this is how my heart behaves

I was going to post about our Christmas, but that seems and feels completely irrelevant right now. I will soon, just not today. Instead, I wish to express my deepest feelings - in all seriousness. Joking aside. A dear, dear friend of mine is due with her first baby on January 17th. Just a few weeks ago, they discovered that her sweet baby girl would be born with a major heart defect that would require surgery soon after birth. Success rates of the surgery gave much needed hope. Silver lining to the dark clouds. Yesterday, the situation deteriorated in a matter of hours and an emergency c-section was preformed (at 37 weeks - full term). The heart defect was worse than anyone had anticipated; her tiny heart was just not strong enough. My friend's dear little one only lasted a few short hours on this earth before passing on.
I am devastated. My friend is such a magnificent person; it pains me to think of her tremendous loss. I know how much she longed to experience motherhood. I know how much she had been looking forward to the day when she would be able to hold her baby in her arms. I cannot comprehend what my friend must be feeling at this time; if my heart is breaking, I cannot imagine how hers feels. Many tears have been shed for her today. The only consolation is the knowledge of eternal families. If not for that, I do not know how anyone could rise above such painful circumstances.

If there is room in your heart and change in your pocket, please click on the REMEMBERING ELLA link below. The family is struggling to find the necessary funds for the funeral.

REMEMBERING ELLA

be merry

one hundred percent

December 22nd was SUPPOSE to be the ultrasound where we found out baby number three's gender. But since we already found out, December 22nd was the ultrasound where we were one hundred percent certain our baby is a boy; we had only been ninety nine percent sure before. I would have been concerned if certain parts had disappeared... So, as much as is possible right now, we "introduce":

Daniel Liam Root

And here is mommy at 4 months...

He's a kicker...

something

I finally have SOMETHING worth blogging about. A couple things, actually. First and foremost, Robert GRADUATED! He received his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Arizona State University. I talked him into walking at convocation, which was held on Dec. 16th (my birthday). Second, my birthday. I turned 25; it feels no different than 24. But it IS weird to think I am a quarter-of-a-century old. Robert and I went out for dinner and a movie. Childless bliss (I love my children. I also love breaks). Third, friend play-date. A friend, Nadene, is visiting AZ for Christmas. A group of friends took advantage of her trip home and held a play-date for us and our little ones. 5 friends. 8.5 babies (though one was a friend's nephew). It was... tiring. entertaining. FUN. Now... to survive the remainder of this week...
Please disregard my painful smile in the birthday picture...

oops

Sometimes I forget I have a blog. Sometimes I just don't want to make the effort. Sometimes I feel guilty for not posting; I know how disappointed I get when I visit blogs that are not updated. I would share our latest and greatest with you, but I have not touched my camera since Thanksgiving. Seriously. Not once. Concentrating on Christmas decorating, Christmas treat making, Christmas presents (minus one person, DONE!), etc. I am also working on something special (which I will share with you VERY soon). In the meantime, skip over us for today. Check back in a few days... we will resume our photo-filled fury SOON (we have a lot of fun stuff coming up).

Oh, and if any of you are curious as to my creative use of words while blogging, I use an online thesaurus more often than not. There. Spilled my literary secret.

Dang. Now I am craving this...

thanks

The day before Thanksgiving was Robert's birthday. He turned the "big" 2 - 6. I made him a GINORMOUS chocolate frosting and hot fudge covered brownie. It was disgustingly delicious. On Thanksgiving day, my parents gave him a GINORMOUS chocolate and peppermint cupcake. Needless to say, we have a LOT of left over sweets.

Thanksgiving was great for us. Plenty of food, family, and football. I put the boys in the uber-cute turkey shirts that I made this past week. They had fun playing with the pumpkin and corn decorations at my parents' house... And, as is tradition, my mom and I hit up Michael's in the evening for discount deals and holiday essentials. Once at home, I swiftly collected the fall decorations and began replacing them with Christmas decor. I am ready for December.

