Some November Pics of the kids

Well, Cooper is 1 month old, he reminds me 100% of Talan, never wants to be in the swing or bouncer unless he is asleep, what can I say he loves his mommy. He enjoys tummy times however usually spits up during it. Maddie is talking up a storm, she is a typical girl, has a phone to her ear and talk non stop in it, her new favorite word is NO!!! Noah is potty training and does okay, he goes pee by himself and puts the pee in the toliet after, however we still use diapers during nap time, night time and car rides, but at least it cuts down on diaper use during the day time when we are at home. Talan loves school, he is so smart, he knows all his letters and their sounds is starting to read certain words and can figure out simple addition, I am so proud of him. Mike is working hard, we are getting ready to put our house up for sale so we can move closer to Tampa so he is doing his regular job and his "home improvement" job too. I am the same, trying to exercise a little everyday. With it getting dark early now by the time Mike gets home I can only run a mile to a mile in a half outside then it is dark, but that should help some, I only have 2 pounds until my pre pregnancy weight however I would like to lose 10, but without counting calories and decreasing calories I don't think it is going to happen until I am down breastfeeding but in due time it will get there.

Cooper John

Yes so it has been awhile. We had our bundle of joy on October 17th ,2009 at 135pm. He was 7lbs 5oz and 20 3/4 in long. It was a long hard labor. I felt like I was laboring for days and on the night before it happended I went in and got sent home even though I was in severe pain. Needless to say I was only gone for a about 4 hours because when I got back to the hospital I changed from 3cm 40%effaced to 5cm 75% effaced. However, a few days before going into labor I noticed my bottom kept feeling wet like I was sweating, so the night I went in I told them that I thought I was leaking. They did a nitrazine test and it was negative, however when they went to break my water 8 hours later they couldn't find my bag, hence I didn't have one so I probably was leaking. The doctor found tons of blood so not sure what that is from. I however was in the most pain I have ever been in compared to my other labors so man Cooper was tearing up my insides. All said and done he is here and beautiful and breastfeeds so well. He is going to be a chunker.

Talan's 4th Birthday Party

 

Talan's 4th birthday party was at Pump It Up in Brandon. We had a great time. We had lots of family and friends there to help us celebrate. Noah wasn't too thrilled about the place but he seemed to be the only one. I think it is the only time I saw him watching instead of actively playing. Talan got a lot of wonderful gifts, I especially loved all the clothes, however he wasn't too thrilled about it, his exact words were, "clothes, that is not a present". We thank everyone for coming and sharing in this special day with us.

Our Baby 3d/4d

 

We had 3d/4d Ultrasound done on Aug 22. It is definatly a boy. Since I got pregnant breastfeeding and didn't have a period yet I have no idea when I am due. The 1st ultrasound done said October 21st. However I took a pregnancy test b/c I felt pregnant, needless to say it was negative, finally after 2 weeks of still feeling like crap I took another one and it was positive. However this whole time I have felt about a week or so further along. My 18th week U/S said I was a week further along and this ultrasound also said a week more than what I am. So therefore, I think I am due around the 14th or 15th. The baby is measuring 4lbs 2oz which is wonderful. You can already see him breathing in the womb. We can tell he has those griffen lips and cheeks, he looks a lot like Noah from the side so we will see when he comes out. He has some hair but not too much so Susan (our U/S person we have gone too for years) seems to think he is going to be light headed like the boys. Maddie on U/S had floating hair and she came out with a head full of dark hair so we will see what happens with this one. You never know he could have some dark hair just not too much of it. We still have no name. A few names so far are Cooper, Mclaren, Parker, Sawyer just to name a few. Talan is obsessed with Cooper, he tells everyone that is the name Cooper Mclaren Griffen, I tell him Talan that is not the name but he says yes it is. So we will see what happens, I would hate to disappoint the little booger. We want the middle name to be John so we will see what happens when the baby comes out, who knows we could pick a name not even on the list.

