Couldn't have asked...

for better weather, yesterday that is. It was so nice here. After Church we were able to go to the park and play. The kids had a blast. As we were leaving the park, Aidan begged to go to the beach and good ol' daddy gave in. So still in our Church clothes we went to the beach, again a blast. Just what our little family needed, some good fun times outstide!

And here are some of Dillon at three weeks old

Now it is back to the grind, we have a busy next few weeks. Well Nick has a busy next few weeks which means he will hardly be home, therefore I will be busier too!

Let's go back in time...

to Téadora's First Birthday!

And yes, she is the cutest princess in the world!

What am I supose to do with this?

Daddy and brothers give her a lesson in "cake eating"

Ok, now I get it!

My neice Sadie, striking a pose.

More Dillon

12 Hours Old (2/14/07)






Having Fun @ 13 Days Old (2/27/07)




Getting a little sleepy...

Dillon Eugene has arrived!

It was about 9pm on Tuesday and I felt a contraction. I thought “whatever, here we go again”. I had been having contractions for a few hours each evening for the past 10 days at least, so contractions weren’t getting me too excited anymore. The contractions continued, and at about 10pm they got a little uncomfortable, so I told Nick this *might* be it (I am sure he was like, uuhhhuhh sure). We decided he should go to sleep, just in case. I folded some laundry, did the dishes, picked up the house. Coda was having a hard night, so I laid with him for awhile, he needed to poop, but wouldn’t so his tummy was not feeling the greatest. It was getting too uncomfortable to lay with him, the contractions were getting stronger, so I told him he needed to poop. He pooped, I changed him and got him back into bed. By this time it was a little after midnight, I needed to wake Nick up, this had to be it, right?! I could still walk around during the contractions, but I could barely talk, so we decided we needed to go. I called my midwife and told her and then she reassured me that I would be leaving the hospital with a baby if I made the trip down this time. Thank God, I couldn’t imagine being in labor again and then the labor stopping and having to go home without a baby again. We called my mom, my sister and Nick’s parents…we would be there in about two hours and then head to the hospital.

At 12:55am we pulled out of our driveway, over the next 20 minutes the contractions got increasingly closer together and stronger. The contractions were about 2 and ½ minutes apart and about 1 and ½ minutes long…that didn’t leave much time in between! Twenty miles after leaving I knew we were not going to make it to Fortuna, but I was praying we would make it to at least Arcata or Eureka (both towns have hospitals). We stopped quick for gas and I stuck my hand down my pants, pulled it out and BLOOD, lots of BLOOD. Crap, I thought, I am heading towards 7cm…

With each contraction I rubbed the tops of my thighs, breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth, and prayed for it to be over. Nick had stick instructions to keep both hands on the wheel, look only at the road and drive as fast as he could without even slightly endangering us. Enya was playing, I was contracting, the kids were all wide-eyed…and we were driving.

I tried to change positions, but I didn’t have time in between contractions to figure anything out…I mean I was sitting in the front seat of a van for goodness sake, how many positions could I really get into?!

