Ethan is now 6 months old!

Ethan's six month mark came with plenty of time at the pumpkin patch this week. I can't believe he is six months old. It still feels like he is a little tiny baby, except... He is growing to 19 pounds now and is practically out of his little carseat. Not to mention, he is reaching and grabbing everything. He is grasping like crazy and is even inching his little bottom to try and move around. He is too cute. Although, I do have to say, we have developed some bad habits with him being the third kiddo.

We are working on that this month, better sleep at night and getting better at laying him down in the crib. I just want to rock him all of the time.

Kindergarten is really starting to set in for her and I think it is this time that she really begins to settle in. The teacher has already seen her at her most tired time, it can only get better from here. We have been having some more one on one time too and we are digging that since I don't have her home until 3. We made some little ghosties for the tree after school and we are going to do some more crafts after school as some fun time.

Jackson is a talker. He wants to talk about everything. I took him with me to my brother's birthday dinner on Saturday and we had the longest conversations back and forth to the dinner.
I can't hardly hold him now too. He is three and 38 pounds. I think he will definitely take his sister in the next couple of years.

Here are some fun pictures of the kiddos. We have had tons of fun at a couple of pumpkin patches.

What have we been up to?

Well, I definitely think no matter what stage of life you are in, the fall just gets busy. Everyone feels good after a long, hot summer, when the weather cools down. Pumpkins and hay are all around. A good Baylor football game is on or so we heard about.

Well, we have had birthday parties and trips and visitors all over here. We went to Ville Platte to visit Brandon's family, we had cousin's birthday party and we went to Horseshoe Bay last minute for an ADP trip with our little family. It was a fun, quick trip. These resort hotels are great for little kids; the pools and little beach areas keep them busy for hours and wears them totally out.

Not to mention, Ethan is growing like a weed. He has a little cough we can't get rid of and he is teething big time. We are having our little issues with giving him a bottle and eating baby food, but nothing too bad. He definitely has a little sensitive stomach. I had a big glass of milk the other day and oh, that was bad. He had gas the whole day, poor thing. He just reminds me of why we love to have babies around. They are so happy and fun. He is so sweet.

Kaitlyn and Jackson are as busy bees as ever and just want to learn more and more. I think Brandon and I are having a tough time keeping up. Oh, what have we done? I always think things will slow down, but they haven't yet. When will that happen, I don't know, but sure would like a little break before the holidays come. We are going to Kansas City for Thanksgiving!

Here are some pictures from the month's activities.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=306352667905%3A1950683834&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Jackson's Third Bday pics

Here are pics of Jackson's third birthday. I can't believe how big he is. He has a great sense of humor and has blossomed into a young boy full of energy and life. He just loves everyone and is so kind and thoughtful. We are so blessed to have him.

He loves having a big sister to play with and a little brother to hold. Here are pictures from his birthday, which was on Sept. 1.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?albumId=369252007905&ownerId=38085249805

Labor Day Weekend Trip

You know how we like our little family vacations. We couldn't go too far this year, but we did plan a last-minute getaway to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. We just planned to hang out there on there little beach and pool. It was cool! It got pretty packed on the weekend and were glad we made it there before the crowds.

Ethan did amazingly well. He went with the flow and slept pretty well. Kaitlyn and Jackson did pretty well and slept in the same bed. They did great. Jackson loved making faces for the camera. I can't believe he just turned 3! (I will add a post here for him too!) I am just too far behind. Kaitlyn loved exploring and we ended up running into one of her friends from school!

Click on the link below to check out pictures.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcN3LJq1ctGIa

Photographer

We made the photographer's blog with some of our pictures. Take a look.

http://pdcphoto.blogspot.com/

Family Pictures

It is really is so ironic that I am not on this more. I feel like the days are flying and that we are so busy, but at the same time, I feel like I get nothing done. This morning, it took us until about 11 am to finally be ready to do something in the day. Ethan is taking a while to nurse, Kaitlyn and Jackson take a long time to get moving and it just goes on and on. We did work on how to clean a bathroom today and how they can help keep it clean.

It is one of my main goals by the fall to have them doing a chore a day on their own. Jackson is almost all the way potty trained and it is really exciting. That has been huge this past month and kept us busy and at home. It just wasn't going to happen unless we did stay home. Of course, the heat is a killer for little Ethan too, as well as all of us.

Here's to crossing new horizons as school time approaches and we get used to having three kids. The demand is great, but the reward is greater.

We had some family photos taken last week. Not all of them are up yet, but I like this photographer and she is pretty reasonably priced.

http://www.thepolkadotcottagephotography.com/, then click on clients and type in meche.

