It's a .... BOY!! (AKA Austin gets his wish)

Hello. Shawn here. Stephanie refuses to dictate her blog to me, so here is a quick update and some pictures for you all. Lucas Eugene was born at 7:57 am yesterday, weighing in at a smooth 8 lbs 14 oz. Lucas is healthy and eating well. It is over 48 hours since the C-section and Stephanie is up out of bed right on schedule. She is feeling much better today.

Austin is excited to have a boy. He believes Lucas was named after Luke Skywalker (he wasn't). Ashlyn and Gabriella are not sure what to think yet. They all three came to the hospital yesterday afternoon to see baby Lucas and have ice cream. The ice cream may have been a bigger hit with the kids.

Of course Kim Hudson photography showed up with camera in hand to take pictures of our new little boy. Thanks for the pics Kim!

What's going through MY head?

We are down to a matter of hours before T4's arrival. I have been having my first ever contractions all day today - they are really not all they are cracked up to be. I'm just trying and praying to keep this baby in until morning so I can have my own doctor do the surgery - so far so good although we've been having contractions about every 15 minutes or so. I'm feeling good, huge, tired, excited, scared, exhausted, anxious...pretty much every emotion there is. Mostly I just want to see this baby and hold it in my arms. And I might be pretty excited to finally know what the sex is - I have gone back and forth the whole pregnancy. We finally have names picked out, although the girl name may have changed today - we still have to discuss that one...So, I am on to the fasting part, I'll get up about 4 or so and head to the hospital a little after 5, and should have a cute little button nose by 8:15 if all goes as planned. Keep your phones close by!!

A quick recap of Christmas - we had such a great week this past week. We had all the Turners here last weekend which was so much fun, as always. And of course Santa made his arrival on Christmas and made all three of my kiddos the happiest kids on the block. We had a great day of staying in our pj's all day and trying out all the new toys. After the Christmas fun we pretty quickly got all the Christmas put away and started to prepare for this new baby. We have the "baby's room" done. That would consist of putting a crib up in the office and adding in a rocking chair for nursing purposes. As soon as he/she isn't nursing so much at night it will either move in with Austin or the girls depending on the sex.

I better sign off as my hands are getting shaky and my brain is all over the place as to what to write in this post - if I continue to write, who knows what would end up on the web!!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and we'll be calling you tomorrow!!

Hope you are having the time of your life!! - YOU KNOW WE WILL BE TOMORROW!!

ST

PS - here's just a couple photos before I attempt to go get an hour of sleep...

Here's a cute one of Grandma and Papa Settle with Ashlyn after Christmas Eve mass. Does she look spoiled or what?!

And here's the big van we rented for Christmas light looking this year!! Those in attendance were, Shawn and I, Austin, Ashlyn, Gabriella, Aunt Kim, Uncle Nick, Grandma and Grandpa Turner and Grandma and Papa Settle. We had a blast!!

And this would be my belly on Christmas Eve which would make me 38.5 weeks prego - yikes! I had to wear jeans to Mass since that's all that "sort of" fit. My belly refuses to stay under any of my shirts at this point...

and all I want is a nice family pic - is that so much to ask?? Seriously!! How will I ever get a good shot when we add yet another munchkin?? Guess I better book Kim Hudson Photography, huh??

Winter finally found us...

