Itty_Bitty_Wittes

Balentimes Day!

2012-02-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

The kids gave these to their teachers...I forgot to post those.

and the specials teachers.

I was lucky enough to help out again this week in Lucas's class. My MIL is awesome and comes when I need her.

Lisa, Robert's mom made the class pancakes and I was the syrup and strawberry girl. All the kids were busily passing out their Valentines while we were hard at work. :)

They were all able to check out their loot, to which Lucas got a lot of "Wow Lucas! Army Men! That is so cool!" He was all smiles about that.

Mrs. Kelso was explaining their Valentine Day fun Math worksheets and I was in the back with the other 3 moms there. One mom made a comment about Lucas's mom being an overachiever (I'm going to leave it at that) and when I told her I was Lucas's mom --- well, she shut right up.

We came home and the kids got to open their loot.

Auntie Steph always mails something fun.

Nathan and I left a note last night for them and filled their mailboxes.

Juliet was the passer outer.

Since Lucas and Bridget passed out Valentines to their friends, Scarlett had to pass out one to her best friend, Emma. They have such an interesting relationship, it cracks me up.

Mason had his own special Valentine's Day. His new Physical Therapist came, and weighed him. He is 9lbs 8oz, I am not sure how accurate her measurement was, but since he gets weight checks every other week, I guess I will know his official weight next week. Haha.

This little boy is such a little miracle to me.

Okay, back to Balentimes Day.

Since Nathan is gone on Tues and Thurs in his last semester of school, I tried to make the most of the day.

We had breakfast for dinner (kids request)

Heart bacon, Heart Cinnamon Raisin Toast, Eggs, and Orange Juice.

Juje loved this dinner.

Then we ran over to a friends house to deliver a package and then got in jammies to play a few "minute to win it" games.

Scarlett won ALL 6 games! She is the most patient of the group and I think that contributed to her wins. :)

It is always hard being without Nathan, but this night flew by - off to read some bedtime stories and eat my own dinner while I wait for Nathan to come home. :)

Hair Adventures - 1/10

2012-02-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

So, before I part with my long locks before my 30th birthday, I decided to do 10 hair styles I always wanted to do if I ever had hair long enough.

Style One: Twisty Overnight Knots.

I need to mention that my hair is to my belt loops!

It was pretty wild, so I twisted it some more and then restyled it down.

I forgot to take a picture of that. Oops!

26. Build something from start to finish ALL BY MYSELF

2012-02-12T07:53:00.003-07:00

So I am SURE everyone has seen these on Pinterest. They are the Ikea Spice Rack turned into book shelves.

My friend Michelle drove to TX from LA to get them and they were gone. My friend Sarah couldn't find them in Utah, my friend Jess couldn't find them in California. I even called CO's store and they are out of stock.
So - what is a girl to do? Make them herself!

The best part, is that I am not limited to size, because I am making them the dimensions I want. Love that.

Here goes.

I looked at the plans with my super handy hubs.

We decided to buy 1x2s and 1x4s and because I don't trust that back hook on the original shelves, I put an oak veneer on the backs, for extra security. You have to put a screw in the wall anyway right?

I wanted 2- 18 inch shelves and 2- 30 inch shelves...to start.

I measured them all and cut them all on the table saw...or in our case...the floor saw. Hahaha. Also, pink sweatpants were a requirement! Hahaha.

Go Ahead and tell me how sexy I am on the Weekend! LOL

They were so easy, and CHEAPER than Ikea!

Not to mention, the sizes I wanted!

Here they are before they are painted and sanded.

Here they are completed on the wall.

Sorry these pics are so dark, I took them last night.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that I did it myself!

Sure beats a day spent online looking for a better option - or wasting a day online, period!

In the words of Barney Stinson, "I am Awesome!"
Haha

Here is the ORIGINAL 30 before 30 list

100 Days!

2012-02-11T09:38:00.001-07:00

The clouds opened, the birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and it just happened to be 100 days of Kindergarten! (yesterday) Finally the day came.

Lucas and his class were just BURSTING at the seams to get to this blessed day!

I came in to help (by myself) the class and it was so much fun.

I have to say that Lucas's teacher, Mrs. Kelso, is the bomb!

The kids were listening to the morning announcements and made some moaning sound because their name wasn't called and she (in her best stern princess voice) told them it was rude and inconsiderate to not be happy for their classmates. She basically lectured them about proper behavior and they didn't even know they were in trouble. It was awesome!

Everyone got to bring 100 items to school. Lucas picked Jellybeans, thinking if he put 100 jellybeans in a snack sized bag it would trick them into thinking that there weren't 100 in there. He is so funny.

She went over their centers for the day and then off they went.

Something funny about Mrs. Kelso is that her day is broken up into morning and afternoon...even though they are the morning class. Before specials is Morning, and after specials is Afternoon.

Zero the Hero made an appearance, I didn't whip out my camera for that, but, he was hilarious.

Costume and all. The kids sang his song and cheered for him, it was nice to see all 16 kids so into 100 day.

They had 10 centers all having to do with 100. At the end of the day she explained to them that they had counted to 100, 10x and that was 1000! Their faces were CLASSIC.

Some centers were 100 loop necklaces. That was counting by 10.

Making 100 day trailmix. Again, counting by 10.

100 day hat making, 100 day thumbprints

100 guesstaments, 100 day math...

So many fun things to do, a a lot having to do with money.

Lucas is really into money. He gets the concepts, and is very good at computing how much money, etc.

Today was so fun for the class, I am glad I was able to take the day to be with them, and see Lucas in action.

In the "afternoon" they finished up their centers, sang some 100 day songs, ate their 100 day snacks, and cheered for their 100 efforts.

It made me miss the days I used to teach. Almost. I keep my day job for now. : P

Happy 100 day Lukie-Lao!

and - on that note - I am off to get those bangs cut! yikes!

Bertha Lynn

2012-02-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

Apria, I hate you. I don't hate a lot of things, but I hate you.

When we first came home on oxygen, it was just a mere friendship. You came within the hour of us calling, you were nice and had an hours worth of information. You gave us Siegfried (your traveling brother) and Bertha Lynn (the big huge tank) with her 50 feet of bright green cord, everything seemed fine.

Then when we opened the nasal cannula we found out it was broken. No big deal, we called to get a new one. We left a message. We did this for 4 days. I finally called corporate and they mailed us 2. BUT they were child sized, not preemie sized. The nostril piece fit the outside of Baby Mason's nose. Useless. I called the branch manager 6x, left messages, the whole rigamaroll just to get a cannula that I could not even use on my sweet baby.

I finally get a call back, but they want to talk to Mason, not me the caregiver, the mother...they only wanted to talk to the patient...the 2 month old patient. So stupid.

We go to the pediatricians office to get off the blasted oxygen and horray! we passed!

Get Bertha Lynn outta here!

We call, we call, we call...no help. We hear on the wait line "At Apria, we strive for 5!" What is 5? 5x for calls? 5x the frustrations? Who flippin knows.

We housed Bertha Lynn and Siegfried for a full 9 days with out them even being used. Can't wait to see how they bill me for that!

It took Nathan and I BOTH calling to get them to come out here and take them away.

Bridget will miss her ballet partner...

And, get this - When they came, they thought they were swapping out the tank!!!! Not taking it for good!

Supervisors, Pediatricians, DMs were called. UGH, why does this have to be so hard?

It has been such a mess - such a hassle.

Good Bye Bertha Lynn and Siegfried! Thank you for keeping my son "ALIVE,"

but we hope to NEVER see you again!

Bling-a-Ding-Ding!

2012-02-09T06:46:00.006-07:00

Bridget, my everything needs to be fancy and pretty in my life - daughter,
wanted to make her Valentines too! (Of course)

I found THESE and knew they would be a perfect fit.
The front says "You BLING a smile to my face."

If you have ever heard Bridget talk, you will get why this is funny.

Her R's for the longest time were L's.

She would tell people her name was BLidget A-wheeze Witte. (Bridget Louise Witte)

Slowly, this is going away as preschool has naturally fixed that part of her speech.

Which makes a little part of me cry inside. I mean, I am happy she is growing up, but sad I won't hear her little flubs in speech anymore.

I still can't call an orange an orange because Lucas always called them an "Orangine" - gine pronounced like Engine because when he was 2 everything was train related.

So back to the Valentine's. She has 10 in her class. So this was a great quick little activity for her and I to do.

The first 5 were hard for her to figure out, and we did have to do them together...but the last 5 she only needed help with the final wrap. I would probably do this with an older kid in the future.
When we were done, she said "I just love jewel-er-rey!"

Without further ado -- here they are.

I am most impressed with her name writing. She has been practicing extra hard at preschool and Mrs. Lovely has been teaching her tricks because, Bridget has some harder letters in her name. B R D G are easier to write lower case (according to Mrs. Lovely) so, that is how Bridget has learned them.

Not too bad huh?

A fun project, using everything I had on hand. :)

Yes, that paper is the same from yesterday.

Pat Benitar

2012-02-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to make good on a deal I had with Nathan to clean and organize the basement for Lucas's new room, I happened to find a box labeled "YOU DID IT!" This box made me laugh because I knew EXACTLY why I wrote that on the box.

You see, I have this obsession with paper. I fell in love with this stack of paper at Archiver's. It was the only place you could find this stack of paper. When we decided to get married in February, I snatched all the sheets the Westminster store had, and bought out the other 2 Colorado stores supply as well. I knew I was going to need more, so I called the manufacturer and they told me that it was no longer in print. So, I did what any girl who needed to make 500 wedding invitations would do...I called every Archiver's in America - TOTALLY NOT JOKING HERE and had them ship me every last piece of this collection.

I promise you this was my only Bridezilla moment of the entire Wedding.

I had one last store in Minnesota that only had 2 sheets of it, told them my story and why I had to have these sheets and they ended up mailing them to me for FREE.

So, I now had close to 400 sheets of this stack of paper, and when I had my cutters cut it, I saved the scraps! Every last little piece of this paper I was going to keep.

Now that I have built this whole thing up you are going to look at the paper and be like--Whaa???

Trust me, it was the only thing like it at the time.

At least that is what I tell myself to this day when I see that box labeled "YOU DID IT!"

referring to : I won the paper war! (in my head)

What does that have to do with Pat Benitar?

Why am I even mentioning that whole story?

Because I found this paper, I was determined to use it for Valentines.

For.The.Next.100.Years.

Just Kidding.

I found these

AWESOME Valentine's and knew they would be a perfect match for me and Lucas to make.

So, I made him listen to Pat Benitar's Ultimate Collection which I may or may not have purchased JUST so he could understand the reference.

I loved singing these songs with my sis growing up, and especially loved it in 13 going on 30,
that whole scene cracks me up.

These were virtually free - because I had the paper, and the Army men were $ 0.01 at Michael's.

I found them in the penny section.

So:

CHECK to using up scraps.

CHECK to spending quality crafting time with my son.

CHECK to introducing my children to the "classics"

CHECK to recognizing that I had see that?, had a problem.

Now, I am going to put that box away and pull it out again next year.

A Random Observation

2012-02-07T08:08:00.001-07:00

I was on the phone with a friend yesterday afternoon.
I haven't talked to her in ages. (that was supposed to date me)

I went upstairs to put some freshly folded, still warm, towels in the linen closet when
I looked over to my right.

This is what I observed:

Can I say that I LOVE Lucas?

