Avalyn Rose Gray

Avalyn Rose Gray joined our family on September 20th, 2014.  We had been anxiously awaiting her arrival because we were so excited to have another baby girl.  I had several contractions for a few weeks and thought that she would arrive prior to her due date or even on my Aunt Lorries' birthday(14th) or my birthday(15th). 
However she decided to arrive on Saturday, September 20th(one week early).  Raegen and Emersen went to the Grays on Friday night, the 19th, and I cried when they left.  It is always so hard for me to leave my girlies.  That night at about 3am I woke up and decided that we needed to go to the hospital but definitely didn't need to rush there.  We packed our bags and headed into Twin Falls.  We arrived at the hospital at around 4am and by the time they officially got me checked in it was around 7 or so.  Emersen was born so fast that we didn't have any time for the typical check in process so this check in for Avalyn seemed rather lengthy.  After we got checked in I wanted to use the bath and so the nurses went to find all of the bath supplies since it was a trial portable bath that they were using.  I soaked and hung out in the bath for what felt like all day long.  My parents came and hung out and the day was quite enjoyable but tiring and long.  At about noon, the doctor wanted to break my water to speed everything up but I was so nervous for that.  I finally called him at 3 and decided it would be ok to break my water.  After he broke my water everything really sped up and a quick 3 hours later, Avalyn was born at 7:05pm weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and 20.5 in long.  The experience was so tender and sweet and I had an amazing doctor and wonderful nurses.  Eric and my mom were in the room with me and my dad came up shortly after she was born.  She has always been the best baby and is just so happy!  We are so blessed by the insurmountable joy that she brings into our home and we adore her.  Her sisters can't get enough of her and as parents we are so thankful for the sweet little relationships that these sisters are forming.  I love being a mommy to our three daughters!

Our New Baby Girl-Emersen Brooke

Well, once again, I can't believe it has been so long since our last post.  I would like to introduce you to our new baby girl, Emersen Brooke.  She is so absolutely adorable and we are in love with her every second of every day.  We call her Emee for short and she is almost six months and full of so much spunk.  She is nearly crawling, but in the meantime she rolls and scoots everywhere she wants to go. 
I thought I would reverse a little bit and describe our last six months.  Emersen was born promptly on her due date of July 30th.  Because I was three weeks early with Raegen, I was convinced that Emee would be early also.  I thought she may even be a 4th of July baby, but she certainly had other plans.  I had quite a bit of contractions and it seemed as though every morning I would wake up questioning if that was the day.  I would then hop in the bath and decide whether or not it was real labor.  On the morning of the 30th, I woke up with quite a few contractions and they increased in frequency and strength as soon as I was in the bath so I knew that it was the real thing.  We called my midwife to let her know and she said she would get everything ready at the hospital for our arrival.  We arrived at the hospital a little before 9 and Emee was born at 10:14am.  It was very fast, and that was such a blessing.  Raegen did so great staying with Grandma Roseann and was so excited to come to the hospital to meet her new baby sister.  She came to the hospital with her baby doll, Favorite, all buckled in her doll car seat and with her new diaper bag.  It was so cute!
I feel like we lost August and September because I had some postpartum healing issues and had to travel to Boise for a few specialist appointments.  Raegen started preschool in September and absolutely loves it.  She in one of 7 children in a coop preschool that we do and so we get to teach and have preschool at our house every other month.  Along with the preschool group, we take a field trip once a month as well.  In September, they went and toured Glanbia(milk and cheese processing plant) and then in October we went to the pumpkin patch.  Raegen loved the pumpkin patch and wishes we could visit and partake of the Harvest activities year round.
The holidays were so great but seemed to go by way too fast.  For Thanksgiving, we were all together at my parent's house.  We got to meet baby Timothy for the first time and they met Emee as well.  We snuggled the cute babies(Owen, Timothy, and Emersen) and loved seeing Aiden, Treb, and Raegen play together.  We at a delicious dinner, visited with the extended family, and enjoyed our time together.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had quite a scare with Emersen and ended up at the ER.  She woke up one night suddenly with a fever of 104 and was gasping for her breath.  We were quite concerned and so we rushed her to the ER.  They did a test for RSV, chest xray to check for pneumonia, and several breathing treatments along with a dose of steroids.  Her breathing and oxygen levels were so scary as well as her heart rate.  We spent several hours in the ER until they felt better about her breathing and heart rate.  They sent us home with an antibiotic for ear infections and potential bacterial pneumonia and diagnosed her with croup.  It was so scary to us.  I guess our baby girls like to scare us since Emee ended up in the ER at 4 months and Raegen at 4 days:) 
For Christmas, we travelled to Shelley and spent a week with The Gray's.  It was so fun because Rebecca, Jordan, and Annabeth made a surprise appearance and so all of the granddaughters were able to spend Christmas together.  We ate delicious food and treats and of course were spoiled by so many amazing gifts.
New Years Eve we celebrated with our little family and we had a special dinner of coconut shrimp, tri tip steak, salad, and other snacks.  Then we had dinner at my parents on New Year's Day.  We are excited for all that 2013 has in store for our family.  We are working on selling our home and potentially starting to build a new home on our lot that we own in Kimberly.  Yikes, so many changes, but so exciting!
That brings us to Raegen's upcoming 3rd birthday.  She requested a princess party so we have a royal party set for this Saturday.  We are going to bbq hamburgers and hot dogs with french fries per Raegen's request.  Hopefully, I will post party pics soon.  Happy 2013!

