Katelee Madge

March 10, 2010 Our Katelee Madge turned 18 months this month. I can't believe that it has been a year and a half since she came into our lives. At 18 months Katelee weighted 22lbs(10-25 percentile) and is 32 inches tall(50-75 percentile). Still our Tall and Skinny girl! Katelee loves to get her way and do her own thing. She can say a few words such as Dada, Mama, NO, bed, drink, juice, bye-bye, nite-nite and ball. She doesn't usually give us any problems going to bed. When you tell her it's nite-nite time she will head up the stairs on her own. She doesn't drink from a bottle any more, not like she really did anyways! She loves and insists on feeding herself all of her food, so after most meals it's quite a lot of clean up! She doesn't mind getting dirty and loves to play outside. She plays cars with Ethan and loves to pick on him. She can be a mean girl at times and when you punish her she acts as if she is the one that was hurt. She loves to say "no" to anything you ask her. Katelee is very good at taking off her shoes AND socks, especially in the car. She is still taking two naps, however I think she is working herself closer to one nap. If we put Ethan to bed before Katelee falls asleep the night seems to never end. She will yell, giggle and throw her stuff out of her crib the entire night until she falls asleep or Ethan does. She is an instigator and loves to have attention. She loves to give hugs when she is in a good mood. If Katelee sees Daddy give Mommy a kiss she will immediately want a kiss from him. She already has a pretty good throwing arm and will throw anything and everything no matter where she is. Just this Sunday she threw her animal crackers at church when we made her stop teasing the boy behind us with them. She is a tease and thinks she is so funny ALL the time. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and her hair is finally growing in. It's kinda getting longer in the back but not so much on the top still. She has started keeping things in her hair for more than 30 seconds at a time, thank heavens, because without them in her hair looks nappy! She has naturally curly hair that I absolutely love for now. Katelee loves to have her teeth brushed and wave to herself in the mirror. She loves to try to put her shoes on and has even been able to put Ethan's boots on all by herself. When Katelee is on a mission she walks with purpose, swinging her arm and stomping!

Has it really been a year and a half since Katelee looked like this?
Boy how fast time goes by when you are having fun! Katelee definitely has her own personality and we just love her to pieces! We look forward to the next year and a half and MORE! Love you Katelee!

Change of Plans

In preparation of doing my first ever Sprint Triathlon I have been running a little and doing an ab workout at least 3 times a week. Well last week was a busy one for me and I slacked on my ab workouts. I went for a run with Ethan on Saturday and was determined to get back into my ab routine yesterday. Well we got home from dinner at the Nelson's and got the kids ready for bed. Sometimes Ethan will work out with me and sometimes he just plain says "no!" While Chris was putting Katelee down for the night I sat Ethan down and had a conversation about how we behave at church. (He was taken out by the Primary Secretary and they had discussed sitting still and behaving as well.) Ethan was receptive to my comments but kept saying, "oh, my tummy hurts!" I figured it was just him trying to get out of trouble but by the time Chris came back downstairs I had him look at his belly. Ethan only complained of it hurting on the left side and he was consistent in telling us exactly where it hurt. Chris felt for some swelling and thought he felt an air bubble. We gave Ethan a Tums and he wanted me to hold him. I figured I'd hold him for a bit and then take him to bed. Well soon enough he fell asleep in my arms, which never happens. I was even able to wash his face without him waking up, however ever 10 or so minutes he would wake up crying and complaining that his tummy hurt. The poor little guy really was in some serious pain. Around 8:45pm I took him upstairs to get him in his own bed, but the pain seemed to be worse, so we ended up on the couch upstairs for another hour or more! Ever time he would wake up in pain we would move until he felt better and then he would say, "We need to read the Book of Mormon!" Finally I had Chris bring up the Book of Mormon so Ethan could stop worrying about missing out on that, silly kid! Finally around 10:30 or 11 Ethan asked if Daddy could give him a blessing, which Chris willingly did and then Ethan decided that he couldn't sleep in his bed but ours would be fine. By 11:30 Ethan was feeling good laying down next to me in bed. Needless to say the bed that normally fits two adults seemed like the size of a twin bed.... Ethan loves his room and moves and kicks constantly! Around 1:30 and then again at 4 he woke up in pain, but seems to feel okay when we woke up today.

Anyways back to the point of the story, I was determined that there was nothing that was going to stand in my way of working out last night, however I think my time was much better spent doing this.....

