God Bless Jonah Charles

Yesterday afternoon Jonah was baptized at our church. Since Jonah's godparents are living out of the country right now, my parents stood in as the proxies. Jonah's baptism was a very small affair since we had James' Cub Scout Pack Christmas Party directly afterwards. Brian and James even went dressed in their uniforms. Despite our attire, the baptism was a beautiful event for our family. We are all very happy to have welcomed Jonah into the Catholic church. He was the last one to wear the Greaber Family baptismal gown. I will get it cleaned and passed on to Sally to use with Baby Blaire in a couple of months.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Gingerbread Houses 2010

This past Saturday we participated in a Hadley Family tradition - making Gingerbread Houses. Poppa Mike and Aunt Sarah came to visit for the day. Mimi and Muddy were under the weather and weren't able to make the trip. After lunch they broke out all the supplies - graham crackers, frosting and lots of candy. Poppa Mike built all the houses using hot glue and then the boys all got to decorate their individual house. I think more candy made it in their mouths than on the houses but it was great fun for them. After we cleaned up, we all sat and watched the Muppets Christmas Carol before Poppa Mike and Aunt Sarah had to head home. It was a wonderful visit and we're hoping we can do this with them every year.

John's Christmas Program

John's Christmas Program was this past Thursday. We were so blessed that my parents were able to come to town for the day to attend. It would have been next to impossible to get pictures or video of John while keeping Jude and Jonah entertained and happy. John had a part this year. He carried the birthday cake down the isle while all the kids sang Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus. His teachers were telling me how he had a huge smile on his face during rehearsals but that day he must have been a bit anxious because I got a half smirk when I was trying to get pictures. Thankfully he did his part well and sat on the stage for the final song on the program - We Wish You a Merry Christmas. After the program, we went back to his classroom for cookies and lemonade. We enjoyed chatting with the other parents and John's teachers before leaving for the day. We decided to go out to the new Steak N Shake for lunch that day as a treat to John for doing so well. Here are some photos. I'll try to upload the video later this week.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Christmas Card Outtakes 2010

Man oh man taking pictures of four kids is hard work. We were lucky to get a couple of decent shots for Christmas cards this year. Here are some of the ones that didn't make the cut.

Fun Outfit

Jonah recently moved up to 6 month sized clothes and he has some super cute outfits. This is one of my favorites.

From Photos for Blog

Bundled Up

I just had to post these pictures of Jude all bundled up for some outside fun. I think he was going out front to get a ride in the wagon from James.

From Photos for Blog

Decorating for Christmas

The boys had an absolute blast decorating for Christmas this year. Almost every day that week James would ask me when I was going to put up the tree. Finally by Friday I had moved the furniture and cleaned the spot for the tree. I got it all put up and the branches fluffed. I also managed to get the lights on so they could put the ornaments on when we were ready. I was hoping to wait for Brian to get home but James was chomping at the bit the moment he walked in the door from school. They had all 100 new ornaments on the tree before Brian got home from work. Jude had a great time taking the ornaments to James and John to put up on the tree. I also managed to get the lights up outside. Once Brian got home, we went out for dinner and playing on the playground at Chick-Fil-A. After the boys went to bed, I had to redistribute the ornaments on the tree since they hung several of the same color balls on the same branch. By the end of the night, the tree looked great!!

Jonah at 3 months

Our sweet baby Jonah is three months old today. I'm doing my best to cherish each and every day with him as he's our very last baby. He's growing so much right now and is really filling out. His little cheeks are super chubby. He loves to look around and have chats with me. He still does not enjoy riding in the car but is starting to enjoy taking baths. He's also slept through the night for the past two nights which has been a real blessing. I'm really hoping this trend keeps up as we could really use our sleep at night. Jonah doesn't have a doctor's appointment this month so I don't know how much he weighs or how long he is. Jonah does have reflux and started taking Prevacid about a few weeks ago. We can definitely tell that the medicine is helping him as there is little to no screaming during feedings. He doesn't like taking the medicine which stinks. Next time I plan on getting the pharmacist to add flavoring and see if that helps at all. Jonah had his first real road trip over Thanksgiving and he did better than we expected. There was hardly any crying. We're still not ready to make the drive out to Tucson though. Maybe next year. Well that's about all I can think of right now. He's waking up from a little snooze so I better go get his bottle ready. More pictures to come soon.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010