He is meticulous in keeping his room clean.

I think it is because he realizes that if he keeps it clean through out the day, he doesn't waste 15 minutes before bed cleaning it up like the girls do. They have to have their rooms cleaned before they go to bed.

I won't go into specifics as to why this has had to become a rule.

Okay, now that you get what I am talking about.

It is just so funny how different everyone can be, even though we raise them in the same house with the same rules. :) The girls spend all day ~~destroying~~ playing in their room and as long as it isn't strewn across the whole house, and as long as it gets cleaned up before bed, I am happy.

Either way, this has reduced the ~~yelling~~, ~~screaming~~, ~~crying~~, ~~tantrums~~, stern voices, on both sides.

And in my book, that means I am doing all right.

One day - they will get Lucas's ways and he will then become a messy, stinky, teenager and the first picture will be in reverse. HAHAHA.

We're Baaaaack!

2012-02-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Since I was on bedrest for an eternity, we haven't been going to church regularly. I either couldn't go, or we were avoiding potential sickness that ~~the nursery~~ church seems to be. I have a Primary calling so since January started, and I was no longer pregnant/on bedrest, it was time to go back. Well, Mason came home the 2nd week of January and they told us to avoid ~~the plague~~, ~~the dirty handed people~~, ~~the runny noses~~, potential sickness/RSV that church can be so we had Nathan stay home with the babies and I took the older kids with me.

Then, Mason got off oxygen, passed a bunch of tests, and is over 8 pounds, so we tried it out today.

We ALL went to church for the first time since October!

It went well, they all were good, and I held my ground on the NO HOLDING MY BABY rule!

Usually, I don't care, but Mason cannot get sick. So he stayed in his little carrier bubble and went to class with me. My class is older and left him alone!

We all matched. I found these dresses in the closet and found a matching one for my miss 5-6 girl!

I was looking for the last time they wore them and found THIS POST where they were wearing them.

I laughed and laughed at how I said I was "going to relinquish control" - only because I only had 3 kids then and thought I was a control freak THEN. I am not as psycho as I used to be, but I still have my things...Matching Sundays are one! LOL

I just can't help myself. I LOVE that we always look like a unit.

Mason was great at church and surprisingly, Juliet was too.

Those who have EVER had a kid 11-17 months at church knows what I am referring to.

The End.

Anniversary - our 7th one!

2012-02-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

So, since it's the big 7 year mark, we decided to shake things up and go out to brunch. Even though we just had a big snowstorm, there was nothing going to stop us from going out for our anniversary!

I researched and decided on Beatrice and Woodsley

It is on Bon Apetit Magazine's Top 10 Brunches in America!

It is so cool inside. I couldn't help but take pictures!

Those trees are REAL and they are Aspens from Colorado! They went through a drying process and were shaved and prepped just for this restaurant. We got the full history, and if you know us, we totally ate all this information up! Haha.

The above lights were real, and lit on a pulley system. It was amazing.

We ordered the Grapefruit Crisp.

I could totally make this at home. It was warm and tart, and delicious!

We ordered :

and a rasher of bacon.

The exterior of this bacon was crispy and salty and the inside was smooth and melty and we were sad when it was gone. Haha. Is there anyone who doesn't like bacon? I think not.

Here are the bathrooms. Now, who takes pictures of the bathroom?

Me! They were so cool!

This was the sink (above) you pull the chains on the side and the water drips down the chain into the bucket.

This restaurant was an experience, not just food. I am so glad I picked it!

After Brunch we walked the streets. We stumbled upon this little place.

Where I fell in love with this set.

We bought a few random things for upcoming birthday parties and then headed downtown downtown.

They are repairing the Capitol building.

Denver is such a beautiful place (excluding Occupy Denver)

I love anything snow covered, but this is just beautiful. I used to hang out at the Denver Post (white building) in my single days. Kinda funny.

We don't normally get each other anything for our Anniversary.

Just a nice dinner, downtown (where our first date was) and some quality time together.

But - I really wanted to make something for Nathan. He really is such a great husband, father, and all around person, that I needed to make him something to show him how much I loved him.

So - I decided to make a 7 layer S'mores cake.

He loves camping, so S'mores would be his favorite dessert.

It also just happened to be a funny coincidence that it was our 7 year anniversary

and I was making a 7 layer cake!

Haha.

While I was working hard on all 7 layers...

Nathan gave me this!

I wanted one a long time ago, but didn't want an incomplete one. :)

This was just icing on the cake!

(pun intended) haha

Mason is our last, and it completes the FINISHED Kid Lounge! (more on that later)

My cake isn't as beautiful as hers, but I didn't make it in rounds, and we didn't refrigerate it, because - HELLO! We wanted to EAT it!

My Oh My

What a perfect ending to such a GREAT day!

Thanks to my in laws who watched ALL 5 kids - ALL morning! :)

7 years of N+V

2012-02-04T09:14:00.001-07:00

in the chapel at the alkire when we first met -- you knew 2/04

in 2 different states during our first fight -- i knew 7/04

in the primary room at summit grove -- we knew 8/04

that we'd find a modest box and make it our home

that there were babies that were to be ours

that there were years to spend

and that we'd be together -- for all of it.

you bought a ring

you flew out and asked me in the rain, while taking our engagements

seven years since roses and sunrise, sunset

seven years since morningside manor

seven years since our dear friends gathered

and sweet promises made

5 beautiful combinations of each of us

5 crazy personalities that somehow are "just like" each of us

5 interesting nesting periods, involving lots of trash bags

15+ room renovations, all with a smile

3 vehicles to get us all where we need to be

3 jobs and the ups and downs that were/are a part of our lives

no sign of the "7 year itch"

each of us grateful for the other, everyday

constant rediscovery of each other, and loving the mate more and more

happy anniversary, love

White

2012-02-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

I know I always say this - but I am going to say it again.

All I wanted was a white wedding.

I didn't get one.

BUT

I have had a white anniversary every year since.

I'll take it. :)

We got 11 inches today. It is still snowing.

The kids took naps JUST so they could go play in it the rest of the afternoon.

In regular Witte fashion...we pulled out the roped sled.

Juliet stood at the window and watched...

The kids and Nathan built a slide. Oh, Nathan's office and a lot of Denver was closed today because of the snow. Conifer got 38 inches today! AND it's still snowing!

Hi juju!

Now - Nathan usually runs the kids up and down the street. It is really fun for them.

Until something breaks...

Can you see what happened here?

No one was hurt, mostly everyone laughed about it.

Then we grabbed the other sled.

They decided it wasn't as fun so they decided just to use it as a slide.

Until that became, unfun.

Haha.

So, they moved on to digging out a snow cave.

The kids and 1/2 of Nathan fit inside!

The kids were having so much fun, the neighbors came over to ask if they could play in the cave too.

I went in to check on Juliet who was "playing" with Mason

Oh, that girl! Haha.

The kids then decided to run and jump off the stairs into the snow!

Good fun was had by all.

It is still snowing and we are loving every second of it!

Mason, week 9/39

2012-02-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Mason is 2 months old TODAY!

He had his big appointment yesterday. I am going to recap what happened, what was said, and post the lame cell pics I have. :)

Mason had the big room air challenge test. He passed with flying colors - only because he has been "off" oxygen for 3 or 4 days at home.

Room Air test:

He is now OFFICIALLY off oxygen.

He is 8 pounds!

and - they adjusted his actual/gestational age!

He is AHEAD of the curve, so he is now "a two month old newborn"

He is making strides in every department, and was approved for a new state program for preemies, so all of his expenses will be covered! :)

He had 4 shots, one oral - and didn't even cry!

Happy 2 month birthday, and "birth-day," Mason!

#21 - Learn to Quilt

2012-01-31T08:46:00.004-07:00

Check!

I followed this tutorial - Diary of a Quilter and made a quilt for Mr. Mason.

It matches his car seat cover, and bibs, and burp cloths.

It wasn't hard, in fact - I am afraid to admit ... I want to make another one! I can hear Nathan smacking his head on the table right now (NOT ANOTHER OBSESSION) haha.

I learned that I am a fabric junkie. I went wild with this particular set.

I also finished/made a bumper and crib bedding for him...
I am becoming a pro at bumpers. This was my 6th one!

I have made several for friends, so this was less than 20 minutes!

This matches Lucas's room perfectly - and once the boys move to the basement this summer - I am going to turn this bumper into throw pillows for their beds. Don't worry - Mason won't be in the basement until he is 2...but his room will be ready for him! :)

I am kicking butt on the 30 list! Which is good because I only have 71 days left!

I also need to post this for Gwamma Joyce! Today is her birthday!

Happy Tuesday!

Specials - January

2012-01-30T16:50:00.002-07:00

We decided that we were going to spend individual, quality time, with each family member, once a month.

Nathan had January.

Scarlett got to go first, since she never gets to go first on anything. :)

Nathan took her on a walk to the park and they played at the playground.

Bridget went to the Library and read books, played games, and did puzzles.

Lucas went on an errand and then went to McDonalds for a parfait and chatted about life.

Juliet played in her room with toys and such, and then practiced walking.

Mason got to come home, so we counted that! :)

Each "special" is an hour.

No cameras, nothing "flashy", little to no money, just undivided attention,
and we try and get them out of the house.

There is no fighting, or crying from anyone - because they know their turn is coming up the following week.

This was one of our family goals this year on strengthening relationships.

Nathan and I are good about going out on dates once a month, but the kids needed a "date" too.

I am EXTREMELY excited I am next month, and stressed because there are less days in the month.

Mason, week 8/38

2012-01-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Time is flying by, it seems.

Mason is off the oxygen 75% of the time. Partly because - he pulls it off, and partly because - someone (ahem Juliet) pulls the tubing off of Bertha Lynn! (the massive oxygen tank)

Oh well, it doesn't seem to bother him. :)

Mason got some fun mail this week from his friend, Big Mason.

So cute! :)

Little Mason, or Mini Witte, :) Is getting bigger. He is now 7.2 pounds!

He is awake a lot more now. Almost like a "termie" 8 weeker. I love when the physical therapy lady comes and tells me that he really isn't much like a preemie. He is cueing and acting just like a typical 8 weeker...not a 38 weeker. I shrug and in my head say "I know, he's a Witte" hahaha

He is still a loud sleeper, so when he is awake, we all can tell because he is so quiet.

Here is a shot of his auburn hair. :)

I can't tell you how much I love this little guy.

Usually when I am loving on him...Juliet will walk up and beg to be on the bed too. She wants to see what all the fuss is about.

Or she wants her hair done. Haha.

When Lucas is at school, the girls ususally play babies. Bridget is a master swaddler. :)

Nathan has been at school Tues and Thurs (LAST semester! Whew!)

So when he is home we make the most of it. This particular night was movie night.

Scarlett has been changing so much, I will post more on that later. The cord is part of Bertha Lynn. :)

Today was Crazy Hair day at school. Lucas did this himself. Hahaha.

It has been a great week, and so glad this month is over...practically.

I.Can't.Wait.For.February!!!!!!

A Bittersweet Moment

2012-01-25T08:40:00.001-07:00

Lucas woke up vomiting around 1am. He was extremely calm about it, walking in telling us, "The upper portion of my body is hurting, I might need to throw up." Which he did several times. We had him sleep in our room on the floor near the bathroom so he could just get up and go if he needed to, which he did at 3am. He woke up at 7:30 and we all decided he wouldn't go to school. He was upset, but understood that he could "contagious to other people."

