Happy Birth Day!

We would like to welcome to the world our newest addition Kayleigh Anne Bowman.

She came in with a small cry, weighing in at 9 lbs and 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.

They put me in the hospital at 6am yesterday and then started the pitocin drip at about 7am. The contractions were tolerable which surprised me. The thing is that my doctor didn't come and check me till almost 5pm. Which at that time I was only dilated about 5 cm. So 8 hours of being induced had brought me 2 cm farther than I was when I went in that morning. So when she checked me she also broke my water. That definitely sped up my labor cause by 6:14pm Kayleigh finally came. I just wish my dr. would have checked me earlier that morning and I wouldn't have had to sit all day long in the labor and delivery room. But that's all right cause she's here now and beautiful!

Happy Mothers Day!!

To all the moms out there, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! Hope that it is a great and relaxing day.

Still No Baby

Well, I was hoping that monday we would have a baby, but she was faking. We went to the hospital at 5am with contractions every 5-7 min and then once they started monitoring me they calmed down and then nothing. Pretty much the same thing Cole did to me. I guess they don't really like the hospital. But it was a good thing I didn't have the baby cause my doctor had an emergency and had to go out of town till Wed. I'd really like her to be the one to deliver Kayleigh and She would rather she be there also.

So now I'm just taking it easy. Hanging out and watching cartoons with the kids. Trying to do a little cleaning but don't really have the energy to do much. Nick and I took the kids to the park yesterday and that was fun. We stopped and got sonic for lunch and had a picnic and then let the kids run around the park for about an hour. Then it was naptime.

Today is going to be a lazy day. Nick is at work and also has his Paramedic Written Testing today from 1-3. So I'm not allowed to go into labor during that time, cause he's not allowed to have his phone with him. But I'm not too worried about that. Please Pray that he will pass this part of his test. After this he has one more part that he will have to take and he will finally be done after two years.

Tomorrow I go to a dr. appt. and maybe it'll be time, but I will let everyone know something. Until then , I'm still pregnant. :)

No More Work!

Yeah! Yesterday was my last day at work. I'm now on a three month maternity leave. Hopefully if everthing works out well, I'll be on a permanent leave.

I went to the Dr. on thursday and she said everything looks good, just still not quite ready. I guess she wants to just be comfortable. I'm trying to wait it out because I don't want to be induced with this one. I would really like to know what if feels like to actually go into labor and make Nick rush me to the hospital. Haha. I think he's more ready than I am. He said that if I haven't had Kayleigh by my dr.s appt next thurs he's going to tell her to put me in.

So since we got our new lawn mower Nick has decided to go all out and do lots of yard work. We actually have a decent yard. He mowed, then weedeated and all while I was at work. The kids had a blast being outside with daddy all day long. They were so filthy, but they loved it. Cole got a little used to riding the mower but freaked out when he lost his boot. Cadence just wants daddy to let her drive it all by herself, she thinks she's bigger than she actually is. Our camera battery was dead the other day so I couldn't get any pictures of them riding but I will next time.

Welcome US to the 21st Century

Well, we are finally dial up free!!!!!!!! Today we got high speed internet. It's wonderful. So now I can finally post at will and maybe even update pictures! We also bought a new lawn mower. It's a John Deere Riding mower and Nick is outside enjoying it. We actually have a yard, who knew it was there underneath 3 feet of grass.

So today I am 38 weeks pregnant. I'm getting more miserable by the day. I don't believe my belly can get any bigger, but it just seems to keep growing. We have the nursery ready, the bassinet/play yard is set up in our bedroom. We moved Cadence to the back seat of the van so we can put Kayleigh by Cole. Now all we need is Kayleigh to grace us with her presence. And it couldn't come any quicker. (can you tell I'm tired of being pregnant?) I'm still working though, but friday is my last day. Woohoo. Although I'm hoping to go into labor before then so I don't have to go in on friday.