Attack of the Dinosaur

Okay, if you still keep up with our blog, you are really going to like this. Brandon made a short little movie of the kids on a rainy day. Just wait for it, but Jackson is absolutely hilarious. His timing is just perfect and I think he has a real future in acting/comedy LOL!

The goal

Just so many fun things to do this summer. Ethan is fitting into the family wonderfully and my main goal over the next few weeks is to get him used to his crib. For the life of me, I couldn't get him to sleep in it because of having to be under the photo lights or other things. So finally, we have all of that done and can focus on sleeping in a crib. Right now he is sleeping in it and I am so excited. The only downfall is that we can't go on outings with the older kiddos so he can get used to sleeping in it. Now I have got to take this mothering skill to the next level: managing three kids schedules!

So far we are getting better and better; except I am not finding any time to work out, which I desperately want and need.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Ethan's one month picture from the middle of May. I just got it in the mail. I just have to share.

8 Weeks

Ethan is 8 weeks and so much more aware of everything. He is very attached to me and it is just as sweet as anything. He is cooing and smiling like crazy and I am doing my best to enjoy and remember these moments. I remember loving Kaitlyn and Jackson, but it just never is enough.

Ethan got his shots this week and a checkup from the doc. He is doing great - 13.3 pounds and over 24 inches long. He is in the 75 to 90 percentile for height and weight. I am not sure if he will be as big as Jackson. He was always over the 97th percentile every time and still is.

Kaitlyn just got a pair of tennis shoes and working on tying her shoes on her own. Jackson is still working on potty training. He went no. 1 and no. 2 this weekend on the potty just to get the prized we had on the mantle for two weeks, but won't be consistent. It would have worked so well if he was ready before Ethan was born. Ah, such is life.

Here are some photos.




Summer is hot and we are full of fun with library time and other fun activities. Lots of pool and swim lesson action. My huge hurdles this month will be to get exercising as I still have a lot to lose compared to my other pregnancies and getting ready for 7-Eleven work again. The kids miss school, but I think they are having fun relaxing too. Kaitlyn and Jackson are two peas in a pod and have had a lot of time to bond and play together.

Ethan is 2 Months

Well, big news in the Meche household - Jackson went on the potty all by himself. He finally decided he wanted that Buzz Lightyear toy on the mantle and did it. There was a car the next day and he decided he wanted that too. What these kids won't do for a toy? LOL So we got that rolling and hopefully we will get better with that.

Ethan is two months old today and he is going strong. He is sleeping better at night, but I still don't know what to do about the sleep situation since he is in the bedroom downstairs and we all are upstairs. He is smiling and cooing away and starting really smiling right at 7 weeks. He loves mommy. Last night Brandon was trying to put him to sleep, but he didn't have any of it. He calmed down only with me. Love the feeling; but when all three kids want mommy at one time, my little heart is torn.

We had his baptism this past Saturday and it was so nice. We did it at our old church because of scheduling. And then ate and swam at our house. In this heat, that is about all you can do.

Enjoy the pictures.

Ethan's smiling and Kaitlyn is Opening a Restaurant.

Well, we need to blog and send updates. The last couple of weeks are a fog because little sleep and continuing to take care of the kids has been wild. School is out and I don't have them in a program because we have so many activities we can do for free around here. It is nice to be able to sleep in a little bit and not have to go pick up the kids at a certain time. That has been super great, but last week with them out of school has totally worn me out.

Ethan has started smiling this past week and in the last few days I have noticed eye lashes growing out. So cute!



Jackson loves holding Ethan and asks for him all of the time. He tells Ethan it is okay when he is crying. Kaitlyn will pick up Ethan and sing to him.



Kaitlyn is into cooking up "yummy" concoctions right now. Today she created her own restaurant and served everyone.



Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun. Ethan has to get a sonogram of his abdomen tomorrow and can't eat 4 hours before it. I don't know how we are going to hold him off. He is still a little yellow and he was negative for Gilbert's disease. So now they are going to do more tests. Everything so far has shown a healthy boy and I really think it may have to do with breastmilk jaundice as it can last a long time.

The Story

ALERT: Cute video below.

As some of you have followed this blog for forever, there hasn't been much activity lately because of all the craziness with this pregnancy. This third pregnancy has hit me hard from the beginning. But it has been especially challenging in the last three to four weeks.

Let's just say that I am totally pumped for what is ahead of us and to spend tons of time this summer with the kids to make up for all of the time that I had to lay in bed while they were doing other things.

So a couple of weeks ago, I noticed some bumps like abscesses popping up. I got a staph infection. Just before this they started to monitor my blood pressure because it was a little high. I started some antibiotics, but the infection only got a little better and then worse.

By this time, the kids came to know that mommy was tired and they adjusted somewhat, but I think that they certainly were not themselves either.