One of my FAV pics of Lucas - 1 year, and he was sick that day. :(

That whole day he spent reading, coloring, playing Lego's in his room, and watching a movie in the basement. He took a 3 hour nap and requested a popsicle. He chose a lime fruit bar popsicle and then went right back to bed.

Lucas at 9 months

Around 4pm, Lucas came to me and asked if I would hold him. His exact words were "will you let me sit on your lap and just hold me for a little while?" I did. He told me he would say a prayer so I wouldn't get sick, because Mommy getting sick would be unfair.

Lucas at 14 months

We talked about Paris, France. We talked about freckles. We talked about the water cycle.

Mason woke up and I needed to take care of him, and Lucas said "go ahead, make sure you wash your hands." I laughed a little.

Around 6pm, Lucas ate 3 pieces of toast and an entire bowl of plain rice. He told me he was feeling better. We watched a movie together because Nathan was at school and we needed some quiet time. Lucas fell asleep on the floor, so I carried him back to his bed. He is really heavy. It made me tear up a little because I couldn't remember when this happened. When did my red cheeked, orange haired baby, get so big?

Lucas at 7 months

He is so special. Caring, kind, considerate, smart, thoughtful. I feel lucky to have him in our family, and grateful that he will forget my parenting mistakes. I was so humbled at that moment, lugging his huge, gangly, body up the stairs that this boy is a part of my life. He is an old soul, wise and calm...and in that same sentence, still such a young boy full of curiosity, wit, and a love for all things Lego's. :)

I needed to write that out. He is feeling so much better today, but that vulnerability he had yesterday, made me miss his first year. He is a great brother and friend. I love him so much.

Mason, week 7/37

2012-01-20T08:26:00.001-07:00

Tuesday we had another check up.

This was supposed to be another 20 minute appointment, but it ended up being 2 HOURS!!!!

I had ALL the kids with me. They weren't terrible, I'll give them that. It was just hard to be in a little boring doctor's office exam room for 120 minutes.

They decided to take him off 1/16 oxygen to room air.

Dr. Campbell was surprised that the preemie hat she crocheted him was too small. TOO SMALL!

He was 6lbs 15oz and 19.5 inches long. This kid is growing like a weed! He passed the room air challenge but because he isn't "term" she wants to wait 2 more weeks on 1/32 oxygen. I was sad, but it's cool, he will get his 2 month shots and hopefully get off oxygen all on the same day!

It's not like he uses it properly anyway! LOL

Here he is during his "awake time"

Aaaand back to sleep. :)

He is only supposed to get a bath every 4 days, until he is term, and until the oxygen comes off.

Sticker Free!

Hello!

Juliet said her first word this week. "BeBe" right after she said it, she smacked Mason.
So it was time to have the "gentle talk"

She understood...for now.

He was so pooped from the bath, Juliet time, and being awake, all he needed was a good swaddle and he was out...

Then he left a load for Nathan. Haha.

He is doing great. He only gets up at 2am to eat and then he is back to sleep.
We love this boy sooo much.

As for me, adjusting to 5 kids hasn't been too hard.
I have learned that getting everyone in the car and buckled takes a little longer, but other than that, I love having 5 kids. :)

11, 5.5, 6/36

2012-01-16T09:21:00.001-07:00

Today Juliet is 11 months old! Lucas was 5.5 yesterday, and last Friday Mason hit 6 weeks/36 weeks.

Let's talk about Ju-geeena first.

She has 2 mommies. Me, being one, and Scarlett being the other.

Scarlett always makes sure she is getting enough food, water, toys, etc.

It can be nice - at times. :)

Her hair is coming in like crazy and is blond. Like a dirty blond, but it is blond.

Juliet is a little character. She has a crazy weird laugh and is just so fun to have around.

She is so pleasant and happy to do things on her own.

She claps at everything. This means she likes something. I will say "Juliet, do you want some crackers?" Her response is usually clapping or she will just crawl/walk to the kitchen and wait for me to get them.

She is enormous. At Mason's appointment last week she was 24 pounds 9 oz.

She is off baby food and formula and is pounding 3 cups of milk a day.

Her favorite food is ham. In any form, in anything.

She is a hoot.

I was telling her a story in this picture. She is such an attentive listener. Haha.

***

Lucas is so happy he is finally 5 1/2. Tomorrow he is bringing snickerdoodles to class to celebrate.

Mason was/is 6 weeks/36 weeks.

At his appointment last week he was 6lbs 8oz - one oz shy of Scarlett at birth.

We talked about adjusted age and actual age. Mason is considered "unborn" still, so its fun just telling people he isn't at his due date yet. He is doing well, and it is so nice to have him home. :)

Engagement Party!

2012-01-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Ben and Danielle's Engagement Party.

I told them I would take care of dessert. I made 60 mini cheesecakes.

Lucas loved chatting with Grandpa Witte

These next 3 are hilarious to me. I can't put my finger on why, but I love them.

We brought sweet Mason along. He is doing a great job behaving at social gatherings.

His hair is actually Auburn. Reddish/Brown. Like Uncle Ryan and Uncle Ben's beard. :)

It was fun meeting the Garrison's.

I did have to say a few times "all of those kids are mine" or "yes, I have 5 kids"

I didn't mind it one bit though. They were well behaved and had great manners and got pu-lenty of attention.

Our kids really do well with the crowds and meeting new people!

The food was great, the company was awesome, and now the countdown can begin!

June can't come soon enough!

40 days and 40 nights

2012-01-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

Mason's Room for 1/2 of his stay.

All the monitors and cords came off! (The leg thing is the security tag)

In the carseat, just needs tightening and we can go!

The kids couldn't go in, so they waited in the entry of the NICU.

The first pic of the 7 of us! Not a great one, but it will do!

The girls just couldn't believe he was ours for the taking!

+++

It took 40 days and 40 nights for our family to finally become complete.

Totally worth the wait.

Mason is our last baby to come home from the hospital.

So far he fits right in.

Every single challenge, requirement, and milestone,he had to hit - he did before expected.

It was like he was listening and knew he had to out perform the standard.

My favorite quote from this experience was "There is no way he will come home before he is 36 weeks."

Oh yea, Nurse Kelly? Boo-ya! He isn't even 36 weeks yet and he is in the van on the way home!

Sorry, I am just a tad proud of this little man.

Taking vitamins. Stinky, stinky, vitamins.

Juliet was cracking up. She couldn't decide if she liked this "new thing."

After about 15 minutes of us taking her off him, she lost interest. Haha

This kid was so happy. He held Mason for an hour. Singing to him, talking to him, telling him about his new environment. "This is your new house, I am your new brother, the biggest brother in this house. We are going to share a room, but not our legos." It was so sweet and special.

This girl, who I thought would be all over him, was perfect. I forgot, she is now four and MUCH better when it comes to being intense. She was sweet and loving and extremely maternal.

Mason was alert and awake for dinner, so he joined us.
He was disgusted in Juliet's eating habits. This is what he was looking at....

Hahaha.

Mason smiles a lot in his sleep, but probably won't smile for real till mid February (that whole adjusted age thing) Most of the time when he is awake he looks like this...

I'll take it! :)

We love you, Mason!

And as a wild Ty Pennington would say,

"Welcome home Mason, Welcome home!"

NICU week 6

2012-01-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

Day 35 - 6lbs even, 35 weeks gestation (roughly) and had 4 FULL bottles in the day! Thanks to Jen, the NICU nurse who listened to me. :)

Day 36 - We got a babysitter, came down to do bath and bottle and cares. Mason was awake and ready to get with the program!

Can you tell he has put on some weight?

Taking his temperature.

Believe it or not, this is how you bathe a preemie!

So alert and awake!

So amazing!

Day 37 - 6lbs1oz, taking every bottle they are giving him minus the one after his bath the night before, which was to be expected. Crossing fingers this is not a fluke and he takes EVERY bottle for them.

Day 38 - What a WHIRLWIND of a day! I usually make Nathan call the NICU because it is really hard for me to call. The nurses, make me feel guilty for not driving an hour each way to see the baby everyday.
(this is in my head) Back to the day: I "had a feeling to call" and she said they started hock feeding Mason. or doing a more adlib schedule since he is now TAKING A BOTTLE at EVERY feeding! This is the first step to coming home. The second step also happened today...he was on the room air challenge, and passed with flying colors! The third step is the A/B tests which he cleared! And, finally, the fourth test he must pass is the car seat challenge. Which, they called and asked us to come in TOMORROW for this test.
This is a sign that he will come home soon, very soon, like before the week's end!!!!!!
Oh, and he weighs 6lbs4oz!

Day 39 - Nathan's mom came to watch the girls, Becky picked up Lucas, and we were at the hospital ALL morning! They did every test, checked things twice, and we crossed all our t's and dotted all our i's and then we left. We came home to tell the kids something very exciting!

***
squeeeeeeeee!

NICU week 5

2012-01-06T07:31:00.002-07:00

Day 28 - 4lbs15oz Everything regulated itself out, so Mason is back to every other feeding with a bottle. Barely on oxygen - so .2L or 20cc of oxygen. His swallowing looks FANTASTIC and they are going to continue pressing on with the bottle of BM for most of the feedings. Ouch. But worth it. :)

Day 30 - 5lbs 4oz!!! Now does 2 bottles on, 1 off. Getting closer to getting off the monitors.

Day 31 - ONE MONTH OLD
Nathan got to take the temp, change the diaper, and snuggle for awhile. I took the kids on a much needed walk and then we switched. I talked to the nurses about what he has left and he passed the allergy test, the swallow test, and hasn't had any apneas or brady's so we are just waiting for him to bottle feed full 50cc at every feeding.

Day 32 - 5lbs 5oz Took every feeding by bottle, but they were only half feeds. He just gets too tired.
His brain scans looked great and was approved for in home PT, which is typical for preemies 30-34 weeks at birth. He is chunking up and has dimples! Well, one, on his left cheek. :)

Day 33 - 5lbs 12oz, took a bath and his hair was poofy! He is still on half bottles but making more progress.
SCARY 11pm phone call that they moved him because they had several multiples coming and needed to put Mason in a room with a mate. He is with another little boy who is similar in age, but not doing as well as Mason. :(

Day 34 -5lbs 14oz!!!!! He isn't eating well during the day, but at night, he eats like a champ. For me, he ate 55cc's! He was awake and making noises.

Love this baby's CRAZY hair!

Can you tell he is getting bigger?

Special thanks to my friend Becky, who takes me to the hospital and takes pictures of these special tender moments for me. She held him too! :)

AND - a video.

He is doing great, looks good, just a mini baby.

Mason the Mini Witte! :)

66 degrees in JANUARY!

2012-01-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

I met up with another PB friend. She has 2 beautiful daughters named Eva and Sophie.

Bridget is always up for meeting new people, and we had planned to meet at the rec center, but once we got out of the car, the park seemed like a better idea.

Bridget and Eva had a great time. Lots of silly 4 year old giggles!

Sophie (5 months) and Juliet (10.5 months) just kinda chilled.

It was fun to meet another PB mom! Dawn just moved to Colorado and only lives 15-20 minutes from me!

I hope we can do it again soon, weather pending.

On the way home the kids talked about how fun it is to play outside in the winter.

I told them that since they were so good at the park, we would skip naps for the day, but that only lasted 30 minutes when I found all of them in weird places asleep. Lucas passed out under his Lego table, Bridget was under her bed and Scarlett was...

