Crawford is FOUR years old

34lbs, 8oz

40 inches

Oh, my big boy Crawford. How are you FOUR?! What a smart, fun boy you are!! Here are some things I want to remember about your four year old self (there are SO MANY):

• You are such a picky eater. Seriously, you don't eat many different things at all. Waffles, bagels, fruit, cheeseburger, pizza, chicken. That's close to it... makes me crazy.
• You have never met a stranger. You'll talk to anyone who looks at you. You are so friendly!
• You have an obsessive personality. You almost always are carrying a toy (or toyS) around. It's amazing to see you driving your John Deere tractor (which is impressive in and of itself) while holding two diggers.
• You LOVE animals. All of them. The zoo is your absolutely favorite place right now. Your favorite zoo animals are the rhinoceros iguana, all of the snakes (especially rattlesnakes and burmese python), roadrunner, rock hyrax and gila monsters (Lawson likes the naked mole rats of course). You know SOOO many animals it's amazing. 
• You still love all kinds of machinery and equipment. You know all the names of all the diggers, etc.
• You almost never stop talking. You'll talk to yourself if no one is around.
• Your carseat is in the way back of the van now,  and you think it's pretty great. You can almost always do your buckles by yourself.
• You are finally pooping on the potty. PTL.
• You are still very independent and play so nicely by yourself. However, you are very rarely BY yourself. 
• Lawson is your best friend and worst enemy. He totally bullies you by stealing your toys or messing up your stuff, and you FREAK out when he does. You've been biting him recently which I know is a cry for attention. 
• You have quite a little attitude. We're disciplining a lot for back talking and tattling and disobedience. You're quick to apologize though.
• I think one of your spiritual gifts is encouragement. You can be SO sweet and encouraging - to Lawson or me and daddy. You'll say "You're doing a great job, mommy!" about just about anything. Melt my heart.
• You are about 75% napping. Some days you won't fall asleep, but you'll still stay in your bed for an hour + then I get you up and let you play quietly.
• You like to watch Planet Earth, which is so awesome. You also like regular kid shows like Daniel Tiger and Caillou (ew). 
• You suck your tongue out when you sleep, and it's ruining your bottom teeth alignment... the dentist isn't worried at this point. 
• You are very inquisitive "Do statues swim in the water?" "Where do grapes grow?" "Why does ice melt?". You're always asking "What are we doing next? What day is tomorrow? What do we do on Fridays?" etc...
• We are working on handwriting and trying to make a plan for "school" next year. We'll probably just do some light preschool stuff. Nothing stressful because, well, you're FOUR. 
• You love Tuesday School and Miss Jane. You're great in all of your classes (at church, MOPs, TS).
• You are long and lean. Skinny little legs like your daddy.

Some awesome Crawford quotes to remember:

"Mommy, I'm so glad we're together!"

"Do you know what breath is? It makes me breathe so I can sing all day long! ... Harley is a good friend to me"

"Harley, when you get big like me you'll be a boy and you will have HANDS!"

"This is my baby sister Lawson"

"I'm going to go ask the doggy if I can have this money!"

Jmember (do you remember)

"Is this where you make food for the pilots?"

"Here we go!" (To man on the airplane to Richmond)

"It's like an electric eel!" (About his poop in the potty)

"I won't scream and cry, and I won't say roll tide to him" about playing with cooper in VA

"When my tongue falls out I'll get a new big tongue!" (After us explaining that his little teeth will fall out and he'll get new big teeth)

"That's a cool stamp on your face." "I like that spider on your face."
"I made a beaver dam! Bye beavers!"
"Is she a princess?!"
"Can I open that?" (about Eve's belly button cord clamp)
"That's a lot of pants!"

Too late

Suck balls

Bromote

I'm am

Eve is {1 month}

Weight- 8 pounds, 8 ounces

Height- 20.5 inches

Head- 14 inches

Little girlie, know that I love you SO much, but these monthly updates are going to be a stretch for me at this point in life. I'll do my best!

