Happy Birthday Hudson!!!

My little guy is growing up!

Happy 7th birthday

HUDSON!!!

Jaylen musings for her first two weeks

She's sleeping most of the time but when when she's awake she seems quite alert. She's got a pretty good stare, like she can read you from the inside. Rob got her to smile by blowing raspberries to her. I'm trying to get it on film but she apparently is camera shy.

As of Tuesday, Sept 30th Jaylen has gained weight (7lb12oz) and grown to 20 1/2 inches tall - eeekkkkk! Obviously doesn't take after me! She's currently smaller than my other kids about this age but like Carter, portional. She spent most of the first two weeks sleeping......a lot. Rob was a bit concerned -I think he forgot what newborns do. LOL!

Nursing has been pretty icky. I'm not enjoying it and she's not getting the hang of it. The other three had no problems. So far her temperment is calm and sleeping to CRY/SCREECHING in about 10 seconds or less.

Carter absolutely LOVES her. If (when) she cries he runs over to comfort her.....by laying on top of her. He's a giant next to her and I have to keep an eye on both of them at all times. (I won't go into the story of when he and I were doing laundry when she started crying and he went to comfort her. By taking her off the couch, across the family room and onto the kitchen tile -just trying to get her to her mama. shudddddddderrrrr).

Avery asks everyday "when's she going to crawl?" and recently added, "when's she going to talk?"! Seems so odd she doesn't remember Carter being a baby. I guess it's hard for us, too, though.

Hudson loves Jaylen, but think he's just happy to go to school and hang out with his friends. He has been caught reading to her and that makes my heart swell!

************************************

In the Sparks Tribune today (Friday 9/19)....

The Railroaders’ bye week could not have come at a better time for coach Rob Kittrell. The veteran Sparks coach and his wife, Jennifer, gave birth to their fourth child, a baby girl, Jaylen, on Sunday. In addition to the personal advantage, the SHS gridders had an extra week of workouts to prepare for one of the 3A North’s traditional powers.“I had my daughter this week, so the bye was perfect timing for me. The birth of your child is pretty exciting, even the fourth one,” Kittrell quipped. “Football-wise, it was a good two weeks of practice. We were able to add a few new wrinkles and fundamentally, hopefully we got better and were able to develop some depth.” For the full article click here. Update for game- Railroaders Won!!! 28-12

Happy Birth Day! IT's A.......

It's a GIRL!!!

Introducing our Lucky Lady

~Jaylen Reeves~

Sept 14th

7lb 7 oz

19in with long fingers and toes!

A very proud daddy!

Wow, I can't believe she's a girl!
Bringing smiles to everyone she meets!

Avery is still beyond herself that she got a baby sister!

Another girl?????? LOL, really, Hudson loves her and has been telling her all about his stuffed animals and what he'll help teach her when she gets older. It's very sweet!

Carter hasn't quite figured it out, but he gives her kisses. He does want to give"baby" a bottle. He didn't quite know what to do with mommy being out of the house and all that hospital stuff, poor guy.

Carter got himself so tired that the day after we got home from the hospital he wouldn't let himself go down for a nap....until.....

From early morning before her birth....
Well, it's a little too early to tell. LOL. I haven't been able to sleep so I'm just waiting for time to go by until we finally get to meet our newest family member! I'm very excited, very tired, and a bit sad for the bittersweetness of my last baby in my belly.

ODE to my BELLY
-well, I'll need to write one, it deserves to have an ode, doesn't it? ;) It's been a blessed home to my children. Soon I will be in a total throwdown match against it, fighting it tooth and nail, but today I will love it and admit that I will miss it.

Kissable lips already!

This was taken a few weeks ago. I find the 3-d pictures to be a bit creepy but she got such a great shot of our baby's lips and face. So, does the baby look like a boy or a girl????

TAKE THE POLL --------->

I've got just a few weeks left. Yeah, just a few weeks to figure out a name! EEEEKKK! In case you aren't aware of what our other kids are thinking....

