Christmas Miracles

As you can see in the pics, we are up and running for Christmas! Even with all that gaudy train wrapping paper. Even with the fact that Kaden suddenly HAD to have a kitchen set from Santa. Have you ever tried to find a decent boy kitchen set? Finally found a wooden Melissa & Doug one on amazon.com that cute, in case you need one, too! Anyway, even with all the mad rush, I find my mind wandering......thinking about the REAL reason for the season. Thinking that, only 5 years back, I thought I would never get to see the excitement in a child's eyes at Christmas. Thinking that our first child would be celebrating his/her 5th Christmas this year. Thinking that I am truly blessed beyond words to have not ONE, but TWO little Miracles this Christmas! I could go the rest of my life and not ever recieve a Christmas gift and be completely content, as I have 2 little gifts, sometimes covered in cookies, or dirt, or both, right before my very eyes! How lucky am I?

These were snapped right before we went to pics at The Needy Paws! Every year, a local photographer, who happens to be our photographer (http://www.hardgravephoto.com/web-content/babyplan/ethanm.html) donates her time to take photos with or without your pets to raise money for Needy Paws, the local animal shelter! All of my parents G-kids threw on their coordinating outfits and had pictures made.....I have to say, my family makes PRECIOUSLY CUTE babies! :)

Visiting Santa, Borrowed Diapers, & BBQ

What a day! We set off on our Journey around 9 a.m., which means I had to get up in the 6 a.m. hour to start getting ready! We picked up my Mom and was off. After a near catastrophe with a biscuit from McD's and Kaden's nice clean pants, we arrived at the mall. The line for Santa wasn't to bad, until I realized that my camera would not work. That is right, the new camera we got like 3 weeks ago. Arrrg. Anyway, our turn arrived and Kaden just casually walks up to him, says "I want Thomas "splash" and a kitchen", then proceeds to turn around and tell us "OK, I am done". We had to explain that he had to sit in his lap and tell him, along with Lil'Bit. So I go to get Lil'Bit out, and realize he has decided to make a surprise in his diaper. To late to turn back, so he visits Santa anyway, dirty diaper and all. Pictures turned out great, tho! Not sure if they are $20 for two 5X7's great, but, the price you pay for memories! Fast forward a bit and I am in the family facilities changing the surprise diaper when SURPRISE I realize I left the stack of diapers I had set out at home. Oh No! Do I panic? No. I simply re-attach the diaper, waltz out of the facilities, and stop the first clean, nice looking person I see heading towards the facilities with a baby. Yes, I had to ask someone for a diaper. Can you say EMBARRASSING? But the lady and her daughter (who had a precious 6 mo old!) were very nice and even gave me an extra diaper to hold me over! Did you know that not one place in the mall sells diapers? Me, neither. Now I do. :)

So, a 2 size too big diapered baby and a cookie covered 3 yr old later, we leave with almost all of our Christmas shopping done! YAY! After enjoying some BBQ at one of our fav places, Rivertowne, we troop home and start wrapping gifts and finishing decorating. Oh, and putting extra diapers in every place imaginable, you know, just in case! ;)

Now, for the pics:

Yes, Lil'Bit's shirt says "Santa is My Homeboy"! We had professional pics made at Hardgrave Photography last week and he was all decked out in CHristmas attire, so I did not want to duplicate the outfits......

More Kaden Quotes

K: "Rudolph the Two Nosed Reindeer...."

Me: Honey, it is RED nosed reindeer.

K: NO! He has 2 noses...a red one and a black one.

Good point, I guess. Now if we can only figure out why Frosty has a "hot dog pipe" we will be doing good ;)

K: Can we listen to the THomas CD?

Me: No, it is in Daddy's truck. (Ok, a complete lie, but that CD is SO annoying)

K: Please?

Me: NO. (Slowing down) Look at those Christmas LIghts! Aren't they pretty?

K: (in a completely sarcastic tone) That's nice. Can we listen to Thomas now?

So I guess he DOES listen to every word I say....note to self, stop being sarcastic to hubby....

Oups! I was tagged!