Hopefully soon I'll be able to post some cute newborn pictures of our newest addition, but until then I'll be uncomfortably pregnant.

What you've been waiting for!

Our snow day a few weeks ago. Cadence loved it but Cole was not to fond of it. It was too cold and wet for him. Too bad it didn't last any longer than that day. Cadence kept wanting it to snow everyday for the rest of that week.

Both just woke up from their nap. Pop was trying to comfort them, they were kind of grouchy.

Our trip to dallas this weekend. They enjoyed it very very much. Meemo came and had dinner one night and the kids cheesed for the pictures.

Pictures

Ok, so I've been trying to post pictures, but because we have such wonderful dial up internet out in the middle of no where I've had no luck. So, next weekend I'll be in dallas at mom and dad's and maybe just maybe I'll have a few minutes to upload some pics of me in my maternity ball gown, and some of the kids in the snow and their new haircuts.

Yesterday, Nick needed a haircut so the kids and I tagged along. Cole's hair was getting really long and it needed to be out of his eyes plus I felt bad for Cadence cause the back of his hair was longer than hers. But because everyone else got their haircut Cadence had to have hers, so we just got it trimmed. They were actually very good this time. Cole sat still and didn't even cry. Cadence did good, I won't say that she sat still the whole time but was still enough for the lady to trim it. Then after the haircuts we went to the park in ruston. It was a fun and eventful day.

Well, last week on wed and thurs Cadence and Cole went to the new daycare. They loved it and they were completely worn out when I picked them up. For those of you that don't know, Cadence and Cole now stay home the majority of the time with Nick. Except for the days that both of us have to work, they go to a new daycare. It's only two days a week. I told Cadence that it was actually a school because she didn't want to go to daycare. It was for babies. They will only go to the daycare until about the middle of April when I go on maternity leave and then they will be home with me full time. I'm definately looking forward to this. I'm not really sure when I'm actually going on leave I know that at the latest it will be April 18 which is a week and a half before my due date. But I'm not sure I'll get to last that long. I'm hoping I will but we'll see. I think my doctor won't let me even last that long. I go wed for an ultrasound, they are going to check the growth of the baby, and might even change my due date, depending on her size. She's really big already. I'll try to get those pictures posted next week too. Well, that's it for now.

Snow in March!?!

Yup! That's right, snow in march. I couldn't believe it either. And to think it was 70 degrees yesterday. No wonder we have been staying sick this winter. The kids loved it though. Cadence made the babysitter call me just so she could tell me it was snowing outside. She played in it over there and then some more after we got home. Cole liked it but kept losing his mittens and that made him mad. He does not like his hands cold. I took pictures of their first snow and will have them posted. I think we actually got between 2-3 inches of snow today, but it's all melted now and the sun is peaking through.



Well, I have just 7 1/2 weeks left to go till my due date. And it couldn't come any sooner. This has been a semi easy pregnancy so far. Not as easy as Cole's but definately easier than Cadence's. We've been getting Kayleigh's room ready but had to get Cole a twin mattress so we can transition him to a big boy bed and out of the crib to move into her room. I'm waiting on his bedding to come in so we can buy sheets and actually let him sleep in it. Not to sure how he is going to do with the freedom of the bed. Hopefully it won't be bad.

New Year! New Car!

Well, we finally did it. Nick and I broke down and bought a minivan. It was a long time coming, but I was mostly against it. We got a great deal on it and we just couldn't pass it up. It's a maroon 2002 Chevy Venture Warner Bros. Edition. It's in excellent condition (for right now, my kids can really ruin a new looking car). Cadence and Cole just love it, especially because Cadence can't reach over and lean on Cole's carseat. Plus it has a dvd player in it and I can keep them occupied with that. It'll come in handy with the road trips I want to go on after the third baby is born. I'll post pictures soon I just have to wash it first. It's been rainy and cold and there's mud all over it.