Hudson says BOY and he wants his name to be Jose.
Avery says GIRL and wants her name to be Sistah (or is it Sister?)
(Yesterday she said to name it Nothing if it's a boy)
Carter probably just wants a puppy! ;)

9/5/08 Update
My dr took me out of work as of Wednesday so I'm trying my best to stay off my huge swollen feet and sore back. I'm going in 2x/wk for non-stress tests and this week both have gone well. Today she checked my fluids because of the NST, but they luckily looked good. We've got an amnio set up for next week to see if this baby is ready to go and if so, we might have the answer BOY or GIRL by the end of next week!!! We better get going on names, huh? LOL
9/11/08
Amnio shows the baby is fully mature, meaning I was definitely correct when I said I was due before my dr originally thought from the beginning. We have scheduled an induction for Sunday but will welcome this baby to come anytime. We would have scheduled for today but the hospital is busy today, so unless my water breaks we will wait. I'm ready and so not ready but excited, nonetheless. Come back soon to find out about our newest addition!!!

Here's a really cool article about football wives. Well, the wives of head football coaches of high schools in Sparks, Nevada! Hopefully I didn't embarass Rob too much! =) My favorite part is the last paragraph!!!

If you look closely at the photo there are no decals on my helmet. When Rob handed me the helmet for the photo I asked what that was about. "Everyone has to earn it. Even you!" =) Look even closer and Erin's husband was on the same wavelength! Lisa had a decal, but she said her husband was so excited about their new helmets he couldn't resist!

Visiting Oklahoma!

This is mostly for my family at

Vaughn Middle School!

HI guys! Missing you, but loving my new adventure!

*Kerry, Derek, and Dane*

We got to take a vacation and made sure to stop for a long visit (meaning not just a sleepover in a hotel!) with Kerry Villanueva and family!!! She sends her love to all! She's doing great and raising her two beautiful boys! She and Derek bought a house that is nothing like you can get around here for the price! Rob is trying to figure out how to get us out there now! Here are some photos of our visit!

Kerry, Davis, and Dane at the Oklahoma Zoo!

A favorite spot for the kids, getting wet.

It was pretty hot!

Avery - I see my favorite animal, the giraffe!

Aweeee!
Checking out the butterfly garden....
I found one!

Davis, 3 years old and such a good looking boy!

He's really smart, like his mom!

Dane trying to get around with the big kids!

Hudson and Carter, at the AWESOME Science Museum! Check it out for yourself by clicking HERE. We could have spent days there!

The huge three story treehouse inside the museum.

- Carter -

Can make it to the top before my parents figure out where I am?

Carter made new friends by being the ball collector while the other kids used the pully to send the balls back to the top of the treehouse. One must beware of flying objects while hanging out around that treehouse.

Kerry painting the face of Davis

Kerry and Derek's house, it's so beautiful!

Kitchen area

The man cave. Theatre rooms are popular in this area. No windows and a huge HDTV projection screen connected with tivo, who needs anything more???

More of the kitchen

Part of the backyard, amazing!

Even a wine cellar/pantry! The wrought iron door is beautiful. To the left is two bedrooms with a sitting room in the middle and a bathroom, all for the boys! To the right is where we stayed, the MIL quarters, with a master bedroom/bath and sitting room! Aunt Kerry had the front sitting room set up with two beds for the kids and we took advantage of getting all three in there. Since then Carter has moved out of our room at home and into Hudson's room! YEAH! Thanks, Aunt Kerry!!!! (just in time for the new baby to take Carter's place!)

Taken from the kitchen, looking toward the back. Just past the living room you see a sunroom. The windows are great and let in great lighting. You can't see the beautiful tile work on the floor from this picture, but there and a few other places there are some amazing personal touches throughout the house. It's all so breathtaking!