Phew, the weekend is drawing to a close and what a busy five days it was. Wednesday we did chores around the house before grabbing lunch with my mom and hitting the road. We made it to Georgetown in just under four hours which is our normal drive time plus an hour stop to feed Jonah. We had a super yummy dinner and then hit the hay. The boys slept as well as can be expected when not at home. Thursday we spent quality time with MaMaw, Poppa Steve, Aunt Sally and Uncle Jason. Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious!!! The free range turkey Judy picked up at Sprouts was super yummy. After we ate James got started on his Art belt loop and pin with help and guidance from Aunt Sally. They all took a nature walk and then made a collage. He also did two self portraits using pencil and paint. A little later in the afternoon I took the older boys to see the new Disney movie Tangled. It was super cute. The story was really engaging and the songs were quite good. Once we got home it was time for some dinner and then the big game began. It was long and stressful at times but our Aggies pulled out a win against the Longhorns in Austin. It was a great ending to a nice Thanksgiving Day.

Friday was more work on the Art belt loop with a trip to an art museum on the UT campus. James was not all that impressed with the art saying it looked like scribble scrabble. John on the other hand had a much greater appreciation of the different paintings. Later that afternoon Judy took Sally, the boys and I too go see the travel trailer they purchased a couple of months ago. The boys had a great time showing us all of the features and where everyone sleeps. I see many fun family trips in the years to come. After that we hit Target for a little Black Friday shopping. It was really packed and I can't imagine what it was like at 4 am when it opened. We enjoyed a nice calm evening at MaMaw's house with yummy pizza for dinner.

Saturday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at I-HOP before hitting the road back to Houston. Judy was raving about the pumpkin pancakes and she was definitely telling the truth. They were the best pancakes I've ever had. I have to agree with her that they should serve them year round. The drive home was fairly uneventful. Jonah finished up a bottle when we stopped for gas and then slept the entire drive to Houston. We got to my parents house a little after lunch. I enjoyed some ham and bean soup for lunch while the boys just grazed on whatever they wanted. Brian took James to go see HP7 for the second time while the younger boys and I rested. We all ate dinner together and then headed home.

Today we spent the morning in the yard cleaning up the tree wells and flower beds. We got the pine needles picked up, the bushes trimmed, the dead begonias pulled up and pansies planted. Phew, it was a busy morning. We would have laid down new mulch but the two landscaping places we knew of were closed. After we finished in the yard, the older boys and I made a trip to Sam's to stock up on various snacks and things we needed around the house. Man, I really like that store. After that it was lunch and a trip to Target to cross some more people off our Christmas shopping list. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and then ventured to the new Lupe Tortilla that just opened on 99 for dinner. We got there at 4:30 and the wait was an hour. They said the patio was first come first served so we found a table and flagged down a waitress to come take our order. The best part about the table we got was the it was right by the sandbox so we could keep an eye on James and John the entire time. We managed to eat and leave before the hour long wait was up. All in all, I would say we had a wonderful holiday weekend.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Cub Scout Go See It to George Ranch

A couple weekends ago James and his den went on a Go See It (field trip) to the George Ranch. It's an old time ranch where the boys could see how people lived in the olden days. It was started in the 1830's and is still a working ranch. The boys got to meet real cowboys and got to try roping a bale of hay. There were houses built all throughout the 1800's. I wasn't able to attend but I was told that everyone had a great time exploring the grounds and seeing everything there was to see. Here are the photos Brian took while they were there.

Jude at 18 months

Jude is 18 months and acts like he's 18 years old. He wants to do anything and everything his brothers are doing. He's mastered going up and down the stairs on his own which scared me at first but now it's nice to not have to lug him up and down. He loves playing outside and enjoys getting dirty. His favorite things on the playground are the swings and the slide. Jude still only has 5 teeth (three on top and two on the bottom) but two are just about to break through the surface any day now. At his 18 month check up he weighed 27 lbs and was 33.5" tall so he's still growing well. He's saying quite a few recognizable words - uh-oh, mama, dada, my, mine, more, please, go-go are the ones coming to mind at the moment but there are definitely more. Jude enjoys playing with blocks and enjoy any toy that sings or makes noise. I think his favorite toy right now is our Backyardigans radio. He loves pressing the buttons to hear the different songs. Jude still sleeps with his hippo and his blanket. It's hard to get him to sleep without them. Right now he's a little fuss bucket but we're blaming that on the teeth. In general, he's a pretty happy little boy who loves to give hugs and kisses. He smiles a lot and loves to be tickled. I can't wait to see how he grows and changes over the next six months.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Family Photos 2010

