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David and I were married in December of 2009. We live in Logan, Utah and we LOVE it! We have FIVE kids; A.J., Jessah, Glaiden, Raelynn and Kenadie!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Can You Do Me A Favor?

A few days after his seventh birthday A.J. asked, "Mom, when Raelynn turns 7, how old will I be?" I looked at him and refused to answer. Gulp.


Never have the years flown by so fast. When A.J. was little I rarely thought about school. It seemed like so far away. When he started preschool, I took a deep breath and accepted it. When he started Kindergarten, I teared up the first time he ran into his classroom on his own while I watched from the car. The first week of first grade I missed him while he was gone all day and couldn't wait until he got home. FIRST GRADE? How did he get to be in first grade? My head is spinning!
 
 
When Raelynn turns seven, A.J. will be a mere 12 days away from being fourteen!! Ugh, it makes my stomach tighten up. Those next seven years are going to go by so fast and it's not that I'm scared to have a 14 year old. (Yes, I know I should be, but let's not get into that) It's that I'm terrified that I am now SO caught up in how fast this time is going to fly by, that I'm scared I am not going to enjoy it. I went to lunch today with a friend (one of our old neighbors and Jessah's preschool teacher from last year) so our 3 year olds could play while the older kids were at school. I asked when registration was for preschool so that I could choose Glaiden's schedule and we got to talking. Angie pointed out that because Glaiden's birthday is in October, he won't start preschool until 2013... not 2012. (I will just do one year for him like I did with A.J. and Jessah) He will start Kindergarten in 2014. When A.J. is in 4th grade. :( I'm so caught up in not missing a registration for something that I almost forced my 3 year old to grow up too soon! I was glad Angie said something about it because it made me realize I need to slow down a little.


Glaiden is just barely 3. Still a baby. Maybe because he is so smart and so much like his big brother and sister I feel like he isn't a baby anymore. I feel like he could start preschool next year and then go into Kindergarten (at four years old). Ha! No thanks. I want to hold on to him as long as possible. (Most days) Poor Raelynn is just going to have to fight tooth and nail to get out of my grip. I am just getting started in this parenting thing and I like it. I'm not ready for them to grow up...


Now for the favor....Will someone please just slow time down a little? I'm having a little trouble catching my breath.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Introducing...


Raelynn Mary Behrens! Born August 22, 2011 at 6:06 PM. 8 lbs, 21.5 inches long and perfect!



It's probably not news to anyone at this point that she is here, but I still have to brag! It gives me a reason to post her pretty picture!

The labor story is a colorful one. For those of you like me, who like to feel no pain during labor. I guess I'm proud of myself, but I don't think there was much of a choice in the matter. Raelynn was born natural with her mommy screaming the entire time. Poor kid.

My water broke and like usual, my contractions wouldn't start. I don't know what it is, but my body just doesn't go into full labor on it's own. The nurses started me on the pitocin and we were on our way. I was contracting pretty steadily, but not as fast as I had in previous labors. The contractions got intense, but nothing unbearable. Due to my intense fear of needles and catheters, I postponed the epidural until the nurse told me I had about 20 or so minutes left to decide if I wanted it. I wanted it... so I told her, "OK. Call him in then, because I KNOW I want it."




Note the hand holding onto the bed... the contractions hurt, but I was still doing ok. This is right before I told the nurse I wanted the epidural.



I swear Raelynn heard me and thought to herself, "Uh... no. No way are you gonna do this without remembering it Mama!"

I had to push. NOW. The anesthesiologist gave me a syringe full of the epidural after he got done fighting me to hold still for it. I started going numb at my toes and was numb up to my mid-thigh when Raelynn made her debut. Lovely.

Not really.

Kudos to you moms that can do that. On purpose. But you're all freaking crazy! No. Thank. You. The recovery was fantastic, I will admit that. Not worth the delivery in my wimpy opinion. No way.

But I love her. She was definitely worth every second of ear piercing screaming. (Poor husband) She's a good baby with a good set of pipes when she wants to. She cries to eat and when she needs to burp, but that's it. She's bright eyed and she makes me smile. Even when she cries for food. :)

The other kids are great with her. Particularly the boys. Jessah is still waiting for her to talk and crawl and play. Apparently she wants a roommate now. She wasn't anticipating the baby part of her sister... just the playmate part. Oops! Bad preparation by me!


Jessah holding her future roomie for the first time!



Glaiden was really unsure of her while we were in the hospital. I think it was because I couldn't go home with him and it was because I needed to stay with the baby. A jealousy thing. But he's awesome now that we're home. (AND HE'S STARTED POTTY TRAINING!! Because (in his words) "I'm a big brotha now and I need unda-ware like A.J.) YES!!! I am loving it!



Glaiden before his interest in being a "big brotha."



Finally decided he wanted to see her a little closer. Not so much in front of the camera though.



