The Colliers

New blog address!!

2010-09-14T22:22:00.002-06:00

Here's the new address to our blog:

Collierfamilyfactory.blogspot.com
Save it to your computers!
We wont be posting to this one anymore!

Another one BITES the dust

2010-09-10T21:59:00.003-06:00

So colorful...

So smooth...

So... irresistible...

So...tasty?

Apparently Kaden decided so today.
Gross.

Kids say the darndest things

2010-09-09T17:13:00.002-06:00

Mom: (comes down the stairs first thing in the morning after a night of tossing and turning in bed--to see Kaden and daddy eating at the kitchen table.)

Kaden: (before looking up at me he hears me coming down the stairs and says "Hi Mommy!!"

Mom: Hi Kaden, I love you! (As I now walk into Kaden's view)

Kaden: (Takes one long look at the mess mom looks like 1st thing in the morning)

Kaden: Woah.....hi hair!

Mom: (laughing) Oh, do you like my crazy hair, Kaden?

Kaden: (giggling) You're silly, Mommy.

Labor Day Adventures

2010-09-06T21:08:00.007-06:00

We had a bunch of fun today- Labor Day. And by a "bunch of fun"...I mean we didn't do much :-) That's how we like things now days...the calm days where we don't leave the house much seems to be more fun then the stress that going out of the house or vacationing would be. Austin had the day off so we got to hang out all day. I just TREASURE these days--I miss Austin so much most days, he works so hard to support us. Here's a few pictures of our fun adventures today-- all of them were without the twins. They slept soundly in their beds for most of the day :-) Sweet victory :-)
First we went to the new big park to play:

Peek-a-boo

"Watch I slide"

Bubble boy

He's so calm when he goes on swings--it's like he's contemplating something. So cute.

Then it was on to the new SPLASH PAD and PARK opened up here in Spanish Fork!:

Yipee!

Right after a big wipe out of a splash right in his face!!

Kaden found some girl's pair of shoes lying next to the splash pad- so...he played with them :-)

Cheese!!

Taking a drink :-)

Big hugs

My grown up little guy

And FINALLY.....................
After a long day of playing we had a small BBQ picnic dinner out on our front lawn. It was nice and relaxing.

Family Picnic

We found out Kaden likes corn on the cob!

.....he REALLY likes his corn on the cob ;-)

Oh, and don't worry---the twins were inside the house safe and sound asleep--so we made sure to bring out the baby monitor to listen for them. They didn't make a peep the whole time :-) Whew.

The Girls' Nursery

2010-09-06T14:37:00.005-06:00

I've spent quite a while getting the girls' rooms ready for them! Last week we started putting the girls in their own room together at night time...and it has been really nice! So, we have everything together and ready for them now--except painting the walls. Not that I think we'll be moving anytime soon, but I'm still holding out hope! So, we decided to hold off on the painting of the walls until we get a house hopefully not too far future :-)

Twins Photo Shoot :-)

2010-08-21T12:14:00.004-06:00

I got camera happy and took a bunch of pictures of my girls--- I'm sure you don't mind......:-)

ABC's

2010-08-19T09:33:00.002-06:00

Don't mind the setting of this video being in the bathroom....haha, but it was just too cute not to post! I caught Kaden singing the ABC's all by himself- so I ran to get the camera and made him do it again :-) Enjoy!

My WEAKNESSES:

2010-08-19T02:46:00.005-06:00

When confronted with any one of these things:
You can get me to do...
just...
about...
anything.

New Bike!

2010-08-17T23:07:00.003-06:00

Thanks Aunt Holly for the new big boy bike ;-) Kaden just loved getting all done up in his "safety gear" and had tons of fun with daddy. He doesn't quite get the peddling concept yet, but he sure had fun.

Scarlett's Home!!! Ahhhhh Home Sweet Home ;-)

2010-08-13T20:29:00.004-06:00

FINALLY!!! Scarlett came home today! Now we have our family here on earth complete...and one sweet boy still waiting to see us in Heaven. It feels so good to finally start our journey as a bigger family. Here come MORE sleepless nights, screaming babies, 2 year old temper tantrums, and just short tempers in general.......bring it on. It's all worth it for the sweet babies we get to call our own. *HUGE sigh of releif*
Here's some pictures from Scarlett's homecoming!

Savannah's Home!!

2010-08-07T12:42:00.003-06:00

Savannah Kate Collier -- only 3lbs 13oz and already HOME!

Car "Bed"-- she's still too little to fit into a car "seat".

Happy Family

Home sweet Home

She seems a little to small for such a big bed, don't ya think?

Big Bruver

2010-08-04T19:52:00.002-06:00

Is he trying to tell me something?? A two year old in a baby bouncer?

Not so sure Kaden is ready to be a big brother after all. Maybe he wants a little more time as the baby of the family before his sisters come home :-)

Just More Cuteness

2010-08-02T11:42:00.005-06:00

Here's just some more pictures of my cute girls :-) They're growing up so fast :-)
Quick update-- they're BOTH out of their incubators now! They get to be in "open cribs". They're able to maintain their temperatures outside of the incubators really well and now are just trying to get he feeding thing down before they can come home. Scarlett weighs 4lbs and Savannah is now 3lbs 10oz. While Scarlett is our "bigger" baby, Savannah has been progressing a lot faster with feeding. The nurses gave us a time frame of Savannah coming home sometime the end of this week! And Scarlett will be soon to follow behind her next week sometime most likely. We're so surprised at how well their doing and progressing! Keep the prayers coming!

Scarlett:

Savannah:

Alphabet Bath time

2010-07-28T10:42:00.002-06:00

Kaden LOVES his letters - "yett oh's". He especially loves them while in the tub! Cute bum cheekies, Kaden!

3 week old twins!

2010-07-25T21:28:00.005-06:00

On Friday our twins turned 3 weeks old ;-) They are just as cute as can be-- so I thought i'd post a few recent pictures of them!
Also here's a quick update on their statuses:
Scarlett- She's 3lbs 7 oz now! After being born at only 3lbs 1oz, naturally as most babies do, she lost some weight. Since about 2 weeks ago she's been on a steady climb up to where she is now. We're so proud. She is breathing room air great- no tubes or respirators or anything. She is feeding through a feeding tube still, but only because of her size. The doctors say that by next week sometime she should be big enough for us to start trying bottle feedings with her! We're super excited. So far the only major characteristic that we are able to tell as a difference between the two girls is Scarlett's cowlick right in the front! It's adorable and helps mommy and daddy tell her sweet face apart from her sister's.
Savannah- She's 3lbs 2oz now! Again, just like her sister- she lost weight soon after being born like most babies do. She was 2lbs 12oz at birth. But since then she's been on her own steady climb up to where she is now! Just like her sister- she's breathing room air great- with no tubes or respirators. She also has a feeding tube because of her size, but the doctors are going to wait a little longer with her before they try to bottle feed her. She needs a little more time to grow. All the nurses these girls have had have said that our Savannah is slightly more "feisty" than Scarlett. They say she has a little more of a strong attitude....hmmmm wonder where she got that from?
Ok--- here's some pictures! Enjoy!
Scarlett:

Savannah:

He received His crown without the conflict

2010-07-18T14:45:00.006-06:00

In memory of
Skyler Brennan Collier

-Today, marks one week since our sweet boy passed away. We miss him terribly. Today has been especially hard, realizing it's been a week already. We've been keeping ourselves so busy with Kaden and our twin girls (as we should) - but it's given us little time to reflect on the passing of our son. We wanted to make a blog post in remembrance of him- with a ton of our favorite pictures that were taken of him.
Skyler was such a celestial being. Austin and I truly felt like we were holding a piece of heaven in our arms. His spirit was simply too perfect to serve a life here on earth- and we know for certain that Heavenly Father has already put him to good use up in heaven. I guess if you're going to have to be without your child for the span of a lifetime--who better to "babysit" that child, than God? How blessed I feel to know that he's in good hands.
Our twin girls Scarlett and Savannah couldn't be doing any better. These days they're growing like crazy and just gaining such strong personalities of their own. We try to make it up every day to go give them a squeeze- and it's been truly a miracle that they are so happy and healthy, in the midst of all our sorrows of Skyler's condition. At the University Hospital where the girls are at- there's a "bedside nurse" for each baby. At any time during the day, parents can call to hear updates on how their babies are doing. It's really nice, especially on day's that we unfortunately can't make the hour and a half drive up there to see them. The other night, I was telling Austin, how hard it is to not have a "bedside nurse" to call and just hear updates about Skyler and what he's doing and just updates in general. As I said those words, I thought to myself-- how blessed I am because I DO have a "bedside nurse" I can call whenever I want. I have Heavenly Father that I can call any time by saying a simple prayer. I know that I've received many peaceful and calming feelings after praying to know how he is and wanting to send him my love. I am SO grateful for prayer and for this experience. I look forward to raising my sweet Skyler after I pass away. While we can chose to look at this experience as a real tragedy, we can also look at it as a real blessing. We get to be parents of a perfect being. We really feel as though Skyler didn't pass away in a tragedy, rather-- he just received his crown of glory without having to endure the conflict of living life on this earth. How lucky we all are to have known him during his 9 day stay here. We are forever grateful to those who have extended numerous charitable acts upon us and our family. How loved we feel to know so many people who care.

The Triplets are here!!

2010-07-08T11:53:00.008-06:00

Born July 2nd 2010------
~Scarlett Paige Collier, Savannah Kate Collier, Skyler Brennan Collier~
Just a few pictures for now-- still trying to recover so I haven't had much time to post anything! Here's some pictures-tons more to come soon!We will also be changing the name of our blog soon- our family has grown! We'll keep ya posted ;-)

Pictures before and durring the C-Section procedure:

Pictures of their first day of life:

Pictures of their first week of life:

PAIN and my 30 week mark!

2010-06-27T19:23:00.005-06:00

These pictures are from just a couple weeks ago- but I had to document the kind of crap I've been going through. This is why I always say "I'm tired of being in pain". Most of these battle scars are no thanks to WAY too many IV attempts and the ever too familiar blood draws. Not to mention everything else that hurts...hmm...my whole backside when it gets numb, my left leg when my nerve gets compressed, my belly from all the monitors all the time feels like my skin is peeling off, the all-day-lasting stinging sensation from the jelly they use to keep the monitors on, the headaches from not getting enough sleep, the contractions, the cramps.....my list could go on ;-)

Anyway, now enough of my pity party. I still continue to get regular visits from my sweet husband and Kaden thanks to my mom who makes most of that possible. Here's some fun pics from when he comes to visit. All the nurses here already know him by name- when he passes by the nurses desks he said "hi eh-buddy!". Then as he passes he says "Bye guys!". So cute!

Oh- and I guess I'll add in here my 30 week along picture. If you're wondering why I'm not Monstrously huge by now- the reason is I'm losing weight still. For the past 5 months it seems I've either maintained my weight- or gained or lost 2 lbs. I can't seem to keep enough food in me! The triplets take EVERYTHING and then they eat at the fat I had from before! Gross, huh. Anyway- so I still feel huge- I still hurt, but every ounce that's inside that tummy you see is ALL baby. Crazy kids.

No News........is Good News

2010-06-27T18:18:00.004-06:00

I've made 3 posts here today as kind of a catch up since I haven't posted in so long- hope you all enjoy.

