The Heflebower Family: September 2012

Just the 2 of US!

When Joel and I were first married we became friends with this couple that we are still really good friends with today. And they got married 1 day before us, so we always had these big plans that on our 10 year anniversary we would go on cruise or go to Hawaii together... Ten years later here we are and no cruise or trip to Hawaii was taken. Maybe for our 20??

10 years!!! Crazy I feel old! I am so glad I have taken this ride of 10 years with a guy that I still love hanging out with and who I can call my best friend! Seriously even with the craziness of kids, paying bills, working and keeping up with day to day life, I am so glad Joel and I still have fun together, even if we don’t take enough time for just the two of us!

I hope the next 10 are a little less stressful and not filled with such life altering decisions. But I hope they will be just as fun and crazy as the last 10!

Life with 3

I am not sure if I don't know any diffrent now. But life with three is not as bad as I was thinking it would be. Don't get me wrong it's hard, it's overwhelming and there are times I want to sit down and cry. But has been so fun watching Lukas and Madalyn with Ella. I hope they will always been good friends and enjoy spending time with each other. There are days my house looks awful, my kids look homeless and I don't take a shower until 10 o'clock at night. But for the most part we are on a pretty good schedule, I am able to keep up with laundry and the house by doing just a little bit each morning before everyone gets going. And we all know I am crazy so I have also taken on the project or re-painting/decorating the kitchen and living room. I am pretty sure I will chalk it up to being sleep deprived! Can't wait until its all finished!

Ella's Blessing

Labor Day weekend most of Joel’s family was able to come up and we blessed Ella. It was fun working in the Evanston Cowboy Day festivities in along with spending time with everyone. It’s always comical trying to get pictures the morning of, when everyone is dressed in their Sunday best. We even tried getting some of all the cousins together...ha ha. Boy was that a laugh!

All things Summer

It still doesn’t feel like we had a summer, because we didn’t go camping. I think I was in elementary school the last time I went a summer without camping. But we got Ella as a trade off we I can survive until next summer.

This summer was spent: Lukas taking swim lessons, playing outside everyday all day, visits from family, and spending lots of time playing with Daddy. Joel was able to take 3 weeks off of work when Ella was born. I know I am spoiled, I am not sure whol loved it more the kids or me. But it was so nice having him so being able to play with the kids or take care of Ella so I could play with them! We LOVE spending time with daddy!

Are we CRAZY...I think so!

Back up a year ago last July, and we get a phone call from Joel’s grandma saying we were going to do the Beach House next summer (July 2012). Of course we were so excited to be able go on vacation to one of our favorite places, and to see family. Joel and I started planning, thinking we would go back for 2 weeks. One week at the beach and another week seeing his old friends, taking the kids to some amusement parks and fun stuff like that. We had it all figure out... jump ahead 4 months and we realize baby number 3 is on their way, due 3 weeks before our beach vacation.

We went back and forth for a few months, thinking there was NO way we could fly across the country with three kids, one of them being a few weeks old. Then we came across a steal of a deal on airfare and we booked it without thinking :)
Needless to say we did survive, even with the crazy looks and wonderful comments from people in the airport, the not so helpful or lovely flight staff on American Airlines.

So the 2 weeks at back East became 1 week at the beach.
Our week included:

1-Playing on the beach...Maddie was not sure about the ocean until the last day we were there and then she loved it!

2-Playing in the pool...pretty sure that is where our kids lived from 8 am until bedtime. They loved swimming all day long with their cousins

3-Enjoying time with our East Coast family that we love and wish we lived lots closer to. Maddie fell in love with Parker and Uncle Paul and followed them around everywhere they went. Parker was a good sport and played with her all the time :)

4- An impromptu visit to Grave Diggers Home (it’s a monster truck for those of you without a little boy obsessed with all things monster trucks) Lukas was in shock he didn’t speak the entire time! He even got to ride on a real monster truck, a dream come true.

5-Eating lots of food, which included someone making a donut run every morning to Dunkin Donuts.

6-Taking in a few sites, shopping.. Maddie enjoyed this quite a bit

7-A date night to see the last BATMAN with all the “big” kids. Grandma and Grandpa stayed behind to babysit.

8- Ella enjoyed being held the entire week, and sleeping!

Happy Birthday America

For the 4th of July our good friends' the Halls came to hang out for the day. We spent the first half of the day at the city's festival. The kids rode rides, played carnival games, dunked some of our favorite high basketball players in the dunk tank, and ate carnival food. Then we had a BBQ, decorated star cookies, rode the 4-wheelers and ended the day with fireworks. We love the Halls and had such a fun day with them and their cute kids!

This was our pre-fireworks show. Zack and Lukas doing a dance for us in their underwear. They played in the dirt below and were filthy, so they stripped down and danced away!

Ella Sue

June 18, 2012

6 lbs 4 oz

19 inches

So I have always been against getting started. I just always felt that the baby will come when they are ready to come. Well Lukas and Madalyn's births were really not that enjoyable. Lukas' was so long and had a few complications that I was so sick and really worn out by the time he came I didn't enjoy it. Maddie came so hard and fast we barely made it to the hospital in time. So with the one being my last and was already everything I swore I would never have: 2 girls(although I didn't know it was a girl til she was born, 2 kids in diapers, 3 kids (I hated odd numbers), I figured I may as well get started with this one. And I must say it was the most pleasant enjoyable experience.(as much as labor and delivery can be enjoyed) I was present during this delivery, knew what was going on and felt great before, during and after! So I am glad I chose getting started so I could at least "really" experience labor and delivery as a positive experience!

Miss Madalyn...this is all she wanted to do at the hospital was hold her baby sister. She fell in love the moment she saw Ella and they have been inseparable ever since.

This is all Lukas wanted to do at the hospital, sit with his mommy. (only reason I am showing this pict...not so flattering) He is my little buddy and is so protective of me. Love this kid!

Proud daddy...or should I say scared of raising TWO daughters daddy!

Yep Maddie's face every time she sees her sister! Love it!

Only in WYO

My dad is friends with our pediatrician's husband, and he had been telling my dad for weeks to bring the grandkids out and see all their animals. So on Father's Day everyone loaded up and headed out to their "farm." I didn't know go, I was lying on my parents couch timing contractions :) The kids had so much fun, and Lukas thought it was the coolest thing he got to see his doctor at her house with all her animals. Yep only in Wyoming. Sometimes experiences like this make me grateful we live in such a tight knit community, although experiences like this I think make Joel think, "wow how did I get here!"