...snoring away. Hahaha.

Umm Okay?

2012-01-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Not a lot you can say when this happens...

Incidentally, this is also when she decided to start walking.

Juliet, slow down!

Last Day

2012-01-03T14:43:00.001-07:00

No pictures today.

Today is the last day before our world starts again.

I loved the break.

I loved having my kids home.

I loved not "having" to go anywhere.

I loved having YW at home so I could go to the NICU w/o the other monsters.

I loved hanging in our pj's and house clothes.

I especially loved the extra time we got with Nathan.

We finished up all of Lucas's homework.

We reorganized the pantry.

We moved some furniture.

We baked some cookies.

We played lots of games on our break.

We watched several 3D movies on the 3DTV.

We played the Wii - a lot.

We ate in the family room for dinner!

Mostly, we enjoyed each other.

I really loved this extra time, even though Mason wasn't with us...for all of it.

Tomorrow begins a new day, back into the swing of things, back to the schedule.

This part I like. I like being scheduled and all that jazz, but it is nice to have the break.

*sigh*

My kids requested Sloppy Joe's for dinner. It is their current favorite dinner.

They have only had it like 5 times in their life, but when its specifically asked for, how can I say no?

Exactly.

I love our little life.

*My friend Emily asked what the pot thing was about*
A long time ago, Nathan and I read a book where an old lady on the street, banged her pots to get rid of the kids who would hang out on her stoop/porch. It was at that moment, Nathan, (and me with a weird face) decided to bang the pots on New Years Day to bang out the bad times/memories of the previous year, to make room for the good times/memories. *insert eye roll here* Yea, we are weird, but my kids LOVE doing it, and the neighbors on the street usually shrug their shoulders and chalk it up to Witte Weirdness.

Ringing in the New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T19:21:00.003-07:00

Last year: HERE

We did our traditional Waffles and Martenelli's while watching Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's on DVR.

Lucas insisted on the orange table cloth - didn't care to fight it.

Cheers to health, wealth, and happiness!

Nathan made chocolate chocolate chip waffles! Thanks Liz!

Hey look! I was there too!

Then we got dressed for church and did our pots and pans thing outside!

Then, I took the opportunity to take pictures of the kids, in their church clothes because their dresses were made by my mother in law...and they looked so cute!

I need to add it was 33 degrees outside. Juliet was FREEZING!

She smocked them. I am a sucker for smocking!

Anything smocked!

Then we came in, warmed up, and talked about how we did on last year's goals.

Mostly, we did a pretty good job.

Here are last years goals:
V - Successful VBAC in Feb err - not so much, (Didn't get one in Dec either LOL) Sell $500 worth of Handmade items CHECK $630 total!!!!, Master Weekly Menu Notebook for the year including weekly prices and recipes. TRIPLE CHECK

N - Daddy Date Nights with school this didn't happen :(, Finish AAS MAY will be CHECKED, Backyard and Front Yards Haha, havinga hellacious pregnancy over the summer/fall this DID NOT happen!

L - Not get so worked up over little things, Keep up with his Reading - CHECK :)

B - Listen and Obey the first time, Learning to write the entire Alphabet - Almost a FULL CHECK

S - Potty Train, Learn to do her chores. CHECK

MCJE - to be born healthy, happy, and Bridget's color. Hahaha
^^^^ Well, JE was born a blondie so that was half right and MC ended up being MP and fulfilled the Bridget coloring...we got a two-fer last year!!

On the way to church (11am - our 1st time in 6 years being at 11am!!!) we talked about this year's goals.

Less Waste, Recycle More (as a family),

V - Start Specials at Home, relinquish control when it comes to family things, haha.
N - Complete AAS, Backyard and Front Yards. Start Specials at Home
L - Complete Kindergarten and finish the ENTIRE Ready Freddy series.
B - Finish 3K move on to 4K and continue being a GOOD 4 year old.
S - Not be a terrible 3 year old, work on volume control.
J - Keep smiling, and to keep the blue eyes, and move to a toddler bed.
M - Come home from NICU and stay home. Grow, Feed and pack on the pounds. Also to stay healthy.

I have a few things I am going to do for myself when I turn 30, more on that later! Hehehe.

Then the kids went to their classes:

Lucas - CTR 5 with Brother Jacobs

Bridget - CTR 4 with Sister Breeden

To which Lucas shouted out "No fair!" (she was his teacher last year)

Scarlett - Sister Taylor and Nora and Nora's mom. Haha.

We had an interesting, super FAST, 2011. Can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

NICU week 4

2011-12-30T08:31:00.001-07:00

Day 23 - More comments on "the chin" Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Witte, From 2L to 1.5L oxygen, still 4lbs 6oz, starting swallow therapy in the morning with the therapist.

Day 24 - Mommy and Danielle visit. Mommy got to give 1st bottle and he ate 32 of 40! No spit ups, no problems. Danielle got to hold him too!

The kids got a picnic lunch in the waiting area.

Nathan worked with Lea the PT this time.

Mason taking his FIRST bottle!

Day 25 - 4lbs 8oz, Takes bottles every other feeding. No problems except they have to up his oxygen because he forgets to breathe after swallowing. He really wants to go home almost as much as I want him here :)

Day 26 - 4lbs 11oz, on low flow at 35cc which is the lowest before it can come off. Ate a full 41cc by bottle (every other feed) cueing for a bottle well.

Day 27 - Mommy and Tara come to visit. Mason was weighed again and is
4lbs 14oz!!!!!!
Mason was awake and so smiley and making all kinds of smacking noises like he was ready to eat and Mommy tried a feed and Mason had 2 red lights during the feed - meaning he was too into sleeping to feed.
He then was having issues when the nurse, and Tara and I were trying to leave so he had A/Bs in protest.
This was totally normal. Nothing to worry about.

Now that is a smile!

Mason loves to pull his cords out!

"Mason looks big so it is hard to remember that he is still very young." - Al the Nurse
This is true. It is so hard to see him "look" normal and seem to be normal in so many ways that it is hard remembering he is a preemie. Until you see his teeny tiny parts.

He is too tall for some of his preemie clothes, his arms hang out of most his clothes. He is in the "bigger" preemie diapers. It is so strange. I am learning a lot about Preemies and getting anxious for our boy to come home. It hasn't been to hard on me but I have my moments.

Christmas (on the 16th)

2011-12-25T19:49:00.001-07:00

Today (the 16th) was my official day OFF bedrest. So much for that. : P

Nathan and I were hard at work the 3 weeks prior trying to get everything done "just in case" something happens, again, so much for that.

Here are the kids on "Christmas Eve"

The kids woke up at 7:15ish but I was up at 5:45am making Strawberry Cheese Danishes (kids request)

They picked Blueberry Danishes for next year. I am going to make the blueberries inside I think.

The kids woke up RIGHT as I was putting it in the oven.

And this is what they SAW!

From Left:

(Girls Dress Up Station, Lego Table, Lucas's new Bike, Lap Desk for Scar and a GIANT Doll House!

Most of those things were "recycled" more on that later! :)

The kids usually check things out before they open, then we send them up to clean their rooms and make their beds and brush their teeth. Hahaha.

More awesome stuff! Lucas kept saying, "I really needed a new bike, but I didn't ask for one because I didn't want to pick between a bike AND Lego's." Oh man it was so funny.

Nathan built the Lego table out of a table we bought the kids awhile back, it was broken from a Tot School incident and I put it in the basement to "fix" later. This was perfect! We painted the top added Lego plates and added railings underneath so that a tub could fit under it! Genius!

On to the loot! We didn't go crazy because I couldn't "shop" this year, so the kids got a lot of things that went with the bigger items. They didn't seem to care. :)

Scarlett couldn't believe she got a barbie with red hair, that was "Oriole!" (Ariel)

Auntie Stef and Uncle Theo and Cousin Phil gave our family UDraw and Pictionary! These are so much fun!

Bridget wanted a robe and slippers and pickles for her eyes. She got everything except the pickles. :)

Scarlett is the artist in the family. I made her an art kit that was ALL color wonder stuff so I don't have to worry about my walls or furniture. :) She is free to use HER art supplies ANY time!

I had my mind set on making the kids this dress up cabinet.

So in the 11th hour we put it all together and I had picked out some clearance Halloween costumes for their new dress ups.

Bridget got SpiderGirl and a Bride.

Scarlett got Rapunzel and Snow White

Lucas got Batman and a Robber/Jailman.

Here is a better look at the Dress Up Cabinet.

This is in my bathroom because that is where we hid everything for 2 weeks.

The kids were so mad that the bathroom was "broken" because they had to use the other bathrooms instead. Hahaha. Suddenly after Christmas - it was fixed. Amazing how that happened, huh?

Lucas slowly assembling everything he got in his room with his table.

Bridget the bride playing with the doll house. I took better pictures of the process but if you look closely on the 2nd floor the framed artwork is Lucas's from Kindergarten. There are lots of fun details in this house. I will probably need to do a whole post on it because it took me 3 weeks of Nathan at school and me on bedrest to do but I am so proud of it! :)

Look! I was there - a week after having Mason and having fun with my kids. I really really missed playing with them!

We ordered Chinese Food for dinner - we ordered a feast - it was embarrassing but DELICIOUS.

Juliet loved everything we gave her!

Then the kids plowed through their stockings.

It was a fun (week early) Christmas.

Why did we do this a week early? Well, we wanted to be with Mason for one and we planned on catering Breakfast for the NICU on Christmas day. We also planned on spending the night, but, after going to the Witte's the kids were NOT having it so we visited him today and catered breakfast. We delivered the bird ornaments with treats and cards to the nurses and...got more comments on "the chin" haha.

We Skype'd with the Horn's, and had German Pancakes for Breakfast.

We played and had fun with our toys from last week.

I got a new smartphone, some cartridges, AND -Nathan built me a bench for the kitchen table

(to which I replied "If you build a mommy a bench, chances are she will ask for a table to go with it)

I just need to pick the color to paint it. I am thinking Black to go with our new cabinets. Hmmm.

Nathan got a new TV and some clothes and shoes.

After naps, Nathan took the kids REAL sledding.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas. It was weird celebrating 2 first Christmas's this year, but it was special having our whole family together. It finally felt complete and right. I just hope Mason continues to progress and that he can come home soon. :)

Christmas Eve @ Witte's and NICU week 3

2011-12-24T21:56:00.001-07:00

We gathered, ate Yummy Sandwiches, and of course, had the Christmas Exchange.

2011 - Theme "IN THE KITCHEN"

Nathan gives to Ryan

Valerie gives to Veronica

Jared gives to Cory

Erin gives to Valerie

(to which we all laughed at the Nacho stand)

I got an Erin Milne Witte handmade cake stand!!! I loooove it!

Ryan gives to Jared

Veronica gives to Erin

Liz gives to Danielle

Cory gives to Nathan

A Pancake Dispenser and Cookbook!!!

Our family is so lucky!

Ben gives to Alex

Danielle gives to Liz

Alex gives to Ben

We also made gingerbread houses.

I swear I am not on drugs. I don't know what is up with me in all these pics. So weird.

Juliet and Spencer playing puzzles.

All the boys got this tool set and a survival knife.

My kids hugging and grateful for all they received.

In case anyone was wondering...Lucas loves Lego's.