So I realize it's been almost 4 weeks since my last blog post. I'll be honest, I've been struggling here at a hospital a little bit. I just haven't been able to really find myself in the mood to post to the blog. I miss everyone at home, I miss sleeping next to my sweetheart, I miss driving, I miss not being in pain, I miss being a mommy. It's been hard, but yes, I've felt all the love and support that everyone has been sending my way. This experience has been really humbling for me so far, and I've been really blessed to have so many people show how much they care about me during this hard time in my life.
As for the latest news with me--- I guess no news is good news. We're STILL just waiting for something to "go wrong" I guess. So far, I've seemed to not apply to ANY of the statistics they've given me from other women who have had pregnancies like mine. It's great news, but also annoying at the same time! The doctors keep telling me the "likelihood or percentage" of delivering early, and it just never seems to happen. This led me to start thinking of how "unique" this pregnancy has been all together! Why is this happening to ME?
-First= we got pregnant off of our very 1st attempt at the In Vitro procedure. With my condition, those odds were definitely not in our favor= but it happened to ME
-Second= we got pregnant with TRIPLETS after only receiving 2 embryos! Again, with my condition, the odds of even getting ONE baby were slim to none= but it happened to ME
-Third= we have one of the most rare versions of triplets: identical twins with only 1 placenta and a 3rd baby in it's own sac. Crazy-- but it happened to ME
-Fourth= I made it past the point of "viability" for the babies at 24 weeks without any medical help.- Yep, it happened to ME
-Fifth= baby C- known now as Skyler- was doomed from the beginning to not survive. We were told at our 1st ultrasound appointment when we found out we had triplets that we wasn't going to be there within the next 2 weeks. We were told his condition was being so small and with no fluid around him- that it was going to kill him before we'd even get to meet him. Yet, here I am- 29+ weeks pregnant and Skyler still has a grim outcome- however he's STILL alive with great vital signs. CRAZY. How could this have happened to ME
-Sixth= My water broke 3 weeks ago today. It was the twins sac that lost their fluid one night, and I was told that my chances of delivering within the next 48 hours was 75%. I also was given a 50% chance of getting a bad infection, now that the sac had broken. Yet again= 3 weeks later and the babies are still looking great and I'm STILL pregnant with NO infections. It's happened to ME
-Seventh= I had a placental abruption. This is again with the twins sac. I started bleeding about a week and a half ago- they discovered it was because the placenta had decided to start ripping off of the wall slightly in one area. It caused the bleeding and I was given a whole new slew of percentages on when I'd probably deliver. I was now told- with the water broken already AND the abruption- I probably only had a week-2 weeks left. I would most likely end up going into early labor or getting an infection. =Again, it's been a week and a half since then- still no problems with the babies and yes, I'm STILL pregnant and no infections. It happened to ME.
-Eighth= just the fact that I'm still pregnant is crazy. Apparently 50% of all triplet pregnancies deliver by week 29. Yep= I'm past that and it happened to ME
There have been any more ways my body has decided to be "unique" and it's all a great thing I'm still here and pregnant. However, like I said it's kind of annoying that I can't seem to take what my doctors say and apply it to myself. Looks like these babies want to stay here for good. On Tuesday I will have made it to 30 weeks along! Can you believe it? After that- I only have 2 more weeks until my "deadline date". Once I'm 32 weeks along on July 13th, I have a scheduled C-Section that morning to deliver these babies! FINALLY an end in sight! So, thanks everyone for the love and support, obviously the prayers are working. I know my little family is being SO blessed in this whole experience and it's all because of all the strong people we have around us to pull us through. We really do love every one of you. It's because of all the help- Austin, Kaden,and I have been able to push through each day. Hope to post some more good news soon!

Austin Graduated! YAY!

2010-06-27T18:09:00.003-06:00

As most of ya know, Austin "graduated" about 2 months ago- however this week was his actual "Graduation"! He got to walk up there with the rest of them- proud of what he achieved! Yet another event I've had to miss since being in the hospital, but my brother in law Andy was able to stream the whole ceremony to me LIVE from his phone! SO AWESOME! I'm SOOO super proud of Austin receiving his Bachelor's degree-- and I'm grateful to all the family that sacrificed their evening to go and support my sweet husband at his graduation. Way to go babe!!

Super Reader's- To the Rescue!

2010-06-27T17:45:00.002-06:00

Kaden is obsessed with this cartoon on PBS called "Super Why". He just loves the show and it's actually really helped him with learning his letters! Anyway, this weekend when we heard Super Why was going to be in Provo for fun games and prizes we just couldn't pass it up. Of course I didn't get to go, but these pictures Austin and his sister Megan took just made me feel like I was right there! Austin said he ran right up to the characters to get a closer look and then just wanted to stare at them! He knew who they were and just kept saying "hi!".

Any Takers??

2010-06-01T12:40:00.004-06:00

After ordering the cheese pizza for lunch- I was so excited. Then, when it arrived- surprisingly it wasn't exactly the Pizza Hut pizza I had envisioned. Go figure.

ahhh.....hospital food. Bleh.

Update

2010-05-30T15:46:00.003-06:00

So I've been here in the hospital now for 6 days. So far--it's been exhausting, relaxing, enjoyable, boring, crazy, and depressing. The constant monitoring is becoming so hard. My belly hurts for hours after they get done pushing hard, poking, and maneuvering my belly in the directions they want it to go in order to hear all the heartbeats inside! It's torture! I get monitored for 2 hours total/day, however due to how difficult it is to find the heartbeats-- each time usually takes 2-3 hours before we're done. I feel exhausted just thinking about the ordeals I go through. But, I also know I'm here doing whats best for the babies. Right now they need to be monitored as often as possible to make sure they're gonna make it to birth okay.
Some good news:
-I'm no longer on "Bed rest with bathroom privileges". WAHOO! Turns out, somehow the nurses all assumed I was supposed to be on bed rest, but never really checked my chart which clearly states by my doctor that I am NOT supposed to be on bed rest. Whew. Glad we got that one figured out. Now I can get up and walk around as much and as often as I want to! It's really been nice- especially when Kaden comes to visit ;-)
-I no longer have my IV in! YAY! That thinG hurt SO bad--and I had a hard time because it was hard to even get myself dressed with an IV protruding out of my wrist. Now- everything is good- and I shouldn't need an IV unless there's an emergency.
-I finally have the nutritionist here on my side about all my meals. She's been informed that I am just about the pickiest eater on the planet- and that I kind of need plain and special meals in order to get me to eat. She totally worked with me an entire weeks worth of meals that I'll thoroughly enjoy--and now I'm actually excited when the meals come around. *sigh of relief*
- This week actually has gone by fairly quickly. I haven't been here "exactly" a week yet, however I feel like all this time kinda went by fast. That's SUCH a good thing. I can't even explain how much I miss Kaden and Austin-- but really this week has felt like a short period of time. Thanks to my mom bringing Kaden up here to see me as often as possible, and Austin coming to visit as much as he can- it's helped me a ton. We also got the webcam set up nicely so we can see eachother and say goodnight. It's been really awesome. Now I know that I've gotten through one week down--there's only about 6 more possibly to go. *I CAN do this*
Anyway, there's a bunch of small things that are growing increasingly hard to deal with here- but i'm trying to stay positive. Here's a few pictures from recently ;-) Thanks everyone for the prayers and visits!

Bed Rest with Bathroom Privileges

2010-05-27T07:33:00.009-06:00

As most of you know I'm in the hospital now until these babies choose to come. That could mean as early as next week (Heaven forbid) - or as late as July 13th! Since I got here I've been trying to keep a positive attitude, which is hard considering my circumstances.
My list of complaints:
-I HATE "bedrest with bathroom privilages"! Are you kidding?! If I want to go anywhere besides potty or showering-- I have to be in a wheelchair. Last week I was caring for a 2 year old- now this.
-I miss Austin and Kaden like crazy
-The IV in my wrist hurts really bad
-I'm sick of being poked with needles and checked up on practically every hour
-I hate my hospital bed- SO uncomfortable
-I hate the "monitoring" they have to do on the babies--or lack thereof. (4 hours later.... we finally get a reading. Ugh.)
-I'm sick of feeling lonely all the way out here in Salt Lake
-I just want to go home and play with my kid all day again like I used to

My list of positives:
-I still have yet to meet a nurse I do NOT like. I've already met about 30.
-It's nice to push a button to get someone to come in the room and get something for me!
-I know Kaden is being WELL taken care of by all my family members- such a relief
-Kaden and Austin HAVE been able to come visit every now and again- times that I cherish.
-I get a menu for what I want to eat every day- and someone else cooks and cleans it up! WAHOO!
-I'm the ONLY triplet mom right now in the whole hospital. It's funny to hear the nurses call me the "triplet mom" behind my back. It's like celebrity status ;-)
-I know that my unborn babies are in the safest environment for them--and for that I'm willing to make all these sacrifices.
-Maybe-- distance makes the heart grow fonder?
-This is a SHORT period of time to suffer in the LONG run- even though it seems long now
-I've been able to see how many people really love and support our little family though this whole ordeal--it's been a very humbling experience so far

Hooked up to my "monitors" for all 3 babies.

Austin thought it was funny to take a picture of the monitor screen when the nurses were struggling (yet again) to accurately pin point the heartbeat on one of the twins-- the screen just said "?". As if to say, "huh? I don't know what's going on here- good luck"

MY ROOM:

Me in my hospital bed- Ignore the no make-up. Seriously, who do I need to get "ready for the day" for. Not my self, that's for sure ;-)

Anyway- I thought I'd share a few pictures from so far-- who knows there might be more to post in the weeks to come. I'm planning on being here a while :-( It's super hard to be out here-- but like I said, I'm trying to focus on the positives even though a lot of things are making me miserable. Sigh. Thanks to EVERYONE for all the prayers-- keep them coming for me and my family please! Austin has been handling things really well so far and I'm so proud of his taking on the Mommy AND Daddy roles during this time. He's trying really hard to keep his job in order as well as his child and wife. Enjoy the pictures! If you live close-- feel free to come visit me- I need some good family and friends around to cheer me up every now and again!

Kaden is 2!

2010-05-23T19:07:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Kaden!!
Can you believe he's already two? I can't. I remember just yesterday this was my baby boy:

Now this is my big 2 year old!:

We had a small birthday party for him at our house for family today-- and it was TONS of fun. Thanks to all the family that came and supported our little guy! Happy Birthday Kaden!

Here's how Kaden thinks Mr. Potato Head goes together ;-):

The ZOO!

