Halloween 2009

Jack was a giraffe and Griff was a tiger (even though his costume is covered)... They had fun, while mommy and Cooper stayed home to hand out candy.

Transitions

Jack and Griffin have welcomed their new brother into their world. Jack has done great, probably because he is older and has done this before. Griffin has had a harder time, surprisingly with being seperated from daddy. But, Garry has been great.. He has been patient and loving towards Griffin. Everyday Griffin seems to be doing better and we know that this transiton is just that a transition. Griffin has been affectionate towards Cooper, giving him kisses and smiles. Overall a good transition.

Collage

Cooper Hiram Rickart

Catching some rays!

Daddy lovin...

Finally awake

Birthday

Cooper Hiram

Well Cooper is finally here and he arrived exactly on his due date - 09/15/09. My contractions began early in the morning but were nothing to painful so I figured that it still may be a day or two. I had a Dr's appt that morning and the Dr. said I was 3cm. Since I was positive for StrepB this go around he wanted to admit me to get a couple of doses of antibiotics on board. My contractions did pick up but it was still going slow so Dr. Miller broke my water and by 9:56 pm Cooper had arrived. He weighed 7lbs 3 1/4 oz. and was 21" long. His delivery was the easiest on me, 3 pushes. Yeah for mommy! I feel great and am home with the family today. It has already been a smooth transition. Jack is very excited and keeps asking when Cooper is going to wake up. Griffin just smiles. We all are happy Cooper is here safely and love him so much already.

Jack's 4th Birthday

Jack had a pirate party for his 4th birthday. He invited 5 friends, played pin the 'X' on the treasure map, had a treasure hunt, opened some presents with the help of his friends and had a pirate ship cake (which he loved)! It was a great birthday...

Griffin Brahm aka The Ladies Man!

Jack minus training wheels...

Carnival Ride

Jack rode this helicopter ride, which was a surprise to us. Typically he is hesitant and will not give it a try but now that he is 4, he seems open to a lot of new things. He is trying new rides (helicopter ride, a jet ski ride, a dinosaur ride and even the ferris wheel with mommy). He rode a donkey at the fair, has started sharing his room with Griffin and LOVES it, and has given up his training wheels all in a matter of minutes which he is pretty proud of. He has also taken more of an interest in his letters, recognizes most and writing a handful. We are very proud of course and are so enjoying his new age. Jack just finished up Gymnastics which he wants to start up again but we are going to wait until January after the family is settled into a routine, or at least mommy is. Preschool starts September 8th and he will go 3 days a week from 8-11, his class has a total of 8 kids which we are excited about, a bigger class than last year which had 5 kids total.

Jack and daddy camping

Daddy and Jack met up with some friends camping at Lake Ogallala, pitched a tent and spent a night by the Lake. Of course camping with friends was fun, campfires, sleeping in a tent and SMORES!

Jack and Griffin summer 2009

Slip and Slide from Grandma Kathy

Tigges Farm - Jack pulling Griffin

Golden Peacock after a storm

Moore Farm Harvest

The boys and I took our annual trip to the Moore's farm to experience Harvest time. It was fun as always, enjoying great weather, good food, thanks to Mary, and good people... All the Moore's (Ken, Mary, Jean, Rob, Christy, and Kirk) were there, we missed Rick of course but he was off in a golf tournament.

Griffin summer of 2009

Griffin is getting bigger everyday and is a true joy... He is easy going, loves his family, loves anything with a motor or that moves and loves to eat! We all laugh when he is around and are enjoying the little man he is turning into.

Random pics...

Beach day


Jack's creation

Sandbox

Look at me!

Mr. Walker...

Swim lessons and more..

Jack completed swim lessons this week. He did great and seems more excited about water which is exactly what we were hoping for. They worked on kicking, laying on backs, arms, putting their face in the water and various other things. Jack was the only one there without a parent in the water, except on the day daddy went but I was actually glad I didn't participate because he responds better to teachers then to mommy. I was told that it wasn't parent participation so we show up and practically throw Jack in the water with the lifeguards. Either way it worked out for the best.

Griffin is doing great. He continues to hone in on his walking skills and has pretty much given up crawling all together. He is extremely proud of himself and is happier now with his new freedom.

