Baby Mason Update.

Today we had another ultrasound with the perinatal/pediatric cardiologist. He was checking for heart defects and other abnormalities that could show up if Baby Mason does in fact have Down's. Heart defects are present in more than half of all Down's children.

BUT, we once again got great news! Mason looks wonderful and perfect once again and with every new good report, I feel my tension ease a little more. If you are confused as to why I am worried about Down's, the short story is that my 1st trimester screening showed "abnormal" results which translated into me going from having a 1 in 800 chance for this baby having Down Syndrome to 1:175. We opted out of doing the amnio after getting a very detailed ultrasound that looked for other markers linked to DS...we didn't find any. Since the US showed nothing bad our risk went back to 1:350. So, we are still at a higher risk than the average woman my age but so far we haven't had a single thing show up that would even hint that Mason is affected by DS. We have long put all our faith in our sweet Lord which has eased our anxiety tremendously.

The doc told us that he is weighing in around 3lbs right now (wow!!) which is a little bigger than the average baby at this point but its no big deal...Matthew was the same way. He's 14" long and has long legs like his brother! Since they put on about a half pound a week from here on out we are probably looking at a 9lber by my due date. Matthew was 8lbs 3.9oz and we hear that second babies are usually a little bigger so we were guessing around 9 anyway. I can't believe he's already 3 pounds though. According to my books he should be (on average) around 2.5...for some reason 3lbs sounds so much bigger than 2.5!

I'm about to start getting things a little more organized around here. We JUST put away all the bottles for Matthew (yes I know, it took us forever) and I'm about to have to pull them all out again! I am so excited to meet this sweet boy who loves to punch me in the side 24 hours a day with his tiny fists! :)

More Reasons...

What a mess! He loves his Lunchables pizzas! But only if you heat them up. (And yes it looks like my child is always in his pajamas in all these pictures!)

He loves to do this. He's got a pretty great "downward facing dog". :)

Breakfast time in the big boy chair.

Singing in front of the fireplace.

The hair was wet from when he poured his cup of water over his head at lunch...He loves to help clean!

And do the dishes...

After he dumped the cup of water on his head at lunch.

He wanted to eat breakfast in the big boy chair!

So I haven't done a "reasons why I love my child" post in awhile and it is way past due. Matthew is 20 months old now. I can't believe he's almost 2. It's seriously unreal to me. I feel like it was just yesterday (ok maybe just last month) that he was born. I can remember it all so well...it is all so clear in my mind. The whole labor, delivery, taking him home etc. And just for the record, those who say they don't want pain meds like an epidural during labor b/c they want to remember everything...you DO! You just remember it without pain!! So its a much nicer memory. :) It drives me crazy when I'm watching shows like Birth Day or Deliver Me and they say they want to be alert during the birth so they say no to an epidural. In no way did my epidural make me drowsy or "out of it" at all. Anyway, just FYI.

Matthew is just an amazing little kid. He is funny and smart and sweet and a total class clown in the making. He is just an all around happy baby...or should I say little boy. There isn't much baby left in him these days. He walks, runs, talks, sings, dances...as well as cries when he doesn't get his way, throws a mean tantrum, and has gotten in trouble for hitting. So my child is not perfect but he is my little angel (even when he's being a little devil).

He loves to entertain us and if he does something funny that makes us laugh, he'll stand in front of us and do it over and over again until he's worn out. He laughs so hard at himself too. He loves to throw balls and I just read in a baby book that said by 20 months they may start to throw overhand. Matthew has been throwing overhand for at least a year! He really does have a very strong and very accurate arm. I don't think its too far off to imagine him as a pitcher or QB someday!

Some of his favorite words are "dada", "mama", "nana", "papa" (which he only speaks in a whisper for some odd reason!), "car", "all done", "okay", "thank you", "abby" and "wo-wo" (odie, who we call "wo-wo" sometimes). "Ball" is pronounced "doh", "milk", "truck", "yuck" and "duck" are all pronounced like "guck". We've just taught him to say "booboo stinky!" when he has a dirty diaper. He will repeat anything we ask him to and even things we don't! (we are becoming those parents who say hiney instead of butt or worse...haha). I think the potty training thing may be in the near future too because it is always TOTALLY obvious whenever he is making a "boo boo". He'll grab his crotch and pull on his diaper, his face will get red, his eyes water and he'll say "boo boo??" Haha. Once he learns how to pull his pants up and down on his own we'll be in business.