Yesterday morning we went to have our family photos taken at Picture People. Thank goodness I asked my mom and dad to come and help out. Mom fed Jonah so he didn't spit up on my sweater and Dad helped keep all the kids in the play area when they weren't needed. They also helped contain the boys once the photographer placed Brian and I for the family pictures. Taking photos with four kids is insanely hard. We started with the boys individual photos and then moved on to photos of all four of them together. We ended with photos of all of us together. We were happy with the selection of photos we got. We got a photo CD with out portrait package so I can share the pictures online!! Here's the ones we chose.

November Pack Meeting

This past Monday, I got to attend my first Cub Scout Pack meeting with James. Brian normally takes him but he was in Italy for work for the week. It was quite interesting. They did the Bobcat initiation activity with three boys who had not attended the camp out. It was very interesting and I kind of wish I had seen James do it. After that they did announcements and then handed out the awards the boys had earned since the last pack meeting. James earned his Bobcat badge, his fishing belt loop and pin and his bicycling belt loop. I told him he needed to wait until we got home to put the belt loops on which he accepted but after seeing all the other Tiger Cubs putting their belt loops on, I changed my mind. He was so proud of himself. Once the business portion of the meeting was over, the Webelos led the boys in a game. It was sort of like dodgeball and all the kids had a blast. Personally, I thought they played a little too long but eventually they wound down the game and ended the meeting. I volunteered to be the Membership Chair for the pack so I imagine I'll be attended pack meetings regularly now.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Cub Scout Fall Campout

This past weekend Brian and James attended their very first cub scout camping trip. The entire pack went to Huntsville State Park - which is our favorite state park - for the weekend. Brian brought along his father's telescope in the hopes of earning the Astronomy belt loop over the weekend. As it turns out a ton of the boys were interested and he had over 20 kids along with their families come take a look at Jupiter and Jupiter's moons. It was a HUGE success and I'm so glad Brian had the idea. The boys also participated in a community service project. They raked up a bunch of debris from the banks of the lake in the park. James and Brian also went canoeing on Saturday. All in all, it was a fun weekend for the two of them. I'm hoping John and I can join them on the camping trip in the spring. Here are the photos Brian took.

Jonah at 2 months

Today marks Jonah's 2 month birthday. I took him to the pediatrician for his check up this morning and he's 10 lbs 6 oz and 20" long. He still smaller than Jude and James but definitely gaining well. He's eating seven 4 oz bottles a day and still only waking up once a night to eat. We'll be moving him to 6 oz feedings here this week and I'm hoping that the increase in formula during the day will help wean him off of that middle of the night feeding. Jonah is really starting to focus on faces now and coos a lot when you talk to him. His brothers still adore him and love giving him kisses - especially Jude. Jonah goes everywhere with me and has been up at James' school many, many times. He still enjoys riding in his baby carrier although I finally broke out the double stroller.

I think our only complaint is that Jonah is not a wonderful car rider. He seems to cry almost the second we get moving no matter what. He can have a full belly, clean diaper and he would still cry. Thankfully he did make it to and from College Station without much crying. Granted, I did ride in the back seat next to him replacing the pacifier several times. Hopefully the three hour ride to Georgetown at Thanksgiving won't be a disaster. I hope the crying will decrease as he gets older otherwise we're in for a very long 10 months.

Halloween 2010

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend this year. It started off with dinner and pumpkin carving on Friday evening with Kristen and the Crouch kids. We apparently didn't learn our lesson from last year and ended up completing the carving in the dark. Next year we really must remember to carve first and eat dinner second. Saturday we just hung out before going to a Halloween party hosted by a neighbor on Sunday evening. All three boys got dressed up in their costumes and had fun playing pin the stem on the pumpkin and doing a couple of Halloween crafts. They also enjoyed their spider rings and vampire teeth. After the party, we came home to light our Jack O Lanterns and then head out trick or treating. I have no idea why but none of the other families on our street celebrate Halloween and yet again I had a ton of left over candy. We finally have decided that we won't be passing out candy at our house going forward. We'll just contribute to the candy stash at Kristen's house since that is apparently the back of the neighborhood is where the party's at. All in all, it was a great day for the boys. Pictures to come soon.