2010-05-17T09:29:00.004-06:00

We took advantage of a nice sunny weekend and went to the Hogle Zoo with grandma and grandpa and also my sister's family! So fun! Kaden finally understands lots of animals and it was cool for him to see them up close!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T08:46:00.002-06:00

Top 10 reasons why I love MY mommy:

1) She always listens. Whenever I have a problem or concern, I know I can come to her and receive lots of great advice.
2) She's extremely intelligent. She knows things that most people don't- to the point where I ask her questions all the time about random things before going to google search what something means. I know she'll know the answer because she's so intelligent. She knows AND uses all kinds of big words that I don't even know how to pronounce. She always impresses me with he wealth of knowledge and I love it.
3) She has such a sweet testimony of the gospel. I learned my faith in the church through her example.
4) She's FUN. She's the kind of mom you'd want to invite if you're going anywhere fun. You know that her presence there would make the event SO much better!
5) She's a fantastic Grandmother. WOW- where do I begin with this one? My son has had more love poured out for him from Grandma Combs-than he could possibly handle! Just mentioning the word "grandma" sends Kaden into an excited giggle! There's always new and interesting things to do at Grandma's house- and no one sings a bedtime song like grandma can. She's such an amazing grandma that-- she even spreads this love between all 6 of her grandchildren so far! She's incredible at the job.
6) She has SO many talents that it's hard to keep track. I love it because I get to dip my feet into all the things she's so good at- and see if I like them too. Her scrapbooking abilities are phenomenal. She's got such a gift for creativity. She sings like an angel and plays instruments beautifully.
7)She's a giver. Just like my father-- my mom has always been willing to give you the shirt of her back in order to help you. She gives anything to anyone in need. She's helped me in particular with a house to stay in while we were in transition of moving. I'm sure she didn't want a family of 3 living in her basement using up all the hot water and electricity--but she didn't hesitate to offer it to us. She so graciously gives.
8)She's ALWAYS there for me. In any major event in my life- I know I can count on my mother to be there to support me. Even if it requires traveling to another state to be there. (Like my college graduation in Idaho) She's never even complained about feeling overwhelmed with all the major events that go on in ALL her children's lives- instead, she just makes a point to BE THERE. And she always has. She's made me feel so loved and supported in everything that I do- just by being there for me.
9) She leads by example. Whenever there's been a trial in her life- she's been able to teach me something. She can do all the things necessary to get through a hard time in her life- and then show me by example how to get through something so difficult. I've always looked up to her as an example to follow- since my childhood. She's never failed in helping to show me the right path I should take in any decision in my life.
10) Lastly, I just love her. With all the things she does for me on a day to day basis, how on earth could you not love this person so much. She's amazing and I just could'nt have asked for a better mom to raise me here on earth. Mom, thanks for being such a true example to me and for being all that you are. I love you so much and I hope you have a fantastic Mother's Day that you deserve so much!

Top 10 Reasons why I love being a mommy:

1) Being a mom has been so rewarding. Since Kaden was born- my life has changed for the better in so many ways. I love to have someone that loves me so unconditionally that brightens each and every day.
2) I love waking up to such a positive little guy! Each morning Kaden comes into our bedroom and says "hi" to each of us. It's the perfect way to start each morning- no matter how early it is!
3) I love the feeling of knowing that Heavenly Father gave me this sweet responsibility to take care of one of His children here on earth. What an amazing and important role I've been given. Each day I strive to be better and better.
4) Kaden makes me want to be a better person. He is such a sweet and sensitive boy- sometimes I wish I was able to have a sensitive heart like him. If he gets in trouble, you can tell it just breaks his little heart. It shows me that in my life, not everything needs to be reason to get upset with someone. He's taught me to step back and look at a situation before blowing up and getting upset. Now I try to approach every situation in life with a little more sensitivity than I used to.
5) I love that having Kaden in our lives has brought Austin and I so much closer. What a sweet blessing to have something that belongs completely to Austin and I. We share this great responsibility in raising him. I'm grateful to be a mommy because it really has strengthened me in the "wife" department as well.
6) Kaden can make me laugh! I've never had so much joy every day before Kaden came! Sometimes he can just be so cute and so adorable that you can't help but have a fantastic day because of it!
7) I love being a mommy- along with my sisters and sister in law's. For most of my life, I was always just a step or two behind my siblings. Since I'm the youngest, they got to experience everything first. ( Driving, High School, Graduating, going to college, getting married, having babies). It's so much fun to finally be able to experience things on somewhat of the same level as them. We are all married now and have cute children to raise. It's been so much fun to share the "mommy" experience with all these people that I love.
8)I enjoy the sacrifice. I find joy in the journey of motherhood. I've had great times, and I've had really hard times as a mom- but I've loved learning and growing from those experiences. It takes great sacrifice to be a mom- and utter selflessness. Each day I try to be better at taking on this great role.
9) I love having a "family". In our church one of the main messages to remember is the importance of family. I've loved seeing blessings fulfilled because of our decision to have a family of our own. I love that I have a small tight knit unit that I can call my own. I'm so excited to watch our family grow.
10) I love my job. I am a 24/7 full time mommy and I love it. What a fantastic job to get to have. Just like any job it has it's MANY ups and downs, however it's my most favorite job I've ever been "hired" to do. Plus, the pay is incredible :-) I love being a mommy and I'm SO excited to bring more children into our family so soon. I'm excited for all the new adventures motherhood will bring as the years go on. I can't wait! Happy Mother's Day to every one of you out there!!

Baby Shower #1 and other weekend fun!

2010-05-06T19:27:00.008-06:00

My fantastic Mother, sister, Mother-in-law, and sister-in-law- threw me a baby shower I will NEVER forget! It was SO much fun and I really felt so blessed to have so much support from friends and family. We had a fantastic turn out- and everyone was so sweet to bring me items that we're really gonna need for these two girlies! Here are a bunch of pictures from the big day-- what a blast! Thanks to everyone that came and had fun! I'm only mad cuz I never asked to have pictures taken with anyone that came! I'm so stupid! Oh well- here's some pictures of the fun day.Thanks SOOOO much to everyone that helped plan and execute such a great party!

Opening SO MANY cute presents!

My cutie- he loved the party too

The loot!! An entire countertop full of gifts! SO grateful!

Kaden loved the balloons

FOOD!!

Great Grandma Jensen holding my sister's baby Brooks-sound asleep during all the chaos

We set up a small corner of the food table to remember our little triplet that won't make it- Skyler. We set out this ultrasound picture of him where you can really see his complete profile- and also set out a lovely poem that Austin's mom Robin wrote for us about little Skyler.

MORE food- and the display for Skyler

Opening presents- I realized at some point, "am I really having GIRLS? Bows and tutu's at my baby shower? Really??" We're so excited ;-)

Loved all the sweet gifts! Can't get enough diapers- that's for sure

I just had to add this picture in here--Kaden giving kisses to Great Grandpa Jensen. Such a sweetie :-)

Also- this weekend was my little nephew's baby blessing. Brooks Jack Meredith. Such a sweetie. We dressed Kaden up in his finest outfit for the occasion.

Andy, Brittany, and Brooks

My little munchkin- all dressed up ;-)

Alright...Alright...

2010-05-04T17:13:00.003-06:00

So I've had a few people tell me they want to see an updated pregnancy picture. I'm only hesitant because I feel so FAT! But here's the most recent one- 22 weeks along...and some earlier weeks to compare it to ;-) Get ready to watch me grow twice as big by the time I'm done being pregnant ;-/

16 weeks along:

18 weeks along:

20 weeks along:

TODAY: 22 weeks along

Smarty Pants

2010-04-28T14:39:00.003-06:00

Kaden went right from learning sight-words to learning letters! All we did was buy him a few alphabet puzzles and the kid went to town! Also, it helped that we got him the DVD called The Letter Factory. He watches it in our minivan when we go on longer rides. It's been so cute to watch him learn and be excited about knowing so much. He's such a smarty pants- I just had to show you.
He knows all the letters of the alphabet- and about 5 of the letters' sounds they make. Our favorite is how he says the letter "W". ;-)
Enjoy!

"Woch I shyde!"

2010-04-28T14:29:00.003-06:00

Aka "watch I slide!"

Ever since the weather has been nicer- Kaden has LOVED going to the parks and going down the slides! Unlike last summer- now Kaden is big enough to get up the equipment and go down slides all by himself! He's loving it. He quickly learned the word slide "shyde" to communicate to us what he wanted! He'd peer through the blinds in our living room and spot the park saying "shyde!shyde!" repeatedly until we took him there to play. Just over the past few weeks he's added a new phrase to the "shyde" communicating. Now- when he reaches the top of the slide he yells "Woch I shyde!!" so that we'll watch him slide down. So adorable, right? I wish I could've got it on video, but my camera died. It is so funny the way he says it. That's my cutie head Kaden!
I did however manage to get a cute video showing how excited he gets when I mention the "shyde". It's priceless. :-) By the way- i should mention- the only other time he gets excited like this is when we ask him "Do you want to go see Grandma". Haha.

Sweet Success ;-)

2010-04-22T11:57:00.002-06:00

We now have had 1 successful week with Kaden in the Toddler Bed. Whew! No more crib! One less transition for him to make AFTER the babies are born. Now....if I could only get him to stop the struggle running in and out of his room until he's tired enough to stay put in that bed!
I gotta say though....its been so fun to wake up to hearing footsteps running towards our bedroom door-- then looking up to see a cute little boy--still holding his teddy bear-- saying "Hi daddy!!" --- and then, the "hi mommy" comes later ;-) We love it.

Happy Anniversary #3 Post 2

2010-04-14T13:20:00.003-06:00

Katie and I have been married for 3 years! Can you believe it?! We're old fogeys in marriage...almost! Katie is still very attractive (yes even after 1 1/2 pregnancies) and such a major babe to me. She has really helped me grow into a much better person. 3 years ago I was a much different person than I am now and I've changed for the better with help from my lovely wife Katie. Let me list the things she has helped with:
My Listening Skills: Granted they are not perfect but she helped teach me that yes, it is important to gently take your hands off the keyboard and to turn the head slightly in the direction of the speaker. It has really helped me in more than just our marriage, but in church, work, and other interactions. She's a trooper for putting up with the occasional "zoning out" :) Love you!
My Parenting Skills: Katie was the first to let me know that you do not microwave a baby bottle. I thought it would be ok as long as you checked it on your wrist before you gave it to the baby! Boy was I wrong....and thankfully so :) I also learned that it's ok if the diaper isn't on the verge of exploding to change the diaper. I was just trying to save diapers, but she was trying to save our headaches and baby rashes. :) Love you!
My Organizational Skills: Katie is the most organized person I know, and thankfully so. I tried to remember everything in my head but she taught me that it's ok to put something down on paper and use that to help you remember. She does have very high standards in her organizational university, but she's a very good teacher. Love you!
My Bow Hunting Skills: Now.....where was I going with this one.....oh well! Love you anyway!
My "Stand up for myself" Skills: As many of you know, Katie has a strong personality and I love it! It reminds me of the King of Queens episode when Doug and Carrie have a russian crew treat the mold in their house. They leave halfway through and Carrie asks Doug to call them to come back. When she sees how nice Doug (me) is being to the Russian mold crew (customer service), Carrie (Katie) steps in and:
Carrie: "Doug you need to let them know that this is unacceptable!"
Doug: "You know I would appreciate it if you....would please come back and finish the other half of our house."
Carrie: "Say the words 'This is unacceptable'!"
Doug: *stunned, frightened, and confused* "You're behavior is....un........not very nice right now"
Carrie: "Give me the PHONE!"

:) I love my wife since she has taught me how to appropriately stand up for myself so I don't get walked all over, but do it with such tact that the other is happy as well. :) Love you!

I'm running out of time to write the rest of this, but if you couldn't tell, I really love my wife Katie. She is the cutest person and fits me so well! I know I made the right choice to marry her 3 years ago today! I'm so glad that we have had such a wonderful time these past few years learning and growing with each other and I'm so excited for what the next 3, 10, 30 years has in store for our family! I love you sweetie! Muah!

Happy Anniversary #3

2010-04-14T07:35:00.008-06:00

Austin and I were married 3 years ago today. In light of recent events—we haven’t really been feeling up to doing anything super fun. Our somber mood over our news of baby Skyler has kind of taken over. However- we get to go out on a date tomorrow night and we’re very excited.
Just like I did on our “engagement” anniversary 2 months ago….I think it’d be fun to show a few pictures from our wedding day! We had such a blast and we were just so happy to finally be together forever. Seems weird I've had 2 pregnancies and almost 3 kids since this day!

Austin is my best friend. My rock. My companion. I’m SO grateful that he chose me to get to spend eternity with…what a blessing. He’s sensitive when I need sensitivity- he’s funny when I need a good laugh- but most of all he’s ALWAYS there for me. Plus- even after 3 years of marriage, I still think he’s a major babe ;-) (not sure if he can say the same about me, but that’s ok ;-) )
We have had a fantastic 3 years together and such a fun time raising our little Kaden! We can’t wait to watch our family grow. We are such a great team-and I look up to Austin so much! Here’s to 3 years of a great marriage and the MANY more years to come!

