Wake-up Photoshoot

Most mornings and after nap times Audrey is very happy to see us walk into her room. She demonstrates her giddiness by jumping up and down, wrinkling her nose, laughing and breathing fast. It is hilarious to see her to excited. Of course, prior to all this excitement, sh

e cries and cries until we come up to her room. We decided on Sunday to get a little photoshoot of our princess in her natural environment...

She likes to play peek-a-boo between the railings during this time...

Now look up! I love when she pears over at me like this.

After the fun and games, she is ready to get out and starts getting serious and bit cranky.

Weston on the other hand, doesn't wake up so jolly. He normally is whining and yelling for us to come get him or if we have to wake him up, he doesn't smile for quite some time.

However, when he saw Daddy with the camera, he cheesed it up.

Pink sunglasses you might ask...why yes. When all his are broken, he has to wear his sisters. He's not afraid to wear pink...but I don't think Daddy quite approves! lol

Happy Valentines Day!

My kids are giving me a Valentines to remember, full of crying, screaming, snot and tears! I really hope this is not a precursor to the rest of the day ;)

Our life never seems to slow down, we always have something going on. At this time in our lives, we have a few big things happening. Chad is getting the floor done in the downstairs. The living room has one more row to go in and then it is onto the dining room! I cannot wait for it to be completed. I don't know why I think that will make a difference, because then it will be onto laying tile in the kitchen and foyer. Never ending.

Also on the news front, our 3rd, which I am sure you've already heard about through various modes of communication is due on August 30th. I am about 12 weeks along and feel terrible. I don't think I've felt like this with either of the babes in the household. I have been eating non-stop and am still hungry most of the time. We are very excited but very nervous for this one to come. And by we, I mean, ME. Chad just flows with it, nothing really seems to effect him.

I am nervous because I don't know how I will be able to handle 3 children. I was very confident about this fact a few months ago until I got pregnant and the reality set it. Audrey and Weston immediately started having rough nights and I was exhausted. I almost lost it a few times feeling that if I couldn't handle the sleep deprivation with 2, how can I handle it with 3? Was I crazy to upset our neat little life? Why would I intentionally add more chaos to our world? God has a plan I suppose and I know that he will give me the strength to deal with it all-at

least that's what I am telling myself!

To top it off, I am continuing the insanity by running in a half marathon on May 5th or 6th. I intentionally signed myself up thinking that this would give me the motivation to keep running through most of my pregnancy. I'm embarrassed to say that I have not kept up on my training and that I have only been out a few times in the last couple weeks. I am hoping to get out more once the weather starts cooperating.

One thing that I am trying to get a handle on in all of this chaos is our eating habits. Chad and I have seen some documentaries and I have been to a few talks basically on the "eating revolution" as some are calling it. I am trying to add in more fruits and vegetables to our diet while minimizing animal and processed products. We are by no means vegetarian or dare I say vegan, but I want us to have healthier bodies and that come

s through whole foods and less processed junk that is full of stuff I can't even pronounce. To show you I am not completely crazy and that the kids will eat it, last night I made walnut wonton ravioli with a side salad topped with a little bit of chicken. Then this morning for breakfast, I made buckwheat blueberry muffins and the kids devoured them! We liked them too ;)

We are also trying to buy organic or local when we can. I have heard some disturbing facts about the chemical residue buildup in our children's bodies from eating traditionally grown foods. We aren't completely organic (VERY expensive on some things) but I am trying to buy the most critical components when possible, fruits, veggies and dairy. If we have money left over, I will consider meat, but that is very pricey. Thank God for Chad's hunting! The good thing with our diet though is that we aren't consuming nearly as much meat. If you look in our fridge, it is stockpiled with veggies and fruits and it makes me feel good!

One more thing-Audrey turned 1 on Feb. 1st. How could I forget that piece of news. My little baby is growing up!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentines Day!

Sleep, Take my Children!

