Wow...it has been a long time!

Just writing to keep this blog going.  So much has changed since my last post.  We are now living in another part of Washington and Mike has a new job.  The kiddos are 9, 6, and 3 now.  We love it here, but definitely miss our family and friends from all of our years in the Spokane area.  Hoping to post updates throughout the year again, love looking back.  Hope others who may be following this are doing well!

Typical Boy

Rylan is so much fun to watch.  He loves cars and other toy vehicles.  He gravitates to them.  When playing alone, he will line all of them up in a row.  If I disorganize them, he will reline them up again.  So funny. 

We have been going to garage sales these past few days, and he scopes out the garage sale until he finds any cars and immediately start playing with them.  He also loves to make the noises too.

Elsie is such a silly girl too.  She has such a big personality, she keeps me laughing.  I can see her in some sort of drama or theater production, she loves the attention she gets when people are listening to her or watching her.

All three kiddos are so sweet to each other.  I have really enjoyed watching them be so loving to one another.  Rylan loves to give hugs to everyone, and snuggles all the time with each of us.  He is so funny when he gives kisses.  He will keep smacking his lips until they land on someone.

Rylan has a new eye tooth coming in, it is his bottom left one.

At the chiropractor the other day, I had Elsie and Rylan with me.  He asked me to show him one of the exercises I do each day to make sure I am doing it correctly.  After I started to get up from showing him, Elsie quickly got into the same position and did the exercises for him.  Then we were all surprised when Rylan did it too.  It was the one where you lift opposite leg and arm up and then back down.  Elsie did it correctly, and Rylan actually was in the right pose but only lifted his leg up and down.  When we first went to the chiropractor, Rylan was pretty upset watching him work on my back, but now he is used to it.  He does stand by me the whole time and hug onto my neck to protect me.

I feel so blessed that God gave me my kiddos, they are amazing. 

On a side note, my back is much better after almost two years of pain.  It is still not perfect, but the chiropractor has worked wonders on it.  I am so thankful.

Random

Rylan has an eye tooth and a molar coming in right now.  He also just developed eczema on the back of his leg and a bit next to his nose.  I decided to try coconut oil and it has definitely helped with the redness and scaliness.  Thank goodness!  I love facebook for this, so many friends and family will offer ideas and this was one of them. 

Rylan has been saying so much lately...he says "Come mere!" and gestures with his hand to get someone to come along with him.  Yesterday, he and Ruby were chasing each other around the table and he was calling her after him and saying this.  He also says "More! More!" and grasps with his hands while asking for more food.  He also says "Ball" when he sees a ball.  He is also saying "Ow!" when something hurts, "Uh!" when he wants up, and "Uh oh!".  He has this cute nervous laugh he does now, super fun to listen to!  So sweet!

It feels like Elsie has a few loose teeth on the bottom.  She is so excited!

We met up with my mom yesterday to exchange so items between here and the Plaza exit.  It was fun to chat.  I gave her some earrings that I got her for her birthday, and they matched her outfit exactly.  After visiting for a bit, the kiddos were still asleep, so I decided to drive back out to the Hole in the Ground area between St. John and Pine City.  So beautiful out there, totally unexpected.  I drove out at sunset the other day, but wanted to go back to see in daylight and get some pics.  Loved the beauty of it all.  Elsie and Rylan woke up and enjoyed looking at the beautiful fields of flowers.  Elsie commented on how it must have been hard to plant all of those flowers, and I told her that God placed them there. 

Once we got home, it was time to pick up Ruby at school.  It was a lazy afternoon, the girls spent hours at their friends house next door.  Thankful for this amazingly nice weather.

Rylan

Yesterday, Mike and I heard Rylan say, "Eye!" and point to Mike's eye.  We both looked at each other curiously, and then Mike started asking him to point to other features of our faces.  He was able to recognize eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.  I have stopped a few times to have him point to these features on my face and his, but only a few times.  I had no idea that he had them down so well already.  He also is saying "Oh man!", "No way!", "Mine!" and "More".  Fun to hear his vocabulary expanding.