Our baby boy #2- Skyler Brennan Collier

2010-04-09T22:36:00.001-06:00

This blog post is a combined effort of Austin and I. We’ve had an extremely rough day and wanted to express our thoughts of one of the most challenging experiences we’ve begun to endure.
At our last doctor appointment to check up on the triplets- two weeks ago- we were informed that our little boy, Skyler: the triplet in his own sac- had no amniotic fluid around him. He did have a heartbeat and was measuring normally at that time. But the fluid around a baby is part of what helps it develop and grow, so without this vital fluid, the baby is at a high risk of losing its life. We were told this news and warned with the possibility of this baby not making it.
Skyler has always been a fighter. From the very beginning of this pregnancy we were told that he had low fluid and that he was measuring smaller than the twins. And somehow, each week, after week, he has continued to hang in there and stay strong. So 2 weeks ago when we heard the scary news that his fluid level had dropped to nothing- we were extremely scared for him.
Over the past two weeks, many prayers have been said in our little boy’s behalf, as well as many stressful days as we awaited today’s appointment to see how he was doing.
After the ultrasound this afternoon- Austin and I thought everything was still ok with Skyler. He still was alive and kicking- but still with no fluid. However, our feelings of comfort were soon overshadowed with feelings of pain. We met with the doctor soon after our ultrasound to discuss how the babies were doing. After a brief discussion on our twins in the same sac- and how fantastic they are doing and how great they look---the attention turned to our sweet little boy.
As we watched the doctor begin to speak, her entire demeanor changed. Her tone of voice lowered and her expressions became sad. We knew something was not good. We were told that his situation has gotten much worse. He has a possible chromosomal disorder- meaning he has one of 3 conditions. Either down syndrome, trisomy 13, or trisomy 18. Both Trisomy 13 and 18 never result in a living baby. Even if I was able to keep Skyler to full term, he would not survive past the 1st day of life. If Skyler has down syndrome, that would also be most likely a fatal condition. He would be born prematurely, and therefore without the lung capacity to live. We were told that his odds of making it to birth with any of these conditions is slim to none. We would either lose this baby within the next few weeks, or deliver him stillborn.
All of this news carried bleak outcomes for a baby with so many other strikes against it already. The low fluid, which was already a concern from previous weeks. Also he has experienced a decrease in growth all of a sudden since our last visit—possibly signaling that he is close to losing his life. And on top of everything else that our poor little guy has had to endure, they were able to see today that his kidneys haven’t formed correctly- making the possibility of him ever gaining more amniotic fluid nearly impossible.
As we tried to soak in all of this new information, the reality hit us that we wont be able to keep this sweet boy that we’ve grown so attached to over the past 18 weeks. We won’t ever get to raise this boy to adulthood and see him get married. His life seems to have served us a different purpose. Apparently Heavenly Father may need him more than we do and we need to grow from this experience.
Whatever his outcome may be, whether we lose him soon, or lose him at birth- we will always be proud to have had him a member of our family. We are so proud of how hard he fought to stay alive so long. We are going to severely miss him and we wish we could’ve had the chance to show him how much he is loved. Austin and I are absolutely heartbroken. Losing a child is something we never predicted us going through. We’ve made it so far that we really feel like Skyler already has a personality of his own that we’ve grown to love. Our hearts ache over the possibility of losing of such a special little boy.
We will keep everyone posted as to the current situations. For now, we have 3 living babies in my tummy, and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We hope the best for our little Skyler, and we’ll keep him in our prayers until we have to reach that painful day.
So, Skyler- this is for you:
Mommy and Daddy love you so much. We have been so blessed to have had you join our family for such a short time so far. Your older brother Kaden would’ve loved to grow up with you here on earth, but we all know that your purpose here was for a much greater cause. To show this family how it feels to love and care. To give us perspective on life itself, and to bless our lives tremendously. Despite all the odds that were stacked against you- you’ve been a fighter and we are so proud of your efforts. You’ve got many members of your extended family that have loved and prayed for you since you started, and they will greatly miss you as well, should Heavenly Father decide that you will be needed in His presence. Thank you for being so strong and giving us your joy thus far. We want you to know that if you indeed must leave us, you will be welcomed with open arms in Heaven. You have a Heavenly Father, and a Savior that love you so much. You will loved and cared for until the day when we all will get to see you once again.
With much love,

Daddy, Mommy, and Kaden

Bye Bye Suzuki's.....hello Loser Cruiser

2010-03-26T10:24:00.003-06:00

Yep, that's right. We are now the proud owners of our very own Loser Cruiser...aka minivan. ;-) No offense to any of you that might own one...they're great for large families, hence, why we had to buy one. But Austin and I are only 24 years old- NEVER did we see ourselves with the need to accommodate such a large family by the age of only 24!!!
We sold both of our precious Suzuki's in order to get a nicer minivan, and then an older commuter car for Austin to drive around. We thought our cars would take a while to sell since the market is so bad, but we sold them both in 1 day! Crazy! So, we ended up having to purchase these quite earlier than planned :-) We bought this 2005 Mazda MPV with only 50,000 miles on it! And it came with a DVD system...and looked really good. We ended up also buying Austin a 1997 Mazda 626...Austin's favorite part is that it's a stick shift ;-) So far it's gas mileage is incredible. $15 of gas has gotten him a week of driving to work and back. Crazy. And I don't know how we've managed to do it again, but now we own 2 Mazda's! Oh well, we plan on driving these cars until their deaths! We got great deals on them both and we're glad that our "car situation" is finally over with. *Sigh* I'm officially a "minivan mom".

MY baby can READ!

2010-03-21T16:57:00.003-06:00

As most of you know- Kaden is going to be 2 years old in May. But up until the last few months, he's been slow to really speak a lot of words. He has always understood VERY well what we tell him, however wasn't very interested in speaking the words he knew on his own. That all changed recently. He's started associating objects with their names and has been talking up a STORM! It's like a light bulb turned on in his head and now he speaks very well! We were so surprised and very pleased to see such progress so quickly!
Just this week, he's shown us a NEW trick we had no idea he was capable of! Since he was about 4 months old we had him watch these "Your Baby Can Read" Videos- they're supposed to help your baby learn sight words very young so that they can be ahead of the game later in life. Well, Kaden sure LOVED the videos from the beginning, but we never saw any real connection with them until this week! I posted this video to show you what he's been doing! He really is READING the words!!
Here's what we did in the video in case you can't tell: I turned on the video- then when a word appeared on the screen- I paused it before anyone on the video actually SPOKE the word- forcing Kaden to read it to know what the word was. Surprisingly- he knew SO MUCH! The word would appear on the screen- and then he'd either do the action it asked, or he'd actually say the word!! All before anyone even said it! He's also done the same thing when reading books- or even just writing down the word on a piece of paper- he's able to tell us/show us what the word is just by looking at it. We're so proud of him, his little brain is growing so much each day. ;-) Enjoy!

SISTERS- 2 tummies, 4 babies :-)

2010-03-11T21:18:00.004-07:00

I just couldn't resist getting a photo taken with my sister today. We are BOTH pregnant together at the same time for the 1st time. :-) She's at the END of her 3rd trimester-I'm at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. However- it's been so fun for this short period of time--being pregnant at the same time as my big sister :-) I'm not sure if this pregnancy will be my last or not-- so I wasn't sure if this fun experience would ever happen again. I gotta say- it's kinda special. Both of us are creating new lives inside us to bring into this world. We've been able to share in our complaining moments, happiness moments, and our downright really sick moments.
I love my sister...she's the best. I wish her the best of luck as she delivers her 3rd baby within the next few weeks! Thanks for sharing in this crazy time with me...it's been so fun.

I'm definitely SHOWING

2010-03-09T09:37:00.005-07:00

I'm 14 weeks along today and thought it was time to whip out the camera for another pregnancy photo of my growing belly. I was surprised when I compared it to previous weeks ;-)

10 weeks along:

12 weeks along:

Today- 14 weeks along

*This was my 13 week picture when I was pregnant with Kaden- kinda funny to compare!*:

Totally Crazy!
What's even MORE crazy is that knowing that I'm only going to go as far as 34 weeks along if I'm lucky-- then I'm almost "Half Way" done! Already?! Wow!

Addicted.....

2010-03-01T20:22:00.004-07:00

Oh man, tonight is The Bachelor finale episode! In the past, I really felt that TV shows like this were such a waste of time. And actually...this show is EXACTLY that. A waste of time. But that doesn't change the fact that I can't seem to stop watching it! Something about it keeps drawing me in. It's so intriguing! This season, I've got Austin hooked, too. It sounds silly, but it's been SO much fun to share this silly show with him. The whole show is about love, relationships, marriage....blah blah blah. And it really reminds me every time I watch this show how much I love my sweet Austin! I'm SO glad I'm not "still searching" for that one man to share eternity with.
So, call us silly....but we love our show, "The Bachelor". We threw ourselves a little party for while we watch the finale...

Yes, our "crowns" say "TEAM TENLEY" on them. That's who we want to win!
The finale is almost over as we speak. Hopefully Tenley wins...if not I'm never watching this show again!!! Ppppsshhh....not like I haven't said THAT before. :-)

Permanent PMS

2010-02-25T21:50:00.005-07:00

Being pregnant is a strange thing. Its like being a completely different person at times. Sometimes we wish it was more like this:

Unfortunately....it turns out to be an experience more like this for us pregnant ladies:

Here's a recap of most nights as Austin and I are trying to drift off to sleep-

Me: "Austin....I love you so much but seriously please don't touch me!"

Austin: "Okay, honey"

So then Austin kindly scoots over in the bed.
About 5 seconds pass---

Me: "Further!!"

Austin: "Sigh"

Then I usually hear him scoot so far that I know he's on the very edge of his side of our King size bed. He gives me 90% of the bed and ends up giving 10% for himself :-)

Then about 5 seconds pass--

Austin: "I love you, Kate."
Me: "I love you, too."

Poor husbands have to go through a lotta crap when their wives are pregnant ;-) Good thing my husband is amazing and patient with me.....most of the time :-) To all the husbands of pregnant ladies out there...yes, we recognize you've got a hard job too ;-) But understand....we pregnant ladies go through a lot more and have a WAY harder job to do than you do, so neener neener! We are allowed to be moody and mean as much as we feel the need to! We love you though :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T13:05:00.005-07:00

Valentine’s Day is always a special day for Austin and I. 3 years ago today, he proposed to me on Valentine’s Day—our lives were changed forever!
Here’s a quick re-cap of our engagement story—on Valentine’s Day 2007.
Austin came home from his mission on January 26th 2007. As most of you know, we’d been “dating” before he left, as well as were best friends throughout High School. When he came back home, however, we really didn’t know the fate of “him and I”. Contrary to what most people might think since things ended up happening so quickly…we really had no clue if we were going to end up married or not. We both knew what we HOPED would happen, but we needed to know for sure.

