Happy 1st Birthday, Papoose!

Papoose is officially over 1 year old! (Another post very late in posting...)

Munchkin had a big 3rd birthday, but we don't really go all out for all birthdays.  We reserve 1st brithdays for just family.  Really, Brad and I are just too lazy/cheep to go all-out on a birthday the child won't remember.  So, 1st birthdays are a family only celebration.

Brad's parents and sister came over for dinner and cake.  We ended up inviting the missionaries, too, at the last minute because they didn't have anyone feeding them that evening.

After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" and brought Papoose her smash cake.  She wasn't interested.  We tried to get her to eat some of it, but she refused.  Then someone got the bright idea of sprinkling mini-M&Ms on top because earlier in the day, Nana had introduced her to M&Ms and they were a big hit.  She dug in for the chocolate right away, got some frosting in the process, and decided she would explore the cake.  Not much made it to her mouth, but she did finally make the expected mess for traditional 1st birthday pictures.

I for one won't complain that my baby preferred to not overindulge in the sugary goodness, unlike the rest of us...

Because we were awful at capturing the first birthday on camera, here are some pictures of the Papoose.

Ready, Set, Go: Happy 3rd Birthday to Munchkin!

Ok, so this is being posted MONTHS late. Sorry!

Munchkin began asking for a CARS birthday just days after her 2nd birthday. Consequently, I always knew her 3rd birthday would be Cars themed.

We had such a blast!

We had planned on making an outdoor track in the backyard and having the kids all make their own "race cars" from cardboard boxes and some creative odds and ends, and having races in the yard.  The weather was beautiful all week (for April in Northeast Ohio, anyway), but the day of her birthday it was supposed to SNOW!  and snow it did.  :-(

Brad and I got creative the night before after looking at the weather forecast.  We bought some masking tape and black trash bags, cut up the bags into long strips, and taped them to the floor to make it look like a road.  Then we taped red, yellow, and green balloons together to look like traffic lights along the road.  When Munchkin woke up the next morning to discover her "road" she happily exclaimed, "Santa brought me my Cars, birthday!"  She followed it through the house all day.  It was a big hit with the party guests, too.

These are the best pictures of the "road" we built through the house.  I thought we had better ones, but they must be on a different camera... darn.

And we tried to serve themed snacks... which is really just my way of saying we tried to think of cool names to label the snacks to make them fit the Cars theme in true Pinterest fashion. ;-)

(apparently, the food pictures are lost on some other device, also!  bug bummer.  I was pretty proud of them.)

Overall, it was a great party, even if I learned that I have no clue how to handle a house full of children from age 11 years down to 11 months.  Wonder what Munchkin will ask for next year???

Her birthday presents from Mom and Dad. Mom tied the Cars quilt, Dad wanted to pass down love for one of his favorite sports.  We also finally fixed the tires on a bike that was handed down to us by a family friend (Thanks, Natalie Saxey), so she got a bike, and helmet from another family friend (Thanks, Melinda!), too.

Munchkin with her red and yellow traffic balloons stuck to her hair.  She was SO excited when she woke up, declaring, "Santa brought me my Cars birthday!!!"

For dinner, Munchkin's Nana and Grandpa and aunt Sam came over.  And we invited the missionaries, too.  Munchkin's favorite dinner is burritos, so we went out to a local restaurant that has delicious "Mexican" food.

 Munchkin got to wear a sombrero and the hosts and servers sang happy birthday to her.

 Oh, and the free dessert that she shared with everyone.  She's so sweet!

At the end of the day, she used her birthday money to get a new jacket and a Cars umbrella.  It was such a fun birthday.  We left the "road" taped to the floor for about a week or so.

Family Reunion Adventures

This will mostly be just a photo review of the Family Reunion, as it was back in July, and we finally just uploaded the pictures to the computer from the camera (aka: Brad's phone).

Friday, July 12, we flew out of Canton/Akron airport straight to Denver, Co.  Papoose did not fly well.  the flight was smack in the middle of her nap time, and she is one who only likes to sleep in her bed and on her tummy, NEVER in anyone's arms.  A large chunk of the flight out was spent trying to muffle her tired crying. Luckily, we were literally surrounded by other families with little ones close to Papoose's age or younger, so they were either (a) not bothered because they were used to it, (b) just glad it wasn't them, (c) or understanding enough despite their irritation that they didn't say anything. Either way, we were grateful, adn so glad when the flight was over. 

