Merry Thanksgiving:-)

So I realized I hadn't blogged about Thanksgiving, and here it is almost Christmas! I tried to do better with my procrastinating abilities this year, but I still have no presents wrapped--so much to do!

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents this year and had a great time. My mom and dad came to Fayetteville on Tuesday afternoon to go to the Razorback basketball game, and they picked my kids up when the game was over and took them home--I got to have a whole night in the house by myself (Shon was still out-of-town). I can't remember the last time that happened. The next morning I woke up ON MY OWN and got ready to meet Jennifer and Becky for lunch and a movie. We ate at TGIFriday's and went to see New Moon--it was so nice not to have to worry about the kids:-) After the movie I made it home and Shon was home from Missouri--we just ate supper and hung out watching all the shows I had DVR'd that week:) We also shared the rest of this fabulous cheesecake that I brought home from TGIFriday's--which is sadly now closed in Fayetteville as of this Monday:( The next morning (Thanksgiving Day) we left here and drove to Mountain Home. We arrived around 11am and I went to work making the chicken dressing. We ended up eating a wonderful supper--mom cooked her first turkey and it was PHENOMENAL--she used a recipe from the Neely's and it was so moist and seasoned to perfection:-)

The next morning we got up, got ready and went to Branson to ride the train. (It was supposed to be the Polar Express ride, but we messed up and bought the wrong time for that, so it was just the regular train ride, which was fine:-) We ate lunch at the Macaroni Grill and then rode the train. We did a little shopping and then drove back to Mountain Home. Shon and I went to put gas in the van and ended up looking in Harp's for waffle mix. (A side note--I cannot find plain waffle mix anywhere in Northwest Arkansas--other than Williams-Sonoma and I don't really want to pay that much each time I want waffle mix. Wal-Mart used to carry the Krusteaz brand but doesn't anymore--now everything is pancake or pancake AND waffle, which makes non-crisp runny waffles--I'll get off my soap box now). So we found some (dance of joy) and made it back home, where my fabulous mother had already bathed the kids:-) The next day was just a relaxing one, and we headed home that afternoon. All in all it was a fun holiday. Now to gear up for Christmas!

Asphalt--+1, Minivan -2

What an eventful week we have had so far--and not necessarily in a good way. To clarify my title I must first give a little background. We live about 2 miles from Caleb and Emma's school, and you don't have to get on any major roads to get there, so it takes only a few minutes--they get out of school at 2:50, so I usually don't leave the house until about 2:54 to get there to where I don't have to sit in line a long time at the school. I also have Jake with me, and he has usually just woken up from his nap--which means he is cranky and does not like to put his clothes back on--so he goes a lot of times in his top and his underwear:-) Well, on Wednesday Jake didn't take a nap because we had a lot of errands to run and didn't get home until around 1pm--so no time for a nap. He was dressed except for his shoes because I told him it was too cold to go in his normal attire. So we finally headed out and it was 2:56-- a few minutes later but I figured we would still get there in plenty of time to pick the kids up. Once you get onto 54th street, it is pretty narrow in a few spots--not much more room than for 2 normal-sized cars to squeak by one another. Right after turning onto the road I noticed a car coming so I slowed down--however the car decided not to scoot over much. I went off the road and while attempting to come back on-apparently hit something that took out both tires on the right side of the van.

So I stopped on the curve ahead to assess the damage and was pretty upset at that point. Shon was out-of-town, I knew no one who lived close to me, and my kids were still at the school. After a panicked call to the school, I told them I would call them back after I figured something out. So I called Megan, and she graciously agreed to come pick them up (love you girl!) Then I needed to figure out how to get the car fixed. I called my dad and he didn't answer, so I tried mom next-she suggested calling the Honda place, so that was my next call. They gave me a towing company recommendation and so that was the next place to call ( I was so thankful that I had remembered my phone!). The woman said she would put the call in and asked me my address:-) I told her I was on 54th street--no address:-) Then I called Sam's, which is where we bought the tires in June. We added the Roadside Hazard protection for $15 a tire, which I later found out was the smartest thing we could have done. I asked if there was any chance that the tires would be covered, not thinking they would be, and the guy said they should be covered. So, at this point, Jake has fallen asleep in the car, I had a plan, and my kids were being picked up:)

Megan and John arrived shortly after I got off the phone with Sam's, and John stayed with me while Megan picked up Caleb and Emma. We all waited on the tow truck, which showed up after about 40 minutes. ( he was on the other side of Springdale when he received the call). We all piled in their car after the van was on the truck, and headed to Sam's. Once there, I was in for a fun hour plus wait with my kids while they fixed the tires. Thankfully, our service plan covered the tires, so I only had to pay around $36 for the instillation.