(Seeing Austin at the airport when he returned from his mission. Since he wasn't "released" yet- we weren't allowed to touch each other ;-) )

(Our 1st hug after he was finally released)

After many weeks of praying and fasting I felt like we were supposed to be married. I felt good about it…I wanted Austin for all eternity. However, Austin needed to have his answer. He felt good about it, but hadn’t yet received that confirmed feeling inside that it was the right decision. He went to the temple many times to pray and reflect about the issue and he assured me that as SOON as he knew for sure and received his “answer” ….he would tell me right away. Well, like a fool, I believed him ;-)
It was 2 weeks after Austin had returned home- Valentine’s Day came and I still had no word from Austin as to if he’d been feeling any different about the whole “marriage” issue. So, naturally I just thought it hadn’t come yet for him. We’d just keep waiting until he felt it was right. All day Austin did romantic things for me…brought me a rose at work, took me out to dinner and a play at the Hale Center Theatre…then took me for a walk around the temple grounds.

(Picture we took while at the Hale Center Theatre-- I had no clue of what was gonna happen next! Austin had the ring in his pocket the whole time!)

Really, nothing seemed out of the ordinary…everything about that day was romantic but I just figured it was all because of Valentine’s Day. As we made our walk around the temple and came back towards the parking lot, I suggested that we go back home because I was getting cold. Austin pushed the issue that we stay out a little bit longer and go sit on a bench that overlooked the beautiful front of the temple all lit up at night. I agreed as long as we were quick ;-) haha. As we sat down we began to talk about how much we loved each other and so on….then Austin got down on his knee and pulled out this ring box that had a light inside! When he opened the box -lit up inside was the exact wedding ring I had showed his mom that I liked a month earlier! AH!! I was in such shock….I really had no idea he even had received his answer that I was the one he should marry! To my surprise, he said he’d known for a few days prior to this event…but chose not to tell me about it so that I could be surprised. It was so cute. I was so shocked that I don’t think I even said “yes” to his question! I just said……. “are you serious? Are you kidding me?!”. I was so excited! We laughed and cried together and soon a few members of Austin’s family came around the corner from behind the bushes! They’d been watching us the whole time! We got the event on video…it was priceless. I was SO happy that finally I get to marry my best friend in the entire world. The most sweet, gentle person I’d ever met….the one that I loved so much.

(Reenactment of the proposal right after it really happened)

After taking a few pictures there at the temple where he proposed, we went back to my house to be greeted with friends and family at the house to surprise us! Rose pedals were all over the floor and there were goodies and sparkling cider for us to enjoy! We stayed up most the night calling all our extended family and friends to share the news.

It was SO magical of a night and I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal from my sweetheart. I just love him to pieces and want him to know how much he means to me—especially on this Valentine’s Day—3 years after our lives changed completely ;-) I’m so grateful to have married such an amazing person, who fits with me just perfectly. I love you Austin—thanks for the amazing proposal and Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Updates!

2010-02-10T19:48:00.007-07:00

I had my 1st Prenatal OB appointment yesterday since I'm 10 weeks along. All went well and my ultrasound looked good. All the babies are measuring great at their heartbeats are nice a strong. SUCH a relief! After closer examination of our "twins" in the same sac...the ultrasound tech was unable to determine if the babies were conjoined or not. This was obviously a huge scare for us...but the ultrasound tech reassured us that we just really can't tell right now. My OB doctor immediately set up my 1st appointment with our Parinatologist (Fancy name for baby doctor that specializes in multiple gestation births). The appointment was set for today, and we were hoping to go there to get some answers as to the "conjoined twin" issue...or if it wasn't even an issue at all. To our relief-- he's almost certain they are NOT conjoined! Whew! There even was another specialist in the room at the time of my ultrasound who agreed 100%. They are not conjoined. They still want me to go see them one more time in 3 weeks to confirm their opinions...but they both said we're most likely free and clear of that hurdle ;-)
Anyway, so the appointments went well! And it was so awesome to see our little guys again! Austin and I both feel like we kinda miss them during the 2 week period between doing ultrasounds :-) We just feel like all 3 of them are already such an important part of our family, and we just love them all to pieces already. It's so cute that I get to share those feelings with Austin, who feels exactly the same way! Each day that we get to have an ultrasound, we feel like we swell up with excitement just in anticipation to see them again.
We also had some other fun news happen today! So, I've been really cautious about jumping the gun and going out and buying anything for the triplets before we REALLY know our situation, but there were 2 extremely good deals out there on things that we KNOW we are gonna need. So we decided to invest in a triple stroller and car seats since the deals were too good to pass up. Our stroller that we've been having our eyes on since we found out about the triplets, arrived today! Thanks to Aunt Holly, she purchased the exact stroller that we wanted as a gift to us! SO AMAZING.
Here she is!

Also, our carseats came today too!! We're super excited about the light weight, and twisted handle bar...(makes it SO much easier to carry!) By the way-- this handle that im talking about...this is something Austin and I learned the hard way when we had Kaden. His 1st carseat we had was HORRENDOUSLY heavy...making it nearly impossible to carry him very far. THEN, there was the handle issue. Who wants to carry something heavy along side themselves having to rotate your wrist outward just to hold on to the dang thing?! It uses all the wrong muscles, and frankly, it just got tiring after a while. I can't even BEGIN to tell you how excited I am to finally have the ease of a more "physically friendly" carseat bar. Just FYI for those future moms out there! Take it from a mom who knows!
Here's our beauty! We got 3 of them of course :-)

After all the great news today, we got some bad news. My parinatologist suggested that I basically LIVE in the hospital so that I can be monitored 24/7 as soon as I'm only 24 weeks along! AH! It makes sense that they'd want to monitor me...being that I have a set of twins in me that share a placenta...creating a lot of high risks, but still?! 24 weeks along? That's the middle of MAY! I'm gonna be SO bored, and need someone to watch Kaden during ALL that time until my water breaks. Ugh. And on top of that news, our insurance decided not to cooperate with us about the birthplace of our triplets, so now we're in a bind to find a new OBGYN, new parinatologist, and a new place to deliver these kiddos! That's a LOT of decision making that we wished we didn't have to do :-( Oh well, I'm sure it'll all work out for the best. We've got a lot of people that love us around here and we couldn't be more grateful for our situation.
In addition to all this new baby stuff-- we've sure been having fun with the little munchkin that we already take care of, Kaden. He's the joy of our lives. He's in such a fun stage right now-- completely happy most the time, learning to talk more, and getting more creative with ways to trick mom and dad. He's adorable with ANYTHING he does, even if he's getting in trouble. We love our little guy. He's learned TONS of new "tricks" lately, and it's fun to see his little brain absorb everything we teach him. He's REALLY good at understanding what we say, it's actually kind of surprising how well he does. We love you Kaden...thanks for being our shining star! :-)

Fun with cousin Katelyn ;-) He loves her!!

The Verdict is in.....

2010-01-27T15:15:00.002-07:00

Well.....it looks like all 3 babies are here to stay!! Whew!
After my ultrasound today...we saw all 3 babies and heard all 3 heartbeats!! All their heartbeats are in "normal" range....perfect. And they're measuring great too! The identical twins are measuring perfectly....and the other one that was so far behind last time---now is only measuring 4 days behind the others! What a blessing! All 3 had strong heartbeats and we just couldn't be happier ;-)
Now come the nerves.......how are we gonna do all this?! Are we really ready??
Haha...we know we're gonna be able to handle this and hopefully make do with what we've been given. We feel so lucky to be parents of such sweet spirits ;-)
We love you all and thanks so much for your prayers for us!
Get ready to watch the freak show as I continue to get huge-er each day! Oh wow...this is gonna be painful ;-)

Meet my husband----the most amazing person EVER

2010-01-25T12:03:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to brag about my adorable husband for a quick sec. He's just AMAZING.

After finding out about the triplets...he's been working so hard at figuring out his "schooling" situation. He currently is almost to his Associates Degree...and is still working towards that Bachelor's in business management! Since he's been working at Steven's Henager College for the past 2 years...he's been able to attend school for FREE there! All the classes are offered online-as well as in the classroom....so Austin had the freedom of choosing! He has been taking classes online and he's been able to take classes, maintain a FULL TIME job, AND be a wonderful Daddy and husband by still being home a lot....all at the same time. SUCH a huge and enormous blessing we've been given. And all this without the need of any student loans or anything. It's been amazing.
But...as the news of triplets came....school seemed to become a huge stresser. How are we gonna finish?? If we look at the timeline--he's not supposed to get his bachelors until.....about a year?? When is he gonna have the time to do homework and tests with 3 babies and a 2 1/2 year old at home?? What if Stevens Henager decides to suddenly stop offering this great benefit- then how would we pay for school? Austin can't get another raise at work unless he has a Bachelor's Degree....what if that doesn't come for a LONG time? How would we pay for the triplets?
All these worries started to enter our minds...I could really tell it was stressing Austin out--being that he's the main provider of the family. But! To my surprise...my sweet husband has figured out a way to make this all work out beautifully! I'm SO proud of him.
After talking to all the many professors at his school...crunching a few numbers....and doing a whole lot of scheduling.... Austin will be able to GRADUATE with his BACHELORS in Business Management in......JUNE!! THIS JUNE! WOW! What a blessing! That's well BEFORE the triplets are due...and it gives him an opportunity to possibly get a raise even in the works before the babies come. Austin's gonna have to work REALLY hard...he's basically taking triple the load of classes. But he has all his professors helping him get through it, and they're all on his team to help get him graduated...since they know about our most recent situation ;-) It's going to take a TON of hard work and focus for the next six months...but I KNOW Austin can do it. I'm SO proud of him and all he sacrifices for our family! I'm SO excited for him to be graduated by this summer and to have received his ENTIRE education......for FREE ;-) Way to go babe...I love you SO much.... and we're all extremely proud of you!

Be Careful What You Wish For.................you just might get TRIPLETS!!

2010-01-13T14:40:00.004-07:00

AH!!!!!!!!!!!! What a shocker!! We went in for our ultrasound today....only at 6 weeks along so far, but my doctor wanted to check to see how many babies I'm pregnant with. The appointment started with the ultrasound technician(UT) saying we had just one. Austin and I were wrapping our minds around the idea of just one and looking at each other sweetly. Then the UT was measuring that baby....talking about how she could see it's heartbeat and everything....and we were talking about it for about 5 minutes. Then...all of a sudden the UT lady said..."wait a second!" She panned the probe over only to discover ANOTHER black hole with a baby inside! It was another baby!! Austin and I were in complete shock! FRATERNAL TWINS?! Quickly, we were told that there's a small disclaimer with this baby, though.....it's very small in comparison to the other baby with the heartbeat showing. This baby we were NOT able to pick up a heartbeat and weren't sure if it was going to eventually not live. There is a small chance though that it would live and survive just fine...it's just not very likely she said. After hearing that....we were back to grasping the idea of just one baby...but "possibly" two if that other baby made it through. Then....again, to our amazement....the UT lady says...."Actually....hang on a second here......" She panned the probe back over the other baby we saw 1st. She said, "Oh my gosh, there are TWO babies inside this one sac we looked at earlier!!" WHAT???! That means they were "IDENTICAL TWINS"!! That means....that most definitely that embryo split after being implanted! WOAH! Now we have triplets?? Are you kidding me?? Talk about shock. Austin and I looked at each other in disbelief. I was NOT predicting that one! Talk about finally getting our BIG family we always wanted!! ;-) WOW.....so at this point....we looked at baby #3.....it was directly on top of the baby #1 which is why it wasn't noticed at 1st.....we were unable to find a heartbeat with this one too, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything! The UT said that it's probably just because the babies are literally right on top of each other so it was hard to tell them apart. The UT reassured us that that identical twin MOST LIKELY has a strong heartbeat as well, it's just too early to tell. So......in a nutshell.....at the moment....I have TRIPLETS. There's a possibility we might lose one :-( but the identical twins are almost a for sure thing! ;-) We're SO overwhelmed with excitement...we couldn't be happier. We're just praying we'll be able to manage whatever situation or responsibility Heavenly Father choses to give us! We are SO excited about this pregnancy....hoping those babies can find room somewhere to grow in my tiny torso! I'm only 5 foot 4 and I have NO clue where I'm gonna fit 2 babies...let alone 3!!! AH! I'm having another ultrasound next week most likely....and I'll update everyone on the status of the poor baby #2 we found that was so small and lacking in the developmenting area....and also we'll let you know how many heartbeats we have and all that good stuff. Whew! I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd be making this blog post right now. WOW. Can you believe it?? An entire year of sacrifice and heartache over our infertility….and now we get the privilege of being blessed with more than one baby. We can’t wait to find out their genders…in about 2 months from now…but we’re SO excited about this new journey in our lives! Thanks a TON to everyone for their prayers and thoughts for us. We feel SO blessed to have such a fantastic support system around us right now! More updates to come…as this pregnancy will be most definitely a LOT different than my last! Right now....we just need to take a second and just breathe........haha, everything's going to work out just fine! ;-)

That's baby #2 we found second on the left side- notice it's very small. Then on the right....baby #1 and baby #3!

