more birthday pics

just thought i'd send these along... grammy just gave these to me today... i actually took most of them, but i used her camera ;) thanks grammy.

excersaucer fun!

jayden found the excersaucer the other night and she did really well. big brother decided he'd try to help her experience the fun. he actually wanted to get in it himself, but i tried to explain to him that it is a baby toy and now he's a big boy, but he still tried taking sister out so he could get in. last night he was trying to show sister how to turn the handle on it. he put her hand on it and turn it with her. he's such a good big brother!

our big boy is 2!

it's hard to believe that 2 years ago today i was in the hospital giving birth to our beautiful son. he's such a big boy! jacob is really into thomas, cars, tools and football. he is a great big brother, a big helper and such a joy! it's so fun to watch him as he grows and learns and tries new things... like fixing "stuff" for us and trying to imitate us... sometimes that can be scarry too. ;) tonight we'll be going out for dinner at pizza hut, per jacob's request, and then we will have his party on sunday after church, in the afternoon. i've ordered an icecream cake, per my request, and we'll have a few friends and family join us.

week in michigan

well, we're back from our michigan trip. it is bitter sweet, but more bitter than sweet. we had such a wonderful time in michigan, well i did anyway, that i wanted to stay longer and i didn't get to see ruth ann but for a couple hours. we did a lot when we were there. we had a couple parties, thanksgiving, christmas, jayden's dedication, my dad's birthday, 2 year old pictures, dinner with the halls and soooo much more. it was a BUSY week! overall a good time was had. however, reality calls and we had to get back to work and responsibility, so we are "back and in business".

we're here...

well, we've been in michigan for a couple days now and what a blessing it is! we were able to go to church and REALLY be fed the word of God. we also had a party to see everyone here in michigan and let them see the kids. we had a lot of people come and it was a busy fun filled night. thank you to all of you who came and spent the evening with us. we had sooooo much fun seeing all of you. oma and opa have had a wonderful time with the kids and great oma has been spoiling them too. greatgrandpa was surprised how big his little man has gotten and is pretty proud of his great granddaughter. what a wonderful time we're having. my little cousins are really enjoying the kids and jacob enjoys entertaining them too. of course, he loves to be the center of attention. ;)

michigan or bust!

well, we leave tomorrow for thanksgiving in michigan... PRAISE THE LORD!! i've wanted soooooo badly to see my family and friends back home for such a long while, this will be good for me i think. you don't realize how much you appreciate your family and friends and church until you leave it and then you realize what you're missing. i can't wait to really praise the Lord with our church family there. jayden will be dedicated and we will celebrate thanksgiving, Christmas, my dad's birthday and jacob's birthday. we will also be getting pictures taken and partying some more. it will be a busy but fun filled week with family and friends. jacob was helping feed the baby the other day and decided to feed "his baby" so i took a picture and here's also a couple other cute pictures i thought i'd send on as well... hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and just remember all the things we have to be thankful for.

sooooo sorry!

i'm soooo sorry it's been so long since i last blogged! i've been extremely busy with the kids, work and training a new lady at work. i did finally get someone hired to help me in the office and with the kids. she has been a blessing in that she is willing to help me with the kids too, without complaint, and also has been cleaning and helping with the things that haven't been done in a long time... like cleaning the nasty bathrooms, washing the windows and mirrors, and sorting through things.

the kids are growing like weeds and doing well. part of my busy-ness was that i had to take jayden to the hospital for a day and do lots of things with her. she was a sick little girl, but we believe it was just a viral thing now. she also had to have a ct scan of her skull, because i found a large lump on the back of her head, but the results from that came back normal. we are just praying that they stay that way. the dr. will continue to monitor that as we go in for check-ups.

the kids got their pictures taken recently and they turned out really cute! but then again i am a little biased. ;)

saturday's garage sale

saturday we spent most of the day at grammy and grandpa's house helping with the garage sale, watching the football game and painting. jacob helped with the garage sale, daddy and jayden watched the game and mommy painted. it was a LONG day! jacob had lots of fun helping out and finding treasures. one of those treasures was a "microphone" a.k.a. an old lamp and a "guitar" a.k.a. a rod of steel. enjoy the video... he was imitating uncle perry...