Eve, at one month old you:

• weigh a lot! We haven't been to the dr for your appointment yet, but you're outgrowing clothes left and right and I can tell you're getting so big. It is sort of breaking my heart.
• are super noisy. You grunt and groan allll the time.
• are on meds for reflux, and they really seem to be helping. Around 2 weeks you went from happy all the time to having some serious tummy pain and screaming bloody murder. At first I was really worried it was a dairy intolerance, but your poo diapers didn't show signs of that. So we started Zantac, and you're doing so much better. I forgot to give it to you one day at lunch time and you barfed everywhere all afternoon, so I was glad to know you really do need it.
• had your first blowout diaper on Jennifer Clay (right after I had just said you had never done that, thanks).
• were around for Anna + JP's wedding celebration. And you were mostly a trooper! Of course the only time all day that you were upset was during the ceremony, while Liz Power had you. She had to miss it to keep you away :(. I felt horrible.
• are SO loved by your brothers. Lawson is especially fond of you and likes to hold you and kiss you all the time. 
• lost your belly button cord at around 8 days (!)
• are happy in the car seat as long as the car is moving. If you aren't in a deep sleep, you will cry when the car stops - even at stop lights.
• love, love, love the Solly Baby wrap. I DO TOO! I wear you in it every single day and you fall asleep immediately. It's so handy for being out and about or even at home when there's a lot to get done.
• sleep at night swaddled in the rock and play. During the day I'm working on actually putting you down for naps when you start to get sleepy (which is still all the time), but you sleep a lot in the bouncy seat. 
• are only waking up once at night most of the time, and then you're up for the day (well, for an hour or so) around 6. I'll take it!
• like a typical third child have been all over the place. Daddy's race (at 5 days old), the zoo, church, all the places we normally go! No slowing down for the Geyer clan :)
• look most like Lawson (according to most people), but with Crawford's coloring. Your lips and cheeks are definitely like L's! So far your eyes look navy blue.

Friends (especially from church) have been SO generous to provide meals for us. We've had MWF meals every week since you arrived. It has been super helpful. 

Everyone asks how the boys are adjusting, and I have a hard time answering. They seriously have nothing but total love for you, but if you aren't around they kind of forget about you. Surprisingly, Lawson really is much more into you than Crawford. L is the one who always asks about you and wonders what you're doing or where you are. They both really are helpful to throw your diapers in the trash or get something I need for you. Otherwise, they are wild and crazy. They are both testing their boundaries and acting out a bit more than usual, but I suppose that is to be expected.

I am super obsessed with you (so is Daddy!). I feel a different "girl bond" with you than I (obviously) did with the boys. I just pray our relationship is strong and we can always be close. I'm terrified about raising you to be a godly woman, but I'm trusting the Lord to guide us along the way. 

We love you, Evie Lou!

Eve's birth story

Starting about 32 weeks, my blood pressure began creeping up. I started checking it at home 3x a day (first thing in the morning, after I put the boys down for naps, at bedtime). I have had a feeling (from the Lord)  for this entire pregnancy that I would end up being induced like I was with Lawson. Dr. Brody reassured me that I had no reason to think that, but I feel like the Lord was preparing me.

On February 24, 36 weeks, Dr. Brody said we were close to having a baby. I sort of begged for one more week to tie up loose ends. He said we could check in again on Monday and plan on inducing that night. My blood pressure was high a lot of the time, so I tried to take it easy. The headaches had begun around that time too and it made me very uncomfortable and anxious. We had planned to go to open gym that Friday, but my bp was high when I woke up (139/92, 141/91) so we just stayed home all day (Kara and Benjamin came by!). All weekend long David managed stuff around the house and let me take it easy. We did get a lot done and prepared for this baby to arrive.

Sunday night David said we should get one last good nights' sleep, so we went to bed early. But... Crawford woke up at 1am with his eye crusted shut. David took him to the doctor first thing Monday morning and sure enough, pink eye. The boys and I went to CVS to get his eye drops filled (none of which was fun nor did it help keep my bp down) and then we played outside a little bit until it was time to go to the doctor for me... Ashley went to the doctor with me and the boys (thank goodness) and my BP was super high (152/101) so it was go time. We thought we would induce at midnight, but Dr. Brody said 5pm so I went into high gear to get ready. Ashley came home with us and helped me so much to get the boys fed and in the bath (one at a time because... pink eye). As soon as I put them down for naps I started running around to tie up loose ends and shower to get myself ready.

Mom and Dad arrived around 3:30, David got home at 4:30 (with Amigos), we loaded up the boys with mom and dad and headed to the hospital. As it turns out, as soon as mom and dad arrived at Ashley's mom got sick and stayed sick all week. They never even got to meet Eve that week, which was terribly sad. 

David and I got to the hospital a little after 5pm and waited until after 7pm for a room. I ate all of the snacks I brought during that wait!

