The Sandbox.....

During the last couple of weeks Ethan and daddy have been working very hard on building a sandbox! Since Jim has been on vacation this week, the sand is in and now it is complete! Ethan LOVES his sandbox and is looking forward to sharing it with his little brother!:) Ethan "helping" daddy build the sandbox!

The finished product!

Thanks Grandma!

Thanks mom (Grandma Sowerwine) for all your help last week while you were here. We really appreciated it!!

Caleb's Birth Story

Friday May 8th, 2009 – 39 weeks & 1 day
IT'S A BOY!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB ROBERT JASTIFER!
7 lbs 13 oz

21.5 inches long Birth Story
Well, I was right, it was not going to be long before you came out. I went to bed that night as normal and was feeling fine. I woke up at 1 am to use the bathroom and was still feeling like I had been all day, a little crampy. Then at 3:30am I woke up with a big stomach ache and thought that maybe I was laying in a weird position. Then the contractions started coming on, the ones where I had to breathe and could not talk when they were occurring and I knew that today was going to be your birthday! Letting dad sleep a little longer I started to time them and they were about 10 minutes apart. Within 15 minutes they were five minutes apart and knew then that I had to wake dad, call Uncle Mark to come and stay with your brother, and head to the hospital pronto! When we actually got in the car to head to the hospital, the contractions were 3 minutes apart and getting stronger. All I could think about was, “I hope that I can get an epidural in time!” When we arrived at the hospital at about 4:30am, I was already 6-7 cm dilated and my contractions were not slowing down. I immediately asked for an epidural, knowing that my window was getting smaller. I pushed for so long with your brother, I knew that I could not do that again without help. Once they got the fluids pouring in me (which took four pokes to start an IV) and my blood sent to the lab, I was already 9 cm dilated and I had missed my opportunity to get the epidural. Very nervous and in a lot of pain, I broke down and said that I needed something. The doctor promised that it would only be 10 more minutes and you would be delivered, so I decided to endure the pain a little longer. I had waited 9 months, what was 10 more minutes? Well 10 minutes went by and I was still sitting at 9.5 cm and one contraction on top of the other and the doctor decided that I could get an interthecal to help with the pain so that I had the energy to push when the time came. As most of my friends and family know, that is what I had with Ethan, and it wore off and did not actually help me, so I was a little hesitant, until the next contraction came. After receiving my interthecal (which blocks the pain but you still feel the pressure) I was complete and ready to push! After 20 minutes of pushing, at 7:05 am a beautiful little boy entered the world with a head full of dark hair. We named him Caleb Robert Jastifer and you could not have been more perfect!! You looked a lot like your brother with a few features that were different. We could not wait to tell everyone that we had another boy…one more for dad’s soccer team!!

Brotherly Love :)

These pictures just melt my heart....

Ethan is one proud big brother!!

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!

Ethan - May 13th, 2009

Ethan turns TWO today!!! Happy birthday buddy! It seems like not too long ago I was bringing him home from the hospital:) It is amazing how much they grow in just two years. We are so proud of him and he has taken on the role of "big brother" better than we could have ever hoped for!! Love you!Ethan - May 13th, 2007

We are home!!

Mom and her boys on Mothers Day!
Sweet Caleb!

We finally came home from the hospital yesterday and we were welcomed with loving arms by big brother Ethan who could not wait to hold Caleb! Ethan has learned in the last couple of days to adore his little brother and enjoys giving him kisses, hugs, and especially loves holding him. Here are a few photos from the last couple of days! Welcome home Caleb Robert Jastifer!!

Caleb and mommy right after he arrived!

Baby Update

No pictures of Ethan+Caleb because Ethan wants nothing to do with his brother yet.

Caleb Jastifer

7lbs 13oz, born at 7:05am
Mom and Caleb are doing fine...pictures with big brother to come

"Baby"

Here is Ethan and his "baby"....

The Waiting Game....

No baby yet! Tomorrow I have a doctors appointment and I should know more then. We are anxiously awaiting and can not wait to meet this little person!!! Ethan is also getting excited and is so cute about wanting to put diapers on his bears and putting them down for naps. He is going to be a great big brother for sure! He also loves sticking is little animals up his shirt and calling them his baby:) So no news yet, but we will post as soon as there is some!

Just to clear things up:

1. We do not know the sex.
2. We do not have names picked out.
3. We do not know when it is coming!

We know nothing....so not me!!! But it is exciting at the same time!:)

Counting

Ethan has been working very hard on his counting and today I caught it on video:)

Okay here is the belly picture.....

37 weeks & 2 days belly picture!