Anyways, I'm doing good. I'm in my 6th month and starting to show it. I'll have to get Nick to take a picture of my belly. So far, Kayleigh is an active baby, she kicks me all the time to let me know I'm in a position that she doesn't like. Which so far is almost every position that I am comfortable in. But the strange thing is that she could kick me all day long but the moment that Nick puts his hand on my belly, she stops. She has only kicked him once because he just happened to put his hand there at the right moment. But she won't kick him, unlike the other two who would pound his hand everytime it was on my belly. Cadence is still excited about having a little sister and frequently asks when she is coming out to play. Cole is not sure about it, he just knows that he's not happy about the changes that are taking place in my stomach.

Cole is very well entering into his terrible two's. He's throwing fits when he doesn't get his way and can stand up to his bully of a big sister. He's normally happy all the time and loves to get into everything. Getting into the wipes tub is his favorite. He still not talking very much and he won't hardly take that passy out for anything. You have to ask him yes or no questions so he can answer with an uh huh or an uh uh.

Cadence is growing like a weed but her hair still isn't. I don't know what the deal is with that but I'm sure it'll grow one day and never stop. She talks constantly but makes sense. A lot of my friends that have kept her tell me she is the most polite child they have ever kept. Which I find hard to believe cause I don't see that at home a lot. She has a very vivid imagination and really believes that she can hear the baby when she is crying in my tummy. She will also pretend to get her out and rock her to sleep and then put her back in my tummy. It's really funny.

We have a new addition to our family. My older sister Paige and her husband Todd just had their first child. We think she was born sat night 1/19 but it could have been early sunday morning on 1/20 but we are not for sure. Zoie Allison came at a whopping 9 1/2 pounds. Probably a good thing being January even though they are in Florida. I'm praying that I don't have to deliver one that big in April. Congratulations Paige and Todd!!!!

Pictures

They both enjoyed about the first 8 min of the haircut and after that got ancy. Cole does not like clippers, Mary tried to shave the back of his neck and he just squirmed and screamed.

Long time no blog

Sorry for the spaciousness of my blog. I've been really busy lately with work and kids and everything else that just pops up. So for those that don't know it yet I'm pregnant again. I'm due April 29, 2008. So as of today I'm exactly 11 wks and 6 days. I won't find out what sex I'm having till sometime in Dec. If I decide to even find out. Morning sickness is still pretty bad, I have to take medicine just to be able to even eat anything. I keep hoping that one day I'll forget to take the medicine and I'll be fine, but so far I have to take it before 7am or I'm sick all day. Not very fun. Other than that I'm fine. Trying to recover from my kids this past week. I spent the first weekend of Oct. with my mom and my sister and no kids or husband. It was the most relaxing weekend I've had in a long time. It's hard to come home to two noisy very active children after that. But we had a great time in Dallas. We went shopping, had a pedicure and a manicure, I got my hair cut, and we just hung out and visited. It was great.

On Oct 10 both Cadence and Cole got their first haircut. It was fun. They both did really well at first but by the end they were both ready to get down and move around. Who knew my kids could be still for as long as they were? I have pictures but right now they are out in the car and it's raining cats and dogs and I just don't feel like getting wet. So I will have to post them at a later date.

Both kids are doing great. Cadence likes to pretend that she can get the baby out of my belly and hold it and rock it when she says it's crying. It's really cute. Cole still doesn't quite understand it yet but I'm sure he will pretty soon. I just hope he reacts as well as Cadence did when he was born.

Nick's doing really well. He's either up at his shop or at the fire station. His business stays pretty steady up there. We did have someone try to break in a couple of weeks ago. But because of the alarm they ran off. Not much damage was cause, they just cracked the window on his door and knocked over his flower pot on the sidewalk. The robbers were arrested later on that night after breaking into a few more businesses and a house.

Not much else is going on. We are just waiting on the news of my new nephew, hopefully it will be any day now.

First Birthday!!