Grandma Witte spent many long hours making special dresses for the girls. They all were different, but matched. I can't wait for them to wear them!

Juliet having a great time drooling and playing with the leftover carnage.

Everyone was able to talk to Uncle Chris who is serving in PA on his mission and then we headed to the NICU...

When we got there Mason had a little surprise for us:

He was in a big boy crib!!!!

Nathan and I didn't know they were going to do this so we were ALL shocked!

Every kid passed the test and got to go in.

It was a special treat since only 4 people were allowed in at a time.

We was asleep for most of it.

It was truly amazing to see the love each of our kids have for Mason.

His hand in Nathan's hand.

Nathan was itching to hold him so I passed him off.

He was smiling at Nathan!

My boys!

He is just growing so much and doing so well.

It makes it a little easier to leave him knowing that he isn't having problems.

Look at that! My whole family looking at me. *sigh* finally!

Grow Mason, Grow!

Here are the weekly stats just for my record.

Day 16 - 3.13 pounds, high flow nasal canula, very warm for his size, but nothing to worry about.

Day 17 - 35ml every 3 hours, weaned oxygen to 1.5 L but still on high flow. 3.14lbs. Physical Therapy came and are pleased with movements, so he might not need any therapy after he goes home!

Day 18 - Mommy visits

Day 20 - 4 lbs 2 oz - steady on high flow BUT ready to be moved to low flow.

Just growing and Feeding now!

Day 22 - Family visits and *drumroll please* 4lbs 6oz AND in a big boy crib!

Getting ready to transition to bottles and swallowing therapy.

Please pray he eats and swallows without a problem. This is the ONE thing he HAS to do to come home.

EEEK!!!!!

Winter Break Activity #2, #3, and #4

2011-12-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

#2 - We made Borax Snowflakes

#3 - We surprised Daddy at work and kidnapped him for Lunch:

It was just funny that this random food truck pulled up RIGHT as we were waiting for him. HAHAHA

We took him to Panera. Bridget yelled out in the middle of the restaurant

"Yous is ares special guest fors lunch!"

Guess you had to be there. LOL

Juliet sat by the fireplace and enjoyed her own Ham sandwich. Ham is her favorite kind of sandwich.

Our whole family split 2 of these suckers!

#4 - We went "sledding" WHILE it was snowing. I think we got 13 inches total up by us.

Scarlett refused to wear her snow pants so Bridget wore them.

Lucas rode his new bike!

Then Scarlett realized Bridget was wearing HER pants, aaah girls.

Bridget begged not to go on the jumps that Lucas and Nathan made...

They didn't listen. Haha.

Such a fun week so far! So glad Nathan's work declared today a snow day, and that Mackenzie and Emma could come over for a much needed playdate. The kids really love having friends over.

Mommy and Mason

2011-12-21T08:23:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to spend a good chunk of the evening at the NICU without Nathan, aka The Baby Hog!

My friend took me there and took pictures the whole time.

So this should be titled "Photo Bomb"

Even though he is tiny, he looks amazing!

Here is some perspective to how small he is!

We came at shift change so I got to take his temp...

This was the first time I heard him cry, like really cry. It was such a great sound to hear.

I moved to the other side to weigh him and he was staring at me the majority of the time.

In fact the whole time I was there he was completely awake and responding to my voice.

A good stretch for my tall boy!

He is 17 inches and 4 pounds at 32 1/2 weeks. There is talk about adjusting his age to 34 1/2 weeks because my due date was unknown since I bled so much.

Hey there!

Mason never had his footprints taken because he wasn't breathing at birth, and had to go straight to the NICU. They didn't have time to do it, so I asked, and got to do it!

So glad she was there to take pictures for me!

He just stared at me and listened to me. So chill.

The nurse let me hold him out of the swaddle!

He was so alert and awake and adorable!

I got to hold him during a feed and just love on him.

He is such a grabby mcgrabberson! He was pulling out the nasal cannula over and over - I would too they suck...or is it blow? Haha.

Such tender moments. It was extremely hard to leave him. He pooped in protest as we were leaving. Haha.

He is getting stronger everyday and I just love him so much.

I am so grateful my friend could take me, and stay with me, and watch me cry. It has been especially hard since my across the street neighbor had her baby 4 days after me and has her "termie" home with her.

Soon I will be there. Soon.

Winter Break Activity #1

2011-12-19T18:43:00.001-07:00

Since we already celebrated Christmas, Nathan and I made a list of things to do with the kids to make the break go by faster and be more memorable. Today was cooking. Make Cracked Snowball Cookies!

So we did. This recipe makes 8 dozen. So, tomorrow, half are going with me to the NICU, and the other half are going to RGI with my special requested dip for the work noonday party.

Joo-ge has never seen us bake before. She was so into it!

The kids had fun and made a beautiful terrible mess. I have missed baking soooooooo much! In other unrelated news my dad is going to buy a crock pot! I know, I was stunned too! HAHAHHAHAHA.

It is amazing how much I have accomplished today with the kids home. It snowed and it was so nice to not "have" to go anywhere! :) Laundry, baking, and the bathrooms all were completed today. Its nice to be back! :)

Gettin' My Craft On!

2011-12-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

11 weeks on bed rest could have broken me. I am not going to lie. It was really, really, hard. A lot of things kept me busy. Recycled and Repurposed Christmas Presents (more on that later), Sewing for the upcoming bundle of joy (more on that later,) and making 100 of these birdies...

They were all different. Everyone in the swap got two. For two turtle doves. Wait - what swap? I was fortunate enough to participate in a swap with some extremely talented ladies.

Here is the BLOG LINK

It was so fun having 3 teams, I wished I was on EVERY team.

It was also nice to get several packages just for me in the mailbox! :)

I made 100 because I plan on giving the remaining birds to the NICU staff and babies for Christmas.

We have been hard at work making treats in mason jars and writing thank you notes to everyone who has been taking care of our precious little man...more on that later! :)

NICU week 2

2011-12-17T10:40:00.002-07:00

I am feeling better. It is so hard to know you have 5 kids and only have 4 with you.

Breaks my heart. :(

Day 10 -32 ccs every 3 hours!

Day 11 - Only need a little O2 and is taking 33cc every hour of 26 cal milk up from 24cal.

Also he is doing very well in taking a binkie and sucking and maintaining his body heat.

Day12 - 3.9 pounds (almost at birth weight after a big drop) off caffine, gaining 2oz a day. bath last night. off warmer/temperature...maintaining own heat.

Day 14 - Popped the top off for body temp test and passed! Feedings good (33ccs every 3 hours) Start iron injections!

Day 15 - Got a call that he needed to go back on high flow nasal canula, not a big deal but Nathan made it work so we could go in immediately, so we did.

The best part of the week was that I FINALLY got to hold him. They don't want too much stimulation so they try and space it out. Here we are FINALLY holding our sweet, sweet baby. :)

Monkey fingers. They tell us he loves to pull out his cords. Hahaha.

No more top! Whew!

Tiny Stethoscope!

I can see now that Nathan is right "Their weird limbs are from you"

I was also crying in this picture. I have waited for 15 LONG days to hold my baby.

Love those Mr. Burns fingers! :P

He is almost 17 inches, but looks so small still.

Lots of BROWN hair!

He might have to be called peanut.

I started talking to him and he woke up!

So I sang him the song that the kids loved when they were babies and he "smiled" I know he is too young to really smile but we DID get some form of happiness. :)

Nathan, the baby hog, didn't want to leave. I didn't want to either but the other kids needed us.

So we said our goodbyes, gave one last hug...

...and left. He is truly a miracle and we are so grateful he came and lived and so far is doing really well.

We love and miss you Mason!

NICU week 1

2011-12-16T04:35:00.001-07:00

What a difference a week makes!

Week 1: It has been a rough week on me. My Spinal Headache lasted 8 days. I was taking Percocet for my headache not my incision. I wanted to come visit more but it just wasn't possible. I was in so much pain.

At Birth: Breathing on own, then intibated b/c breathing too hard. Feeding through tubes in abdomen.

Day 3: I had to leave the hospital, but Mason was on CPAP doing a GREAT job!

Day 5: Took him off CPAP - on high flow nasal oxygen and eating VERY well. Took out umbilicoard iv line into artery but still in vein one. Turned off bili lights at night to see how it goes. Breathing better, eating 16 ml every 4 hours and he's pooping good. LOTS of improvements.

31 Weeks : Almost an ounce - 21cc of food - tolerate feeds. Seems to want more after feedings. Nasal canula still but moved to low flow. If continues to go well he will be off the IV for feeds.

Big yawn!

They were so worried about his hands not opening and being small - and look at them, they are GIANT! Hahaha.

He is also wearing CLOTHES!

He was just looking at Lucas. Lucas cried a little again, he wanted his brother to be okay.

He grabbed Bridget's hand and wouldn't let go! She was ecstatic.

Mason continues to impress the NICU team. Every time they try something new he is ready!

The head of pediatrics told us Mason was just so eager to be with us he is trying to out do all the other babies so he can go home!

Haha.

Programs/Holiday Cheer

2011-12-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Bridget had her Preschool Program yesterday. She was nominated by her whole class to sing a solo. She of course gave in to her fans and performed a solo. Haha.

She was so excited to wear this dress. It is a hand-me-down from Ali and it is a size 6!

Juliet being funny during the breaks.

***

Today was Lucas's Winter Writing Celebration.

Lucas was so excited about reading his writing to the class.

Everyone in the class got a turn but what was so funny was that everyone's sample was the same.

"If you take me to the movies, I'll ask for..."

(from if you take a mouse to the movies)

most kids wrote slushy, pizza, etc. and that's it... BUT Lucas wrote:

"some popcorn to go with it and chances are if you give me popcorn, Ill want you to take me to the park."

All the parents chuckled but it totally sounded like my boy!

They got to have a special snack and then show us their reading journals, their writing notebooks, and what they have been working on. Lucas's writing notebook had over 35 pages of pure writing. Mrs. Kelso told Nathan and I that Lucas really likes to write. Mostly about Lego's, riding his bike, and being a Rescue Hero/Community Helper.

***

Since the older kids got to have something special, Scarlett made the family dinner. Holiday Mac n Cheese and Little Smokies in Crescent Rolls. It was delicious, and she was so proud! :)

We got a special delivery from Nathan's work

The Activity Day Girls caroled to our family, and that was the end of the last two days. :)

Tomorrow is the last day of school and then vacation! Wahoo.

Post 10 - A Series of FORTUNATE Events (part 2)

2011-12-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

So after finally getting to see my sweet preemie, Mason, I go into a recovery room. Because of the snowstorm the day before and the change in Barometric Pressure (not kidding here) there were a lot of births at night and during the day. So - all the high risk rooms were FULL. I was totally fine with this except that I had the world's worst headache and chalked it up to the terrible lighting. I wished I could take meds right away but they said I had to wait till I was assigned a nurse.

We were joking and chatting with the nurses (we are such a funny couple) and nurses would come in and not be able to stay because they wanted to keep talking to us, seriously this is so true. I was put on the 5th floor because that is the only place for me and I am a little sad because the 4th floor is the NICU floor, but oh well.

We go see Mason one last time and head up to our rooms. I am texting back and forth with 10 people and Nathan is constantly rolling his eyes. We get ready for bed and I BEG to eat. I hadn't had food all day. She sneaks me the most delicious chocolate pudding I have ever eaten in my life. Thoughts of Bill Cosby run through my head. Nathan hasn't eaten either so he leaves (at 10pm) to get McDonald's.