It has been snowing all morning and we are currently up to a couple inches, according to what I can see stacked up on the kids' picnic table outside. We haven't ventured to the backyard to play yet, but probably will in the next hour. The kids can't wait! As for me, I'll just sit inside and be the official hot chocolate chef. That's much more my speed.
Update on BT4: We had our second to last dr. appt yesterday - hard to believe how fast pregnancy goes when it's not your first. It's been quite a roller coaster ride, and I'm getting quite uncomfortable. I think I will be more than ready in 12 more days. Of course, the nerves are stacking up, but I'm getting so excited to see this little one and see how it's going to fit into the Turner clan. Will it be a never ending talker like Austin? A sweet snuggler like Ashlyn, or a crazy tornado like Gabriella? Who knows - maybe a mix of all three? We did finally get the crib up and some sheets washed. I bought a boy and girl take home outfit and had the kids pick out some new baby toys to wrap up and give to it when him/her arrives. I also got the car seat out and washed. I decided not to worry about any clothes til we know the sex, all it's gonna need is some warm fuzzy pjs - and I would say it deserves some new ones anyway.
Update on Austin - Austin had his first Christmas program last week. His class sang three little songs and yes, I cried like a baby. Who knew there could be so much emotion wrapped up into "Jingle Bells". He was absolutely the cutest kid there and it was almost weird to be sitting there watching my little boy in a program - who knew this is where I would be. Time just flies as my kids are growing up - good thing we have another tiny little baby on the way!
Update on Ashlyn - Ashlyn still loves being the big kid when Austin is at school. She is very into being a "mommy" all the time which is so cute. She's still my little drama queen, but we love her just the same and she's growing up so quick trying to be just like brother. I can't believe she'll be off to preschool next year too!
Update on Gabriella - hmmmm...what can I say? This girl is nuts! We call her tornado. Even her siblings call her that. She's a little stinker, extremely clever and cute as a button. She loves getting into trouble and stretching the rules. She's got her grandparents wrapped around her finger and knows it!
Update on Shawn - Shawn has been working his tail off at work. And in the mean time he has started ripping apart my kitchen! It's going to be a slow remodel, but piece by piece we'll get it done. He's taking Thurs and Fri off this week to work on it so hopefully he can make some good progress. Then we are having the Turner Christmas here with all of his family on Saturday. I'm so excited to get to have everyone here this year - we are all looking forward to it! Then Monday night we actually rented a 15 passenger van to pile into and go look at Christmas lights. Big family tradition - you wear your new pjs, pop some popcorn, heat up the hot chocolate and crank up the Christmas music! We use to be able to fit in one little car, but we have multiplied to 9 people and I think Shawn's parents are coming too this year - soo soo fun!!! If you are looking for a new tradition - this is one of the best.
That's all I know for now - I'll try and post some pics, but I think it's time for an afternoon snooze....
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Little bits of everything

There is something I have been meaning to blog for several months and am finally getting around to it...The following pic is of a ticket to the USA softball games at the Olympics in Beijing this past summer. You'll see on the left hand side an autograph from Cat Osterman, an amazing pitcher.
Anyway, the reason I took this picture is because the autograph actually says: "To T4". Cat was in the olympics 4 years ago also and sent me an autographed ticket that was for Baby T1 (Austin). The funny thing is, in the time that Cat has been to the Olympics TWICE, I have had 4 kids...I think we're both Olympians...don't you?? And thanks to Michelle, a good friend of mine from Texas, for getting me the tickets. Cat is her niece so she has had the privelege of getting to go see the Summer Olympics the last two times. How cool is that?


And here I am in all my 35 week hugeness...I was headed out for a Christmas Bash with my gal pals! Super fun night!

And the following is from the PJ collection. I still don't have the official family pic, but should soon. Here's my mom and sis. I'm the big one on the left, but I still love my new pj's! This year we got mom and dad the old fashioned one-piece footed PJ's WITH the flap in the back. They were hilarious!

I just simply think this picture is awesome. We took the kids to Science city one morning and had a fun family day. I love the crazy faces in this one. Much more normal than if they were both standing nicely and smiling.

Yes, that's Gabriella with less hair than the baby in my belly probably has! But aren't they cute wanting to hold hands? I love it!

We had a nice weekend here, Shawn starting tearing apart the kitchen. Took off the doors, started sanding, peeled some ceiling, started taking off some paint. We had Shawn's company Christmas party on Saturday night - lots of fun, but I am still recovering from being on my feet all night and staying out too late. I was exhausted all day today - but well worth it to see my hubby in a tux!! We finally put a crib up in the office for the baby when it gets here and I even got out the crib accessories and am getting things washed up. Not too many more days until BT4 makes an arrival. I'm getting a little nervous for yet another c-section, but if I can do it three times, then I can do it four times, right? I'm excited for the kids to see this little person, even if they are going to all go nuts when it gets here. Do you think Austin will get his wish for a boy? He really really wants a "roommate" so he'll be pretty disappointed if it's a girl. We do have a boy name picked out, or at least we do for now - could change in the next 3 weeks. No idea for a girl name though - any ideas?? That's all I got for now. Time to put me and baby to bed.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Time is flying!!

