Baby Elliot

Bob's cousin Jordan and his wife Casey are raising money for their baby Elliot that is due in March. He has been diagnosed with CDH and are in our thoughts and prayers. Click this link to find out more about how to help out. They are selling super cute earrings like these as well as taking donations. We love you baby Elliot!

http://babyelliot.wordpress.com/elliot-earrings/

2011 Photo Book

Recently I decided that I need to start doing a book for every year especially when the kids are young. They grow up too fast and this will help me remember all those important dates and events. Now I'm only 1 year behind :-)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

Ellis' Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

The Backyard

The backyard is a project that Bob and I have been dying to do for a while and I told him that I wanted it done before baby got here. That I way I could throw the older two outside to play if they are driving me nuts and need to get some energy out. We started it back in the beginning of August and have been slowly picking a project a month that way we don't blow the budget. Here was how it was before we started:

We had a small dog run in the back but our first project was to extend that since they are now going to confined to the dog run when we get a nice yard. We ran it all down that side wall. Here is a picture of Bob and his friend working on it. You can see the completed dog run in some later pictures.

After the dog run was completed Bob built a retaining wall so we could build up and level out the dirt. This also required moving a bunch of the sprinkler heads. He used over 200 pavers that weighed 22 pounds each. We had to do it in multiple loads to prevent the van from scraping bottom.

 When he was off the the 2 weeks for paternity leave I made him go on overdrive and get the sod in before he went back to work. We had to get it in before it started freezing at night so everyday when Dean and Isaac went down for naps he went to work. We had 10 cubic yards of fill dirt (seen below) and then another 8 cubic yards of top soil delivered to level out the back. He also had to remove a stump that was right in the middle of where we wanted the grass.

 Next he laid the edging to outline where the grass would be...

 and had 550 squared feet of sod delivered and then laid it himself.

I'm really happy with how it looks so far and the rest of it is stuff that we can get done over the winter such as putting bark around the trees, laying rock in the other areas and cleaning up the outer edges. We also have plans to take down the large dead maple tree in the middle of that square flower bed and turning it into a vegetable garden come spring time which I am super excited about. I'll post pictures as we complete other projects but we are now far enough along that the boys have a safe place to play. Whoohoo!

Halloween

Since Halloween was just a few weeks after Ellis was born I thought we were going to skip the holiday all together but since I was feeling good I couldn't resist not teaching the boys about trick or treating now that they are old enough to start getting the concept. I bought cheap but cute puppy costumes at Sam's club and we went to the ward trunk or treat Friday and then over to Nana's house to trick or treat for a little. Isaac loves his outfit. In fact he is walking around the house as I write this in full costume. Dean on the other hand I had to pin down as he was screaming in order to get it on. Apparently he did not want to be a puppy this year. They can each say their own version of trick or treat and caught on pretty fast that that was the way to get candy. At the trunk or treat Isaac hit all of 2 or 3 cars before he realized that there was candy in his bucket and sat down in the middle of the parking lot to eat it. We had the cutest puppy's out there.

  

 

    