They started my pitocin and penicilin (because I was GBS+). The anesthesiologist came by to chat about an epidural. I decided to go ahead and get it before my water was broken (the plan was to do that pretty early on), but to only get a smidge of drugs in it. Leigh came by around 8:30 to hang out and ended up being there for the epidural. I nearly passed out because it was pretty hot in the room and the dr was taking forever (and explaining it all step by step to a student). Turns out, Leigh felt like she was going to pass out too. Haha. 

At 9pm I was still only 1cm and 50% effaced. Ash was thankfully still at her house helping take care of the boys. After she got them in bed C kept coming out with excuses and one was "I can't sleep because I have bugs in my eyes." Poor baby. Stupid pink eye. Dr. Brody ended up being there for a delivery so he came by about 10pm and broke my water. I was only 2cm, -2 station and 70% effaced. It was still just a waiting game from then on. At 2am I was still at 2cm, at 5am I was 4cm. Ashley arrived around 6am (which is when my text play-by-play stops). 

My epidural began to wear off, but my pain was tolerable so I didn't have them do anything about it. She did tell me not too wait too long to ask to do something because it could get too late. So finally I had the nurse give me a touch in my epi, but after 15 minutes it hadn't touched the pain. It was such a frustrating feeling because the only place that wasn't numb was my uterus, which is where all my pain was. I so badly wanted to get on all fours to help manage the pain, but my legs were all numb. It vividly reminded me of passing my kidney stones, and the pain was SO similar. I finally had them call anesthesia and they came to give me some pain meds. Whatever they gave me (demerol + 2 other things) took care of the pain. My nurse was also rotating me from one side with a leg in the stirrup to the other. She could tell that things were picking up pace, and I knew it was too. 

She finally checked me and I was 10cm and +2 station and ready to go! It was very bizarre because as soon as that happened, the room cleared out. They went to call Dr. Brody, but for about 15 minutes it was just me, David and Ashley in the room. I'm so glad I was on my right side and my left leg was up in the stirrup or I'm afraid I would have had that baby without anyone in the room.

They all came in about 10:20 and started getting everything ready. They got me on my back and both legs up in the stirrups just about the time that I was feeling very nauseous (likely because of the demerol). She had already crowned. I kept saying I felt like I was going to puke so David was prepared with a barf bag. Right at "go time" to push I started panicking to puke, and D helped me quickly sit up and start throwing up. I heard Dr. Brody say "well that was a free push!", and the throw up kept coming. As it turned out, every time I threw up, she came out just a little bit more. I had asked for a mirror, but I didn't get to watch anything because my eyes were closed and in a barf bag. After 1-2 minutes of throwing up, she slid right on out at 10:40am. It was WILD. Everyone (and there was a room full - 5 nursing students) was laughing and celebrating. I finished up and felt way better just in time to enjoy my beautiful Eve Louise being handed to me. A resident actually delivered her and she asked me for "half a push" to deliver the placenta.

I got to hold her and snuggle her with David and Ashley there, and I thought my heart would explode (for the third time!). I couldn't believe our little girl was here. I was still sick off and on for the next several hours, but overall I felt so good and elated to be with our little princess!

Eve Louise Geyer

March 1, 2016

10:40am

5 pounds, 13 ounces, 18.75 inches long

Lawson is {2 years old}

*Lawson turned two on September 21, but in true second child fashion this post is two months late. Sorry, pal. We do love you a whole lot even though you'll probably hold this kind of thing over my head when you're grown.

Height- TBD...

Weight- TBD... 

