The Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin Patch and let Carys pick some pumpkins for the family.

She wanted to sit next to the tractor..

Rob and Carys with two pumpkins she found.

Carys, Saryn and I at the pumpkin patch :)

Carys holding Saryn at their first Pumpkin Patch.

She didn't know what to think of all these pumpkins to choose from at first!

Once she realized she was allowed to touch them and pick them up, she was all for it!

"Here Daddy, I found one!"

"Orange pumpkin!"

She found a little yellow one that she wanted to show us. Then she began to count them for us!

Fall Party

Connie, my mother in law, always has the cutest little get-togethers for the family. We had one last Sunday afternoon, and it was so fun! Here are 7 of the 10 grand kids playing Hot Potato. They were having so much fun!

Okay so this was my favorite to watch.. Here are the kids lined up, each holding a marshmallow on a spoon. When Grandma says "GO!" they were suppose to run to her and the first one there wins!

So Grandma Connie yelled "GO!" and the kids took off...

Most of them... Carys and Ryan were SOO funny! They just stood there eating their marshmallows!

Maybe next year they would get it.. :0)

My Saryn Kate

Just a few more picture of this cute baby girl. Her eyes are very blue like Robs. Who knows if they will stay or not. Carys' eyes are hazel with a lot of green in them, so only time will tell!

Even the binky looks gigantic in her mouth.

The Bling..

Here is Saryn before we added a bit of bling to her life..

I pierced her ears when she was two weeks old. She didn't cry too much, and since I had already gone through it when Carys was 3 weeks old, I made my mom hold her. Then I took her back when she was done so that I wasn't the bad guy :0)

They look so huge in her tiny little ears!

Better to do it earlier though so I can be in charge of making sure they don't get infected. Plus she looks so cute and now nobody can mistake her for a boy!

Going Home

Leaving the hospital - on our way home to start a crazy journey!

Carys wanted to hold her every minute of every day! We figured the easiest way to let her do it on her own was to let her use my boppy pillow. It works wonderfully!

Once again, giving her sweet kisses :0)

more Saryn...

Saryn about 3 hours old.

Bekkah now lives in Croatia for the next 10 months, but she sent her new niece a cute Longhorns hat for her first little piece of Texas:0)

The little newborn diaper just swallows her whole!

Carys stopped by the next day to say hello to her little sister. In fact, that is what she calls her, "Where's Little Sister?" or "Where's baby?" And she always says, "Hold baby? Please Mama, hold baby?"

She LOVES her!

Saryn Kate Monsen

I know its been forever since I have updated my blog but I'm finally making time now!! I was induced on September 16th, one week before my due date. Labor was about 4-5 hours by the time the actual contractions started. My sister in law Melanee told me that I wasn't allowed to have an epidural until I experienced real contractions, so to humor her, I lasted as long as I could. I made it to 7cm dilated before I was crying uncontrollably and begging for my epidural! When they gave me the epidural, it was only working on my right side for a couple minutes so I had to adjust the way I was laying to make some of it go to the left side. The epidural was wonderful once it started working on both sides, however it was somewhat pointless because 30 minutes after I had it administered, I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse told me to do a practice push and when I did she said "STOP PUSHING!" So I stopped and looked at her confused and she said, "That was a great push, the baby is about to come out let me get the doctor." So a few minutes later he came in and one push later Saryn was born!

Saryn Kate Monsen was born on September 16, 2009 at 6:50 pm weighing in at 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. When she came out, she looked JUST like Carys!

She was so tiny! I felt like I was going to break her! Carys was 7 lbs 6 oz, so this little baby is the smallest I've ever held! But she is so adorable!

Yes, I cried a little :0)

Rob was so good the whole time I was in labor. He always surprises me at how good he can handle things. He was an excellent coach, and was wonderful as he held my hand through those agonizing contractions! Here he is with Saryn after she was weighed and measured.

DONE

I am so done being pregnant. It has been forever since I made a post, and I'm not even in the mood to! ME! I love to blog. I'm just so tired of being the size of an orca whale. I have no patience, I have no desire to do just about anything, and to top it off - the damn grocery store didn't have the chips I wanted to go with my XXX Vitamin water.

Just a bit of venting before I go to bed...

Two Year Pics

Here are Two of the Six Poses we have from Carys' two-year pictures we had made for her at KiddieKandids. I love that place! She is such a big girl! (My favorite picture is on the right hand side of the page...)

Little Brother

Jordan, or as I affectionately call him, "Little Brother," graduated from High School! I am so proud of him and wish I could have been there! Now he is off to play golf at the University of Houston on a scholarship and will be living away from home for the first time. I can't believe how fast the time goes by! Congrats LB, I love you!

(Rebekkah, Jordan and Christian)

Just Had to Post

I had to post this picture because it is SO Carys! I took her out of the bathtub one day right after her birthday and was trying to dry her off and comb her hair, etc.. Not the most fun thing to attempt when 6 months pregnant and sick with a UTI on top of it..

Anyways, I took her in her room to get her diaper and clothes on and when I turned around to lay her down and start dressing her, she had disappeared! So I hurried to find her simply because she is diaperless running through my house... and I found she had jumped on her Tinkerbell four-wheeler butt naked and took off across the living room! So hilarious! I love the face and the slicked-back-biker-hair!

Carys is TWO!!