Another thing I just love is when we put Matthew down for a nap or bedtime and we sit and watch him on the video monitor. He is always singing or talking to himself and just loves to wallow around in that crib. He refuses to sleep length wise in his crib so he still crawls up to the top or bottom of the crib and squishes himself in horizontally so that when he's on his back, he has to prop his legs up in the air on the slats. He'll lay there for 30 minutes or more sometimes just chatting to himself or singing an unrecognizable song and banging his legs into the slats. He wakes up at least once night doing the same thing. I'll hit the button to turn on the monitor screen at 3:30 to see him squirming around, playing with his stuffed animals or his GloWorm and either singing or going "Alllll doonnnneee", "dada? dada? mama? Nana?" as he practices his words. He never cries. I can't remember the last time we had to go get him b/c he was crying (or for any reason) once we put him down for bed at 7:30/8. He usually wakes somewhere between 8:30 and 9:30. Sometimes we don't even know he's awake because he'll just lay there and play and not make a sound. He doesn't ever cry for us to come get him.

Another reason I love this kid?? Well, several months ago he got onto a little hitting kick. He'd hit everyone in the face and just laugh when you told him "NO". If you got really stern with your "no" his little face would crumple and he'd start to cry. (he still does this) So we started saying "no" when he'd do it and then saying "be sweet" or "be gentle" and then taking our hand and rubbing it softly on his cheek. Now, he rarely hits and anytime we say "be sweet" he'll take his hand and run it softly over our cheek. He did this to my grandmother at my grandfather's visitation at the funeral home and I almost lost it. He also loves to give kisses as well as big hugs. I do think he's starting to want to be picked up more (which is so not good for my back these days!) so I'm a little worried a clingy phase is starting right when we are about to get a newborn! He does so good with babysitters and in nurseries though. He is just starting to realize "oh wait, you're leaving me? But where are you going? Come back please!" when we walk away but he's very easily distracted and all is just fine after that.

There truly are SO SO SO many reasons why I'm in love with this child but if I typed it all out I'd be here forever and honestly, my back is killing me from sitting here at this keyboard for this long already.

For those of you who have babies or are pregnant with your first....enjoy every moment. It FLIES by and before you know it, you are looking at a little kid instead of your precious baby. I know I've said so many times before that "oh this is the best age!" almost every few months but honestly, I've realized that it just continues to get better and better. I used to love him being a newborn....so sweet and cuddly and mostly quiet. But then he got to where he could giggle and smile and interact and I thought nothing could be better than this age. Until he got to where he was crawling (or in Matthew's case, army crawling) and it was the cutest thing ever. And then he started pulling up and cruising, then walking, then talking....every stage brings more love and more excitement. I'm sure someday I'll go "Oh I wish he was still a baby!!"....surely 16 year old boys will make me have those moments at times. But I can't wait to watch my little man grow into a big man. I have so much to teach him and so much love to give him...I just hope I do it right and don't make any major mistakes.

We love you Matthew Jay. You are truly adored.

Week 27.

So I will be 27 weeks on Friday. My third trimester is beginning. Time is flying. Seriously. I can't believe that I have 3 months (or less) left before I meet my new son. I am sure I've mentioned this in previous posts but now I mean it more and more...I am getting uncomfortable. My back hurts. From my neck to lower back and everything in between. I got a prenatal massage the other day (seriously, have I written about all this before?? If I have, sorry. But I really don't remember...pregnancy brain at work again.). So anyway, I got a prenatal massage from Tina at the Elegant Touch Day Spa where I get my hair done. She is so wonderful. I had a massage from her when I was pg with Matthew too which is why I knew I had to go back. I felt like a new woman walking out of there. Too bad it only lasted one night. By the next night I was back to feeling like my back muscles were in knots. My back is in extreme pain right now actually, as I sit here typing this. But really, its no wonder. My belly has stopped growing wider (yay!) and started growing straight out. At an exponential rate-as have my arms (ughhhhh), thighs, butt and of course my already round face. I'm also getting the itchy belly but am using Palmer's Organic Tummy Butter to help combat that little problem.