Drum roll please................................!

2009-12-29T10:59:00.005-07:00

In Vitro WORKED!! I'm PREGNANT!! ;-)
We found out earlier than expected...by taking a few average at-home pregnancy tests! We are SO excited! We're even more grateful for all of our family and friends that has supported us and given us love and hope for our future family! It was SUCH a hard year of ups and downs...but it turns out it was all worth it. We're so grateful for the fasting and prayers said in our behalf...and that we'll never forget! Our baby/ babies (who knows?!) will be due in early September 2010. We hope this pregnancy goes as planned and will bring us another little angel into our family next year. We love you and just couldn't wait to share the great news!!

~Terrible picture of me-- but this picture was taken as we were leaving for the morning of the embryo transfer! My LAST picture as a non-pregnant person! YAY!~

~If you can't tell--those BOTH say "PREGNANT"!!~

~This is how we told some of our family members that we were pregnant...Kaden's t-shirt says "I'm a BIG brother!". We had him walk into their house dressed like this and waited for them to notice! *thanks to my sister Britt for the cute idea*~

~I can't even remember the last time I was truly THIS HAPPY!!~
~
~

The Loot!

2009-12-29T10:48:00.002-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Kaden got TONS of great stuff this year...he was so excited! From car racing toys, to stuffed animals, to pizzles....he was so happy!
Here's some pics from xmas morning ;-)

Mr. Bear

2009-12-24T17:06:00.005-07:00

Overnight...Kaden has started a relationship with a stuffed animal ;-) He has NEVER shown interest in such a thing ever before...we even TRIED to get him attached to a little stuffed animal in order to ease him from taking the binkie away...but he just wouldn't take. Just the other day he's become so attached that he takes this bear ANYWHERE. Whenever he's sad, if we bring him "Mr.Bear"...a HUGE grin appears on his face! He gives the bear hugs, kisses, and even sits and watches TV with him. It's like your regular best buddy. As a mom....I feel REPLACED! :-( But I'm so happy he's FINALLY able to see the benefit of something soft and snuggly to carry with him wherever he goes ;-)

~Kisses!!~

Needles, Patches, Suppositories, Pills....Oh my!

2009-12-24T16:55:00.004-07:00

~This is a picture of all the needles that went in me during the stimulation process on in vitro. We took this picture on my last day of having to use them! WOW! That was painful!~

Ever since we started all this in vitro stuff....I've had to use a bunch of different forms of medicine. Why the heck did they make me try practically EVERY method there is out there to get medicine into your system??! Let's see, first there was "the pill". Had to clean out my system I guess. Along with prenatals and other pills I had to take, I felt like an addict. Then there was all the many injections. Then came the "suppositories"...I'll let you use your imagination as to what that is....ugh. Then lastly there's the estrogen patch. Seriously....was all that necessary??? Don't ALL those medicines come in the form of a nice and simple pill?? Anyway...just wanted to vent a little as to how annoying this all was ;-) I sure hope it was worth it!

SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW

2009-12-24T16:45:00.002-07:00

It's been snowing like crazy here in Utah! We've had a few good winter storms come and it's left us with 2-3 feet high mounds of snow all over our front yard! Kaden has LOVED getting out and playing in it...however he's still a little picky when it comes to getting snow on his hands ;-) I still think Kaden's favorite part about the snow is that he gets to wear his boots!! We go to the parks in our neighborhood a lot and he just loves playing outside. He's getting so big that we're able to take him to a park and he climb up everything and do everything all by himself with NO help! It's so cute. Here's some pictures of our recent adventures in the snow!

And then there were 2- White- Suzuki's...

2009-12-11T08:28:00.003-07:00

Here she is! Our new car! We're so excited. We got rid of Austin's 1997 Nissan Maxima...and made almost an even trade for the money-- for a car that's 3 years newer! Yay! Plus, this car has 4 wheel drive, a tow package, cruise control, and plenty of room for everything. We love it already.

We just love Suzuki's so much. As you might know, the only other car we own is a Suzuki Forenza sedan. We've owned it for a little over a year now, and we have just LOVED how it drives, the look, and how we haven't needed to do any repairs on it at all! And it's white too! Hah...seems we always get stuck with a white car, even though that's our LAST choice of colors. But it worked out ok! We love our White Suzuki's and that's that!

I can't put my arms down!!....

2009-12-07T08:46:00.004-07:00

Have you ever seen that movie "A Christmas Story" when little Andy is put in this gigantic snow suit that it packed so tight he can't move? That's what I thought of when we put Kaden in his snowsuit! Kaden LOVES to play in the snow! We just had another good snowstorm and Kaden just had a blast playing in it! The funnest part is his adorable snow suit we got from Aunt Holly last year! We thought it'd NEVER fit him, but here we are. Kaden likes to play in the snow...but doesn't like the COLD feeling so much. Here are a few pictures from our LAST snow storm....so that's why there's not much snow on the ground.

Family Pictures!!

2009-11-28T17:54:00.014-07:00

Here they are!! Our professional pictures we took last week are back! We're so happy with how they turned out! Enjoy!! Much thanks to Eliza J Photography!

Here are just a few cute ones from Kaden's 18th month of life :-) He's got TONS of cute clothes from Aunt Holly...here's his ADORABLE snow boots (that he just can't get enough of) and his amazing church outfit! SO cute...we love em!

FALL

2009-11-09T09:32:00.002-07:00

WOW. Thats all I have to say.

2009-11-04T14:04:00.002-07:00

My meds for In Vitro came in the mail today....I was expecting just a few small items. Here's what I have to look forward to! All this is going inside me within 1 month!

Pre-Halloween Pics

2009-10-30T11:30:00.007-06:00

Halloween is SO much more fun when you get to share it with your own kids!
Our little UPS guy :-) Would you like a package?

Halloween party at Dad's work! Stevens-Henager College!

Mom's Halloween Cosumes when she was around Kaden's age ;-) So fun!

Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind

Tiger Lilly from Peter Pan

Present!

Dr. Katie!

Get Away.........to Park City ;-)

2009-10-26T09:00:00.012-06:00

Austin and I just got back from our trip to Park City!! It was SO much fun! We dropped Kaden off at my mom's....and went away for a 3 day trip. We felt, after all that we've been through this past year with infertility and all the other emotional roller-coaster events....we decided we needed to kind of re-gather ourselves. Have some good alone and relaxation time. It was SO hard to be away from Kaden....we missed him TONS! Everything reminded us of him, and we called every 5 hours or so to see how he was doing! Good thing we were only an hour away, that made things not as hard. :-)
So, while in Park City we splurged on a nice condo called the Westgate Resort and Spa with a full size kitchen and jetted tub and everything! Everything was top of the line....brand new....and looked so expensive! Definitely nothing like anywhere we'd stayed before! There was even a Sauna Steam Room in our own room!

As usual with any trip we take, something always goes wrong! We just have to kind of laugh at the situations we get put in! The 1st night we got there...I was SOOO excited to get in a nice cozy big jetted tub and relax. We go to turn the tub on and the COLD water handle didn't work. It just spun around and around as if it weren't connected to anything. GREAT, we thought. So, we tried to fill the tub up with just the hot water. 3 minutes of that and we couldn't even put our feet in it it was SO hot!! Great, now what do we do? So....austin and I went into the kitchen and got some big glass bowls. We went into the bathroom sinks and started filling up the bowls up with cold water and ran to dump them into the tub! Picture us...all ready for a relaxing night in an expensive condo....and here we are making multiple trips from the bathroom to the tub with big bowls of cold water. Needless to say, our efforts were hardly enough. The tub was still piping hot by the time I got in it....and the whole situation was SO annoying. Not exactly how we pictured spending our 1st evening on our vacation! So, the next day, we had to call the maintenance guy to come and look at it....again totally inconvenient... then ultimately the problem with the tub couldn't be fixed! So what'd we have to do?? Pack up ALL our stuff again and move to a new room! Ugh!! Of course all of this happened...right after we'd made a huge trip to the grocery store and stocked up on a fridge full of food! One more thing to pack up. ugh. So...we made the move to another room and noticed lots of stuff was dirty. FANTASTIC! Crumbs on the table..smears on the mirrors...and oh, the shower door didn't close. But the tub worked! GREAT! At this point, we just had to laugh and try to have a good time! We called and got the resort to give us a $50 voucher to their restaurant called the Grill. It's a highly over-priced "fancy" restaurant that we hadn't planned on attending. But hey, what the heck.
1st and 2nd rooms we stayed in:

Our $50 voucher and dinner at "The Grill"! They even lit a candle at our table for "setting the mood"

All in all, we did have a very fun time. We did a bunch of shopping...exploring the town, and eating out. It was much needed and SO much fun. Austin in my best friend and there's no one else I would've rather gone with! Here are just some more pictures of our fun!

...and lastly....here's some cute pictures of our little guy recently. The 1st one is Kaden in a cute outfit Aunt Holly gave him!! We love her.

2009-10-14T22:08:00.007-06:00

Playing with Daddy's glasses! "Hello sir! How may I help you?"

Well, it’s been about a month since our last post, so here I am with an update. We’re back in Spanish Fork trying to resume life the way it was 3 months ago. So far, so good. Austin recently got a promotion at work to be Stevens-Henager College Registrar! So far he loves the new job and the new authority. We’re SO proud of him and how he provides for our family. Kaden is growing up SO fast as usual, he gets to go to nursery next month!! Ah! It’s a blessing, but also kind of a scary thing at the same time ;-) My little boy….in nursery! He’s added a few new words to the vocabulary… “monkey, hot, yeah, pretty, and wee!” He also learned his first family member name aunt “Meggies”, which sometimes sounds like “monkey”…but we say it counts! As usual….we notice each day him able to understand a whole lot more. Austin and I can deliver full blown sentences at him and he knows what we’re talking about! He’s also learned to respond “yeah!” to any statement delivered at him in the form of a question. We say…. “Kaden, do you want to go on a mission?” “YEAH!” Austin likes to mess with him by asking things we know he wouldn’t say yeah to if he only understood the words! ….. “Kaden, do you want to go to prison?” “YEAH!” Anything works really ;-) We’re actually LOVING being parents and watching our little guy grow and progress! It’s not all fun and games though…we’re finding out. This parenting thing is harder than it seems sometimes. He’s getting to the age where he’s purposely pushing buttons to see what he can get away with, ignoring when we say “no” to something he wants to do, and the all famous whine when he’s trying to get what he wants. All are frustrating in their own separate ways…but we’re learning how to deal with them.

