Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Well, we have not moved in yet. We have moved a bunch of boxes up to the house (thank you Dennis and Tres for the help). I am down to the kids closets and our closet (which is mainly shoes, blankets and some clothes) that needs major packing. The res I will just start throwing into boxes the night before we move since it is what we use on a daily basis now. Builder says this weekend, we hope by next weekend but probably in 3 weeks. If they actually worked this weekend we could move soon.

Yet another holiday with sick kids. Thursday Becca spiked a fever (highest I saw was 102.7). We have gotten it down a few times but it keeps coming back so off to the doctor today. Last night at about 9 or 9:30 pm Brayden started heaving. Since it was also a bath night, he got 3 baths. The last time Travis was holding him and took most of the mess on him so we just had to wipe Brayden's face up. He is not feeling well this morning so he will see the doctor too. So far Marisa seems to be doing well but we will see. My Yahoo mail seems to be down right now, so if I don't respond right away to e-mails that is why.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Moving soon!

The house is moving along. Our builder is saying that the house will be ready to move in next week on Thanksgiving. It will not be complete but ready to move in. We are hoping it is ready enough to move 99% of our stuff in over that weekend even if we can't live there. Since Travis has so much time off it would be perfect to get stuff we can do without for a week in the house. As I get up to the house I will post pictures. Right now I am just packing since the move is in 8 days.

New baby update.

I had my blood sugar tested last Friday and it was elevated. So, they had me come back for the 3 hour test. On Monday I spent from 8am to 12pm sitting at the clinic. The had to draw blood every hour for 3 hours after I drank the disgusting drink (at least OB puts theirs in the fridge). The kids went to daycare for the first time. I picked them up around 4. Brayden had bit two kids and Becca had an accident. Other than that it seemed to go pretty well. I got some of my numbers back yesterday and my sugar is still elevated. The will call today with what to do next, since the doctor was out yesterday. I have gained 16lbs in 27 weeks. We have a pencil in date for the c-section of Feb. 6th (Travis and I laugh knowing our anniversary is the next day) so the baby will come no later than that.

Moving!!!

Mark your calendars.... Thanksgiving weekend we are finally moving into our new home. Travis is holding the builder to his new date and things are progressing nicely with bumps every other day.

He's Walking

Brayden has decided that it is his time to walk. He has been walking for just over two weeks now. It is quickly progressing into a run. In fact, he will barely stop, he has a continuous loop around the house.

Brayden

So I am a little behind lately. No tubes for Brayden's ears. He healed great and since this was only his second ear infection tubes are not needed.

Hi

It is time to decide on a door. Anyone's opinion on the above two choices in style would be great.

A bored little girl....

Marisa must have gotten bored coloring her picture. While I was out of the room (no longer than a couple of minutes) she decided to color her face. When I returned to the room she was quite proud of her work, though she wouldn't admit to doing anything.

Becca's First Day of Pre-Preschool

Becca started Pre-Preschool last Friday. She goes every Friday morning and loves it.

Painting Pumkins

We went to a local pumpkin patch this past weekend. The girls had a great time. I think Brayden enjoyed it too. Though, not the hay ride to the patch. Becca had a blast painting her pumpkin. Marisa was a little more serious with keeping the colors separate.

Baby Dendinger #4

Here is a picture of the new baby. Since the baby was in constant motion I will need to have another ultra-sound in a few weeks so the can see the heart and other organs a little better.

Brayden's Ears

On Tuesday morning Brayden woke-up with blood in his ear. After taking him to the doctor we found out that his ear drum "burst" due to and ear infection and that the other ear was close. So he is on anti-biotics. He was not fussy or moody so this surprised us. We go again next week to find out if he will need tubes in his ear. He is smiley and giggle so we think his ears are getting better.

Family Trip

We ventured down to Omaha a few Fridays ago and visited to Omaha Zoo. The kids had a blast. Marisa ran the entire day so we saw the entire zoo by 3 pm (Even after stopping for lunch). Here are some pictures from that day. More pictures can be found on our picture link located at the right side bar.

Happy Birthday Travis!!

Happy 31st Birthday Travis!!!

I hope you have a great day today. I know he is travelling but hopefully will be home tonight for cake. I will get a picture tonight and post it later.

Marisa's first day of Preschool

Marisa woke up very excited this morning to go to preschool. She ran the entire way there. She even forgot to say goodbye to her mom and dad when she got there. She kept on running into the classroom. Becca was angrily tearing off her jacket and back pack to join Marisa. So she cried most of the way home. I don't think Brayden knows Marisa is gone. I just can't believe that she is old enough to start preschool. I know she is ready but it seems like yesterday we just brought her home from the hospital.