Maddie's 1st Birthday Party

 

Maddie had her 1st Birthday party on August 15th, it was mostly family with a few friends. She had a blast. We had a few mishaps beforehand. The cake was way too small, usually I order 1/4 sheet (for 20 people) and I end up having tons left over so that is what I got and WOW it was so small, my nanny bought an extra cake for us at the store. I go to get balloons to put outside and the place is out of helium...what the heck!!!! However, the kids had a blast they swam and the grown men got yelled out for being in the hot tub in the lightning. The kids did arts and crafts and watched a movie and ate popcorn while it poured. The guys got a little toasted, but nobody got sick, however I am sure there were a few close calls. Maddie loved her cake and all her presents, she kept saying ooooooooooooooooooo when she would see one she loved. Overall it was a very special day for our little girl.

Cloth Diapers

Most of you know that I have been using cloth diapers. So I decided to let everyone know the ones that I have found that I love the most.

I can't say enough about Smartipants (www.spartipants.com), you can get 3 diapers for 39.95 and they are a one size fits all. They are by far the thinnest cloth diapers I have came across and Maddie can wear them under her clothes, where other diapers I have tried she can't. They have inserts that come out in the wash so you don't have to take out the inserts before you wash them. I only have 3 of them however I plan on getting a few more packs of 3 especially for when the new baby comes.

GAD, green acre diapers are very cute, they aren't a one size fits all but they very cute designs on the butt which are cute for just hanging around the house. They also have inserts that are little more bulkier than the smartipants.

Bum Genius AIO are great for night time use, they also aren't a one size fits all, however it is easy just to plop one on at night before bed and they have velco's which are easier than the buttoned smartipants and GAD.

So far I dislike the cheapest way of going...of course, which are regular cloth diapers with diaper covers. They are so bulky which Maddie can't wear with clothes and the velcros seem to leave marks on her skin. I have 4 covers and 24 cloth diapers, which the 24 cloth diapers I have way too many of so I will probably get rid of some or just use them as burp cloths. However they are okay for just hanging around the house in a diaper. The diaper covers also aren't a one size fits all there are different sizes and even the cloth are different sizes.

A must have is a the Whamies diaper pail liner, I have a regular lid trashcan in the bathroom with the liner in it and I throw the pee ones in there and if they are soiled I use rinse them out in the toliet...I know gross but I wash my hands after and I throw them in there.

Also a must have is the bummis diaper liners (which look like dryer sheets) I believe there are 2 different sizes but they are used to catch the poop in the diaper so it makes cleaning the diaper easier. You just put one of the liners in the diaper and if they poop you just flush the liner.

So summary, 100% will get more Smaripants for Maddie and the little guy. Maybe so more AIO Bum Genius for night time use, however I would have to get different sizes so might end up being 2 expensive. Another diaper pail liner and of course some more bummis liners to catch the yucky poops. I also have a wet bag for when we got out of the house, however I have yet to venture out of the house in cloth diapers, however I have been using regular diapers for out of the house use and I have only gone through 1 pack of 4 in a month so that saves a lot of money. I have ventured to use cloth wipes yet, I still buy the costco back of wipes for 15 bucks I still think you can't beat that price for all those wipes.

Maddie is walking

My sister in law Melissa wanted video proof of Maddie walking so I took a few videos of her. She wasn't being very cooperative tonight, she usually walks a lot more than what I got on the video, but here is a little example of what my princess does. She has beat all the boys, Talan started walking at 12 months, Noah at 13 months and Maddie officially was a few days before 11 months so I am proud of that. She has been crusing for quite sometime, however she recently in the past week has been experincing walking from the ottoman to the couch and doing it over and over. Now she just walks everywhere.

Maddie's Photos from Picture People

So I bought Maddie an outfit for her birthday party and also just because she is my only princess, however I wanted her to get some pictures taken in it so I took her to picture people today. Here are the photos I got of her. The 1 that has the 4 pictures is going to go up in her room and the other 1 was the only one we got of her standing, she was being stubborn and kept crawling towards mommy. However in the picture of her standing she looks exactly like her daddy smile, cheeks and chin. She is so damn cute, everyone kept stopping me to tell me how cute she was.

What can I say about Noah

Well I sometimes buy powdered doughnuts for the kids every once in a while. I went to the bathroom this morning and this is what I found. Noah had taken out each doughnut and put it on his plate and then said to me............."whoa mommy that is a lot of doughnuts!"