All in all, it was a very exhausting day. We left Sam's a little after 6 pm, and ran through the drive-through at Sonic for supper. I went to bed early that night, ready for a better day the next day!

Sickness is here:-(

Well, I was just thinking on Friday that we had avoided any of the sickness that has been going around--looks like I thought that way too soon! Emma started off the weekend with diarrhea all day on Saturday (sorry if there are any squeamish who read this, but I am assuming it is my mommy friends:-) She ran fever of 101 after her nap, and I just kept waiting for her to start throwing up as well. Thankfully, she woke up Sunday am starving and had no more symptoms of any kind. However, last night Caleb came downstairs 3 different times to tell me he couldn't sleep--all between 11 and 12 am. Finally, the last time he ran to the bathroom and threw up everywhere (thankfully he made it in the toilet, though). So, we are home today and I am making sure he eats bland food-no more throw up as of right now, but I am weary and wondering when Jake is going to catch something. I also feel really bad because my co-teacher at Kid's Day Out is out today with her daughter (the flu) and so our sweet 3 year old class will have 2 subs today instead of 1-I hope they don't freak out too much!

I may have forgotten something...

So, I was so proud of myself for remembering everything that happened that was major over the summer-then I realized I forgot a pretty important event (actually a few of them:-) The big one I forgot is that Shon and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary in August. Of course, we have no pictures, but we had a great time--our church has a ministry for couples called Friday Night Out. If you are in Sunday school, you will get a voucher for the next Friday night's childcare. You email the coordinator by Wednesday to get your kids on the list. Then on Friday, you bring said children to the church, drop them off, and go have fun! The wonderful workers keep the kids from 6-9:30pm--and it is FREE! What a blessing! So, Shon and I dropped off our kids, and headed to Ruth's Chris steak house in Rogers--it was fabulous! We had eaten there (sort of) on our honeymoon, but I ended up feeling ill and we had to leave--and the steak we got on our honeymoon was wonderful even though it was cold by the time I was able to eat it. So, I knew the warm version would be even better:-) We were at the restaurant for about 2 1/2 hours, and it was perfect. We each had a wonderful steak, salad, side, and then our waiter brought us out a free dessert for our anniversary, complete with candle:-) The manager brought us a gift certificate for $25 off our next visit. Then we closed out the night by going to Wal-Mart:-) where I got a wireless speaker for my ipod.

I also forgot to mention that Shon and I both celebrated birthdays over the summer--mine in June and his in July. I don't really think we did anything to special--other that wish one another happy birthday:-) So, sorry for the double post, but I did want to remember such a memorable evening!

Long time no blog!

SO,epic fail on my part to blog over the summer at all--and also the start of school, and our Disney vacations, and Halloween--so this will be a pretty long post. Sorry the pics are out of order--can't seem to figure that out on here:-) So we will start with Halloween and work our way backwards through the summer:-) Here are the kids with mom on Halloween--she and dad came up for the Razorback game and she got the pleasure of trick or treating with us. The kids had a lot of fun and we were able to keep it short since we had to get mom back to pick up dad. I was also very thankful for an extra hour of sleep that night:-)
Caleb was Duke from GI Joe, Emma was Pocahontas, and Jake was Woody from Toy Story.

He had to try his costume on as soon as it came in the mail-hence the single shot of him above.

Here is the start of our Disney pictures--which is actually the end of our vacation. Here is my sister Christy and her husband Josh with the kids--they really enjoyed being around them all week--and I think Josh and Christy had fun as well:-)

Caleb and the other boys (adults) went on to Star Wars, so mom and the kids and I took a detour to see Lightening McQueen and Mater--Jake was a little tired of smiling at that point.

I think this was probably the highlight of Jake's trip--I love the look on his face as he sees Woody "in person". We only had to wait 10 minutes in line--it worked out great. We went on the new Toy Story ride right after this, and that was our longest wait at the park--1 hour from start to finish.

We waited to see Mickey and the rest of the gang about 30 minutes-this was towards the end of the afternoon at Epcot and they are getting a little bit tired. We stayed at Epcot all day long--through the fireworks that night, and they were such troopers! I can tell you my legs hurt something fierce by the time that night was over-I'm surprised I could walk the next day.

Here's the gang getting pictures with Captain Hook and Mr. Smee--they were all really into getting the characters autographs.

