Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cheyenne in her Valentine's outfit.

My girls on Valentine's Day

Going Away "Party"

I don't like to call it a "party" because we don't like to celebrate this occasion. My coworker for the last 3 1/2 years, Staci, is moving to Texas the end of this month. We had a "party" for her on Sunday. The attendance wasn't real great but I guess others don't like to think about her leaving either. She does still have a couple weeks left at the LRC. Her last day is the 22nd and I return from maternity leave the 25th. I won't actually work with her again. :( I have enjoyed working with her the last 3 1/2 years. We don't work together but a few minutes every day because she works in the mornings and I work the evenings. I enjoyed going to conferences, on the spring break trip and working tournaments when we got to spend more time together. We didn't just talk about work, we talked about life. Especially when we were pregnant at the same time and had our children. It was nice to discuss what was happening to our bodies while pregnant with someone who was experiencing the same thing! Our kids loved playing together too! As they have gotten older they get into more and we only wonder what the next few years would have had instore for them if they still got to "Play" at the LRC. I think they would be running the place! Cheyenne will be going to daycare when I return to work but we will miss walking in and Brody looking over the gate and saying "Chey, Chey". I'm gonna miss Staci tremendously but will get to stay in close contact because she will still be doing the books for the LRC. So several times a month I have to email her. But it just won't be the same.

Here are a few pictures from the "party"

Staci and Brody telling Brice, Torrey and Junior bye. Brice and Torrey worked at the LRC during the summers for several years. It was nice to see them come back for this occasion.

Tina, Staci, Brody, Cheyenne, Cheryl and I. Tina and I put the party on for Staci.

Manuel, one of Brody's favorite people in the gym!

How Adventurous Are You?

Friday night Adria called me and asked how adventurous I was? We decided to take our 3 kids to Hutch to go get some groceries and supplies I needed for the craft class I am teaching Tuesday. It actually wasn't too bad! Cheyenne and Jonathan entertained each other and Cheryl just slept most of the time. Cheryl did wake up and was hungary while we were finishing up in Walmart. Cheyenne was getting cranky because she was tired. She fell asleep in the cart. I checked out and went out to the car to feed Cheryl and then when Adria was done we headed home. Cheryl and Jonathan fell asleep on the way home and Cheyenne finally fell asleep just a few miles outside of Lyons. It was an adventure! But it was actually a pleasant one!

Cheyenne sleeping in the cart.

Sleep!

Last night we got eight hours of sleep! Cheryl and Cheyenne fell asleep with me in the chair a little after 9. When I woke up it was almost 11:00! I put the girls in bed and crawled in bed myself. About 15 minutes later Cheyenne was awake! She crawled in bed with me and I didn't have to get up again until 2:00! Cheryl slept from 9:00 to 2:00! At 2:00 I got up and changed her diaper and fed her and she went right back to sleep until 6:30! That's a total of 8 hours! I feel pretty rested this morning! We'll see if it was just last night or if it will continue!

I can't have a post without adding a picture! Here is one of Cheyenne and Cheryl on Cheyenne's bed.

Nap Time

With a newborn and an almost 2 year old I try to take naps when I can. They don't always cooperate though. When one's asleep the other one isn't and when the other one finally falls asleep the other one wakes up! Sometimes I think, ok I can lay sleep for a little while and 10 or 15 minutes later one of them wakes up. I don't complain too much though. I take what I can get. They both fell asleep with me on the couch the other day. Scott was awake so I had him take picture. Shortly after the picture I fell asleep too! I love taking naps with my girls! We are going to need a bigger couch one of these days though!

Truck for Sale

2004 Ford F150 FX4

Fully Loaded 80k miles

$20,000 OBO

We have decided that we need a new vehicle, possibly two. There just isn't enough room in the truck for 2 car seats, passengers, a stroller and groceries or any other purchases we make. We'd like to have 2 reliable vehicles. Right now we just have the truck that we can take out of town and we put a lot of miles on it. We went to Carmax Friday to see what we could find. We found a couple that we liked but they wouldn't give us what we needed out of our truck. So we are going to try to sell it outright. If you know anyone that's looking for a truck let me know!

