Family Day

During Chad's busy season at work, it is especially important for us to fit in some quality family time on Saturday night and Sunday. We don't get a lot of time together so we have to make it count! 

We decided to try out White Castle. It is a fast food restaurant that serves sliders that opened on the strip. Everyone has been raving about it so we thought we should check it out.

 It didn't disappoint. The sliders were delish and so were the loaded fries. I don't think we will go all the time or anything but I definitely think it is worth going back.

 Not sure what happened to the coloring of this picture but it is the only one I took of Keller and me so I'm using it ;)

 Afterwards we headed to The Linq. Since it was March madness they had fun basketball games set up every few hundred feet. The boys thought it was super fun.

They even earned us some High Roller shirts. Sweet!

 They had SO much fun with this huge basketball beer pong set up. They would bounce the balls into the trash cans. We had fun thinking of different ways to throw the balls into the cans.

 My favorite stop at The Linq is the Polaroid Fotobar. Vance and I are going to take some pictures on our next date and go develop them together. It was even his idea! I really hope he picks up photography as hobby!

 We stopped by the gardens at the Flamingo. You can see the flamingoes in the background, but the two cutest ones are right up front ;)

 We ended our adventures with a stop at the Sprinkles cupcake ATM. Yummy!

 I love spending time with my little family. It is how I refuel and get enough energy to get me through the next week.  Only a few more weeks of busy season!!!!

Sutton @ 2 months

I can't believe my baby is already two months and growing like a weed. I would pay a million dollars to just press pause right now. The baby stage goes way too quick in my opinion.  He has been a great baby. He is usually content, eats great, and sleeps well.  I am still up every three hours at night with him but he eats and then goes right back to bed. It isn't ideal but it could be worse.

He likes to be swaddles tight and held close to your body. He loves the sounds of mommy's voice and I think I am definitely his favorite ;) He can focus on things with his eyes and follow it if you move it nice and slow. He likes to lay on his playmat and kick his feet around or sit in his awesome swing.

He is starting to coo and smile. His smiles don't come easy. He really makes you work for it and he doesn't do it very often. Oh but when he does it will melt your heart! His little eyes just light up and he gives you a grin. Below is the best picture I have been able to get of a smile. I want to capture one of his big ones but no luck yet.

We are all loving our little red head!

Joy and Sadness

It’s been eight weeks since Chad and I welcomed our newest tiny baby into our family.

That’s enough time to emerge from the newborn fog and for life to settle into the new normal. It’s also enough time to reflect on the enormity of this finality for our family. Sutton is the last one.

We've thought about life with three versus four kids. We've thought about what it might look like to divide and conquer extracurricular actives, pay for the many expenses, how we would fit into our house, etc.  Three or four? Well we finally feel confident in saying the answer is three for us.

I was pretty sure we were going to be done at three before I even got pregnant the third time. Which is why it surprises me that I’m having such a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he is the last one.

The last one whose flutter kicks I’ll feel inside my belly. The last one whose sweetness I’ll breathe in, in the middle of the night. The last one who will be absolutely content to be snuggled tightly and kissed incessantly. The last one we’ll ever get to see develop from a squishy helpless baby into a full-fledged person.

Vance is young enough that there are many firsts still waiting for us. We have yet to send a child to high school or on a first date. First kisses and first breakups are still (hopefully far) in our future.

College, marriage and grandchildren seem so distant I can’t even think about them yet. But this is also the end of firsts.

This day had to come eventually; we can’t keep having babies endlessly. I know that. But I always imagined that when we got here, I’d look at my family and feel “done.” As it is, I could easily see one or two more smiles there. If it were an option logistically, financially, and health-wise, I’d keep having babies forever. But it is not, so this is it.

After Sutton, we’ll retire our crib and high chair. Bottles, swings and burp clothes will get put away for good. He’ll be the last to ride in a stroller, the last to need a carseat, the last to head off to school.

He is taking us to the next stage. Our lives are going to change dramatically as this little one grows up. For that, we are excited. We are thrilled to see what the next phase looks like for our family.

There will be a time without diapers. There will be a time when every member of our household can put on their own shoes and get themselves into the car. There will be a time when everyone’s in school. And eventually, there will be a time when they won’t need us anymore. Even though I know these statements are true, I can't actually envision that life quite yet.

My head knows this is the right decision for our family, but my heart isn’t quite on board yet. So here I am cherishing/mourning the end. Because although we are still at the beginning of Sutton's life, we are also at an end. His firsts are our lasts, and the end of something so wonderful is sad.

Tiger Scouts

Vance had a rank advancement at scouts. He earned his Tiger badge.  This is what they work on all year. He was excited and we were proud! 

He is the only one in his den to earn it so far so he felt pretty special :)

Chad even got off work early (early meaning 6:00) so he could be there.  He's the best dad. I was there too, just behind the camera.

He also had his first pinewood derby. I didn't get any pictures of Chad helping him build his car but this is the final product.  It took 2nd during its first race and third during the next two races. Way to go Vance!

Waldron Babies

There have been LOTS of babies born on the Waldron side of the family.  One day we got them all together (minus Preslie in Pennsylvania) to take a picture of the cuties.  

