Almost July?!?!?

And here's life lately...

My brother and his wife had their first little baby...Arabella. Such a sweetie! (Congrats again, guys!)

 We're still coaching our grass to grow in.

 The kids are just hanging out most days.

 Isaac turned 4 May 24, but we didn't do his party until early June. He had a great time and is still loving all his new presents-we did a rocket theme. The cake was surely the worst I've decorated, but Isaac liked it and it tasted good so all is well! :)

 Adam is still cute. (And drooling like Niagara Falls!)

 We finally redeemed a Groupon purchased for Pump it Up-an indoor place with a bunch of giant inflatables. The kids had a blast-good thing we have 3 more trips to use before September!

 We've had a mix of weather lately (no kidding-it's Iowa, right?) and on this especially hot day we tried out one of Isaac's birthday gifts-a pool! It's just the right size for the deck (remember our yard is still under construction!).

 This is my latest nap-time project. I am working on a template for a vinyl tree. I'll just cut the vinyl with scissors and stick it up there. I plan to collect pictures of ancestors and add a cute quote. So far it's going pretty well.

 We planted a garden it's doing surprisingly well considering the lack of care it's received. We just planted pumpkin seeds the other night for Family Home Evening-mainly because we realized the germination time will have them ready just a couple weeks before Halloween!

 Yep, still cute!  :)

 As is a summer tradition for many families, we caught our first monarch caterpillar of the season and it's already gone into its chrysalis. We actually watched it go through this process and it was AMAZING! (Thanks, Grandma for the giant container of cheeseballs that now houses our little butterfly-to-be!)

 Still cute-no actually, this is his "before" picture at the salon for his first (and much needed!) haircut. Crazy, out of control, whispy, Einstien-like? Yes!

 And the good ol' thumb comes in handy at any time during the day.

 And the after. Ahh.....much better! He looks like a new man. No, really, I'm still getting used to the new look.

 Just making sure he's still cute.  :)

 And as for things not included in pictures-life is good! We are busy, busy. Jake is running for Iowa Senate so our Saturdays are pretty well booked with a parade or two for a good portion of the summer. We will go to Nauvoo later in the summer for a few days, but we are mostly just here and hanging out. It's wonderful being in our new home-though decorating is taking forever! I really will get some pictures posted soon now that we've finally gotten some pictures and things on the walls.

Life

Alright...I just finished frosting my birthday cake (yes, I made my own, but no, it wasn't because no one else offered to make one for me). :) Hubby and boys are sleeping and Leah is busy so I thought I'd take a moment to do a quick post.

The house is done. Woohoo! We moved in almost a month ago. We are STILL unpacking. Nothing is hanging on the walls and there's still plenty more to be done. Like plant grass seed. :) We are going to have an open house of sorts probably next month sometime. Hopefully by then the house will be more of what I've dreamed about and then I'll post some pictures. We do love it and it's great to have our own space. I am looking forward to many, many years in this home. 

Jake is busy as always with work and church responsibilities and is starting to get busy for the upcoming presidential race. He's been working out in the garage and I think once he gets things organized out there better he'll be spending even more time out there. Doing what, I don't know-possibly just basking in the reality that we have a 3-car garage. Attached to our house. With a blue epoxy floor. What more could a guy ask for, right?

Life is great for me. Today is my birthday AND Mother's Day. Jake and I went out Friday night to Cheesecake Factory and ate WAY too much food. It was quite yummy. Afterwards we went shopping for a desk. Exciting, I know. I am enjoying my calling as the Relief Society Meeting Committee Chair. Partly because it's been one of the least demanding callings I've had in a long time. Once my free time is no longer spent unpacking and re-organizing I will get back to sewing, scrapbooking, and crafting. It's all here in the office just waiting to be used. 

Isaac turns 4 in just a couple of weeks. Wow! He is an active little guy and is all about sports, Hot Wheels, and life in the great outdoors. His speech therapist still comes once a week and agrees that he is making progress. He will be evaluated in a week or two to see where it at compared to the average 4 year-old. He will start preschool in the fall, partly in hopes that more social interaction with kids his age will help his speech progress. I am looking forward to the day when I'm not translating so much for him. 

