Baby Giggles and Dimples









Dayton Cookbook Signing

Tyler in Black and White



Tia Time









We LOVE Tia!!!

Sleeping Babe

Tyler - 7 weeks

Scenes from Christmas Morning

Baby's First Christmas





Reading Time with Daddy

Quotes of the Day

For a few weeks, I've been putting these quotes from Bubby up in my Facebook status...but I thought I'd copy them over here so I don't "lose" them!

From the Day we brought Tyler home...

Asking Nana..."Did Tyler have pajamas on when he was in my mommy's tummy?"

From Tuesday...

Me to baby Tyler, "You're so cute I could just gobble you up!" (Because every mother thinks their kid is so cute they could eat 'em up!)...to which Ryan replies, "Mommy, if you gobble him up, then he would go back in your tummy, right?" Not sure how to take that...does he want him to go back in? Or is he confused by my desire to gobble up Tyler?!?<

From Saturday...

"When I grow up, I want to change my name." Me: "You do?!? What do you want your new name to be?" Ry: "Daddy." Me: "Well, you don't have to change your name to be called Daddy. You can be both Daddy and Ryan." Ry: "Oh, like Daddy is daddy, Steve, and Honey." Me: "Yep. That's right!"

From Today...

While I was nursing Tyler this morning, I look over and Ryan is in the rocking chair with his shirt whipped up and looks to be nursing "his baby." When asked what he was doing, he replies, "I'm giving MY baby some milk." Me: "Remember that only mommies and girls can give babies milk," to which he responds, "Well, I'm pretending to be a girl." Well, alrighty then!

And from a few weeks ago...

4 year old quotes of the day: why is there a sky? Why is there grass? Why do leaves fall off trees? Why does it snow? To which I have to give the most elaborate biblical and scientific explanations to satiate his thirst for knowledge and understanding!!!!

What a joy this little/big 4 year old is to us!!!

Tyler's Faces










How Daddy uses the Boppy


Tyler's Homecoming

When given the choice of going home on Tuesday or Wednesday, I chose Tuesday. Main reason being that I missed my kiddos and I wanted them to meet their little brother. (Swine and seasonal flu restrictions are in place and the hospital did not allow any visitors younger than 14 on hospital grounds.)


We made it home Tuesday afternoon. Had a sweet homecoming. And within 10 minutes, the calm and inquisitive older brothers had returned to their "banchee" selves and I was ready to check back in to the hospital for another night. Kidding. Kind of.


Nor sure which is worse. The banchees. Or the parade of techs, nurses, and doctors that begin their rounds at 5:30 am.

A few things I'd have liked to bring home from the hospital:
  • The Sitz Bath...I seriously contemplated ripping it from the wall!
  • The Massage Therapist
  • The Ice Chip Making Machine
  • My Purse...Yep. I left it in the closet!!
Welcome Home Baby Tyler!!!

Baby Tyler and the Birth Story


So Tyler's birth was induced. But it didn't quite go as the other 2 boys' birth.

The other boys' births involved a little of labor, an epidural and a speedy delivery.

Last night I checked in to the hospital at 7:30, snuggled into my hospital bed and received the cervadil gel at 9 pm to help prepare my cervix for the pitocin that would come in the morning.

The cervadil caused some intense and regular contractions. I was a bit worried, because I thought I was supposed to be able to go to bed, wake up and give birth.

Not so much!

I called my sister (who is an MD) and she said that cervadil can certainly induce labor without needing pitocin. Well...it seemed to be the case, as my contractions were getting stronger and stronger, and more frequent and more frequent with just the cervadil.

At 10 pm, I was given something to help me sleep. That lasted about an hour, when the contractions woke me up. So they gave me another medication to take the edge off the discomfort from the contractions, so that I could get some rest.

At 1 pm, the reassessed my cervix and decided that I did not need any more gel and would start the pitocin at 4 am. So I slept until pitocin began and then was awake due to the increasing intensity and frequency of the contractions. Here is the timeline from 6:10 am...

6:10 am - MD breaks my water, at 5 cm

6:10-6:30 - Contractions grow so intense that I begin crying and couldn't remember the "second" stage of the breathing...so we call in the nurse

6:30 am - Call the nurse in and she helps with breathing and checks me again, 8 cm

6:32 am - Change positions and *yell* at the nurse that I NEED the anesthesiologist NOW for the epidural...NOW! But I knew it was too late.

6:33 am - I *yell* that I feel the pressure and want to push. She says not to push and to breathe (Um, yeah...easy for you to say!)