What a great long weekend, except that it went too fast (as usual). We kicked off turkey day in Waverly and had some delicious food and a great time with the Turner family. The kids had a blast and got to play with some of their cousins which they always enjoy. Thursday night Shawn and I headed back home while the kids got to spend the night at the farm. Next on the list was Black Friday. After extensive research through the billions of ads and sales, we decided to start our day out at Home Depot around 5:45am. This was for Shawn to get his Christmas present - I had to tell him about it since it was too big for me to sprint through the store and be able to carry. It's a really cool ladder that does all kinds of things. It was a hot item, a great sale, and best of all - we got one! Then it was off to about 10 other places and by 3:30 we were home and had our Christmas shopping DONE! I have never finished my shopping before Christmas Eve and this year I finished in November! We had such a fun day battling the crazy people that go shopping on Black Friday. I will say, though, that I was "a hurtin' unit" on Saturday. I was so exhausted and sore from running around all day Friday that I wasn't sure I would recover. Shawn and I were both in bed before 9 and after a good night's sleep (or at least as good as it can be when you are this prego) we both felt much better. Saturday morning we did our annual PJ Picture with the Settle side. We all got our new Christmas PJ's and did our big family portrait. I don't have any pics yet, but will be sure to post them when we get them from my brother.
Other news - I have to get a cavity filled at 7am tomorrow - what a way to start the day, huh? It's suppose to snow and sleet all day - ick. They better not cancel school!!! That's all I know for now - time to relax and hopefully get a foot rub from Shawn.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

35 days...

5 weeks from right now we'll be fighting over who gets to hold the latest Turner Baby. Hard to believe, huh? I'm down to one week appointments now - holy smokes! Had a great weekend this past weekend, Shawn didn't have to work -yipee! We had family weekend - as Shawn put it - "I'm not letting any of you out of my sight all weekend." And we did it! We started out on Saturday morning with a trip to Science City - the kids' absolute favorite place. We have a great time there - and Saturday mornings rock - no one is there but the Turners! We played all morning into the afternoon and then finally came home. Shawn and the kids got the yard cleaned up, leaves raked and grass mowed. Shawn has put a ton of work into the yard this year and it is looking awesome. I'm kind of sad to see everything dying off with winter starting here. After church on Sunday we headed out to the Legends to the coolest McD's for breakfast and playing on the playground. I got some Christmas shopping done and picked out fabric with my mom for all new family stockings!! Very excited about this project...I'm sure mom is home stitching away as I type. Shawn and I's favorite show is 24 - and they had a 2 hour movie/episode last night - so cool. The new season doesn't start til January - this got us pretty excited for it! Now we are gearing up for Thanksgiving - we are headed to the farm on Thursday for some turkey and then the in-laws are keeping all the kids so Shawn and I can SHOP all day Friday!! YIPEE! Black Friday might be my favorite day of the year - not counting Christmas Eve, my b-day and the day I got married, and of course the days my kids were born...but anyway - I love Black Friday - I love getting up at 3:30 in the morning to head out to shop! I love the excitement and I love the crazy mean people throwing elbows in the aisles. Can you think of anything more fun?!?!? And the bestest part is that I get to spend the whole day with my husband. I am sooo looking forward to it - so in advance, thanks so much Ed and Norma!! We love you!!
I think that's about all I have to report for now - well, last week was a bit rough - Austin was having some...uhhh...discipline "issues"? Not sure how to state that. Anyway, had to go back and do some reading - read some love and logic books and some other parenting books and seem to have him back on track - well, as much on track as a 4 year old boy can be!
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST
ps - eat up some good home cooked turkey this week!

11 days?

I feel like I just blogged yesterday, but apparently it's been 11 days already. That means I am a week and a half closer to baby 4! That would be 43 days - wow. Last week kind of flew by - I had such a great week - my wonderful, amazing in-laws took the girls to the farm for the whole week! So, that left me and Austin to fend for ourselves - it was such a welcome break and I think Austin enjoyed being king of the hill for a week too. The girls are still talking about the fun they had at the farm. I love that they get to spend so much time with their grandparents. Then reality came back on Friday and I was once again a prego mother of three...ahhhh, the break was nice though. As for this week it won't be quite as exciting. The kids and I are just ready for daddy to turn in (and win) his bid that is due Friday. He has been working round the clock so say a little prayer that it all goes well on Friday! We are all looking forward to next week with a few days off and Shawn and I get to go shopping all day on Black Friday (one of my favorite days of the year) with NO kids! Hip Hop Hooray!! And if the lines get too long, I'll just fake some labor pains - we should be done by noon! ha ha
I better go look for my three kids - things are exceptionally quiet for 8:06am...
Hope you are having the time of your life!
st

