Well, so far so good in 2011. We are now 20 weeks pregnant and everything is looking good. I have decided to not find out the gender. Chad is dying to know though. I told him we have to decide on a boy name and girl name and then never speak of the baby again, otherwise I am sure I will figure out what it is. I am not curious at all to know the gender and with the other 3, I was so eager to know as early as possible. I think I can make it to the end, but I won't be disappointed in myself if I can't. I don't know of a single person who believes I can do it either. :)
We are going to be finishing our basement this spring/summer...and I am sure into next year. The plan is to add two bedrooms, one large and one smaller that will be used for an office, but have a conforming window and a closet. We'll have a living room, bathroom, play area and large closet (about 6 feet long and 3 feet deep to house toys) a storage area, and a small kitchen. The kitchen won't have appliances until next year when we remodel our kitchen, but it will be tiled atleast. It will be nice to have it finished, but we get so much use out of it now, being partially finished, that I can't imagine not being able to use the space all summer. I am not sure how much value it will add to our house since it's a 5th and 6th bedroom and 4th bathroom-I read that a 3rd bedroom is the most profitable and value goes down after that because of necessity. I can't say that we don't need a 6 bedroom, 4 bath house though with 6 people and 2 dogs. I looked at comparables in our neighborhood at 4-5 beds, 4 baths, 3500 sq. ft homes like ours and the value ranged anywhere from $280K-$455K (the highest I saw in our neighborhood) Denver is so tricky with house values, there really is no telling what it will do for ours. On our street alone, values range from $200K-$350K, with an average of about $265K. We don't plan to refinance, but equity is always nice.
Chad's work has stayed busy for the past couple months and it's been great. I feel like a single parent some weeks and won't see him at all until the weekend, but we certainly can't complain. I am crossing my fingers that it stays busy throughout the year.
Baby info:
19 weeks and 4 days
weight: up 10 lbs.....but I feel way bigger and my stomach is much bigger at this stage then with the boys.
I didn't have an ultrasound this week so I am not sure on much info for the babe and I didn't hear my blood pressure.
Everything seems good though.
Placenta is still anterior, so I am not feeling many kicks unless they are to the side, but I don't mind. ;)
Church is having a baby boom! There are about 5 couples, including myself, who are expecting in a few months or just had a baby. I got to hold a sweet little girl, 3 months old, today and it made me want a girl...for the few moments. I think I am planning to stop working there around the end of May (last time, I worked there until the day I had Cort and I had to call in to our head pastor and explain to him that I thought I was in labor). I will probably take a month off and then go back only every other Sunday though. The alternating Sunday's it would be nice to go as a member and not staff. We'll see, we'll see......
Spring cleaning has began in our house. We had the carpets cleaned, although, I think I have already noticed a couple stains in our family room. Last night, we had the tile and grout cleaned and it's being sealed today, and next month we are having the air ducts cleaned and sanitized. This would all add up to about $1300, but we got a great deal on it from a friend of a friend.
For the first time in a couple years, we have had snow for several days in a row on the ground. It's been warm the past couple days, but we were still able to build a sledding slide from our neighbors front door, across their yard, across our driveway, and into our yard. The kids love it. We also spent about 2 hours outside in a 10 man snowball fight yesterday.
I am still looking for a pic of Creighton in his too small halloween costume. It's pretty funny...well, we think so and I am sure the grandparents will too.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Pictures from 2010
Kiley Nicole, 9 years.
Creighton Walker, 2 1/2 years. 
Baby Cort (Cortlind Sawyer), 14 months.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
From Halloween to Christmas and a baby in between!
I know it's been forever since I updated. It took me a month to figure out how to sign in after an "e-blogger" page took over my regular sign in page. After many calls to the help line, I figured it out! So, to update you on the past couple months:
In September, we started trying for baby #4 and were blessed to get pregnant right away....which seems to have happened each time we try. That gives us a June due date which is perfect. The baby is supposed to arrive a week after Kiley gets out of school and I will have all summer to just hang out with my kids and not have any obligations or school functions. I am about 16 weeks now and starting to show. I am not sure why I am surprised to be showing..it's about that time and it's my 4th baby, but I am still a little disappointed. I am going to steal an idea from my friend, Mary, and post info on the baby after each check up. Check up at 15 weeks:
Weight: Up 5 lbs overall...
Blood Pressure:92/80 - a little close in range, but I am not sure what that means.