I had a slightly terrifying experience about a week ago. Last Friday evening, I started having cramps. On Saturday, my cramps felt like full on contractions. Nothing regular or frequent, but they WERE beginning to take on a pattern that was slowly increasing. By Saturday evening, Robert and I were debating a visit to the ER because what I was experiencing was NOT normal and the strength was nearly unbearable. Since I generally fight issues regarding my health, I decided to call the on-call doctor before heading to the hospital (I don't want to see a doctor unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary). Luckily, the doctor on-call was MY doc. He said to hold out for now (I had an appointment Monday). If the contraction pain increased to every 5 minutes OR I started profusely bleeding, then come in. Early Sunday morning I woke up with new symptoms (no blood). It was then that I realized that I most likely had the stomach flu. What a relief... well, besides the fact that I couldn't keep ANYTHING in my system and had to do a liquid diet for a couple of days. Our appointment was Monday. In two days, I successfully lost ALL the weight that I had gained in 3 months of pregnancy, plus some. Since I was so ill, the doc did an unscheduled ultrasound to check on the baby.Thankfully, all is well. And we may have even had a sneak peek as to what we are having... We told our parents by dying a cake (either blue or pink) and frosting it entirely white. Once they cut into the cake, they were able to reveal the gender. It's a (place your mouse over the picture to reveal):Yay!

ugh....

Hi. I am still alive. Kinda. Just super tired. And super lazy. Remember how I blogged that October was such a busy month for us, what with weddings, funerals, birthdays, family gatherings, and the like? Yeah, well November has been the exact opposite. Basically zero commitments. Which I need. Some days I don't even make it off the couch. Some days I don't even prepare or eat food (though the latter is due to pregnancy - and this one has definitely been the most difficult of the three). The only things that have made it to my calendar are: zoo trip, Robert's birthday, Thanksgiving, and a temp job (one day, no biggie). See? November is easy peasy. Now if you will excuse me, the couch is calling my name.

it's a circus!

On Saturday, we celebrated our boys' birthdays. Yes, we were a month late. Yes, we planned it that way. Robert and I decided to take advantage of family being in town for Amy's wedding; we had the party the day following the wedding. We included our families (Robert's is HUGE, btw) and a few friends in the birthday bash (if you were not invited, do not be offended. This was for our BOYS, not for us. We still love you). It was a vintage big-top celebration, complete with games, treats, & prizes! Best moment: the sprinklers came on mid-party, soaking everyone.Thank you to everyone that came. The boys LOVED their gifts; they received over 60 books!

eternity

I AM pregnant. Due May 28th (my baby SIL Beth's birthday). We find out the gender around Christmas. Moving on...

Friday, October 29th was Robert's second-to-youngest sister's wedding day. Amy is now a Hale (Hale yes!-I had to do it. I apologize). Stephen and Amy had me participate in a lot of behind-the-scenes work: engagement photos, centerpiece ideas, hair, nails, cake "decorating", reception photography, etc. I was EXTREMELY honored to help (weddings are my thang). Their wedding day was fantastic.

Here are a few things that made the day perfect:

Congrats STEAMY!

Boo

Just a quick post informing you that we, indeed, are still alive. I apologize for being M.I.A. for the past few weeks. We have been on-the-go with funerals, weddings, birthdays, and family gatherings. Now that the month of October is basically over, I will have more time for blogging (and for every thing else I have been neglecting to do... like cleaning my house and caring for my children). That is all. But I thought I would end on the note of HAPPY HALLOWEEN (with, of course, some pictures).To answer your question, yes.

patch

On Wednesday evening, we had the opportunity to go to a pumpkin patch with our friends the Rogans (and their triplets). It. Was. Fun. The babies had fun wandering through the pumpkin patch, tossing pumpkins around as they went (um... oops...). They also enjoyed the hay ride, the bounce house, and the baby chicks. Lucas, Tucker, Joel, Audrey, & SeanThanks, Rogans!

one two

We celebrated two birthdays in the last two weeks. On September 30th, Lucas turned one. On October 8th, Joel turned two. That meant eight days of two one-year-olds. IN.SANE. Both boys are growing like weeds.