The two boys are getting along great. Jack will often request that Griffin come and play with him and I will hear Jack singing to Griffin if he falls and starts crying. They laugh a lot together and play independently as well. I have more time now than ever before and know it is only going to last a short time before baby boy #3 arrives. Garry and I are excited to add another member to our family but shake our heads and laugh at the idea of having another newborn! We know how much work is ahead of us and how little sleep!!

Pregnancy is good, the usual suspects, discomfort and heartburn but other than that I can't complain. I am fortunate to have healthy pregnancies.

The house continues to move along. Garry has been working on painting the trim around the windows. We still have a lot of little stuff to complete but we will plug along and hopefully get the majority of the inside completed prior to the arrival of baby boy #3!

We have a walker...

Griffin is walking!!! Yea. He took his first steps on June 8th for daddy and grandpa. He has been building up his confidence more and more each day. He still resorts to crawling when he needs some speed but loves to test his new freedom - upright mobility. Griffin is pretty proud of himself and we are too.

Pool day

Our first trip to the pool means it is officially summer. We have had a very wet start, lots of rain and cool days. I am not complaining, the grass and fields look great and Lake McConaughy is up quite a bit. So a beautiful warm day was a perfect start to summer and the pool. Jack was very excited, surprisingly, since he is not much of a water kid and Griffin didn't have a clue but loved every single minute. We met Lori, Aelyn and Eden as well as Erica and Sadie at the pool. I was pleasantly surprised with the outdoor pool and hope to make it a few times a week.

Walking Hillcrest

Walking Hillcrest (our street) is no easy thing, pushing 50lbs. As you may or may not know I love to walk with the boys, especially on days when nothing seems to be going smoothly, such as today. So, on a cool, wet morning, I bundle the boys up in the double bike carriage also used as a stroller, throw a blanket on them then proceed to layer myself in 5 layers of clothes. I am typically cold. Then off we go down, down, down to the downtown area. Stop at the Lampstand, get a latte and a sticky bun. Let the boys play. Bundle them back up, make a stop at the post office for suckers and then a stop at Safeway to say hi to daddy. Then up, up, up we go. Today I thought I would try a different route hoping to avoid the dreaded "suicide hill", needless to say this was a more gradual hill but longer and without sidewalks on a busy street. The city just redid this entire stretch of road and decided that sidewalks were not a must!! Frustrating to say the least. I find myself walking on the streets often here, and where there are sidewalks, they are broken up and have these step ups that are not made for a stroller or wheelchair of any sort. But in the end we made it home, mommy in a cold sweat wondering when I will no longer be able to be pregnant and push two small boys up a hill. Hopefully, never since it is one of those pleasures that I don't want to give up.

Vacation Bible School

Today was Jack's first day at vacation bible school. School is all this week from 9 - 12. Griffin and I dropped Jack off in the pouring rain, registered him, paid our $7 fee and said goodbye. I still can't believe how big he is getting. No longer a baby or even a toddler, but a boy. Garry picked Jack up at noon amongst the sea of kids and was told that Jack is a very social boy and did great! Tomorrow they go fishing and Friday they are going swimming. Sounds fun. Jack said he had fun and was happy to see his classmates Aelyn and Max, as well as our neighbor Jack. Upon arriving home he said he was ready for nap and didn't want any lunch. Someone was exhausted.

Applebee's

A big day today, I ventured to North Platte with both the boys. Just feeling restless and Griffin has been fussy as he works on some more teeth (11 so far). Nothing major in store, I thought a lunch out would be fun and then a stop at some enormous retail center to somehow calm my inner need for "things". Which I might add is somewhat over stimulating now that I am not exposed to a Super Target on a regular basis. The boys were great. It was fun and relaxing. During our lunch, there was a lot of people that would stop to say Hi to Griffin. One family in particular stopped and the father of the family was overweight. After they walked away Jack said "Mommy, sometimes boys have babies in their tummies too..." Needless to say I got a great laugh and then delicately tried to explain to Jack what he actually saw. Oh the beauty of a 3 year old.

Griffin and the dandelions...

Jack's tree swing

Pics from NY trip..