Gray Happenings

Well....once again it has been way too long, but I wanted to share some exciting news.  We are expecting baby #2 in July.  It is likely a girl but she was very stubborn at the ultrasound so we aren't positive.  Raegen did the same thing so we should have known that's is how our luck works.  This pregnancy has been so much better than my first and after the the first trimester was over, I have felt pretty good, yay!
Raegen is growing and changing every day.  She is two now and honestly acts like she is five.  She says the funniest things and is quite dramatic. Some of our favorites lately are listed below:
1)Me:Raegen come here please, Raegen: Just a second mom I am working out(on the eliptical)
2)Anytime you are disciplining Raegen or putting her in timeout, she says, BE NICE TO ME
3)We were visiting The Grays this past weekend and having yummy ice cream drinks with dinner....Emily was asking Andy why he was eating all of hers and Raegen said, EVERYBODY SHARE.
4)We were shopping in Fred Meyer a few weeks ago and a mom said to her daughter, River get over here right now and Raegen decides to abruptly mimic her and say River, get over here right now.
5)We went to welcome Baby Owen(Bryan and Jackie's baby boy) a few weeks ago and her first question was where is Owen's carseat.  She loves babies and buckling her babies into car seats.
6)Aiden was visiting Idaho when Owen was born and Raegen is convinced that his superhero figures were "his babies."
7)Raegen loves to say the prayer and she is very thankful for nursery....tonight she added that she was thankful for all of our family:) She really does love nursery now and loves family meeting night(family home evening).
8)She loves her daddy daughter dates and is on one right now to her favorite place, Kiwi Loco.  She likes the toppings(worms and m&ms) more than the yogurt.
9)She is very social and asks everyone what are you doing or how are you doing?
10)She loves to order value french fries from her little tikes car window she got for her birthday.  She will even pay for them with her debit card.  Yikes, she is scarred from my first trimester sickness and the only thing ever sounding good is french fries:)
11)A few months ago, there was a baby store that was closing and they were getting rid of all of their inventory including the toys and babies from the play area.  Raegen latched on to a baby doll there and loved going to that store as much as possible...it was her favorite.  On the last day the store was open, I went in to see if they had the baby doll for sale and we found it in the bottom of a garbage bag and paid $1 for it.  She kept telling the lady it was her favorite....we got into the car and she said happy momma happy.  This baby's name is favorite and will forever be named favorite because it makes her so happy!
12)She loves her play dates with Jaida Marie and Hadley (Cake) Kate and often tells me she hasn't seen them in a long time, even if it has only been an hour since she has seen them.
13)Every morning when she wakes up she knows her exact breakfast item request...sometimes it is spaghetti and sometimes it is Cafe Rio lol.  After I talk her into "breakfast food" we open all of the blinds and she says good morning doggies to all of the neighborhood dogs.  She wants a dog so bad, but TJ, Ellie, and Chester Boy will have to fill in for now.
14)She really does love sports(likely because that is all that is on our TV).  Eric helped her do a march madness bracket and she is likely going to beat Eric and I.  She must have awesome luck, so she gets to pick where to go to dinner and it will undoubtedly be Cafe Rio...she loves everything spicy.
Well sorry this is so long, but I felt like I needed to write some of these down.  Hopefully I can post some new pics soon.

Our Semiannual blog post:)