Curt and Gavin visit!!

Ok, so I am a little behind here. At the beginning of the month Curt and Gavin came to visit. The girls loved playing with Gavin. Brayden was a little cautious and jealous of a baby in the house. I was great to hug and "squeeze" Gavin. We had a great visit with Curt too. We look forward to visiting with Stacy next time too.

Happy Birthday Brayden!!

Ok, I am a little behind but Brayden turned one on 8/31. He really enjoyed his cake. He also enjoyed the little party he had. The two families of neighbors and Grandma and Papa came to celebrate. When I locate the papers from the doctor I will post his weight and height. We have recently found out that milk and Brayden do not get along. So, now he is on a no dairy diet. It still amazes me how much stuff has milk in it. He is transitioning to rice milk now. Next week he should be on rice milk only. He now is proud of his sippy cup. We took a lot of pictures of him and his cake, so you can see the complete pictures by clicking the link on the right hand side of the page that says pictures or the following link: http://bethd.winkflash.com/. I try to update the pictures at the end of each month. It is all public view so have fun!

Marisa turns 4!!!!

Happy Birthday Marisa!!!

I can't believe that Marisa turns 4 today! The years have gone by so fast. We had a little party for her last night since we will be gone tonight. Marisa had a lot of fun with Grandma and Papa and our two neighbors. I had fun decorating Marisa's cake. I know Travis had fun baking it. She will start Pre-school on Sept 4th. She got to meet her teachers and see her classroom monday night. She is very excited about school. Of course, it will be a big adjustment for Travis and I and most likely Becca too.

News

We are happy to announce that we are expecting our fourth child in February. Travis teases that the baby will arrive in Jan. I am about 13 weeks and finally able to start eating food again. Marisa is very excited about having another baby here soon. She fees that we have been missing someone with an empty chair around our supper table. Well, now all chairs will be full. Becca is indifferent right now. We know that Brayden will be very jealous.

Brayden

On Wednesday night Brayden took two steps by himself in the middle of the living room. He then looked around and sat down. He had some good motivation; he was going to knock down the stacked wooden blocks that the girls had as tall as him. He will walk around now holding just one of our hands. He also scoots down couches, walls, chairs, even his sisters to get places. He will still opt for crawling if he wants to go fast. It will be pretty much any day until he is walking. Maybe by the time he turns 1 next month.

Girls proud of Dad!!

I know Travis would never brag so I will put up the picture. The girls are really proud of Dad's new fishing rod and his big fish. I will guess that Brayden is too. Marisa enjoyed showing everyone Dad's green fishing rod last week and telling them about his "giant" fish.

A long night

The kids got a swing set! After an all nighter by Travis (I made it to 2:45am) the swing set is complete. We know that we will have to move it some time, but it is worth the smile on their faces. I am getting a little more work done too. We are working on a few ideas on enclosing under the deck for a playhouse/fort. Travis is already having a good time with it too. He created a water slide for the girls one hot day. We put a landing pool at the bottom of the slide and ran the water down the slide for the girl. They loved it! We just need a wider landing pool, they always shot past it.

Travis grows a beard

For Hartington's 125 year celebration Travis grew a beard. Here are some pictures per everyones requests.

Nanny visits!!

My mom came to visit the kids (and me) in May. She had a great time with the kids. It took Becca about a couple of hours every morning to wake up and adjust to Nanny being there. After that they were best friends. Marisa was attached to Nanny the entire trip. Brayden and my mom got to bond. She fed him many meals and helped rock him to sleep. All of miss her a lot. I got in trouble for taking down her bed after she left. Marisa told us that we need to buy another bed so Wello can come visit. The other day she asked when will it be his turn.

Marisa took the last photo.

Catching up

Well, I have a lot of catching up to do. Seems like it's been awhile since I have written. I will try to do this in chunks. I am going to keep off the house issues right now. The house is slowly getting done but there are so many issues I don't know where to begin.

Our luck

This week has been a tough week for our family. We went to a meeting Tuesday night to hear everything the builder wants to know and issues he has. We found out quickly that his issues are his but trying to push stuff onto us. He is doing this by not fulfilling the contract as stated. Travis and I spent all night Thursday (until 3am) and all day Friday (well, Travis did a little more since I needed to still be mom and take care of all 3 kids) preparing for our meeting that expressed our side as well as minor answers to finish they wanted to know. I won't go into too much more since there is a lot. Most who talk to me realize there is a lot going on and I have no problem expressing my opinion on the subject.