The Anesthesiologist, the 2 OBs that operated on me, and the Pathologist, came in and told me we needed to have a little chat. I start crying (I blame the headache) they found out from the tests on the placenta that my placenta had a bacterial infection and that if Mason was born any later he could have died. I lost it. How could this have happened? They have no idea.

To cheer me up they brought me this fun package since I guessed the birth weight right! I had no words. I was stunned, in shock and in a LOT of pain...headache not incision.

Nathan comes in and almost drops his food. My face must have been so scary. I tell him what happened and he went down to go check on Mason one last time.

We finally get to bed at 12:15am. I can't sleep but Nathan was sawing logs next to me. I have a terrible dream about not paying the XCEL bill and wake up, and immediately check online. I paid it, but woke Nathan up. Then I started yelling at him about something dumb and the nurse walks in to check on me. While she is doing this Nathan started seizing. I SCREAM, and try to jump out of bed. 20 people storm in and try to help Nathan. He was having a Grand Mal seizure. I am screaming trying to get him to come out of it but they pull me and the bed out of the room. The hospital manager is trying to put me down the hall but I refused. I get out of the bed and almost rip the IV out. They are pinning Nathan down (8 men) and trying to medicate/sedate him to get him to stop. I call Nathan's dad to come. Its 4am and snowing.

They are trying to talk to Nathan to get him out of it and I am totally calm and talking him through it. He is screaming at them, pulling IV's out, kicking the needle guy off him, it was the scariest thing I have ever been through.

They finally sedate him but there is blood everywhere. They take him to the ER. I am now feeling the foolishness of getting out of bed just hours after major surgery. I just start crying.

I tell them to call the chaplain. Nathan needs a blessing. They get a hold of the Aurora SP and his son in law. They are there. While everyone is cleaning everything up some nurses talk to me and are criticizing me for having 5 kids. They are passing judgement and I was getting so frustrated. Then an LDS nurse from another floor comes to me and was saying what I needed to hear. She said that kids are a blessing, and that they are lucky to have me and my husband who I obviously love if I was willing to risk my life to safe his. She said that as mothers we always take the blame or try to protect out of nature. I unloaded everything I was feeling and then she offered a prayer. It was so amazing. I felt a weight lifted.

Nathan's dad arrives, with the two Aurora people and I said go to the ER and work your way up. So they gave Nathan a blessing in the ER, Mason a blessing in the NICU, and me one in PP Recovery. It was just so much all in one day.

Nathan was in the ER until 4:30pm.

My best friend came to be with me for the whole day. She came at 10 and left at 8ish.

I couldn't have gone the whole day alone. I was so worried about Nathan, Mason and everything that happened. She came with me to the NICU and took pictures for me because I had a spinal headache, she was just what I needed. It was such a blessing. She also got to hear the nurses tease me about Nathan needing attention so he had a seizure. Haha. They also asked if he was a large man because the "rumor is 8 guys couldn't control him - he must have been huge" I got such a laugh at that.

The next day I got a blood patch. It worked for 1/2 the day.

The kids got to come and meet their brother.

I was too boring for them.

It was such a hard experience for Lucas. He really, really wanted to hold his brother.

Scarlett kept saying "My brotha is so teeny like a dolly"

Juliet, she had no idea. She just stared.
Here is a comparison:

She looks HUGE compared to him!
9 1/2 months apart and still worlds apart in size.

The kids went home and Ben and Danielle babysat while Nathan rested so that Grandma and Grandpa Witte could come. It was such a surreal chain of events.

At least we were already in the hospital, at least Mason wasn't in the room - again so many blessings and miracles that all came into play. I felt like all of the heartache, pain, stress and frustration was so we could truly see how lucky we were for these 2 days...and that Mason was okay.

The next day it was time for me to leave.

It was so incredibly hard to leave my baby at the hospital. I had so many feelings and the spinal headache.
I was frustrated with myself and had to work through so much.
Nathan could barely walk himself, he was practically overdosed before getting to the ER and then the pinning down gave him bruises in places he has never had before.

I wished I could stay but the NICU team assured me that I was going to go home and recover, Mason was going to grow and eat and get himself ready to join us in a few weeks. When it was time for him to go home, I would be fully recovered and ready to give him 100%.
Comforting? Yes. What I wanted? No.

We waited to tell people because I needed to wrap my brain around what just happened.
I needed time to find out about Mason's possible conditions, I needed to find out more for myself.
I am doing much better now. Nathan is back to work now too.
It's just hard to not have my baby in my arms, but in no time he will be here!

Post 9 - A Series of FORTUNATE Events (part 1)

2011-12-11T07:58:00.001-07:00

Nathan was going to take Lucas to lunch then go back to work. He decided to come back because he had "a feeling." I called him and said "I need you to come home, right now." I was bleeding. A lot.

Nathan packs the kids in the car, I call his mom to meet us in the parking lot at the Hospital.

We drive to the hospital. We had just had 7 inches of snow the night before, but most of it was melted and it was sunny out and the roads were mostly clear. I start having contractions. I am panicked but kept my cool for the kids. I was spelling everything that I was feeling to Nathan which is starting to become an issue because Lucas is sounding out what I am saying from the back seat. I start breathing through. The hospital is 40 minutes away (the special hospital) but I am going to make it.

We pull up to the hospital and I am completely soaked. Nathan puts me on a wheelchair and runs me to the elevator and then goes back to the parking lot to wait for his mom. As I get to L&D there are 6 nurses 2 OBs and 2 men to carry me if needed waiting in the foyer. I have soaked 11 pads in 30 minutes. The OBs decided today is Baby #5's birthday.

I am crying a little, I am not ready. I didn't even shave my legs or make a bag. Nathan walks up and they told him I am having an Emergency C/S in 30 minutes. They had double the staff on hand this particular day, everyone was joking that today was the perfect day to have the baby because there were so many hands on deck.

The anestheseologist was a cute chick named Serena. She was so comforting and nice and walked me through what was about to happen. Because this was C/S #3 they had to do a spinal and an epidural. She explained everything to me, and was a pedatric anestheseologist for years prior so that gives you a hint into her demeanor.

The OB's were the ones I saw the last time, so they knew me and were nice. All the nurses introduced themselves and then the NICU team came in - 15 just for my sweet baby. I hadn't eaten all day. I had 2 glasses of water before getting there which was perfect for the C/S. Except that they tried 6 times to get an IV in and ended up leaving 3 in, just to be safe.

I go in, get the spinal/epidural procedure and then Nathan came in. There were TONS of people waiting to get the job done. Everyone talked me through the whole thing. I needed to know what was happening as it was happening. I had blood in my tracts so I needed a vertical incision, I told them that my husband digs scars and would think it was sexy. Got a good laugh at that. We guessed weights. I said I would love 3.10, but 3.2 was my guess. 3.5 was Nathan's and the OB's guessed 3.7.

They went in and its a good thing it was vertical because baby was up in my ribs and wedged so bad they would have had to cut me again to get him out. He came out and my placenta nearly broke. It was in 3 pieces and had 2 giant holes in it. It looked very very bad. They sent it to pathology for testing. I was so grateful it (the placenta) did its job for so long.

Baby came out and was not breathing. There were a lot of tears and silence and then a little meow. Once they got him breathing the first thing they said was "holy cow, look at those legs!" I waited patiently and said "Nathan what do you see?" He laughed and was interrupted by the Primary NICU Pediatrician "What a cute chin!" A sigh of relief - that was the only feature I really wanted him to have, then Nathan said "He has a TON of hair, and it looks curly to me. Bridget is going to be happy." YAY!!! A Brunette with a cleft chin and tall!

They whisked him out, I made Nathan leave but he really wanted to stay with me. I wanted a million pics and someone to be with baby boy.

My insides looked pretty good. They were amazed that I had little to no scaring from the previous C/S and I asked if I could have more children (just for the reaction) and both OBs looked over with Huge Eyes and said "seriously?" I laughed it was so funny...to me. Hahaha. I was in unusually good spirits until they were interrupted by another OB who came in to ask a question and I could start wiggling my legs. I was freaking out. I asked if they were almost done because I could move my feet. They were shocked that my body metabolized the spinal that fast. (we were on hour 2.5 at his point) of me being open. They finished up, stapled me back together and then it was over. I went straight to recovery waiting to hear about our new son.
The whole procedure was 3.5 hours.

***

Nathan comes into the room and was all smiles.

Mason Philip Witte

Born: December 2, 2011---1:56pm

Our little 30 weeker was 3 pounds 10 ounces.

16.5 inches long and almost breathing on his own!

What a miracle.

They labeled him the fat kid in the NICU.

Here are a few pics...

Look at that HAIR!

He is doing amazing for being so early. They can't believe that after 24 hours he was taken off the ventilator and put on CPAP but is still doing it all by himself. He starting eating through the feeding tube and seems to be doing okay. They are amazed at his progress and are hopeful he will just be in the NICU for growing and eating.

I was a little down that I didn't make it to the day they wanted but I could have died.

My placenta basically burst and it could have been fatal to me and Mason.

The timing of today and the little miracles that happened along the way were truly blessings from God. I felt his love, hand, and presence with us today.

This was only the beginning...

Remember Me?

2011-12-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

It has been a Heck-of-a-week...but before I post about that let's talk about tonight!

Nathan had his last final yesterday.

Did I mention he took 8 accelerated classes this semester. I thought it was 6 but it was actually 8!

(I had other things on my mind)

Today he got his scores and got straight A's AGAIN!

I laugh because this man has said to me time and time again he is not good at school, but what he really meant was: "I never knew what I wanted to do so school never interested me"

To celebrate THIS HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT (3rd semester in a row)

We loaded the kids in the car, grabbed some peppermint hot chocolate and blasted CHRISTMAS music while we drove through the neighborhoods to look at lights. This year did not disappoint!

Nathan rearranged the seats and found something sticky on Bridget and Lucas's seat so we pulled them out to wash and put the boosters in for the trip. I HATE washing car seat covers!

Nathan had to rebuckle Scarlett like 9 times. We are going to end up washing all seats and readjusting them tomorrow. What an ordeal. HAHA.

Mmm. Peppermint Hot Chocolate!

I think my doll baby's blue eyes are going to stay.

Don't you?

I can't believe another semester is done and that Nathan managed to be here, there, and everywhere and still be a great husband and father. Reworking his schedule with a wife on bedrest, full load at school and managing to do well at everything asked of him. I am in awe of my mate. So grateful to have him in my life.

Woodworking Adventure

2011-12-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

At Lucas's school they have been learning all about wood. Everyday Lucas would come home with a different type of experiment, worksheet or investigative discovery packet to work on. Lucas especially loved this because it meant working with Nathan.

Today was the big day! Mrs. Kelso asked for parent volunteers to come in and help with the big wood working project for the end of the unit. Lowe's gave the school these coin counter/banks to make. Lucas was pumped!

Nathan dropped off Lucas, walked in to the office to get his volunteer badge, and they knew right off the bat that he was Lucas Witte's dad. They laughed and told him they haven't seen a resemblance like that in a while.

It was time for the fun.

They have been working on money all of November. Lucas thinks the penny is pointless since it costs more to make than its worth. He also thinks Gold Dollars are the coolest.

Lucas built his all by himself. Nathan was helping all the other kids at the table who didn't have a parent. Lucas, who is obsessed with Legos just followed the directions and went to town.