A.J. adores our newest addition. There's no other way to describe it. He loves to hold her and just stare at her. He soothes her if she grunts and moves in her sleep and talks to her when she is awake. He's an awesome older brother.



A.J. and his new pride and joy. I love this picture.



David was a little nervous about another girl but he is in love. She is his "Little Lady" or "sweetheart." And she loves to snuggle on his chest. It soothes her and puts her to sleep if she's upset. I love seeing them together.

There's our little update. Sorry it's late... I'm struggling with a routine still. Ahem. Ok... I'm just lazy and I get distracted super easily. Yeah, this 4 kid thing is going to be an adventure!!!!

Friday, August 5, 2011

I Can't Wait...

The last few weeks of pregnancy are by far the longest. While you're living them of course. As soon as the baby arrives it seems as if it was yesterday you found out you were pregnant. But I'm living them and the weeks seem to be passing quickly, it's the days that drag. It's hot and I'm pretty much stuck in the house when David is at work. Don't get me wrong, the summer has been busy and fun-filled, but the week days seem to be getting longer. I only have about 2 1/2 weeks left of carrying this little bundle inside of me (the Dr. agreed to induce me at 39 weeks due to home life getting extremely hectic the week of our due date) which is awesome! The last couple of days, however, have mysteriously doubled in length and it's got me thinking about things I am excited for. Yes, I wanted to add another [girl] to the family, but I loathe being pregnant this go around. I'm not quite sure why... I've been healthy (minus the first few months of miserable morning sickness), happy, busy, productive and organized... but I was ready to not be pregnant a long time ago. I wanted the stork to bring this baby. I'm done after Raelynn makes her debut, and I've never been more sure of anything. Here are some of the things I can't wait for:





  • I can't wait to complete this perfect family of mine... and I mean perfect.


  • I can't wait to hold my precious new daughter.


  • I can't wait for the other kids to meet and fall in love with their baby sister.


  • I can't wait to watch my amazing husband fall in love with her.


  • I can't wait to dress her up.


  • I can't wait to put her to sleep.


  • I can't wait to wake up and feed her when the house is silent.


  • I can't wait to snuggle her and see her daddy and siblings snuggle her.


  • I can't wait to go back to work just to get a little bit of adult interaction.


  • I can't wait to miss my four kids while I'm at work.


  • I can't wait to fit into normal clothes again.


  • I can't wait to come home to David and Raelynn snuggled up together.


  • I can't wait to give ALL of my maternity clothes away. Fooorreeeeveeerr. (In my best Sandlot voice)




I. Can. Not. Wait!


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Yellowstone


Ignore the shadow over my face and the 7 1/2 month belly.


We did it! It only took David 29 years and myself 26 years, but we finally made our first trip to Yellowstone! We decided quite a while ago that we wanted to plan a real family vacation for a week to the national park, and in March we made our reservations at the campground for our trip in July. After trying to book one that was actually in the park, and failing, we made our reservation at Rainbow Point Campground in West Yellowstone. (About 10 miles from the West Entrance.) We booked side by side spots for Grandma and Grandpa Jensen and ourselves and invited some friends of ours to tent camp in our spots. The weather was fantastic most of the time with only a little bit of rain here and there. We walked to the lake a couple of days and just enjoyed our time away. Here's a few pictures...

Cool stump where we camped at Hebgen Lake.

Lower Falls = BEAUTIFUL

My honey and I. Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. We were so glad they got to go with us!



Our friend Ricky and David's brother James.



Buffalo kindly reminding us that this was his territory. Not ours.




We wore Glaiden out after the first day in the Park.

Caution: Don't forget a stroller when you take a 2 1/2 year old to Yellowstone. Dad will get tired.
The Grizzly we got to see trying to cross the river at Fishing Bridge. He got caught in the current and went right under our feet. There's no zoom on this picture... probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen!


My boys catching some sun after playing in the lake. (Dave ignored my sunscreen warning and looked like a lobster for a few days.)

Glaiden letting A.J. and Jessah test the water for him.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

34 Weeks.... And Counting

I want to post about our Yellowstone trip but Blogger is being weird uploading my pictures. So I though I would put up a small update about Baby Girl. :)

Today I'm 34 weeks and 2 days. I know this sounds absolutely horrible, but I hate being pregnant. Hate it. I actually dislike it more this round than I ever have before. I am sure the heat has a little to do with it, but this last week I've been drinking more and more water... to find out that it now causes horrible heartburn. Ugh!!! But we're almost there! I was having a really hard time figuring out what we were going to do about the first couple weeks of school because I am due the day before Jessah starts Kindergarten. I told the doctor that I was getting more and more stressed about it so he suggested that if everything looks okay, then he will induce me the week before. *sigh* It really took a huge load off. I also got a chance to talk with a great lady in our ward that is going to help get Jessah to school in the afternoons and then the kids will all walk home together. Another huge relief! The biggest sigh of relief is that in about 5 weeks our family will be complete! I can't wait to meet this little girl and hold her and welcome her to our lives.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A Non-Baby Post (because I am actually bored and 3 kids are napping!)