6:33:20 am - Nurse hits the "emergency" button and a flurry of people come running into the room

6:33:45 am - Doctor shows up and starts preparing the bed for delivery and keeps telling me to breathe...to which I tell him I WANT TO PUSH...he calmly says "breathe"...and I *yell* that I want to PUSH

6:34 am - I have enough wits about me to tell the MD that I've needed episiotomies in the past, so please numb me

6:35 am - I NEED to push

6:36 am - I rest for 30 seconds

6:37 am - I NNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD to push!

6:38 am - I rest for 30 seconds

6:39 am - My doctor showed up...I just heard his voice and was so glad he made it!

6:40 am - I NNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDdd to push!

6:41 am - My doctor asks "Are you having a contraction?" To which I reply, "I have absolutely no idea...I just want to push." So he said, "Push."

6:41:30 am - 1 push and his head was out.

6:42 am - Shoulders and the rest come out.

He cries. I cry.

And I sit in shock at the events that just took place, while the flurry of people make it look like nothing happened!

Birth Stats

6:42 am
7 lb. 11 oz.
21 1/4 inches long
Blue eyes
Blondish hair
Looks like Cheeks

We are thrilled to welcome this little blessing into our lives!

Trick or Treat

Dr. Chase and Chef Chase

Trick or Treating at Grandma's House

It was the only house we visited. And the boys were okay with that. And we were okay with that.

(Imagine me waddling around the neighborhood. For 2 hours. Having Braxton-Hicks after Braxton-Hicks contraction.)

No thanks. Not so much!!!

We had a grand old time just hanging out at grandma's.




Indian Summer Afternoon in the Leaves
























Preschool Fall Party - 2009

"Dr. Chase"
"Paging Dr. Chase"
"You are needed on OR 2."
"STAT!"

Glimpses into Preschool

video

Bubby singing the end of the day song at school!

Oh. And he's a bit smitten by the little lady in the red shirt.

Talks about her all the time. And apparently she talks about him at home.

Hmm.

Learning Tree Farm

This afternoon, we spent some time out at Learning Tree Farm with the other preschool families!
Someone thinks its quite funny to wear his sunglasses upside down. Probably something to do with all the attention and comments he gets when he does this!

Checking out the pigs.
"Mommy, I hear 'oink!'" says Cheeks.
And Bubby thought the sheep were soft. He liked petting them, despite the skeptical look on his face!
"He's heavy"...."Then put him on the floor."


After this "chicken encounter," I'm not sure that this child is mine. I'm now convinced he is ALL daddy's! I don't do birds. Or chickens.



Our Latest Family Portrait

Drawn by the 4 year old budding art-ist...
From the left...

Cheeks

Daddy

Bubby

Mommy with Baby in Tummy

**Note: Mommy is a *smidge* larger than the rest of the family members. He's an observant little artist.

Waddle. Waddle.

Pumpkin Patch 2009









Best Buds



More photos from the pumpkin patch coming soon...

First Fall Leaves






Happy 33rd Birthday on the 26th

Problem is...my birthday is on the 27th. And I just turned 32!

Something was amiss this year. It all started with a phone call from my MOM (yes, the woman who birthed me) during the late afternoon on the 26th. Her first words...

Happy Birthday!

I paused. Walked over to the computer to double check the date and make sure I hadn't inadvertantly fallen asleep and woken up on Sunday the 27th. Sure enough, still the 26th!

She's losing it for sure.

Turns out she had her numbers mixed up and thought it was the 27th. I guess that's better than thinking I was born on the 26th!!!

Fast forward.

Sunday morning.

Praying at breakfast when my HUSBAND (Yes, the guy I've been married to for 7+ years) thanks the Lord for my 33 years.

Um.

"I'm 32", I shared as I interrupted his prayer.

Ha! If you're gonna get the wrong age, it could at least have been 28...not 33!!!

What is going on here people???

Needless to say, I had a lovely day...complete with a raspberry and white chocolate cake!




And coffee with vanilla ice cream!
So I guess next year, I'll be turning 34 on the 25th!

Almost a Soccer Mom

I'm almost a soccer mom...



Now I just need a kid who plays soccer!

Bloggers Day at the Reds Game

Quick recap of the Reds game yesterday


It wasn't too crowded!

Our group got a seat upgrade!

And we had our names on the big screen! BDMs = #bigdealmoms (the name of our super cool bloggers group!)

And we all got free visors.

Because there were approximately 500 people there! So really everyone was a visor winner. (It was raining...and they aren't going to the playoffs!)
But the most important thing...we were there together! The coolest bloggers hanging out at the Reds game. Above is Evan and his parents!
And here is the Mommy Bits family enjoying the game!



And my favorite part. The $1 hot dog. The $1 Coke. The $1 Peanuts!

The Reds won.

The rain stayed away.

The company was fantastic.

The lovely folks at Chevy treated us to a pre-game brunch and test drives!

It was an all-around perfect afternoon in Cincy!!!