I am miserable at night. I have my Boppy Total Body Pillow as well as 3 other pillows that surround me in various places but even they can't help me sometimes. (and lets not even get into the fact that I have to pee 5 times a night...)The baby tends to wake up every time I heave myself from one side to the other trying to get comfortable. They are angry little kicks too so I know he's going to punish me later on. I try not to move so much because I'm scared I'm teaching the baby to wake up every 15 minutes but now my hips hurt if I lay on one side for too long. I remember this with Matthew too. What I would give to be able sleep on my stomach for just one night!!!

One thing that hasn't plagued me (yet) is heartburn at night. With Matthew, I had it bad every single night, as soon as I would lay down. I went through many supersize bottles of Tums. So far I've only had to pop them once or twice. I have only had a handful of pregnancy hormone related meltdowns too. I haven't had many mood swings either. I HAVE had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions and they hurt worse this time around for some reason. Sometimes it feels like my stomach is being squeezed so tight that I can't breathe. Sheesh.

I've started buying a few things for baby Mason here and there although he really doesn't need anything. All Matthew's baby clothes will fit him at the right time and season, we have all necessary gadgets, bedding, feeding and bath supplies. But I have bought him some new onesies because I don't want him to think he's second best and have to be stuck with a lifetime of hand-me-downs (which he probably will...). I also got him an adorable new baby blanket that is sooo soft. Its a dark royal blue with a sailboat embroidered on it and I am going to have his name embroidered on it as well. I have been on the lookout for any new products they've come out with in the past 2 years that might be of interest to me as well and the Nap Nanny is number 1 on my list. www.napnanny.com. How comfy does that look!? Its gotten lots of attention and supposedly helps with colic as well. I pray to God we don't ever have to deal with colic. My niece had it and that poor baby was just miserable for a good 3 months. (and so were her parents!)


Other than that I think we'll need some diapers and another video monitor and we'll be all set. Although I know I'll be finding a few more treasures anyway!

But for now, I am off to bed. Here's to a good nights sleep! HA!! :)

Weekend Update.

Well we had a pretty packed weekend. We drove into Texarkana on Thursday for my grandfather's visitation that night at the funeral home. So unreal seeing him laying in his casket, and looking so...unreal. I didn't even look much because that was obviously not Pa. Pa is very much in heaven looking down on us now and that's how I choose to picture him. Knowing that he is with our Lord brings so much peace and comfort to me and almost takes away the hurt. Almost. He will still be missed so incredibly much by his whole family but we know that we'll see him again someday. It really isn't goodbye. Just "see you later".

The funeral was Friday morning and was very beautiful. We got to hear some pretty funny stories about Pa that I didn't know. Apparently our preacher had listened in on a few conversations my aunts and dad were having about memories of Pa and retold the stories during the service. One was that when the kids were little they loved to be scared. So Pa would put on Ma's stockings over his head and go outside and creep up to open windows and stick his head in, scaring the crap out of all the kids. They loved it! At the funeral we got to see all of our extended family, which we really never get to see a lot of and hardly ever altogether. After the funeral, we drove towards Linden to where Ma's family is buried at Bear Creek. It is so peaceful and completely out in the country. Just like they like it. After the burial we all hit up Dairy Queen in Linden because we hadn't eaten all day. It was Ma's choice. She was raised there (I think...?) so it might have brought back memories for her.

On Saturday morning Matthew and I headed over to my friend Meredith's house (her parents house) where we had a little playdate with her son Johnny, Matthew and our friend Lindsey's daughter Molly Kate. Matthew hasn't been around a whole lot of other kids his age so I'm always anxious to know what he's going to do. The first thing he did when he saw Johnny (who is several months younger than Matthew) was to go up to him and try to give him a hug. Or at least I think that's what he was trying to do. Johnny ended up stumbling backwards a few steps before ending up flat on his back. Oops. Not off to a good start. But soon the boys were running around together and playing and Matthew even tried to force feed poor Johnny a few cookies. He DID steal a couple of toys from both Johnny and Molly but other than that he actually did pretty well. I have started looking into Mother's Day Out programs and/or preschools for him. I know its time to get him some friends his own age and start teaching him how to be social. Plus it will be a big help to have him go to school a couple days a week once the baby gets here.

Saturday night was my friend Whitney's wedding. She looked beautiful and the wedding was awesome. I got to see so many of my high school friends which is always so much fun. We can't wait for our 10 year reunion this fall now!!

At Mom's before the wedding.

Matthew feeding Johnny some Teddy Grahams.

Matthew, Johnny and Molly Kate.