I had been praying and I asked Nick to be praying, but I needed something more. I asked Nick to pray aloud, he did. We prayed for safety, for a break in the contractions and to make it to the hospital. We were now about 55 miles from home. As the contractions came I knew the birth was imminent. I kept this information to myself; truthfully I didn’t know how to tell Nick, I think we are going to have this baby in the car. A few more contractions came, I was still keeping pretty calm during them, I tried to picture his face, holding him in my arms. Then a change happened, I felt emotional, overwhelmed, I felt like I just couldn’t take another contraction. I said out loud, “I can’t do this anymore.” CRAP, I knew once I said that that the baby was going to arrive within minutes, it was a comment I had made moments before the both of Coda and Téadora.
I told Nick we were not making it to Fortuna and to call his parents and have them meet us in Arcata at the hospital. I asked him how long until we would be there…he said 10 minutes. I told him I wasn’t sure we were going to make it. He sped up! A contraction came and I told him again we were not going to make it. The contraction ended and I thought, OK we can make it. The next contraction came and I felt “pushy”, I said “the baby is coming”. Nick said give me 5 minutes, he sped up even more. He told me to check and see if I felt the baby’s head, I felt down there and about 1 inch inside me I felt the intact bag of waters. “He’s right there”, I said. The contraction ended and I felt relief, we can make it, we can make it, we can make it….NOOOOOOOOO we can’t. A contraction began, my last actually, I realized I still had my pants on; I ripped them off and yelled “PULL OVER”. Nick went from 85mph to stopped on the side of the road in seconds. I was pushing, my body was pushing, I was holding onto the handle above the door, I looked down and saw the bag of waters outside of my body, but still intact. WOOOSH, the water exploded, exploded. Nick jumped out of his side, slammed his door, and opened mine. HIS HEAD, was there, I was grunting or was I screaming, I was pushing, his head was crowning, I felt his head, and Nick guided him out and onto my chest. I looked at my baby boy, he was breathing, he was pink, and he was beautiful. Nick began to dial his parents on the cell phone, “we had him, on the side of the road, and we will be to Mad River (the hospital in 5 minutes). At the same time, I said, “he’s fine; we’re fine, get in, turn on the heater.” I wrapped Dillon in a blanket that I had on my lap. I starred at him; Nick got in the car, turned the heater on full blast and sped off.

All was right in the world, I turned and looked at the three, “we are ok, mommy is ok, and baby Dillon is ok”. Coda who had started to cry when I was pushing Dillon out, was now smiling. We were all ok. The next 5 or so minutes to the hospital are a blur, did I really just have a baby on the side of the road, in the front seat of my car, and was it really that fast?! We were pulled over less than 4 minutes. We arrived to the hospital, pulled up near the ER, a man yelled to us, go further, turn left, they are waiting for you. We pulled up to the birth center, Nick’s parents were right behind us. There was a wheel chair waiting with a nurse. All I could think was, “I am going to get out of my car with nothing but a shirt on.” I did. My father in law wheeled me in, I got up onto the bed, it was bright. I could see Dillon, he was perfect, Nick leaned over and kissed me. And I answered the nurse, “yes, my name is Stephanie Lende, he was born at 2:18, well right there at the North Central Exit, his name is Dillon.”



We proceeded to cut the cord and deliver the placenta a little while later. After that my other three joined us. Everything with Dillon and me was great, I had no tearing, and he received a perfect bill of health. He was 7lbs, 8oz and 20inches, born at 2:18am on Valentines Day!

All grown up!

 

Téa is almost 11 months old and each day she seems more and more grown up, I think one day very soon she will be bossing these boys around. 

Brothers

*Somehow I posted this and it got lost, so here I try again* Aidan and Coda are at such a neat age together. They actually enjoy playing with eachother, share a lot of the same hobbies (ie building forts, eating snacks, destroying their room, playing cars, etc) and most of the time they treat eachother pretty well! They get on eachothers nerves and need their own space, but for the most part they are like two peas in a pod! The thing that amazes me the most about them is Aidan's care for Coda. Aidan goes to preschool and when we drop him off he tells Coda, "you be a minding boy all day Coda, and you play nice with Sissy and HAVE FUN." Coda says, "ok". Then when we pick Aidan up he always asks me, "did Coda mind? did you have fun? was he nice to sissy?" The truly funniest part about this is Aidan goes to school from 11:30am until 2:45pm, during which time Coda eats lunch and naps. So he really doesn't have any "minding" to do or fun to have, but it is Aidan's care for him that truly melts my heart.

New Hair-Do

 

It was in her eyes, clips don't work (seriously I tried 5 different kinds), headbands get pulled off, so this is what we resorted to. I mean you have to admit it is cute, but I am sure when she is thirteen and looks back at pictures she will be SO mad at me. Just like when I see pictures of me at four years old, way too mcuh feathering action mom! 

