Best Buds

Michael and Emma just adore each other. Michael loves to hold Emma! He insists on it being the first thing he does every morning! It's so cute! He gives her kisses and hugs all the time and she smiles at him so big! It's adorable to see the bond they already have. :-) FYI: we are finally in our new house! We are almost unpacked but there are still a few fix up projects Adam is working on and we want to get the landscaping done before we do a housewarming or post pictures. :-)

Emma's Baby Blessing!

Emma's baby blessing was so beautiful! We were so grateful to all our friends and family that came and shared in that special day with us. Emma looks like a true angel. It brings tears to my eyes every time I think of it. The words spoken in her blessing were beautiful and will be cherished. We almost didn't get all the words written down for record cause Adam forgot to turn on the tape recorder and he talked to fast for Barbara to write it all down but we managed to take what Barbara had gotten down and what Adam remembered and filled in all the blanks. So it turned out just fine.

Michael playing at the zoo's water park

Earlier this year we bought a zoo pass for our family so that I could take the kids for an outing regularly. Michael loves the zoo, and even more he loves the fun water stuff they have inside the zoo. We made a trip to the zoo as a family and with Uncle Brandon and Michael had a GREAT time!

Going down the water slide with daddy!

Joy inside the tree stump!
Riding the carousel with uncle

Co-Founding a New Company!!!

For over a year now Adam has been involved as a co-founder for a new technology company that makes surfing the Internet easier and faster while sharing the profits with its users! We are real excited about this new adventure and want our friends and family members to share in it as well.

Clickety-Split is a new category of software that bridges the gap between computer applications and the Internet by giving you instant access to both – with a quick, double-right click of your mouse! You can simply and quickly organize and access frequently used websites and computer applications.

Clickety-Split earns advertising revenues just like Google and Yahoo. Clickety-Split “splits” these advertising revenues with you and incentivizes you to share the software with others! You simply invite a friend to join by providing a link to the Clickety-Split community.

This software will be free for everyone to use in the coming months. However, those that would like a preferred split of the profits at 2 or 3 times the normal can sign up now. Just go to http://clicketysplit.com/platinummember.php and sign up if you are interested. You can put in Adam or Sarah Weeden as your sponsor.

HECTIC TIMES/MANY BLESSINGS!

(Emma heading home from the hospital)

(Michael giving kisses to his baby sister)

(Mommy & kids)

(Uncle Brandon bonding with baby Emma)

(Daddy & Emma sleeping in)

(How adorable is her smile!)

(She sleeps like her mommy. All stretched out)

(Michael eating some snacks with his baby sister)

Emma and I only had to stay at the hospital for 24 hours. The nurses and doctors said that I was healing really well and really fast. When you have an 18 month old at home, rest after birth doesn’t exist. We jumped right back into the regular routine. Cleaning, cooking, bath time, diaper changes X2, feedings X2, laundry X2, late nights and early mornings. Of course the two kids are on totally different schedules so it’s safe to say I don’t do a whole lot of sleeping. Luckily Adam gets an entire month off of work so he has been a huge help. Just when we thought we couldn’t get busier we were thrown a curve ball/blessing. We were planning to close on our new house May 19th. We hadn’t found a renter for our current home and were praying daily that we would. I got home with Emma on Monday afternoon and on Thursday we got a call from a woman saying she was very interested in renting out our home and wanted to come by Friday and sign the contract. Friday came and she showed up with a check and signed the contract. The catch was she needed to move in that Monday. So all day and night Saturday and Sunday we packed and packed as fast as we could. We moved all of our stuff into my in-laws garage and are staying with them for a couple weeks. We got our closing date moved up to May 15th so we are really excited to start that new chapter in our lives. We will keep you updated!

EMMA HAS ARRIVED!

(First few minutes in the world)

(She already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger)

(She is so precious!)

(Our little family of 4)

(Emma and Grandma Tobler)

(I love my little boy! Look how big he is!)

(Emma & Grandma Weeden)

(Emma & Grandpa Weeden)

(Michael trying to share his cooking monster with little sister)

(Uncle Brandon & Emma)

(Is that not the sweetest picture in the world)

('Uncle' Larry & Emma)

On Saturday, April 25th at 8pm my contractions started to get pretty bad. They were taking my breath away and they were pretty consistent. I was scared to go to the hospital because I had already been there a few days earlier with false contractions. I didn’t want to get sent home again. By 11pm my contractions were 1 ½ minutes apart and making me cry they hurt so bad. Adam couldn’t stand it anymore. He called my mom to come watch Michael and forced me to go to the hospital. He was scared to death he would have to deliver the baby at home or on the freeway since we live a good 45 minutes from the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital I could hardly walk I was in so much pain. As they walked me from the ER up to the maternity ward I had to stop several times and lean against Adam. I can safely say I have never experienced worse pain than that in my life. Not even with Michael. There is no way I will ever make the false labor mistake again. When you are in real labor...you know! With my contractions being so close together and the pain of my contractions going off the charts on the monitor everyone (including the nurses) were sure that I would be dilated pretty far and just about ready to deliver. However, that was not the case. Just the same as with Michael my body just doesn’t dilate properly. I was only at 3cm. I had been at 3cm for weeks. However, I was nearly fully effaced. It was clear on the monitors that I was in labor so they checked me in and hooked me up to an IV for fluids. I really wanted to go all natural this time but it was clear the contractions were just getting worse and my dilation was going to take forever to get to 10cm so around 2:30am I gave in and asked for the epidural. It took some time for the doctor to get there because he had to come from home. He did finally arrive and what a relief! Those epidurals are sent from God! J Once I got the epidural I was still only at 3 ½ - 4 cm dilated. Around 4am they gave me patosin to help things along. My dilation still took quite a bit of time but I was making slow improvement as the hours passed. I decided to take a little nap to save up my strength since I’d been up all night and was exhausted. I woke up to an odd sensation and called the nurse to ask if my water had broken. She assured me that it had! YEAH!!! With Michael they had to break my water for me to help along the dilation. After that things went pretty fast. They checked my dilation about 8:30am and said that I was ready to start pushing but I had to keep my legs closed and muscles relaxed until the doctor got there because apparently Emma’s head was clearly visible to anyone that walked by. The doctor arrived and it took me 1 big push and one little push and our little angel entered the world! My epidural had pretty much worn off at that point so I was able to feel the birth process well, which I was happy about. I didn’t want to miss that experience cause I was too numb. Emma arrived Sunday morning, April 26th at 8:49am. She was perfect and healthy and couldn’t be more wonderful! They laid her on my tummy while Adam cut the cord. She was crying at first and then she grabbed hold of my finger and I talked to her and she calmed down a bit. When they took her to get cleaned up, Adam went with and she is clearly daddy’s little girl. He was in love at first site and his voice clearly calmed her down every time she started to fuss. Family and friends came to see our beautiful new arrival and it was perfect! Michael was so sweet and fascinated with his new little sister. He gave her hugs and kisses and even tried to share his cookie monster stuffed animal with her. It was very sweet! So now we have a beautiful family of 4! Adam is already asking when we can start trying for the next baby. AHHH! He he