Pregnancy Update

Well, I am still pregnant! I have been horrible about taking belly pictures with this pregnancy, but have been getting one in about once a month. I am a little over 37 weeks pregnant and can't believe that this baby could arrive at any time! My appointments are going well and I am measuring right on. I have been having lots of braxton hicks lately, but know that they are not the real thing, because the real thing hurts MUCH worse:) We are all excited for this new arrival to come whenever that may be. Ethan has to say "hi" to the baby every morning and give it a good rub and kiss, it melts my heart every time! I will post a pic as soon as I take one! Enjoy the beautiful day!

Family time with the Biener gang :)

Last Friday Ethan and I headed to GR to visit my dad and his family since Jim was on call at the hospital. We had a great time and it was fun to see everyone!

Ethan with his great-grandma Biener!He so desperately wanted Aunty Leigh-Leigh's "pop"!!Ethan and great-grandpa drawing on his magna doodle:)Grandpa Biener and Great Uncle Jim having some fun!Ethan loving his early b-day present from hid great-grandparents!!! Thanks so much, he loves the animals and books:)

VICTORY!!!

Last night, after three week of getting up more then a half dozen times every night, my Ethan slept the entire night without waking up once!!! Not sure if we are out of the woods yet, but I will take it!! Plus I am feeling much better and the day is suppose to be beautiful!! Have a good one!

HAPPY EASTER!

We hope that everyone had a happy Easter! We had a fun day of watching Ethan dig into his Easter basket, going to church, and eating a yummy dinner prepared by daddy! Ethan's Easter basket....as you can tell he LOVES balls and Sesame Street!! (Also thanks to Aunt Sandy,Uncle Mike, Tom and Dani for the Easter bunny, he loves it!)"Hmmm what is in here??"He loves "dookie":)I think that the grass was the biggest hit of all!All dressed up for church!

Terrible 2's have begun....

Eating his first Grow Sower (family recipe)!
Feeding the ducks at the park...Falling asleep in the car (life is good!)Trying to be like daddy and do stretches:)

The past few weeks have been a trying time in the Jastifer household. Not only is daddy working long hours this month, but Ethan and mommy have been under the weather and not sleeping well. Ethan used to go to sleep very easily and on his own, but now he is struggling to go to sleep at night and to stay asleep during the night. We are working out the bugs, but Ethan has yet to sleep through the night in over two weeks. Some nights he is only up twice while other nights he is up a dozen times. Only time will tell. We are staying consistent and he seems to be responding better each night. We will see......with me being 8 months preggo, tired, and sick, mommy and daddy have had a very hard time adjusting to this new routine, as well as Ethan, but I am also thankful that he is doing this now instead of in a month when the baby is here, so we can get a routine down and back on track before Ethan becomes a big brother.

My energy is now returning and Ethan is becoming his own independent person, which we welcome, but he is having a hard time with the limits that Jim and I have set for him, so many routine things around here have become daily battles, but nothing mom and dad can't handle! At the same time, he is so much fun, talking and doing new things every day. His favorite thing to do these days is play in the water outside. He always come in drenched with water from head to toe with a great big smile on his face...it is the cutest thing ever!! He also LOVES rubbing my belly, kissing it, and even reading the baby books. He already is a great big brother!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Today Ethan went to the playgroup Easter Egg Hunt and had a fun time finding eggs and opening them up to find out what was inside of them:) His Easter basket he picked out all by himself, he is in love with balls!Finding EggsStopping to look at the baby :)

Time to play!

Wisconsin Dells

This past week Jim was on vacation and it was so nice! We hung around the house for a few days and Jim was able to get some house projects done and have a lot of quality time with Ethan. Ethan LOVED having his "daddy" around!! The last few days we headed to the Wisconsin Dells, a huge indoor water park with our great friends from medical school, the Ludwig's. We rented a little condo for three days and the kids played in the water, the adults were able to catch up on what has been going on in our hectic lives, and the children became friends very fast. Ethan would chase "ba-ba" around (Logan- 7 years old) and color and use the play dough with Maddie-Ann (2 years old). We ate some yummy food (thank guys!) and had an awesome time! Ethan jumped right in the water and was a little fish most of the time. He did not like going down any of the slides, but loved wading in the kiddo pool and the hot tub with daddy. We would wake up every morning to "pool" or "water" by the little ones:) They also had a fun activity center where the kids could burn off lots of energy - and that is exactly what they did! We had the best time and it went by way to fast!! The kiddos having a great time together!

Maddie-Ann and Jim snuggling:)

Ethan loved Ryan and Audrey!

Ethan could not wait to go in the pool!

Ethan got lots of daddy time!

Family Photos

The girls!Group Shot!

We had a great time - thanks guys!

The Baby's Room!

The baby's room is done!! Jim finished it during his vacation last week and I was able to set it all up! I just need some curtains and a baby and it is complete! I am so happy with the way it turned out!The baby is doing well. I had an appointment today and I am measuring right on and the heartbeat was 159.....what do we think, boy or girl?