digested some we went sledding...I didn't sled due to the fact that I had surgery a little over a month before, Grandpa also sat out the sledding because of recent surgery/injury...but we made ourselves useful all the same. Grandpa shuttled people from the bottom of the hill to the top and I took pictures and watched the baby's. Every one had such a great time!

Luke and Tianna made it to the bottom

Mom enjoyed her ride...grandmas can have fun too!

Chris and Aden riding....Aden didn't like it so much

Still not happy about it.

Laura swooshes by...

..Eric catches air on his way down....check the gap between his back and the sled!


Mary and Tianna had a major WIPE OUT!

A close up of the wipe out...in case you missed it on the animation

Courtney zooms down.....and you can see Tianna and Mary still recovering from their spill

Dale had a nice tumble in the snow as well!

Speaking of wipe outs....This is Chris totally "eating" it check the saucer flipping over him!

After every one recovered from sledding with some Cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate....got showered and changed and warmed we did a little Christmas nativity. Mary brought some cute little books that told the story of the Jesus' birth and had a song for each little part of the story. It was so much fun and the kids really got into it....some were willing participants (Tianna did such a good Mary...VERY reverent) and others were bribed (Notice the skittles all down Aden's face) and yet others were cute little by standers that we still have some control over...Adelia made the cutest little lamb and Raleigh played the part of a newborn seamlessly :D.

One Month Old

I couldn't help but document the one month mark of the life of this beautiful boy with a mini photo shoot.

SNOW!

When it snowed in the beginning of December Aden was itching to get out into it. Because I had a brand new baby and because Chris was plowing said snow, he had to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and play with Aunt Laura to get the experience. But his reaction tells me it was worth the wait :)

Dear Santa,

This year I must have been very good because I have every thing my heart could possibly want. I have two beautiful boys that are healthy and all a mommy could ask for, a husband who loves me very much, and family close by that I love to be around and who make my life so much easier. Plus all the material things that I could want or need :). So this year I don't need anything at all. Thanks for all the goodies from years past,

Monica

This is Aden and Raleigh getting to sit on Santa's lap at the City Christmas party this last week. Aden had a blast and I was so proud of him sitting on Santa's lap and getting his picture taken! Raleigh, well he slept through the whole thing....what do you expect from a three week old? :)

Raleigh's First Bath at Home

One part of the first week that I didn't put in the last post was Raleigh's first bath....that needed it's own post. So Grandma and Auntie Laura came over to help with the first bath. Grandma did Aden's first bath at home so I thought it only fitting she did Raleigh's too!
Aden helping mommy clean the sink for Raleigh's bath.The calm before the storm...He liked this part of the bath...
Aden was super helpful.This part was not his favorite.But he was calm for some of it.Espeacially when he got out.This is the face of a clean little boy...who likes having his clothes back on.

The First Week Home

So all those waiting for me to post pictures of all those who came to the hospital or visited shortly after....sorry it isn't going to happen. There are just too many and well the blog uploads photos painstakingly slow and one at a time....so if you want to see those pictures they are on my facebook page. If you are not yet added as my friend just add me and we will go from there :).

I wanted to get a picture of Raleigh in this outfit because it is one of my favorites from when Aden was that size and thought it would be super cute to compare their looks :).

And because of high bilirubin Raleigh got to spend some time in the light box (rotisserie oven as grandpa calls it). For those who also keep up on Luke and Mary's blog, this may feel like a repeat post.....because Adelia had the same problem and same solution :) I guess Raleigh just can't wait to be just like his cousin! Aden has been totally in love with this boy since he came home and can't stop loving, kissing, and touching Raleigh at every opportunity...(all too often waking or disturbing an otherwise calm baby)...but I prefer that to him being jealous and mean so we let him love on him as often as possible.This particular night I had just finished feeding Raleigh and was burping him when Aden stole the boppy (the 'u' shaped pillow that makes feeding super easy), set it up on his lap and reached his arms wide and demanded "I HOLD HIM!"...I am not one to cave to the demands of an almost-three-year-old but it was so cute I couldn't help it! Another great story, it was finals week at work and I took Raleigh with me for most my classes, well when I got home I was warmly greeted as usual...but as soon as Aden saw the car seat he said "I hold him!" So we got Raleigh out and sat Aden by his daddy on the couch and put Raleigh in his out stretched arms. Well not two minutes had passed when Raleigh messed his diaper with a loud farting and squishy sound...the funniest part was Aden's reaction! It was priceless, he got a scandalized look on his face and exclaimed "EWWWW!!!" and started pushing his brother towards his dad!

