Birthday Boy!

Today is Ben's SEVENTH birthday. (I really don't see how I am possibly old enough to have a seven year old). Ben invited all the boys from his kindergarten class over to swim for the afternoon to celebrate with him. What a great group of boys. What a great day!!

The Birthday Boy!

The gang being goofy before the 'long jump contest'.

Taking a break and having a snack with his buddies.

Excited about the 'loot'!

Snuggles after a tiring day, he's almost too big to sit on my lap anymore.

Silver Glitter Butterfly Jase Palmer

That's what Katie named her kitty when she first laid eyes on her. Kate was 3 1/2 at the time and the kitten just a few months old from what we could tell. A pair of sister kittens had found their way to my moms house looking for a good home. Mom brought them to us. We had lost Monroe right before Christmas that year and our house was 'catless' at the time. Once we saw them we were hooked. Silver was beautiful and Ginger (as Ben named his) had the most unique markings I have ever seen. They turned out to be the best cats. Silver would let Katie do anything to her and always slept in these 'beds' that Kate made. Kate loved her with ALL her heart. Sadly Silver disappeared about a month ago. We all miss her very much, especially Katie. She really was a sweet kitty. I sent out a neighborhood wide email but no one has seen her. It was about this same time last year that both cats were bitten by copperhead snakes (and survived thanks to the vets and us willing to empty our bank account!). I have a feeling she found another baby copperhead to play with but this time didn't make it home in time. Rest In Peace sweet kitty.

The look on Silver's face makes me laugh!

It's so funny to look back at these pictures of Katie ~ she never had any clothes on!

Funny thing about Silver. She always climbed the artificial Christmas tree I put up in the foyer, she would climb to the top and sleep there for hours. She never tried it with the real tree in the family room. Maybe she knew they were more likely to fall over!

Mom of the Year

I screwed up. Big time. I won't be getting any Mom of the Year awards this year, heck after this they won't even let me run for it. Kate's dance rehearsal and recital were this past Friday and Saturday night. After the swim meet on Friday, we grabbed some dinner and headed over to Ovens Auditorium. Kate and her dance class were on stage at 8:15 tapping away to "Wee Rockettes." It was adorable of course. We decided to bring the entire family, Ma included, to see Kate on stage on Friday at rehearsal because it's much more laid back and casual. The kids can run around while the parents take pictures and videos etc. It's a good thing we did. Katie never made it on stage the following night. And it was all my fault.

Kate posing before we left for rehearsal.

Showing me how to do it.

My pretty little thing.

On stage. This is her favorite move. I think she calls it the 'rock back' ??

Tapping away (but keeping her eyes glued to her teacher).

So what happened you ask? I thought she was on stage at the same time Saturday night as she was Friday night. I had it written on the calendar. I had even sent an email to the director of the dance studio inquiring as to why a four year old class was on stage so late. I never once questioned it. 8:15 both nights. Saturday night was supposed to be a very special night for Kate. Jon and I were going to spend the evening with just her, something we rarely do. We left here at 4:00, stopped at Micheals to get some extra tulle for her tap shoes, and then had a nice relaxing dinner at Charlies in Cotswold. Katie was really enjoying being the only child for a night. After dinner we headed over to Ovens to watch some of the sets before hers. We got there at 6:15. Plenty of time before she had to be on stage. I took her into the bathroom, got her changed into her costume and headed back stage to find her class. I couldn't find them anywhere. Starting to wonder what was going on we walked around looking for them. Then I heard it. "We are the Wee Rockettes" ... coming from on stage. My heart sank. Oh, no! Did we just miss her routine? We met up with her class as they were coming off stage. It was 6:30. Katie took one look at them, looked up and me and the tears started flowing. It was awful. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Apparently she was supposed to be on stage at 6:15 Saturday night. I had no idea. We missed it by a few minutes. It was horrible. I'm not sure which one of us cried more. We ended up staying for the rest of the show, went out for ice cream, got a book at Joseph Beth and went home. On the way home Kate said "This was a really fun day!" I'm glad she's over it and has forgiven me completely. I wonder how long it will take me to forgive myself??? I'm the worst mom ever.

Katie 'Phelps'

Ben and Kate joined our neighborhood swim team this year. They are in the youngest age group called the 'shrimpers' consisting of 5 to 7 year olds. Their first mock meet was held yesterday to prepare them for the first real meet next Thursday. Kate has always been a natural in the water, but we had no idea she was this fast and competitive! When she jumped in yesterday and started swimming I was in complete awe. She has never had a swim lesson or any 'instruction' in the water. She not only won her heat, but placed second over all! Check her out ~ isn't she amazing?!?! I would love for Kate to stick with swimming as a sport!

Goodbye Preschool

Kate has graduated from preschool. She had a great year at South Meck. Presbyterian Church with Ms. Linda and Ms. Karen. She made a lot of new friends and was always excited about going to school. This was her first year at this preschool so I was a little concerned when the year started. It only took two days for Katie to come home and say "I LOVE my new school" ... that feeling lasted through out the year. Here are some highlights of her last year before she heads of to Charlotte Latin KINDERGARTEN! Wow. I'm going to have two kids in school ... how did that happen??Kate with Ms. Linda and Ms. Karen on her last day.

Kate and Mommy at her Mother's Day Celebration ~ they baked cookies and made lemonade for us.