We spent Friday night at Brad's Papa DeShazer's home; this is his AWESOME backyard that the kids were exploring.  You can see Munchkin and one of Brad's cousins' kids (can't remember which one). Enjoyed dinner with the local DeShazer families; Munchkin had the BEST time playing with her 2nd-cousins.  It's rare she has lots of playmates close to her age, and this was a house full of 11 kids, most within 2-3 years of Munchkin's age. We drove the 10-ish hours to Bozeman, MT the next morning.

We stopped to see a temple on the way. Didn't do any work, just enjoyed some good stretching time on temple grounds.

Brad's aunt June opened her home to us during the reunion.  This is where Papoose perfected the art of going downstairs by crawling backwards.

We spent 2 of the 6 days of the reunion visiting nearby Yellowstone National Park.  Such an interesting place!  I'd love to go back again someday when the kids are older and do some fun homeschool adventures, and really learn more about the history, geology, and natural features at the Park.  

Some neat hot springs, you can see the steam rising up from the boiling water.

More neat hot pools and such.  Seriously, I need to get a book on Yellowstone geology!

It was pretty chilly in the mornings, by the afternoon most days, it was pretty warm.  Munchkin and I by the cool hot water/rock features.  (Seriously, I'm embarrassed I don't remember the name of this place. It was one of the first we visited, and one of the neatest!)

Munchkin and her closest-in-age 2nd-cousin at the Neeley reunion. (Munchkin is actually sitting here next to me as I type crying that her cousin is too far away to visit. They played every chance they got.  

Like father, like son.  Brad and his dad carrying Munchkin and Papoose on the boardwalk.  Love that I captured this moment!

Papoose liked the little details.  She's shaking hands with a tree while on a short walk to see the paint pots.

Thanks to Brad's cousin Traci, we had the use of this awesome stroller!  The girls were a bit cold that morning. :-)

This place was breath-taking. (Literally! I was having massive asthma problems while there; combination of out-of-control allergies, high elevation, lots of hiking, and pregnancy. I felt physically awful, but still so glad I went!)  And so happy to get some time with Brad. :-)

The girls were pooped!  Again, SO glad to have a good stroller!

We saw LOTS of buffalo, this one got really close to the car.

Traffic completely stopped for this herd of 200+ buffalo to cross the river.  Once on the other side, the young buffalo started chasing Canada geese.  We saw so many buffalo!  Everytime we saw one, Munchkin would point and shout, "Buffalo! Buffalo!" I think it was her favorite part.  She still talks about all the buffalo she saw; it may be among her favorite animals.

Dancing on a stump with her 2nd cousin.  Traci's olsest daughter was such a fun helper and so kind to Munchkin!  We love her.

Momma and Papoose, trying to remove Mom's attempt at keeping hair out of her face.

Papoose loves her grandpa!  This was taken at one of the many waterfalls.

Some elk causing a traffic backup because everyone wanted to take a picture. We could almost touch them, they were so close!

If i remember correctly, this was along a trail near Old Faithful. Our 2nd day in Yellowstone we saw Old Faithful and took a long walk to see the Morning Glory pool, and a few other geysers along the way.

 Just enjoying the ride...

Daddy and Munchkin as Old Faithful errupts.  It was much warmer the second day.

We never did get to see the mama grizzly with her cubs.  But maybe that's a good thing?

At the Morning Glory hot pool.  The colors are different types of algae that thrive at various temperatures.  The water is VERY hot!

Just some adorableness.  These girls had a great deal: get to see all the awesome sights without having to do all the walking.

Munchkin and her 2nd cousin playing outside.

Picking "wildflowers" for their mommies.  What sweethearts!

Playing inside a basketball, and with some blocks.

One of Papoose's favorite things to do is crawl on top of someone's head and lay there, laughing.  Having some good sister fun!

Papoose's favorite toy is a ball, any kind. Give her a ball, and she is a happy baby.

After the reunion, we drove the 10-sh hours back to the Denver area to stay the weekend with Papa DeShazer again and spend more time with the DeShazer cousins.  Also, to our great pleasure, our best friends the Hofmann's were making a trip to the Denver area that weekend, so we were able to see them for the first time in nearly 2 years and meet their adorable little boy, fondly called Tank.  

Tank and Papoose.  Tank is a fitting name for this boy!  I think he's about 5 months younger than Papoose, and he's bigger than her.  LOVE Papoose's face in this picture as the two of them jump on the couch together! :-)  

Papoose didn't explore the backyard much the first night we stayed at Papa's house, since she was completely exhausted after the plane experience.  This time, we had trouble keeping her from wandering out alone in the yard.
Also, important to note: Papoose took her first timid steps while on the reunion, shortly before turning 14 months.  4 little steps in Bozeman.  About 6 in Denver.  Then NOTHING for 2 weeks after we returned home. (Now's she's a walking champ!) This picture captured a rare moment when she was standing all by herself and clapping for herself at this amazing achievement. :-)

With our best friends, the Hofmanns!  Love and miss you guys! (oh, and Tami, if you're reading this, I have like 5 more shots of this pictures, some less blurry but not everyone looking at the camera.  Remind me to email you all the originals.)