My tricks and treats

Alright, in my defense, I have tried several times to post in the last week and something has been wrong with google, or my computer, not sure which one. Well, maybe I am sure...my computer keeps randomly shutting off when I have been trying to get pics on my blog. Anyway, enough excuses. Here's some pics - First (totally out of order as this was the day after Halloween) Shawn and I took the kids on a nature hike. Austin is obsessed with finding nature. He will see a leaf and scream at the top of his lungs, "NATURE, MOM!!". Gotta love it.

And now some Halloween pics. Shawn loves to dress up for Halloween, although he always wears one of two outfits. This year he chose the baby blue jogging suit that is exactly 7 sizes too small. Step away, ladies, he is ALL mine. We also have the cutest clown on the block in the homemade clown costume (thanks to Grandma Peg). It's become a family tradition that each kid HAS to wear the clown outfit at least once. My brother Craig was the first to wear it, I wore it, my sister wore it, Austin, Ashlyn and now Gabriella. Look out Baby T4 - you're next!

And of course, carving the pumpkins. We did this on Halloween night - wouldn't want to do it earlier - just in time. I can't believe Ashlyn is in a skirt and flipflops and Austin is shirtless (is there any other way to carve a pumpkin?) It was very unseasonably warm that day. I don't think I remember ever having good weather on Halloween night - it was awesome!

And a shot with grandma and papa settle! Everyone is FULL of sugar - I'm pretty sure the kids don't even know where they are right now...

And then there's me and my belly, or my belly and I - 30 weeks along! And don't be jealous of that attractive thing on my wrist. It's my professional bowling brace as my OB likes to call it. It's for my horrible case of carpal tunnel. Very sexy.

Austin is constantly (along with his sisters) blowing bubbles in his milk. This is very annoying when we are trying to get breakfast done and cleaned up and off to school in the morning. Friday he started the usual bubble blowing so I (to my surprise) told him if he would eat his breakfast so we could get to school that he could blow as many bubbles as he wanted when he got home. Well, he doesn't forget a promise! Here he is in all his milk-bubble-blowing glory. The kid was in heaven for a good 10 minutes. Ahhhh to be 4 again.


I can't believe we are going to be 32 weeks along tomorrow - time is flying! Shawn has been working a ton - although it has proven to be worth it as he just landed a huge job - Arrowhead stadium!! So cool!! Now he's working on phase 2 of it. Luckily it should all be done before Thanksgiving. Way to go Shawn!!
As for me, I'm trying to stay awake, starting to get more uncomfortable, don't get a lot of sleep at night, but feeling pretty good too. I'm definitely looking forward to the holidays - I went to the mall today and it was completely decked out in Christmas, including Christmas music, Santa Claus and all - seriously, can't we eat our turkey first???
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

I am SOOOO mom of the day.

NO question, hands down, I win the award today! I took 3 kids (secretly) to the doctor this morning for flu shots. Austin started figuring it out on the way, but I did my best to distract him on the drive there by talking about random things we saw outside - this is very entertaining to him since he'll talk about anything. Anyway, I was very nervous to take them all, mostly for Austin since he is my most sensitive one - I knew he was going to flip out. So, my plan was just to try and blindsight him - which is exactly what I did. When the nurse brought everything in his eyes got real big and watery and I felt horrible! But he came and jumped on my lap and as I bear hugged him the shot was in and out in a millisecond - awesome nurse! He freaked out, but not like I thought he would. He was very brave and got to have a candy bar at 8 o'clock in the morning. Gabriella was next - my toughest of the three. She got her shot, gave the nurse a horrible dirty look, pulled up her pants and walked off. No tears, no screaming, nothing - although, if looks could kill... Ashlyn was third and she screamed the loudest, but I shoved a kit-kat in her mouth and that seemed to do the trick. Nothing like a little sugar to help a mom out. I went last, don't worry no tears on my end either. I may have shot the nurse a dirty look too though, as I don't appreciate shots any more than the next guy. Don't you think I deserve some sort of award too?? Not a bad day.
Yesterday proved to be a good day too - had another dr. appointment and it went GREAT! YIPEE! A happy, good appointment - I needed one of those! Baby is looking good and big and now it's just a sit and wait game I suppose. We are over 30 weeks now - wow! I did have one question for the doc though - "what if I go into labor?" Now, you might be thinking...ummmmm..isn't this your FOURTH kid? Well, I have 3 c-sections, never had a contraction or anything so I really don't know what to do if it happens. We got that all figured out so I guess I am good to go. The plan is of course not to go into labor, but I thought I better be prepared with this one since it seems to like giving me gray hairs already. The best part of the day was that my mom insisted that we must go out to dinner and celebrate having a happy appointment so Shawn and I got to go on a date last night! Gotta love my mom - she's been pretty amazing throughout this pregnancy. Have I told you she gets me a present to open at each dr. appointment? How cool is that? And now that we are down to appointments every other week it really rocks! I may have to secretly ask my doctor if we can have weekly appointments for awhile!
That's about all I know for now - we are having movie night here as Charlie Browns Halloween is on and the kids think that little yellow bird on there is hilarious.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