Carys turned 2 on June 3, and I can't believe how big she is now! I can still remember bringing her home from the hospital, trying to breastfeed, projectile vomit in my hair, eyes, and mouth, the first time she pooped on me, and so much more! Now she is a big girl that feeds herself, walks and talks constantly, and is very independent! Still working on the potty training thing though.. :)

Eating some yummy ice cream in her "Birthday Girl" shirt!

Playing with her dolly- she LOVES this thing! If any of you have a 2 year old girl, get her a Snap and Style doll with as many outfits as you can buy- SO CUTE!

Still brushing her hair...

Two new Disney/Pixar Movies: Cars and A Bugs Life.

And this is what she got from Rob and I: a tinkerbell four wheeler. SHE LOVES THIS THING!!! Its so cute! She doesn't quite know how to turn yet, so she constantly runs into things, but she just giggles and laughs while on it!

She also got a Radio Flyer Wagon complete with drink holders and a canopy from Grandma Connie and Grandpa Jeff, a Butterfly sandbox/sitting pool from Grandpa Craig - yet to be set up because it has rained for two weeks straight, and because of my hospital stays (to come in another post), a super cute Build-A-Bear named Candy that is pink, orange, and yellow multicolored from Pops and Candy, and an adorable American Girl BitsyBaby from Granny! This kid was a bit spoiled just from parents and grandparents!

GOING PRIVATE!!

We are making our blog private as soon as we can. So, if you are interested in still checking up on the Monsens, please send me your email address. If you're lucky, you'll get an invite!!!

Cool Pictures

I downloaded this new application for my iPhone called ColorSplash. It takes your pictures and turns them into black and white and then you can go back in and add the color back to only what you want to be colored. It makes for a pretty awesome and dramatic affect.. 

These pictures are at least 6 months old, but you get the jist of what the application does, regardless of how much Carys has grown since then!

Funny!

Some of you may have already seen this, but since my blog is for my friends and family in Texas who don't have the opportunity to watch our family grow, I thought I'd share with them since they deserve it- and its pretty funny!

A few weeks ago Carys woke up from her nap and wanted to watch TV for a few minutes, so I said okay and she climbed up on the couch. She asked to watch one of her princess movies, I can't remember which one, so I put it in and continued cleaning the kitchen. After a few minutes I went to check on her and I saw she was covering her eyes. She does this sometimes if she thinks something on the movie is scary. But I knew that the movie she was watching wasn't to any "evil witch" part, so I went to check on her.. 

SHE WAS ASLEEP!!!!! She just woke up from a 2 hour nap, but must have still been tired! This kid cracks me up! I can't wait to have her little sister here too and see what kind of crazy cute things they do!

FOUR YEARS!

On May 20th Rob and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. I know - I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were getting married, then moving into our house, find out we were pregnant with Carys, and now we are having another little princess! And I'm sure in the blink of an eye it will be 5 years and then 10 and then 50! 

We have been through a lot that has made us stronger as a couple. I love you babe, and I'm so glad we finally got married. It took four years to get there, but now its been four years of bliss to be married to you. I love you!

My Beautiful Friend

On May 12th one of my best friends passed away. Meghan Layne Veronie. It has been a hard few weeks but every day seems to get a little easier. She fell asleep one night and didn't wake up. They think she had a brain aneurism in the middle of the night. It is so sad and so terrible. I am grateful that I have the gospel and that I know what happens when we pass on to the next life. I think that is one of the greatest things that is getting me through. I try not to think or talk about it because then I get all weepy, and since I'm pregnant, I have a hard time stopping the tears...

SO - I started to bake and cook instead. If I bake or cook, I keep my mind off of it! So Rob has had a whole slew of treats lately. 

I'll miss you Meghan, and love you! :0)

Carys Is Getting....

A BABY SISTER!!!!!

We went to the doctor today and found out that we are having another baby girl! We were hoping for a boy but are absolutely thrilled to be having a girl! Anyone who has a sister understands how fun and special that bond is, so I am excited for Carys! 

Now our only ordeal will be to come up with a name for her. I have always liked the name Savannah, but also like the name Adalyn. But for some reason, neither one of those seems right. So we will be in search for a name and once we have chosen it we will let you all know!

Baby Girl Monsen was looking so cute on the ultrasound. She moves around like crazy and I can feel her little body squirming and kicking all the time. She kept turning and looking at us during the ultrasound and then her little fingers would wiggle like she was waving "hi!"

If you have any name suggestions please feel free give us your opinion!

Carys' Big Girl Room!

Because we are having a new baby, Carys moved into her new big girl room a few weeks ago! Its been a hard adjustment as far as sleeping is concerned, but once she actually gets to sleep its not so much a problem! 

Here is Carys her first night in her new room. She looks so peaceful!

Here is her new bow hanger. I had the "A Princess Sleeps Here" hanging in her nursery, but it was light pink with a different ribbon. So I just decided to re-use and repaint then add a few extra ribbons for her bows to hang out without getting flattened.

Here is her little stand we got to put all her toys in. Those pink and green baskets are huge! The only problem with this stand is the piggy bank. Its glass and she loves to carry it around. I am so afraid she is going to drop it one day!

Her toy box at the end of her bed..

And her cute little bed and night stand! The lamp is a touch base so she constantly has it turned on, which sucks, but as long as it keeps her in her room at night, I'm okay with it. I still need to get a few more things for her room, but overall its complete and I love it! 

And I must say, Rob did a wonderful job of hanging the chair rail and painting everything for me. He hasn't ever done it before but it looks like a professional came and installed it! I love you babe! Thanks!