St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patty's Day all! 

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Take 3

We had a great morning so far.  Church and breakfast... now nap time!  It is cold and wet here today so we will be doing little running around and lots of lazy today.  I believe the fireplace and comfort food are calling my name.  

Rosie is a big three weeks old and making it just fine.  Her brothers are going to let her hang around.  No one has asked to send her back YET!  She is still a great eater and sleeper.  I'm digging this only waking once at night thing!  Yesterday we ventured to Branson and had a wonderful day of shopping and enjoying the beautiful weather.  It is nice to buy real people clothes after 9 months!

Last weekend we went to the Tulsa zoo.  It was all too fun!  Pictures and a post will happen soon :)

Have a wonderful day full of green.

Found this... the duo's first St. Patrick's Day! CHUNKS!!

-Stephanie

Rosemary Charlotte

Rosemary Charlotte has arrived. She was born at 12:51 pm on the 21st. She weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 19.5 inches long. She has a head of beautiful hair and as of right now, beautiful blue eyes. The c-section went great and I am recovering quickly. It is still a little hard standing up, and I have yet to sleep in our bed. Rolling over just doesn't work for me just yet! I get stuck on my back. Recliner it is for a few more days.

 Rosie eats like a champ. She doesn't spit up like Fletcher did. She eats about every three hours during the day. At night she feeds around 11 and then doesn't awake again until about 4 or 5.

The boys love their little sister. They are huge helpers and like to "pet" her. Anderson will walk up to her and tell me that he likes her. Fletcher was very happy to have me home. The two days they came to visit at the hospital he kept asking if I was done and wanting me to get up. As soon as I stepped out of the car on Saturday he gave me a huge hug and said, " Mommy is done!"

  The boys like to put Rosie's bows on her head. They have been calling them her eye patches.

Overall everything is clicking and running smooth. We have a happy and beautiful little family. Kale and I appreciate all of the help from our family and all of you that have cooked and brought food over the last few nights. That is such a huge help! We will keep y'all up to date on pictures. Keep us all in your prayers for a smooth transition to this family of five (eight if you count Ruffles, Lucy and Daphne, and we do)!

   -Stephanie

The night before your life changes...

Most people don't know the exact moment something so huge is going to happen to them, thus changing their life forever. We however, are among the few who do. Tomorrow, at 12 noon we will welcome our beautiful Rosemary into the world. In true Arkansas fashion the weather has been rather bizarre all day today. It snowed all morning and then melted before dark! Now they are calling for ice, snow, or sleet in the morning...oh, and thunder. Perfect day to bring a baby into the world! We are just praying for safe travels to the hospital.

Please keep our little family in your hearts and on your minds. We will post pics pronto!

Love,
Stephanie

Roller Skating

Aunt Abby turned 8 New Year's Day, and today we went roller skating to celebrate.  I knew that the boys would either love it or hate it.  They LOVED it and were really good at it.  At the beginning they wanted to hold our hands, but after about two times around we heard, "I do it by myself!"  Abby got skates for her birthday and was a pro from all the practice this past week.  Uncle Sam and Daddy were another story!  They were not very graceful, but good sports.  I decided not to skate this time.  I'm a little "front heavy" and don't really fall very gracefully.  Plus it is a little hard to catch myself when my balance gets off.  Maybe next time I'll be able to skate.

 Boys and Mommy making a lap.

 The boys loved the giant Frosty and bear.

 Helping Daddy up!

 Going FAST

 Fletch with his cheeseball smile.

 Boys and Aunt Abby

 Showing Tonka how to do it.

 All by himself!  

 Learning from Abby.

 Big guy Fletchman.

 On another note... the boys are big boy potty animals.  They are not "potty trained" by any means, but they do tell us when they need to go poo poo 75% of the time!  Hey, it's progress.  When they go in the potty they get a popsicle.  This is a HUGE incentive :)  I am just having trouble getting them to tell me when they need to go pee pee.  I guess that will come.  At least we have the messy one under control!

Rosemary and I are doing great.  We had a doctor's appointment on Friday and everything looks and sounds fantastic.  We measured 1/2 a cm less than we should have.  This was news to me!  I NEVER measured less with the boys.  Maybe we will have a crazy growth spurt before our next appointment in two weeks.  I feel good.  Not great, but I am happy to be prego and love the thought of having that baby girl in no time at all.  She moves so much, and it is getting to the point of not feeling so good.  Her feet are in my ribs constantly, no bueno.  I think this goldfish is outgrowing her tank!

