My Three Little Monkeys

I have decided to start this blog in hopes that I will each day be able to do something productive with my spare time. I do such a poor job keeping up with my children's baby books, remembering the cute things they do and say every day, and putting the thousands of pictures that I take every year to use, so maybe having a blog will help me to keep up with, remember, and use these things. I'll start by introducing my family:

Dakota is my seven year old. I was twenty-one years old and Shea and I had only been married for ten months when I had him. Needless to say, we were slightly unprepared for a baby! When Dakota was born, he was sent to NICU because his breathing was too fast. When he was four days old, the doctor informed us that while reviewing a chest x-ray to check the fluid in his lungs, she discovered a mass in his left lung. When he was nine days old, he was transported from St. Vincent's Hospital to Children's Hospital, and when he was ten days old, Dr Charles Baldwin operated on my sweet baby. Until surgery, they weren't sure what the mass was or where it came from, but once inside, they found that his liver had come across from the right side into his left lung and pushed up through his weak diaphragm. The diaphragm acted like a balloon around his liver as it pushed into his lung. Thank God there wasn't a hole there. Since God is good, and He sent us a wonderful physician, Dakota made a full recovery and came home only three days after surgery. It is hard for me to believe that my first-born is already seven years old, but I am very proud of him. He was saved and baptized when he was four years old. He made that decision completely on his own, and Shea and I could not have been more proud. He is extremely brilliant, a great athlete, a fantastic pianist, and cute to boot!

Dillon is my three year old. About a month before I gave birth to Dillon, I woke up in a complete panic, wondering how in the world I would love another child the way I loved Dakota. I really thought I had made a mistake by having another child because I didn't think it would be fair to him because there was no way I could give him all of my love. When I told my very wise grandmother-in-law this fear, she told me that she had the same fear when she was

pregnant with her second child, but that someone told her

that when you have more than one child, your love isn't divided between the two, but instead is multiplied! When Dillon was born, I understood what she meant, and realized that she was right! Dillon is my mischievous child. He is into EVERYTHING! I can't take my eyes off of him for a minute. Even though he is mischievous, he is my sweetheart. He is so loving and kind. He has the best sense of humor, and is always cracking jokes. Everything Dakota does, he wants to do too. Just last week, he taught himself how to swim. Yes! My three year old! Then Sunday, while we were at Rickwood Caverns for Dakota's baseball team party, he decided he wanted to jump off the diving board like brother. After much consideration, Shea and I decided he could try it, but only because the lifeguard was in the water waiting on him to land. He was successful in resurfacing, so we decided to let him try it on his own. We were so proud! He is so looking forward to playing soccer this year for the first time, just like his brother! I cannot wait to see the person that he becomes as he grows.

Drew is baby boy number three. As of today, he is exactly 10 weeks old. When I found out that he was going to be a "he", I was devastated and heartbroken. I can remember sitting in the waiting room after my ultrasound and trying so hard not to just sob, but the tears won and continued to stream down my face. Then I realized how incredibly selfish I was being! They hadn't just told me that my baby was sick or anything, so for me to be upset over the gender of my baby was crazy. It took a little while to get over it, but eventually I became more and more excited about not just becoming a mommy again, but also about having three boys. I was right too. Once again, my love was multiplied! Drew is so snugly and cuddly and I just love him so much! He is the best sleeper ever! We still have some tummy issues that we are sorting out, so he is a bit fussy when he is awake. Thankfully, though, it doesn't affect his sleeping. He has finally started smiling and laughing - he thinks his brothers and daddy are hilarious! He has the most beautiful and precious little smile and when he laughs we all crack up! Yesterday he learned to suck his thumb and I love it! I know - it can cause buck teeth - and I have every intention on forcing the passy on him as soon as he can figure out how to hang on to it, but for now, if he is pacifying himself I am happy. I know that he will be as sweet handsome and talented as his older brothers are. I can't wait to see it happen!

That's it! My first post! Just a peek into the world of me and my children - more to come!