We have been having some issues the past few days (weeks) regarding certain children in this household who shall remain nameless. The almost 1 year old has been waking up numerous times during the night and has been refusing to nap for more than 15-30 minutes during the day-definitely not enough sleep. Last night was the worst by far. ,

I had to get up to go to the bathroom and I had a gut feeling I was writing my death sentence as I walked to the bathroom. You see, we can't use our master bath yet, b/c it is currently being used as construction storage. Hopefully that will be remedied this week. Anyway, my lovely child definitely heard me. I knew she did but I still tried to sneak back into our room and to bed. No luck. Crying commenced-11:30 p.m. I let her cry for about 15 minutes and go in to check her diaper, clean. I took her to our room to rock her and she just gets mad, so I tried to let her know that was unacceptable, she sobs. We get up, go back to her room and I walk her then lay her down, she screams-12 a.m. She continues screaming. I go back in around 12:10 lay her down repeatedly as she sits up and screams horribly. I finally pick her up and try to lay with her in the guest bed after throwing off all the 18 month clothes I had neatly organized to put away (they are now in a big pile, not organized). She continues screaming. 12:45 rolls around and I finally figure out she is thirsty.

Why didn't I pick up on this immediately. The entire time her eyes would be heavy but she would be making these snapping sounds with her mouth and lips and get upset. I got her bottle, filled it up, she downs it. Fill it up again, lay her in her crib and she drinks happily. I finally went to bed around 1 a.m. She didn't wake up until 7:15. I think I've figured out why she's not sleeping well...she's a thirsty girl! I'll just have to make sure she's drinking enough during the day b/c I don't want her downing water at night and wetting through her diapers all the time.

Now the other little one in the household we have yet to figure out his deal. 2 times this week he has woken up and says, " I want you!" Now we don't have our kids in our bed often...I don't sleep well and neither do they, but we have let him in our bed both times-bad move. Today we laid him down for nap, and it took almost 2 hours of screaming and 2 spankings before he fell asleep.

I am exhausted. These kids are ganging up on us. Hopefully we've got the little girl figured out, as far as the boy goes...no idea. We'll have to figure that out soon.

Chad and I are doing well aside from being tired. We are still working on the house-obviously from the master bath issue. But we are getting there. I am deciding if I want to run 2 half marathons this spring. No fulls for me this year ;) Now I just need to get out and run/exercise!

Snyder Christmas and Beyond

This pic above was taken in November during the only substantial snow fall we have had this year-and it really wasn't that much. In fact, the very next morning the snow was gone and the snow man had fallen over. we are hoping for at least one more good snow so the kids can play in it. Chad wants to play in it too-he can't help the kid inside him!

Over New Years, we headed to my parents to spend Christmas with the family. It was a great time and I loved seeing everybody. Unfortunately I ended up coming down with strep the night before we left. Mom was able to get me a prescription the day we left, which was Wednesday. After 24 hours of being on the antibiotics, I was no longer contagious, but unfortunately Weston had developed a very high fever. It was peaking at 106-which was very scary and yes, it was accurate and it is possible despite what the pediatric nurse might tell you over the phone. We were dosing weston with motrin and tylenol (sound familiar...almost the same story with Audrey!). We could only get his fever to come down to about 101 with drugs on board. Of course the ped's office wasn't open so we waited it out. On Monday morning I had it and we headed to urgent care and they diagnosed him with an ear infection. I don't think the ear infection caused the fever to get that high though. I imagine the congestion that he had with the fever ended up causing the infection. In any case, he got on some antibiotics and as of this Thursday morning, he has been fever free. Both kids are still snotty, but I'll take that over what we dealt with over the holidays.

As far as everybody else goes, other members did get sick, but what else did you expect with a Snyder family gathering! Every year this happens. Hopefully next year will be slightly less exciting in this area.

We did do other things aside from getting sick. On New Years Eve, Chad, Erica, Tony, Dad and Myself all ran the Resolution Run 5k at Beavercreek High School. We had a great time and for not very much prep work we all did really well! I did not hit a PR with this race. In fact I was over 30 seconds slower. I think we are going to make this an annual tradition.

Until next time ;)

Great Wolf Lodge and Scared Too Death

Last Wednesday we left for the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio for our Christmas trip with the Clarks. With small kids we decided that this was a good option this year (not to mention last minute!). We got there around 1:30 and got in our suits ready to play in the water. It was a blast for Weston. There were lots of slides, a canyon river ride, a tree house which had water flowing all over it, a wave pool and so much more. I was so surprised that Weston was brave enough to venture from the kiddie pool and go on some of the 'big' slides. He couldn't get enough. Audrey on the other hand was not a fan of getting splashed, so she was happy on the side lines being held and sleeping. Grammy even tried to take her on the lazy river but a bucket of water ended up directly on her head and that was the end.