Smiling

I know she isn't responding to anything, probably just having happy dreams. Or as my mom says she is talking to the Angels. Cheryl has the cutest smile. Sometimes she just turns up one corner of her mouth other times she has a big wide mouthed smile. I did catch it on video last Saturday.

Look Alike

Most people have said that Cheryl looks just like Cheyenne. I have found a picture of Cheyenne at 7 days old and Cheryl at 8 days old. What do you think?

Cheyenne

Cheryl

I thought this was interesting. Here is Cheryl and Cheyenne in the same towel after a bath. Cheyenne is 2 months old in this picture but I still think they look alot alike!

Visitors

Yesterday Staci and Brody stopped by to see us. Cheyenne was excited to see Brody! She went straight to the door when she saw him and Staci walking up the sidewalk. Cheyenne and Brody enjoyed playing with each other. They haven't seen each other for about 2 weeks. Staci, Scott, and I got to visit too!

Brody liked to point out Cheryl's body parts. Cheyenne does the same thing!

Brody and Cheyenne dancing to mine and Scott's phones.

Here is a video of them dancing!

2 Week Appointment

Cheryl had her 2 week check-up yesterday. It went well. She weighed 9 lbs. 15 oz and was 23 1/4 inches long. She has gained over a pound and grew almost 2 inches in 2 weeks! Looks like she is going to take after her big sister. They took an x-ray of her clavicle bone. It is practically healed. We were concerned because we could see & feel a bump but it just callus that supports the bone and will smooth out over time. Then she got her extra fingers removed. Debbie cut them off and then cauterized them. There was a good blood supply to them. Cheryl didn't like it too well but she was a trooper. We were in the dr. office for an hour and a half and then headed to Hutch for Cheryl's first outing to get some much needed groceries. Then we decided to take Cheryl to her first basketball game to watch her aunts play. She slept through the entire girls game and half of the boys game. We were all ready for bed when we got home! I had to get up every hour to make sure Cheryl hadn't rubbed her scabs off and was bleeding. She didn't. I think I'm going to need a nap today!

Here is one of the last pictures of her extra fingers.

Here she is, with 5 fingers on each hand!

I had to throw in a picture of Cheyenne cheering at the game. I don't know why but I didn't get a picture of Cheryl at the game.

Just a Few Pictures

Just thought I would share a few pictures from the last few days. Cheryl is such a good baby and Cheyenne is such a big help. Cheyenne goes and gets things that I need and she loves giving Cheryl kisses. She doesn't say Cheryl yet, she just says "Baby or Sissy".

My Girls!

Cheryl on the quilt Grandma Goalden gave her.

Just Looking around.

Bath time. She has since lost her umbilical cord.

Cheryl's precious smile.

Cheryl's first day sitting in the vibrating seat.

We made our first trip out of the house on Sunday to go to my parents' to eat lunch and see Great Grandma and Grandpa for the first time. It was a beautiful day to get out just a little windy. Great Grandma holding Cheryl.

Great Grandpa holding Cheryl.

Cheryl's first time in the swing. (That's where she is at while I'm writing this!)

One Week Ago

About 2:30 am on the 14th I felt like I was having contractions. They weren't regular though. Some were 10 minutes apart and some were 20 minutes apart. Then around 7:00 am they stopped. I went to work and carried on with a normal day. Then at 6:30 pm, they started again. And then I started bleeding. I called the hospital and they said to come on in and be checked out. I left work at 7:45 and called Scott and he left work and met Cheyenne and I at the hospital. I was dilated to a 3 or 4. They didn't know whether to keep me or not. They wanted me to walk around for about 40 minutes and then see where I was. After that I was a 5 or 6, I was staying.

Scott and Cheyenne helping me through the contractions. This was before they got too bad!

My mom had called the rec to tell me that my sisters won their basketball game and I wasn't there. So she called my cell and Scott told her we were at the hospital. The girls were in the locker room when mom went to tell them and Brittany didn't even get the soap washed out of her hair!



