Spring has sprung and Happy Birthdays!

Well here it is April again and two of the kids' birthdays are upon us. Madelyn will be FIVE years old on the 21st and Cole will be TWO on the 23rd! I say it all the time but I just don't know where the time goes. It's hard to believe that 5 years ago we were anxiously awaiting our 1st little bundle of joy and had NO IDEA what a ride we were in for. This journey of parenthood has been (and I have no doubt will continue to be) nothing short of a whirlwind. Ups, downs, smiles, tears (sometimes on all of our parts), amazement, disbelief, pride- the list goes on. I've thought this before and it still amazes me- but the song Grenade by Bruno Mars says it all (though I'm not sure the context of the song)- "cause what you don't understand is I’d catch a grenade for you, throw my hand on a blade for you, I’d jump in front of a train for you, you know I'd do anything for you, I would go through all this pain, take a bullet straight through my brain, Yes, I would die for you baby"- I never thought or knew that I could feel that way about another person but I know after having (soon to be) 4 children and a few "close calls" that Mother's Instinct (or whatever it is) takes control and I would do any of the above things for my children- it's pretty powerful stuff! OK enough seriousness. So, Maddie is going to be 5! She continues to blow our minds almost every day with the things she says and knows. She is finishing up her Pre-K program in June and is looking forward to KINDERGARTEN this fall. She knows her letters and numbers and can count to 29 by herself, higher with a little help. She likes to work on (very) basic addition and subtraction and time telling. She is still our little social butterfly and still hasn't stopped talking yet! I felt badly last year when I decided not to do a 4 year old video for her so this years video is actually from age 3-5. The first picture is of her holding a newborn- this is NOT our newest baby, but rather Cole when he was born. Maddie has been asking us to sing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" to her a lot lately which is why I picked this song for her video. I really like this version of the song by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'- It is a bit carefree just like Maddie. Just as the lyrics suggest- "somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, and the dreams that you dreamed of once in a lullaby- dreams really do come true". So Madelyn, my dream for you (one of many) is that you never stop dreaming. Happy Birthday Little Bug! We love you more than you can know.

And Cole... is just as amazing as his sister and brother. He is becoming quite the "big kid". He loves to do anything that the other kids are doing and doesn't miss a thing! He is talking quite a bit now and knows MANY words. Unfortunately, one of his favorite right now is "NO" (usually said with a devilish grin). Cole knows some of his colors and animal sounds. He is especially cute when he says that a donkey says "E.. Awww". He loves day care and his teachers "Looori" and "Nennie" (Lori and Nettie). He is very intuitive and loves to "help". I think that he's going to be a great big brother, just as the older 2 were/are to him.

When Cole was just an infant, a family member told me that she thought that he had the soul of another (deceased) family member because he smiled when she said that person's name. I don't intend to get philosophical or religious or anything like that since I tend NOT to believe in things like that. That said, there IS something about Cole. Sometimes, if you look into his eyes, it's almost like he's smiling to himself saying "I know things that you do not"- it's a little weird. The words to "These are the Days" by Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs made me remember this and that is why I chose this song for his video- "you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky, it's true, that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you". And while Cole, I know that you won't remember these days, "these are the days that (Mommy and Daddy) will remember", and I hope that you WILL always remember how much we love you! Happy Birthday Coley Moley!

Happy Birthday Owen

Here it is, a little late, but better than never... Owen's 3rd birthday video. It never ceases to amaze me how fast the time goes by. It's hard to believe that our little man is 3 years old already. I remember when he was born just like it was yesterday. Owen is truely becoming a BOY! He loves all things trucks, trains, tools (especially if it means helping Daddy), outdoors and superheros. He also loves to annoy the you-know-what out of his sister- something I fear he will never grow out of... oh well. He is also very much our sweet boy. He is our shy and sensitive one. One of his favorite things is to climb into bed with us almost every morning for his snuggle time, which is why I picked this song for his video. Enjoy some of our favorite pictures of Owen from the past year while listening to "Let Them Be Little" by Billy Dean.

Christmas, Snow and A Stubborn Baby

Christmas pictures

Enjoying the snow

And lastly, since there was so much snow today, Ben suggested we call the hospital to see if there were any cancellations and maybe we could have our ultrasound today instead of tomorrow. He was right! Maddie and Owen came with us and were excited to check on and see the baby "on the TV". It seems that the baby is already a very stubborn little bug as it had it's face buried and looked like it was face down... so I regret to say that I have no pictures to post. All we got were the scary looking skeleton skull ones. After much trying, the tech was able to get a very quick glimpse and made Maddie's day by saying that there is a SISTER on the way!

Christmas Eve

Gingerbread house

Watching Santa on Norad Tracks Santa

Christmas PJs

"Hanging" our stockings
The Night Before Christmas

Snug in their beds

Happy Birthday Owen

I can't believe it's been 3 years already. Happy Birthday Owen! Hope you had a great day. Here are just a few pictures from the day.

Announcing...

We are happy and excited to announce the 4th (and without a doubt... FINAL) addition to our family!
Little Bug #4 is due to arrive somewhere around May 15, 2011.
I have, as usual, been feeling pretty yucky for the last 10 weeks or so but am happy to say, starting to feel better in general.
We hope to find out the sex of the baby sometime around Christmas- Maddie is hoping for a girl, Owen a boy. Mommy and Daddy don't really care as long as it's healthy and has all of its pieces. That said, a girl would be nice to even things out and make dividing up the bedrooms a bit easier!
Anyhow, that is our big news! Hope you are all well. Stay tuned every once in a while for more updates!