Halloween 2014

Happy Halloween All!

Carving pumpkins....... a scary face with lots of teeth for Jack, and a moon and stars for Stella

our three little cuties excited for Halloween..... does anyone else have a thing for holiday jammies like I do, they are just the cutest!  I can't wait to bust out the Christmas ones next.  

Scooby Doo and Princess Anna (or as Stella says Coronation day Anna)

The neighborhood Crew

Stella was huffing it to keep up with the bigger kids, it was so cute watching her running up to all the houses trailing behind the rest of the kids and then watching her excitement as her bucket was filling up with candy.  

Jack got home and immediately dumped out his loot and began to sort it by category and assess the haul. Both kids had a blast and now have enough candy to feed an army.

Mr. Reed spent his first trick or treat sleeping, warm and toasty in his stroller.  We're so glad he seems to like being in his carrier, it usually puts him right to sleep, which making running errands and taxiing the kids around with him in tow much easier.

Getting Comfy at Home

Between the feedings, diaper changes, tiny little laundry and cat naps, we are starting to settle into a little bit of a groove around here.  Reed continues to be an awesome little guy, and although he has found his lungs more than in his first week of life, he only uses them when he's really hungry or tired.  He's already more alert and loves to look at our faces as well as his own in a mirror.  Yesterday I know he was trying his hardest to smile and coo at me, he just couldn't quite do it yet.

me and my cuddle bug

 some firsts with our little man.............

......first bath at home

 ......first book ready by "Big Sissy" as she has dubbed herself

 ......first stroll

Big Bro & Big Sis On Duty

proud big sister

Stella is a natural at this big sister thing......I guess all her playing with her dolls has paid off.  To her it's like having a real life doll in the house - her dream come true!  She talks to Reed in the cutest little voice telling him how precious and cute he is and how he's the best baby in the whole wide world.  She has a sixth sense about whenever he's getting his diaper changed and she's right next to me with her little step stool to help out in no time.  Her favorite thing to do is read books to baby Reed, it's so precious.

Jack is equally as smitten with his baby brother, however since playing babies wasn't one of his favorite pastimes before Reed arrived, his attention span for hanging out with Reed is shorter.  He does, however think it's pretty cool being a "double big brother" and having a "mini-me."  Jack was beaming with pride the morning he got to show Reed off to his class at school.  He made up a little song that he would sing to my belly each night before Reed was born, and he continues to sing it to baby Reed at bedtime now.....so sweet to watch.

brothers

Reed's birth story

After watching my due date come and go and patiently waiting to meet our little man, we were set up for an induction. We headed to the hospital early on a crisp fall morning, the first day of October, knowing that this was going to be the day we meet our son, his birthday.  Surreal for sure! I was induced with Stella under similar circumstances, so I knew what to expect and thankfully, things went just as smoothly as her induction did.  I was already dilated to 5 cm, so we knew things would likely move quickly.  They started me on Pitocin right away, and at 10:30 they were able to break my water.  It didn't take long after that, I started having intense contractions by 11:00.   I remember telling Dennis at 10:45 if he wanted to have lunch beforehand he'd better go now, he replied that he's go to the cafeteria soon.  Five minutes later, I told him, you'd better go now and you better make it quick!  I could tell things were happening and happening fast!  A good hour and three or four pushes later, and our little man arrived at 12:18pm.  We had all been expecting about a 7 pound baby, so it was quite the surprise when he weighed in at a hefty 8lbs 10oz.  I am glad I didn't know how big he was ahead of time! Despite his size everything went very smoothly and we have been blessed with another healthy baby.  

Mr. Reed is a pretty easy-going baby and saves his crying for when he thinks he's starving.  Like most newborns, he sleeps a lot during the day and is up a lot during the night :) He's such a sweet little guy though, and I know this phase is short-lived, so we're all doing okay despite being short on sleep.  On a funny side note, Stella is learning about nocturnal animals at preschool this week, and she commented just like baby Reed, he's nocturnal too.

We've decided Reed looks an awful lot like his big brother with his chubby cheeks and long fingers and toes.  We are all quite smitten with the newest little member of our family and are soaking up all the newborn snuggle time.  Our home is filled with craziness and chaos, but it is also filled with lot's of love, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

first breath

 our big guy weighing in at 8lbs 10oz and measuring 20 1/4in

 he's here!!!

The 3 amigos united.  The kids were a little taken aback by how tiny he was.

Daddy on duty for Reed's first diaper change

proud parents

proud big Sister and Brother

getting ready to head home!

Our brand new family of five.  We couldn't be happier with our three healthy, beautiful children - so blessed!

1 Week Old

Mr. Reed passed his first week of life with flying colors!  He continues to be a sweet little guy that only fusses a little bit when necessary.  We are so blessed!

Welcome Baby Reed

Our little man arrived Wednesday October 1st at 12:18pm after a very quick labor.  He weighed in at a hefty 8lbs 10oz and measured 20 1/4in and everyone was very surprised at how big he was.  So far he is a very chill baby and he's excelling at his eating, pooing and sleeping lifestyle.  He had his first check-up today and weighed the same as at birth (they usually want to see newborns back up to their birth weight at 2 weeks old, he's already there at 5 days.)  We are all very smitten with this sweet little guy and it's been great soaking up this precious time at home with him.  I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband and mom to help out with everything (today was the first time Reed and I left the house.)  We have many beautiful pictures to share and will get them up here when I can, but here are a couple to tide you all over with.

We are very proud to introduce to you our new love,

 Reed Christopher Vogel

Miss Stella

 Stella now has two weeks of school under her belt for the new year, and it almost seems like we never had the summer off, just back to the preschool routine as usual.  Stella has a couple of the same friends again in her class this year and she is a little social butterfly the minute she enters her classroom in the morning.  She told me today she has two brothers with the same birthday in her class........"and that means they have to be twins momma, because they have the same birthday."  Thanks for letting me know how that works Stella :)

Stella has such a great imagination and it is so entertaining listening to her play at home.  She has a new baby or kid most every day and a husband named Nick that we hear all about too.  Most days at home you can find Stella taking her family on vacation or to the pool or to the store.  She sure seems to get her husband or a babysitter to watch her many kids a lot of the time, lol! Be sure not to mention her husband Nick next time you see her though, because she has asked me not to tell anyone about him, "because that would be embarrassing because kids can't really have a husband momma!"

Stella and I have been enjoying our last couple Tuesday's of just the two of us.  It's the only day of the week where the only thing scheduled is to take Jack to and from school, so it's been our day to hang out just the girls and play.  After breakfast Stella has been saying, "let's just sit here and chat and finish our drinks momma," don't mind if I do Stella.  Love this girl!

Stella and her Daddy on her first morning of school.

Jack, the supportive big brother.

in true Stella fashion, striking a pose