Trying to get to Uncle Jon Jon (my brother). He was taking a shower and Matthew wanted him to hurry up!

Wearing my mom's jacket b/c I forgot to bring his!

After Nana gave him a bath.

Catching Up.

I've been really bad at updating this blog lately. I'm fairly certain I only have about 12 people who read this a month though so I doubt anyone is just dying for me to update. (If you do follow my blog click on the "follow me" to the right so I'll feel better! I had a whopping 7 people following me at one point and I've lost 2...that's sad.)

First things first. My grandfather died last night. My dad's dad...or as he's known to all us kids-Pa. He'd been dealing with dementia for a while so we knew it was coming and he was just moved to a hospice this past weekend. He was 83.

Ma and Pa outside their house.

Ma and Pa with all 5 of their kids.

At Christmas last year with 4 out of the 5 kids.

Us at Christmas last year...missing a few aunts, uncles and grandkids though.

I was lucky enough to go 28 years with all 4 of my grandparents, not only living, but living in my hometown. I love that I've grown up surrounded by my grandparents. My dad's parents ("Ma and Pa") live right around the corner from us. Literally 30 seconds. My mom's parents (Grandma and Granddaddy) are about 10 minutes away. I think I always took for granted what a gift it was to have all 4 grandparents alive and well and living just down the road. Craig has grown up almost his entire life with just 1 living grandparent. His mom's mom, Astrid ("Gigi") who is 89 and living in a nursing home. She is quite the fighter though and dearly loved by her family. Craig and Astrid were always close and I know he has many great memories with her in them. My entire childhood is filled with wonderful memories that have to do with my grandparents. But here are a few things that I remember most about Pa...

1. When I was little (I said 7ish when I first posted this but found pics of me on it much younger. I guess I just remember it more when I was a little older), Pa fixed up a potato sack swing for us grandkids in his backyard. Oh man was that thing awesome. We would climb up a ladder holding on to the swing and then jump off onto it. It felt like we were flying. I remember going soooo high and so fast but I'm sure if I did it now it wouldn't seem like that. But as we got braver we'd climb higher and higher onto the ladder until we were brave enough to stand on the very top and jump off (doesn't sound all that safe to me now but oh well!). We have home movies of me jumping off onto the swing and going "hiiii-yaaa!!" b/c my brother loved to watch karate movies and was always saying it (as he karate chopped me in the shins...). You can also see me swinging in the background going "Get me Daddy! Get me! Look at me!" as he tried to film my brother doing something. Attention whore, I know. But that swing was the absolute coolest thing ever and I'd LOVE to be able to do it again someday.

Cousin Michael jumping off the top of the ladder onto the potato sack swing.

Me getting a little spotting from Pa.

Pa pushing me on the swing.

2. Another thing I remember about Pa was fishing. He took me and my brother fishing many times. Sometimes out to Lake Wright Patman in Texarkana just for the afternoon. We held lots of family reunions at Lake Fork so I remember getting out on his boat and doing some fishing as well. And then when we used to go to Longview for our big family Christmas on Christmas Day we'd go to my aunt and uncle's house. They lived on a lake and we'd go out on their dock and Pa would help all us grandkids bait our hooks and teach us how to cast. I even remember winning second place in a photo contest of a picture I took of my brother holding up the fish he caught.

3. Ping Pong. Ma and Pa had a ping pong table on the back patio and I'd spend hours out there playing with Pa, with my dad and with my brother. He taught us the rules and how to hold the paddle etc. We loved it.

4. Easters. Every Easter Sunday afternoon we'd go over to Ma and Pa's to hide Easter eggs. Most of the time we had cousins, aunts and uncles in town too so it was a pretty massive hunt. The adults would all go outside and hide the eggs all over the backyard while us kids waited impatiently in the house until we were called. I can still see Pa standing around helping us, laughing at us when 2 (or more) of us would spot the same egg at the same time and make a mad dash to see who could get it first. The best hiding places were always under the shed where he kept his boat.

5. Pa always came to my softball games. I played softball from the time I was 6 to the time I was 18. And from the ages of about 6-12/14 it was NONSTOP. Every weekend all summer long and then 2 games during the week usually. When I got to high school he'd even travel out of town sometimes to come watch me. I'm sure he came to all Jonathan (my brother)'s games too but I remember seeing him sitting in his chair watching me. I always wanted to impress him-kind of the way I always wanted to impress my dad. I wanted them to be proud of me.