I was reading my friend Julie's blog, and I just noticed I was tagged! I am supposed to go to my fourth folder, get the fourth picture! Well, folks, here it is:

This is a mural at St. Mary's, where we had Ethan. Every month has a square, and all the babies that are born that month get there name put on it! Ethan's is in the top left hand corner. Not the most interesting of photos, but I can definitely say that I feel priviliged to be able to have a name put on there!

The Thoughts of a 3.5 year old....

Kaden never ceases to amaze me! Especially here lately. I remember a time, right before we put him in Mother's Day Out that, we were concerned he had a speech problem. Then we figured out the "speech problem" was that the Grandparents didn't make him talk :) Anyway, here are some of the lovely thoughts that my child had this week (so far!)...


K: So now that the Chrickamas tree is put up, where are the presents?
Me: Well, Santa will bring you presents on Christmas Eve.
K: Oh...does Santa shop at Wal-Mart?


K: I SHARED!!
Me:That is great! What did you share?
K: My chocolate milk.
Me: With who? (suspicions are rising...)
K: Ethan....He wouldn't drink from my sippy, though.

He also apparently climbed to the top of the slide, which, at the MDO playground, is also a rocket ship that goes to the stars and moon. And we finally figured out that "Muffler Speaks" is actually Martha Speaks. Now it all makes sense.....

Now, it is bedtime, but before I go, I will leave you with this picture of Ethan....hunting season is in full force around here (Do I hunt? No. Does my hubby hunt? No. Why do we put our kids in camo? GRANDPA'S!!!) so Ethan aka Mommy's Little Deer, got all decked out for the occassion!

And the reasons I am crazy over Kaden (aka KadenNate, Kaden Nafaniel, Miracle, Big Brudder)

he always smells like cookies-his big blue eyes-the way complete strangers walk up and tell me how pretty he his-his laugh-his ability to work a romm in no time-he never meets a stranger-he is truly a miracle-the way he thinks trains are the greatest thing ever-his chubby belly-his love for Ethan-his love for everyone in the family, actually-the way he MUST hold your hand to go to sleep-his easy going nature-his memory, the kid forgets nothing!-his simplicity-the fact he is our first born after four years of pain and loss and giving up on the fact we would ever have children. I "wub" you, too, Miracle!!

Why I am crazy over Ethan (aka Lil'Bit, Lil'Man, Shrimp, Little Brudder, Epan Nickowas):

the smell of his hair-the softness of his skin-the way he ALWAYS smiles when I walk by-the look of amazement as he watches Big Brother-the way he rests his hand in the same spot on my chest when we are sleeping-his laugh-his quiet voice-those big blue eyes and incredibly long eyelashes-the way he kicks that one leg just like he did in my belly-his "pick me up NOW" cry-the confused look he gets when Daddy baby talks-the sucking noises he makes when he takes a paci-his little bum-his chubby fingers-the fact that he is the last baby I will ever have-and I could go on and on and on.....I "wub" you lil'man!!

Better late than never...

So I kinda haven't blogged in a bit. But, not that I did not want to, there has just been NO time. Halloween has come and gone, and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks off! I am SO ready to put Christmas decorations up....Kaden has really been showing interest in Santa Claus, so this year should be really fun watching him! Of course, I have attached some photos of the boys from Halloween! We visited the Great Punkin Patch (as Kaden calls it), with the boys in matching skeleton shirts :). Kaden was greatly entertained by Garfield's Halloween and The Great Pumpkin Patch (Charlie Brown) this year, which I could not love more! Those are the exact cartoons that I watched every Halloween when I was little, so it is kinda like I am passing on a tradition! Anyway, Kaden was none other than Thomas the Tank Engine and Ethan was a loaf of Wonder Bread. Good times....

And, yes, I finally changed my background! Rather complicated procedure, I must say....

Goodbye, Lola Girl!

Sadly, our precious little Dachshund (aka Weenie Dog) Lola had to be put asleep. She was suffering from Inherited Mange, and had lost all of her hair. She was not only a sight (I wouldn't put her asleep because she was ugly!) but her skin was severly infected and it had spread to her face, hindering her sight. She was just not feeling well and the disease is not curable. We alleviated it for as long as we could, but it won :( So, Lola Girl, our first born's first pet, RIP...we love you!