Field Day 2010

Last Tuesday was Field Day at Rylander Elementary and the event was a huge success. I picked John up from school early and we all went to cheer on Ms. Meyer's class. The kids competed in various events such as the pumpkin roll, the pony express, jumping hurtles and the pizza box relay. At the very end of the event each kid got a balloon and on the count of three stomped on them. The kids enjoyed the ripple noise all the popping balloons made. Here are some photos I took. I have no idea why but I can't seem to get a good photo in the gym at James' school. Sorry they are so dark.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Fall Fishing Classic

A couple of weekends ago, we closed it out with the Fall Fishing Classic at Mary Jo Peckham park in downtown Katy. The older boys had a blast casting their lines even though neither of them caught anything. Jude enjoyed walking around and climbing on the rocks. I had forgotten how awesome the park really is and hope to make the effort to get over there more often. Here are a few photos from the event.

Zoo Boo 2010

This past Sunday, we made our annual trip to the Houston Zoo for Zoo Boo. We all got up early, the boys got their costumes on, and we made our way down to the zoo for the first time in several months. James is going to be the red Power Ranger, John is a skeleton and Jude is a cow. It was a bit hot for Brian's taste but I thought it was perfect - sunny with a nice cool breeze. This year the zoo has a dinosaur exhibit so we decided to check that out before doing out usual path through the zoo. James and John really enjoyed looking at the different dinosaurs. I'm not sure what Jude thought of it since this is his first trip to the zoo as a slightly bigger kid. After the dinosaurs, we hit the carousel for a ride. Jude loved going up and down on the animals and sitting between his two brothers. Then it was on to the Children's Zoo where the boys had a snack and played on the playground. They also got to go see the fruit bats being fed while Jonah got his meal. The boys all loved getting candy at the Trunk or Treat stations they had set up around the zoo. They also got to decorate their own little pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. After that we had to head home and get ready for the rest of the day's activities.

John's first gymnastics party

This Saturday John went to his first party at Westwood gymnastics. As much as that boy loves to run and jump, he shocked me by not wanting to leave my side when the party began. Thankfully once I walked him over to the group, he joined right in and had a blast. He loved the pit and the trampolines. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures because he was kind of far from where Jude and I were sitting. Jude also enjoyed himself. There was a toddler area where he climbed on some mats and sat on the trampoline while I bounced him up and down. Of course both boys chowed down on the cake and ice-cream that was served after the time on the gym equipment. Here are a couple of photos I got.

From Westwood Gymnastics

From Westwood Gymnastics

Two in cloth!!

We now have two in cloth diapers and I couldn't be happier!!! I was so tired of having to run to the store every few days for a pack of diapers for Jonah that I broke out the cloth diapers. Thus far things are going well. No rashes or anything. Jonah is definitely a heavier wetter than Jude was and his diapers are really wet when I change him. I know some people think I'm nuts but it really does save a lot of money and it's not that much more laundry for me. Here's a couple of photos of Jonah sporting his cloth diaper. You can see that he's finally putting some fat on his bones and his cheeks are definitely getting chubby.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Downtown Aquarium

Since Brian was going to be up at the land all weekend, my parents and I decided to take the boys to the Downtown Aquarium for the day two Saturdays ago. I hadn't been since it first opened up back in 2001 or so. Since then they've added so much stuff since then. The best part was that Brian finished early at the land and was able to meet us around lunch time.

We met my parents there around 10 and got our day passes. Then we rode the train that takes you over to the shark tunnel. It was really cool and we got to learn a lot about the different types of sharks they have in the tank. After the train ride, James begged me to ride the tower ride with him. Man, my stomach can't handle those types of rides anymore. Thankfully I had an empty stomach. Otherwise I would have lost my lunch. It took us up and dropped us at least 10 times. Two or three times is fine but definitely not ten. While James and I were on that ride, my dad took John on the carousel. Once we were done with those activities, it was time to meet Brian for lunch.

Lunch was AMAZING. The food was fantastic and the boys really enjoyed walking around the huge aquarium they had in the restaurant. We got to see a couple of birthday parties while we were there eating. Man, I don't even want to know how much those cost. After lunch, we walked back downstairs and went over to the aquarium exhibit. We got to see tons of different types of fish and other aquatic animals. The highlight of the tour was the white tiger habitat they had at the end. We got to learn all about the tigers from the keepers and after the speech, we got to watch them play together.