Well, on our way home from the meeting last night, something hit the driver side window while we were passing a truck and the window shattered. It sounded like a gun shot. Travis, Brayden, and I were in the van at the time. We are all fine. Brayden and I were startled by the sound, and myself with the shattering of glass. I was looking at Travis when it happened. I can't speak for Travis, but I know it surprised him while he was driving. I am just glad the three of us do not have any glass injuries. With the stress of the meeting we just went to we started to laugh. I guess a window breaking wasn't that much compared to the stress of fighting for what was agreed on already. We just don't have too much luck with cars in our family.

Brayden's First Fall

Brayden has decided to start pulling himself up to standing about a couple of weeks now. (right now he is 7.5 months old) Recently he has decided that trying to take a few steps would be fun. Of course he is not stable enough to actually go to far yet. In fact, as my attention was briefly away from him when he decided to lunge for the TV stand. He fell and hit his head on the bottom edge of our TV stand. I quickly applied pressure to stop the bleeding as I called the doctor and neighbor for help. We drove up to the clinic, they had me go straight to the surgeon with him since the "gash" was longer than 1 inch and probably need stitches. The surgeon said I responded well, and that he would not need stitches. He did need to glue the cut shut. Brayden is doing much better. He is healing very well. Since he likes to look at the camera I could not get a very good picture of the cut for him to brag about later in life. Travis informs me that this is a first of many bumps, cuts, and bruises he will have. These pictures were taken 24 hours after the fall.

Nice Weather

This tent has been squished in our living room a few times this winter.

We were all happy to see them play with it outside.

Here is Brayden trying to "help" Becca with the blocks.

We finally got a string of nice weather lately. The kids had a great time playing outside with Dad. They are not enjoying the rain today. Brayden is starting to enjoy snack time and lunch time with the girls on their little table.

House Update

Well, not too much to update on the house. I know that is not good news. They poured the concrete for the garage 2 weeks ago. Last week they worked on putting up the garage. I am not sure if the roof is complete yet or not. We were there Sunday and it was not done yet. I hope they got the roof on with all this rain. Last week we met with a new "employee" from the contractor we are using. We found out that the drafter (yet again) missed some structural issues or there are issues because the builder did not read the plans. Either way, there are yet more decisions to make. They are guessing that they should be done with the house around the beginning of June. Hopefully we can sign in the middle of June.

The kids love going to see the new house. Marisa still wants a dog house built in the backyard. Well, off to chase after the kids.

6 month Check-up

The last six months have gone by fast for us and Brayden. He is now 27" long, and 16lbs 4oz. He is working hard on his crawling. He has mastered moving backwards. He can move forward, although not with as much ease as going backwards. He is sitting up on his own, but not for long since he rather chase his sisters or go after what they are playing with. Brayden is constantly on the move. When you hold him he twists and turns to see and be where he wants to be. He hates sitting still. I know that in a few days when he conquers crawling forward that I will be chased around the house. He enjoys all of his baby food. Brayden loves chasing down Cheerios on his tray. Yesterday he was starting to actually get a few in his mouth (before it just always fell out of his hands.) He loves his sisters. Marisa and Brayden have a great bond going now. Becca and Brayden are still working on getting along. Becca will now search the house for him. She is comforted just knowing where he is. Brayden loves her and wants to touch her to get her attention. She hates that part.

The House

There is not much to report on the house. Very little has been done over the last few weeks. There have been a few snow showers here and there, but for the most part it has just been cold. We are finding more mistakes in the house than progress. Travis noticed to basement windows are too narrow (by two feet). Hopefully they will pour the garage foundation soon (they other two house they are working on were poured around Christmas) and the roof on. The material for the roof has been delivered 1.5 weeks ago. I am trying to stay patient through this process. It doesn't look like they will meet the contract date of March 17th. That is only 4.5 weeks away. I really wish I could be packing right now. Started a little, but I don't want to pack too much until we know when they will be finished. Right now the entire west side of the house and top of the house is open to the elements. I am starting to really hate the house we are renting. Hopefully there will be more progress soon.

Becca Turns 2!!

Becca turned two on Thursday the 10th. She woke up to a decorated home. She definitely understood it was her birthday that day. She would do the "birthday dance" she created. As I disciplined Becca she would remind me it was her birthday. Grandma and Amanda came over for supper and cake. We had an ice cream cake for her (she does not like regular cake and I broke the cake I baked for her), she ate every last bite. Dad had to pull the plate away before she started licking it. We all had a fun night.