Sooooooooo Busy (Just Like Everyone Else, I Know)

Our life has been crazy lately, just like everyone else. I know it is not a good excuse, but it is the only one I have. So here are a bunch of pictures of what we have been doing lately.Baby Easton is such a sweetheart. All of his pictures show him with his "aids" on, but in reality he doesn't wear them much yet. We are still doing some testing and ALOT of doctors visits to figure stuff out, but he is such a perfect baby and I am so grateful to have him in our family.
Carter: Need I say more? It was a mess. Let's just say that is is a good thing he is such a cutie pie!

Tade and Ash+Rain and Dirt= Another Mess! (Day after Carter's mess.)

They got sprayed off with the hose and it wasn't so much fun after that. :) Tade finished up First Grade. His cute teacher made each student (27 total) one of these little pillows. He is learning so much. Too bad I think we've lost a good portion of it already this summer. Oops! That's my fault for not making him do anything. I think I was more excited for school to be over than he was cause I just needed a break from HOMEWORK.

Just so cute! I say it all the time, but I really love the kid!

Carter loves his daddy.

Sometimes I have to "lock" him in his high chair so he can't get into anything. He was sitting really patiently this time just resting his chin on his little hands. It was so cute that I had to take a picture.

Tade turned seven! His cake request was that it have his face on it. This was the best I could do. If you know me you'd just be proud that I made an attempt and didn't just go buy something. He was happy with it so that's all that counts! He is getting so big. Next year we will have a baptism.

Fun presents. He got quite a few. Lucky kid.

We've been to Lehi Trafalga and also Seven Peaks to use our Pass of All Passes (along with the rest of Utah County).

Carter was locked out of Tade and Ashlynn's room and he way using his "key" to try and open the door. What a clever kid. Too bad it didn't work.

Waiting for the Opthamologist. His eyes checked out and the doctor didn't find any problems! Yay!!!

Easton and his dad have special bond. I LOVE watching Eric interact with him. Eric has spent more time with Easton as a baby than any of the other kids and it is such a sweet relationship that they have already formed.

Prepping for the MRI. Best buddies. At least Carter thinks so. Easton's not so sure.

This is the gift that Tade gave me for Mother's Day. I especially love the words "Sits" and "Jumps". So funny!

This and That

We (Mom, Tade and Ash) hiked the Y with Grandpa C and the Andersons on Monday. It was harder than I remember, but not so bad that the kids weren't just running up it. Carter had his 2nd birthday last week and it was a super FUN, SPECIAL day. He is such a ball of energy. You'd think I would be 20 pounds lighter just from trying to keep up with him! His smile is so sweet, mischievous, and contagious. I love this kid!
Mother's Day was a very nice day. I got these beautiful roses thanks to Ashlynn. Apparently, she saw them at the store and just had to get them for me. Thanks Ash! They made my day. :) We have had lots of things going on the last month or so. We met with the ENT and have had more tests. Easton's hearing loss is definitely sensorineural (permanent), which means while it will never be "fixable" hearing aids should help to amplify sound so with the use of hearing aids he should be able to hear close to "normal." We still have to do some other testing and see a few different doctors, but he did get his hearing aids today so we are excited for that. He cried for ten or more minutes after they were put in because he just wasn't used to the noise. It was really sad and almost made me want to say never mind take them back, but I know in the long run it will be worth it. I am also looking into doing some signing with him. I did a little bit with the other kids, but I will try to do a little more with E, just to add any communication tools we can. He is such a blessing in our family and we love him to pieces.

An Update With Pictures

I love this picture. Carter's "smiley" face and Easton looking totally confused as to why I would leave him solely in the arms of his brother (even if it was for a picture).Tade's balloon face.
He is getting so big. First grade is winding up. He has learned so much and is lucky enough to make friends really easily. He is a good kid!
Ashlynn and her Daddy. I think they look so much alike.
Ash is my big helper. She has a September birthday so we still have one more year before Kindergarten. If anyone knows of a good, CHEAPER, preschool, let me know. I need to find something to keep her busy next year.
Carter is Carter. That is all I can say about this kid. He is fun, busy, adorable, mischievous, relentless, happy, helpful, NOT helpful :), and everything else an almost two year old boy is. LOVE HIM!!!
Baby E is is getting so big. He is two months old next week. I can't imagine our family without him. He is such a sweet boy and lately has been really good at letting mommy get at least four hours of sleep at a time at night if not six! What a good boy!