After the aquarium exhibit, we headed back out to the rides. We rode the train again so Brian could go with us. Then we rode the Ferris wheel together. James kept begging to ride the tower thing again and thankfully Brian volunteered to go with him. He had a blast again!! I have a feeling he's going to be our thrill seeker. My mom took John on the Ferris wheel again while James and Jude rode the carousel. It was Jude's first time on a carousel and he loved it. Once we were done with the rides, we let the boys play in the splash area for a while before heading home. There were lots of slips and falls but all in all, they enjoyed cooling off. Everyone had a wonderful time and the boys all passed out on the drive home. Thanks Mom and Dad for a fantastic outing!!!

Here are some photos I took that day.

Land Update

Two weekends ago, Brian was able to get back out to the land and finally tackle the burn pile. He left town just after lunch on a Thursday and got camp all set up before the sun set. Then early Friday morning he and his mom got the fires going. The large pile at the front of the circle drive burned really quickly while the back section containing larger logs took a bit longer. I had the chance to go up last weekend and was amazed at how awesome our land looks now that the HUGE pile of brush is gone. And I really mean gone. The only remains are four large trees that we didn't have time to cut up before. I'll try to dig up some before pictures and have Brian send me the pictures during the burn. Then we'll be sure to post some after photos as soon as we take them. Seeing the burn pile gone has definitely motivated me to get back out there and start clearing again. Hopefully we'll be able to set aside a weekend where we can get some work done.

Car Washing with Daddy

We've had some really beautiful weather thus far this fall which has allowed us to spend lots of time outside. Recently the boys helped Brian wash the truck. All three of them had a blast playing with the hose, splashing in the soapy water and using the sponge to wash the truck. Jonah, Whinnie and I had fun watching the whole event. Here are some funny photos.

Whinnie's first Westie cut

Our Westie finally looks like a Westie. Whinnie had her first full grooming session yesterday with Cruisin Canines. They are a mobile groomer that comes to your house and grooms your dog in a van in your driveway. With four kiddos, I'm willing to pay the few extra dollars to avoid the dropping off and picking up that comes with taking her to Petco for a hair cut. Whinnie looks super cute with her Westie cut and is no longer a ball of white fur. Here are a couple of photos of our cutie.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Gaining like a champ

I forgot to post what Jonah weighed at his one month check up. Our pediatrician said he should gain an ounce a day so all totaled up, he should have gained about a pound in the just over two weeks since our last visit. I was completely shocked when I put him on the scale and saw 7 lb 7.5 oz!!! He gained over two pounds in just over two weeks!!! Let's hope he continues to pack on the pounds. I love chubby babies.

James' New Sport

For a couple of years now, Kristen has been telling us about the fencing place in Katy Mills Mall and that we should take James. We called about a year ago and they recommended kids wait until age 6 to start. Well he's finally at the right age so this past Monday, Brian took James to give it a trial. A little boy from James' class was there so he had a friend there with him. He really enjoyed it and begged to go back on Tuesday. So off they went again on Tuesday evening and got officially signed up. There was a different coach there who was definitely more into instruction. James learned several moves Tuesday night. James wanted to go yet again on Wednesday but Brian was teaching Faith Formation and I'm not quite ready to take all four boys out by myself. Hopefully he'll get to go at least twice a week depending on our schedule. I'll post the pictures Brian took on his phone soon.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Chuck E Cheese galore

Last weekend was another Chuck E Cheese marathon. Saturday night we attended the Cravin kids' birthday party and then Sunday night was a party for James' friend Kaelyn and her sister Ashlyn. Saturday was the first time James went off to play games on his own. Well not entirely on his own. His friend, Cameron, came along since we knew there wouldn't be any other kids his age there. I took John and Jude around to ride the rides and play games. Jude had a wonderful time on the little kid rides although he didn't much care for the ones that were high off the ground. He also had a great time chowing down on the pizza and cookie cake. I swear he ate more than John. He ate two slices of pizza and two and a half pieces of cookie cake. I didn't get many photos while we were at the party but I'll post what I did take. The next day James and John got to enjoy Chuck E Cheese again. James had a blast playing with his friends from school while John drug me around all the games and rides. Both enjoyed the pizza and cupcakes and I enjoyed some time with only two kiddos. All in all, it was a fun weekend.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

First Den Meeting

Cub Scouts is off to a good start for James. He's attended his first pack meeting (all grades) and his first den meeting (first graders only). There are a couple of boys in his den that he knows from his Kindergarten class which is nice. His den has 12 boys in it now which is a pretty big increase from the three or four that attended the pool party back in August. James is having a lot of fun and earned his Bobcat badge which he'll receive at the next pack meeting. Coming up James and Brian are going to some sort of area event for Tiger Scouts where they'll complete a lot of the requirements for the Tiger badge. They'll also attend the boy scout fishing classic at the big park in Katy so look for updates and pictures from those events in the coming weeks.

