Three Kids

Life with three kids is definitely an adjustment, but one I am very grateful to be working through on most days. :) This week will be the real test for me. The first ten days I had my mom here and then a couple of trial days by myself until Kevin's mom came for a few days this past week. So far Ashley has been a very good, sweet baby. Luke had a couple hard days adjusting at the beginning, but has really turned into a great helper for me. Katelyn was fine when we first brought Ashley home, but now is showing major signs of jealousy. She wants me to do everything for her or wants me to hold her right when Ashley needs to eat. If things don't happen Katelyn's way then the crying begins and lasts for a long time. It is hard to reason with a 20 month old little girl. :)

Here are some recent pictures...


My good friend gave the kids these cute "big brother", "big sister", and "little sister" shirts. I really wanted a picture of all three of them wearing their shirts to possibly use for a baby announcement, but not everyone was cooperating. This was one of the better ones. :) This was taken when Ashley was 9 days old.


Ashley at 11 days old.

I took this picture today. She is now 16 days old. At her first doctor's visit at one week old she only weighed 8lbs 14 oz (still not back to her birth weight). But at her two week visit she was up to 9lbs 10 oz. That's my girl!

We are so excited...

to welcome
Ashley Ann Hutchings
to our family!!!

Weighing in at a "small" 9pounds 2 ounces
and 20 inches long.
She was born on April 3rd at 12:50pm.

(I'm not sure why blogger is making the font so big. That was not how I typed it. Oh well, the easier to read, I guess.)

A Whole Bunch of Random Stuff

This is to catch up on all the latest happenings in our home. So be prepared for randomness...

• Luke earned all his "good boy" tickets and got to choose something fun to do. Last time he chose to go to Chuck E Cheese. This time he wanted me to take him to a movie. So Luke and I went on a date to see Horton Hears a Who. It was a cute movie and Luke loved it. It was fun for me to have the much needed one on one time with Luke.

• We purchased a Toyota Sienna minivan from the car auction and got a great deal!!! I never thought I would be so excited about a minivan, but I really do love it. I love the easiness of getting in and out and all the room. We are still trying to sell our Toyota Camry, so if you are interested, let us know. :)
  

• Katelyn has discovered she loves climbing. She is still not the best at it, but isn't afraid to try. Yesterday I heard her awake after her nap and was getting ready to go get her when I heard a loud THUD and then screams. I have never made it that fast up our stairs in the last month as I did yesterday. She was just sitting on the floor screaming. I don't think she was hurt, but was pretty scared. Hopefully she won't try that again.

• We have loved the beautiful weather and enjoyed some great outside time.

Easter outfits for 2008. I tried to get one of Luke and Katelyn together, but the separate ones came out a little better. Katelyn is in the middle of saying "CHEESE" in the middle picture. I thought it was pretty funny.



We had a little Easter Egg hunt in our backyard. Luke was very into it and Katelyn was more excited about the fake grass in her basket.

• Thank you for all your suggestions and help with finding a new digital camera. We ended up purchasing a Sony Cyber-shot DSC/H3 at Costco. It was a pretty good deal and I liked the features. And by buying it at Costco I have 90 days to try it out and return it if I don't like it. I will let you know how it goes.

• My next post will be pictures of our new baby girl. I am scheduled to be induced at 2am Thursday morning if she doesn't decide to come before then. I know, I know 2 am is a crazy time and is probably all for the convenience of the doctor. My husband is not too excited and I can't blame him. I am just ready to have her so it isn't bugging me as much. I went in at the same time w/Katelyn and it worked out fine.
  

Pregnancy pictures as requested, I told you I was huge and the first one is from Feb. and the last one from early March. So just use your imagination to picture how big I look right now. I can't go anywhere without people giving me the sympathy look. I even had a guy in the elevator on the way to my doctor's appt. ask, "Does your back really hurt?" That is how he started the conversation. I guess he figured it had to hurt with how far out I am carry this baby. Oh well, hopefully it won't be hurting in a couple of days.

Help!

We are in need of a new digital camera. I was just wondering if anybody had some suggestions. We have had a Kodak Easyshare c743. It takes good pictures, but goes through batteries so fast. I am spending way too much money on batteries. I am not a photographer, but would like a camera that takes nice pictures, doesn't eat the batteries, and doesn't cost a fortune.
So, if you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.
Thanks!

I knew it wouldn't be long before they found the...