Leah is, well, she's 2. She certainly tests our patience on a daily basis, but is also very sweet and funny. She is 90% potty trained (hooray!) and is enjoying having her own big girl bed. (Though most nights we have to put her back to bed at least once right after we tuck her in). She loves nursery, especially singing time. She sings all the time. Her current favorites are "If you're happy and you know it" and "Once there was a snowman." Every day I look at her and find it hard to believe that she is now a toddler and no longer a baby.

Mr. Adam is just a little joy. He is a super happy and content little guy. He recently discovered his thumb-and now sucks it in his sleep and every once in a while to help him get to sleep. He also is sleeping through the night (I woke him up this morning after 12 1/2 hours!). He has lost some of his hair, though he still has lots and it's still mighty dark. I am anxious for him to be weighed next week at his 4 month appointment. He's definitely still bigger than Isaac was at this age and is wearing mostly 6 month, but some 9 month clothes.

Adam's Blessing

On Sunday, February 26 Jake blessed Adam. We had lots of family there-my aunt and uncle and cousins from Bettendorf, Jake's brother Josh and his wife Shalie and kids (they're in the new Winterset branch now), Jake's sister Stephanie, my brother Travis and his wife Brianne, and even my sister Kristelle and brother in-law Eric were able to be there while traveling from one rotation to another. Both sets of parents and Jake's grandma were also there. (Jake's mom and grandma aren't in the picture with all the ladies since they had callings that required their attendance!) It was a beautiful blessing and we were so thankful to have so many family members there with us. My sister even made little Adam's adorable sweater (thanks, Kris!). He looked so handsome and only fussed a little towards the end of his blessing (whew!). Thank you to everyone who helped to make little Adam's special day even more special!

Updates

Here's a quick update of what we've all been up to...

Adam is just growing like a weed. He's just a little light of happiness for all of us. He's smiling like crazy already and has been for about a week and a half. He's a great eater and a good sleeper. Unfortunately he has a bit of a cold right now and I hate to see him like that. He's still happy as can be and just has a little stuffy nose a cough. I took him in Monday just to be sure he's alright and he has en ear infection! I'm sure he'll be just fine in a few more days. He still has all of that dark hair. At his appointment Monday he was 11 pounds, 11 ounces. 4 pounds in 6 1/2 weeks-that's almost an ounce and a half a day!

 Leah turned 2 on the 11th and is often the epitome of a 2 year-old. She is so sassy and sweet all at the same time. We appreciate her little manners-she is so good to say, "thank you" whenever she has the opportunity. She had a fun little penguin party (pictures of that to some at some time in the future) even though she had a cold (which she later gave to Adam). She loves being a big sister and plays pretty well with Isaac most of the time. The second picture is her sleeping at the bottom of the stairs the other day-she followed me down there to get something and wanted carried back up. I had Adam in my arms so I told her she needed to walk. She wasn't happy about that answer and stayed there-a few minutes later I checked on her and she was fast asleep in the warm sunshine. She stayed there like that for over an hour!

Isaac is doing great-he loves being a Sunbeam and a big brother. His speech is progressing though we continue to work with him. He is super smart and cracks us up all the time with his witty little comments. He's had an ear infection since before Christmas that doesn't want to go away-we've done 3 different antibiotics and now a steriod. We go back to the ENT in 2 weeks to get it checked. If it's still not cleared up we will have to get tubes put in. :( Crazy for a kid who has only had maybe 4 ear infections ever. (Sorry no pictures of this kiddo-they are on another card! I will for sure get some posted soon!)

We are making great progress on the house-the trim was finished today and the painter will start Monday. Then it's just flooring and the little finishing things and the driveway. Definitely a matter of weeks before we move in. Yay!

Jake and I are both doing well-trying to get enough sleep to fully function is our latest challenge. We both have had a change in callings-after several years in Young Men's he's been called as the Elder's Qurorum President. I was released as the Gospel Doctrine teacher (after only 6 months!) and am now the Relief Society Meeting Committee Chair. It's been fun being busy planning centerpieces and working with sisters-certainly a change of pace compared to studying Old Testament lessons! We are looking forward to being in our new home and spend practically every waking minute together talking about it or shopping for things to put in it!

A Few Pictures of Adam

Here's a few pictures of our little guy...who is actually not so little. He was 8 pounds, 10 ounces at his 2 week and 21 1/2 inches long, which is 77% for weight and 96% for height! Neither Isaac or Leah have ever been close to those percentiles. It's a whole new world for us! But he's certainly as perfect as can be and we just love him tons!