Wow....it really has been forever and I almost gave up on the whole blog idea, but decided to try it again:)  Anyways, we have a had a very busy, but fun summer.  We were able to go camping, to the park, to the library, and work on keeping our house clean to show many times as we are trying to sell it.  We have had it on the market for a few months and have shown it quite a bit, but still haven't had any offers:(  Earlier in the summer we bought a 1.5 acre lot in Kimberly.  I know I know....I can't believe I am heading over to the east side or Filer's big rival, Kimberly Bulldogs.  Once our home sells we plan to build a home so it has been fun to do a little home touring and day dreaming. 
Raegen is growing up so quickly.  It is so fun to watch her grow.....some of the many cute moments lately have been:
1)Whenever she is in trouble or doesn't want to get her hands and face cleaned she says gamma gampa(hoping they will save her)!
2)She is a fabulous singer....especially to Band Perry since I have been listening to it alot lately.  She has the uh oh uh oh down on the song "If I Die Young"
3)She loves Hadley and Nenna and Baby meaning Kyndal, but she can't quite say Kyndal's name.  She also says Treb and Aiden so cute!
4)She loves any baby whether it is a doll or it is real.  She needs their binkey, blankie, bottle, etc and usually begs to take 2 or 3 babies and a puppy into the store with us.
5)She is a great dancer....especially when the guy rocking the rap music passes our house and she puts her hands in there to the rap beat....so funny.
6)She misses Aunt Bookeee alot!  When my phone rings and I ask her who is calling me, she says Bookeee.
7)She is barely starting to watch TV and sit still for a few minutes at a time.  However, her only show of interest is Barney so I have the show memorized.  She loves the baby bop hop, and the alphabet parade.  Every letter to her is an O or T or M.  M because she loves MandM's.
8)We are headed to visit Eric's family tomorrow and Raegen is so excited to see her gamma and gampa.  Gampa shares yummy trail mix with her and gamma is just so fun.  Becca is in town and it seems like it has been forever since we have seen her.
9)Raegen loves the water(wa wa) and her bath time.  She is a little fish and will get in the bath with her clothes on and not even think twice. 
10)Her favorite food is spaghetti....when we went out to dinner for my birthday this week, the waitress tried to take Raegens plate with a few bites of spaghetti left and Raegen threw quite a fit letting the waitress know she wasn't about to waste that spaghetti.
11)She has quite the sense of humor and mimics everything we say.  Eric said something to me yesterday sarcastically and then followed it by saying JOKE and Raegen said Joke right back to us.
12)She is so very active, loves to be outside, and most of all loves to run and keep my running all day long.  I am now working very part time (1-2 days per week) and so I absolutely love all of the extra time we have had together.
13)She has become an excellent sleeper and usually sleeps through the night.  Naps are a different story because she would still prefer to cuddle and be held for her entire nap, yikes, that's usually when our house desparately needs cleaned.  However, I have decided that she grows up way too fast as it is so I really should love every moment including holding her occasionally for extra long naps.
14)Next week we are headed to San Diego on a work trip and family vacation.  We were planning to take Raegen to Disneyland, but decided to postpone that when she screamed and wiggled her way out of the safety belt on the fair ride.  We plan to go to the Zoo and Sea World as well as the beach so it should be really fun.
15)Cutest saying ever....Happy Birfday Mommy! Cake! Cake! Cake!  She really is a beggar an knows how to get her way.
Well, as you can tell we are loving every moment....and who wouldn't with such a sweet little girl.  We are looking forward to the beautiful fall season!  We hope you all are well too!

Raegen Kynlee’s One Year Old Birthday Fun

Our little miss Raegen Kynlee is one year old and we can't even believe how fast it went! She is the light of our lives and we think she is pretty cute(a little biased I know). We had two birthday parties for her. We had one on January 21st in Filer at my parents and one on January 28th in Shelley at The Gray's. She loved her birthday cake, that was in the shape of a cupcake, but sure was a dainty little eater. The little kids enjoyed the cupcake piñata and are probably still working on eating the candy from it. Thanks so much to all of the friends and family for coming to her parties and spoiling her, we love you all! Below are some of the pics from the parties!

Unfortunately, a few weeks after she turned one she got really sick for about 10 days and let me tell you it was a long ten days for both of us. I sure appreciate all of the help from my parents though while Eric was out of town! It sure made me thankful that we live so close to our wonderful family and friends.

Happy Birthday to Brookeee!

Aunt Brookee came to visit this week and babysat Raegen on Friday. Raegen loves it when Aunt Brookeee comes to play. They played together, napped together, danced together, and let me tell you Raegen is going to be a great hip hop dancer:) She's a natural, lol! Anyways, we also celebrated Brooke's birthday on Friday night and I can't believe my lil sis is 19 yrs old. It was so fun and today we are going to have a girls craft day and maybe go see a movie. Next weekend we get to go to Utah State to see Brooke again and go to Raegen's first of many football games I am sure. Go Aggies! We are loving this fall weather and our little girls darling personality that develops more each day.
I recently got a new calling at church and am the Relief Society Committee Leader. I am very excited for this calling but need any creative ideas for Relief Society activities that you may have. Please help because I feel quite inadequate for this calling. HaPpY AuTuMn DaYs!

Raegen is 7 mos old!!

Wow how time flies and how our little girl is growing up! As you can see our last post was of her baby blessing and I feel horrible that now months have passed and she is already 7 months old. Thank heavens for the video camera and digital camera that have captured the memories of the last few months. Raegen is the highlight of our lives. She is a very happy baby and keeps us very busy. She has the most adorable laugh and her personality is developing every day. She has recently learned to scream loud and play patty cake. She loves to eat her baby food, talk to everyone including strangers, listen to music, and crawl everywhere. We feel so blessed to have such a happy, healthy, baby girl that brings us so much joy. Sometimes she is a mommy's girl and sometimes she is a daddy's girl. At this moment she is being a daddy's girl wrapped in his arms for their Sunday afternoon nap ritual. It is the cutest thing ever!!!! Here are some pics of our little dolly that we love so much, enjoy!!!