About a week before the set induction date of 4/14, the doctor thought that I would need IV antibiotics to get this thing under control. I thought this would be the case and my mom came with me to the doctor appointment and I went straight to the hospital. Now in this time period, I also had two false alarms of labor. Can you believe it? I really got to know all of the nurses in L&D. I was quickly put in the isolation room in postpartum for Thursday to Saturday. It certainly wasn't like staying at the Ritz and I only wanted to be home. We hoped that the baby may come early just because we were already there, but I didn't want him to have any health issues either.

Finally, home sweet home and on bedrest. The IV treatment worked and I got to spend some time with the kiddos even if I didn't do too much. I could tell they missed us. Thanks to grandparents they were very happy to have been busy with other things.

Then Tuesday night came and it was time to go back to the hospital for delivery in the morning. I couldn't believe it and I was definitely ready to get this show on the road. Kaitlyn was counting down the days too. She totally knew that a baby was going to be coming soon, but she thought that they were going to open my stomach and pull the baby out and then put a bandaid on me to heal it. Jackson just missed me and didn't know where we were.

Wednesday morning came and I had some sleeping aids so I was totally out of it and couldn't open my eyes hardly. At noon, the doc came and broke my water. So much for the race with my cousin-in-law, Sarah Meche Lafleur, who was delivering her first baby on 4/14 too. She delivered two hours before me.

I had the baby within the hour of my water breaking. The labor pains were the worst, I guess because of the induction. The epidural did not do "jack" for me. Oh well, if that was the worst, it didn't last long. He came out with two pushes and he was big, 8 pounds 15 ounces. He cried with they started touching him and he was just as beautiful as Kaitlyn and Jackson. He is definitely his own little man.

He cried when they put a shirt and diaper on him, but he was fast asleep when they pricked his heel several times. He started nursing immediately and never had a problem. Not that I felt like a pro at this, but I felt okay with it and didn't feel that I had to ask for help. That was good because I was so tired of nurses checking me, etc.

Kaitlyn and Jackson just loved on him and had so much fun coming to visit us in the hospital. They wanted us to come home immediately!

We had lots of visitors and it wore us out, but it was sooo nice to have them, especially since I was still stuck in an isolation room and Ethan had to stay with us too. It was nice to have him always with us, but that meant very little sleep. He just looked so much smaller than Jackson that I really felt that we had a little baby. I just can't believe this healthy baby boy had me going through so much, but it was well worth it and we made it. Now it is recovery time and time for another blog post on the last 11 days of coming home!

Here is video of little Ethan at 9 days old sleeping with his sweet little baby noises.

Welcome Ethan James Meche!

Here are pictures from the hospital. I will write more soon.

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=9a863aa8-b03b-48ba-9f22-42d99d4434ba

Here's your Visitor Password: 09941295428786

You might also be asked to enter the first four letters of Mom's last name. (Parents can change their Visitor Password; contact this baby's parents if you can't log in.)

Easter 2010

I am definitely in the mood to write today. This weekend I was in the hospital for a little bit because of seeing some blood, but everything is all okay. This little guy is still pretty happy staying inside. He is getting huge. I can hardly wear anything, except Brandon's stretchy shorts and t-shirts. It is just lovely. I look like a huge tent. Heeeheee. But not for long, just 9 short days until April 14, the big induction day.

We have tried to prepare but two other kiddos running around, I feel like we will never be ready to go and have this other one. I always think we need another store run, or we need this or that. We have a crib and a carseat, we are good to go.

Now if I could just get around easily and have some energy these next days, these days would go a lot faster.

Yesterday was a nice day. We made it to church in the mass chaos. I was able to sit through church, luckily. And we were able to have some good lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. They looked so cute. Hope your Easter was wonderful! He is Risen! And it just gives us so much to reflect on - New Life.







I am definitely in the mood to write today. This weekend I was in the hospital for a little bit because of seeing some blood, but everything is all okay. This little guy is still pretty happy staying inside. He is getting huge. I can hardly wear anything, except Brandon's stretchy shorts and t-shirts. It is just lovely. I look like a huge tent. Heeeheee. But not for long, just 9 short days until April 14, the big induction day.

We have tried to prepare but two other kiddos running around, I feel like we will never be ready to go and have this other one. I always think we need another store run, or we need this or that. We have a crib and a carseat, we are good to go.

Now if I could just get around easily and have some energy these next days, these days would go a lot faster.

Yesterday was a nice day. We made it to church in the mass chaos. I was able to sit through church, luckily. And we were able to have some good lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. They looked so cute. Hope your Easter was wonderful! He is Risen! And it just gives us so much to reflect on - New Life.

