Ten Little Toes

That's Our Girl!

Another day, another awards assembly at Whitney's school. This one was mostly for academic excellence. Whitney basically cleaned house. =D I was honestly a little worried that people thought we had bribed her teacher or something. She had the highest GPA in her class for Mathematics, Literacy, Science and Social Studies. She also received awards in Art and Music. Oh yes, and she had the fastest time for the Shuttle Run for the girls in her grade! A little athleticism to counterbalance all those brains. One of the things that most impresses me about Whitney is that she always puts forth her best effort in everything she does.

Reading Counts!!!

Whitney's school had an assembly today for their reading counts program. Whitney was the overall winner for all the 4th grades with 811 points and third for the whole school (grades 2nd-6th)! She got this awesome trophy and medal. Plus 4 movie passes, two bowling passes and two free Burger King meal passes. It really pays to read! Most importantly though, she has a true love of reading and that makes me so happy.

Home at Last!!!

Due to a severe allergic reaction to the adhesive on the bandage placed over my c-section incision and the Betadine used to swab my abdomen we ended up being in the hospital for 5 days. Lucky me has the world's most sensitive skin. Suffice it to say that itchy hives covering your incision do not make for fun times. It looked way worse than it really was and the doctor was concerned it was infected but the tests came back normal so that was a relief. Chris almost passed out after taking a look and even the nurses had a hard time keeping their faces serene when they got that first look at it. It was not a pretty sight! I am also allergic to latex so hopefully I never have surgery again. The nurses were awesome though and took great care of me.

I took this picture late last night so he is almost a week old in this one. He is loving his binky! None of my other kids took a binky for long but I'm thinking he might be the exception.

I thought Ashlyn was spoiled but I think Landon has her beat.
Someone is constantly snuggling with him.

Ashlyn is insistent that he needs this little green bear to sleep with him.

I took this one on the 22nd while we were still in the hospital.

Just a shot to show off all his hair. =)

This is Chris pouting because I had my tubes tied and this is our last baby. Isn't he just heart breaking??? =D

Meeting the very excited siblings for the first time. Ashlyn was very possessive and did not want anyone else to hold him or even look at him. After a bit of a melt down she reluctantly accepted the fact that Whitney and Gavin are his brother and sister also.

Landon Glen Weaver

First of all this is Chris posting so don't hold it against Heather if it isn't very well done. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30a.m. but Heather didn't get taken back until 10:00 so while we were waiting I modeled my hair net which doesn't make much sense for a bald person.

Here is a picture of Heather joyfully waiting to go for her c-section. Doesn't she look happy!!

Everything went well and Heather gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was 8lbs 2oz and 20 inches long.

14 Reasons

May 19, 1995
Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Weaver
Photographic proof that Chris once had hair and I was once thin. =D

(This post is a little early. I just don't know if I will be up to blogging on the 19th.)

Chris did you ever think back in the 8th grade that you'd end up married to Heather Tobler, living in Alabama with 4 rug rats? In honor of our 14th wedding anniversary I have come up with"14 Reasons I Love You". Happy Anniversary!!!

1. You are such an incredible Dad to our kids.

2. You see the glass as half full.

3. You always remember birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and go out of your way to make them special.

4. You are a great cook!

5. How you will drop every thing to help someone in need, from lost pets to stranded motorists to feeding homeless people.

6. The way you get super excited over the simplest things.

7. You have gotten even better looking with age. I actually hate you for this one but I know you will love hearing it and after all this post for your enjoyment!

8. You always speak your mind.

9. You don't snore.

10. You never got a tattoo because I don't like them.

11. You let me pick where we go out to eat.

12. You always drive when ever we go anywhere together.

13. You are always telling me how much you love me and complimenting me.

14. You believe in me.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Last night was Gavin's first game of the season. His team decided to call themselves the Vipers which Gavin loves. Here he is looking cute in the dugout!

Gavin was first up to bat for his team. Here he is bringing it home from third base. Spacey me forgot to bring my action lens so it is blurry but yet still conveys his amazing speed and superior athletic ability. =)

Here he is high fiving Dad after bringing it in to home plate. I love this shot! He is so pleased with himself.

We couldn't keep Ashlyn away from Gavin throughout the game. We had to physically restrain her from joining him on the field and in the dug out. I'm afraid she was downright distracting as she kept calling his name and saying hi. This is a picture of him giving her a drink from his water bottle through the chain link fence. LOL

Playing first baseman. He was so into the game! I could tell he was trying so hard and wanted so badly to do well. You could almost see all the kids struggling to make those split second decisions on where to throw the ball and such. I felt anxious for them.

Gavin's own personal cheering section! You can see how absolutely engrossed Whitney was in watching 7-8 year olds play baseball. =)

Queen For Two Days!!!

Flowers made by Whitney.

Plaque made by Gavin.

I was spoiled rotten this Mother's Day and had a two day celebration! It started on Saturday when I got this recliner (modeled by Gavin below). Kind of funny gift for a woman, I know! But I have had lots of people tell me that's what they slept in after having a c-section. To me the hardest part of recovering from c-sections is getting out of bed which you are doing a lot of with a newborn, so hopefully this little baby will make my life easier. I keep teasing Chris that I'm going to start watching sports and falling asleep in it every night and never sleep in our bed again. I would add snoring to the list but Chris tells me I have been doing that for awhile now. How pathetic is that? I lay the blame completely on my allergies.