As for the baby situation with us…we’re set to have the In Vitro Fertilization procedure in mid-December. For right now, we’re trying to mentally, financially, and physically prepare for the event. The pre-procedure medicines and shots I’m going to have to start taking next month carry some serious side effects. I’m most likely gonna be super sick and emotionally unstable for a while! Good thing I have the sweetest husband in the world to take care of me and have patience with my “monster” self. We are also blessed with wonderful and supportive extended family members around us, so we know we’re gonna get through it okay. So, right now we’re just preparing…we’ll keep ya posted on future events to come. We appreciate the prayers in helping us through this tough time in our lives! Austin and I are taking a mini-staycation to Park City next week and we’re SO excited! We’ll post pictures when we get back. We’re going for some much needed alone time and stress-free time!

Amidst all this busy-ness in our lives…we’ve got 4 family members with big baby news! Austin’s Brother Devin and his wife Brittany just had a beautiful baby girl, Katelyn….much congrats to them. She’s adorable. Austin’s sister Megan is pregnant- just found out it’s a girl! Exciting! My sister Brittany is pregnant as well- just found out it’s another boy!! Super exciting! And last but not least, my brother Allen and his wife Meggan are expecting a baby soon as well!! Whew! (In case you didn’t notice, all the sisters/sister-in-laws between Austin and I are named Megan’s and Brittany’s. Weird huh?

Anyway, much congrats to them! I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope I was in their shoes right now!

So life is good…we continue to be blessed as a family. Here are a few pictures and awesome videos from the past month. Enjoy!

How I found Kaden sleeping during a nap. One foot through the crib rail in a totally awkward position. Crazy kid.

Smiley :-)

Big shoes to fill

I think Kaden looks a lot like Daddy in this picture

VIEDO: Playing "Don't make eye contact!"

VIDEO: ENDLESS entertainment! It just keeps
getting funnier and funnier! ;-)

Do you think he wanted to go outside? Or.....

I've got some explaining to do.......

2009-09-14T13:44:00.002-06:00

Ok, well this post wont include any pictures, just an explanation to the whirlwind of events that have happened recently. About 3 months ago, we were minding our own business living in our townhome in Spanish fork, when an AMAZING opportunity came along to buy a new house in Eagle Mountain! We were SO excited....ready to start our new phase of life in a home of our own. There was just one problem.....selling the townhome we currently own. You see, I had NEVER imagined how hard it was gonna be to sell this place, being that it's only 1 year old, new paint, 2 car garage, 3 beds, 2 1/2 bath....blah blah blah. The townhome is GREAT! And we really never anticipated such a problem with selling it. Well....turns out, we did have a problem selling it. In order to sell, we had to drop the price down SO MUCH below what it's worth....and what we owe on it. So, long story short.....if we sold it, we'd have to pay about $9,000 out of pocket just to move out! CRAZY, huh? But we were willing to do it....if it meant getting to invest in an even better property. So anyway, they would begin building on the NEW house once we SOLD the old townhome. The waiting game began. In June we moved out and started living with my parents because we knew that once we started building our NEW house...it'd take 3 months to build and we'd have no place to stay! We were doing just fine there......Kaden LOVED seeing gramma and grammpa so much every day! We shared so many fond memories there that will always be fun to look back on.
Then.............................the curveball came. Most of you don't know this but Austin and I have been trying to have another baby since February. I know Kaden's still young, but we felt strongly that it was time to make our family even bigger. Unfortunately, something was wrong. We weren't seeing any success for about 5 months! So, we went to a doctor, who prescribed me some medications that might do the trick. 4 months of that.....still no success. After all those months of roller-coaster-like emotions....we decided to see a Fertility Specialist. I was tested and diagnosed with PCOS. Turns out Kaden was sheer luck that we had him so naturally. Apparently I've had this "disorder" since I was 12....and didn't know it. It makes it difficult to conceive children. Anyway....after debating on what routes we can take at this point, we feel like our best option is to do the procedure our doctor referred us to do called In Vitro Fertilization. This is the route we'll have to take now EVERY time we are ready to have another child. Kinda frustrating...but having children of my own has always been extremely important to me, and Austin agrees. Whew! So after all these months of heartache...we find out we've got a real problem on our hands. I am SO thankful we have Kaden....the sweet joy in our lives, to help us get through this hard time. We love him to pieces and just want so badly for him to get to have siblings! Anyway, In Vitro is going to cost about $10,000....and we really can't afford to pay the $9000 from selling the townhome AND the $10,000 for the In Vitro procedure. It's one or the other. We feel that right now, it's important to put our family 1st...before getting a nice new home. So, we've decided to move back into the townhome for another year or so....and try to enjoy ourselves until the time comes that we can finally get that new house! The frustrating part is....we can still afford the new house just fine! It's just we can't afford to SELL the townhome! Crazy how the economy screws things up huh?! I'm most likely going to be doing the In Vitro procedure at the beginning of December. Hopefully this works. We're so emotionally drained from this whole experience...we're trying to put a lot of hope into this procedure. We've really reached the end of the line of options here...and we're just hoping for another miracle. We appreciate everyone's support while we've been struggling so much...we love you all!
Anyway, we just wanted to keep everyone updated...so no one thinks we're crazy for moving out and then moving back to the townhome again! Wish us luck as we go back to live in Spanish Fork....and hope to further our family soon!

Playing catch up

2009-08-07T14:24:00.009-06:00

So it's been about a month and a half since I last posted! A lot has happened since then! Kaden is getting bigger and cuter as usual...starting to talk now and do lots of funny things. Still fascinated with opening and closing things...still loves music. He's starting to understand Austin and I a lot more now too...he understands when we tell him "no!"...and actually gets kind of sad because he thinks he's in trouble. He's so smart and he continues to suprise us with the things he learns and understands. The most recent "tricks", for lack of a better word, that he does is: when we say "ACHOO"! He repeats back "achee!" He says "hi", "mama", "daddy", "thank you", "bye-bye", and "I love you"-comes out "Eye!!". He loves to give high-fives...but he hasn't yet grasped the concept that it's supposed to be a hard SLAP! He's so gentle :-) When playing peek-a-boo....he quickly learned that you cover your eyes with your hands. But it slowly evolved into him covering his ears...and now it's just one hand on one ear! Totally funny....we say, "where's kaden? Peek-a-boo!" and he quickly puts his hand over one ear. Silly kid. Anyway...that's the update on our cute kiddo. I've posted some cute videos of him on here too...enjoy!

As for Austin and I...some exciting things have happened! Austin got a promotion and a raise at work! He's now going to be the school's Registrar for Stevens Henager College...I'm SO proud of him!! He works SO hard and goes above and beyond what is required of him. Coworkers notice his hard work and this is how it pays off! Way to go Austin...you're an amazing provider for our family! Also, as you may already know, we are moving! We're buying our first HOUSE out in Eagle mountain! 2300 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and an unfinished basement where we are building on 2 more bedrooms and a big bonus family room...its a gorgeous place. We're building it to our specifications so it will be a while before it's done. 1st step though, is to sell our townhome we currently have! Anyone know someone that wants a townhome out in Spanish Fork??? Once we sell that place....building can begin on our new home! After that, it's only 3 months to build and we have a home and a yard all to ourselves! We're really excited to make this huge step in our lives to becoming home owners...we are ready to make this big investment! We just hope all our loved ones will still come and visit us even though we're gonna live about 35 minutes away from Highland/American Fork area. Wish us luck!!

Other than that...things have been pretty usual! Enjoy the pictures and I'll try to make another post in the near future!

4th of July Parade!

He loves Daddy

Ah....summer!

Our handsome man

How we found him one morning before he woke up! How the heck could he sleep like that??

Bucket Head

Silly Face

Peek-a-boo!

Pooh Bear!

Good morning!

Playing hide and seek!:

Revolving Sippy cup! I thought this video was SO funny. Kaden loves this toy and decided to take his sippy cup for a ride!:

Fathers

2009-06-19T15:44:00.011-06:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

To my 2 most favorite "Fathers" in my life

1st-MY Dad:

10 reasons why I love my daddy:

1) He's hilarious and always knows how to make me laugh

2) He's a HARD worker- such an example to me

3) He constantly shows how much he loves the poeple around him by finding any way possible to help his family members in need--even if it means making things harder for him

4) He's such a giver- constantly offering to share or give away things that mean a lot to him

5) He's great at everything he does! He can play ANY instrument, and fix ANYTHING

6) He loves his children and grandchildren and shows it

7) He's fun to watch baseball games with

8) He's in a lot of physical pain somedays- yet it's a rare occasion to hear him complain about it

9) He has a strong testimony of the gospel- understanding his purpose in life- serving others and blesesing their lives.

10) He's sweet and understanding and always lends a listening ear

I LOVE my dad- he's the best. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing person to look up to.

2nd- My Husband

10 reasons why I love my husband:

1) He's an AMAZING and involved father, something I really admire

2) He's caring and sensitive to the feelings of everyone around him

3) He's a really HARD worker-constantly striving to do better and learn more

4) He's very intelligent

5) He knows how to make me laugh- and accomplishes this often ;-)

6) He supports me in everything I do- always my #1 fan

7) He is a good listener and always gives good advice

8) He has a VERY strong testimony of the Gospel and a huge love for his Savior

9) He is almost ALWAYS in a good mood. In our 2 1/2 years of marriage, I have yet to see him get really upset. He's very calm and collected.

10) He's the best husband in the world and I couldn't have asked for more. I feel undeserving of the great love and respect he shows for me each and every day. I love him so much!

And so, to the 2 most important fathers in my life, I wish you a very happy Father's Day. While I was creating these lists, I found that all of them are interchangable between persons. Both have similar qualities that I admire. Interesting- they say that most women compare every guy to their dad. Looks like I found a close match to be my husband! BOTH are OUTSTANDING people in my life that deserve to be recognized. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me and making my life full of happiness!

Birthdays, Vacations, and so much more!

2009-06-02T08:35:00.014-06:00

Alright, so I am FULLY aware that this post has TONS of pictures! But a lot has happened in the last 2 months and I just wanted to show you all of it! First, Kaden turned 1 on May 23rd! We can't believe he's 1 already...time really did fly by. But he's cute as ever and we love him SO MUCH! We had a fantastic BBQ birthday party for him at the neighborhood park by our house. It was so much fun. Family and good friends all came to celebrate with us...it was a blast. Here are some highlights from the birthday party:

Adorable Birthday cake--courtesy of Grandma Robin ;-)

Stuffing his face!

Mom and Dad and our 1 year old!

Opening presents! Kaden wasn't really into unwrapping things, to my suprise. I ended up opening practically ALL of them. Kaden got TONS...thanks SO much to everyone for being so nice!

Slide at the park!

EIEEWW! "Uncle Shawn! That raspberry was SOUR?!"

"I'm 1!"

"Yipee!!"

Birthday Boy

Mom and the birthday boy! Behind me is a decoration I made. It was a layout of pictures of Kaden each month he's been alive! It was cool to see the change each month as he grew up!

OK- So, after the birthday party, we rushed home to pack our last minute items for our trip to Seattle! We left that same night! We spent a week there and it was SO much fun! We got plane tickets to go, back in January. We found a REALLY good deal on the plane tickets, and took advantage! When my mom and dad, and sister found out about the good price...they hopped on board with the idea too! So it was great to have my whole family up there in Seattle with us! We all stayed the night in different locations, but it felt like a mini family reunion. And oh my gosh! The weather was AMAZING while we were there! It didn't rain ONCE! It was in the 70's the ENTIRE time! We felt like we went on a tropical vacation. :-) It was so awesome. We took advantage of the outdoors while we were there!