Arboretum Pics

Oh, it was so much fun this week to go to the Dallas Arboretum. It is our little tradition to go at least once in the spring to see all of the flowers. Plus, they have face painting and a petting zoo for the kids on Mondays.

This was one of the first years that I have been able to go and the kids didn't run away from me and were really good at the Arboretum! We spent four hours there, which was a little too much for me. It took me the rest of the day to recover! It was well worth it and one of our last little outings before the baby.

Anyone there?

I haven't posted in forever. Is anyone still checking?

Well, I got out the camera cause I need to take some momentous pictures of Jackson. I was planning to start potty training with him this weekend, but after a Saturday seminar with Love and Logic Doc Jim Fay, it got me thinking about getting Jackson excited first.

I got excited about going this morning and pulled out all of his fun potty stuff like Buzz Lightyear underwear and Ernie underwear. He also liked the potty seat and pull-ups. He sat on there and it was funny because he was looking to me about how to get up there. He would turn one way and then another. And just looked puzzled, how do I put myself on this thing?

He then sat and looked proud that he did it. We practiced with pulling up underwear, etc. and then watched Potty Power. He was excited. I just wish Kaitlyn (at school) was here to help. I know she is a good example and has been a little mommy to him lately.

We are definitely ready for him to be in the big leagues with Kaitlyn. Of course, it is convenient in the beginning not to have to worry about asking or making sure he goes to the bathroom every 30 minutes, but I am crossing my fingers he will catch on fast since we waited a little longer to make sure he was interested and ready.

Here are some random pics and I will post some more of him on the potty. It is just so cute. Only 8 more weeks or possibly 6 (if induced early) until #3 comes. Just going through all of the baby stuff is so fun, but there is still so much to do before he comes! Do I look huge?

Kaitlyn is 5 Years and Disney World

Okay, I have been dead tired lately, but wouldn't give up a chance to go to Disney World with the kiddos before having three!

Kaitlyn loved it and so did Jackson. She loved riding the Runaway train three times! Jackson loved the Winnie The Pooh play area. The Magic Kingdom was the best. They loved the parades and the shows. They couldn't believe that they got to meet the real Mickey, Minnie, Tigger, Woody and Buzz! It was great.

Here are some pics!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=929073658805%3A1014491585

Kaitlyn's Early Birthday Party

This weekend, we had an early birthday party for Kaitlyn and her friends. Just a little affair at the house with some friends and family. With all of the parents, it looks huge. Kaitlyn had so much fun being the magician with Toybox the Clown. She was pretty cute and had Kaitlyn do everything. Kaitlyn wasn't shy and just did everything Toybox asked. She laughed at herself too which was so cute to see.

She definitely knew what she wanted and was so excited to open the door to all of her friends. She really enjoyed eating cake with everyone and had her friend, Aditi, from school sit with her.

We go to DisneyWorld Sunday and Kaitlyn is already packing a bag with things she wants to bring for her trip. Brandon is super excited and I am super excited to ride the motorized scooter. Yes, I think I am going to need it as this third pregnancy is certainly wearing me out a lot more than any other. Luckily, I feel big, but not as big as I was with Jackson at the same time.

Lots to Catch Up!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess about two weeks. It was a wonderful time to stay home this Christmas season as we got to have snow and play in it on Christmas. Christmas Eve was so great to stay home and cozy inside. Brandon even got a little Bailey's to celebrate. Dad had quite a few and I loved seeing him all cozy too. It took a lot to go to Christmas Eve Mass and luckily went at 3 pm before the bad, bad weather. We were almost blown away.

Kaitlyn and Jackson had so much fun waking up in our house for Christmas morning. Kaitlyn kept saying she wanted to wake up first and come jump on our bed. But somehow Jackson knew what was really was going on and woke up at 5:45 am and would not go back to bed. Just around the corner he could see the tree and all that was left by Santa! Kaitlyn woke up about an hour and a half later and was amazed, but she couldn't believe she wasn't first to wake up.

We spent all morning playing with everything and then in the snow. Kaitlyn and Jackson had fun riding her new bike and his new scooter with the neighbor gals. We then spent the next several days just playing games and toys.

The holidays and parties and entertaining wore me out. I feel huge and I am starting to really get all the pregnancy-related health stuff along with getting big. I still can't believe this little guy isn't coming until April!

We are glad to get back into a better routine. We are still out of whack with bedtimes. We let them slide on the holidays and it is definitely hard to get back down on time. Tonight it took about 45 minutes and that is so much better than lately. Jackson did chew through his pacifer over the holidays so he is getting used to going to sleep in a big boy bed and without that. Hopefully, by the time April comes, everything will be working like clockwork.