Than working out! Last night I was able to provide a little bit of relief to my little boy, I got to feel his heartbeat slow down after crying and felt him completely relaxed in my arms! Last night I was able to say a prayer of thanks for Everything that Ethan has done to improve my life!!! How grateful I am for the small moments where I can recognize how wonderful my son is and how he has completely changed my life for the better! So what if my abs aren't rock hard, or even close to firm.... I got to hold my son for a good 3 hours and let him know how much I love him by being there for him! That is way more important to me than some silly abs that don't bring me even a hundredth amount of joy that Ethan and Katelee bring to me! So last night my plans did change.... For the Better!

Like Father Like Son

The other night Ethan was taking a while in the bathroom. Afraid that I would find him playing in the soap and water and toilet paper I hurry over to see what he is doing, only to find this.....

When he was done I asked him if he had read the whole magazine because it had taken him forever. He looked up at me and in all seriousness said, "I missed a few pages!" This boy never ceases to make me laugh! Now whenever he has to go #2 he will ask for a magazine or book! Silly Boy, I don't know where he gets this one from? Yes that is a book on the back of the toilet, but I still don't know where he gets it from! :)

Emily Marie Trevino

Sunday March 14th around 10:30am I received a text message from my brother-in-law informing me that Anna was having contraction about every 12 minutes. I was ecstatic, each pregnancy I have had to be induced, so I thought having contractions at home was great. I had to speak in church on Sunday and was afraid that she would have a baby before I finished, silly me! Enrique keep sending us updates and by the time we were heading to church the contractions were about 8 minutes apart and getting more intense. In fact they were headed to the hospital because they were starting to get pretty bad. My parents came to church and listened to my talk. When I was done I found out that Anna was being watched at the hospital, nothing new really. So after church Chris, the kids and I headed over to the Nelson's because Anna still hadn't been 'admitted' to the hospital yet. They were still watching her and had given her some medication because the contractions were pretty intense. When we came home from Nelson's house Anna had finally been admitted, so I helped get the kids ready for bed and headed over to my parent's house to go with them to the hospital. I was beyond excited, I can't even explain the amount of excitement I had the entire time. I texted a few friends when I found out Anna was having contractions just because I had to tell someone, and Chris was in meetings all morning.... So my dad, mom, brother and I headed over to the hospital. We got there around 8 o'clock and the Trevino family was already there keeping the waiting room warm for us!Enrique's family was just as excited as we were. Fortunately they have a large waiting room with a great t.v. My dad grabbed my camera and took pictures of everyone there! Thanks Dad!
I pretty much had that smile on my face the entire time!
Of course we needed a picture of my dad to prove he was there, so here it is!

After about an hour or so Anna was finally given an Epidural and allowed people in to see her. Enrique came and got the parents, then Mom came and got Matt so Dad and Matt could give Anna a blessing. Then Enrique came out for a little break and breathing room.

He was so excited and tired all at the same time. He was such a great support to my sister through the whole thing and even took a few squeezes that actually hurt from my sister. (good job Anna, way to let him know who is 'really' stronger!)

This was his excited look! You could just feel the excitement radiating from him! I loved it!

I know, how rude to take a picture of a lady in labor, but she was feeling much better and said it was okay! Isn't she radiating motherhood!? We continued to take turns going in to visit her, as only 4 people were allowed in at a time. Finally around midnight they did a check and she was to a 9 and feeling some back pain. That was my que to exit the room until little Emily came. My Dad and Matt both had to work the next day and when 1:30am came around they finally left. Matt was so excited to hold and see a little baby that it drove him crazy to leave, but I promised to keep him informed as soon as I got any news.

Enrique's mom had left her phone in the waiting room so I was the only source of information from the delivery room, so every time my phone made a noise I had 3 very anxious sets of eyes on me! Finally around 2:30am I received a text that just said "2:22am" What a great relief this Aunt and Sister felt knowing that my little niece and Sister had made it through delivery!!! Finally I got more messages with more information. Little Emily came into this world weighting 5lbs and 13Oz. She was 17 1/2 inches long with lots of brown/black hair! She was taken to the NICU for a bit because she had used the 'restroom' a bit early. Once we were allowed back in to see Anna I was again overjoyed to see her okay. Being able to see something provides a lot more relief than just hearing it! She of course was exhausted but doing good! She had the epidural shakes but was in good spirits.

Finally around 4:15 they brought little Emily in for Mom to finally hold for more than 30 seconds! The joy in my sisters eyes is one I will never soon forget. The exhaustion and pain was all washed away as she looked into her new daughter's eyes and said hello!