jayden's 2 months

it's hard to believe that our baby is already 2 months old. she is growing into such a big girl. she sleeps pretty well in the night, but doesn't like to nap much during the day unless you feed her LOTS, and boy, can she eat! she likes to smile and make us laugh. her big brother likes to kiss her and she's been kissing him back by licking him. yuck! he just thinks it's love and keeps kissing her. how sweet the love of a newborn!

yum!

jacob is going thru a little fun phase of eating his grammy's food. yesterday she looked down and only had half of her half a sandwich. jacob had taken the top piece of bread and the tomato off her sandwich and he was eating it. then today she went back to get some soup off the stove top and when she came back he was eating her chunk of cheese. straight off the chunk too, he didn't want to wait for anyone to come and cut it.

4 years

four years ago today i married my sweetheart and we started on this venture as man and wife. how exciting! each day gets better and better and i fall more and more in love. i am so blessed to have that one in a lifetime love. as i look back and recall that day it's so fun to remember all the happy memories and silly ones too. we are sooooooooo happy and excited for the many years to come.

go, go, go

today i turned around after cutting a few keys to see jacob taking his first little stroll on his tricycle all by himself. he only went about 1-2 feet, but he did it all by himself. he barely reaches the pedals, so he can't go far, but before too long he'll be all over the shop.

my kiddos

have you ever had that amazing feeling that you get when you look at your kids and realize that you have the most adorable child/children in the world and you've been amazingly blessed?!? as i look at my kids, i wonder why God would entrust them to me. i'm not worthy of such an awesome blessing and privilege, but i'm going to take each day and thank God for it.

this morning

this morning the kids were really cute! well, they always are, but this morning i was just reminded of it. jacob and mommy went to the chiropractor and then we went to work, or for jacob, his organized golf time...
jacob loves to golf and this morning it must have been a dangerous game, because he had to wear a football helmet, and it was backwards too. jayden was a good girl and she laid in her play pen while mommy worked for a while. when i checked on her she gave me this funny face. what a cutie!!

jayden's 1 month (& a week) check up

today jayden and mommy had dr's appts. they both went well. mommy is cleared on post- partum "stuff" but still under dr's care for the gall bladder. jayden is quite the little piggy! our little princess weighs in at 11#, she measures 23 1/2 in. and her head is 15 1/4 in. she is usually quite the happy baby and she likes to keep us busy. she likes to entertain her brother by being a dolly for him to maneuver and often looks like a marrionette while her brother pulls on her arms and legs to dance with him or he tries to pick her up by her arms. we often have to watch where we lay her, because he finds her and tries to "help out". she likes to swing and be sung to. she is our little sunshine!
jacob is our big boy and is doing well. he has had a little fall cold, but seems to be getting over it. he likes to take his nap at work with grandpa lately and i don't think grandpa really minds that either. ;) grammy caught them last week in the action...

dr's report

i went to the dr yesterday and she said that everything went well and it's healing well. i have to go back to the dr. in 2 weeks and she will double check everything and then i should be cleared.

about the pictures of the kids... here they are...

it's out!

the gallbladder is out and i'm kinda' back in business. i had the gallbladder out last week and have been at home relaxing. i go into the dr. today for my one week check up after the surgery and we'll find out if i can be off restrictions.
i have pictures of the kids to post, but i am running late for my appt... i'll post them later.

i deleted the last post

because of some comments that were made i deleted the last post, but i would like everyone to know that jason's grandma was fully ALIVE when those pictures were taken, she was just sleeping. they were not meant to be morbid. i am truely sorry for upsetting you. it was when we went to visit her on jason's birthday and she was sleeping and she wouldn't wake up for the pictures. please forgive me.

happy days

well, jayden is 13 days old today and we praise God daily for this new little life. what a joy she is and will be. big brother has done so well with her! he loves to kiss her and hold her and wants to play with her lots, but he needs to learn to be a little more gentle. it was adorable last night he found one of my neckwraps and put it on his neck and then he got into the drawer and pulled out some oven mits and put those on and he walked around clapping his hands like a seal. ;) he is such a joy! we are soooo blessed!