From Photos for Blog

New baby wrap

Just this past week, I received my new baby wrap in the mail and thus far I LOVE IT!!! I ordered it from LoveyDuds.com and it's very similar to a Moby wrap. I decided to splurge and get a wrap to replace our old Snugli. I used the Snugli quite a bit when Jude was little as there were many times I couldn't put the infant carrier in the shopping cart. Unfortunately, the Snugli never fit my body very well. I have a short torso and the frame is much better suited for someone with a longer torso. It was uncomfortable to wear and carry a baby in. Thankfully the wrap is truly a one size fits all. I've had Jonah in it five or six times now and it's fantastic. It will definitely do the job of the Snugli without causing me any discomfort. Below is a link to their website and a picture of Jonah in the wrap.

http://loveyduds.com/

From Photos for Blog

Jonah is 1 month old!!

The saying is definitely true. Time really does fly when you're having fun. Jonah continues to be a wonderful addition to our family. It feels like he's been with us for a lot longer than a month. He's still sleeping well at night and only requiring one feeding between the time I go to bed and the time I wake up in the morning. At his one week appointment, he was down to 4 lb 15 oz but was back up to birth weight by 2 weeks old. He'll go back to the pediatrician on Monday for another weight check. I can definitely tell he's growing as he's out of newborn sized diapers and fits well in the size one diapers he's wearing now. Plus his newborn clothes are starting to fit much better. He's no longer swimming in his pajamas and onesies. When Jonah left the hospital, we were lucky to get 20 mL a feeding and now he's easily consuming anywhere between 85 and 105 mL per feeding. He's still eating 7 times a day as well.

Recently, Jonah is having longer awake periods, usually one in the morning and one in the evening. It's so nice to be able to look him in the eyes and talk to him. Speaking of eyes, I think his are going to be brown. They really don't have any hints of blue. I don't think they'll be dark chocolate brown like John's. I imagine they'll be lighter brown. Jude still loves to kiss Jonah's head all day long and has been very gentle with him. The only bad thing - if you can call it that - is that Jude takes Jonah's pacifiers and puts them in his mouth. Jonah's had a few baths now that he's at home and thus far is not a fan. Jude used to hate getting a bath but loved to have his hair washed. Jonah hates the entire thing and cries from the moment I undress him to the moment he's dressed and back in someone's arms.

I am so happy and thankful that Jonah's settled into a routine this early. I really stress the thankful because with getting two kids to and from two different schools, a routine is really necessary. I think there's only been one day where Jonah's been hungry at the wrong time - right when I need to get John ready to go to school and right when we need to leave to pick John up from school. For the most part, Jonah eats when I wake up and before the other boys wake up and then is fine until after we get home from dropping John off at school. He also eats at 1 pm so he's done before we need to get back in the van at 2 to go pick John up. I hope and pray he continues to make my life easier by eating at the right times.

Here are some photos of Jonah since we've been home.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Starting life as a family of 6

Brian and I left the hospital with Jonah in hand around noon on Saturday. We were hoping to leave earlier but we were waiting on my lunch to be delivered and the baby photographer to arrive. The boys were so happy to have Mommy and baby brother home. Thus far Jonah is fitting right in with our family. Like the majority of newborns, he sleeps, eats and poops. Right now he's eating every three hours and sleeping about two hours between feedings. Our first night at home went well. I fed Jude at 10 and he fussed a bit around 12 but settled down nicely and slept until 2. I fed him again and then he was down until 6. I was very appreciative of the extra hour between feedings. We have today and tomorrow at home as family before Brian heads back to work and the older boys go back to school. Here are some photos of Jonah getting ready to come home and all the boys together.

Meeting their new brother

We had hoped to bring all three boys to the hospital Thursday evening but alas, time ran out. After James went to school on Friday, my parents and sister brought John and Jude to visit me and Jonah at the hospital. John was totally in love, giving him kisses and wanting to hold him. Jude on the other hand was somewhat oblivious. He just wanted to walk around the room and eat all the wonderful snacks we had available. James was able to come up to the hospital after he was done with school for the day. He too was so excited to hold Jonah and rub his head. I was lucky to have a nice long visit with James that evening while Brian went to a dinner for church. We ate dinner together and talked about his day at school and what he wanted to do over the weekend. I know they all can't wait to have Mommy and Jonah at home.

