Surviving

Hello all, I (Melanie) am back! Cole is now over 2 weeks old and I am finally feeling more like myself. We had a crazy time after Cole was born. We went home a couple of days, came up to my parents house while Dave took Tina and Braden to Bear Lake, and I ended up going up for one night also. Then we headed up to Melissa's in-laws for Dave to go fishing with Creighton and the kids and I enjoy a show - Aladdin - at the Mystique (a fun theatre).

We have been home for about a week getting ready to start school on Monday! Tina has met her teacher - Mrs. Bell who is fresh out of college. I'm excited to volunteer in her class hopefully. Braden has been to his open house for preschool and I can't wait to see how it goes. I've heard good things about his school and I was glad to get him in. He starts on Tuesday. I love getting back on a schedule:)

Cole did well on his 2 week appointment. He gained about 2 oz a day and is now back up to 6 lbs. 10 oz. He is still just tiny, but I was encouraged that he is growing. Also we found out that he does NOT have CPT-2 deficiency like Braden (yeah!) I am so relieved. He is a sweet little baby that I grow to love even more every day. He is starting to sleep more regularly at night, and thankfully Dave has gotten up with him more than any other baby. Thanks honey! Tina and Brooklyn fight over who gets to hold him. We have only had one incident where Brooklyn hit, but time outs have solved that (I hope). I think Braden will play with him more when he gets older:) I asked him what he thought of his new little brother, and he said, "Good."

Last night Dave took the girls on a father-daughter camp-out with the ward, and I got to spend some good time with my boys. It was so fun and I know the girls had fun with daddy. It's funny because Dave said when he is with kids they never whine, but as soon as they come home, that is what they do to me. Mothers are made for that I guess?? Or maybe it's just me?? Anyway, that's all the news from our neck of the woods for now.

Baby Cole is Here

I picked up some needle point, probably a strange combination needle point and football. LOL

Wow look at how cute he is oh and the baby is too. See what I mean about the bed!!!!!

Good thing he got his mothers looks!!!!!!!!!!!

Is white his color or what, only other color would be Aggie Blue

She is such a little mom we love it. I had to make her laugh to get a true smile

I hope this means he is going to be a good sleeper at night.

Hello all this is actually Dave that is blogging, now please do not fall over. I figured since I am finishing all of Melanie's projects I might as well do her blog. Yesterday the 10th of August at 3:29 pm we were blessed with Cole David Chambers. He was 6lbs 7oz and 19 1/2 inches. He came very rapidly and is darn cute. Mom is doing fine also and she is darn cute. He was definately ready to come and see what he has gotten himself into. The doctor had just enough time to put on her scrubs and turn around and catch him.

All of the kids seemed excited to have a new little brother. Tina was the most excited, Braden was excited for a sec, and Brooklyn just kinda starred. It has been so much fun. I will say though that the new womens center could have invested just a little more money on the couch bed. I think that I would rather sleep in a tent. However they did have free food for me and those of you that know me know that I love food.

We are just so grateful to have him here, we are also so grateful for the help that our families gave us through all of this. We are very lucky to have such wonder family members, we love you. This is probably long enough, if you have passed out cause I wrote something then get up and look at how cute this kid is for goodness sake!

Monster Summer Catch-up

I have to apologize...I thought this summer was going to be not very eventful, but I feel like I haven't had a chance to catch my breath! We have had a ton of fun, and been very busy. I need to do this today, before the baby comes...TOMORROW!

July was full of trips to Logan to visit visiting siblings. Dave's sister Kari was here and we always have so much fun together, even if it gets more chaotic with the additional children we have every time:). We got to know little Boston (9 months) better, and he is such a cutie. He is such a happy, busy little guy. And his baby blue eyes are so expressive. They just have a fun family. I just love spending time with Kari. She and I are the same age, and got really close when I started dating Dave. Here are the girls dancing to "I wanna hold your hand" by the Beatles at Charlie's ice cream shop.

The Chambers golf tournament is something I look forward to every year, and although I was 8 1/2 months pregnant, I did not want to miss out! Here's the proof - Dave and I on the tee box.And afterwards, we were all smiles, because with the help of Jeff and Jake Major, we won this year!The cousins had so much fun playing that all I could get were candid shots, but it was great. We went on what was called the "red neck water slide" which is basically a slip and slide down a mountain. They had a big and small one. I only tried it once, but Tina was a little dare-devil that surprised us all! She loved the big one. Dave had a ball too, and Braden entertained us with his pee show on the sidelines (he literally dropped his pants, went potty on the side, and stood watching people go forgetting to pull them up!). I'm at my parents house blogging, so I don't have those pictures, but it was great...When we got back, Gary decided to try his version of the slide and took off his playset slide, tied a hose to it, and aimed it at the slip and slide. When the kids were tired of that, he put it into the wading pool. Here is him and Dave entertaining the kids

After many wonderful visits with the Chambers, it was now time for my brother Devin to fly in with his cute girls, Melanie and Amy. We went up the canyon to celebrate Melissa's birthday and Brooklyn just loved on Amy. I think they are going to be great friends:) It has been fun spending time with them because they live far away, so we eat it up when they come. I am in awe of all that Melanie does...She is so talented with sewing and jewelry. Plus she is such a cute mom to Amy. Amy is at the fun getting very mobile stage. Brooklyn would mimic her movements too. They are a little competitive too...must get that from their dads!:) I hate to admit that I don't have a picture of this, but Melissa (my sister) also had her first baby on July 22nd. A beautiful baby girl named Anna who is a doll. She already has me wrapped around her finger, because I figured out how to make her stop crying when I held her. I guess it could also be that she senses her new cousins' presence and the extra padding provided?? But I think it is so much fun watching my sister become a mom. One of those life-changing moments. She's doing so good too. She constantly amazes me with her courage, optimism, and sweet disposition.

We also had a Primary Children's visit thrown into the mix, which was really encouraging. I'll have to post later about the medical report, but I had to get a picture of Dave trying to keep them busy while waiting for the Doctor:) I guess one thing I'm a little concerned about is the fact that this new little one has a one in four chance of having the same deficiency as Braden. I guess I'll have to be patient!

Sorry for the monster catch-up. It's good that we have a date set for me to work towards a deadline. As far as prepping for the baby, we have the crib and pack and play set up. And one thing I love to do before a baby is steam clean the carpets. Dave was a sweetheart and did that so fast on Friday. Thanks honey! I have been a little scatterbrained, but overall, we are all excited to have Cole David join our family. I have left out a lot of other things this summer, but it's late and I'm REALLY losing brain cells!:) So next update: baby time:)