Meet Our Newest Member of the Family: Mason Allen

So, I was ready for sure by the 9th of June. I had never made it to my planned c-section date with Ginny or Miles and really thought, that I would not make it that far with Mason. My was I wrong on that when the 9th arrived, I had to burn some time before I had to be at the hospital at 10:00am. So, I finished packing and cleaning the house and my mom and I went up to the hospital and registered. Stephen was sent to work by me that morning just so he would get some hours in for the week. Once I was registered in I was sent up to the fifth floor of the hospital. Where I was prep for surgery. Stephen arrived and we waited for twelve o'clock to arrive. Finally, I was wheeled in and got the spinal in my back which hurt more than it did with Miles to get it put in. As, they were getting me set up Stephen and my mom arrived into the room. Stephen sat near me and held my hand while my mom sat further away.

It was quiet in the room and finally, I heard Mason cry out. I also heard that he was peeing everywhere as they took him to clean him up and look over him. Then the nurses were talking in a rush as they were taking care of me. They called others into the room and I knew something was wrong. Where Mason was I could not see him and knew something was wrong. Stephen was with Mason and my mom moved closer to me. She told me that Mason was blue. I was then told that Mason was put on oxygen and they were looking him over. It was scary to know that I couldn't see him. Finally, he was doing much better and was removed off oxygen. I finally held him and did skin to skin with him.

When we went to our room, Mason was weighed. Stephen thought he was smaller then Ginny and Miles but were we surprised. Mason weighed 8lbs 8 ounces and was 20 inches long. He was longer than Ginny and Miles but weighed less than Miles. Once we were settled and I was doing skin to skin with Mason. We called to have a friend bring up the kids to meet their baby brother. Ginny fell in love with Mason right away. She actually said, "Mason has a little wee just like Miles and Daddy." She also says, "Mason is my favorite little brother." Miles, did not even want to touch Mason the first day and kept his distance from him.

Mason was able to latch on and breastfeed right away and it's been a great success. It was nice to have a small gathering of friends and family come to meet Mason.

Last Day of February 2015

What can I say about the last day of February is that it started out like a normal day. My family got up and we had a quick breakfast. We then decided that since we were suppose to get a big snowfall that day as well as the next we would split up the kids. Stephen and I would take Miles while my mom would take Ginny with her, we would also split the errands that needed to be done for the weekend. So...off we went and as we went to our first spot which was the bank and it started to snow. We then headed to Sam's club and did all of our big shopping there like we do every other Saturday. Well, it was coming down hard the snow, and we started our way back to the house.
As we drove we knew that it was starting to be slick and we started to slow down and be mindful. I made sure that Miles was very secure in his carseat just in case. We watched the car in front of us get cut off by another car and she had to slam on her breaks. Stephen started to tap his breaks as we started to slide and got super close to the car in front of us. We were inches away from the back end. While Stephen and I took a deep breath of not hitting the car, out of no where a van slammed into our back in of the car.
I was never so scared of my life as I was in that moment. My head hit the dashboard as well as my right knee because the seatbelt did not lock up like it was suppose to. After it all happened, I glanced at Stephen and saw he had a mark on his forehead from the wheel. As Stephen got out of the car to check the other two cars, I turned around and checked on Miles who was in the backseat. I can't tell you how much I appreciated carseats in protecting him and not having Ginny in the backseat in her booster seat.
Miles was just sitting there and not crying which was very strange to me. I thought he would be screaming his head off but he just looked at me with his eyes. I then searched for my cell phone which was on the dashboard in a cradle as we were listening to music from it. The cradle was by the pedals and my phone was no where to be found. When I finally found it was in the backseat behind the drivers seat. I was shaking from head to toe as I dialed my mom's phone number. I could barely explain what happened to her on the phone and where we were located at. By the time I got off the phone with her, I heard the police, fire truck, and ambulence come to the scene. I heard Stephen tell someone that I was in the car and was 25 weeks pregnant. I was then taken to the ambulence to be checked over and noticed I had a nice bump on my head. I was checked over and then sent back to the car where I placed blankets on Miles to keep him warm. As snow had come in through the trunk into the car and it was cold. Finally, my mom arrived and we transferred myself and Miles to her car to keep warm. I gave my husband a kiss, as he was staying with the car and finishing the details needed of the accident.
My mom and I then headed straight to the ER to be checked over. At this time, I knew Mason was okay within me as I started to feel him move around. Though, I could barely walk on my right leg and my head was killing me. I also wanted Miles to be checked over as he was so silent even then. We got to the ER and signed in. They had me walk up to the Women's Clinic by myself with Ginny to make sure that the baby was okay. I had to be tested for 20 min. to listen to the baby's heart rate as well as watch for contractions. Finally, I got the all clear from them and they took me back to ER to get my head and leg looked at. At this time, Stephen was already there getting looked over and Miles was with my mom being looked at. Stephen and Miles both got a CT scan done of their heads to make sure that there was no bleeding. We were all okay...thank goodness. It was a crazy leap day and I don't want to come across one like it again.

Valentine's Day 2015

So we decided that this year instead of going out just Stephen and I for Valentine's Day that we would do something as a family. Before the day came we tried to think of different things that we could do with the kiddos. We decided that we would take the kids to wonderscope which is in Shawnee, Kansas. It's a great place for sensory and some hands on learning and thought it would be perfect for our active kids on a cold day. So off we went in the morning on Valentine's Day. We got there and it looked like we were not the only ones who thought of a family activity would be best for Valentine's Day. We first stopped off to say hi to the greeters. Which were a couple of genie pigs named Oreo and Teddy. The kids were thrilled and had no idea what was coming. We then went into the first room which was about food from the farms to the table.

We then had the luck of going to a concert there of a guy named Mr. Stinky Feet.

We then left the concert a little early as the kids wanted to go check out the other rooms. We first went into a room that was called H2O room. Which had lots of water tables as well as animals that lived in the water. The kids were in this room for over 20 min. they loved this room.

It was a bunch of fun and we had a lot of fun that we decided to buy a year membership. It will be nice to be going during the heat of the summer.

Catch Up

Hey Everyone, Sorry for not bloging much this past semister so it seems. I had a lot going on and it will start up again in August. So anyways, let me catch you up on some things that are going on. I just finished my first block of elementary education which means that I have just one more year left of school. So excited for that for sure. Also, well be student teaching the next two semisters which is even better. I got A's in all my block classes and pretty bummed that my favorite teacher does not teach second block. I am right now enjoying being home with Ginny and doing fun things with her. Also learning how to drive this summer in hopes to get my license before school starts up. Ginny is an amazing little girl who loves to talk. Also she has this cute little walk where she shakes her hips. She is at the moment enjoys going to the zoo, doesn't matter if it's the one here in Emporia or the one in Topeka. She is also learning how to eat with a spoon and fork by herself. She has become miss independent which makes me sad. But I am pretty happy that she is learning all the fun things. Also she "helps" me fold laundry and clean up around the house. It's amazing to see how much she is growing now. Stephen was laid off of work at Walmart but was lucky enough to get a job as a prep cook at a restraunt in town. Thankfully, they let him have Sundays off as well as Mondays. He is enjoying it for the most part as he wanted to be a cook for the longest time. He is really enjoying being a dad and spending time with me and Ginny when he's not busy working. Well enough chit chat..here are some updated pictures.