Emma, Jake, Shon and I waited in line to meet the princesses--mom, dad and Caleb went and rode go karts:-)

I love this picture of Jake--he really seemed to like Belle:)

Here we are at the first afternoon in Downtown Disney--Emma had a princess makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique--she loved it! They fixed her hair, put makeup on here, and painted her nails. Plus she was able to keep the makeup and nail polish.

The boys got "cool dude" makeovers--Jake wasn't thrilled while it was being done, but seemed to enjoy it after he got down from the chair. They both have "pirate dust" (confetti) in their hair and Mickey Mouse painted on the back of their hair.

Christy with Caleb and Jake

Mom and Emma

1st day of school--Caleb started 3rd grade with Mrs. Huddleston, and Emma started 1st grade with Mrs. Hill.

We also had swim lessons at the end of the summer at Swim Ranch--they loved it, as did I. They made such strides from the beginning of the week to the end. Caleb and Emma both swam the entire length of the pool by the end of the week without any help-I was so proud! It was very warm that week, so we made good use of Sonic's happy hour!

For 4th of July we enjoyed the fireworks at the crosses at Pinnacle Hills campus--it was so pretty and let me try out some night shots with my new camera. The kids enjoyed it as well.

Summer vacation started out with swim lessons at Wilson Pool. Caleb and Emma were in the same class and really seemed to enjoy being in the water. Jake and I hung out and waited at the pool--he had fun playing with cars and eating snacks:-)

We also visited my sister-in-law Renessa and her husband Greg and our nephew Clayton this summer, but of course I forgot my camera and so I have no pictures of that. The kids were able to swim everyday in their pool and we had a great time.

They also got to visit my parents and Shon's parents at different times this summer--they enjoyed both visits.

So I think I am caught up for now--we are looking forward to Thanksgiving with my parents and getting ready for Christmas. I can't wait!

Kindergarten Graduation, an unexpected suprise, and the end of the school year!

So today was Emma's kindergarten graduation. It was at 8:30 am with 1 other kindergarten class (the other 3 classes were at 10am). Mom drove up yesterday so she could go, and it was wonderful that Shon is home this week and could go as well. They looked so cute in their graduation caps and Williams t shirts. All of the kids had a line to recite in the microphone--Emma did a great job (no surprise there for someone who loves being in the spotlight). After their song and recitation, they received their diplomas from Mrs. Gardenhire, the principal. Then it was back to her classroom for a group picture. We decided to just stay after dropping off Emma so we would have a good place to park. While waiting they announced student of the month--and Emma's name was called (each teacher picks out 1 child from their class for each month). This month's word was perseverance. We are very proud of her. I forgot to mention on here that Caleb was student of the month in April--and neither of us can remember his word:-) I am so proud of both kids--they received a special t shirt, and a certificate good for a free meal at Denny's:-)

After graduation, mom and I took Jake to Different Strokes to get him a plate--his brother and sister both have special plates that have their names on them--so she wanted one for Jake. We painted his hand and put different colored stripes around the edge of the plate. Hopefully it will turn out really cute.

The big surprise for me came from Shon. He came home from graduation after running errands and had a package for me--a new camera! I have been wanting something to replace our old digital camera--it is held together with a rubber band after I dropped it and broke a tiny piece off. So I got a Nikon D40! I am very excited to learn how to use it. I really had my heart set on it, but after seeing the price told Shon we could make do with another regular digital one. He saved up the money and bought it--I am so thrilled:-) It will be wonderful to take to Disney when we go this fall.

I really can't believe there are only 2 days left of school for Caleb and Emma--and actually Emma can leave after she finds out who her teacher is on Friday. I don't know if I'm ready to have a 1st and 3rd grader in the house--can't they just stop growing for a little bit? I will try to post some pictures soon of graduation. And I will definitely post some of the pictures from my new camera--once I figure out how to load them on here:-)

Quick post

Just saw an awesome video on youtube (thanks Dixon) that I want to post the link to so I won't forget it--it tells you how to chill a room temperature Coke in 2 minutes:-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc9BHiQUpWU Can't wait to try it out!

Caleb Stewart

Happy 8th Birthday Caleb! I can't believe I am the mommy of an 8 year old! Where has all the time gone? I can remember waiting and waiting for you to get here--making sure the nursery was stocked and ready, and worrying about how our dog would react to you:-) You were a beautiful baby--thick brown hair and a pretty blue eyes. Everyone was at the hospital waiting for you to arrive--the joys of a first grandchild:-)

You have grown into such a sweet young man--you are diligent in your schoolwork, love your time at home, are always up for any kind of fun. You enjoy building with Legos, drawing and coloring, basketball, and soccer. You also love playing video games--especially Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and anything on the Wii.

