So in love.....

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a new daddy with his first baby....I love you guys and I am SO lucky!!!

Update on new baby life....

So far so good....that is how life has been since little Gabriel made his GRAND entrance. :) He has been a sweet baby and the boys seem to be doing ok with him. Greggory's favorite thing to do is hold him as much as possible. As you can see from the below picture! JT still isn't sure what to think of him, but I am sure in time he will get it all figured out!

Grammie with Gabriel. We realized we had NO pictures of the two of them together. I swear it is SO hard to remember to take pictures of your 4th!!!!

I was trying to get a good picture of Gabriel and JT said you should take one with ME in it. I totally agree!!! :)

Greggory had a Moments with Mom at school and this was the older boys. Gabriel was home with daddy who was able to take off the whole week and spend it with us. Boy was I sure sad he had to return to work. Sure wish he could stay home FOREVER! Bradley is all dressed up because he made the All-Star football team at his middle school and on game days they have to dress up. Too bad he lost his clothes. Yah, shoes, slacks, belt, shirt and oh the tie Matt wore to our wedding. Oh joy!

Little Gabers taking a rest in the bouncy chair. He prefers to lay down while sleeping. Don't think he stayed like this for long.

Again as you can see Greggory and Gabers. Any chance he can get to hold him. It's so sweet. He is SUCH a GREAT big brother!

This was his Happy Valentine's outfit. I was so excited when I bought it and even MORE excited that it fit! I bought the super small one and I was afraid it would be too small and then too late to buy another one! I bought it back in January.

Bradley holding Gabriel. I realized I didn't have any pictures of him holding the baby either. He isn't as interested in the baby as I thought he would be. I am sure once he starts doing things he will get more excited!

Look at those GIANT hands. Maybe he will be the one who plays basketball. Of all the sports the other guys play None of them have any luck with basketball. Heck they can't even get their clothes in the hamper let alone a ball in a hoop!!!

And last, but certainly NOT least a picture of the two birthday cakes. That is right. One week after Gabriel was born Matthew turned 33 and Bradley 13!!! Ohmigosh! I have a baby and a teenager. How did this happen again? :)

For the most part everything is going pretty well over here. I like to think it's too early to really tell how it will all go, but Gabriel is a very sweet little guy. We are really enjoying having him around and I know I am REALLY enjoying not having to the be the ONLY one carrying him around! :)

Gabriel Andrew

Gabriel Andrew was born on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 2:53 in the afternoon! This is a picture of me before he was born!

Here is a picture of Gabriel right after he was born....What a big boy! 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long!

Dr. Eckel, me and Gabriel just after he was born.

Look at his giant hands. It makes us laugh everytime he pulls them out of his blankets!

Daddy holding the little man....

So bright eyed. The doctor had checked him and he was just watching thinking hey what's up?

Gabriel just finished eating and was so sleepy after.

We were getting out of the hospital. Had to take some goodbye pictures!

Mommy and Gabriel...

Family photo leaving the hospital!!

The dogs are meeting Gabriel for the first time. Jag just wanted to lick him and Roxie would get near him and then just growl and run. It was pretty funny. She is doing much better now!

We are so excited to have him home with us. His brothers come home on Monday so there will be more pictures to post then. He is such a sweet baby and I honestly hope it continues!!!! Love to everyone!

Baby Shower

On Sunday, my best friend Jeannine, threw me a wonderful baby shower!!! It was set for last Sunday except something crazy happened. The Arizona Cardinals were playing football here in Arizona and Jeannine had the pleasure of being there. Being as that was a once in a lifetime opportunity she HAD to attend. Thankfully I have VERY flexible friends so yesterday it was!!! Here is a picture of some of the yummy food...and some of the wonderful guests!!

Kristen and her sweet baby girl Leanne!

Me opening some presents!! A new monkey. Monkey's have become our theme!!!

Now these were some YUMMY cupcakes!! I even had one today....

My fun presents! This of course before they were opened!

So now I am just bummed because I didn't get a picture of ALL the guests and I didn't even get one of Jeannine and I together!!! It was such a beautiful day and I had so much fun. I really can't thank everyone enough for making it happen. So many people helped to make it a really special day for me and baby Quattro. Thank you thank you!!!!

On another note we should be finding out on Wednesday what day I will be induced next week. I am shooting for Thursday the 5th or Friday the 6th. I am getting so excited. Well, nervous, but excited!! I just want to see his sweet little face! :)

Random things we have been up too.....