A lot of the kids did it wrong so Nathan figured out a way to take it apart and help those who needed it. Here is Mrs. Kelso (navy shirt) helping some kids. Have I mentioned that I LOVE her?

Little to no resemblance. Haha. J/K

I do not know what is happening here, but I kept it haha. You can see Nathan is taking apart ANOTHER kids box because it was not done right. Gotta love it.

I just loved his chin in this one and his concentration on the task at hand.

Lucas came home ecstatic to gush about his day and Nathan took him out to Lunch.

What a fun day! So glad Nathan took the camera, I wouldn't have wanted to miss it!

A Pair of Bookends!

2011-11-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

We woke the kids up.

We told them to sit on the couch.

The lighting is bad, but it was 6AM. Haha.

We weren't going to find out/tell but when you are going to the doctor every week -

its kinda hard to not find out.

This was not a good reaction from Lucas. But after it sank in he was screaming "Dreams come true!"

He has never been this happy, he almost wet his pants!

He told everyone who called that his prayers were answered and he needs to stay good or HF will change the baby to a girl. Haha.

I totally knew it though. I am having the same reactions I had when I was pregnant with Lucas.
I need to say when we did find out Nathan was laughing like a girl.
He was more happy than I was, probably because he was done with all the attitude in the house?
I am excited. We got just what we wanted and feel like our family will finally be complete...
with a set of boy bookends, cramming ALL that drama in between. hehehe

Post 8 - Perinatologist

2011-11-25T16:08:00.002-07:00

*Note - This post happened in the past*

*As of right now, baby and mom doing are okay*

I know I have gone on and on about Dr. Hobbins. He truly is the best doctor in the world. He is so comforting and nice and patient friendly.

I went in after a DELICIOUS Lunch Date @ Tamayo.

I was in a wheelchair, but I got to leave the house!

I purposefully ate spicy food so baby would be wild.

We got to the Dr.'s office, they called me in and then they got to business.

Since I have had 5 bleeds Placenta was #1 on the list.

It looks good. It is only 2cm covering which is still annoying.

They checked the veins and placement and everything looks good.

They couldn't see any potential bleeds but could see evidence of the last one.

They took hysterectomy off the table. The placenta doesn't appear to be attached to the "problem area."

They moved up. The baby is so high, like rib cage high.

Everything looked great. Hands opened, fluid good, bones measured 2 weeks ahead.

Baby is in 77th percentile for weight and height. Well over what it should be for weight which is good.

Baby's Kidneys. This has been a worry for several weeks.

They are no longer dilated. No surgery, no concerns.

Heart pumping like a champ.

Baby looks great. I didn't get a "due date" I got a delivery date. They will not let me go past this day.

If I can make it to this day I would be thrilled.
I would be 34 weeks on the day that they decided.

Still a preemie but not a micro preemie.
They are taking me off extreme bed rest on the 16th of December...things will be "safe" then.

If "it" continues to follow trend, "it" could be well over 5 pounds at 34 weeks!

We couldn't be happier with the news. Such a weight has been lifted.

Being on bed rest and asking for help has done it's job!

I am going to try and push through the next several weeks to make it to my next perinatal appointment.

I hope I don't bleed again and that I can make it to Delivery Day!

We are grateful for the kind thoughts and prayers we have received.
We are also grateful for our friends and people in the ward who have helped by bringing meals, and taking the kids on days Nathan and his mom couldn't be here.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

We went to the Witte's this year.

We were there from 10-8:30

Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Future Witte's, 2nd Cousins, and Grandparents were there.

Scarlett was mad because I told her to stop eating. She ate all morning and then had 2 plates of dinner! You better believe I made her go to the bathroom before we headed home!

These were our place mats.

The kids were awesome. Lucas enjoyed Sienna his 2nd cousin who is 9 or 10. They played and played and Lucas was sure he could out do her in math. Haha.

I hardly moved, which was perfect.

Dinner was good, Family was great, Kids were well behaved. Couldn't ask for more.

Wednesday Randoms

2011-11-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

1. Lucas's school had a fun fundraiser where the teachers/staff are the employees at McDonalds.

They take the order, make the food and deliver it.

Lucas begged to go, but I couldn't take him and the stars aligned and Nathan was able to squeeze it in between work full time, school full time, and being the mom and dad full time.

It was also fun because we never eat fast food. I can't even remember the last time we had fast food!

Lucas placed his order with Mr. F the school principal.

He was so happy that Mr. F KNEW his name and all about his family. I love his school so much!

2. Bed Rest Sucks. Like More than I can describe.

Because I can't do much this happens WAAAAY too often:

3. I love to cook. Its my outlet, my most favorite thing to do for my family and because I can't do it, I have been bookmarking millions of recipes. The ward has been so great getting meals to us every week but I needed something else. So Nathan asked which one he could make and I picked a pretty easy one...

Italian Sausage Soup

It was so good. It made me sad that I didn't make it! :)

It also made my need to cook worse.

4. I often worry about Scarlett because she doesn't have school or anything special to do, so I had Nathan pick her up a coloring book and we get special coloring time together. During this time I was reminded that she is just fine!

She was making an angry face. Hahaha.

This one is serious face. Hahaha.

5. Someone asked me how I was doing mentally.

Mentally, I was sad. Not depressed, but sad that I can't fully enjoy this pregnancy like the others because I am physically tired of "resting" and worrying about making it to the next day.

I am sad that I don't get to be the mom my children are used to.

I pray that it doesn't affect them long term. Luckily I get little snipets of the kids assuring me that they love me and that keeping baby safe is the most important thing, not going to the park like we usually do.

That last part was awfully heavy. Sorry about that.

I am glad we got to go to my sister in laws for the kids to get a break, for me to talk to a grownup and to change up our boring lives, right now.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I truly am grateful for our many blessings, our trials too. ;)

9 months!

2011-11-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Juliet, sweet Juliet is 9 months old today!

She is all over the place. Climbing, scaling furniture, crawling but the best part is that she laughs while she is doing ti. Like Haha, I am mobile!

She hardly wants to be held, she would rather just explore.

Her laugh is infectious, her personality is so sweet and you just can't help but squeeze her!

Such a fun loving addition to the family.

Love you Ju-jitzu! Hahaha.

Post 7 - Here we go again!

2011-11-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

*Note - This post happened in the past*

*As of right now, baby and mom doing are okay*

After such a great appointment, everything seemed to be on the up and up.

I got up to say goodbye to family that came over and it started all over again. Bleeding, a lot of bleeding. I was having back cramps and went straight to Platte Valley. They determined there that I was in fact in labor. They sent me to University after stabilizing me and I was there all night. I got a round of steroids for baby's lungs and then was on a million monitors. The back labor stopped, the bleeding stopped and they kept me there for 3 days.

More steroids, more checking, no more blood.

They told me they wanted me to stay for another 8 weeks.

I couldn't do that. I couldn't leave my family for that long. I needed to see my kids and vowed to the Doc's that I would be on complete bedrest. I told them I have lots of people who are here willing to help me. I wasn't actively bleeding...anymore. The nurses and OB understood.

They made me sign an AMA (against medical advice) and I got to come home after 3 long days. It is going to take everything within me to ask for help, because I hate to do that, but to keep baby in, and my children safe - that is just what I will have to do.

If I bleed again (time #5) I will have to stay at the hospital and deliver..no matter what. I would love to make it past christmas...for obvious reasons. Please keep us in your prayers. Viability is the most important thing right now and the longer "it" stays in the better. The thought of a Micro Preemie scares me, but I know I chose to do what was best for me, my sanity, and my family.

I am grateful to BH for taking my kids to church and making sure I am okay and to CM for visiting me 3x in the hospital. :) It made the stay so much better.

So far I have been getting help with meals, pick ups and drop offs and bedtimes because Nathan is still in school. It is so hard to be on complete bed rest but I am doing what I can and that's all I can do.

Wish us luck. :)

Bridget's Mermaid Adventure

2011-11-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

The day finally came.

She woke up and got a special surprise...A Mermaid Outfit! I couldn't resist. Last year's Strawberry Fairy sold me on her needing something for this party too! Haha.

The kids followed the seashells (not pictured) to the trade your shoes to fins sign, and did just that!

Scarlett, Camryn, Caira, Maddie, Bridget, Alli, Lindsey and Ellie

Every girl got a lei, a tail, a flower in their hair and then we started Lunch!

Sea Shells, Gold Fish, and Octopus Dogs.

Camryn and Lindsey shouted "I love hot dogs!"

Bridget made that sign all by herself. I wanted to do more, but she insisted that I needed to "rest"

The girls ate to the Little Mermaid Soundtrack.

They "Aaaahed" in the right parts.

Then they started on their treasure boxes...

I added glitter Letters.

Then we played pop the bubbles with real bubbles and balloon bubbles.

So much laughter and fun here. Seriously.

Then the girls headed upstairs to open presents...

Everyone was excited for her and she loved everything she got. She has the best little friends.

Then we came back down from swimming and dancing.

After the laughing and giggling, it was time to round everyone up for a potty break.

This was so fun because everyone had mermaid tails on and it was hard to go up the stairs.

I got a great laugh.

Then it was time for everyone's favorite game.

Dive through the hoop.

There are a million of these pictures, but these few were my favorite.

Then the girls got to hula hoop and dance with the music a bit more...per their request.

Then it was time for cake!

Bridget wanted spaaakle cupcakes and everyone to top their own, so that is what we did.

An oyster, a Shak or an Octopus were the topping choice...plus sprinkles. :)

Nathan needed to grab a Birthday Kiss to which all the girls laughed and laughed and Bridget shouted

"Okay, Whatever!"

Inside each treasure box the girls got a ring pop, a candy braclet, some gold coins, and a mermaid notebook.

They also got a little thing of bubbles because they loved them so much earlier.

It was great fun, exhausting for me just because I wanted to do more but was limited physically this time.

Everyone left with smiles and hugs and Bridget and Scarlett passed out 10 minutes later. Haha.

November 9

2011-11-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for the talents that I have been given.

I have learned a lot from my parents, and a lot I was just plain born with. :)

I am so grateful that I was born to parents who never limited me in imagination, or drive to learn/do more.

I learned over the years that I am a good blend of both sides and got some bad things too.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the way I turned out, and that I am not done learning and growing.

I am also grateful that I have married someone who encourages me to keep going and do what I know best.

I have another blog, I don't know if you knew that but its ALL about what I do with my kids...

Toddler Boredom Busters

I have met and helped so many people with this blog and am so grateful I have this forum to help and learn from others. Check it out if you want.

Or you can like me on facebook! :)

I have met so many people in the corporate world who have supported me and given me things to giveaway on that blog and it benefits our family and friends so much.

November 8 - Finally FOUR!

2011-11-08T05:07:00.001-07:00

Our Bridgey Goose is 4. I say finally because I am not a fan of the 3's.

Bridget since she started Tot School and now PreSchool has grown so much.

She is still her independent sassy self but she isn't as "naughty" as she used to be.

Which is a funny statement because everyone who meets her and has heard me or read about her has always said, you know, Bridget really isn't BAD she is just FUN.

Which is totally true.

I came to the realization that if I approach things with her making the decision, she is absolutely awesome.

If I tell or ask her to do something and expect her to obey like her siblings usually do, her wiring automatically tells her NO! haha.