 He also loves to say words like "shoe" and "sock" because he enjoys putting them on so much.  He gets super excited when we go out to get the girls from school or to go for a walk or car ride.  He will actually pull out his own shoes, have me put them on him, and then go get mine for me.

He was fighting me when it came to brushing teeth, he did not want me to do it.  Now he isn't too happy about it, but gladly lets me use a finger brush for his teeth.

He LOVES to flush the toilet, and watch the water swirl down the drain.  I think he may be getting close to time for starting potty training.

We were super sick the whole month of April, I am thrilled that everyone is back to their normal self.  Thank goodness, bring on May!

Finally back!!!!

I have been trying to get into this account for a year now :(  Finally was able to gain access again by trying tons of passwords, finally one worked! Yay!  Excited to be able to post again on here!

Holidays

Rylan started laughing a few days ago and has been practicing at lifting his head.  Love it when he laughs, so cute.  He actually was laughing a bit over the past month, but it was hard to tell if it was actually a laugh.  He loves it when we make funny faces at him or when I sing to him.  These are the moments that make him laugh the most. 

We played some family games yesterday, and it was a lot of fun.  We really enjoyed the Game of Life that Mike went out and bought, Ruby especially loved it!  Elsie was able to participate a bit, but it was later in the day and she was pretty tired. 

I have been singing "the 12 days of Christmas" to the girls each night, such a humbling moment each day when I get to rub their backs and sing to them as they calm for sleep.  Yesterday, Mike was holding Rylan as I did it and as I sang the lyrics he would pop Rylan's head around the corner of the door and act like Rylan was singing the lyrics.  So funny, had the girls laughing a bunch.  He is such a good daddy, and soooo funny!  They love his humor. 

Getting ready for Christmas Eve, when we go to visit my Dad and buy the last of the gifts for the girls.  This year has been pretty budgeted, so Mike and I decided to only buy for the girls and to forgo gifts for us.  We have been blessed by so many things though.  Our friends gave us an entertainment center with a larger tv and my mom gave the girls a swing set for the back yard.  Amazing gifts that were truly needed!  We also just feel blessed by the fact that our health is good as a family and that we have another member to share it with this year. 

My sister and her boyfriend are coming to spend the evening with us this year on Christmas, it will be so nice.  It has been nearly a decade (maybe longer) since we have been together on this day.  The girls are looking forward to it.  Ruby told her friend yesterday to come by to meet Katie, and said that she is a really nice person. 

Happy holidays to all my friends and family!  Hope it is filled with love and peace!

7 Months later...sorry no posts for so long!

Well...since my last post 7 months ago we have added our newest family member, Rylan Michael Suhling.  He is almost 3 months old now.  A big boy at about 15 lbs.  Amazing!  He is the sweetest, most easy-going, fun baby!  We all love him so much of course!  Yesterday he officially rolled over from back to belly, so exciting!

Ruby has started Kindergarten and Elsie is in her first year of preschool.  Ruby loves her awesome teacher Mrs. Elam and Elsie loves her teacher Mrs. Rachel.  It has been a crazy start to the school year, with the birth happening the week after.  I am sooooo horrible in the mornings, so we are always working on trying to get going faster and be on time.  I don't know if it will ever happen. 

Ruby had all satisfactories at her conference in November, with the exception of organization.  She needs to work on being more organized.  She did get two areas where she excels in, and those are working with others and cooperating with others.  She is a sweet girl in class, I am thankful. 

I continue to get tons of comments about how much of a crack up Elsie is while she is in class, she is very social and loves to talk and entertain.  She has a huge crush on a little boy named Isaac, it is super cute.  She loves to sit by him and also give him a kiss and hug before she leaves each class.  The last class, I guess Isaac was running his fingers through her hair and she was loving it!  I am so glad that he enjoys her as much as she enjoys him. 