These are only a few of my memories of my grandfather-there are so so many. But the bottom line is that he was a terrific man. He loved his wife, his 4 daughters and 1 son, and his countless grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And we loved him. I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful man to call my "Pa". He will be missed very very much.

A great picture of Pa!

Me and Pa reading the paper...

So on another note. I am now 25.5 weeks pregnant. I've gained 18 pounds which I am not happy about but definitely knew was coming... I am hungry 24/7 it seems and no, I do not want carrot sticks and apples. I try. But it just doesn't cut it unless its washed down with some chocolate milk or something. :) On the upside, the doctor says my weight is fine and that at this point during my pregnancy with Matthew I had actually gained 25 pounds so thats good I guess! My 10 year reunion is in the fall this year so I am hoping to be free of as much of the baby weight as possible by then. We'll see.

(taken at 24 weeks)

So yesterday at my monthly doctor's appointment I had to do the dreaded glucose test that will tell me if I have gestational diabetes or not. Not too worried about it but with this pregnancy you never know! So I had to drink this very very very sweet sugary orange drink on an empty stomach in 5 minutes. The drink was not bad. Maybe even would have been good if I didn't have to DOWN it. Tasted a bit like orange Koolaid or that Orange Crush drink I used to drink when I was 5. Anyway, after an hour they drew my blood and will check my levels to see if it indicates I might have GD. If my levels come back high, then I'll have to come back for the 3 hour test which sounds like torture. Drink the stuff again and have blood drawn every hour for 3 hours...no thank you.

Other pregnancy issues going on...my back. Holy cow. I forgot how much all this weight can really kill your back. The muscles up and down each side of my spine are always soooo tight and almost in a spasm. Craig was rubbing my back for the me the other night and said they felt like two broomstick handles. I went and got a prenatal massage that was oh so lovely but of course by the next night I was back to being in pain. I do feel like I'm carrying this baby pretty much the same as I did with Matthew. Maybe a TINY bit lower. Baby Mason is quite the little kicker though and very rarely sleeps I think, which has already sent me into a panic a few times just thinking about it.

I had an ultrasound at around 22 weeks and the tech said everything looked great as far as she could tell. He was measuring perfectly (Matthew always measured ahead a couple of weeks) so that was good to hear. I still have some Down Syndrome fears in the back of my mind and feel it would be irresponsible to completely dismiss the idea of having a baby with special needs since we still don't know for sure whether or not our baby will have it or not. I have to go in to the perinatologist again on Feb. 5 for a level II ultrasound/echocardiogram. This will give them a better look at Mason's heart so that they can see if there are any problems. Babies with DS tend to have heart defects etc. So I'm getting a little anxious thinking about all the "what ifs" and I'm sure I'll be very tense during the ultrasound, praying each movement of that little wand comes along with "looks good" from the doctor's mouth.

On the other hand, I am getting very excited because it is almost time for us to go in and have a 3D/4D ultrasound done! This is an elective ultrasound done at special place (not a doctor's office) and we did it with Matthew and loved it. They say the best times to do it are between 26-33(?) weeks so next month we will go do it. Can't wait to see his little face!! Here are a couple of pictures of a face I've come to know better than my own...

And finally, Craig is almost done with his real estate classes. He had a meeting this morning with a recruiter from Keller Williams Realty and I think it went really well. So hopefully, he can get his license in the next month or two and jump on board with them. Their office is only 15 minutes from the house which is great and since he's pretty much his own boss he will have flexible hours to help me out when I need him to. Although I'm sure he'll be pushing himself to be the best "trainee" there is! (which I most definitely support!) Life is changing fast around here for us. From going to living the NFL lifestyle (in terms of moving a lot, being unstable situations and jumping from team to team but also collecting large paychecks that we sure do miss...), to having Matthew and moving to a new town where we didn't know anyone, to getting pregnant again, watching Craig's NFL career wind down and now preparing for life with 2 kids and a husband who actually works in the real world. I absolutely feel blessed though and am excited to see how the next phases of our lives plays out! Good things and good times to come! :)

Video update.