At night they had story time, snow falling, and hot chocolate in the main lobby. Weston really enjoyed that. He was very entertained by the talking figures (trees, racoon, dummy's, moose and an owl).

It wasn't a great place for adults because it was so geared toward kids. Only 1 or 2 slides were actually really fast and a little thrilling.

We had a great time hanging out with family and staying up late playing cards and talking about cars, bet you can't guess who did what!

We left on Friday and headed to Columbus to spend the rest of the weekend there. On Saturday, we had a full day planned: Christmas brunch for the extended Clark Christmas at 10:30, Dinner at the Japanese steakhouse at 4, and Christmas Eve service at 6:30. This may not seem like a lot, but with little kids, it is a full day when you include naps and all that. Well, Audrey decided she would get sick that day. In the morning, she felt a little warm to me but I didn't think anything of it. She was clingy all day long and she felt hotter and hotter. I didn't pack a thermometer and there wasn't one available. I ended up picking one up at Target and when I finally took her temp in the afternoon, it was around 103. To the drugs we go! We went on with our day and after the Eve service Audrey was feeling a bit worse. I took her temp when we got home around 8pm and it was again around 103.5. She was acting like she was cold, so I did a normal mommy mistake and wrapped her up in a blanket. I handed her over to her uncle and went to get her medicine. As I was coming back, she let out this awful howl. I thought she was just getting tired. As I started to give her the motrin she started to have a seizure. It was the scariest moment of my life (well, probably in line with Weston's birth and me being told he would probably be sent to another hospital b/c he wasn't recovering). I grabbed my baby girl and literally screamed for Chad to call my mom. He immediately called her and my mom became the calming voice in this. She was telling Chad that she went through this with my sister and she also told us what to expect, but it didn't make it any easier. The seizure lasted for about 30 seconds, but it seemed like a lot longer than that. I was freaking out as her mouth, lips and the skin around her eyes started turning blue. After it was over, she was as limp as a rag doll and she wouldn't make any eye contact. I couldn't tell if she was breathing or if her heart was beating. She was just laying in my arms. She then starting making these panting noises and bubbles started coming out of her mouth. She didn't fully recover for about 10 or so minutes. By the time the paramedics got there, she was still pretty limp and not making eye contact, but she was getting fussy. My mom told us this was all normal. The paramedics also told us that they would feel comfortable not taking her if we were okay with that. I was, so we refused treatment and they left. They just told us to make sure and keep motrin or tylenol on board.

Needless to say, everybody was worked up that night. Chad and I slept with her on the couches all night. The next morning, with motrin in her system, she woke up with a fever of 103. I immediately jumped up and went out in search of a place that was open that had tylenol, on Christmas morning. I came back empty handed and decided that it was best to give her the next dose of motrin 1.5 hours early. I did not want a repeat of the previous night. Grammy and Grampy looked online and found a place that was open and they left to get her some tylenol so we could rotate meds, that was the only way we could keep her fever down.

I am glad to report that we haven't had any more episodes and that so far today, her fever has not come back. Mom keeps telling me that the next one won't be so scary, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle it with the grace that my mom does. I am so glad she is my momma!

Weston has picked up a bug as well and it reared its head yesterday at nap time when I found him in bed covered in yak. Poor kid. He is feeling well and has only had a minor fever. We are hoping this passes before tomorrow so we can head to my parents house bug-free.

Now on for the spoils of Christmas. Weston had a Choo-Choo Christmas. He received all Thomas the Train stuff. Audrey got a couple of toys and books (to share with her brother!) I am going through their toy collection here and am trying to decide if we need to donate some of these items. probably should have done this before the holiday season, but I am NOT that organized.

Weston had another first this Christmas. He made his debut on the singing scene. He was a part of the Clark's church's kids Christmas program. We were pretty happy with his performance even though he didn't even sing or smile. We were just happy he actually stayed up there. It was pretty cute. We may try to get a smile out of him next time.

Hello? Anybody Still There?

Guess I should apologize for the belated post (s). I have been meaning to get on here and get this done, but I haven't and I apologize to those who were counting the days until I returned. I would suggest you don't do that, you may drive yourself crazy!

A LOT has happened since, when was the last time I posted...oh yeah, JUNE. We have been working very hard on our new home, installing wood flooring, painting, unpacking, running a marathon, getting a geo-thermal system installed, etc.