Meet Kai, Sadie, Sutton and Sadie -

 

 I just love all these baby feet. I could eat those little toes!!! 

I am sure these kids will have so much fun together as they get older!

6333 Shawnee

My grandparent's house is all empty and almost sold. We decided to have one last family party at what has been the Sutton's house for nearly 60 years!!! It seems weird to think about somebody else living there. 

I am glad we had a chance to say goodbye to the house.  It was a mellow get together. I made Grandma's homemade cinnamon rolls for everyone. We also had pizza and chips and just visited. 

After everyone ate we all took a turn saying our favorite memories with Grandma and Grandpa Sutton.  There were so many great ones. I hope to leave a legacy like theirs.  

  It seemed fitting to take a family picture before we left.  This isn't quite the entire family but everyone who was able to be there.

We also took a picture of the siblings. Vance thought he was funny photo-bombing walking in front of the picture.  It kinda was.

I wanted to take a picture of my family too.

One last picture of Sutton in front of his namesake's house with Mommy and Grandpa Sutton.  I think it is a very fitting time to use the Sutton name for a baby.  At a time when it feels like the family is ending because of Grandma's passing, it's a reminder that it lives on.  I feel like Sutton's name is a tribute to the entire Sutton family and what they stand for - a close, fun, unconditionally loving family!

Lately

I wanted to write a little update on what we've been up to lately. I don't have any pictures because I haven't gotten my camera out to document any of this but I at least want to write down a few things that have happened.  During Chad's busy season (end of January through April 15th), we are doing our best to keep up on the mandatory parts of everyday life. Picture-taking seems optional. I need to try and remember it isn't too hard to snap a pic here and there but I have a feeling it will always be this way during this part of the year.

Since I already mentioned busy season I will start there. We are over half-way done with busy season and have less than a month until we get Chad back.  He works all of the time and the only time we usually get with him are Saturday nights and Sundays. During those times we try to enjoy as much family time together as possible! During the week when he is gone we are in a pretty good routine. It is busy doing it on my own but knowing the craziness ends April 15th makes me sane. Chad is great to help out when he can. The boys miss him but Chad usually comes home one night during the week before bedtime. If I ever need an extra set of hands my parents are usually willing to help. I also hire cleaners this time of year to take one load of my back. Luckily I stocked up on freezer meals in January so dinner time isn't too much stress either. I feel like every busy season we get better and better at handling it. 

Chad had a birthday! I wish his birthday was not in the thick of busy season because we are both usually too tired to celebrate. However he was pretty excited about his present.  Chad got a Vitamix!!! I wasn't too thrilled about the idea at first because they are so expensive but the whole family is loving it. We have smoothies every morning and have had fun playing around with different ingredients and healthy additives. It's crazy what a difference having a nice blender makes.

Soccer is in full swing now.  Between the two boys we have practice three times a week and two games on Saturday. It keeps us busy but I love that it keeps them active and gets us all out of the house.  Vance is on a great team and it has been a nice change.  Keller is still a little nervous but excited to play!

I have been enjoying having more energy. Towards the end of my pregnancy I was just so exhausted. It feels good to have the energy to interact more with the boys or cook dinner or catch up on a project I have been putting off. I hope this isn't some type of baby-moon thing and this newfound energy is here to stay!

Sutton is spoiled! Somebody is usually always holding him (and it's most likely me). He is more alert during the day. He can follow you with his eyes and has started smiling. He has only smiled a few times but it is adorable. Vance really wants to make him smile but no luck so far.  I have fun picking out Sutton's outfits everyday. I remember people telling me with Vance that I wouldn't enjoy that as much with future kids, but they were wrong. I still view babies as living baby dolls that I get to play dress-up with ;)

I have started going back to work. Before Sutton I was typing 4 files a day.  Right now I am only typing 2-3 a day.  It is nice to get the money again and not too stressful.  Next month I will need to go back to 4 files a day until he can get someone trained and I can back off a little more permanently. I feel so lucky to have such a flexible job where I can work from home. It's crazy to think I have been at Silver State Appraisals for almost 10 years now.

Well I think that is a pretty good update for now!

Phone Dump

I am committing to myself to get out my nice camera and take more pictures of the day to day things, but first here is a post of my recent cell phone pictures.

Keller is playing soccer this season. Not sure he is ready but it wasn't too expensive so I figured we would give it a try. He was pretty excited to try on his uniform!

 So much of what we've been doing lately has focused around the baby so my mom and I decided to take the kids to go do something fun for the older boys. We went to Chuck E Cheese.  My favorite (insert sarcasm). 

 

 The kids had a blast spending all of their tokens. I think it was just what they needed.

 Sutton on his way to another doctor's appointment -

 Keller and I played a few fun counting games and then he worked on learning to write his numbers. I can hardly ever get him to practice his writing so this was a big success!

 To the doctor...again!

 Sutton started smiling. I haven't been able to capture it yet but here he is sticking his tongue out at me. That boy loves his tongue!

 One afternoon Keller decided to take a nap so Vance and I played a few games together. It was nice to have some one on one time with him.

 We've been trying to enjoy the beautiful weather and go on more walks. I think it makes all of us nicer to be around when we get some fresh air!