the nurse came to the house this morning and weighed jayden and checked on me too. jayden is now 8 lbs. 6 oz. she gained a lb. since last week when the nurse came to the house. at least we know she's eating enough. ;) well, i hope everyone has a wonderful labor day weekend!

she's here!!!!

well, she's finally arrived! jayden elizabeth hullinger arrived saturday the 16th at 10:16 a.m. weighing 7 lbs 14.8 oz. and measuring in at 20.5 in. what a blessing!! we are celebrating her arrival with her brother daily. i think he is so totally in love with her we won't have to ever worry about her being able to date, because he's going to take care of any other boys. ;) he loves to kiss her and hug her and hold her any chance he can.

please pray with us as she is a little jaundice and she will be under billi lights here at home for a little while until we can control that and she has also lost some weight... she is now 7 lbs 3 oz. i am sure she'll come back from this quickly though.

we went to the dr. today...

so, the new news is... if i don't have her naturally by monday, i will be enduced monday morning. the pains in my gallbladder have been enough, and the dr. has decided that enducing would be good. i will be 39 weeks and 2 or 3 days by then, so it is pretty much full term and everything, but even one day sooner for me is good! that is one day sooner to my gallbladder being taken out and that will be a great day too! so, we'll try to keep you all updated.

dr.'s report

well, we just came back from the dr. and everything looks good. the dr. said that jacob looks well and she didn't even hear his little heart murmur and she said that the baby sounded good and i am now dilated to 3. we'll see our little girl soon hopefully.

dr. today...

well, both jacob and mommy have dr.'s appt.s today so i will let you all know how everything goes. i forgot to mention in the last post that as of a week ago, on the 30th, my cervix was thinned to 80%, so we are just waiting... we'll let you know what she says today.

bed rest

so, i started a post 2 weeks ago, but i got bumped off the internet, so i lost everything. i'm trying again...
i've now been on bedrest for almost 2 weeks, at that time, i was dialated to 2 and my cervix was thinned 50%. the dr. could feel the baby's head in position already. so, another week has passed and on friday (the 1st) i was in a car accident. i had gone to the dr. on thursday and she told me i could do a little bit more, but still to lay low. so i thought i would go to my students graduation. on the way, i thought i would stop and see the boys at work, so i was about a block away from the shop and a girl ran a stop sign and i hit her. it was her fault, so she got a citation, but i was transported to the hospital immediately and they checked both me and the baby and we both seem to be fine. the dr. has now taken me off of the contraction medication that was stopping my contractions and said if i go into labor, i go. she feels perfectly comfortable delivering the baby now and all is well. i also found out on wednesday that i have gall stones, so after the baby is born, they will be taking out my gallbladder. what fun!! hope all is well and if you don't hear from me in a while... that's why. please pray for jason as this is extra work for him.

oregon trail days

where we live, in western nebraska, we live right on the old oregon trail. so, every year it is a big thing here to have "oregon trail days" where we have parades, a carnival, a craft show, an art fair, and other activities. it's always the 2nd weekend in july. this was jacob's first time going to anything related to "ot days" really. we went to the international food fair on friday and of course jacob wouldn't eat anything because he was too busy watching people, but mommy enjoyed "nebraska twisters" which are homemade potato chips/french fries. they were really good! daddy got hotdogs and potato chips... how exciting... but they're his favorite and it benefitted the alzheimer's association. then on saturday, we got up and went to the otd parade. this was jacob's first parade ever and he seemed to really enjoy it. he loved whinnying at the horses and honking at the firetrucks. there were a lot of really "normal" style floats with the ribbons and kids just sitting on them and waiving, but there were a couple really cool ones too. one of my favorite floats was the one from the bank, they posed as the statue from the twin towers. jacob also really enjoyed watching all the people. he is definitely his mother's child. at the parade, one of the banks was handing out ice cream push pops, so jacob tasted a push pop for the first time and devoured it! he also enjoyed it when the people threw candy, because even though he was too little to go and fetch it, he had his own little fetching mate. one of our friends from church would run out and get candy for him, so it was even better, because he didn't have to fight through the other kids. that was about all we went to as a family for ot days. i went to the craft show, by myself of course. ;) it was a great weekend overall.