From Photos for Blog

From Photos for Blog

Introducing Jonah Charles Hadley

We'd like to announce the birth of our fourth (and yes, final) little boy. Jonah Charles Hadley was born at 12:07 pm on September 2, 2010. He weighed 5 lbs and 6 oz and was 19.25 inches long.



This has definitely been a very interesting and exciting week for the Hadley family. On Monday morning I woke up with some bleeding so off to L&D we went. Thankfully the bleeding stopped and I was back at home by 11 am. I went to my regularly scheduled OB appointment on Tuesday and everything looked great! Wednesday was uneventful but things quickly changed Thursday morning when I woke to more bleeding. Back to L&D we went. My blood pressure was a bit high and after checking my and discovering I was already 4 cm dilated, my doctor decided we should go ahead and induce labor. I got all hooked up to an IV and my OB broke my water at 8:25 that morning. I soon moved to a labor and delivery room and started pitocin. I tolerated the pain until 11 am when I asked for some IV pain medication. I was feeling much better after that but definitely not for long. What seemed to me to be an entire afternoon was less than an hour. I started feeling pressure down below and had my nurse check me. I was already up to 7 cm. Three contractions later, I was at 9 cm and starting to push. I overheard the nurses saying my OB was about to walk into the OR to do a c-section but she needed to come deliver Jonah first. I tried my hardest to hold him in but my body had other plans. Jonah's head was already out when my doctor arrived. Things moved so fast that they didn't even have time to set up the table and get the stirrups out. Even though his birth was fast, he cried right away and had great APGAR scores. For the first time ever, the ultrasound estimates were correct. Jonah weighed in at 5 lbs 6 oz. He's a little peanut but perfectly healthy.


Here are some fun things about Jonah's birthday. He was born on 90210. He was born on my sister's half birthday. While his birthday isn't in the 20's like his brothers, he was born on the 2nd just like me and my sister.

Cub Scouts here we come!

Last Thursday we completed the process of getting James all signed up for Cub Scouts and so this weekend, we were off to the Scout store to pick up James' uniform for Tiger Cubs. He was definitely excited to get all of his stuff and try it on as soon as possible. I've got several patches to sew on before the scouting year starts. Here are some photos.

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First Day of First Grade

I'm definitely not the only one to bring this up but where have the last six years gone?!?! How on earth is it possible that James is starting First Grade today. I think this is going to be a great but busy and fun year for James. The more I talk to his teacher, the more I like her and I think she's going to do a wonderful job teaching James this year. Here are a few photos of James this morning. He insisted on climbing in the bed of the truck.

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Jude at 15 months

Jude is turning into such a little boy these days. He's trying his hardest to keep up with his two other brothers whether reading books with John or playing the Wii with James. He's mastered walking and has started really trying to run. He's getting pretty good about staying on his feet and not toppling over anymore. Jude has come to enjoy the swimming pool over the summer. We've been going a couple of times a week so he gets lots of time in the water. He still only has two teeth but the two top ones are getting really close to finally poking through the gums. Again, only having two teeth does not stop this child from eating ANYTHING! He even manages to eat steak!! Jude drinks about three glasses of milk a day but prefers to drink whatever I'm having at the moment whether it's water or tea. He's actually pretty good at drinking from an open cup provided we're holding on to it. Jude is wearing size 24 month clothes which he thankfully has not outgrown yet. I think they'll continue to fit him until the weather finally cools down.


The biggest change in the last three months has been Jude's move to his big boy room. He's been sleeping and napping there for the last three weeks and still no troubles whatsoever. He's happy to stay in his bed until someone comes to get him and goes right to sleep when he's laid down. I've actually started calling him Linus as he really loves to drag his blanket around after him like Charlie Brown's friend, Linus. I'm working really hard on keeping the blanket in his bed though as it's quite large and always seems to be in the way. I'm also slowly but surely working on cutting down Jude's pacifier use to sleeping only. We keep losing pacifiers and I would prefer to not buy anymore. Both James and John were around this age when we started working on taking the pacifier away.