Elsie was thrilled to have a playdate at his house the other day.  As we went through the line at the grocery store before heading over there, she was telling the clerk that we were going to visit Isaac on an island (because she knew he lived so far away).  So funny!  As we travelled there she was thrilled and kept looking out the window and talking about the scenery on the way to his house.  They had a blast together, so fun!  The funny thing is that Ruby just adores his older brother Ethan and has since they were in preschool together.  We always joke about how funny it would be if Rylan and their younger sister Isabel liked eachother too, they are about a year apart.

Yesterday we went to Mike's holiday concert at CHS and I brought coloring books and books for the girls.  They did really good except for one slight argument where we had to go out and discuss and then came back and they were awesome!  During the concert, Elsie just decided suddenly to stand up in front of the audience (huge) and dance like crazy.  She still stayed quiet, but smiled out to the audience and continued on until the music was over.  It reminded me of a little Shirley Temple.  I think I am going to try and get her involved with drama/theater, I think she would really excell and enjoy it!  Such a little ham!

I hope to write more now that we are settled into a routine.

Life is GOOD, I couldn't be happier.  The kiddos are healthy and so are we...so thankful.  Looking forward to all the fun months to come!

It's a boy!!!

I just realized that I did not post the results of our ultrasound on May 3rd, the technician was able to tell immediately that we were having a little boy!  So wonderful!  Very exciting for our family. 

At my doctor appointment on Wednesday, the doctor told me that the ultrasound results were normal and everything looked great.  So good to know.  She was able to find the heartbeat right away, and said that it was 140-150 bpm.

We set up the next appt for 4 weeks out, and at that appt we will actually do the gestational diabetes test too.  It will be interesting to see if I have to go back to the 3 hour one, like I did with Ruby and Elsie. 

I am doing well and the baby is very active these days.  Ever since the ultrasound, I have felt him so much more.  Looking forward to all the weeks to come.

Ultrasound

6 days away from the gender ultrasound at 20 weeks, I am soooo excited!  I can hardly wait to see our baby!  I dreamed of the baby last night, that I could see it's toes pushing through my belly.  I have not felt the baby as much as I remember with Ruby and Elsie, but I know that the movement will pick up as the weeks go by. 

Ruby rode her bike without training wheels

Today was such a wonderful day!!!!  Beautiful weather that called us to be outdoors.  When Mike got home from working out, he took Ruby's training wheels off of her bike and started spotting her as she rode along.  Within 30 minutes, she was off and going on her own.  I was so proud of her!!! I knew she was ready for this next step.  So many milestones happening in our family, one right after another!

Elsie's 3rd Birthday

We decided to have a small party for Elsie at Gatto's this year.  She was so excited to have her cake and go through the experience, so much fun to watch!  She had all of her cousins at the party, her Grandma Debi, our friends Tanya and Jacquelyn, and our friends the Marcellus'.  It was very low-key and felt great!  I am usually super stressed when I do a party, but I was not this time.  I had a great time right along with everyone else.

We bought Elsie a new bike, a big girl one to ride with sister.  She also wanted her own little cake, so we got that for her too.  She ran around with her friends and cousins for a bit, then decided to come sit at the table and let me know it was time for her cake.  She would not give up, she sat there until everyone came back just looking at it.  When we all sang to her, she was pretty straight faced and kind of shy about it.  It was super cute to see!  She loved blowing out her candles and enjoyed eatting the cake frosting the most.  Afterward, everyone went back to playing games and then joined back in when she was openning presents.  She got tons of fun interactive gifts.  She wanted to put on her ballet outfit, so her Aunt Lynn put it on her and she posed for everyone.  I asked her to show how to plee-ay, and she did!  So cute!

We have had so much fun with all the presents.  Ruby wants to get them out all day long, she seems more interested in trying them all out than Elsie at this point.  Today we blew bubbles together, and the girls laughed and laughed.  They used the whole bottle.  She especially loves her little dog game and has had fun with all the crafty items too!

