Nixon's "official" Little League picture. Baseball is over. Now we have to wait another year.
We've been pretty busy during Brookx's first month of life! The week after she was born, Chris, Nixon, and Grandpa went on the Father-son campout. They had such a great time. Nixon loves this yearly tradition.
While I was busy with Brookx, Chris was watching the kids jump on the trampoline with the sprinklers under it - NOT! I went out to check on the kids when I realized Chris was not outside, and I wasn't happy to find Maddy had ruined her 2nd swim suit in the mud. This was too funny. The kids had taken the sprinkler off the hose and made their own "mud slide" down the side of our hill. They had made quite a trench to slide down by the time they were done.



This is Brookx at 3 weeks old - she is about 7 1/2 lbs. She is pretty alert and always wants to see what is going on.
Maddy loves her new "tutu" dress and her rain boots. What a great combination for hot weather walking!

Chris can get Brookx to smile like no one else can. He was the first to get her to smile at about 3 weeks old. It was the sweetest thing to see. She now is smiling all the time, as long as she is happy (which means fed and napped).

It has been fun these past few weeks. Brookx is sleeping better and crying less (now that she is on liquid Zantac to help with reflux and indigestion). Nixon had his 5th birthday at a park, which I hate to admit that we have NO pictures! We were both so busy with all the people there and getting things organized that we forgot to take pictures. Nixon had a blast having a ton of friends there and playing hard. He said it was his best birthday ever and wanted to start talking about the planning of next years birthday. I told him we had 365 days to think about it, so maybe we should wait until it got a little bit closer. I kept telling him he was finally 5 years old and he said, "Really? Am I really 5?" I told him yes and he said as he looked in the mirror, "But I look EXACTLY the same as when I was 4." Apparently he is supposed to magically change into a "BIGGER" boy with each birthday.

A few days after Nixon's birthday he went on an eleven day trip with his cousins (and my brother and sis-in-law) to our annual family camping trip 1000 miles away. We decided last minute to not go for various reasons. He has had a blast and is coming back tonight. We heard he has been a very good boy and can't wait to see him! We have missed him. Maddy has survived without him, as she has now been more the center of our attention.

Yes, I finally had Brookx, 7 days overdue, at 11:51 p.m. She was 6 lbs 14 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. I started contractions around 5:30 p.m., and Chris was ready to drive me straight to the hospital. Of course, I thought I was possibly having some false labor, so I wouldn't go. Finally around 8:30 p.m. I decided to go to the hospital and was there for a little more than 3 hours before I had her. I sure was tired! We didn't get moved into a room until 3 a.m. and then I woke up at 5 a.m.with the worst cramps ever. I didn't realize the pain with your uterus shrinking gets more painful with each child! They lasted on and off for 2 hours. Brookx was such a angel that I decided to go home early and left the hospital less than 24 hours after having her. What a mistake! That night was the worst night EVER!! I was in more pain and she cried all night long without ever sleeping!Anyway, I have not gotten a lot of sleep with her. She is not quite as good as Maddy was who was a power nurser (5 minutes total) and would go right back to sleep. Brookx loves to take her sweet time and then wants to stay up for 1 or 2 hours to see what is going on. Anyway, we all love her. The kids adore her. They haven't shown a hint of jealousy. They kiss her and hold her all day long. They really like to help me out- grabbing diapers, wipes, blankets, etc. It is very sweet.

Proud Dad holding Brookx at the hospital.

Nixon loving his sister.

Maddy and Nixon meet Brookx for the first time!

Proud grandparents!


Brookx first day home!


Maddy LOVES her baby sister.


More proud grandparents who were here for 2 weeks awaiting the birth of Brookx.

Nixon really loves his new baby sister. He told me he wanted me to have more babies that are just like Brookx. I told him that each baby will always be different. And he said, "But I love baby Brookx! I want more." I reminded him that was exactly what he had said about Madyx when she was a baby.

This is what happens when I have no free hands and am stuck in a chair nursing! Maddy got into lip gloss and made quite a mess!

Nixon was able to go fishing with his cousins and grandpa. He was so excited and so proud that he caught these fish. He hasn't been this excited about something for a long time. He was up until 10 p.m. helping clean the fish and talking about catching them.

Okay, so what have we been up to the past few months??? Life has been busy. I am 38 weeks along in this pregnancy with only 2 more weeks to go.It has been a great pregnancy, the best one I have had. No morning sickness, not too many problems sleeping, not too much swelling. I am starting to get a little bit uncomfortable though. I think that because I have been so busy and the pregnancy has gone so well, I have not really thought too much about this 3rd baby! My kids have kept me busy, I have been working, and I have something scheduled for every day I am not working (like dr. appointments, speech therapy, etc.). So I think in 2 weeks this baby might be a bit of a shocker. I am not actually RUNNING or even jogging at this point, but I do a fast walk on my treadmill for 2.5 miles each day. I think this has helped a lot. So all in all things are great.

Nixon is in t-ball which is so fun and so hilarious to watch. They have a game at least once a week, sometimes even twice. Madyx wishes she was old enough to play too.
This is Grandpa, Nixon, and Chris on Nixon's first game day. How exciting!
Nixon giving us the heavy metal sign??!!! What? That is what you get when you have a dad who teaches high school. You should hear some of the things Nixon picks up on from the things his dad picks up on at school.
Stare down as well as a little head smashing on second base. We asked Nixon later what he was doing out there with this kid, and he said they were playing a head bonking game??
We have taken one trip to the coast. The kids love the beach. We played on the sand and then ran in the water, until they both got soaked. Maddy ate it big time in the freezing cold water, and that was the end!
We also enjoyed visiting the sheep barns. As usual, the kids loved it. They even got to pet a lamb (which was a first).