Well, on July 11th Cole turned 1!!! Wow, time flies so fast now. He is so big, and has 10 teeth now that he loves to use and it hurts. He also decided that it was time for him to start walking. So on Tuesday, Alicia, the babysitter, worked with him and he was able to take 1-2 steps at a time. Then we got home and Nick got him to take 8 steps. It was so exciting!!! It's so funny too, cause he just wants to take off running and he ends up taking a nose dive to the carpet. He's been using a walker and he will push forward and run on his tiptoes, but he's starting to realize that he can't do that without the walker. But everytime he falls he giggles and tries to do it again. We haven't had a birthday party yet, we are waiting to do a joint one for Cadence and Cole. The date is set for August 11th. It should be a fun and tiring day.

So, Alicia had a 30 gallon fish tank that her and her husband were growing tired of and wanted to get rid of it. I was more than happy to inherit it, since we don't have any pets yet and Cadence loved the fish tank. Today I got it set up, and it is getting ready for some fish. Tomorrow, Cadence and I are going to take a trip to Petsmart or Petco whichever one I see first and I'm going to let her pick out the fish that she wants. She's very excited and told Pop that she wanted a Blue fish, then later that night told me she wanted a green one, and a pink one. I'm not sure where to find a green or pink one since we don't have a Dr. Seuss fish store any where around here (haha). But I think she'll pick out some good ones.

Have a great weekend!

What's New??

Thank Heaven for disasasters that become blessings! On May 9th Cadence got dismissed from daycare for "biting", I think there was an underlying motive that just hasn't been uncovered yet. So I had to quickly find some other form of childcare for both of them cause I just couldn't see leaving Cole in that same place without his big sis. So, a lady that worked for the same place that had quit because she did not like the way it had run decided to keep kids at her house. Well, she is great! The kids love her and have a blast there. And what's funny is that there is no biting whatsoever. Funny huh? Anyways within about 2 weeks of being at the new babysitter Cadence is basically potty trained. YEAH! It's so wonderful. Now we just have to work on the night time, but I'm sure that will take a while.

Cole is getting bigger and fatter and cuter than ever. He's still the sweetest baby ever. He has now advanced from just a slow crawl to speed crawling. I can set him down and within seconds he is at the other end of the house. And quiet too, I have to search for him sometimes. He is starting to try talking. I think he has figured out mama, dada and baba. The other day it sounded like he had said Bye but I'm not sure. He is learning how to wave bye-bye and hi. He also has mastered the pulling up stage and can stand with one hand holding him up. He is startind to try to cruise on the furniture but hasn't figured out that he has to put his feet flat.

Cadence is learning to sing songs, and also has a great imagination. A couple weeks ago we were sitting at the dinner table eating fried perch that Nick caught and we were asking her animal sounds. I asked her what a crocidile said and I put my hands together like it was chomping. She mimic the movements and said "Snap, I eat fishies!" Nick and I laughed and then I asked her what a fish said. But she didn't respond with her normal response she said " Don't eat me!" Then we asked her what she was eating and she got this evil little grin on her face and replied "Fish!"

Two days later I was at work and got a phone call from Nick telling me that we had a pink alligator in the house. Completely confused I asked " A WHAT?" He said that Cadence came running into the living room crying. Nick jokingly asked her if an alligator bit her and she said "Yeah, alligator bit me on my butt" He asked her what color was the alligator and she said pink. He asked her where it was and she told him it lived in mommy and daddy's closet. (Which is really funny cause for the past week before this she would not step foot into our closet because it's scary) So, now wherever we go and a bug bites her or just whenever she feels like it she'll start fake crying and tell us the alligator bit her because he follows her everywhere.

Nick is still out on medical leave with his back. He has a herniated L5 disc in his back. He had been going to the chiropractor for a month with not much progress and is now seeing an otrhapedic specialist. He had an MRI done on monday and is going back this upcoming monday to actually see the dr and have him read the MRI to see what is wrong and what the next step will be to get it better. We are praying that he will not have to go through any kind of surgery. I will try to keep ya updated on the progress of his back. But he has been able to build up some more customers for his business since he has been able to be at the shop everyday.