some much needed pics

I am finally going to fill you in on some much needed pics! Yeah! Before you start scrolling...I forgot to update you all on the 3 hour glucose test - I passed!! 15 hours with no food was NOT fun I would NOT recommend it, but I survived. The three hours actually went faster than I expected. I did get pretty nauseous and faint, but not until I actually started to eat again. Once the food had time to sit for a few minutes I felt much better. After getting the numbers back, the doc said I must have eaten something really weird on the day of the first test because my numbers were really low and just fine on the second test - good news! I already have another appt tomorrow - we are on our 2 week appointments already - holy cow! I haven't even pulled out a single "baby thing" yet!! Today marks 30 weeks. This pregnancy has definitely had it's trials....I think it's about time to pick a name out too. Don't worry - we won't be sharing! Ok Ok - on to the pics...

The following is my cute little Austin - what a stud!

Here's me and the hubs going out on a date last week - 29 weeks prego....

Here's me with my girls! Yes, the bald one is a girl....will she ever grow hair?! And is that the cutest little "teacher skirt" Ashlyn has on?!?! Got it for a dollar at a garage sale - I love it!

Here's Gabriella concentrating very hard on coloring her first Halloween cookie. No fun and games for her - serious work to be done - and lots of frosting to eat.



A long time ago I promised some pics of Ashlyn on her birthday (the big 3).

Here's a stroller that she got that needed to be put together. Papa Turner thought he'd just throw it together real quick...

Uncle Nick then said he would help too...it'd go quicker that way....

I think maybe it goes like this...no wait...turn just a little...hmmmm.....

Maybe Gabriella could help...She's a good helper....Nick is starting to look a bit annoyed...Are you sure this is a play stroller and not a real one??

Alright guys, move over, Shawn to the rescue....while Aunt Kim finds a piece of paper in the trash bag....the directions??? Surely between the four of them they can figure it out.

YEAH!!!!!!!!! 2 hours later we have a stroller!! Good job guys! Sorry Ash, took them so long to put together, it's bedtime now - you can play with it tomorrow...

Don't know why, just like this picture.

All the kids LOVE to play dressup - Ashlyn got tons of dressup stuff for her b-day. That's Pirate Papa Turner and Batman in the background.

Just Ashlyn and mommy - lookin' cute!

And here's getting ready for ice cream sundaes (plus Addison on the left)

Below is Austin's preschool class at the pumpkin patch - what a fun field trip! Yup - only 2 girls in his class.

Austin and Ashlyn on a hayride!


Alright, so that should update you a bit - We are doing good here, although it's getting colder by the day. Shawn's been working hard on some pretty big bids lately. Our new kitchen is on order and we are anxiously awaiting our cabinets so we can get started. Only 9 more weeks of being prego - sad, exciting, nerve racking, tiring, anxious, and worried we are never going to come up with a name....
That's it for now - should be a fun week with the Halloween festivities around the corner! Look for some pics this week of the kids costumes.
Hope you are havin' the time of your life!
ST

