At Whitten's End

Casey has been smiling off and on since about 2 1/2 weeks of age. As he's grown a bit more content for longer moments of time throughout the day, I've found that he smiles more often. Kayla told me (while I was planting a few bulbs outside and he was in his swing) that she saw the "biggest smile Casey has ever made"! Though I don't have a pic of that one, here are a few of him from yesterday!

Tjaden (my friend Jolene's son) turned 2 on March 15th... but his informal party at the park was delayed due to the proximity of his birthday to my due date (Jo was my 'doula'!) and bad weather time and time again! So Jolene scheduled it for yesterday morning and it ended up being BEAUTIFUL if not perfect for a park gathering! Casey slept in his carrier almost the entire time and Emma wandered around playing with anyone and everything there was to play with in the park. She even got at the top of one of the steepest slides I've ever seen and just sat right down and slid down it, just to land on her butt on the ground in front of the slide :) Didn't phase her one bit but it sent my stomach through my throat as I saw her going down in front of me and couldn't slow her down or catch her as she went down it! My big girl! She has really come into her own since Casey was born... amazing us with how she has assumed a big girl role and no longer acts like a baby.....

Cousin David and Brad had a bet going for months while they played a long tournament of PS3 NCAA basketball. If David lost, he and his family had to go out to dinner with us in public wearing Illini gear (totally blasphemy to a UNC fan!). If Brad lost, we had to wear UNC gear. David (as you can see from these pics) LOST after a long, painstaking tournament that took months to complete! Last night we went to Wings To Go to carry out his punishment and sat smackdab in the middle of the Friday night dinner crowd! There's no way to describe to those that don't live here what loyalty to your team here in NC means... the rivalries run so deep that it can't be described unless you live among the Duke, UNC, and NC State fans on a daily basis. To show you how extreme David is, he is actually wearing a UNC shirt underneath the Illini one so that the orange doesn't touch his skin! His wife Erin (Brad's cousin) is from Peoria so she was raised as an Illinois fan... this was he...

Because I've posted many update posts this week, please don't forget to click on "older posts" at the bottom of the page so that you don't miss out on some of the other stuff we've been up to!

Due to illness and sleep deprivation, we didn't get to Easter services this year :( We did manage to get out to some Easter egg hunts prior to illness taking effect, though. Here are pics from the Beth Schmidt Park egg hunt (Emma), my friend Shana's annual Good Friday hunt (Emma wasn't there due to illness), and then us dying eggs. Sorry we didn't have any better pictures... with a newborn and two egg hunters, it's hard to always have the camera going when we needed to! BETH SCHMIDT PARK: SHANA'S HOUSE: DYING EGGS on EASTER-EVE: On a serious note, it's fun and important for us to have traditions that we carry out with our kids come Easter and other special holidays/occasions, but it's most important that we remember on a daily basis the sacrifice that Jesus paid for us so that we can live our lives covered by His blood and eternal salvation! Thank you, Jesus, for this gift! I stand in awe of your sacrifice and love for us!

Casey has fit into this family better than I ever imagined possible! Emma and Kayla adore him and are always wanting to hold him or "help" in whatever ways possible. Emma especially has taken to him 1000x's better than I knew was even possible! She can be in the middle of a knock down drag out tantrum and if Casey is beside her, she'll pet his head as she screams! Talk about some selective anger! Kayla loved it when we brought Emma home from the hospital and she'd always help me 'fetch' things as I needed them, but with Casey it's different... she's older and more responsible and wants to be more hands on with him: picking him up when he's upset, listening to the monitor for me when I'm watering the plants, looking after Emma when I need to do something for Casey, etc. Brad told me that while I was inside Lowes picking out flowers last week, both little kids broke out crying at the same time. Kayla suggested splitting up! She'd tak...

I was very saddened when my mom broke her ankle for many reasons, one of which is that it dampened my dreams of getting to have her company and expertise to help me put together my garden. Brad was off of work on the 14th and 15th, so he took kid-patrol and allowed me to be outside working for a few hours both days while Casey napped. Let me tell you that digging in the dirt never felt so therapeutic!! Though I didn't do anything with the edging of my beds or anything special like that, I did manage to till up the soil, add compost, get a few new plants in the soil, and add mulch (thanks for your help Tommy!)... I got scolded by a couple of well-meaning friends for my being out doing such back-breaking work in the garden less than a month after I'd delivered... it was worth the scolding, though! The front needs a few more small plants & bulbs for next spring while the backyard is awaiting plants from mom's garden once the dr releases her to come to NC!! I definitely...

I have yet to determine which size-comparison picture I want to take on a monthly basis with Casey and since his first month flew by so quickly and the 19th was here before I knew it, I just decided to get a few different pictures for good measure. He looks much older than he really is... he really doesn't have good neck control and he really is like a very typical newborn (just bigger!) He weighed in at 11 lbs 7 oz at his appt this week. Since we were there for an ear check, they didn't measure him. He's now wearing size 2 diapers (for the last week and a half) and is out of 90% of his 0-3 month clothes already!! He does periodically give us a smile but the camera is never around and it's few and far between at this point. Here are Casey's one month pictures: Trying to sit up (Kayla close by!) on his own... Lying beside Webkinz tree frog for size comparison Propped up by blue bear (for size comparison) in the corner of rocking chair that Brad gave me for Mother...

If Casey is in the room, you can guarantee that Emma isn't far from him. She absolutely adores her brother who she faithfully refers to as Casey! Today, I walk around the corner to where the swing is and find that she's put shoes on him... one of Kayla's and one of hers! She was so proud of herself!

I am trying very hard to get this blog up to date but I have very limited time and energy to do so right now. Unfortunately, it's going to be a bit out of order and probably a bit discombobulated, but that's totally in line with my mind right now, so I'm feeling right at home! I hope to have some pictures of my garden, the girls enjoying life with their little brother, doing Easter egg hunts & dying eggs put up in the next couple of days. We're battling what I believe to be ear infections in Emma and Casey right now and sleep is definitely at a minimum for me and Casey right now... keep checking back and I hope to have some updates soon!

Our neighbors and friends across the street- Tommy & Vicki - went into the hospital to have their baby girl the same night that we were discharged to come home with Casey. We had the privilege of stopping by their house one evening to meet Jenna Rose (5 lbs, 11 oz at birth!) and introduce Casey to them that first week! Emma giving Tommy a high five while he holds Jenna I hope to be able to regularly get pictures of our bubby Casey and Jenna as they grow older... fortunately, this chair is huge and serves perfectly for that purpose! When Jenna's mommy Vicki heard that my mom had broken her ankle and wouldn't be able to be here for my birthday or be here to help me plant my garden, she arrived at my door with a beautiful card and an even more beautiful rose bush from Jenna 'Rose'... little did she know my mom's name is Rose! Within hours I removed one of my non-favorite bushes from my flower bed and planted the miniature Charisma Rose plant. This picture doesn...