GRASSHOPPER FUN!

Michael and his daddy were playing in the backyard while I was cooking dinner. I heard Michael get all excited and so I ran out to see what he was doing. Daddy was teaching him how to catch grasshoppers. Michael became quite skilled very quickly. He basically chased it down every time it jumped and then would poke it. Eventually he tired out the poor grasshopper and Michael picked him right up. He put him into his little bug catcher kit but of course wanted to take him right back out to play with him. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m horrible terrified of crickets and grasshoppers. Michael thought that was hilarious and chased me around the house and into a corner of the kitchen with the grasshopper. Eventually Michael had squeezed the little guy too tight and killed it but he wanted to keep playing with it. He would throw the grasshopper to try and get it to jump again but eventually we had to lay him to rest in the backyard. Since then Michael has chased down a few grasshoppers but most of them have lived to tell the tale.

TUMBLE TOTS!

Along with swimming lessons, Michael has also started tumble tots. At first he wasn’t too sure about it, but now he loves it! He has even been promoted up to the advanced class for 2 year olds! They learn to climb, so flips, balance, jump, hang from bars, army crawl, etc. It’s hard to get good pictures all the time because he gets distracted, but we managed a few shots.

Toilet Fun!

Not too long ago Michael discovered the toilet. It was only a matter of time. He loves the water and he loves to flush the toilet so when he discovered that he could also throw things in to the toilet and even pull them back out, he was in heaven! We now keep the bathroom doors closed. haha. However, a few weeks ago Adam and I were in the living room and noticed that Michael had gotten very quiet. We snuck into the bedroom where he was and there he was in the bathroom with his baggy of trix cereal dropping the cereal in the toilet and then reaching in to take them back out and place them in rows on the toilet seat. Adam and I were laughing so hard that we got the camera to capture the moment without him seeing us. THEN we told him "no". haha

Moved up due date!

At my last doctor appointment to check on Emma I was informed that with the position she is in and how low she is that my due date is most likely going to be mid to late April instead of May. Of course it all depends on what she wants to do. :-) So we'll keep you all updated! : -) Adam is still praying that she waits until May because he really wants his little girl to share his birthday month with him. It's only fair since Michael shares his birthday month with me. We shall see!!!

Michael's 1st Swim Lessons!

Michael has been getting a little agressive lately. I think he senses that he will soon not be the only one getting mommy and daddy's attention. Anyways, we figure we needed to find him some outlets... something to get all that energy out. So we signed him up for tumble tots and swim lessons. We have our first tumble tot lesson on Friday but we had our first swim lesson on Monday! The place is amazing! Lots of kids, toys, bright colors, and a huge play area for the kids to socialize in while they wait for their lessons to begin. Adam took the afternoon off of work so we could both be there for his first lesson. We were warned that little ones usually cry for the first couple of lessons while they adjust to having a teacher and not being in control of things. Adam and I ended up having to sit around a corner and peak around to watch the lesson. When we were out of sight he calmed down a little bit more. The teacher gave him gold fish crackers, which he loved! Also there were pool toys, fish on the ceiling and the walls that he enjoyed looking at, etc. I am positive that before too long he will be a pro and not want to get out of the water when his lesson is over. :-)

Mommy's ice cream cone stolen!

Every Saturday we have dinner with my mom, grandpa, aunt and uncle. This past Saturday my mom took us all to this really amazing place called Oregon Stop. It's a pizza/salad place but in the center is one of the largest Oregon's in the world! One guy plays requests all night long. It's amazing! During 'under the sea' from little mermaid bubbles drop from the ceiling. There are also instruments all over the walls that the Oregon player can control from his seat. It's truly an amazing thing and I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. Michael was in heaven! He loved the loud music and the guy playing the Oregon, all the instruments on the wall, the bubbles, and of course the food! After we were done eating I went and got myself an ice cream cone. I couldn't remember the last time I had ice cream on a cone and I was all excited! When I got back to the table I thought I'd let Michael have a little bite... well that was the end of it. He grabbed my hand and kept licking and biting my ice cream. On occasion he would let me have a lick if it was getting too melted, but towards the end of it he just grabbed the whole thing with two hands and wouldn't let anyone else touch it. I was sad to see my ice cream cone go but I loved watching how excited he was about it and how much he enjoyed it! :-)