Then I tortured my children with a photo shoot. The mere mention of a photo shoot is enough to send Gavin into tears so this was quite the sacrifice. Next, I was treated to dinner at Olive Garden and ice cream from Dairy Queen. On Sunday, I got french toast for breakfast, and a nap after lunch. Plus a real feast for dinner. Chris went all out! Steak, grilled shrimp, fresh corn on the cob and asparagus, his famous red potatoes and mozzarella sticks. The children agreed that we should have mozzarella sticks for dinner more often. Followed by cake and ice cream for desert. Okay, so basically I just ate my way through the past two days. Maybe that recliner isn't so far off the mark for me after all.

The Cutest Baby Blanket!

I was having kind of a blah day until I received a package from my awesome friend Natalie. She made this adorable little blanket for the baby! I just love the cute contrasting farm fabrics she picked out!!! She wanted to monogram it with his initials but since that has yet to be decided on she couldn't. Is she talented or what?

Total Failure

I have been up since 3:30 am unable to sleep for the second night in a row. What is up with that?!? This kills me as I soon will be getting no sleep at all!

It has come to my attention that I am a failure as a pregnant lady. Apparently, my belly is not nearly big enough for most people out there. Whenever I am out I get the inevitable question of when I am due. I have come to dread this question. I'm thinking about fabricating a new due date just so I can fulfill others expectations. =) To which I reply, the 18th. Every time I get pretty much this exact response, "OF THIS MONTH?!?" Followed by, "you're not very big!" This is said in a very accusatory tone of voice making me feel like I must defend my too small belly. This is where I point out the obvious fact that I am very tall. (Finally, being the Jolly Green Giant is paying off for me!) One would think I would have BIG babies but they have all been average 7 1/2 pounders, though long. People are still skeptical though. They think my dates are wrong or encourage me to question the doctor on if "the baby is growing properly". In this day and age of ultrasounds do they really think the doctor could make that big of an oversight? And don't they think that might be upsetting to a lot of pregnant women to hear? Yes, I am starting to get just a little annoyed by these observations. I have heard it with each of my pregnancies so you would think I would be used to it by now but still find myself becoming annoyed. I do feel huge and uncomfortable, if that would make anyone feel better. Though, I will admit it would be harder to hear "you're huge comments" so it could be worse. Always looking for that silver lining! And does anyone ever even hear you're belly is just the right size? I'm guessing probably not.

Also on this note, I really do love all those pregnancy experts out there. My all time favorites are the ones who think they can divine the sex of your baby just by looking at you! They come up to you, and make bold, overly confident statements such as "you're having a girl". Even though they have a 50/50 shot on this one, somehow they are almost always wrong. When I tell them, no its a boy, they do not give up. They make smug comments like "I wouldn't count on that, if I were you!" Then, I get to pull out my trump card by saying, "I've had an amniocentesis and the chromosomal testing shows a boy." These people stand firm in their convictions. Though, I suspect they don't really understand what an amniocentesis is. Despite the fact that they are "experts". No worries though, soon I will be enjoying comments from all those baby "experts" out there. =D)

A Persuasive Argument

Whitney loves to read and her all time favorite books are by an author named Erin Hunter. The series is called "Warriors" and is about cats. She has read them all and anxiously awaits the newest release. Thanks to their handy website she is able to keep track of when a new book is coming out. Needless to say she has been lobbying and campaigning for the last 2 months laying the groundwork of her case. This morning while I was fixing her hair for school she reminded me of this fact and asked for the book. Chris and I have been trying to be better about teaching her the value of money. Plus, as everyone knows, as your kids get older their hearts desires get more and more expensive. =) I pointed out that the book would be around $20.00 since it will only be out in hardback right now. Her response was, "but if it keeps me off the streets, isn't it worth it?"

MY SURPRISE BABY SHOWER!!!

I was treated to quite the surprise yesterday. I thought Emilie and I were going shopping with a little detour to drop off some boy scout papers to Rome's house. I never knew my friends could be so devious!!! In fact, I'm a little disturbed by their talent for sneakiness. ;) Not for one moment did I suspect what was going on. As we pulled up to Rome's house I did notice there were a lot of cars at her house. But I figured she was having some kind of family get together so when Emilie asked me if I wanted to come in with her, I said I would just wait in the car. I didn't want to bother Rome when she was obviously so busy! A few minutes later Emilie comes back and says she wants you to come in, so she can show you something. Still not even a flicker of suspicion. Even when I walked in and saw the roomful of women and table of presents, I was still a little slow on the uptake. It took the shouting of surprise for me to fully grasp. I was completely blown away! I was so touched that Rome and Emilie went to all that trouble for me. Thanks guys, you're the best! And thank you to everyone else who came and gave me such awesome baby gifts. We had the yummiest food and lots of fun. Chris of course, was in on this little secret and never made any slips either which in itself is a miracle!