What a precious moment for my sister! Holding the 'newest' love of her life in her arms!

Then I was given the opportunity of holding Emily and I think the smile says it all! (I might add that I think I look pretty good for being up for 21 hours at this point, don't you?)

I got home from the hospital around 5 and went right to sleep. Around 8 I woke up and did some work from home and then sent an e-mail saying I would be out the rest of the day! I went back out to the hospital that afternoon with my mother.

I am still amazed at how tiny this girl is. She does have some pretty long legs and toes for being so small.

All snug and warm, just sleeping her life away! :)

Later that night we dropped the kids off at my friends house so Chris and I could both see Emily and her parents! When we got there she was eating and afterwards she was wide awake!

Look at all that hair! She loves to smack her lips and suck on her fists! She makes the cutest expressions and makes the cutest sounds!

After she was done eating Uncle Chris was allowed to come in and hold her. He is always so cute with kids! I love to see him interact with newborns. He has never been afraid of them and his eyes are always so caring as he looks at them! I'm glad I married him, he's pretty great!

Yes, I still had the same smile on my face. Even as I write this, I'm smiling and can't wait to see this little lady again!

Grandpa Blackburn of course is already in love! He is also a great example of a man that loves kids and is not afraid that he is going to hurt them! I am learning more and more that I truly did marry my father, and that's okay with me!

Anna and Baby were both released from the hospital on Tuesday so I took the kids and my niece from Texas out to see them. Ethan held her and just kept saying "she is so tiny!" He also said after learning that Emily was out of Anna's belly, "Emily my cousin now?" He was cute with her and held her for a bit and then the just dropped his hands and was finished holding her! Silly Boy!

While Ethan held her he would rub the blanket as if comforting her, what a sweet and crazy child all in one!

This is two of my nieces. Brooke was such a sport in coming out to their house with me!

And then it was Katelee's turn. She wasn't that interested in the baby. She didn't care that I was holding another baby and really didn't want to come over. But she finally did. She is not the most gentle girl in the world and I had to protect Emily a little bit, but she did pretty good with her.

Staying true to her form here is a classic Katelee stare! She was done holding her and didn't know what else to do. She stared for a while and then arched her back trying to get down. I am convinced that had Emily been crying Katelee would have cared about her more, as she thinks she needs to take care of all the babies that are not happy. She will give them their bottles or binkies and is relentless until they stop crying!

I love being an Aunt! I love having a sister that I love with all my heart! I would do anything for this new little family! I welcome my sister to the Mother's Club with very open arms. The roads of motherhood may be the most challenging I've ever experienced and might ever experience, however they are the most joyful I have yet experienced!!! Little Emily already has a little chunk of my heart! Welcome to Earth, we are so excited to have you here!!!!

Katelee's First Day in Nursery

Sunday we took Katelee to Nursery, she isn't 'legal' until the 10th so I stayed with her until the leaders told me I should just leave her. So I did. When I went to pick her up after church I asked them is Katelee had been nice to the other kids. They told me that she had been nice. Then I asked if she had given them attitude and they said, "no, she was good, but she did stare at us a lot." I'm sure they got a few of these looks....

Katelee is so funny, she doesn't usually cry when she is held by someone she doesn't know, but she will sure stare them down. I have been so afraid that Katelee will be kicked out of nursery for being too mean. She knows how to hit and pinch and she knows that it's not nice at all! I am cautiously hopefully after having a good experience in nursery! Hopefully she reserves being really mean for her family so she can keep going to nursery.... It sure was nice to be able to pay attention in Sunday School and Young Women's again, and I know Chris enjoyed himself as well! I'm so proud of my little lady for doing so well! We sure love you!

Good Night, Sleep Tight!

Sometimes I think there is nothing more precious than a sleeping child! Every night Chris and I go into the kids' room before bed to see them sleeping. Katelee is always at the top of her crib with her head touching the bumper. Usually she is in the corner all snuggled up against the bumper. She has always loved to be snuggled to sleep and pretty much stays at the top of the crib all night long! Ethan, well he is a little bit of different story.... He has always slept crazy!
His head never stays on the pillow and his legs never really stay at the end of the bed! He has to have his stuffed animals with him and I guess sometimes he likes them over his eyes.

These kids are so special to me and I just love to see them laying there so peacefully. Makes it seem like there is no violence and crime in the world and all is perfect in life. No matter what is going on in my life I can always get a smile by watching them sleep! I love you guys so much and am so thankful for the joy you bring to me especially every night when you are asleep! :)