Missing Our "E"

November 2004 - Aidan (2years4months) and Coda (7months) talk to their "E" while she is away at college. -I just came across this video and couldn't help but post it :)

The past few days....

have been busy!
It all started on Saturday, Aidan "watched" Téa in his room while Nick and I got ready.

Then Aidan had his last soccer game. He refused to play the first 10 minutes (out of a 30minute game) but then ran around growling at the other players for the next 20minutes, classic Aidan.

Aidan and Coda had spent the previous weekend with Grandma Diane and Mike and had already gone to a pumpkin patch, but I hadn't and Téa hadn't...so we went. We ventured to Brookings to Flora Pacifica, definately not near as big as we are use to, but it did the job.

Sunday Nick's parents came up to visit for the day. Papa Kent got the honors of feeding Téa her first bite of icecream, I think she had more like 20!! And she would have had more.

And then it was Tuesday, I love when Monday's pass me by, because they are my least favorite day! The boys were ready to go in their costumes before it was even 4pm. But they had to wait patiently for the sun to go down and their baby sister to wake up from her nap. They passed the time by watching "Incredibles" and acting out all the parts.

We went to a trick-or-treating at a few houses in our neighborhood and then went to a Halloween party at our friend's church...we had a blast and ate FAR too much candy, but that is what Halloween is for right!

Kicked out

After the kids are in bed Nick and I usually sit down to watch something on DVD, lately it has been Grey's Anatomy. We make a "bed" with our couch and ottoman. Last night we were all ready to sit down when we realized that Aidan and Loralei (our cat) we passed out in our spots. We were kicked out, but not for long, Nick hoisted Aidan up into his top bunk bed and Loralei was moved to the other end of the couch. And then Nick and I sat down to watch the Season 2 Finale of Grey's Anatomy. 

Long time coming...

a blog that is. It has been forever. These pictures are from my moms last trip here, we went to Trees of Mystery. We had a great time, just what we needed before we had to move again. Long story made short, our house was infested with cockroaches, we moved, we are happy that we moved, the end. But still, moving two times in three months, with three kids and pregnant = NOT FUN!

Grandma Diane with Téadora

The view from the "Sky Trail", and they wondered why I was scared, we were only suspended hundreds of feet in the air with four glass walls around us...Aidan thought it would be funny to knock on the glass, I almost lost it!

Brotherly love :)

Family Day at the Beach

First off I have to tell you a story...you all know I have been in need of a camera, well I told my friends online. Well yesterday I went to my mailbox and there was a package. I didn't recogonize the return name nor address. But it was addressed to me, so I opened and inside was a DIGITAL CAMERA. I was in awe, I read the note and it all came clear. My friend Jen in Oregon told her mom in Arizona that I was in need and her mom and dad sent me their not-in-use-anymore camera. How amazing, I am so thankful for my friends. THANK YOU JEN AND JEN'S MOM AND DAD!!! So back into the world of me taking pictures everywhere we go...

Nick building a bench?

The Boys Sitting on the Sand Bench

Ummmmm, beautiful!

Téa and Mommy

P.S. Don't mind the wrong date, I was so anxious to use the camera I didn't do the set-up!

Getting bigger

Well they all are, but Téa is just growing before our eyes! She is the cutest darn thing and just goes along with anything. This past weekend she attended her second concert and she is not even 8 months old. She is so special to us, to her brothers. But it is sad, she seems to be growing up too fast, already sitting on her own (for awhile now), almost crawling, loving to stand and eating big girl food. Whats next a boyfriend? Yeah right, with Nick for a dad and Aidan and Coda for big brothers, we joke and say she is going to marry one of their best friends, because she won't get close enough to any other guy. LOL!

Ummmm, yes mom, you wanted something?