First Night Home

After we got home from the hospital the boys put on their matching dinosaur jammies (thanks Grandma and Grandpa) We did our first night time routine together which included Daddy reading stories.

Snugs
Kisses

More snugs

And just being together as a family!

The Boys Finally Meet!

After 9 months of pregnancy and then days in the hospital my boys were finally able to meet! Aden was so excited!

I couldn't help it, seeing them finally together made me so happy!

Raleigh wasn't so sure about all this attention and flashing cameras

Aden was so soft and sweet.

I loved when Aden started pointing out parts...almost like he was doing what we all do...making sure everything is all there in all the right places and wondering who he looks like :)

Brother's by Picture Message

This past week Tianna has been visiting at Grandma's house and has been a great distraction while I have gotten things straightened out with insurance and made final arrangements before baby was born...little did I know how much distracting he would need. Since Raleigh was born two days early Aden has been staying with Grandma too so they have really palled around together and had tons of fun. These are picture messages I have gotten of his adventures while I have been distracted...

Now these are the picture texts that I have sent to my dad so that Aden could see his little brother...I don't know exactly how well the concept is working but Aden always replies enthusiastically with "Oh BABY" and "Oh baby sad :(" I am hoping it is enough to get him through one more day...and that he will have at least a little idea of what is going on....the miracles of modern technology allowing nothing, not even the flu season, get in the way of new brother bonding :D

Raleigh is here!

Finally here and perfect in every way! I say finally but really he was early! Wednesday at 3AM I was no longer able to sleep...not uncommon if you have ever been pregnant. I started cleaning house because I had stuff that still needed to be done and well what else do you do at 3AM when sleeping isn't an option. So with two days before the scheduled surgery I had yet to pack anything and still had laundry to do before I could pack. Did I mention durring this time I was haveing contractions?...another reason sleep was not happening. They were really inconsistant and weird...with Aden they were very regular and progressivly worse....so I wasn't stressed or at all concerned I may be in labor. I started timeing contractions and writing them down after Chris left for work in the morning and decided I had better call the doctor since I had a two hour drive to get to the hospital. Well upon hearing about the contractions and the travel time the on call nurse contacted the doctor and I was informed he wanted me to get to the hospital as soon as possible. So I threw together a bag for me, and a bag for baby and Chris got off work and came to pack his stuff....finally we were on the road. We got to the hospital and went through the usual monitoring and checking, then the doctor was called and the next thing we new we were scheduled for surgery. Well I am happy to report dispite my hope to avoid labor this time, I must say the C-section the second time around was much easier. I had great doctors and nurses and the whole team was super supportive and great at their jobs. Raleigh was born at 3:54 PM and weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and 19in long. We are both still in the hospital recovering well and I am just enjoying the time I get to spend with him. On the down side, because of flu season Aden is left out of the story...for now...he can't be in the hospital at all and is staying over and grandma's house. I have talked to him on the phone a little and am thrilled with what a trouper he is being. We have had lots of visitors and have loved seeing everyone love and adore our new little man. I will post pictures of all our guests once we get home so I can dedicate a post to that. Thank you to all who have come, to all who have called, or shown support in anyway, thanks also for those who have brought gifts. We can't tell you how much we appreciate all the supportive and loveing family and friends in our lives.