The Whole Story...

Alright, mostly for my sake so I can have this recorded, here's the birth story of little Adam...

Wednesday morning I had a regular OB appointment. I was 4cm dilated and 75-85% thinned out. Not too bad, but I wasn't really feeling like I would have him early. (This was on the 5th and I was due the 9th). That day I felt a little crampy, lots of pressure, but no regular contractions. Luckily I didn't have anything going on so I just cleaned and got things ready for baby. We went to bed and I was feeling the same I had for a while. Isaac was sleeping with us that night with complaints of an earache and woke up around 1:15. That woke me up and I got up to use the bathroom, feeling contractions but not really thinking much of it since I had been having contractions every day irregularly for months. The contractions kept coming and by about 1:45 I decided it was time to get to the hospital. The drive there was long (well, only 25 minutes or so since I kept telling Jake to drive faster) but we made it there about 2:30. They took me to triage as expected and checked me and I was still 4-4 1/2 with contractions coming every 3 minutes or so. I was then informed that I would have to labor in triage and then deliver in the c-section OR. What? The maternity wing was being renovated and only the c-section side was open, but it was full. The regular side would be opening at 6:00 that morning. Go figure. So I labored (intensely) in that little tiny bed in the little tiny room of triage while Jake sat next to me in a little tiny chair rubbing my back during contractions. At about 2:55 the nurse walked out for a minute and naturally my next contraction came with the urge to push. I was as surprised as Jake and the nurse since I was just at a 4 25 minutes earlier. The nurse checked me and sure enough I was at a 9. They wheeled me to the OR with directions not to push. Not pushing when all your body wants to do is push is the WORST feeling in the world. They called my doctor on the way to OR. Another nurse joined us right before we went in and asked who the doctor was; when the other nurses told her she kind of laughed. "How long will it take him to get here?" I asked. 20 minutes I was told. I then tried my best through excruciating pain that he wasn't going to make it and that I was going to push anyways. They transferred me to the bed in the OR, which I think was even smaller than the tiny bed from triage. They kept telling me to breathe and to not push, which I really did try to follow for a while. Then it was just too much. I asked if I coulld have some fetanyl and was told that it was too late, which I knew it was, but the pain was insane. I was gripping Jake's shirt with such force that he was worried I had bruised his chest. Then I really, really had to push. They called for the OB who was already there (I think he was either there for another patient or just one that's always at the hospital). I kept pushing despite their directions and they realized this baby was coming, doctor present or not. The nurses finally told me I could push and with that, he was born with one "real" push at 3:25am. Relief! Although it was my shortest labor and delivery, it was by far the most intense and craziest. My doctor arrived a couple minutes after Adam was born and finished things up. I was wheeled back to triage and we waited there until 6:00 when we could get a real room in the maternity wing. I was the first patient in the newly-renovated rooms. (Truth be told, they looked the same to me as they did when Isaac and Leah were born!). Things went well that day and Adam and I enjoyed the visitors. Since he was born so early in the morning my OB told me I could go home the next day. Hooray! The nurses were  bit skeptical that I'd want to go home a day early, but I was sure. Thankfully Adam was as healthy as can be and recovered super quick from his circumcision so we were told we could go. The one night in the hospital was long because of all the interruptions from the nurses; Adam did quite well. Jake brought the other kids up at about 10:00 Friday morning and we were pulling out of the parking lot at 11:50 that morning. We are all glad to be home and feel so blessed to have this perfect little person in our family. Isaac and Leah love holding him and giving him kisses. I am feeling well; just a little sore and tired, but that's only to be expected. Adam is super mellow and is a great sleeper and eater. Although he was almost a pound bigger than the other two, he's still a little peanut and is wearing preemie clothes. We look forward to watching him grow and learn as he develops his own little personality.

Introducing...

Adam Taylor Chapman...born at 3:25am, 7 pounds 10 ounces, 20 inches long. Labor was fast and furious (as in we got to hospital at 2:30, I was at a 4 and 20 minutes later I was ready to push...the doctor had just been called and so the nurses wouldn't let me push (agh!!) but after 15 minutes of that nonsense they finally just delivered our little guy...with no doctor present). Oops! All is well, I'll post the whole story later. He's perfectly healthy, nursing like a little champ, and has TONS of DARK hair. We are so blessed to have him here and can't wait to get him home and back to regular life. :)