It's School Time

Last week we started school at the Lende home. Most of you know prior to having kids I was in college to become a teacher, so it is probably not a surprise that I (well we) are homeschooling the kids. This is the first year we have really had a curriculum and an actual school-time each day. Aidan and Coda are thriving. We are using the alphabet as a basis to our school time. Each week we study another letter and intergrate all subjects. Coda actually sits, listens and participates, his favorite part is that he has his OWN school supply box, equipped with a box of crayons, scissors, glue and a pencil! Aidan is working on not only our letter of the week studies, but also tracing letters and matching letter sounds to objects.

This week we are on the letter "A" with the short vowel sound. We have learned "The Ants Go Marching" song, adding with Animal Crackers (Aidan can add all the way up to 9+1), Adam and Eve, Antelopes, Johnny Appleseed, we are going to make Animal puppets tomorrow and on Friday we are making homemade applesauce. We have learned that apple, astronaut, ambulance, alphabet and alligator all start with the letter A and the short a sound. Aidan also realized with the help of Grandma Diane, that Aidan starts with the letter A. He got off the phone and told me, "Mom I already knew that, my name is Aidan, A-I-D-A-N" Wow he can spell his name!

I would post pictures but my loaner digital camera (I had it for almost 2 years) has been reclaimed, so we are on a hunt for a new one. Maybe Christmas, wink, wink.

Notice any changes?

Look up. Figure it out? We are adding another to the family. Baby Lende #4 is due to arrive in March 2007. A boy, a girl, any guesses? I have to tell you, it is ok if you are in shock, we were too! Then it sunk in, another blessing from God, another baby to hold, another brother or sister for the kids and now we are excited, insanly excited that is for sure. You can call us crazy, we don't care, LOL!

On another note, I cannot believe it has been almost 3 weeks since the last blog, I apologize for depriving you.

YAY NICK!

Today this article was in our local newspaper "The Daily Triplicate". I am SO proud of Nick and all of the hard work he is putting into this new position. He is such an amazing dad/husband/employee. This morning he fed Téa a bottle, got up, got himself ready, fed the boys breakfast and still got to his office by 7am. (Ok so it sounds like I don't so anything :), I promise I do!) It helps that we have early rising kids around this house. And if tonight is like last night, he will try his hardest to be home by 5pm, but his work is not over, after kids goto bed and usually me too, he stays awake doing estimates and researching security products. Last night he showed me a camera that is in a "screw", literally a pin-hole camera in a screw, or a air purifier that doubles as a camera, or a smoke alarm, the sky is the limit. Nick is almost as in love with security products as he is with music gear, LOL!

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Aidan's 4th birthday. Daddy called and asked Aidan where he wanted to go to lunch for his special day. 'Dad, it's not my special day, it's my birffday...I wanna go to Old McDonalds' (That is McDonalds in Aidan language.) So off we went to Old McDonalds...and low and behold the toys in the Happy Meal were from Pirates (he will not see it, but he is in love with everything Pirates). He got a Treasure Chest with a key and Coda got a Telescope with light up red eyes...that must have been what I paid $3 each for, since the food is never anything to speak of.

This is a picture of Aidan when he was about a week old. Oh how they grow. While the boys were playing at McDonalds, Nick and I were reminicing about Aidan's birth. It seems like just yesterday. Sitting in the stands at the Crab's baseball game, rocking during each contraction, eating Nachos, stopping in the middle of the road on the way back to the car and making the ultimate decision, THIS IS IT!!! Spending 8 hours in labor, knowing I was going to have a c-section (he was breech) and LOVING every minute of it, yes I am nuts and no I did not have any pain medication. At one point I kicked Nick out of the room, because he fell asleep, poor guy! Seeing Nick in those purple scrubs, oh the sight. And seeing my baby boy for the first time, so small and so precious. Looking into Nicks eyes and knowing that this was 'our' son, forever. It was that day 4 years ago that we became a family. Our lives changed forever with his birth, Thank you Aidan! 