Bridget is exactly what we wanted her to be. When I was pregnant with her so many years ago we discussed names and really wanted a girl who was spunky, outgoing, outspoken and full of personality. We wanted her to stand out from a crowd and be totally different than her sweet brother.

We liked a few names but once I said Bridget - that was it. We knew it was the right fit.

When she was born Nathan looked at her and made the final decision and said "Hey Bridget!" and I swear she rolled her eyes and we knew it was the right fit. HAHAHA.

Bridget is very compassionate, willful, intense, passionate wild, ambitious, driven and a friend to anyone.

She reminds me so much of Katherine Hepburn. Someone with tenacity, who is high spirited, and funny.

They actually share a birthday!

My favorite quote about her is:

"Katherine Hepburn always played hard to get with Hollywood, refusing to fit into any sort of mold."

Seriously you could say that about my Bridget.

I would never want her any other way. It is sort of refreshing and scary at the same time.

Bridget is so happy to be four.

She feels like it is one step closer to Kindergarten, which it is.

She planned her birthday party mostly by herself and wanted to invite EVERYONE she had ever met, but we narrowed it down to 7 kids, plus Auntie Steph.

She is so beautiful and loving and caring and promises to give me 7 grandchildren. She also promises to not give them dumb names like grumpy, dopey, doc, etc. haha.

Here is her Birthday Song...which was sung at 6:15am:

Here is her birthday Breakfast!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles!
This time, since I can't "be in the kitchen" I put Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls in the Waffle Iron for 4 minutes and poof! Cinnamon Roll Waffles! If you have time, make them like the link! DEEEEELICIOUS!

Happy Birthday my Goose, Goosearella, Bridgeena, Elmira, and Louise my Squeeze!
PS - Those pics are natural Bridget Poses!

November 7

2011-11-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for my husband. He is such a great person and friend. He is my #1 fan and I get unconditional love and acceptance, he always makes me feel like I am special and liked. He knows when to not fight me on things, like signing an AMA or how to build something that I have clearly drawn specifically to what I want. Hahaha. I am the luckiest girl in the world for finding a man who truly is perfect for me.

Even when he thinks he is being GQ.

I still like him.

Thank you for all that you sacrifice for us. A full time 50+ hour a week job, Full Time School, taking over my duties at home since I am on bedrest and most importantly loving us to the fullest. I am so grateful to have you in my life, even if it means you will never take that phone off your right hip! : P

November 6 - Post 6 - Good News!

2011-11-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

*note* this happened in the past -
as of the date of this post things have been okay.
I had my 2nd Perinatal Appointment today.

I get to go every 4 weeks. Did I mention that everywhere I go (hospital/OBs) everyone knows who Dr. Hobbins is? That's because he is the BEST Perinatalogist in Colorado. :)

We went in to check the concern areas, the placenta and to evaluate Baby Witte #5's birthday.

Baby is measuring BIG.

Like 2 weeks BIG. The thighs were in the 95th Percentile!

My kids are tall at birth and always measure big anyway.

But - they think I might have Gestational Diabetes so I have to take it easy on the sweets and carbs.

Great. Just add that to the list.

Because baby is growing big above the curve they were worried about the kidneys growing too, luckily they stayed the same, so its at minimal concern.

Bowels still Ecogenic but - I have bled 3x this pregnancy so who knows.

Now to the best news EVER.

My placenta is moving!

So I am not on Complete Bed Rest -- just minimal. :)

This is the best news ever!

He also said that I might make it past 34 weeks! Another relief.

I feel so blessed and humbled by this whole experience and just pray we keep getting good news and that #5 is healthy and happy just like "it's" siblings. :)

November 5

2011-11-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

I am grateful that I live in a state that has an AMAZING NICU, AMAZING HIGH RISK Floor, and that Dr. Hobbins is my specialist. He is such a super star and is "the man" according to every hospital I have been in this pregnancy....which is 3.

I am also grateful that everywhere I have had to go and all of the hospital time I have acquired this pregnancy (over 200 hours) I have been surrounded by lovely staff and the kids have been troopers throughout the entire process. Seriously feeling so blessed.

November 4 - Bridget's Family Party

2011-11-04T19:23:00.001-07:00

I really love birthdays. I love parties, I love planning them and luckily I have very social kiddos.

Tonight was Bridget's family party.

Her gift from us is her party next week, and she always gets a new outfit for her birthday...

Her Birthday Party Theme is Mermaids - NOT Little Mermaid but Mermaids.

Ariel being a redhead MIGHT have something to do with it. hehehe

Nathan and I also bought her a new watch because her watch from Christmas was broken in a tragic accident...2x!

Her new watch IS Little Mermaid. She was so happy to get something from us besides her party!

She was also excited to have a new watch!

Juliet was dying for the party to start!

Since her theme is Mermaids/Under the Sea we made ocean cupcakes.

Cotton Candy for the ocean, brown sugar for the beach/sand and gummy sharks, octopus gummies and fish!

Her cousins came, Grandma and Grandpa Witte came and presents from California!

Note the following pics are TRUE reactions...

A CD Player!

A LPS car!

The Tangled AND Little Mermaid Soundtracks!

A treasure box AND mermaids!

She also got a 3piece ballerina dress up which she loved!

After opening every present she would exclaim "just what I wanted!" and thank the giver.

She is so polite! :)

She blew out the candles and everyone played for a little while more.

It was a great family party!

November 3

2011-11-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for these little "finds" or "surprises" on my camera...

or this one...

But this one - this one tops it for me...

It just proves to me that my girls are troublemakers when mommy is on bed rest.

I love my family, I love my kids and I know they will only be little for a short time.

November 2

2011-11-02T14:21:00.002-07:00

Today I am grateful for Colorado.

There really is no place like it.

People I know who grew up here or who have lived here a long time, HATE leaving.

Its that amazing.

The landscapes, the family friendliness, the big open skies and the weather.

The best part is the weather.

We got 8 or 9 inches last night and it snowed most of the morning -

Lucas walked to school in the snow. He thought this was particularly awesome.

And come 2pm right when most schools are getting out - it was nice and melted -

Not the big stuff but the streets and sidewalks were nice and dry!

The sun was shinning, the air was crisp. Sigh.

I am glad we live here. It is such a beautiful place.

November 1

2011-11-01T18:37:00.001-07:00

Today I am grateful for GiGi.

To me she will always be Grandma Andree, but to my kids she is GG.

Since this picture was taken she has had 2 more GREAT Grandchildren born, and next year she will have a total of 6 Great Grandbabies. Yes, 5 of them are mine, but give it time...Stephanie will pass me. Hahaha.

Growing up I never liked the girly girl stuff and my Grandma never pressured me to like it, but I have a child who ADORES her GG because she loves the same things as her.

Bridget can't wait to grow up and be fancy like GG. They truly are one in the same.

Sometimes I watch Bridget and think of my Grandma, they are so similar.

Scarlett loves her too and Juliet - hasn't been able to delve into all the wonderful things that are - GG.

Lucas thinks it is so weird that Grandpa Horn and GG are the same. As in family.

He is so grateful and happy to be loved by GG.

Today is GG's birthday. I am so grateful for Grandparents and Great Grandparents.

I was lucky enough to actually know my Great Grandma. Her name was Louise.
Louise is Grandma Andree's Mom! The women in my family live forever!!! :)
I loved Grandma LuLu so much that I gave Bridget, Louise as a middle name.
I am grateful that I got to have a real relationship with my Great Grandma LuLu and that my kids so far have been able to get to know and love their Great Grandma or GG too!

I love you GG. I like to tell people that the only reason she bought a computer was to see MY kids.

So I know she will be reading this, and I wanted to wish her a happy birthday and the kids do too!

For the record Grandma has 7 Grandkids. (I am the oldest and the best.)

and 5 almost 6 Great Grandkids. Isn't that awesome?

The End of Halloween

2011-10-31T20:03:00.001-07:00

Lucas picked Frankenstein for 2 reasons. One, he loves the Ready, Freddy! series. He can read a lot of it himself. In the series one of the characters is Frankenstein. Two, somewhere he connected the green skin to the Hulk and so Lucas believes that Frankenstein is the Hulk's dad.

We had to convince Bridget to be a Witch, she wanted to be so many other things, but this fit with the theme.

She saw this one and needed it! A Candy Corn Witch. Haha.

Scarlett is wearing Lucas's handmedown spider costume.

She loved it! Even though she couldn't say what she was.

Gary Pider!

Juliet was a Black Cat - to fit the theme.

She was uninterested in taking pics.

Bridget had her party today at school. She loved that.

The kids went through the neighborhood. Our neighbors are truly awesome.

Each kid got something special from Pat and Chris (the neighbors next door)

Something special from Lauren and Jesse (across the street) and of course Fireman Brian and Tiffany his very pregnant wife invited the kids in for something extra special. Wow, that sounded a little creepy but it wasn't.

I was a skeleton and Nathan was a mummy.
The pictures didn't come out. : (

We didn't get any pics of the night because we were busy with our awesome neighbors, oh well. : P

Adventures in Bedrest, week 3 and 4 and 5

2011-10-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

These were from a while ago.

As I was walking too much yesterday and totally paying for it today...I have literally been in bed all day recuperating from the Halloween activity.

Nathan tries to do hair. At least it's out of her face.

This was taken on a bad day (for me), so he was trying to get everything done and just threw it up there.

Juliet was poopy. Bridget said she was going to take care of Juliet. Nathan came down and saw this...

Juliet was laughing and laughing and had ripped off her diaper and was just sitting there. Bridget had taken off the stinky diaper and wiped her with 400 wipes and attempted to put her diaper back on.

Juliet knew where the flaws were and just RIPPED it right off.

I am really weird about where things go in my kitchen. I really like everything to have a place so my counters, windowsill, and sink are clutter free. This is one of those times where I went upstairs and just shrugged my shoulders and asked Nathan to stop what he was doing and start working on the kitchen.

He made me laugh because like a typical man he said "I swear I JUST did the dishes last night."

Uh, yeah. 6 people x 3 meals adds up. This is the one room that has to be kept up on.

Luckily it was cleaned up in a flash, and everything was back to normal. Whew.

Since that day - the kitchen has never looked like that again. Haha.

Here is Scarlett with another fabulous 'do - except this one she did herself.

Bridget gets quiet time in the Living Room and if she reads 10 books for 20 minutes she gets 5 treats.

This has helped keep the peace when I can't leave the Family Room.

Lucas has been AWESOME.
He helps and keeps everyone happy and he insisted on making lunch one day...

He calls this rectangle lunch!
We ran out of bread so instead of calling someone to bring us some - we did this instead.

Then Nathan made white bread even though he couldn't eat it!

It was so good and even though I shouldn't have it either - I totally ate it and LOOOOVED it!

The kids and their annual Thursday movie night:

I am so glad we are keeping busy and trying to take it easy.
Only a few more weeks of ~~torture~~ bed rest and then it will be over --- hopefully.

I am grateful for the lessons I am learning...like asking for help, taking each day at a time, how to work the remotes without Nathan. Haha.

I feel blessed to have true friends in my life and all that entails.

I feel so lucky that I am able to be pregnant one more time and that it hasn't been too bad.

I also am grateful to be married to someone who is trying to keep me happy and do every little thing I as without complaint. I know I can be crazy and my schedule is difficult for some and I like things a certain way but he smiles and keeps doing it because he loves me. :) Thanks babe!