*JUST AN FYI SIDE NOTE*

Since Easton has been born we have had to get his hearing checked because he didn't pass the newborn screening done in the hospital. After several more checks and additional testing he has been diagnosed with moderate (low tones) to severe (high tones) hearing loss. There are still lots of questions that we have that will hopefully be answered over the next couple weeks as we meet with and ENT and get more testing, but basically he will have to have hearing aids to help him develop his hearing and speech. We are still unsure whether it is a permanent (inner ear) or temporary (middle ear: might be correctable with surgery or a tiny chance that it is just fluid and will fix its self) problem, thus the more testing. The first couple days after finding out, I took the news pretty hard. I was mostly upset at how this challenge was going to effect Easton's life. My biggest question was, Why did this poor baby boy have to have this struggle? I have since then realized that he MUST be pretty SPECIAL for Heavenly Father to know that he can handle something like this. I have done alot of research, talked to a few more people and have really come to realize that Easton's life should be pretty normal, except for the two little aids he will wear in his ears. We have our ENT appointment next week and then we will probably get fitted for the hearing aids after that. Apparently, you have to have a doctors order to get them. I am learning alot of stuff. I need to send out a huge thanks to the family and friends who fasted and prayed for Easton last Fast Sunday. It was amazing the feeling of love and peace we had on that day and since.

Not Much To Report

Thanks to my sister, Ashley, here are a couple more pictures of the kids with baby Easton at the hospital.

Easton is doing so well. He is such a sweet baby and has been a welcome addition to our family. We are still in our little apartment, but with any luck this week should be it. They are fixing a few things that we noticed on our final walk through and finishing a few things that hadn't been completed and we should (fingers crossed) be closing next Monday or Tuesday. Only time will tell though. I am learning some patience through this process, which is something that I am sorely lacking. Life is great and I can't complain about anything. I am way too blessed to be doing that!

He is Here!

Easton Lyle Gappmayer was born early Friday morning weighing in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches. The story is pretty mild compared to last time, but it was still exciting enough for us. We went to bed Thursday night around ten after a busy day. All week I had been either working, going to appointments and/or just generally trying to get things ready for the next week (when I thought the baby would come). I woke up around 1am to go to the bathroom (one of my several usual trips during the night) and I couldn't fall back to sleep because every 15-20 minutes or so I would have a contraction. By 2am I was having contractions about every nine minutes and by 3 they were coming every seven minutes. I was hoping I could let Eric sleep until 5 or 6, but by 4am I was moving around so much that I woke him up. He was ready to go to the hospital right then, but the contractions were still every seven minutes and somewhat bearable so I wanted to wait a while longer. All of a sudden the contractions started hurting really bad and they were every 2-3 minutes. I still wanted to wait, but then I quickly reconsidered after the next contraction. Eric called his mom and asked her to head over and then I made him go check the car cause I knew we were supposed to get "some" snow. Who knew it was going to be 6 inches. By the time he was done cleaning off the truck and shoveling a path for me, I knew we needed to get going. (I was a little worried we were going to be too late.) His mom wasn't there yet, but we left anyway and called our landlord and asked him to listen for the kids until she got there. We got to the hospital a little before six and started checking in. The lady was asking me the questions, but I could barely talk with the contractions so she started asking Eric after a few minutes and was working pretty quick. I got to the room and changed. The nurse came in right after. She asked me a few questions and then checked me. I was a seven, but my water hadn't broken yet so she asked if I wanted an epidural. I told her yes, if she thought I had enough time and she said she would get the anesthesiologist right away. He was in the room a few minutes later and after a little bit of rethinking if I really wanted/needed the epidural, in what I was sure would be a quick delivery, I decided to get one. Well, it did end up being a quick delivery, but I was SO glad I got the epidural. It was working by 6:35am. The doctor came in around 6:45am. He waited until 7am to check me and I was almost complete by then. The baby was posterior so I had to push a few times to get him to turn. Then I was complete and ready for the really thing. After a few sets of pushes, the baby was born at 7:22am. It was so nice. Pretty much what I was picturing for Carter and didn't get. Most of the staff actually remembered Carter's story and kept saying things like, "I can't believe that was you. I was here that night. Blah, blah, blah." I kept saying things like, "This is so much better than last time." That's the story if you cared to know it. It is more for my memory than anything else. He's only a day and a half, but he is so good. We are so glad to have him in our family. The other kids love him. Carter can't stop touching him. Hopefully, the novelty of him wears off quickly for him. Thanks for all the well wishes and to our families who have stepped in and helped so much.