Maddie loves her dogs

 

As seen above, Maddie has discovered her love for her dogs Zuka and Bella. This is what she does sometimes during the day, not only with Zuka but with Bella too. The dogs love her and just let her do whatever she wants. They wag there tales and it hits her in the face and she just laughs.

Michigan Trip

 

We did many activities in Michigan, which included lots of ice cream eating, horseback riding and canoeing. I got to ride in the wagon again for the 2nd year in a row and will probably have to next year because of the new baby, unless I can talk someone else into doing it and letting me ride a horse. Talan got to ride his own horse this year and led the trail group. I was in the wagon in front of him and he TALKED the girls ear off the whole time, she was laughing at some of the things he was saying. Noah rode with his daddy, however next year he can ride on his own horse and will get to lead the group. Our favorite activity is canoeing, it takes us about 90 minutes to canoe down this part of a river, it is so peacefull. The boys did great, Melissa stayed home with the babies so it wouldn't be too hard on them. Also the boys wanted to go tubing, they were scared at first but after a few minutes they loved it and kept asking to go faster.

First few days in Michigan

 

We had a great time in Michigan here are a few of the things that we did. Talan got to bob for apples at the Hesperia fun fest which was hard for him and he couldn't get one and so of course I tried and my belly was too big to get one. We went on the Mac Dunne rides which Noah was not thrilled about, however later that night he got Croup so I just think he wasn't feeling that well. Yes that is me, I am huge I have went through a major growth spurt gained about 5 pounds in 3 weeks so hopefully I will have a few weeks of "slow growth"...however I doubt that.

Noah's 2nd Birthday Party

 

Noah's 2nd birthday party was a success. We went to the Lewis Farm Market and Petting Zoo in New Era, MI. It was wonderful know where else in the world I think you could find, pizza, cupcakes, juice, feeding animals, jumping on a huge pillow, long bumpy slides, wagon ride and a train ride for only 7.50 a person. Everyone had a great time and requested that even if we don't do the birthday there next year that we still get that pacackage for the camp. He got a lot of wonderful gifts and he is going to be blessed to be able to have another little birthday get together with the Sass clan in Florida. I think Talan and him are the pretty lucky they seem to get 2 birthday parties every year. Enjoy!!!

Talan Swimming Father's Day

Here is a video of Talan swimming, we are so proud of him he will be 4 in August and is already attempting to swim like a big boy, hopefully by the end of summer he will have enough confidence to start to jump in and swim back to the ledge.

Father's Day Weekend

We had a wonderful father's day. We basically just hung out at home and swam all day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we swam and Miek found a gopher tortise in our yard so Talan got to look at it, however the tortise was frightned so we let him be on his merry way. Saturday I made a nice pasta meal for the family and we ate popcorn and watched a movie together. We went for a little boat ride Sunday morning on the river which the kids enjoyed, they were looking for turtles, however we found only 1. We also swam on Sunday and lazed around the house. I made a nice shrimp and steak meal and we watched another movie as a family. We stayed around the house, becuase that is what Mike wanted to do and both Talan and Noah are sick with a GI bug so we didn't want to share the germs with the rest of our extended family. Overall the weekend was GREAT!!!

Maddie's extra long bangs and Noah swims

So I had to throw in some pictures of Maddie's hair, she refuses to wear hair clips and every once in a while I can get her hair up and it will stay in for a bit. So I decided to put some pictures up. However, her without the clip her bangs are past her eyes...what's a girl to do. Also Noah will be 2 in July and is already swimming, with of course adult supervision in the pool, we need to teach him to swim to the side but he insists on just jumping in and swimming to who is in the pool, here is a video enjoy!!!

Maddie walks with stroller

So Maddie is finally walking while pushing things, which of course she is doing way before any of the boys did....you go girl!!! Also she is a little over 17 pounds and is about to turn 10 months old. She has weaned herself from the bottle and eats food like crazy. She typically only would take 8-12oz of formula so I had to start giving her more food to supplement so she wouldn't lose weight or drop percentages, she eventually has said YUCK GROSS to forumla so now she takes about 6-10oz of formula and I give her 8 oz of pediasure. What can I say those reflux babies are very difficult to please and get to eat so whatever she wants she gets.