These are just a couple of the funny videos we've taken of Matthew in the past couple of months. I'm so bad uploading videos b/c it takes forever but I just had to post these! The one with him on his "rockin' dog" was taken during his scabies episode. He had to take oral steroids for a few days because the rash was SO bad and the doctor warned us it might give him "roid rage" and turn him into a monster. Well it most certainly DID at least once a day...but it also made him a little manic I think! He rode this blue dog all over the house for a solid 30 minutes, chasing Odie, running into walls, etc. It was hilarious. I took him off the steroids early though because I just couldn't deal with the 'roid rage. He would have spells of just screaming crying and throwing himself on the floor...looking like he just wanted to crawl out of his skin. Poor guy.

The second video is of him in his 3D glasses that he found in a random drawer the other day. He always wants to wear them so Craig even rigged them with a "strap" on the back made out of a rubber band to help them stay on. He was trying to entertain Aunt Chauna I think!

Christmas at Grandma's.

Last Saturday we packed up and headed to Texarkana to do our Christmas thing with my mom's side of the family. Growing up I LOVED going to Grandma and Granddaddy's on Christmas Eve. I got to see all my cousins and we'd run around and cut up until after everyone had FINALLY finished eating so we could gather around the tree and open gifts. My grandmother would then sit on the floor next to the tree and hand out gifts to everyone in the room. The little kids would help deliver them to whoever they were for. It was so much fun and I LOVED the tradition of it all. It was exactly the same, year after year, and since I'm not one for change, it made for some very precious memories. We'd sit around the piano and sing Christmas carols and sometimes us kids would attempt to tap out "Puff the Magic Dragon" or "How much is that doggy in the window" on the piano using one of Grandma's old kids piano books.

On the way home, my brother and I would sit quietly in the backseat staring out at the dark night sky hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa. When we got home we'd hurry to get our pajamas on and into bed so Christmas would be here that much sooner. I would usually be the first to wake up on Christmas morning (which is probably shocking to those of you who know how much I value my sleep) but it would be 4:45/5 a.m. and I'd run down the hall to my brother's room to wake him up and then we'd run into the living room to see what Santa had left us. Since Santa didn't wrap the gifts from him we were allowed to play with those before we went in and woke up our parents. So we'd dig through our stockings and explore all our "Santa" gifts for about 15 minutes before we decided we needed MORE PRESENTS and would run in and wake up Mom and Dad. There was never any coffee making or breakfast eating first...it was strictly get up, open presents and THEN at SOME POINT maybe think about eating something. The Crain's have never really been big breakfast people but I do remember waffles being made a few times. I'm sure there was more but I think my Christmas breakfasts were mostly chocolate bars and Hershey kisses....

After breakfast we'd get dressed and pile into the car to head down to Longview where 3 out 4 of my dad's sisters live. We'd have Christmas lunch there and get to visit with all my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents all day before having to leave that night. I still remember always feeling a little sad as I looked out the car window at all the Christmas lights after we'd left my aunt's house and thinking that Christmas was over... :(

So back to my Grandma's house this past Saturday. Here's the rundown on that side of the family.

My mom has a brother (who just recently passed away) and a sister. My uncle has 3 girls and 2 of them now have a girl of their own, and my aunt and her husband have 3 kids-2 boys and a girl. Their oldest son, Chris and his wife Amanda have twin boys who are almost 2 yrs old (Nathan and Noah) and they adopted a little girl (from within the extended family) named Natalie who is a few months younger than Matthew. We have been talking about how we all couldn't wait for all the kiddos to get to run around playing with each other on Christmas since they were in our bellies. And now we finally got to! Matthew had a blast with Nathan and Noah. He was a little shy at first but soon enough the race was on! Literally. These boys would run from the living room down the hallway and stop at the end of the hall to catch their breath and giggle, then race to the other end, stop, giggle, then run back into the living room. And then start again. And again. And again. We have video that I will most definitely be posting soon. Then we pulled out our "tunnel" we brought for the boys to play with and it was like watching hamsters crawling around in there. One after the other they'd climb in and race across, come out, run to the other side and go back in. They were exhausting just to watch. Sweet Natalie was a little more shy and just wanted to be held for the most part but I'm guessing she'll be more into it next year. I'm sure she was just saying "ANOTHER boy!?!" when she saw Matthew. haha


(Nathan giving Matthew a hug. aww)

The "Reedlets" as their Aunt Kaci calls them. :) (last name is Reed) Natalie, Noah, Nathan and Matthew


Matthew playing with Granddaddy.

My cousin Chris with his twins.

Matthew loves Uncle Tim!