My work is been pretty busy lately with summer here and it just being really really busy at wally world. I stay on the go. I'm still looking for any other career moves that are in the area because I really would like to go back to working in ruston so I can put the kids back in to the old daycare that Cadence was in. They have a great preschool program and I would really rather her go to school over there. Nothing else exciting here in the great big city of Arcadia. Hope y'all have a great weekend.

So much for a vacation

My vacation started off promising, I got a little house work done, babysat my 3 week old nephew. But on Sunday I started feeling bad. Checked my temp and it was 100.2. My throat had been hurting the whole week before but I didn't think anything about it. Hadn't been around anyone that was sick. So I went to the Dr. on Monday and found out that I have strep throat. Last time I had strep was my sophomore year in Highschool. Never really thought that I would get it again. Thank goodness no one else has it. Nick's fine and Cadence is fine, I took Cole to the Dr. today cause I had to make sure his ear infections have healed up, but they haven't so he had to have a shot. :( And he still has some congestion in his chest so he got a new decongestant that hopefully will work better than his last one. Now we just got to get better so we can go visit Mimi and Pop and Auntie Paige and Uncle Todd this weekend in Dallas. For those of you that didn't remember Nick and I celebrated 3 years of Marriage yesterday, May 1. So YEAH for us!
Have a great week!

Easter Time

These were the best pics of Easter. For some reason, I didn't get a picture of Mimi and Pop with the kids, what was I thinking??? But we had a great time with them here for the weekend. They brought a honey spiral ham that was delicious and Mimi helped me cook some cheese grits and boiled asparagus. It was a great Easter meal. Cole has started moving around, he can't quite crawl yet but he can scoot towards anything. And he decided to pop out 3 more teeth to make his running total 7! 4 top and 3 bottom. I'm sure the next bottom one is not far behind. He went to the dr last week for shots and he now weighs 21 pounds and is 28 inches long. Cadence's vocabulary is rapidly expanding and knows most of her animals. She talks all the time and rarely ever stops. Whenever we are in the car she now tells me everything thing we see, such as: look flowers, trees, a car, a truck. For the past couple days she has been stuck on bus and train. Everytime we see a bus or train, she says, Mommy I ride bus, Mommy I ride train. And then gets very upset when I tell her she can't ride the bus yet. So I have to tell her when she gets older she can ride the bus and that seems to satisfy her till the next time she sees one. I got some new glasses and a hair cut. I cut off about 5 inches 3 weeks ago. So much better. Nick's still working a lot, but cut down his time working for the Ambulance company so he can be at shop since his sister had her baby on April 5. Faith and Tristan are doing fine. He is the tiniest little thing. Hope you all have a great week!!

What you have all been waiting for!!

PICs of the new house. I know some of y'all have seen the actuall house. But for the underprivelaged I finally have a few pictures to show you. It's really hard to find a time when the whole house is clean so I've only got a few of the rooms, I will post more later. But the pics I have now will give you a good idea of what it looks like.

This is our sitting area next to the living roomThis is our messy study^ So far the only room that constantly stays disorganizedCole's Room all decked out in Firefigter stuff. We still haven't put up all of Nick's nick-nacks but they will all be up hopefully soon. Cadence loves to show off her room.

Time Flies!