Mom and the girls got to the hospital and I was in pretty active labor. They stayed with me while Scott went home to change and get some things. When Scott got back, Mom and Brittany took Cheyenne to our house to get ready for bed. Staci stayed and helped me through the contractions. I don't know what time things happened but the next time they checked me I was at an 8 and Debbie, my doctor, broke my water. Now the contractions were getting stronger. These contractions were a lot more painful than when I had Cheyenne. As with Cheyenne, I didn't have any pain medication. They checked me again an hour later and I was still at an 8. Mom and Brittany got back with Cheyenne just in time! About 5-10 minutes later I had a contraction and I felt lots of pressure! The baby was coming! The nurse didn't think that it was really pressure that soon after checking me and being at an 8 but sure enough there was the head! Debbie came in and it was time to push. It took me a little longer pushing with Cheryl than Cheyenne. With Cheyenne it was only 17 minutes but with Cheryl it was about 45 or so (at least that's what Scott said, I wasn't looking at the clock!) At 11:57 Scott looked at me and said, "Are you going to have this baby today or tomorrow?" I said tomorrow and sure enough Cheryl Faye graced us with her presence at 12:01 am January 15th.

The pain is gone and our precious little girl is here!

Cheryl Faye

Cheryl Faye joined our family on January 15th at 12:01 am. She weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. (I will post the labor story later) Because she was a bigger baby, her collar bone broke during delivery. They said it will heal on it's own we are just careful with how we hold her. She was also born with 6 fingers on each hand. This isn't surprising because I was born with an extra finger and toe and my dad was born with an extra toe. They will remove them at her 2 week appointment. Other than that sheis a healthy, happy little girl. She is a very good baby!

Our wonderful family!

Scott and Cheryl

Brittany is a proud aunt again!

Daddy & his girls! Cheyenne giving "baby" kisses!

Home from the hospital!

Pregnant?

Several weeks ago my mom told me that I didn't really look pregnant from the back. I thought there is no way you can't tell that I'm pregnant but I can't see myself from behind so I don't know. Yesterday I finally had my sister take a picture. What do you think?

And now let me turn around!

I'm not near as big as I was with Cheyenne and haven't gained as much weight. I carried this baby a lot different. Any guesses on the sex of this baby? We should find out soon!

Napping on Mommy's Belly

Cheyenne laid with me on the coach and decided she wanted to lay on my belly.

It makes a nice pillow!

She is out now! I fell asleep too shortly after I took this picture!

I don't think they baby will let her lay on him or her after he/she is born!

Clark Christmas

Yesterday we had the Clark Christmas at my parents'. Not everyone was able to make it but the ones that did had a good time. Unfortunately, Grandma was unable to make it because she had to work and her car broke down. We ate, visited, watched football, opened gifts and played games. We always enjoy getting together for Christmas because our lives are so busy that it's the only time we can all be together.

The kids opening their gifts from Santa.

We do a men's and women's grab bag. We draw numbers and go in that order to pick a gift. If someone after you wants to steal your gift they can. The guys watch intensely to see what they could take.

Wendy deciding if she wants to take Melissa's Applebee's gift card.

We all had a good time and look forward to getting together next year.

Chey's New Bed

We moved Cheyenne into her own bed and room New Year's Day. We bought her all new beddign and curtains and added some shelving to keep things out of her reach. She had been in the crib in our room. She likes her new bed. The new bedding gives the room a whole new look.

Cheyenne sleeping in her new bed.

Christmas with Gma Goalden

Friday I worked 9-5 and we left for Goodland when I got off work. Cheyenne got to open presents shortly after we arrived at Great Grandpa Fritz's. She got a sit 'n spin. It took her a little while to figure out how it worked. She got the hang of it before we left on Monday morning though!

Playing tea party with Aunt Samantha.

Chasing Daddy around the house!

We were glad that we got to spend some time with Grandma Goalden, Aunt Sammi and Great Grandpa Fritz over the holidays. Grandpa Fritz had just had back surgery and wasn't feeling real well but we enjoyed visiting with him.