Not sure how we managed it, but we never got full family pictures, or the Neeleys or the DeShazers!!!  (or if someone did, I don't have copies...) We had such a blast!  The plane home was a bit earlier in the day, so Papoose wasn't as cranky and only cried intermittantly the last 30-ish minutes.  Much nicer.

Baby Stress

So, as most know by now, baby Samson Alexander is on his way and due Jan 9.  We are incredibly excited... but can i just honestly say that I am beyond stressed out about this little boy impending arrival.

There.  I said it.

I am out of my mind stressed.  And full of feelings of guilt.
and maybe, just maybe, if I'm completely honest and can finally tell someone how freaking stressed and guilty I feel, it will help alleviate some of the guilt and stress that keeps me from being fully and truly excited for this little guy to join our family.

Most of it is financial.  Our family, with the addition of baby Samson, will be too big for out little car.  We need a bigger vehicle.  We've been putting off getting a second vehicle for almost 2 years-- which has been the source of tons of frustration and some episodes of, *gulp* depression. (yet another admission...)  You see, Brad needs our car to go to work about 20-25 minutes away.  And we've been trying to save for a 2nd car every since he got a job. But something ALWAYS comes up, and we can never seem to save enough.  It has been a blessing to always be saving, so when stuff happens, we can usually make it through (emergency appendectomy, kids playing in the medicine cabinet, ambulance rides, car repairs, crazy increases in taxes and health insurance, etc, etc). We've always made it through, but our savings hasn't.  And so, we keep waiting for our 2nd car, and counting our blessings when we do have to dip into the piggy bank.

We can't afford a car payment.  We only want to buy a vehicle with cash.  Largely because we have good months that go onto savings, and we have bad months when we have to use some of the savings.  If we had a car payment, we might break even on good months and bad months would just be awful.

We've trimmed our budget to bare necessities the last 5 months.  I mean supplementing almost every dinner with food storage stuff.  The food storage is almost empty. Just in time for when we should be buying a couple Christmas presents.  The only "luxury" we could cut at this point is our membership to the local YMCA, but really, we depend on that to motivate us to stay active and involved in our community.  We all go multiple times every week.  We don't have cable or satellite. We have bare bones cell phone plans available from our providers, and no home phone. I try to not use the A/C or heat as much as possible.  If something is within 1.5 miles one-way (which isn't much, but still), we walk so we don't use gas in the car. I tried my hand at gardening this year even though I'm incredibly allergic to all things green and growing outside to save a bit on produce. Can you see how stressed this can make a person?

My biggest stress: Health insurance!  ARGHHH!  We have a high deductible plan through Brad's work (which I'm grateful to have, by the way, please don't get me wrong here).  Last year, we met that deductible in March when Brad had appendicitis.  This year, we met the deductible in February after an incident involving Munchkin getting into the medicine cabinet at nap time and giving "candy" (aka iron pills) to Papoose, and then later that same week a bad case of dehydration and an over-reactive group of drs that care more about testing Munchkin for appendicitis than giving her fluids to treat her dehydration.  We are still playing off medical bills, and at the current rate, those should be paid off in January or February.

Well, Samson's due date is officially Jan. 9, 2014. It's important to note that no one in my family ever has their babies early.  Two weeks late, all the time.  On time, rarely.  Early.... NEVER.  Munchkin was 1 day late, but I had to be induced.  Papoose was miraculously 1 day early, which is pretty much on time by my definition. Since we've already met our deductible this year, if Samson by some miracle comes 10 days early (which is, medically, completely healthy and "full term"), everything is covered. But come Jan 1, we have to pay $5000 out of pocket before insurance kicks in.

Remember that van our family needs?  And the meager savings... and how we're STILL paying off medical bills from February... yeah.  We can kiss that all goodbye if baby Samson is born in 2014. I have NO CLUE how we will ever be able to afford anything next year unless baby Samson comes early.  I spoke with my OB about our concerns.  She's sympathetic, but there's nothing she can do. The hospital won't let her induce before 39 weeks (which is Jan 2 for me) without a "medical emergency." She can't change my due date (even by 2-3 days, so my 39 week mark is still in 2013) without risking losing her medical license and being investigated by the insurance company (and thus not getting paid, and us having to foot the entire bill, not just the first $5000). What she can do is strip my membranes and advise me to take castor oil after I hit 37 weeks, which she is fully supportive and willing to do.  For that, I am grateful.