Lucas:

Stats:height: 29.5 in (40%)weight: 21 lbs (25%)head circumference: 47.5 cm (HUGE)diaper size: 3clothing size: 18mo tops, 6mo bottomsshoe size: 2-3

Lucas has the smallest feet ever. Trying to find hard-soled shoes for him is nigh on impossible. We tried the soft-soled shoes for a while, but that limited his walking to indoors. And since he has been walking since 10.5 months, sturdy shoes have become important
Lucas is our little trouble maker. He is very innocent in looks, but when it comes to actions he is extremely mischievous. He waits for the prime opportunity to steal food, drinks, and toys from Joel. He knows when you aren't looking; he nabs when your head is turned. Then he walks away with a satisfactory smile.
Lucas is a lover. He enjoys being held and cuddled. He does not need prompting to crawl over and sit in your lap; he will come on his own. He has a very sensitive side when it comes to snuggling. He adores big hugs.Lucas is king of drama. When he is upset, the ENTIRE world knows. He will stop breathing from crying so hard. He will arch his back in half (literally) from hysterics. He will drop down and roll on the floor during a tantrum. All while looking at you with "pained" eyes. The main culprit to his fits: finishing a meal. Lucas is a boy, through and through. He loves cars; he loves ANYTHING with wheels. He does not mind getting dirty or making a mess. He is in awe over tools. Bugs? Loves them. Total BOY. words he says: Dada, Poppa, bye-bye, All done, Mama (sounds like Baba)
Joel:Stats:height: 35 in (70%)weight: 30 lbs (70%)head circumference: 48 cm (only .5 larger than Lucas)diaper size: 4clothing size: 2T-3T tops and bottomsshoe size: 6-7
Despite his growth slowing, Joel is still a big kid. Not fat per say, just big. Even though he is large, his size is not an indicator of his demeanor. He is in no way a bully. In fact, he is the opposite. He is basically a pansy. He lets others (even younger babies) push him around. Big guy is as soft as a teddy bear.
Joel is extremely inquisitive. He LOVES to learn. He had the ABC's mastered by 20 months. He recognizes and recites all 26 letters in and out of order, upper and lower case. He recognizes about half of the alphabet in sign language (no hard core sign language here, just curious as to how well he would retain). He repeats all 24/25 letters of the Portuguese alphabet. He knows all body parts. He knows all shapes. He is learning to count; he has 1-5 down. This boy retains information like a sponge.
Joel is very independent. He is at the stage where he has to do EVERYTHING by himself. He gets upset when you try to help him. He has to feed himself. He has to take his shoes off by himself. He has to climb in bed by himself. Everything must be done BY HIMSELF.
Joel is like Mommy and has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He divides his attention equally among certain things; if he has four similar cars, he plays with each car for the same amount of time... then repeats the cycle. He is the cleanest two-year-old I know. He does NOT like to get dirty. He has to have things symmetrical, too. He can't have one shoe on and one shoe off; both must be on.
Joel can have quite the temper. His attitude is black and white; when something sets him off, it shows. He has mastered glaring at people (mostly Mom). He can scream unrelentingly for hours. If you try to fix the situation it usually makes him even more angry. Luckily he is content a majority of the time. phrases he uses: "Wuv Yoo", "Cuca, sit down!", "Touch it!" (don't touch it), "NO!NO!NO!"-with finger wag(Can you tell what he hears a lot of?)
We have been blessed with two boys who love each other. They get along well and help each other out. They both eat well and sleep well. They are not demanding or unhappy. I have enjoyed the last one and two years with them.