This was Kaden's first time on an airplane! He did pretty good! He actually slept most of the way there...and wasn't too fussy when he was awake. SUCH a blessing ;-) Good boy, Kaden!

When we got to Seattle, our extended family up there threw Kaden a little Birthday Party! It was so nice! Great Aunt Holly bought Kaden this cake! It says

"Happy Birthday Kaden! One year older and CUTER too!"

Great Aunt Lisa and Kaden. She got him this cute set of "keys". He LOVED it.

Great Aunt Holly got him his 1st pair of swooshes! Haha...these Nike sneakers were adorable! He also got a cute pair of church shoes from his GG, and a toy phone from Uncle Allen,Aunt Meggan, and cousin Ava! Thanks guys!

We took a trip up to Mount Vernon, Washington....farm country where my Grandma and Grandpa Combsie live. It was SO muc fun! This is my sister and my cousisns Courtney and Tiffany. Love em!

Grandma and Grandpa Combsie FINALLY got to meet Kaden!!

My cousin Courtney has a little cutie named Ava that is the same age as Kaden! They were little buds.

Swimmin' with ava

Since the weather was SO AWESOME- we went to the beach A LOT! Kaden was such a beach bum!

Dad burried him!

"I love Holly!"

I just added this picture in because he's started this new thing with bananas! He LOVES them. We call him our little monkey now. He is ALWAYS in the mood for a banana, and he'll just GOBBLE it down! Its so funny to watch! Each bite is an entire mouth full! But somehow he gets it down just fine...then comes back for more!

Great Aunt Holly got him this cute little floater boat for his Birthday, and Kaden had a blast in it! As you can see!

Reaching for the doorknob....showing off his new kicks! :-)

When we visited Allen and Meggan, we went to a Children's Museum close to their house in Everett! It was a blast! Kaden loved exploring.

"Would you like a ticket sir?"

It's fascinating to watch a penny roll around in a bowl!!

We went to Lake Morton/Camp Nordy! Aunt Holly and Uncle Dan own a Lake house up there that was SO awesome! We got to go out on the boat and play on the dock! Kaden loved it...SO relaxing!

Austin's first time ever driving a boat! Nice job babe!

And now just some random pictures from recently:

Parker's Preschool Graduation! Congrats!

Kaden LOVES cousin Cohen!

Here's another "new" thing Kaden loves to do! He likes to open and close cupboard doors and drawers! The funny thing is, he never wants the things that are inside the cupboards, NO...he just wants to watch it open and close! It's the funniest thing. He could do it for hours....just, open....close....open.....close :-) Silly Kaden.

"Show me your muscles!!"

"Show me your muscles" video!

Vegas, baby!

2009-04-19T09:01:00.011-06:00

Hey guys! Well almost a month has passed since my last post...but we've done some fun stuff! Kaden is trying SO hard to walk but probably has a ways to go still before we'll see that. He's getting all 4 teeth on top at the same time! Poor guy probably hurts a lot because of it, but it's exciting to see his cute little smile change. We just got back from our trip to Las Vegas and it was SO much fun! Austin's job required him to travel to Las Vegas for a conference lasting 3 days. Since this time the conference was held over our 2 year Anniversary weekend...we decided to drive down there early and make a vacation out of it! So, we left 4 days earlier than the conference date to enjoy some time together. The weather was GREAT and we even were able to miss out on a bad snowstorm back at home! We enjoyed the swimming, shopping, sight seeing, and just relaxing! Here's a BUNCH of pictures of our fun time....ENJOY!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada!

Weeeee!!

Having fun swimming at the Monte Carlo hotel!

I just LOVE this picture. It turned out SO cute. He had such a blast swimming...he was SO CUTE!

Practicing his walking

Funny Lisence plate

So handsome!

Las Vegas temple

Such a cute grin :-)

"Want some celery?!"

"Crapless Craps" hee hee

Yes, we took a "stroll down 'Memory Lane'. :-)

Us with the Stratosphere! This is the hotel we stayed at for the 1st 4 days of our trip! So cool.

Up at the stratosphere obeservation deck! Pretty view.

Kaden had to miss a few naps while we were there cuz there was so much fun stuff to go out and do! This is the face he gave us to let us know...."guys, I'm so tired! Let me go to bed!"

April 14th! We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for our 2 year Anniversary Dinner! It was SO much fun! WAY loud...but it was a cool experience! Kaden ended up getting sick while we were there though...threw up all his dinner...kinda embarassing, but an interesting experience to talk about, right?! What can ya do?!

This was SO sweet! While we were at the Hard Rock Cafe, Austin tipped off our waiter without me knowing...that it was our 2 year anniversary. Just before we left, the waiter brought out this ice cream sunday for us with two burning candles! He made us stand up and he yelled to all the people in the restarant to shout "Congratulations!" to us. It was so cute....I love my husband! What a sweetie. I'm so grateful to be married to such an amazing person...2 fantastic years down...and MANY more great years to come!

Us two on our anniversary. We love eachother :-)

At the Las Vegas Library! We went there to use the free internet :-)

I just had to add this one in here...funny face, huh?!

VIDEO: Kaden LOVED swimming! He just wished he had all his fun bathtub toys with him!

VIDEO: This was just kinda funny. While we were eating at the restarant...the only thing that would keep him entertained while we ate...was ice cubes! Haha....poor guy probably thought it was torture that he couldn't pick it up with his hands! It sure kept him entertained though...and we got a good laugh out of watching him!

10 months old

2009-03-28T09:38:00.007-06:00

Well Kaden turned 10months old last week can you believe it?! What a fun grown up boy! We love him so much. Recently we decided to get his hair cut for real instead of just the trims I did before. He needed an ALL OVER haircut...it was getting SO long. So...with the advice of Aunt Brittany, we went to Cookie Cutters-a haircut place for kids! It was SO fun...Kaden got to sit in a cute airplane chair...he got to watch an Elmo movie to distract him...and the lady who cut his hair was SO good. The whole experience was quick and painless...and wasn't expensive at all :-) We even got to go home with a little baggy of hair left over from his 1st real haircut! It looked cute...but now he's not my little boy anymore! He looks SO grown up like his older cousins. I love it though and it was much needed. We love our little Kaden and can't believe how fast the time is going by! Pretty soon...Kaden will be walking and talking :-) Enjoy the pics of our recent adventures!

BEFORE Kaden's new Haircut!

Getting his new haircut!

AFTER!

SO adorable

Playing at Kangaroo Zoo for cousin Parker's 5th Birthday Party!

Kangaroo Zoo---all tuckered out

As always, he absoutely LOVES grandma with Bailey :-) But no, I wont give you kisses!

He LOVES to go on bike rides with mom and dad

Ah...the joys of letting them learn how to "do it themselves"! Messy Boy!

Kaden likes to help mom with the dishes

Happy Birthday Parker!!

:-)

Kaden had fun at Kangaroo Zoo- but it looks

like Dad was having a little too much fun as

well :-)

LAME blogger

2009-03-18T17:26:00.005-06:00

LAME BLOGGER

I've decided my blogging has been kinda lame. I really have only used this blog to post pictures for family members that live far away. But after seeing some friends and family members' blogs...I realized there's a lot more too blogging than pictures! So from now on, here's a more concious effort to kind of journal the events that happen with us...as well as show you some fun pitures to go along with it! Hope you all enjoy!

So Kaden has been growing up WAY too fast. It's eciting, but also sad! We continue to be impressed with the things he begins to understand and aknowledge. He now understands the words "no,no!"...but has yet to really master obeying it! Crawling is a breeze for him now...it's hard to keep up! He loves to climb and pull up onto everything...exploring how to best push mommy and daddy's buttons! It amazes me how he gets into some things, but hey, I guess that's ok cuz he's so darn cute. I'm not sure who knows this, but as a part time job I watch a cute boy named Daniel. He's 5 years old and loads of fun. Him and Kaden have really grown to have fun with each other and Kaden loves having a buddy to play with! Daniel has also grown real attatched to the cutest nephew ever, Parker who is 4. They have lots of fun together...which gives me and my sis Britt more of a chance to get together. So it all works out! Since the weather has been nicer...we've been making frequent trips to the many parks in our neighborhood here! There are SO many...we love it! (We just LOVE Spanish Fork) Kaden loves being outdoors and listening to all the sounds and smelling all the smells. Hooray for good weather! I feel like we had to keep him cooped up in the house ALL winter in order to keep him from getting sick. But even still...Kaden got sick a bunch. I'm excited to get out there and go on walks again and spend some much-needed time in the sun. :-)

New Tricks :-)

2009-02-28T20:14:00.004-07:00

Kaden has learned 2 new tricks!! haha. He can crawl like no bodies business....and he also learned how to give kisses! This kid is SO adorable...we just love him SO much. He really brightens up our lives.

Happy Boy

2009-02-28T20:11:00.001-07:00

"PLEASE mom!! No MORE Kisses!!"
Great smile! With teeth!
Silly smile!

Cheesy Grins and all

2009-02-25T16:34:00.002-07:00

Our little crawler! Kaden finally learned how to get on all fours and crawl on Valentine's Day! We are SO proud of our little guy, but now it's tough to keep up with him! He gets into everything!

Kaden's silly smile!

Growing up WAY too fast

2009-02-25T16:30:00.005-07:00

New Easter outfit!

Hot tubbin'
Me and my grown up boy wiff 2 teefees!!
Sometimes Dad throws him TOO high! But Kaden sure loves his daddy. They love playing together.
He's so big he can now pull himself up onto anything! He's got strong and sturdy legs...next comes walking!
His latest visit from the tickle monster!

Kaden loves Aunt Brittany and Uncle Andy SO MUCH!
Kaden and Ronald. Best buds.

Draper Temple

2009-02-03T15:55:00.003-07:00

We went to the Draper Temple open house on Friday and it was way fun! We got all dressed up and headed to Draper! Kaden loved the pretty chandeleirs the most!

2009-01-26T19:58:00.003-07:00

Kaden loves laughing! We finally caught him on video hysterically laughing to a game of Peek-a-Boo! Enjoy! (Sorry it's so dark!)

Farmer Joe

2009-01-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

1st Haircut

2009-01-18T10:20:00.003-07:00

1st Haircut!!--Kaden got his 1st haircut this Saturday and boy, did he need it! The hair around his ears just had to go! He did a good job at trying to hold still, but it was hard to cut hair on a squirmy baby!

7 Months old

2009-01-05T18:33:00.005-07:00

Kaden is 7 months old now! What a fantastic boy we've got! He's so full of love and we just can't get enought of him!

Kaden and mom ready to go to church!

Kadens hair is getting SO long! He's starting to look more and more like dad's little "mini-me"

Dad says he looked like a farmer :-/
Kaden likes to drive the car with dad!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T10:57:00.005-07:00

Christmas 2008!- This year was awesome...Kaden had a great Christmas! We got lots of great presents, and got to spend lots of great time with family. It was a Christmas we'll never forget!

Santa Baby

2008-12-19T21:01:00.002-07:00

Kaden had his 1st visit to Santa! He was so cute in his Santa outfit! He really didn't know what to think of this strange old man holding him...he just stared at him very closely :-)

Snow Day

2008-12-16T08:57:00.006-07:00

Kaden's 1st Snow Day! - We woke up and it had snowed SO much! Kaden didn't know what to think about it all....but he sure loved it! We let him touch some snow in his hands...and he just shook his hand to get it off! It was COLD! Kaden might not like how snow feels...but he sure loved going outside to look at it!