The 411

Still no pictures, but hopefully soon. Well, I am 35 weeks pregnant and just about to the point where I want to be done no matter what. Not quite there, but REALLY close. The baby is doing well though and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to be pregnant and having another baby soon. It is such a miracle and I thank Heavenly Father all the time that I get to experience it. My doctor is out of town right now. He will be back and stay in town around the time I am due so I am also very grateful for that! Last appointment he told me that if I hadn't had the baby by 39 weeks he would induce me cause of what happened last time so in reality I only have four weeks left, but I am still saying five in my mind so I don't get too excited. I have another check up on Valentine's Day so we will see what he says then.

Our house is coming along nicely. Sheetrock should be done today. Then I think they start tile and trim. Then paint and fixtures. Cabinets and so for. They told us it would be done by February 25th, which should work out cause 39 weeks is March 4th. Hopefully, it all goes down so we can move in and have a day or two to get settled before the baby comes. If not, whatever. Our little apartment is working out. The kids (Carter) are sleeping much better and we are finding ways to have fun in close quarters. We have started playing family Yahtzee and the kids love it. In our last game everyone got at least one Yahtzee. Eric got two and Ashlynn got three. It was crazy!

On a side note, anyone who knows Tade knows that the kid is a thumb sucker. We have tried everything over the last few years to make him stop. The yucky stuff you paint on the thumb, gloves, tape, bribery (cats and dogs). Well, on Saturday we were at Wal-Mart and we had to go look at the fish, of course. Tade all the sudden says, "If I stop sucking my thumb for three weeks can I get some fish?" "Sure," I say. So since last Saturday the kid hasn't sucked his thumb at all. He just stopped cold turkey. I still can't really believe it. He wears a glove at night so he will not do it while he is sleeping and sometimes a band aid during the day to remind him, but he has been AWESOME!!! I am so PROUD of him. I keeping thinking man you should have done this when we were offering you a puppy, but I am glad you are willing to do it for fish. We will see how the next couple of weeks go, but I am pretty sure we are on the right track.

Anyway, another long boring post without pictures, but that is how we are doing. Hopefully, we'll have some new house pictures soon!

Update Without Pictures

I know it has been FOREVER! Sorry, life is super busy. The last few months have flow by with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Oh, and we sold our house and moved too. All of the holidays were great fun. I love spending time with family and friends. Plus, Eric always has work off so that is an added bonus. After our sale fell through in October, I didn't think we would ever sell the house. We were getting one to two people looking at it a week before the October offer, but after we only got two people total. Well, I guess the saying, "It only takes one." is true. We got an offer the 2nd week in December and they wanted us out before the end of the year. We weren't planning on closing until the 27th of December, but the buyers really pushed us and we ended up closing the 23rd. Because of the holiday though it didn't fund until the 28th and then we had 48 hours after that to get out. It was a crazy week. A HUGE thanks to my mom for taking the kids so that I could help Eric as much as possible and also to all the family who helped or offered (Eric is kind of stubborn and wanted to do a lot of it himself). The last day was a mad dash of stuffing things in boxes and trying to clean, but it got done. We have belongings in three different locations. Most at a storage unit, some at Eric's mom's, and the rest with us at our ONE bedroom rental.

We are renting because we are building a house and it won't be done until February so we got a little place to hold us over until then. It is working out pretty good. The kids are in the bedroom and Eric and I get the living room/dining room/office. Carter has been sick and so he has not been adjusting very well. Last night was the first time he slept through the night in TWO weeks. And by not sleeping I mean up every hour for most of the hour and then 10-15 minute naps in between. Needless to say I was ELATED when we finally got some sleep last night. I hope it will last tonight (and forever)!

I went to the doctor today and everything is looking good with the baby. One of my middle appointments got cancelled so I haven't been in for over five weeks. I figured things where okay, but I was a little worried about the results of the glucose test. I have been eating horribly and I love treats. Luckily it was fine and I have even lost a pound, which is super surprising since we've had Thanksgiving, a little trip to Vegas, Christmas and New Years since I've been there. I think that is the first time I have lost weight during the holidays. I guess stress will do that to you. The baby is growing though as is evident by my HUGE stomach.

The house we are building is somewhat on schedule. Our finish date was February 17th, but I think with the weather that has been pushed back. They haven't given us a new date yet, but they have weekly meetings so hopefully we will get one before the end of the week.

There is probably more to say, but this is already super long and boring. I don't know when I will get pictures up. I think my camera cord got packed away to the storage unit. I am still taking them though and someday will get a ton posted.