Can't believe she is 3 years old, time is flying by!  Such a fun little girl too, she just amazes me everyday.  I am so blessed to have her in my life.

16 weeks along today!

Here is my baby bump at 16 weeks along, love to see how much I change each month!

First real baby movement

I actually can say that I felt the baby!  I have felt all sorts of little twinges here and there, but wasn't exactly sure if it was actually the baby.  As we finished dinner tonight, I felt three little strong movements right in a row in the same spot.  LOVE this part of pregnancy, so excited to keep feeling the baby more and more as it gets bigger and bigger!

Ruby lost her first tooth!!!!!

Ruby lost her first tooth today!  Soooo exciting!  It was soooo loose and Mike finally convinced her that she should let him pull it out the rest of the way.  It was barely in there anyway.  Ruby kept telling Mike it hurt, even when he would just reach for the tooth without doing anything to it.  She said ouch after Mike had it out and in his hand.  She cried a bit, but was super excited once realized what had taken place. 

That night, we put a guiding light in the window for the tooth fairy and put the tooth in a little blue purse under her pillow.  After Mike had put her to sleep, I walked past the room and noticed her looking under her pillow at the tooth.  She said that she was looking at it because she was proud of it :)

It was so fun to watch Ruby talk to Elsie about it and share her enthusiasm.  Elsie will say that she lost a tooth too, and even wiggle it.  She wants to be just like her big sis. 

Mike slipped two one dollar coins into her little purse while she slept.  When she woke in the morning, she came into my room talking really loudly carrying her little purse.  She wanted me to look at it with her.  Elsie was asleep in my bed, so I quickly hurried her back to her bedroom.  She was just so excited to share the news that her voice was super loud.  Elsie woke anyway.  It was so fun to see her surprise at the money she received from the tooth fairy.  She kept telling us that she was awake when the tooth fairy came, but that she didn't see her because she blended in.  She also saw that her guiding light was off, and turned it back on.

Later that day, we went to Ben Franklin and she spent the money on a little princess checkerboard game.  She loves it and has played it a lot with each of us.  At the store, the clerk said that he had not seen one dollar coins in a long time, and Ruby piped up and told him that she got them from the tooth fairy.  He was really nice and played along.  She was so excited to spend her own money!

Makes me a bit sad to see her big teeth coming in.  The tooth that was coming in, was behind it and huge!  It will not fit in the tiny spot for the baby tooth she lost.  Now the other two around it are getting loose from the big tooth pushing them out of the way.  My baby girl is growing up!

Baby appt at 14.5 weeks

I went to my scheduled monthly appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat at 160 bpm!  The doctor commented that it was very strong and said that the growth is right on target.  We scheduled the next ultrasound for April 30th at 3 pm!  Totally looking forward to seeing this little baby and finding out the gender!  One month away, hope it goes by quickly! 

I am 15 weeks along today and I am coming down with a cold, bummer!  We still went to a playdate at a friends and then a party right after that, but now I am beat!  Hope it passes quickly so I can keep up with my energetic girlies!

Gotta Get Moving!

My back has been giving me trouble, so I have been pretty inactive lately.  This past week though, I have tried to get going again.  The girls and I went out for a bike ride on Tuesday and rode all the way to the library, then to the park, and finally to the high school.  At that point the weather was pretty cold and stormy looking, so Mike loaded up our bikes and took us home.  It was very refreshing to get out.  Ruby is awesome on her bike right now too, she rode the whole way with no complains. 

Yesterday, I decided to get going with Jazzercise again, and I didn't realize how much I had missed it!  I plan on going two or three nights a week, as Mike's schedule allows.  February was busy for him, he was gone nearly half of the month.  So I really wasn't able to get away for the classes, but now it has slowed a bit thank goodness!  Fun to be back at it!