Ellis Jude

         Ellis Jude Terry was born October 14th at 7:42 PM weighing 8 pounds 2 ounces and 20 inches long. We went in for an induction that morning (because he was a week past his due date) at 7:30 and by 5:30 that evening I was still stuck at a three. I was super depressed because I did not want Pitocin because I really didn't want an epidural (I didn't have one with Isaac and I loved his labor and delivery). When we got into the hospital they hooked me up to a portable monitoring device for baby and I was able to do laps around the labor and deliver unit. One of the nurses informed me that 17 laps was one mile and so we kept count and ended up walking 5 miles. I thought all the walking was going to make labor go quicker so I was really bummed. They started me on the lowest dose of pitocin at 5:30 (it was what the nurse called "just a whiff") and I had them turn it off less than an hour later because things were really getting rolling. I went from a three to having him here in about 2 hours and it was super intense but I was thrilled because I didn't even have time to think about an epidural. In fact the nurse had to call STAT because he came faster than any one thought and she was by herself in the room. They had to have the pediatric team on hand because he was born with meconium and they had to make sure he wouldn't aspirate on it.
     Isaac had trouble with his heart rate dropping during delivery so the pediatric team was there for him too. Bob couldn't cut the umbilical cord for either boy and we had to wait for a few minutes for both to get checked out before we could hold either one. My babies seem to just come out really blue and take a couple minutes to start crying. Those couple minutes always feel like an eternity and I'm pretty sure I hold my breath the whole time. I also start bawling the minute they do start crying because that means they are OK. Even though the first couple minutes are scary they always end up doing well on their APGAR and are happy healthy babies for which I am very grateful.
    Sweet little Ellis (or Eli as we sometimes call him) is a really mellow little man. He is a great eater and sleeper and the only things that upset him are having his diaper changed which he is already getting used to and being put in his car seat which he gets over quickly. Everyone says he looks a lot like Isaac but I think he looks more like Dean's baby pictures then Isaac's.
   Naming him was a real challenge for me. I do not like popular names and I check the Social Security website regularly to see what ranking a name has before I consider it. Since I was a little girl I knew my first boy was going to be Dean and Isaac was decided when I was reading over the story of Abraham and Sarah in the Bible when they found out they were going to have a baby and they laughed because they couldn't believe it. If you don't know the backstory about us finding out about Isaac you can read about it here and it will make a lot more sense. http://bibbidibobilyboo.blogspot.com/2010/08/spilling-beans.html I find I have a million girl names I love but boy names are much harder. We have a rule with our boys names that one (either first or middle) name has to be a family name and the other a bible name. I feel it's important for their names to have a story and meaning behind them. That helped us narrow it down but I was still very undecided until about a day after he was born. We were trying to fill out his paper work before we left the hospital and to help me decide Bob wrote my two favorites down on a piece of paper and Ellis Jude just felt right. Ellis is Grandpa Terry's name and Jude is from the bible not to mention one of my favorite songs :-)
    Bob had two weeks that he took off work to help after Eli came and he just went back to work this Monday. I'm very proud to say that I am holding down the fort pretty well by myself and I'm even finding time to shower and eat meals regularly. Dean and Isaac are adjusting better then I thought and are really loving towards their little brother. Dean loves to bring him all the good toys and Isaac loves to give him kisses and point out all his body parts. Over all I am just feeling really blessed lately that I have three cute, smart, sweet little men to spend my days with. There is definitely never a dull moment in the Terry household.

 

My Sweet Little Dean

Tomorrow is Dean's second birthday and having another baby on the way only makes me realize how grown up he is now. The last couple days I have found myself staring at him thinking that he looks like a little boy and nothing like the baby that used to curl up on my chest. In fact he hardly fits on my lap anymore. Here are some things that he is up to lately:
1.) Organizing his toys- he loves to line up his toys on the fireplace, piano, table or anywhere else that strikes his fancy. Today I caught him putting all the stuffed animals in a nice line like they where headed off to class. He also gets really upset when he gets an idea and the toys don't cooperate.

2.) Staying clean- We gave him a cupcake the other day and when he went to pick it up he got frosting all over his hand. He panicked and tried to wipe it off on his arm but then freaked out even more because now his arm was dirty too. He now demands a fork if he deems the food not clean enough for fingers. He also came up to me crying and demanding a wet wipe because he spilled his snack and there were some crumbs on the floor. NOT Acceptable.
3.) Quick comfort- Dean is over all an independent player. He is very happy organizing and doing his own thing and doesn't need me hovering close which is really nice most of the time. Every now and then he comes up and asks for a love. I give him a quick hug and kiss and then he is off to his toys again. I'm pretty sure his bear gets more cuddle time than I do.
4.) Talking- Dean has always been a very vocal kid and hasn't slowed down in the least. He puts multiple words together and most of his words are very clear and understandable. I came into the boys room the other morning to get them up to find Dean on the changing table and Isaac missing. The first thing out of Deans mouth was "Where'd go Isaac?" before I could respond Isaac flung open the closet door and Dean shouted "There he is!" and burst into giggles.
5.) Being a big brother- Most of the time the boys play together really well. We do have our moments when they tackle each other to the floor because of a toy they both want but for the most part sharing is an easy concept in our house. If Dean does take something all I have to do is explain that that is Isaac's and Dean will go and give it back. The boys have cute little camp chairs that they like to watch movies in and the other day Isaac decided that he wanted to be in the blue one that Dean was sitting in and not the open grey one. He went over and expressed this to Dean in their own little way and without the slightest hesitation Dean said "Oh, OK." and got up and switched chairs. What a good big brother!

Here is a list of some of his favorites:

Movie: Dumbo and The Lorax

Food: Any kind of fruit or veggie

Comfort object: His thumb and woogie (blanket).

Toy: Balls or cars and books, books, books!

Time for a trip down memory lane. These pictures go from oldest to most recent starting back last October:

 The following quote is from LDS.org on what the church teaches about adoption: "Adoption is an unselfish, loving decision that blesses the birth parents, the child, and the adoptive family." I can't begin to express how much Dean has blessed our life and how much I respect and love our birth mother. I can't imagine what our life would be like without our sweet, sensitive, social little Dean. What a wonderful two years we have had together! Happy Birthday, sweetheart.