Until I read articles that link induced labor or babies born early with a higher risk of learning disabilities, autism, ADD, ADHD.  Or talk to other moms who look at me like I'm crazy for doing anything that could risk my baby's health for such selfish reasons as money.

And so, Here I am, therapeutically venting on the blog about how much guilt I'm feeling about wanting baby Samson to be born 2 weeks early.  There.  I admitted it.

And I know, somehow, because I know God loves us and is watching out for us...that "All things shall work together for [my] good", but I really don't know HOW it will work out unless Samson comes early.  And I'm told over and over to stop stressing because there is nothing I can do... and it's true.  There is nothing I can do, and I am having the HARDEST time trusting God to help our family through this time. I'm having the hardest time finding peace with this looming birth and uncertainty of financial issues.

All things truthful, we are not destitute.  Though I think my above whining may make it appear that way.  We are very blessed to be able to work towards paying off debt (medical bills, student loan, mortgage). We have a nice home.  Brad's job provides well enough that I can be a stay-at-home mom (and really, any job I'm qualified for wouldn't pay enough to cover childcare for me to work, so it's the best option in many ways). We put a small amount towards retirement every paycheck, and into savings even when it seems inadequate. Our basic needs are covered, as well as some future needs, and we just go without luxuries and get creative sometimes.

Doctrine & Covenants 90:24
 24 Search ^adiligently, ^bpray always, and be believing, and ^callthings shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the ^dcovenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.

So friends... have any of you ever had a time when it almost felt impossible to just trust that Heavenly Father will help everything workout ok? What helped you finally find peace? I could really use some testimony building stories right now.

Strawberries

Brad's family had a garden most of  his growing up years, and he was often enlisted to help his Grandma with weeding, picking, etc.  I, on the other hand, have zero memories of ever having a garden.  I had tried a couple of times to have a house plant (usually when little potted flowers were given to women at church on Mother's Day), but ALWAYS managed to kill them. ALWAYS. I've even killed one of those ferns that's advertised to not need watering because it survives on moisture from the air, and I've killed a cactus.  Two plants most people agree kind of need effort to kill.  I managed it anyway.

Needless to say, I had ZERO confidence I could ever manage to grow a plant to maturity; and ZERO intention of ever trying to do so. Until we bought our home.  I started having this almost nagging memory of talks given at church advising us to be self-reliant. Hearing stories of people growing and then canning their own food. Having fun picking rasberries and blueberries at Brad's parents' home.  How delicious Grandma's asparagus from the garden tasted. And started having this impossible wish that I could grow a plant that would bear fruit and survive long enough for us to eat it.

It helped that when we bought out house, there was already a decently large strawberry patch in the yard. I was terrified to touch it, lest I would kill every last strawberry plant in the garden.  But miraculously, come spring, the strawberries bloomed.  And one day in late May, I saw it... little strawberries!  Growing happily among a tangle of weeds from a garden left untended for almost 2 years.

Strawberries.  At my home.  And I wasn't killing them!

So, it made me brave.  I spent oodles of possibly unnecessary hours researching how to tend strawberries and not kill them and help them grow and flourish.  Eventually, I nervously ventured into the world of WEEDING.  I pulled out everything that did not look like the millions of strawberry plants I saw in pictures on the internet, all the while praying that I wouldn't kill EVERYthing I touched or breathed on.  Some strawberry plants experienced casualties, but for the most part, it was a successful venture.

Our first strawberry harvest!

Oh they were so yummy!  I officially decided that I don't like store bought strawberries anymore.  Not since I've tasted my very own organic (?) strawberries.  (Not sure if they would be "organic."  I didn't put a drop of fertilizer or pesticide or anything on them.  I just let nature do her thing and tried to limit the weeds. This also means at least half the strawberries became food for a bunny living in my neighbors bushes and a chipmunk and the neighborhood birds. They aren't as cute when they eat my strawberries!)

So *check* that off my bucket list: Successfully refrain from killing a plant, AND grow something I can eat and enjoy.

Oh it feels so good!  This experience also gave me some late season confidence to try my hand a few other plants.  So far, the results are mostly a success.  :-)  More details to come in a later post.

What's in a name?: Samson Alexander Edition

The name we've chosen for our little guy is Samson Alexander Neeley.

Samson: Sun or Service (Hebrew)
Alexander: Defender of the people (Greek)

Alexander is after daddy (Brad's middle name), and because I love the name and have always wanted to name my boy Xander... Alexander is pretty close, right?