MUD in the backyard. Several weeks ago, I sent them out to play while I finished fixing dinner. They were playing so well together and it was quiet, so I knew something was up. I went outside and found them playing in the portion of the yard that is waiting for some kind of pavers or flagstone. I think the grass had just been watered so there was some fresh mud.
Usually, I would have stopped them right away and been upset that I had to clean up a muddy mess. (Yes, I am that kind of mom, but working on trying to relax more.) But then I realized they were already muddy and having so much fun. Why should I ruin it? So I let them continue to play and go crazy with the mud.



It finally came to a stop when the mud was in their hair and on their face. I'm sure Katelyn tried to eat some too. I think they were also done at this point and happily undressed and came in to be cleaned up. I love how happy they look in this picture and that I relaxed and let them have this kind of fun. I must have been in a really good mood this day, because if it happened today, the outcome may have been different. :) Yes, I have been a grouch today and woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Almost Done

Our backyard is almost done and I love looking out the windows and seeing green grass and some plants instead of dirt. I have to give a big 'shout out' to my husband for ALL his hard work. With the exception of help loading cement and top soil (thank you to friends and family for help w/those things) to the backyard he has done it all himself. I told him he should have kept a count of how many wheelbarrow loads he made to the back yard w/blocks for the wall, dirt for the hill, sand for the sandbox, wood chips, and sod. I have been pregnant the whole time he has worked on it so I had a good excuse not to help. :) He has never once complained, but just got things done. Sometimes working at night w/flood lights and sometimes working with some little "helpers". So a big THANK YOU to my husband!!!!!
With the beautiful weather we have had this week it has been so much fun to go in the backyard and play. We are still trying to decide on an outdoor play set/swing set, some more plants, and what to do with a few spots.
Here are some pictures of the process:

Rented a Bobcat to pull back some of the dirt from the hill.
Luke loved riding along for a few minutes.

Picking away at the hill to get it ready for a retaining wall.

Katelyn watching the workers smooth out the concrete for the patio. You can see a little of the retaining wall in the background.

Enjoying the new patio.


Top soil is down, another little retaining wall, and plants and dirt are starting to go in on the hill. All those orange buckets are what Kevin would use to haul dirt up to the top of the hill.

Sod is in and most of the plants are in on the hill. We still want to put some trees and bushes at the top, but have not decided what exactly to put in yet. The wood chips Katelyn is playing in are where we are going to put a play set.

The grass has done really well and looks so pretty. I hope we can get it to stay that way. :)
To the right of the patio, when you are facing the yard, Kevin put in a sandbox that has gotten a lot of use already. We just need to teach Katelyn not to throw the sand.

In Honor of Valentine's Day (A day early)

I have seen this on several other blogs and thought it was kind of fun. I can't remember if I have been tagged to do it, but I'm going to anyway.

About my Valentine...

What is his name? Kevin

How long have you been together? We will be married for six years at the end of March. We dated for 9 months before getting married, with a short break at about the 3rd or 4th month of dating. :{ (I take full responsibility for that break. It was hard, but now looking back it was something I needed to do.)

How old is he? 34

Who eats more? I probably do right now being pregnant, but that has got to change as soon as this baby comes. :) We both have a major weakness for chocolate and sweets. He can usually eat more in that department, although I can put up some pretty good competition.

Who said I love you first? He did. He knew pretty fast. I was a little scared so it took me awhile to say it back. Poor guy. I can't believe how patient he was with me, but I am sure grateful.

Who is taller? He is.

Who sings better? He does. He has a great voice. I love to hear him play the piano and sing.

Who does the laundry? I usually do the laundry. He will put a load in every once in awhile and will help me fold the clothes on occasion.

Who pays the bills? He earns the money, but I make sure the bills are paid on time.

Who sleeps on the right side? If you are in the bed, he sleeps on the right side

Who mows the lawn? He does, but I wouldn't mind doing it every once in awhile. I grew up helping my brothers mow the lawn so it would not be a big deal to me.

Who cooks? I usually do, but he can cook really well. He is usually the one to make breakfast if we have pancakes, waffles, or french toast on the weekends. And he can make some great chocolate chip cookies.

Who drives? He usually does the driving. I prefer it that way, even though I think he would like me to drive every once in awhile.

Who is more stubborn? I would have to say I am definitely more stubborn.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

Who has more friends? I would say we are pretty equal on this one.

Who has more siblings? He does. He has 8 siblings and I have 5.

Who wears the pants? I think it depends on the situation, but I'm sure he would say that I wear the pants. But I think we work pretty well together.

I tag whoever thinks this would be fun to do on their blog. (I'm not sure why some of my answers are in bold. I tried fixing it but it wouldn't change to normal.)