Nothing going on...

I say that, and we haven't been home the last 3 nights until WAYYY past our bedtime! Kaden started back to Mother's Day Out (pic #1) and is LOVING it! He is learning manners and saying polite things like "yes, sir" and "thanks" more often, as well as doing little things like pushing in his chair and putting toys up! It is a start! Ethan is doing good-he still is not gaining weight like he should, so back to the Pediatrcian this week. We are on a first name basis with Dr. Harrison, since we seem to go there every week :) LOL. Oh, well, my Babies are healthy and that is what matters!





Here are some pics of my two little Miracles (pics #2 & #3). Kaden is (knock on wood) being a great Big Bro to Ethan! I do not want them to grow up any faster, but I cannot wait for the day when they play together! Of course, I picture them hand in hand splashing in mud puddles with big grins, and I am sure in reality one will be pushing the other in a puddle and then both racing to me to tell on each other! haha.

Ethan is here! (ok, so I am a month late....)

I have been busy, especially with two kids! That is why I am so late about putting his announcement on here :) Here is the stats:
Ethan Nicholas Mays
7/31/08 11:08 a.m.
7lbs 9 oz, 19 3/4 in
P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

He was jaundice (that is what why we are sunning in the secong picture!), and lost down to roughly 6.5 lbs....he is just now, at a month old, back to his birth weight! He is a small fry, which is why his nickname is Lil'Bit :)
Anyway, he is absolutely perfect. It is so hard to think that having one, moreless TWO children was so far out of reach just a few years back. We are truly blessed!

Big Brother was not so sure about him, even going as far as saying he didn't love me or Ethan, just Daddy, but things are almost back to norm! Life has def changed for the Mays, as we never imagined another little morsel could change things by SOOO much! Bring on the Ibuprofen!

Ethan will be here TODAY!

With mixed emotions I type the following....ETHAN WILL BE HERE IN 10 HOURS!! After a hospital stay Sunday night, my OB determined the best thing for me & Ethan was to get him outta there! I will only be 37 1/2 weeks, but she feels everything will be fine. As for me, I have been a basket case the last few days! What I thought I had 2 1/2 weeks to do suddenly turned into TWO days! We had to put together car seats, stroller, swings, bouncy seats, etc plus get his nursery finished (still lacking the letters above his bed and a memo board). WHEW! I was not this nervous at all with Kaden....which leads me to my next point-I am scared to death that Kaden will be mad at us. He is our little miracle (and Ethan is, too!) and has had our undivided attention for the last three years. Not a day goes by I do not tell him that I love him at least 4700 times and always refer to him as my little Miracle. None of this will change, of course, and we have been telling him from day one that Mommy is having him a little brother, but somehow I feel he does not have a clue of what is really happening. He will tell Ethan he loves him and tells him when exciting things happen (like when we went to Chuck E Cheese's or when we had 'roni's -n-cheese for lunch) and even tried to show Ethan a picture of some new trains he wanted (this was done by lifting my shirt and slapping the picture down on my stomach) :) But, a serious conversation held today really led me to believe he has no clue what is really going to happen tomorrow:
ME: I love you!
KADEN: I love you, too, Momma!
ME: I am going to love Ethan, too, but I will love you both equally.
KADEN: I love screwdribers.
Yup, we are gonna have our hands full.......

Well, I Finally Did It!

I have been reading my friends blogs on here, and, of course, I am a sucker for following suit, so I decided to do one for myself!! The same thing happened with MySpace & Facebook. There always seems to be something that happens, major or minor, that I actually think to myself "Hmmm, I nead to blog about this!". Just random things--stuff Kaden says, gets into, what exciting things are going on in our life (LOL), etc. And probably no one will read it, but I know it is on here, so maybe I will just be entertaining myself, and thats ok, too! So, stay tuned (or perhaps logged in is the correct term?) for the good stuff-I will post as it happens! As my title says, We Are aMAYSing!!