Samson.... well, it's a long story...
Brad and I were one day on a road trip and (this was probably while pregnant with Ruthe before we found out we were having a girl) trying to think of a boy name.  We had a list of boy and girl names that we made while engaged, but decided we didn't really love any of the boy names anymore and wanted a new one. (the girl names have all survived.) We wanted a perfect boy name, since we have this strange superstition that we'll only get one boy. (My parents have 3 girls and 1 boy, Brad's parents had 1 boy and 1 girl, one uncle had 8 girls and 1 boy, and another uncle had 4 girls and 1 boy... see the pattern?  Everyone only gets 1 boy!)  Anyways... we always wanted Alexander, but we couldn't come up with names that sounded good as a middle name after Alexander.  But, Alexander sounded GREAT as a middle name, so we started throwing out names... after an hour (or more) we had digressed to ridiculous names and were throwing things out loud that we had no intention of ever using.  Like:
Alexander the Great Neeley
Evgeni Alexander
Crosby Alexander
Sidney Alexander (notice the Penguins hockey theme???)
Alexander Ovechkin Neeley (or just a hockey theme?  we love our hockey!)
Alec Zander
others obscure Bible names, random names of food (mocking some pop celebrities), over-the-top Mormon sounding names, or trying to make dumb acronyms with the initials.

Well, among the Bible names we threw out was Samson Alexander Neeley.  We both laughed and continued on our mockery of names, but after a few more hours of ridiculous, we-are-sick-of-driving chatter, we both looked at one another and said something like, "Ok, this sounds crazy, but the name Samson is kinda starting to grow on me.  I don't like it, but ... maybe I do?" And we laughed and tried to forget it.  But a few days later, we both started talking boy names again, and we still kept thinking about the name Samson Alexander and couldn't get it out of our heads.  Eventually, we decided that we actually love the name, despite how little thought we gave it at first. Samuel and Samantha are family names, too, so another Sam would fit right in, but Samson is distinctive enough to be unique.

So, there... Samson Alexander Neeley.


Now the question is: Will we cut his hair?  ;-)

And: when did we become the kind of people whose kids all have Old Testament names?  This was never our intention, but... we like it.

Mixing Things Up!

We had the anatomy ultrasound for Baby Neeley #3 this morning!  I always love getting to see my baby on the ultrasound, and getting the assurance that baby is healthy and growing as expected.

All indications say baby is physically perfect!  So that just leaves one other bit of exciting news:  the gender!

Let's just say that Baby was NOT even a teeny bit shy.  HE kept shaking HIS booty and wiggling around so we'd get a nice big view of his bum. It was the first thing we saw, and the last.  The ultrasound tech kept trying to get a better shot of the vital organs (spine, head, kidneys, heart, stomach, etc.) but he'd keep moving to give us a butt shot.  Thanks, Samson... I can tell you're going to be a fun little boy already!

The booty shot: clearly a proud little boy

Face: on the rare occassion we got a face shot, his hands were moving the entire time! He kept reaching down and then putting his hands to his face.  At one point, we caught him with both hands balled into fists and he was resting his chin on them.  Another time, he was sucking his thumb. Another time he waved while opening and closing his hands and then hid his face... then moved to show us his rump!

 This little guy loves to move!  Though I wouldn't know it if I hadn't seen him so active during the ultrasound.  Apparently the placenta is at the very front, so I feel little movement inside since the placenta tends to act like a "shock absorber" of sorts. I have felt him move, but it's only been a handful of times when I'm laying on my stomach in bed reading, and the movement is towards my back and hardly noticable.  Yesterday, I laid on my back and tried to feel him with my hands, and could up high, but not so much in the front.  Munchkin was able to feel him for a short time, too.  She was super excited and started asking when the baby will come out of my tummy so she can hold him. She is a great big sister!  Ruthe doesn't really seem interested, or she doesn't understand.  I hope she understands come little guy's birthday...

With Naomi, the placenta was towards my back, so I felt every little move, and could see it from outside easily.  With Ruthe, the placenta was up high, and I felt most of her movement very low.  Makes sense.  Also makes sense, I think, as to why I "showed" so early with both Naomi and Ruthe: they both grow outwards from my tummy because that's where the most room was located.  With little Samson, the placanta is towards the front, so it's easiest for him to grow up and towards my back first, so I haven't looked pregnant for much longer.  Also may be why I'm already feeling pressure up into my ribs, when that didn't happen with the girls until much later in my pregnancy.

Left foot, toes of the right foot

We are so excited for our little Samson Alexander Neeley!  Now, just to convince him that he wants to join the family on the outside before the New Year.