Lost

Today I lost Coda. He is two and I loose him a lot, especially with this new house...there are so many closets, corners and rooms to hide in. Usually when he is quiet and hiding I will find him with something he is not suspose to have, my lipgloss, a nightlight, Téa's bottle, something from my purse. But today was different. The house was quiet, I looked in the living room and Aidan was watching 'Diego'. "Where is Coda," I asked. "I dunno." So I kept looking, calling his name, checking the doors, they were locked, under the beds, in the closets. OK WHERE ARE YOU CODA?? And then I heard "Momma"..."Momma." It was Coda, his voice was coming from sisters room...I looked in the closet, no, not there..."Momma." I peaked over the side of the crib to find this...

Coda was laying in Téa's crib. Well his crib only decorated for a girl now. It wasn't long ago he was sleeping in it...actually it was less than 2 months ago. He had his 'pappy' (pacifier) and his 'smoochi' (his go-everywhere blanket) and he had himself snuggled in tight.

So he wasn't off destroying something or getting into something he wasn't suspose to. Is today the changing point in the life of Coda...will he no longer be the boy who is into everything? We can only hope!

How could I forget?

The answer is yes! We fit it all. It was an adventure to say the least, but it all fit. And the first 3/4's of the truck was packed in about 1 1/2 hours. Then our "extra" help had to leave, so that left Nick, his dad and his brother. Those boys, I mean men can not make a decison to save their life. The next 3 hours was spent finishing the last 1/4 of the truck! But they got it done, and nobody was hurt, so I guess that is all that matters.

I want to say a special thank you to all that helped with this move...family, friends and new friends. Also a thank you for all the prayers, I know that some of you had to have been praying your head off, because the move when so smooth!!

Our new home.

Almost a week after moving and this new house is starting to feel like home. It is definately quite a job to move with three young ones. Just taking care of them is a days work and then add to that unpacking, unpacking and more unpacking. I'm tired! Our home is absolutely amazing. And this is the first time I have been able to say this, since the day we moved in was the first time I had seen it. Nick had seen it, approved of it and signed the contract all without me seeing it...boy what if I hadn't liked it. We are all settling in well, the boys love their HUGE yard, Téa enjoys listening to the birds, Nick is one his last day of his first week, and I am loving having more space for all of our stuff!

This is our home from one side

My favorite view from the house...
this is from our living room looking into "our forest" as Aidan calls it.

Just had to add a picture of Aidan and Téa.
Aidan is watching TV and Téa loves to lay with him. Hasn't she gotten chubby!!

I am not so sure.

We are packing the moving truck today...starting in about 4 hours. YIKES!!! For the past week I have thought, "I am almost done". Yeah right. We have so much stuff, but as Nick would say, I would rather have so much, then nothing. True statement. I have vowed, that the next time we move (hopefully into a home we own) I am including in the price of the house for professional movers to move us. How nice would that be. Leave for a vacation, come home, to a new house, all your stuff is there and yo ujust had to pay a few thousand dollars! (I am somewhat being sarcastic, I cannot handle spending large amounts of money on something I can do myself.)

So I am not so sure that we are going to fit everything into the moving truck. We have rented the 26' truck, the largest they rent, it says it holds a 4-5 bedroom house, we only have 3, but I am no so sure. Mind you we have already taken a truckload and trailer full of boxes and stuff up there. But last night I packed six boxes of food, yes six! I could open a grocery store. (Just for reference, these boxes are not huge, there are about 12"high, 24"long and 20"wide. They work great. Sergio, Sam's boyfriend works in the meat department at Winco, so each day he brings us "chicken boxes", they hold some 80lbs of chicken and they have handles and they stack so nicely.)

So any guesses, will it all fit? We do have some spillover room...the back of my van, Nick's dads truck, the Saturn and Nick's work truck. But still, will we have enough room? I guess we'll see

TO BE CONTINUED...