Another Weekend Gone

There's something about Sunday nights. When I was school age I was always trying to get homework done at the last minute and get geered up for another week of learning. Especially in college I never enjoyed Sunday nights. They were always a bit stressful after being tired from a long weekend of "relaxing" and trying to study without falling asleep. When I was in the "real working world", it was always a bit stressful trying to remember what I was suppose to teach the next day, what games we had to play for whatever sport I was coaching. Nowadays as I live the good life, Sunday nights are pretty good. We almost always have Sunday night dinner at my parents - and it's no plain dinner - it's like Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner every week. FABULOUS. I usually try and have the house cleaned up a bit before we go down for dinner so when we come back home the kids go up for bath and Shawn and I can relax after the house is finally quiet. Not so bad! Of course, now that Austin is in school we don't get to lounge around on Monday mornings - it's up and 'atem at 6:15, get dressed, eat, brush teeth, go potty, get backpack and out the door - repeat those steps 4 times, eliminating the backpack part for the two girls and adding in put a little makeup and deodorant on for me. Oh and add do the dishes for me too - at least until Gabriella can reach the sink to help out. Crazy Sundays.
As for the weekend, Shawn accomplished quite a bit - our deck got stained - very cool! And we raked (not so much "we") and mowed. Our grass looks awesome - Shawn has worked hard on the grass this year - it's looking awesome - I hate to see it go brown during the winter ahead. The weatherman actually said it could snow flurry on Wednesday! YIPES!
Tomorrow should prove to be interesting. I am 29 weeks prego -getting pretty prego looking these days and feeling that way too. Only 10 weeks to go. And after the level 2 sono we had to have the said my due date is actually Dec 25th! We won't be changing the c-section date though. I have never gone into labor, never had a contraction...sure hope this isn't the year for it. Anyway, we had our glucose test last week, I was 3 for 3 on passing with my kiddos, but this baby just seems to enjoy giving us trouble as I didn't pass. So, tomorrow morning I have to go back for more blood tests. Doesn't sound so bad, oh wait, yes, it does. I have to fast after midnight tonight - no food (uh, no food? I'm prego....) I have to be at the doc at 8:30 to drink the yummy sugar drink, then the draw my blood, then I sit in the waiting room for 1 hour, then they draw my blood, then I sit in the waiting room for an hour, then they draw my blood, then I sit in the waiting room for 1 hour, then they draw my blood. I am not aloud to eat or drink anything. (oh - did I mention that I am prego and hungry all the time???) All in all, I sit there for 3 hours - are you kidding me??? Apparently they don't realize that I have 3 kids to take care of and that I am hungry all the time. Oh well, I am sure I will survive, I am sure I will be VERY cranky come 11:30 tomorrow, but I did go to the library and got some good books to read while sitting there. So, say a little prayer that I get through it all without being too terribly miserable, although everyone I have talked to said that isn't possible. Thanks to Michelle for waking up way before her usual time to come over and watch my kids all morning. And Shawn is going to attempt the carpool duties of picking up Austin at school tomorrow - he may need more prayers than me!
I better go have a snack before bedtime...
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Nesting...or just plain me...

I have been trying to post pics of Ashlyn's b-day, my little 3 year old now, but our computer crashed upstairs and I haven't been able to get to them - you will see them soon! Ashlyn was very excited to turn 3 - and she picked candy bars as her b-day cake when she had all her girlfriends (and boyfriends) over. Easy enough. Then we had a family party and had ice cream sundaes with all the fixins. So much fun! And Ashlyn was beaming when she opened up her presents and got 2 baby dolls and a new stroller! She's such a little mother hen!

So, some have called it nesting, but most just laugh and say - that's the Stephanie we know! Last weekend I decided I needed a project (yes, we are about to embark on the kitchen remodel as we await our cabinets to show up), but during the week we are waiting, I decided the front entry and upstairs hallway had to be painted and it had to be now. I am pretty sure Shawn wanted to ring my neck at the sound of this, but he is wise enough to know you don't mess with your 28 week prego wife. And as I finished up last night I think he is actually pretty happy about it. I worked my tail off at nap time and bedtime every day since Sunday and actually finished last night! I have started putting stuff back up on the walls and it is looking soooo much better. It's something I have been wanting to do since we have moved in here, and finally got around to it. I'm having horrible problems with my right hand and wrist due to the pregnancy. My right hand is numb about 90% of the time and just aches constantly, so painting for a week hasn't exactly helped. My justification was that it wasn't going to get better anyway. And now I have cool new paint on the wall!