Yep, that's right, we bit the bullet and finally signed the contract, watched them destroy our lawn and burned up our credit card (which will be paid off of course!). I am hoping that we will be very pleased once our energy bills start showing the difference.

The kids are doing very well.

Audrey, who is 10 months, is well on her way to learning how to walk. She is practicing standing on her own and is walking holding our hands. I guess it's more like a wobble. She eats a ton, more than her brother ever did or rather does! She has already weaned herself and is drinking whole milk now. I'm not too upset about that seeing as she got her 4 front teeth in a matter of 2 days and knows how to use them!

Weston is 2.5 now and he loves, loves, LOVES, Thomas the Train, otherwise known as "choo-choo". In fact, he loves anything train right now, but mainly Thomas. We don't even have T.V. The only episodes he has seen are what I have allowed him to watch on our laptop through Netflix. I honestly hate the show. Who films a children's show with a plastic train set? Have you seen the program? The only mobile part on the trains is their eyes and the fake smoke that rises! It is so annoying. Only the very recent episodes are animated and almost likeable. For some reason though, this is the only program that Weston will actually sit and watch for a long period of time (spanning greater than 15 minutes). On the eating front, he's finally eating! He eats almost anything we put in front of him. I am thrilled that we no longer have him on the supplement. He is still a skinny tall little dude, but at least he is eating!

As for Chad and myself, we are busy working on the house. Back in September, I did run the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patt AFB. It was a truly amazing experience. We got to the base very early-1.5 hours before start time. They tell you to get there that early for some unknown reason. Well, I didn't realize that Chad and his dad could come with me to the starting area, so I stripped off my sweats and sweatshirt and just roamed around in my shorts and t-shirt, freezing my rear end off. I did warm up after the first few miles of the race though!

I signed up to run with the 4:15 pace group and found them about 30 min before start time. The start was amazing. There was a flyover that featured the B-1B Lancer. It was so loud that it literally shook my chest cavity. All of the seasoned marathoners that were there said that it was the best start to any race they have ever been to.

After the first 5 miles, I was getting claustrophobic running in the group and getting jostled, so I decided to get ahead a little bit. The first 13 miles were awesome. I ran strong and felt great. About that time, my ankle started bothering me but I pushed through. Mile 17, it hurt too much and I had to start walk/running. I didn't walk much, maybe 10-30 seconds of each mile, just enough to give my ankle a break. Unfortunately, b/c of the overcompensation, my knee on the opposite side starting feeling it too. I pushed through and finished strong with a time of 4:23:48. The experience was indescribable. I met so many people running for different reasons, but the one that stuck with me most was a woman who was running in memory of her husband and 6 others that were killed in action this year. It broke my heart and brought me to tears out on the course.

As I was running and a few days/weeks afterwards, I said I would never run a full again, but as I think about this experience and all that it has rewarded me with I bet I will run again. I don't know when or where, but I've been infected!

I'm Back!

Yet another long stretch of absent posts...good reason? YES!

We have finally moved and life is C-R-A-Z-Y. I am completely disorganized, not that I was the picture child of organization, and I am exhausted. So, since I am blogging from my parents clean orderly home, I will keep it short since I have to leave in about 10 minutes for a certain child's 4 month appointment ;).

Updates:

1. We moved! We are now living south of Centerville off of route 48. The house we bought is 80% subflooring, so Chad is putting in what seems like endless hours installing our beautiful hardwood floors. We looked at hiring somebody else to do it, but get real, you know us. Why would we pay for somebody else to do work that we can do? Sure, it would have been done weeks ago, Chad could have worked on the A/C in both cars, we wouldn't have to wear shoes in the house for fear of getting a staple, nail, or splinter lodged in our feet, etc. But, we would have had to pay them! I mean, who wouldn't have made the same decision. Oh man.

2. Audrey is 4 months old! She is so excited about her appointment today that she has been complaining crying for the last half hour. JUST GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!

3. Weston has busted his lip, face, knees, elbows, and body AND was the first to take a dip in our pool-not intentionally of course.

4. We have a pool and are working on opening it. I hear hazy green water is the in thing these days-makes it feel more natural right?

5. I'm signed up to run the Air Force Marathon on September 17th. What's that? You thought I hated running? Oh, I do so don't ask me what I was thinking :)

That's it. Who knows when you'll hear from me again or when I'll post pictures. Gotta start somewhere right?