Well, a lot more has gone on, but we haven't taken as many pictures. We are having fun looking forward to baby BROOKX (we think). Weird spelling, but we HAVE to get the X in there, right? At least that is what Chris says. Well, wish me luck in 2 weeks! Hopefully no earlier or later!

Yes this is my totally ripped husband. Look at what his diet has done! Did we ever tell you he actually was the lead man in the movie "300" Geometry Students. Okay okay, my husband may not be that ripped, and he may not have played a lead role, but I had you for a second, right? One of his students Photo Shopped him into this picture and added the Geometry to the bottom. I definitely wouldn't complain if that was Chris' 8-pack! Anyway, we thought this was hilarious. Nixon could not get enough of it. He thought it was so funny and wanted to look at it all day long.

I know, miracle of miracles, I have posted now twice in less than 4 months. And I know you all have been waiting on the edge of your seats to know what we are having...If you haven't read it from facebook - we found out we are having a GIRL! We are pretty excited. If anyone has any suggestions for great girl names with X in them, leave us a post. We have a couple of ideas already! We are pretty excited, but Nixon's comment was, "Well, I'll just keep on waiting for a brother." He is still excited though.

Well, we have spent our past 3 day weekend (Martin Luther King Day) in the snow. Nixon was able to go snowboarding 2 times with Chris. Then this last weekend he went again with Chris. So he is at 4 times this season. He has really improved so much since last year. TAKE A PEEK!

Okay, so I say this every time I wait 3 months to post, but I really am a slacker, but for a good reason this time. I am such a slacker that most of you know this by now, but I am 19 weeks pregnant - due June 2. We are really excited and get to find out the sex of the baby next Tuesday. This pregnancy has gone really well. I haven't been sick and I've just been really tired. I have avoided all the sickness that has gone around in my small family: flu (swine?), pneumonia, and Fifth's Disease (which is apparently very dangerous for pregnant women). I did get food poisoning a couple of weeks ago and I was completely miserable. So this update includes pictures dating back to HALLOWEEN; MY (without kids) trip to see my brother and sister-in-law in Maryland, WASHINGTON D.C. and NYC; my SKINNY husband who has lost 53 LBS in ONLY 3 MONTHS, and CHRISTMAS in a winter wonderland!
This is Christmas after Christmas with Grandpa Pat & Grandma Dee. This car thing is humongous and the kids love it!



My kids and husband enjoyed visiting cousins in Idaho. In one day we went sledding, swimming, and went to the movies. We wore the kids out, but I think the adults suffered the most exhaustion. As Chris says, it is the effect of having 2 drill sergeants together planning the day (that would be my sister and me). We love to make the most of each day!




These are pictures of us visiting the other set of grandparents. This is Maddy and Nixon with Uncle Colby. We all loved the snow, snowmobiling, sledding, and snowboarding (only Nixon). Maddy was a lot more into the snow this year. I do think her favorite part was eating it though. Every time I turned around she had snow or ice in her mouth. Exactly like me when I was a little girl. Maddy was an animal in the snow and wanted to be outside all the time, sliding down hills on her bottom or stomach, or riding the snowmobile. I was starting to wonder about her last year when we couldn't even get her to crack a smile when she was outside. But she redeemed herself!
Grandma & Grandpa
Maddy wearing her favorite clothing - her Eeyore costume.

Yes, this is a weird picture but I had to take it and had to post it. I went and checked on Nixon before I went to bed and found him like this. I could not stop laughing. He had shoved his blankets down or up his pajamas. When I told Chris to come and see as I was laughing hysterically (good thing he is a sound sleeper), Chris' response was, "He does that all the time." WHAT?!!! That is the weirdest thing ever. I literally pulled and pulled and pulled and managed to get 6 BLANKETS out of his PJs. I can't believe he got all those in there.

We went to a Christmas thing and the kids loved it - Story Book Land. Nixon really wanted a candy cane from Santa but was too scared. All Maddy cared about was the candy cane and waited in line patiently with me to get one. Who cares about Santa?

THIS IS MY SKINNY HUSBAND!!! Can you believe he lost 53 lbs in 3 months? He looks so great and I am so proud of him. He is now a weight loss coach for the program he was on, so if anyone is as interested in looking and feeling this good.......

This is my trip to see my brother and sis-in-law in MD. I went a week before Thanksgiving. My kind dad flew out to take care of my kids while Chris was at work during the days. It ended up being miserable for them. Everyone in my family had a round of sickness. Nixon was sick with a fever the entire time I was gone, Chris got shingles, and my dad got sick from the kids and felt miserable and went home miserable. SORRY!!! I had fun though.:)
Bro and sis-in-law at the National Cathedral in WDC.
Bro and me at the White House
Sis-in-law and me at the harbor in Baltimore.
Bro and the famous bull in NYC. I did some major photoshopping on this picture with my newly acquired PS skills. You can definitely tell. Or can you?
Another Photoshop masterpiece - can you tell what I changed? I was really there, so I didn't pasted myself in the picture.
OKay, okay, this maybe is too far back to post, but it is so cute. I love our pumpkins that we put out every year. This is a pic with our cousins.
Believe it or not this is Nixon in my witch costume. He could make a pretty girl!!!
Whewwwwww.... I am tired now. If you made through this entire thing, you must be on overload. Until next time (which hopefully isn't another couple of months).....Later