The Best is Yet to Come: June 2013

Nolan Dale Keenan

I don't think I have updated on here yet...baby Keenan number four is a BOY! I can not believe I am going to be the mother of FOUR boys! It's enough to make you want to laugh, cry, dance, scream and pull my hair out. I'm so excited for the adventures that we are going to have as a big, loud, silly, family. I feel very blessed! I was a little sad when we first found out that he was a boy but only because I had to let go of that dream of ever having a little girl. There was a little bit of a mourning period that I went through for a day or so. It was especially hard because all of the people I know who are pregnant right now are having girls. But who does not love the idea of having four boys! We have our own sports team for anything! I see lots of camping trips and sporting events in my future. I also see four boys who will look out for each other and grow up best friends. I see four future missionaries and four future fathers who, if they are lucky, will be as amazing as their Daddy. I cannot complain, I feel very, very blessed!

As far as my pregnancy, it's going well. I have not had any complications since my scare at 13 weeks. I am having contractions more often then I would like but I don't think they are doing anything. Nolan is growing and kicking and moving like crazy. I'm trying to relish and enjoy every moment because I know I will never get to feel these little flutters and kicks again. With my other pregnancies I could not wait for the baby to get here. This time I am totally content with him staying put for a while. Pregnancy is hard but I know once it's over, it's over for good. That's kind of a bitter sweet thought for me. I'm looking forward to the next phase for our family and watching my four boys grow but there is a piece of me that will miss this part.

Nolan Dale

Tyson!

This little man has grown and changed so much in the last couple of months. He is definitely not a baby anymore. He runs around and keeps up with his brothers. He is talking a lot more recently. He sleeps like a champ. Eats even better. Does not take a bottle or really a cup anymore. Mostly just drinks out of regular cups. He is such a happy kid! He really is just content to be one of the boys. He's a big boy and is very quickly growing out of his 18 month clothes. I am going to need to buy him 24 month clothes because we don't have any. I must have given them away at some point. Oh well, who doesn't love going shopping :).

Corey at the Dentist

This has been an ongoing battle for me over the last three years. Corey absolutely HATES the dentist. He had a really bad experience when he was little and since then he has been really scared to go. He has a lot of work that needs to be done on his teeth so I had to find on that worked. This time I tried one in Monroe. We finally had a successful dental visit! He was able to get his teeth cleaned, x-rayed, and he did it all very calmly. He sat in the chair like a champ and was not scared or squirmy at all! Just another example of how he is growing up I guess. He still has a lot of work that needs to be done. He has cavities in most of his teeth and will need at least four appointments to get all the work done. I'm confident that he will be able to handle it now. He will have a prescription for Valium for before the appointment and nitrous once he is there. I am hoping between those two things he will be OK. Unfortunately, being pregnant, I can't take him to those appointments. I can't be in the room with the nitrous so Terence will have to do it. I am sure he will be fine with Terence there but it makes me worry. I want to be there for him. At least I know he will be in good hands with his Daddy.

happy camper after his teeth cleaning

How does your garden grow?

Mine has been doing pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself. We have pumpkin plants growing like crazy, huge tomato plants, onions, lots of strawberries and most recently our peas have been getting ripe. Not that I would know how any of it tastes, the kids eat it as soon as we can pick it! The other day we picked tons of peas and strawberries out of the garden and before I could get any of it, it was gone. I can't complain. I feel like if the kids want to eat the fruit and veggies right out of the garden they are welcome to :). It teaches them the value of growing your own food, it's healthy and it tastes so much better!

our first bowl of strawberries for the year. We have since gotten about 3 more bowls twice this size.

This Kid!

He is growing up so much! Just in the last few months he has really matured and changed a lot. He's so happy and kind and wants nothing more then to make us and his brother's happy. He will randomly get Terence a snack, clean up the living room for me, help Tyson with something, do a kind thing for Connor, anything. He is genuinly trying to be kind and it's such a good influence on our family. Corey is also super funny and silly. He gets a huge kick out of making you smile or making Tyson laugh. I'm so proud of him and how much he has grown up. We are lucky to have him as part of our family!

swimming at Tye Lake

cuddles with Tyson

getting himself dressed for church on Mother's Day

Baseball!

Connor had the chance to play baseball through the Boys and Girls Club of Sultan for the last couple of months. Their team name was the Sultan Pioneers. We were apprehensive going into this because last year the boys played t-ball through the YMCA and it did not go well. This, however, was an awesome experience. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that he had an awesome coach. He also had his best friend on the team which I think made practice a lot more fun. The improvement in skill from the begining of the season to the end was awesome to see. He learned to hit and field and run the bases. He's excited about the idea of playing again next year! Corey will also play next year, he was just too young to be on the team this year. It's amazing to me how much my boys are growing up and it's fun to see the new things that they get to experience!

the boys at the end of the season.

Connor the First Grader!

Connor is officially a first grader! Well, I guess it won't be official until he's in first grade but he is a kindergarten graduate! He had a great year! His teacher was absolutely wonderful. She was kind and you could tell she really loved her job and the kids in her class. Connor worked extremely hard this year. His growth was awesome to see. It's crazy how fast they grow up. He's reading and writing and is good at math! In fact i just got his report card and it said that he's above grade level in all of those things. I'm such a proud mommy! We went to his kindergarten celebration a couple of weeks ago. It was really fun to see all the kids sing some songs, talk about what they want to be when they grow up and relish in the fact that they are moving up in the world. I'm so proud of my little man!