You are a loyal friend, and are willing to put your feelings aside for someone else to feel better. You are a (mostly) sweet big brother--always trying to help with Jake and play with Emma.

You are a perfectionist and can get upset when things don't go your way, but you usually bounce back fairly quickly from any outburst.

You had a rough start to school this year, but over the last few months have improved tremendously--your reading and writing skills are phenomenal, as evidenced by your reading certificates. You also achieved Student of the Month last month--I am so proud of you for that!

You are a joy to have for a son, and I can't wait to see what new things you will accomplish over the next year--I love you son!

Emma Grace

Happy 6th Birthday Emma! I can't believe it has been six years since you were born--time is going by way too fast. You are such a sweetheart and put up with a lot being the only girl in the family (other than mommy). You love to help and love to be in the middle of everything. You have perfected the art of conversation--even when no one is in the mood to talk:-) You are unfailingly curious, wanting to know everything about a subject that interests with you. You have the ability to memorize music very quickly--you only need to hear a song 1 or 2 times before you know it.

You are a great little/big sister. You enjoy playing with Caleb and Jake and help out whenever the mood strikes you around the house. You have enjoyed emptying the dishwasher for me and dusting is one of your favorite pastimes (you must get that from Nana).

You like being girly and wearing dresses, singing and dancing, and ballet. But you also like playing ball, wrestling with Jake, and playing fight outside with Caleb.

You love school and are doing really well this year--you even received a note home complimenting you on your manners and helpful attitude. I am very proud of how loyal you are and the big heart you have for everyone. I can't wait to see how you grow over the next year, and what big things God has in store for you. I love you, sweet girl!

Mommy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH5u7UuzDyc

Well, I tried to embed this video but I couldn't get it to work, so please go to the above link and watch--very powerful--I love Selah and the imagery in this video is perfect for Easter. I hope everyone had a wonderful day (even with the cold and rain in NWA) and please have a wonderful week! We have a busy one ahead with Emma's birthday:-)

Boobs and Brain Damage

So I wanted to post this quickly before I forget: the kids have been playing outside all afternoon since getting home from school. Emma ran in a few minutes ago and told me she had brain damage:-) She said that Caleb had kicked her in her headfore and damaged her brain! What an imagination she has. She ran back out and came in a few minutes later and said, " 100+100 is 0--see, I have brain damage!"

Jake came in a little while after that holding 2 bouncy balls up to his chest, yelling, "I has boos, I has boos!" Never a dull moment in the Dunlap house! Hope everyone is enjoying their week!

Spring Break Pt. 2

So things have been going well with the kids at Dale and Marie's--I called to talk to them last night and they were both telling me different activities and things that had been going on. Marie and I decided not to drive to Louisiana this week. I am disappointed but know that the kids would be too tired to try it--hopefully we can go in the summer for longer. As I'm talking with Emma, she suddenly asked me how baby Clayton was doing. I told her I wasn't with him, I was with Jake. So she says," How is Jake Renessa?" The child had been talking to me for at least 5 minutes. I swear she has blonde roots.

Jake has been really into singing at the piano. He gets his play microphone and starts banging on the keys and singing High School Musical and songs from church--really too cute.

Shon told me today that a friend of his that he works with lost their baby last month--she was stillborn. What a tragedy--it made me really thankful for my children being healthy--even though some days I wonder what I was thinking having 3, I can't imagine them not being here. I hope I never have to.

Well, Jake has been down for a long nap, and he'll never go back to bed tonight if I don't get him up. I'll try to post pictures soon--I have some good blackmail material on my phone for when Jake gets older. It involves him, a tiara, and his sister's purple princess dress;-)

Spring Break!