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted last. Sorry it's been a while, I've been busy with getting the new house together and the kids and work. I will post pictures of the house soon, I just have to get them from the camera to my jump drive and the computer at the house runs so slow that it takes forever to even post one picture. So I have to update at the shop computer. So to update, Cole is now 7 months and weighs in at 19 1/2 pounds and is 26 1/2 inches long. He babbles a lot, rolls over all the time and is realizing that he wants to crawl, but his little buddah belly gets in the way and he ends up looking like a see-saw rocking back and forth. Cadence is 2 1/2 and has entered into the terrible two's. She's full of attitude and very strong willed. (my guess is she takes after her daddy)
Nick and I have decided to change our eating habits, not a diet, but just eat more healthy. So far I've lost 10lbs and he has lost 18. So we are doing pretty good. Nick's business has been doing fair, he's been getting enough sales to keep the business running. I've been doing some more regular cooking. I guess the new house just brings the domestic out in me. I keep it fairly clean, it's not spotless, but then again I wouldn't be myself if I kept if spotless. Nick's schedule changed at the fire station they now relieve at 6 in the evening, it's a change for me but I do most of the time have dinner ready when he gets home. I'm getting pretty good at making quick meals, I think the longest time it took me to make dinner was an hour, but I try to make meals that only take 30 min, cause when I'm working I don't get home till 6 and Cadence is usually ready to eat pretty soon after that and she will let me know it.
Our church has started this parenting class for the next 8 weeks. It's called Parenting is Heart Work. I've attended two classes so far and it's really neat. It talks about changing kids behavior by changing their heart. I've tried some of the things I've learned on Cadence but she's a little young to learn some of them, but I'll still keep working with her so that way when she is ready to learn it won't be such a change. Well, hopefully soon I will get some pictures of the kids and the new house up for all to view. I know you are anxiously awaiting them.
Have a great week.

Toofies!!

Bubby got his first set of teeth last week on thurs and fri. And he just turned 5 months today! He's a fast teether. He's been teething for the most of a month and a half, but he wasn't bad at all. He just wanted to naw on a hand or a finger. Now that the teeth are through he's the happiest baby in the world (and the cutest!) But I am kind of partial. Anyways, the four of us made a quick trip to Dallas this weekend to see Mimi and Pop and pick up the Honda. We had some fun. Cadence was excited to see them and she had a blast at the Galleria play ground. We enjoyed our weekend albeit short but still fun. Have a great week.

So not Susie!

Ok, I know I don't have a reputation for being Susie Homemaker, but aren't these some yummy looking cupcakes? I spent a couple hours baking cupcakes for my church cakewalk. We have a Fall Fling tomorrow and something just came over me last sunday and I wanted to bake something.

Well, Nick just thought this was hilarious. Being as I hardly ever cook. When I told him that I was going to wal*mart to go buy stuff for the cupcakes he asked me if I was just gonna buy some ready made cupcakes and put them in a home container and claim that I made them. Of course, I told him no, I was actually gonna bake them. He then started laughing. The rest of the conversation went like this:

"Hey, I've baked a cake before and it was really good" "Yeah, but that was the second time, remember the first one?"

(the first one was bad, I tried to make a two layer cake and both layers came out of the oven looking really fluffy and good, however when they cooled off they looked like two really thick pancakes and tasted like stirafoam)

"Yeah, but the cake mix was old and probably bad which is why it came out bad, but the second one was pretty good, the only problem was I put to much icing between the layers that the top layer was starting to slide off." "Well, your 1-1, and you can always buy cupcakes if they don't turn out right."

Such a supportive husband huh? Well, Cadence and I taste tested my cupcakes and so far I'm batting 100%. I hope they'll be a big hit at the cakewalk. I'm planning my next baking project(hmm maybe thanksgiving), maybe dinner tomorrow night.

1st Trick or Treat

Isn't She the cutest kitty in the world!

Cadence had a ball going trick or treating for the first time. Although the bag might not have been the best choice since she couldn't figure out how to hold it open for the candy. But she still managed to get a full bag. After about 30 min she kinda got sidetracked and just wanted to wander around the neighborhood and also into the peoples houses. I was glad I went with some friends otherwise I would have had my hands full with her and Cole. He did come but I couldn't find him a costume so he wore a bright orange tigger sleeper. They had fun. Nick had to work so I told him that next year he gets to take them.