Ruby still hasn't lost her tooth, but she continues to wiggle it daily.  We read books about it nearly everyday!  Can't wait to get pics of her toothless smile!

I am 14 weeks along this Saturday, getting closer and closer to the gender ultrasound and first real look at our precious baby.  Can't wait to see this baby, now that it is so much bigger.  About a month left!  My next doctor appointment is next Wednesday, so excited to find out the actual day of the ultrasound which I think will be scheduled at that appointment!

Start of 2nd Trimester!

I have been horrible about posting, the last post was from November!  I have been away from the computer much more, especially since I found out I was pregnant the first week of January.  I am now 12 weeks along and feeling much better, most of the nausea and tiredness has subsided and I feel so good!  I am excited to be in the second trimester :)  Yesterday, Mike, the girls, and I went to my doctor appointment.  This is the first one where we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat, so exciting!  It was beating at 160 bpm, such a great sound to hear!  The girls were really good and sat quietly as they listened for the sound.  It took some time to locate the baby's heartbeat, since mine was coming in at the same time.  Super excited for the weeks to come!

Also, as we brushed Ruby's teeth for bed last night, we noticed that she had a loose tooth!  Her very first one, so exciting!  I took out a set of items for the toothfairy her grandma had given her years ago... a book, a little light to put in the window, and a little purse to put the tooth when it falls out.  She is super excited about it all!  We read the little book about it today with sister.  It is  pretty loose, so I think it will be out in a day or two!  I hope to post more often now, at least once a week!

Halloween!!

The girls were superheroes this year!  I found a bat girl costume on craigslist for $5 and Ruby liked it so much, I decided to make Elsie supergirl to match.  They loved wearing these outfits, and would zoom around the house it them like they could fly.  Halloween was busy, we had to pick up Mike's deer meat and store it a friends because of our electrical issues.  While there, they asked if they could take Ruby to a preschool Halloween party with their daughter.  Elsie and I went home and then an hour later went to pick Ruby up.  After she was back with us, we headed over to EWU to walk through their campus and go to the carnival.  That is always fun!  Mike then joined us at home, we walked next door and visited with our neighbors and headed to a church for their festivities.  We ended the night in the Golden Hills neighborhood, which is always packed with kiddos and fun surprises as you walk door to door.  The girls loved it, but we all were pooped at the end of the day!  A great way to end a busy month, so thankful that November is here and much calmer!

Trip to Green Bluff with Grandma and Cousins

 Pony rides are always popular.  Elsie loved riding with Kylar by her side.

Elsie with cousin Kylar waiting for our yummy meal.

 Kylar enjoyed pushing the girls on the swings!

 Time for lunch!

 Going through the straw maze at Knapps Farm on Green Bluff.

 Cute one of Gramma with Elsie, waiting for the pumpkin cannon to go off!

 Love this one, wish Ciara would have joined in.

 Neat wagon to sit in, the girls loved it!

 Kylar helping Elsie pick the perfect pumpkin.

 Ruby said she had found the perfect pumpkin for Elsie.

 Gramma and all her grandkidlets.  Love how this turned out!

 Pushing our massive amount of pumpkins back to the car, the girls loved riding with the pumpkins.

 Kylar taking Elsie down the big slide at another farm.

Elsie running through the fun straw maze, with Gramma close behind.

What a fun day!

Where does a baby come from?

Yesterday, as we were travelling to go for a hike up at Mt. Spokane, Ruby was pondering in the back seat.  She piped up and asked me, "Mom, does a baby just appear in your tummy?"  I said, "No, a husband and wife have to make a baby!"  She then said, "How?"  I was a little stunned, but decided to tell her, "A mommy and daddy make a baby with love!"  I was thinking she would keep asking more specific questions, but this answer seemed to satisify her curiosity.  You could see the wheels spinning in her head, but she accepted it and moved on to other things.  Whew.....she is so inquisitive, I am sure we will be discussing the birds and bees in no time!