Also for those who dont' know we are having another boy and have no idea on a name so hopefully he won't be No name Griffen.

Mothers Day Weekend

I had a great weekend. We have finally decided to start painting the inside of the house. We painted the kitchen a rich chocolate brown that looks amazing and the living room is like a sage, mint green. Many people say well does that even go together, actually it does, Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream doesn't discriminate so why should we....LOL!!!! I recieved breakfast in bed, got to sleep in, take a nap, had dinner cooked for me then recieved an awsome massage by my husband. Here are a few pictures of the weekend.

Noah and Maddie

Me 16 weeks pregnant
The kids and I May 3rd, swimming in our pool

Noah, who people say is looking like me, however I see a lot of Grandpa Griffen and Pooh Buddy in him

Michael Jr. AKA Madeline 8 1/2 months

For some reason my Picasa picture maker hasn't been putting pictures up so I am going to just upload a few pics until I can figure it out.

Mom's Group Petting Zoo

Well, today we went to a family's farm that has all sorts of animals. Mainly alpachas, however they did have a cat, chickens, a donkey, kittens, a dog, sometimes they have a pig but not right now...LOL (wonder what happended to that one). Noah had a good time today, he mainly just liked running around. I haven't been taking a lot of pics lately sorry, just been too lazy. Plus whatever pictures I take I have to go through and put in photo albums and that takes FOREVER, when you have 3 kids, b/c that is 3 different photo albums like plus our family one, so you can imagine how much fun that is. This picture is of Maddie about 2 weeks ago, she is crawling now, going everywhere, and cries if you leave a room and she is in there by herself. She if definetly a mama's girl, which of course I love. Noah is a beast, that boy can eat forever, I think he is going to be a future linebacker. Talan is wonderful, has really bad eczema right now, everywhere, face, arms, chest, back, behins his ears, legs, you name it he has it there. We are doing our best with creams and lotions and being sure he showers after the pool, but it seems to be getting worse. He did get tested for Pre-k, he scored really well, he only had to know 9 things and he knew 17 on one and 22 on the other. Very proud of him of that. We will see if he gets to go. I am fine, getting fatter day by day and loving getting to eat ice cream all the time. Mike is well, working at work during the week and catching up on house projects over the weekend. Pretty soon we are going to put in laminate floors and paint our room, the living room and kitchen so that will be a project.

It's a girl...It's a boy...which one?

Well most of you know my 11 1/2 U/S said that it looking like is could be a girl the way things were forming. Also I took a new urine test out there that tells you are having a boy or a girl and the test said girl. However today at my 14 week appointment today, the U/S, wasn't quite happy of course that the tech told me it was a girl, I told her that she didnt' tell me if was a girl, she said the way things were forming, it looks like it "could" be a girl. I said the urine test I took said girl. She then said well, I don't really see any defining girl parts or boy parts at this stage (in my head I was like whatever, b/c I know that the parts are already formed by the end of the 1st trimester b/c of the article I read last night). She precedes to look and I look too and I think I see something in between the legs (which at 11 1/2 weeks I thought I saw too and thought it was a boy but the lady said girl and I was like really?) and I think so does she. After the U/S she told me that she wants me to come back after my level II u/s on May 28th and tell her what they say it is, because she thinks it is a boy. So is it a girl? or is it a boy?....who knows, but all I know is that I hope IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER.....especially after reading one of Mike's medical articles in one of his magazines on ambigous genderlast night, kind of freaked me out.

IT'S A GIRL...I THINK!!!

Well most of you know that I had an ultrasound at 11 1/2 weeks, which said that it looks like it was going to be a girl. I have another ultrasound on the 23rd so we will see what that shows. However, there is a new urine test out sold at Walgreens and CVS for 29.99 called Intelligender Urine Test (www.intelligender.com). Basically you pee in a cup, then insert 20ml of your urine in a special cup, swirl around for about 10 seconds and wait 10 minutes for the results. If it is dark green it is a BOY if it is orange it is a GIRL. IT WAS ORANGE SO I GUESS IT WILL BE A GIRL!!! Her name is going to be Delaney Sue.....however we will conclude this on the 23rd when we see what the 14 week ultrasound shows too!!!