Spring Break is officially here! I am excited because my oldest 2 are spending the weekend with my in-laws:-) I literally am so excited to have a break from the arguing and back and forth between the 2 of them. I have been trying a new concept lately with discipline--it's a book called 1-2-3 Magic. Basically you count the behavior you want stopped (like whining, arguing, fighting, etc) and you reward behaviors you want them to start (keeping their rooms clean, putting away clothes, unloading the dishwasher, etc.) I now only ask them to have their rooms cleaned on Wednesday night and Sunday nights before bed. If they comply the receive their full allowance--$3 for Caleb and $2 for Emma. If it's not clean then I take money off--same with their chores. It has really been working well except for this week--I think the time change also threw them off because they are more tired and cranky. I am hoping this break allows us to catch up on some sleep:-)

Shon is still traveling every week, Monday through Thursday. Caleb has started baseball--it's a lot more than I bargained for. With tball he had 1 practice and 1 game a week. With baseball it is 2 practices a week for 1 1/2 hours each, and the games are here or possibly away. It's really hard to do with the other 2 having no one to stay with, but we'll get through it. Emma's ballet recital is next month, and she has been so cute going around singing El Shaddai. She and Jake have been singing at our piano a lot lately--they love to belt out any song from High School Musical, although today Emma busted out with some Beyonce--Single Ladies. Too funny:-)

Not much else I can think of right now--I will try to be more consistent. Both Caleb and Emma had to take a round of antibiotics this month--Emma for a deep cough that wouldn't go away and Caleb had strep last Saturday. Hopefully everyone else will stay well!

Long while

So it has been too long since I have posted, but so much has been going on. We survived the ice storm of '09--our power went out Tuesday afternoon around 2 pm. The kids tried to nap but were unable to, save Jake. We turned on the fireplace and were plenty warm for awhile. My friend Jen called and she and her husband and 3 kids were our and checking out the damage--they offered for us to stay with them, and we took them up on it. Shon was out of town, and I wasn't really sure what I would do with 3 kids without anything electronic to entertain them:-) I really only thought we would be there for 24-48 hours max, so I packed a few changes of clothes and we were on our way.

No one had eaten supper so on the way to Rogers, we decided to stop at McDonalds. We were literally there for 1 1/2 hours! It took about 30 minutes to get our food, and Jen, who ordered right behind me, had to wait forever for hers. It turns out the 1 person working the register lost their order--it was not much fun! We finally made it to their house, and I was really glad for heat and electricity! We ended up staying with them through Friday! It was crazy in the house with 6 kids 7 and under, but we made it work. Mike and Jen were wonderful, and the kids were well behaved up until the last day:-) Shon was diverted flying home Thursday night and ended up in Tulsa--he drove home early Friday morning rather than wait on the plane. He was feeling really ill with a sinus infection so we decided to drive to Lepanto where Shon's parents live and stay there until our power was back on or until the kids had to go back to school, whichever came first. We ended up coming back home Monday morning:-) We had to throw out all of our food, which was quite depressing, but it is nice having a clean refrigerator:-)

We had an uneventful few weeks after that, and were able to enjoy Valentine's day with my parents, sister and Josh. We went to Caleb's Upward basketball game, where he scored his first basket. Then we went and ate lunch at Red Robin (yummy). We went to Target after eating and Christy and Josh let the kids each buy a toy for their birthdays. The had fun looking through EVERYTHING before picking something out. Josh and dad were at the Razorback game, so we came back to the house and played for a little bit. Then we went to Catfish Hole and ate supper, and they had to leave. It was fun to spend time with them.

Caleb will be starting baseball soon, and finishing up basketball this Saturday. Emma will be done with ballet in April, and has decided she wants to play soccer--we'll see if this lasts:-) Hope everyone is doing well--sorry for not commenting lately--I do read your blogs though!

Carolynn

Go to this site now!

So I saw this site on another blog and am just overwhelmed and in tears--God is so good! Please go check out www.iamsecond.com --you will be blessed! Just be sure to take some Kleenex with you! Click on any of the pictures for different and powerful testimonies about putting Christ first in your life--just what I was needing today:-) I hope it encourages you as it did me.

Yesterday

So I went back over my post from yesterday, and needed to clarify something for myself. I don't mean that I am expecting Obama to fail--far from it. I am praying for him and his family during this transition--especially his sweet girls. I can't imagine how this new life will be for them, but am thankful that they seem to have a mom that puts their needs first. Still, it can't be easy to have to go to school having big men with dark jackets and ear pieces following you around:-) My point of my post yesterday (and today) is that I wish the majority of the American people were not pinning their hopes and dreams on one man. The only "man" who deserves that honor is Jesus Christ. I know people are anxious for change, but that can come in many forms, and not all of them are positive. So, while I didn't' vote for Obama, I will support him as best I can since he is our president. On a different note, Emma and I were talking yesterday about the events of the day, and she mentioned watching Obama on tv. She was telling me he was the 45th president, then she asked how many of them had been boys. I told her so far all of them had. She looked at me and said, "Well that just isn't fair--they should let a girl be president. Why don't you work at being president mommy?" I told her I had enough to do here:-) So then she told me she was going to work on it herself. She also told me she was happy that "Mark Obama" was now the president:-) Never dull with her around! I still need to post birthday pics, but am really tired this am. If anyone has any suggestions for how to keep Jake in his bed, I would love to hear them. I am thinking I will try a baby gate for his door as my next option. I am just really tired of being awakened at 3 am every night:-( Hope you all have a great day!