Baby size: 4 inches (a large apple)
The nurse did an ultrasound because I was measuring at 12 weeks, but everything looks good. I always measure a couple weeks behind. I will see a perinatologist this time around too, just because the last two pregnancies have had low amniotic fluid levels from about 20 weeks forward. The nurse tried to get a peak at the gender, but the little babe was curled up in a ball and refused to stretch out. That's okay though. We did the OTC Intelligender test at 10 weeks and it gave us unclear results, but I would put my money on girl if I had to. They say blue for boy, orange for girl, and it turned orangeish brown-so I'd say girl. I also have different cravings and am carrying different than I did with the boys. Who knows though. I always try to guess and have been wrong on all 3 babies. I think the names in the running for a girl are still Cheyenne Isabella and Karissa Kay. I have no good guesses on what names Chad will throw out, but I know he is really fighting for the name Champagne and is recruiting his friends to gang up on me in his quest. I have had to battle this with each pregnancy. He thinks the name Champagne Shaffer is a cool football name, but I have my doubts about any of my kids becoming professional football players. I like Carter Brooks for a boy, but it's already been shot down many times. None of us, including myself, will probably know the name until they are pushing us out the hospital doors like we did with Cort.
Halloween was fun. Kiley went around the neighborhood with a group of abut 15 friends and 5 supervising parents. They went to haunted houses (there are a couple in our neighborhood that go all out). Chad and I took the boys up and down the street and then came home to hand out candy. Kiley was a pink pirate. Cort was a green dinosaur, and Creighton...oh, Creighton-the stories this little boy gives me to tell :) He insisted on being Woody from Toy Story. I searched high and low and could only find an 18 month. Creighton was 30 months, but SQUEEZED himself into this outfit. It was short and tight, but he wore it. Pics will be in a post to come.
Thanksgiving was very low key. We weren't able to head back to Nebraska because Chad's work finally picked up and he had to work. He was off Wed-Sunday, but worked each day during his break. I can't complain though. We have been praying for it to get busy for the past year and a half and it looks like things may be on the right track again. We played outside most of the day, since nearly all winter it's been in the 50's and 60's. We ate a nice dinner with the traditional food (ham, sweet potato pie, candied yams, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, salad, etc) and then played games.
Christmas was celebrated here on the 18th. Creighton got a silver power wheels truck and loved it! Cort got an outdoor play set that is a rocket and slide. He is much too little to play on our outside equipment, so this will keep him busy for a year or two. Kiley got a lot of things and was very happy. She keeps asking me if Santa is real and, in an attempt to not disappoint, I keep saying yes. I did tell her of the real Santa Clause and then told her that Santa is a term we use to refer to anyone who is giving and I told her of some stories of money being given to the poor, etc. I am transitioning into this conversation. I don't want to ruin the magic of Christmas for her, but I also don't want her to be the only one in her class arguing with her classmates that Santa is real and to get made fun of. Maybe I can find a good book that will break it to her softly.
Well, until next year.......
In September, we started trying for baby #4 and were blessed to get pregnant right away....which seems to have happened each time we try. That gives us a June due date which is perfect. The baby is supposed to arrive a week after Kiley gets out of school and I will have all summer to just hang out with my kids and not have any obligations or school functions. I am about 16 weeks now and starting to show. I am not sure why I am surprised to be showing..it's about that time and it's my 4th baby, but I am still a little disappointed. I am going to steal an idea from my friend, Mary, and post info on the baby after each check up. Check up at 15 weeks:
Weight: Up 5 lbs overall...
Blood Pressure:92/80 - a little close in range, but I am not sure what that means.
Baby size: 4 inches (a large apple)
The nurse did an ultrasound because I was measuring at 12 weeks, but everything looks good. I always measure a couple weeks behind. I will see a perinatologist this time around too, just because the last two pregnancies have had low amniotic fluid levels from about 20 weeks forward. The nurse tried to get a peak at the gender, but the little babe was curled up in a ball and refused to stretch out. That's okay though. We did the OTC Intelligender test at 10 weeks and it gave us unclear results, but I would put my money on girl if I had to. They say blue for boy, orange for girl, and it turned orangeish brown-so I'd say girl. I also have different cravings and am carrying different than I did with the boys. Who knows though. I always try to guess and have been wrong on all 3 babies. I think the names in the running for a girl are still Cheyenne Isabella and Karissa Kay. I have no good guesses on what names Chad will throw out, but I know he is really fighting for the name Champagne and is recruiting his friends to gang up on me in his quest. I have had to battle this with each pregnancy. He thinks the name Champagne Shaffer is a cool football name, but I have my doubts about any of my kids becoming professional football players. I like Carter Brooks for a boy, but it's already been shot down many times. None of us, including myself, will probably know the name until they are pushing us out the hospital doors like we did with Cort.
Halloween was fun. Kiley went around the neighborhood with a group of abut 15 friends and 5 supervising parents. They went to haunted houses (there are a couple in our neighborhood that go all out). Chad and I took the boys up and down the street and then came home to hand out candy. Kiley was a pink pirate. Cort was a green dinosaur, and Creighton...oh, Creighton-the stories this little boy gives me to tell :) He insisted on being Woody from Toy Story. I searched high and low and could only find an 18 month. Creighton was 30 months, but SQUEEZED himself into this outfit. It was short and tight, but he wore it. Pics will be in a post to come.