At Hill's Farm to go strawberry picking with her class. She's the one in the frilly skirt. My fashion queen.

Kisses as Daddy leaves the family picnic. I love this picture.

Camryn's Party

We celebrated Camryn's first birthday this past weekend with family and friends. Camryn enjoyed her cake very much. She likes all her new toys too. Thanks to Frances for filling in the gaps with some great shots. (I knew I could depend on you to bring your camera!)

Me and my baby girl.

The kiddos enjoying the hot tub.

"Whoa. Is that for me?"

"I LIKE CAKE!"

The Big ONE!!

Can you tell who is who in these two photos? One is Cam at a year and one is Will at a year .... hmmm. I can tell. Can you??

While Will and Cam are the two who look the most alike, they both resemble their big sister Kate.

Miss Kate at one year.

Katie again~ a little older here, I think.

I wish I had a picture of Ben at one year, but that was before we went digital. I suppose I could find a printed picture and scan it in, but who has time for that?? It wouldn't do much good though, the others look nothing like he did at one, which is really kind of weird when you think about it.

Camryn's Birth Story

Camryn turned one year old today. Unbelievable. She was born at 1:08 in the morning on June 1st, so by this time last year I already had her in my arms. Labor started around 6:00pm on the 31st. I remember Jon and I taking bets as to whether or not we would have a May baby. (Everyone in his family has a May birthday, it's crazy!) I had braxton hicks for weeks leading up to the labor, so when I spent the day 'contracting' on the 31st I didn't think much of it. The day was spent in the pool with my mom and the kids. It was sunny and hot and I was getting tired of being pregnant! My mom left here about 5:00. Soon after she left I started paying more attention to the contractions as they seemed to be getting a little stronger than my normal braxton hicks. At 6:00 I called Mom to come back to our house. She was a little surprised since she had just left; "I really think I'm in labor" I told her. Funny how after three previous babies, I still wasn't so sure it was happening. Jon was home by now. We finished dinner and got the kids ready for bed. By 7:00 I was sure this was the real thing. Katie asked me to sing to her, like I do every night when I put her to bed. I had to stop during each contraction. At that point we told the kids that the baby would most likely be here by the time they woke up. Kate says "Mommy, can you bring the baby up to my room after you have her?" Sure Kate, no problem. (Kids. Life is so simple to them, I just love it!) I called my doula, Christine, around 8:00 to see what her plans were for the night. She got here around 9pm. We walked up and down the street for a while to help move things along and to distract me a little. We ran into my neighbor, who I don't know that well. She didn't know I was in labor and chatted us up for a while. That was quite annoying. (Christine is not only a friend and doula, she is also a midwife and a RN. I had toyed with the idea of delivering at home, but Jon was against it all along. I knew with Christine here if things did progress too fast to make it to the hospital that we would all be in good hands, literally). We headed to the hospital around 10:00, by this time I was about 7 centimeters. (Having Christine was wonderful, not only for the emotional support, but to know how things were progressing physically. She was awesome all around!) I was dreading the ride to the hospital fearing it would be the worst 20 minutes of my life. It wasn't so bad, except for slowing down labor a little. So we get to the hospital and get hooked up with a wonderful nurse who Christine used to work with when she was a labor/delivery nurse at CMC. It couldn't have been any more perfect. I labored in the tub until I couldn't stand it any longer. (I get to a point in my labors that I become sensory sensitive and when I've had enough of something, I've had enough!) I think I was about 9 centimeters when I got out of the tub. The doctor came in to check me and asked me to push a few times since I was almost complete. I tried one push. It was excruciating. He's lucky I didn't kick him in the face. I wasn't ready. He left and said he would check back in 30 minutes. Labor intensified. Transition! Christine caught my puke in a bucket ~ if that's not a true friend I don't know what is! Camryn was ready, she wanted out. I, on the other hand, wanted to stop. I remember telling Jon and Christine "I don't want to do this anymore. I want to be done. I can't do this anymore!" I believe I was whining and crying at this point (maybe that's where my kids get it from). Jon kept saying "Look at Christine! Just look at Christine!" I guess he was done at this point too. Christine kept saying "You are almost done. You can do this. You ARE doing this." The doctor came back in, I was standing leaning on the bed (keep in mind I was naked the ENTIRE time ... when you're having your fourth child, you really have no humility left in you!). The doctor made me get on the bed, he really didn't feel like 'catching' a baby I guess. I got in the bed, pushed through a few contractions and Camryn arrived, all 8 lbs of her. The doctor, his name escapes me at the moment, delivered her with no gloves, no scrubs ~ wearing a white shirt. Sorry doc, but really, it was my fourth child, how long did you think I was going to have to push??? That's the story of Camryn's birth. It was empowering. I won't say it was painless or 'easy' but I was glad I was able to have another drug free labor and delivery. Thank you to Christine who was more than awesome through out the whole thing, I really couldn't have done it with out you. How do I ever thank some one for helping bring my baby into this world in such a wonderful way?

Here I am in labor on the evening of May 31st, 2008. This was between contractions.


Camryn Grace ~ the hairy little monkey. Thank God all that back hair is gone!

The kids come to meet their new baby sister.

Sweet newborn snuggles.

Kisses from Daddy.

And now, it's a year later. Camryn is walking and talking. She still looks a lot like Kate and Will ~ as she did a birth. She has grown so much in 365 days, it's simply amazing. Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet baby girl!