That's right. Technically, anyway. I am babysitting a little boy that is Glaiden's age today and both of them are asleep with Jessah peacefully watching the Disney Channel. My house is clean... I mean C.L.E.A.N. Not to brag (too much) but I had it done by 11:30. When I fed them lunch. Before A.J. had to be to school. Not after school... yes, they usually get lunch at 2:30-3:00. I know, I suck. But not today!!! I have done dishes, swept, mopped, vacuumed, made beds AND folded laundry. I may be sick, but I'll take it. This is all after yesterday when I went into the office/soon to be nursery and went through all of our baby stuff to do away (donate, toss, and hand down) all of the boy clothes, shoes and coats that don't fit Glaiden. I also cleaned out our bathroom cupboard. (I call it a pantry because there are 3 big shelves, and 4 drawers) I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but to give you an idea of the crap that was in there, I now have 1 empty shelf and 3 empty drawers. It was a challenge. I am on a roll! (I am only bragging because it might last for another day or two, and then it won't happen again. Probably ever.) I have to record this monumental occasion to prove that sometimes, I make an awesome stay-at-home mom. :)

One other feel-good thing: AJ has finally completed his fluency folder at school and is starting on books. A lot of other kids have started on books before he did, but he also was folder-less for 2 weeks because it got lost. So he is right on track...ish. When his teacher tested him to see what books he needs to be bringing home, she told me she had to give him the AR test (accelerated reading). Today, he is bringing home a THIRD GRADE level book! Ahh!!! I'm so proud of him! Can I also ask if any of you other parents are intimidated by your kids? I mean, if he is that advanced now.... what am I in for in the future? Whoa.

Jessah is doing really well in preschool too. She loves her teachers. So do I. One of her teachers used to be our neighbor (behind us) and it's really nice to still be in touch with her. Jessah loves telling me what she has learned about each day. She's so sweet.

Glaiden... yikes. For those of you soon-to-be-first-time-moms. I'm going to let you in on a secret. Everyone tries to warn you about the Terrible Two's. Ha! It's a myth! It doesn't exist! Until about 6-12 months later. Threes are bad. And Glaiden is just getting started. He corrects David constantly. Half of the time, we don't know what it is exactly that he's correcting, but, let it be known... Glaiden is right! He is such a smart kid and talks all. of. the. time. Its hard to get him to stop. He also loves to sing. Sometimes its the ABC's or Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Other times it's Lady Antebellum's I Need You Now, or (I owe this to my 9 year old sister) Sir Mix A Lot's I Like Big Butts. He doesn't know much of that one. (THANK HEAVEN!) But he sings it like this, "I like big butts....'ninolie" (aka, and I no lie... just one word instead of four). It's kind of funny actually.

In other news.... not much. Working. A little. Hopefully I will be busier this summer to help with maternity leave, but we'll see. I need to seriously figure something out though. Our neighbors (not the ones behind us, but next door) offically moved out of their house on Saturday. I wasn't the best neighbor but we're really going to miss them. We miss both of our neighbors, but hopefully we'll be able to stay in touch. When I first moved in with David we were all pregnant right around the same time. (all within the year anyway) This time, we're all pregnant and due within 3 months of eachother! That makes them not living close, a little more sad. But they are all doing really well and we really, really wish them the absolute best!

Ok, that was my first, non-baby post in a long time. Hopefully there will be more to come, but you (I) never know. It comes in spurts. :)



Oh, P.S.
Can all of you do me a favor and THINK SPRING! Maybe, sometime, eventually, before Christmas, it will warm up a little!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Update!

So here's the update! We (and when I say we, I really mean that my friend/boss easily convinced my husband at dinner one night and I was suckered into it because it was David's birthday thing-a-ma-jig) decided to have David's birthday party the Saturday after his birthday and have, what some may call, a "Gender Cake" for the birthday cake. What's a gender cake you ask? I'll tell you. When you go into your ultrasound appointment you tell the technician that you do not want to know what the gender of the baby is... that day anyway. (WAY harder to do, and you can only do this with, what I found was, incredible willpower) You tell the tech that, instead of telling you, you want him/her to write it down on a piece of paper and put it in a sealed envelope, along with any pictures that might give away the gender. Then you take said envelope to a local bakery and explain to them that you want a cake made to reveal the gender of your baby - pink or blue - but frosted as a regular cake (in our case a birthday cake that said "Happy Birthday David") You throw a party with your family and closest friends (if i were you, I'd skip the dinner part. If you don't, time definitely d r a g s) and when you cut the cake, it's either pink or blue! Its really a blast to have your favorite people around and all find out together! Extremely hard to wait the extra couple of days though... I was anxious!!! Oh, to the good part.We cut the cake, and.............................
!!!!! IT'S A GIRL !!!!!