Thanksgiving was very low key. We weren't able to head back to Nebraska because Chad's work finally picked up and he had to work. He was off Wed-Sunday, but worked each day during his break. I can't complain though. We have been praying for it to get busy for the past year and a half and it looks like things may be on the right track again. We played outside most of the day, since nearly all winter it's been in the 50's and 60's. We ate a nice dinner with the traditional food (ham, sweet potato pie, candied yams, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, salad, etc) and then played games.
Christmas was celebrated here on the 18th. Creighton got a silver power wheels truck and loved it! Cort got an outdoor play set that is a rocket and slide. He is much too little to play on our outside equipment, so this will keep him busy for a year or two. Kiley got a lot of things and was very happy. She keeps asking me if Santa is real and, in an attempt to not disappoint, I keep saying yes. I did tell her of the real Santa Clause and then told her that Santa is a term we use to refer to anyone who is giving and I told her of some stories of money being given to the poor, etc. I am transitioning into this conversation. I don't want to ruin the magic of Christmas for her, but I also don't want her to be the only one in her class arguing with her classmates that Santa is real and to get made fun of. Maybe I can find a good book that will break it to her softly.
Well, until next year.......
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Just a few pictures
Sorry about the formatting. Sometimes my page has a mind of it's own. Here are several updated pics of the kids. I have many more to post...maybe this weekend. Please excuse the ones of Creighton without pants on. We were trying to potty train him and decided to let him run around outside without pants. He didn't have any accidents and sat on his potty chair a few times and tried to go. The cowboy boots were his own idea :)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pictures to come soon!
I have dozens of new pictures of all the kids, but have little time to post them. It's on my "to-do" list though. We had a wonderful summer. Lots of family came in town and we went to the beach, the zoo, the waterpark and more. Kiley started school on Aug. 24th and is loving it. She kept saying she didn't want a specific teacher, Mr. Ginsberg, but I know she was secretly hoping for him. He is hilarious and they have a lot of fun....I was cleaning out her school cubby (her own cupboard in our laundry room) and found a note that she had written...I guess to herself, that said "School is about to start. I don't know my teacher yet, but I hope it's Mr. Ginsberg. He is funny. I know he will embarrass me though because he always calls me fashion queen". I was also hoping she would get Mr. Ginsberg. Having a fun teacher can make school so much more enjoyable. It wasn't easy to get back into the routine of waking up early, getting lunches and school bags together, taking her and picking her up, etc. Oh, how I miss the laizze-fair lifestyle we live during the summer :)
The boys are doing great. Cort is almost walking. I can't wait!! Creighton is beginning to potty train and talking more and more. We officially kicked off "operation baby #4" a couple of weeks ago. We are going to try for a girl following the ovulation method, but we will be thrilled with whatever God gives to us. I am SO excited to be done having kids. We are hoping for a mid-June due date, so that I can have a few weeks off before the chaos of the school year comes. Of course, I have names already picked out. If it's a boy, I like Carter Brooks and if it's a girl, I like Cheyenne Isabella. I also like some other C and K names. Chad is the really picky one. I like the middle name Brooks because it fits in with Creighton and Cort's middles names of Walker and Sawyer. They are older, not very common, and distinguished. Of course, I am planning on my boys being architects, lawyers, doctors, or engineers, so I should name accordingly :). Chad thinks they will grow up to be professional football players and I have had to build a case against the name Champaigne Shaffer for each boy. He thinks it's a cool football name and I agree, but the odds are against them for becoming professional football players.
Chad is officially a licensed architect!!! Yay!! It takes so much work. He had to get his Masters degree, work for 3 years, acquire hundreds of hours in specific areas of work, and take 7 tests. He had to take a couple twice. Each test is about $300 and he spent an estimated 100 hours per test studying. It took 1 1/2 years to take all the tests and get licensed. I am so proud of him. His work just got in a huge 10 million dollar job too, so he may get the increased salary and bonuses that typically come with getting licensed. Although, we know that it probably won't be as much as it normally would be, I am still happy to see things start to recover.
Chad and I are doing what I like to call "The Marriage 30 Day Challenge." We want to make every effort to be kind, considerate, affectionate, respectful, thoughtful, etc. towards each other every day for the next 30 days. It's so easy with jobs and kids to forget about those things. We started two weeks ago and it's been great. It's amazing how little gestures can make a huge difference. It's kind of a fun experiment to do and I like to fulfill my desire to be a marriage councelor by seeing what I can do to make my own marriage the best it can be. I think my husband gets annoyed with me sometimes, but it's important to make your marriage a priority and to always be working on it. It's easy to fall into a rut, become complacent, and let your marriage take a backseat to everything else in life, but we all know that is not a healthy approach.