The forgotten Christmas post will be up before Friday!  I also will try to get our top 10 of 2012 by Friday :)  We will see if those goals get met...

Have a great week everyone.
-Stephanie

Pics and explanations

Long time no type!  What's been going on in our lives the past month... EVERYTHING :)  Fortunately it has all been good things and fun filled moments, but no matter how good or fun they are they still keep us busy busy.

Since our last update we have had family pictures.  I know many of you have seen them and commented on them on facebook.  However, we do have a handful of blog followers who aren't "facebookers."  I've got to fill them in too!  Our nanny, Miss Kat, and her sister Alisha took the pictures.  We think that they did an amazing job.  They were quick and creative.  Here are a few of our favorites.

 

 

 

 

The boys are learning and doing more and more each day.  They are huge (28lbs and 30lbs) and growing so tall (35in).  Both sleep in their big boy beds like pros and talk up a storm.  They love to rub baby Rosie.  We will see how they feel about her once she is here!  Lately Anderson has been asking us if we needed to change her diaper.  Not too sure where he got that from!  

Rosemary is growing fast, and she moves all of the time.  I'm measuring right on the mark.  We have an official date set for our c-section.  Mark your calendar for February 21st at 9 am.  Look out world, she will be here before we know it!  We had our 3D ultrasound  yesterday, my birthday.  I couldn't have asked for a better present then to have a sneak peak of the little gal.  She wasn't exactly the most cooperative darling.  She had either a hand, arm, or hand and arm in front of her face the entire hour we were in there.  Luckily, we got a few good shots in between her crazy big movements and arm flailing.

We have been asked a few times why we picked the name Rosemary.  I've never had a great answer besides that we heard it and loved it from the beginning.  Thanks to our Pastor, and his amazing sermon on Sunday, we now have a perfect reason/explanation for Rosemary.  Bare with me while I give a very short recap... Let's start with the sermon title:  Miraculous Incongruity (click to hear the Sermon, 17:50 in the video).
Roses seem to grow where they are least expected (roses in the desert)  people get pregnant who you shouldn't be pregnant ( Mary and Elizabeth).  There ya go.  A one sentence response to Rosemary...It was the perfect sermon for us and I can't even begin to do it justice by trying to restate what was said.  Take a listen if you would like.  It will be worth your time!

Have a great week.  We are into our 28th prego week.  We thank God each day for Fletch, Anderson, and baby Rosie.  I don't think we could be any luckier!
-Stephanie  

Bday Dinner at Shogun

Last night we went to dinner at Shogun to celebrate the duo's big TWO!  We go as a family often to have sushi and rice, but usually just sit at the tables across from the grill.  The boys love the rice and noodles!  This was their second time at the grill... first time to really know what was going on.  When we go, they love to watch the onion choo choo train and the action that goes along with the grill.  Unfortunately this time it wasn't so enjoyable. Here's a rundown.  

It started off great with checking out the "waterfall" at the front of the restaurant.

 Then they had fun banging their chopsticks like drumsticks and acting like hams for the camera.

 Except for the serious one that would only smile AFTER the picture was taken!

 Then we tried some shots with mommy.  It is VERY hard to get two two year olds to look and smile at the same time... thus the following pictures.

And then came fire... not so cool after all.  It took them a long time to calm down.  Fletcher wouldn't even look at the grill.  He kept begging to go home.  I knew as soon as he got his food it would be better though.

 I was right!  He chowed down on noodles.  No need for forks for this birthday boy!

 This noodle was a slippery one!

 Anderson loved the rice and chicken.  He did a better job at using his fork.  He doesn't like his hands to be dirty.

 

I did have a mommy moment when the chef kept making BIG fires and scaring the boys.  I may have raised my voice a little and not so politely told him to cut it out and just cook the food, BUT it was getting ridiculous.  He did not have to do so much fire... less fire more fun!  That was the goal.  Overall, it was a nice time with many memories made.  Will we sit back at the grill again soon.... probably not, but we will return for more delicious food.

Papaw and Grammie come tomorrow.  That means Chuck E Cheese on Saturday!!  The birthday week continues...
-Stephanie