Easter Sunday

Easter was wonderful, we loved it, however with every year the Easter Bunny spends more and more of his money on the kids I think about $100, WOW they must have been good. Al of the kids had coordinating outfits...I know Sandra and Amy impressive, who would have thought. Talan got some educational computer games, some Wolverine Figurines, a card game and candy. Noah got a movie, Mater and Chick Hicks from Cars and some some wolverine figurines with candy. Maddie just got Fancy Nancy book, because of course she is fancy. My family got the kids more candy and stuffed animals so they were heaven. We went to my Aunt's and Uncle's in Brandon and the kids swam, played and hunted for eggs. Noah had no clue and didnt care, he did what I thought he would do, examine each egg he picked up and opened it and ate what was inside, hence he got about 3 eggs. Talan however, got TONS, I am suprised he was shoving to get all the eggs. I took some pictures of the kids, I did the best that I could, kids don't cooperate for pictures very well so enjoy!!!!

Day with Daddy

Well on Saturday, Mike took Maddie and Noah too the aquarium while Talan and I went to my sisters 3D/4D ultrasound. I was a little worried at first, but he seemed to manage just fine. Later on in the day we played in a blow up pool at my mothers house and then we took Talan and Noah too the movies to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. Believe or not, they both were wonderful. Granted we spent about 25 bucks on popcorn, candy and soda but it kept them still. After we went out to eat at Crazy Buffet with my parents and believe or not the kids were pretty well behaved...I think this going out to eat thing is getting easier with time.

Kids!!!!

So I thought everyone might enjoy some pictures of teh kids. It has been really nice lately so the kids have been swimming like crazy. Talan will jump off of the largest hot tub step into the pool with his life jacket and "surf board" of course. Noah has only done it a few times, but he just jumps with a round tube and yes he has fallen through a few times but he just laughs when we get him from under the water. Maddie enjoys the water too she just splashes around. She is now in 6-9months clothes and I have no bathing suit for her so she has been going nude. I don't go to the mall much so I need to order one online :-) Maddie is crawling backwards and rocks back and forth, she also goes from a sitting postion to lean over to crawl but hasn't quite grasped the alternate crawl yet, she is into the catepillar crawl. She loves food, drinks only about 20oz a day but man she will eat 3 jars of baby food or more and down puffs, yogurt melts, all sorts of Gerber baby snacks, she starts screaming if she is done. I feel bad for her because she has no teeth yet but I can't wait until she can eat real food because she wants to real bad. Noah is talking up a storm, the other day he said, "no, I don't want to go for a walk"....no lie, MIke was there too and heard it. He also has been calling Mike, "daddy Mike" or "Mike" since that is what Talan says, I get a kick out of that but we always correct him and say no Daddy and he says, "why.".....LOL!!! Talan has been starting to get a wild imagination, he makes up games and he has vivid scarry dreams that he can tell you about. He says that a tickle guy comes into his room at night and he is scared. I asked him specifics about it and he said that he was young like him, dark hair and green eyes, then he told me he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Needless to say he comes in our room everynight for a little bit to snuggle. Mike is working hard and looking sexier then ever with his longer hair and beard....arrrrr good thing I am already pregnant. I am getting huge I think about food all day long and try to stuff my face as much as I can in moderation :-)

ACMG Firestation Meetup

We went to our Mom's group today at a firestation meetup, it was great. The kids got to go through the firetruck and spray a hose. The fireman dressed up in his outfit, but Talan didn't like it he stayed behind me the whole time but Noah was grabbing on to the guys pant leg. The loved spraying the hose, it was very difficult to keep Noah away from that, he wanted to play in the water so bad so that was AWFUL, talk about trying to control him with Maddie on my chest, she got beat up a few times, but she takes it like a champ and just sits there :-) Talan still didn't feel real well so he whined a lot about being hungry, but he said he liked it. After we ate lunch in the shade by the park and the kids played. We took my new friend Amanda who I met through the mom's group, in which she lives in Chiefland too which is awsome!!! She has a son Lucas who was born in August, after Noah (who is July), and her little girl Callie was born in December, after Talan (who is August). Talan and her yelled at eachother but Talan kept trying to hold her hand in the car, I think he has a crush. That is her in the pictures, trying to help me with Noah and watching Talan spray the hose.