Kerry and Jen, hmmm, which is which???? I really didn't want to say goodbye. Kerry and Derek were such wonderful and thoughtful hosts. They cooked a bbq dinner for us one night and took us out to dinner at a local favorite of Kerry's dad that was really good. We even got to meet some of Derek's family and see Kerry's sister again! They all just made us feel at home and part of their family. It was very hard to leave. I miss you, Kerry! Love to you all, give my boys HUGE hugs and kisses from me!

And, yes, we drove all that way with that big belly! It's even bigger now, as if that could happen.

Have to include the Football Heaven picture! Rob made sure to make a special trip to OU. Not Kerry's OSU, but she was nice enough to let him back in the house when he got back! LOL!

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

We finally got to take a vacation that went somewhere past the Oakland A's baseball stadium or San Francisco Zoo! Well, vacation? Hmmmm, is it really a vacation when you drive and drive and drive, check into a hotel, sleep, check out and drive and drive and drive?

Rob's Dad side of the family has a family reunion in Missouri and every year we try to figure out how to get there but it doesn't work out. This year we decided we'd better go no matter what because it's only going to get harder each year. Rob actually took some days off from summer school football and if you know Rob, that means a lot! Heck, I'm not even sure I'll get to see him anytime for the birth of our fourth child due some time in the next few weeks! (kidding, of course)

The trip started out a bit on the tough side because Carter was not interested in hanging out in the car for 6-8-10 hours at a time. Who could blame him? We stopped in Las Vegas to get a car plug in for our computer so we could put on a movie for him and that helped a bit. By the 3rd day he got it all figured out and was a much better traveler. Hudson and Avery sat in the way back with movies of their own and an arsenal of car activities. Speaking of the car, it was a great ride and I'm so glad for my pregnant body that we had gotten the new mini-van to travel in instead of our other trucks. It was quite roomy, comfy, and drove like a dream!

Hudson took up a new collection, collecting the magnets of all the states we stayed in or visited. Those states include Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah. He also picked up California because we do get to visit there often.

Here are a few of our favorite memories:

Rob spotted a park nearby one of our quick stops so we went there to stretch our legs. The kids really enjoyed not having to get back on the road. Hudson was really sweet and helped his little brother across the wobbly bridge.

No, not a picture of the cows in Texas. Look closer and see if you can spot what Rob can smell from anywhere, even while driving 80, uh, 65 mph in a car with the windows rolled up........a football field! Barely enough around to call it a city, but gotta make sure football is BIG.
We made an extra hotel stop in Amarillo, Texas, when we realized it would much too long of a drive that day to make it to Oklahoma City. Which meant we got a chance to eat at a local restaurant -yummmmy good ol' fashion BBQ Texas style. And, a favorite treat for the kids, being a the hotel early enough to go swimming in the pool!

This one is just beautiful, walking back from eating. Carter was so wiped out he was trying to fall asleep up on daddy's shoulders!

The kids were excited to see real Texas Sheriffs!

Midwest convenience store, the Kum & Go, has a contest going for Soda or Pop. I'm from the West Coast and we call it Soda!

These are fruit roll ups. For some reason Hudson did not like us calling them that?!? And it seems, only Nevada and California do blocks of hay anymore.

Ok, this is from my childhood and probably in yours, too. I remember taking a very similar trip or two across to the Midwest and all I wanted to do was stop at souvenirshops and buy rocks. Of course, the parent never wanted you to waste money on rocks when you can go outside and pick them up off the ground for free. But you and I both know it wasn't the same. I told Rob I just wanted to make sure my kids could ask and we could earn our parent badges when we start in on them, "No you can't buy rocks when there are perfectly good and free rocks outside! It took about one second for the kids to find this first set at one of our stops and I knew they, especially Hudson, would be hooked! We did come home with a few bags of special rocks -GEMS- from various parts of the country!

Gotta have a cowboy/cowgirl hat, right?

Don't worry Daddy, I'll do the driving from now on, now, where are the keys....

~All this driving can make a kid sleepy~