To be fair, I did have an incredible feeling that I had a little girl in my belly. I know that it's just a feeling. But, with 3 kids - I hadn't been wrong about those feelings yet. Not everyone has those inklings, but I am one of the lucky ones I guess. We are so excited. Jessah was almost in tears because she was so happy. SO SO SO SO happy! It was the sweetest thing to see.


I've been feeling much better too. Except for the exhaustion. I keep saying that I don't remember being this tired with my other pregnancies, only to realize that that's probably because I didn't have 3 other kids I was chasing around and taking to school. I am so tired all of the time, and working evenings isn't helping much. I love my job, but I'm freaking beat!


Oh yeah, the due date is August 29th. Perfect since it is about a week before A.J.'s birthday and a little over a month from when we are going to Yellowstone this summer! Ha ha! The worst part is that it's the exact week that school starts and, because A.J. will be in first grade and Jessah in Kindergarten, someone has to be at the elementary school 3 times a day. Ugh. Time to call in reinforcements!!!!! :)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

From Pepsi to Coke???

Good thing I didn't make any promises on my last post eh? Geeze, I stink at being a consistent blogger. Oh well.

January 2nd we got some BIG news here in the Behrens' home. Baby #4 (4th and final might I add) is on it's way!!!!!!!!!! With being pregnant, there's millions of questions that follow... I'll try to answer a few. :)

How far along am I? Umm, we're not sure just yet. From what I know for sure, I'm at least 6 weeks. The doctors only ask you one question to determine your due date, and the answer to that question isn't as clear as I'd like it to be and could put me at 6 1/2 weeks, due September 3rd (AJ's birthday). BUT... when I gave the answer to that question to the doctors when I was pregnant with AJ, I should have only been about 4 weeks... and I was 11 weeks (yes, almost into my second trimester!) I've been feeling nauseaus, blah and tired on and off for about 3 weeks and some other factors point to me being closer to 10 weeks, putting the due date at August 7th. But we'll find out soon enough. Dr. appointments start next week. :)

Congrats?? Yes! Congrats to us! As crazy as it sounds to some, we planned baby number 4. And actually, I kind of hoped it would come 6 or more months ago. I wanted Glaiden and this baby to be closer in age than 3 years apart. AJ and Jessah were 17 months and to me, it was perfect! 3 years apart is good, but its the absolute furthest apart I wanted my children. And I've always wanted 4 kids. :) 26 years old and done? YES! I like it!

Why didn't we wait to announce? Some people say to wait until about 12 or so weeks to announce. Understandable because of the rate of miscarriage (under 10 weeks pregnant,25% chance of miscarriage). Some people wait because if they announce the pregnancy too soon, then miscarry, they don't want to have to explain what happened to everyone. Completely understand that. That's just not how we feel about it. We feel that I was lucky enough to have 3 healthy, normal, full term pregnancies. The pregnancy test was positive. I'm young. I don't smoke. I never drink while pregnant, and when I'm not pregnant and I do drink, I am 110% responsible about it. And I hate feeling sick and tired and if I complain about it too much, I hate having to lie to people about such a good thing! If, Heaven forbid, I do miscarry, I will be devastated... but I have fantastic people in my life who would understand and be there for me. Enough said! :)

How am I feeling? Ha! Um... nauseaus, tired, blah, sick. Ick. Worse than I remember with other preganacies. (There's something magical about being a mother... as soon as a child is born, everything you went through during pregnancy and labor and sleepless nights - is insignificant. You don't remember how miserable you actually felt.) I had morning sickness with my other kids, but I remember it being bad in the morning and then that was it. I don't start feeling up to anything until about 4:00 pm this go-around. It sucks. I toss and turn at night, don't want to eat, but when I start, I eat like it's been a week. My stomach is constantly growling and hungry yet nothing sounds delicious. And the absolute worst thing so far (yes, I know that's dramatic) I have (had) a severe addiction to Pepsi. Caffine is a big part of that, but it's mostly Pepsi itself. Now? EW!! It tastes flat! Coke tastes better. And Coke is a dirty word in this house. :(

Do we have a boy/girl prefrence? Not really. I would like for Jessah to have a sister. I think it would be really great for her. AJ wants a sister because it makes a pattern in our family. Boy, girl, boy, girl... :) Jessah wants a sister. Glaiden... ha. He isn't sure what's going on yet. And David wants a boy, just because boys are easier. Either way we will be thrilled and happy to have him/her in our life!

Thanks again for all of the congratulations and well wishes. I'll try my hardest to give the milestone updates. :)