Austin and Ashlyn have been invited to stay at the farm for the weekend with Grandma and Papa Turner - they are ecstatic. (Shawn and I might be a little ecstatic too!) So, Shawn and I will get to try our hand at having just Gabriella, our little tornado. Should hopefully be a productive and yet relaxing weekend. Can't wait to get it started!!
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

My Baby is FOUR!

Yes, Austin officially turned 4 today - hard to believe that just four years ago I was holding my first little baby in my arms trying to figure out what the heck I had gotten myself into! I can't believe it has only been four years ago that I didn't know what it was like to have children, but then I think I can't believe how fast 4 years has flown by! All my children are very unique, but Austin, being the oldest, has had to endure some - what I like to call - "parental experimentation." First time parents are really pretty funny, but not until you have actually lived through it. I remember thinking I should "play" with Austin all the time when he was awake - no, not when he was three - when he was like 3 days old. I was sure that if I just left him lay on the floor that he would think he was on some deserted island. I would go crazy if I heard him cry - and would run to him in the middle of the night as if he had actually crawled up and out of his crib at the age of one month. Let's see....he didn't have a lick of chocolate until his 1st b-day (that could be considered child abuse I think). I put him in Gymboree at 6 months of age - he couldn't even sit up yet...what was I thinking?? Shawn and I have learned quite a bit after now going on kid #4. Not that we have it figured out - or that we ever will, because we won't, but at least we can laugh about it now. I was quite anal (yes, I admit it), but I will tell you my baby boy is loved more than you could imagine. Here's where we were just 4 years ago...Grapevine, Texas...

Alright, enough babbling...here's how the b-day weekend went...(and keep in mind I have to do this all over again with Ashlyn, as her b-day is Wednesday!)

Saturday we headed out to Crown Center for the American Royal parade - huge awesome parade! We had a great time with Grandma and Papa Settle and Aunt Kim and Uncle Nick. It has been a tradition the last three years to take the kids to Fritz's for lunch for their b-days. It's a train restaurant where a train track is up above you and a train delivers and drops your food down - very cool. They have hamburgers that have hash browns on them - holy cow they are awesome, well anything is with hash browns.

We had a fun day with the kids Saturday, and then Sunday was Austin's big day. It started around 7am with him finding a present in his bed - which just floored him, he was so excited. Then we headed to McD's a Sunday tradition where we hang out with my parents and let the kids play. After that we headed home for another present - the one Shawn and I were most excited about -

He LOVED his new Batman outfit. As we were shopping for a gift for him, we saw this and decided it was perfect - he is obsessed with dressing up as superheros lately, so what better present?? He has taken it on and off about 50 times today already. Another "cake by Kim", my sister. She is a master at frosting cakes. we did a superhero cake - can't see it too good, but the superheros are all standing on a building. I think my mom's camera has a better pic.

We had a little b-day party this afternoon, he got to pick a few friends to invite over for a party. When I asked him who he wanted to invite, he insisted he have an ALL GIRL party. hmmmmm. Yes, Shawn was a proud father at that moment, but seriously. I got in a big argument with him that he must invite his boys too - he finally said ok - so funny. Anyway, we had a superhero party and they all had a blast. My mom (the saint) made superhero capes for all the kids that they got to keep - huge hit with the kids (and moms - several said thanks for the new halloween costume! - thanks Peg!) We played some games, the kids all got light sabers (from star wars, although ours were just glow sticks) and spiderman masks. Probably the most fun was two things - one - we gave all the kids a cup of sprite and told them to use their superpowers to change the color - they put colored ice cubes in that changed their drinks different colors and made them fizz up - they thought that was pretty cool. And second, I got all the kids together and told them that I had a big bucket of candy for them, but that some bad guy stole it! I gave them each a can of silly string and told them if they saw a bad guy running about that they should chase him and shoot him with their "webbing" so they could get their candy back. This was so funny - Shawn dressed up like a bad guy and ran around the yard - where was the video camera?!?! All in all it was a great day - Austin is thrilled to be four, and thrilled to have some really cool new toys, and so blessed to have such an amazing family and friends. Thanks to all for making this such a special day for him!! Hope you enjoyed the pics!

and now...I am going to bed.

Hope you are having the time of your life!

ST