Historic Day

So I know I need to post about Jake's birthday party, and I will, but I wanted to put down my thoughts about today first. I do understand that this is an historic date in our country's history. And I am praying for the president as he transitions into this role. However, I don't like how every media outlet and a lot of people are looking at him like he is the messiah come to fix every problem of every person. That's a lot of pressure for one person. I do hope he lives up to the promises of his campaign, but I don't feel like he is going to solve all of my problems. Jesus doesn't promise that all of my problems will be solved (far from it!) , but He does want me to rely on Him and Him alone for my happiness. I guess I just wanted to write how I was feeling--I truly hope I don't offend anyone--but I probably won't be watching much of the coverage today because I am a little sickened by how ingratiating everyone in the media seems to be. When you are put up on a pedestal, it is just a further fall when something happens to knock you off of it. I promise to try and post a more upbeat post about Jake's birthday party later!

Am I in the right house?

So an amazing thing happened at bedtime tonight. I told Caleb and Emma to go upstairs and get in bed--I folded a load of laundry, helped Jake get ready for bed, and when I went up to check on them, it was almost too quiet. I figured they were in Caleb's closet holed up with a bunch of books since all the lights were on upstairs. Instead, I found each one, in their own beds, ASLEEP! I cannot ever remember a time they have done this, let alone both at the same time, so I figured I needed to mark down this special occasion. This really brightened my day, especially with all the fighting and arguing that went on this afternoon. The long weekend is starting on a good note! Hope everyone stays warm--Jake is having his birthday party tomorrow, so I will post pictures of that event soon!

Carolynn

Happy (belated) Birthday, Jake!

I can't believe you are already 3! You are the only one of our babies to be born in a state other than Arkansas. You are such a sweet boy when you want to be, but you definitely have a strong willed side. I can remember when I found out we were expecting you. Daddy had to go out of town for a funeral, and I was home with your brother and sister. I took a test in the morning, and I remember it was around 6 am--it looked negative, so I went back to bed. When I got up a few hours later it was positive. I quickly got everyone ready, ran to Walmart, and bought a digital test:-) It was positive as well. So I called your daddy and told him, and he of course told everyone there, even though I asked him to wait:-) We had just moved to Springfield, MO 2 months before finding out about you, so I didn't really know anyone or anything about the doctors in the area. God blessed us with a wonderful OB, the only problem was that he perpetually ran 30min to 1 hour late for appointments. It was exhausting:-) We had a lot of false alarms with you--the scariest for mommy and daddy was at 23 weeks when I started having contractions while we were at Celebration City. We headed to the ER, and were told I was just dehydrated. So I had to drink a ton of water and nana and papa actually drove up to stay with Emma and Caleb, so we just went out to eat after leaving the ER:-)

I went to the ER 2 other times, a few weeks before my due date with contractions that were 3 minutes apart, but you weren't ready to be born yet. My OB was on vacation for your 38th and 39th week check ups, which I wasn't real thrilled with, but as soon as he was back for the last one, we scheduled your induction for the 15th. Mom and dad were coming up the next day and we were going to shop a little and do a few more things before you were born. However, you had other ideas. My OB appointment was in the am, so I remember doing some shopping, then picking up Caleb from preschool, and Emma from Mother's Day Out. I was having contractions, but they got stronger around 4pm, so I called nana and papa to go ahead and come up. We left for the ER around 5, and I was finally dilating--I was a 5 when we arrived. Nana and papa arrived a little later ( your daddy was very happy to see them) and took them home. I had a very fast delivery with you--I pushed 3 times, and you were born! They had me waiting to push until they knew the doctor was in the building:-)

You were a really good baby, but you had to go in the hospital with fever at 2 weeks because you got the flu. We moved back to Arkansas when you were 1 month old. You love to spend time playing with your brother and sister, and right now your favorite things to do are play with your Geotrax, your Cars cars and legos, and anything to do with Toy Story.

I hope you continue to grow and learn in this next year. Mommy, daddy, Caleb and Emma all love you very much!