Our Las Vegas trip is quickly approaching. We will be leaving in about 2 weeks. I am not sure if I am excited or not. I am not the girl you bring to Vegas. I don't drink, don't party, don't gamble. I like to be at home, taking care of my kids, cleaing house, and cooking. We are taking Kiley with us too. She had asked to go to Pheonix for her b-day. Her grandparents have a beautiful home down there. That would have been more my type of vacation: swimming, shopping, sitting in the hot tub, and golfing. It's very relaxing. My twin sister is getting married though in Vegas and we decided to take Kiley along for her birthday. I have a lot of fun activities planned for her.
I will post pics soon. You can see the original post date for this is 9-22 because that's when I started it! I get a paragraph written and have to stop and pick it up at a later date. So, 2 weeks later, it's ready to be posted...minus pictures and, I am sure, some very exciting details of our summer, but this will get the grandparents up to date and I can fill in the holes later! :)
The boys are doing great. Cort is almost walking. I can't wait!! Creighton is beginning to potty train and talking more and more. We officially kicked off "operation baby #4" a couple of weeks ago. We are going to try for a girl following the ovulation method, but we will be thrilled with whatever God gives to us. I am SO excited to be done having kids. We are hoping for a mid-June due date, so that I can have a few weeks off before the chaos of the school year comes. Of course, I have names already picked out. If it's a boy, I like Carter Brooks and if it's a girl, I like Cheyenne Isabella. I also like some other C and K names. Chad is the really picky one. I like the middle name Brooks because it fits in with Creighton and Cort's middles names of Walker and Sawyer. They are older, not very common, and distinguished. Of course, I am planning on my boys being architects, lawyers, doctors, or engineers, so I should name accordingly :). Chad thinks they will grow up to be professional football players and I have had to build a case against the name Champaigne Shaffer for each boy. He thinks it's a cool football name and I agree, but the odds are against them for becoming professional football players.
Chad is officially a licensed architect!!! Yay!! It takes so much work. He had to get his Masters degree, work for 3 years, acquire hundreds of hours in specific areas of work, and take 7 tests. He had to take a couple twice. Each test is about $300 and he spent an estimated 100 hours per test studying. It took 1 1/2 years to take all the tests and get licensed. I am so proud of him. His work just got in a huge 10 million dollar job too, so he may get the increased salary and bonuses that typically come with getting licensed. Although, we know that it probably won't be as much as it normally would be, I am still happy to see things start to recover.
Chad and I are doing what I like to call "The Marriage 30 Day Challenge." We want to make every effort to be kind, considerate, affectionate, respectful, thoughtful, etc. towards each other every day for the next 30 days. It's so easy with jobs and kids to forget about those things. We started two weeks ago and it's been great. It's amazing how little gestures can make a huge difference. It's kind of a fun experiment to do and I like to fulfill my desire to be a marriage councelor by seeing what I can do to make my own marriage the best it can be. I think my husband gets annoyed with me sometimes, but it's important to make your marriage a priority and to always be working on it. It's easy to fall into a rut, become complacent, and let your marriage take a backseat to everything else in life, but we all know that is not a healthy approach.
Our Las Vegas trip is quickly approaching. We will be leaving in about 2 weeks. I am not sure if I am excited or not. I am not the girl you bring to Vegas. I don't drink, don't party, don't gamble. I like to be at home, taking care of my kids, cleaing house, and cooking. We are taking Kiley with us too. She had asked to go to Pheonix for her b-day. Her grandparents have a beautiful home down there. That would have been more my type of vacation: swimming, shopping, sitting in the hot tub, and golfing. It's very relaxing. My twin sister is getting married though in Vegas and we decided to take Kiley along for her birthday. I have a lot of fun activities planned for her.
I will post pics soon. You can see the original post date for this is 9-22 because that's when I started it! I get a paragraph written and have to stop and pick it up at a later date. So, 2 weeks later, it's ready to be posted...minus pictures and, I am sure, some very exciting details of our summer, but this will get the grandparents up to date and I can fill in the holes later! :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
New Pics of Baby Cort
Some new pics I took at home. I thought the laundry one was appropriate because Cort is always finding folded laundry and playing in it. I have heard many, many times that he and Creighton could be twins (well, if Creighton was still a baby, I suppose). They do look alike, although there are differences. I also hear all the time that Cort looks like Kiley. Cort and Kiley both have my mouth and nose and eye shape. They are both pretty fair skinned and super blond. They both have these two little dimples above their upper lip when they smile. It's adorable. All three of them look so much alike. If baby #4 is blond, Chad and I may have to consider doing some highlights to our hair so that we look like we belong with these kids.
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