Since my last post we have been VERY busy around here. So busy it has been hard for me to do anything, but work and take care of the kids! :) Here is the recap:

On December 31, 2008 Bradley got to fly to San Antonio, TX to play in the All-American youth Army bowl. It was held on Sunday, January 4th and it was live on the Internet. The WEST (his team) won 21-14. He helped score two of the three touchdowns. Bradley plays Quarterback and was the starter for the WEST. It was very exciting and right now it is TOP on the list of the best thing EVER. (according to him anyway)

School went back on January 5th and we hit the ground running. Between football after school EVERY day for Bradley and lacrosse two nights a week I am trying to find the time to get stuff done. Up until a few weeks ago the baby had no bed and we had some work to do. The baby's room is improving now that we have the furniture, but I still need to wash the new duvet (its chocolate brown to match) and the sheets, etc. I also need a window treatment cause the white blinds are NOT cutting it and lastly some cool artwork on the walls. I am thinking something with monkeys...

Bradley had his first lacrosse game last Saturday and won! He is the goalie for his team. I had my 36 week check up today with the doctor. He says everything looks good. Baby is measuring right at 36 weeks and he is HEAD down. Whoohoo! We are shooting for Feb. 5th to be his deliver date. I can't schedule it until one week before. The hospital won't let us.

Just trying to fit everything in before this little guy is born. So much still to do and I do feel like I am running out of time!

Tried to tell JT tonight I was having a baby and he just wouldn't go along with it. He keeps saying I am fat from eating too much dinner. I asked him if he was sure it wasn't because there was a baby in there. He said nope there is no baby. I know he knows that is where babies come from because about two months ago he told me when he gets little again and gets back in there...ok WHAT?

Oh what a rude awakening it will be when this baby comes....

Happy New Year!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a VERY Happy New Year!! Just a few pictures from all the fun! We even made some popcorn balls. I swear we have the same recipe as from when I was a kid, but they tasted so much better when I was younger!!!! The kids sure love them though!

Sarah and Elizabeth stirring the candy for the popcorn balls...took FOREVER!!!!

Opening all our presents!

This last one was just me begging the boys to take one more picture together. Next year there will be 4 boys in the picture and I wanted these to remember when there were just 3!!!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Here's hoping 2009 is a WONDERFUL year!!!!

25 Christmas Questions

Susan over at Life in the Psych Ward asked for us all to join in the fun!! So here I go....



1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Ok that is hard because this time of year it's Egg Nog, but the rest of the year I LOVE me some Hot Chocolate!



2.Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa puts our gifts by the fireplace where our stockings hang.



3. Colored lights on house/tree or white? White.



4. Do you hang mistletoe? If I knew where to find some, I'd hang some up and stand underneath it!



5.When do you put your decorations up? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year I couldn't get motivated!!! (I have no idea why either)



6.What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My mother in law's mashed potatoes and my mom's jello. Love that stuff!


7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? That is a tough one. I was just reminded of one by my dearest friend Kerri, but when I was a kid we had a tree stand that rotated around and played music. It was actually very cool. It finally broke after my dad died.

8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? truth??? In our house it is always if you don't believe you don't receive!!!!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a child we were always able to open one gift from a family member. I have allowed my kids to do the same thing. So any out of town packages one present is fair game!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? !With the boys. I un-package all the ornaments and they put them on the tree. I put the higher up ones on and Matt always puts the topper on the tree!

11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Love the look...loved as a child playing in it, but I live in Arizona now and can't even remember the last time I was in the snow!

12. Can you ice skate?Yes, and I love it!!! Grew up right down the street from an ice skating rink.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I received a "real" cabbage patch kid one year. In Georgia they have a hospital (Babyland General) where the babies are born from a cabbage and I received Gabriella. My mom still has her today.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Being with my family and friends. It's a great time to slow down and appreciate.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? We always had a cake for Baby Jesus every year. Now that I am married we have birthday cake because it's actually my mother-in-law's birthday on Christmas day!!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Taking the kids to see Santa. I don't care how old they ever get. It just makes me happy.

17. What tops your Christmas tree? A snowman star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?I love the feeling of giving, especially to those who are in need. The best part is the look on the face of someone you bought the PERFECT gift for. However, I love to be surprised with a really great gift!!!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Any song on Amy Grant's Christmas albums. I love every single one of them!!

20. Candy Canes. Yum or Yuck?YUMMY!!!!! Oddly enough I just bought some today to eat!

21. What do you want for Christmas? A video camera. I have actually wanted one for years, but I am thinking probably not this year either...:(

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? Not an annual one, but we do attend Christmas parties. It's fun to get together this time of year!

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear PJ's? We wear jeans or anything festive. We have our big party on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is more for pj's.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? Yes!!!

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Family. Any and all that are around on that day!!!!