Jude is such a little character. At 15 months he's throwing some pretty funny temper tantrums. He checks behind himself before laying down on the ground and crying about whatever he didn't get. It's actually pretty funny. I'm hoping that by laughing at him now, he'll learn that they don't get him what he wants and the tantrums won't get any worse. He's also got several different fake laughs that crack me up. I think the best thing about the fake laughs is that he knows he's doing it just to get me to laugh. Jude loves to play peek a boo and will hide behind things and poke his head out just to hear you say "boo". Jude is also learning body parts and can point out his head, tummy and nose.

Jude went to his 15 month appointment on Friday. As suspected, he's really tall for his age (97th percentile) and finally starting to trim down (only 75-90th percentile). He had to get three shots and would have done wonderfully if the nurse hadn't taken her dear sweet time between shots two and three. Also on Friday, Jude's third tooth finally cut through the gums. It's the top left tooth and I can tell it's going to be a big one. Hopefully the top right tooth will cut through the gums in the next week or so.

Here are some photos of Jude in his favorite place to play these days. We were given this playhouse by our friends Jay and Mo and Jude is in LOVE with it. He's definitely our outside boy.

From Photos for Blog

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School Preparations

This week has been full of preparations for the upcoming school year. Monday evening I went to the school gym to pick up James' school supplies. I'm so thankful our wonderful PTA sells pre-packaged school supplies for every grade. It's cheaper and much less hassle than going to the store and trying to get everything needed for the upcoming year. I went towards the end of the time frame so the line wasn't too bad. Wednesday night Brian attended the 1st grade curriculum night. All the teachers told the parents about what the kids will be learning and doing this year. There will be many big changes for James. Daily homework instead of weekly and a spelling test every Friday are the two biggest changes. The students will also be sent home with a different book to read each day. Thankfully his lunchtime is more reasonable this year (11:20) although I had gotten used to eating at 10:44 once a week.

Last night was Meet the Teacher Night. There was lots of activity going on in the gym before the event officially began. I got James all signed up for cub scouts and picked up a new spirit shirt and a student planner for this year. Once the doors opened, we made our way to Ms. Meyer's classroom. Our school is organized into pods - groups of classrooms for each grade. Unfortunately, the school has grown so much since the doors first opened that many classrooms have had to shuffle around. The 1st grade pod has 6 classrooms but due to enrollment, there need to be ten first grade classes. Ms. Meyer, along with three other 1st grade teachers, have classrooms in the fourth grade pod (the entire fourth grade is outside in portable buildings). The two moms who have had kids in Ms. Meyer's class in prior years have both loved her so I really think James is lucky to have her. She seems very nice and enthusiastic about teaching first grade. James put all his school supplies away in the appropriate basket and even got to put some in his desk. I think he's going to have a great year!!

We're becoming more "country" by the week

Our latest purchase for our land is a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500. We quickly realized after a couple of weekends working on the land that we really needed to invest in a truck. We talked about it quite a bit and had decided to put it off when an opportunity came along that we couldn't pass up. Brian's employer has a "bulletin board" where people post things for sale and last Thursday someone posted a truck for sale. It had belonged to his father who had recently passed away. While it's a 2003, it has less than 33,000 miles on it. It has four doors which usually means you get a shorter bed but this one has an extended truck bed so we can put all sorts of stuff back there. It has a regular tow hitch as well as the ability to tow a 5th wheel trailer which will definitely come in handy down the road. It also has one of those tool boxes in the bed and a bed liner already. It's also a diesel which means better gas mileage. I'm sure Brian can go more into the specifics of the engine and it's capabilities but that's the limit of what I know. The greatest part is that it seats 6 so as the boys get older, we can all ride up to the land in the truck!! Oh yeah, Brian's favorite part has to be that it's red!!! Maybe we should call it Big Red. I got the chance to drive it last night to the grocery store and while it's definitely the largest vehicle I've ever driven, it wasn't difficult in any way. It handles beautifully.Yeah, the turn radius is quite large but it was super easy. Here are some photos I took yesterday although I'm sure Brian will want me to post some after it's had a good wash and wax.

Oh, for those of you wondering, we sold Brian's Mazda 3. I highly recommend AutoTrader.com. We usually sell our vehicles to CarMax but they gave us a really low offer so we decided to try to sell it on our own. Brian got 2 calls based on his Auto Trader ad Monday and Tuesday we signed the title over and collected our check. We spent less than $40 to list it online and made $2100 more than CarMax offered us.

From Photos for Blog

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