Lawson, at TWO years old, you…

• are crazy! Holy cow. Just total high energy, strong will, wide open BOY. 
• have no fear. You LOVE to do cannonballs into the pool and hang from anything you can grab onto and jump.off.everything.
• consequently, you are always injured. You are sporting a lovely black eye as we speak. 
• are such a little blondie. I know it will get dark again this winter, and that will make me sad because you are such a pretty little toe head.
• love your brother more than anything or anyone. You are his total copycat, and you absolutely have to be where he is, doing what he is doing at all times. 
• have very temporary separation anxiety when we leave you places. Even at our own house with babysitters you know and love, you typically cry when we leave but recover quickly. 
• go to Tuesday School at Red Bank Church of Christ (with Crawford). Your teachers are the same sweet ones Crawford had last year (Miss Brandy and Miss Amanda), and you really do love it even though you fight it every week.
• eat a great variety of foods, but you absolutely cannot sit still long enough for a whole meal. Your favorites are cheese, “blue nack” (blue snack… which just means snack) and whatever Dad or I are eating.
• finally have a burgeoning vocabulary. And a hilarious little voice. 
• are turned around in the car seat, which helps traveling a tad. You still love your paci, but we’ve weaned you to having it just in the crib. Crawford helps coach you in the car when you want it by reminding you that “you’re a big boy now! your car seat is turned around! you get bb ayeee at nap time.” 
• don’t care much about tv. You think you want to watch  shows (Octonauts, Daniel Tiger), but you rarely sit for even half of a 20 minute episode.
• can count to ten (successfully) and twenty (not to well), sing your ABCs and know the words to sing along to “Praise God” (the Doxology, which we sing at bedtime). You can identify a handful of letters and numbers.
• are charming. You make friends easily with strangers because you’re so dang cute and endearing.
• love to snuggle, but not for long.
• think baby Eve is in your belly and my belly. Generally I’m not sure what you understand about having a baby sister, but it’s safe to say I’m nervous for her safety with you around.
• are VERY possessive of your mommy. Even if Crawford is in my lap, sometimes you pitch a fit and say “MY mommy!” It usually is a problem for me to hold other people’s kids… so yeah, we have our work cut out when Eve arrives.
• have big emotions. TONS of joy and HUGE temper tantrums. 
• are very obsessed with basketball. And Ezekiel. You say "EZ big baskets" one thousand times a day and never fail to include it in your bedtime prayer list of thank yous. Like your brother at this age, you drag the basketball hoop all over the upstairs and shoot from every perch you can find. Though, you especially like to do "trick shots" and shoot while jumping off things. 

You are JOY. It is so much fun to watch you grow and change and develop. I’ve wanted to keep you as a baby as long as possible because I didn’t know what the Lord had in store for the future of our family. Your second year has been a tumultuous one with our miscarriage and now pregnancy with Eve, and I’m so grateful that you seem unfazed. You are resilient and determined and BRAVE. I learn so much from you every day because you are so different than me.

Lawson is {18 months}

Height- 33 3/4 inches (50%)

Weight- 24 lb. 2 oz. (78%)

Head- 18 1/2 inches

Oh, Lawson. You are CRAZY. That's what we most often say about you lately. You march to the beat of your own drum. You are such an adorable little nut!

At 18 months, you:

• sleep: You're awesome. You take one afternoon nap every day, and you're pretty flexible on the timing of it. I try to plan it around Crawford's nap, which has been hit or miss lately. You always sleep at least 2 hours, but lately it's been more regularly 3 whole hours. You generally go to bed around 8pm, but again, that's flexible. We've been playing outside with our new (awesome!!) neighbors a ton, and that has pushed bedtime back a few times, and you're totally cool with that. Granted, you don't sleep in any later, so wake up time is almost always around 7am, regardless of bedtime (you did sleep until NINE one day last week!). 
• food: You are a pretty decent eater, but throwing food is your vice. It makes me crazy, and you get lots of spankings. Though, you really don't even care about much discipline. Sometimes you cry, other times you just glare at me. 
• clothes: You're wearing 18mo-2T stuff. The cloth diapers make your bottom so much bigger, so you and C are wearing some of the same shorts!
• words: You don't say a ton, but you know what you want! You say: please (peeees/pwee pwee pwee), thank you, no, cheese, donut (nut nut), mommy, daddy, Harley, more, bye bye, Hi, all done, uh oh, cookie, ball, truck
• blow kisses by sticking your whole finger in your mouth, and we LOVE it.
• run with your arms flailing to the side.
• are totally a class clown. You try to make people laugh, and you laugh when other people (even adults) do. 
• LOVE Celeste, the (3 month old) baby next door.
• refuse to hold hands (so you get held when we're walking anywhere, and you hate it.)
• generally hate to be restrained in anyway.
• need to have a napkin in your lap for meals like all the big people do. 
• have finally gotten past all the separation anxiety that I feel like you struggled with for so long. You sometimes cry for a second when we leave you at church, but you perk up right away. You go to the childcare at the gym (with Ms. Jessica & Ms. Emily) and immediately ask for this little green ball. 
• balls are your favorite toy! You like to sleep with one a lot of the time, and almost every time you get out of bed you want to run to the playroom to find the basketballs.
• are as defiant as the day is long. You run away from me with such determination, it's scary.
• are a daredevil! You stand up on the four wheeler, slide down slides on your belly, and climb up and/or jump off everything.
• consequently, you are always injured. You chipped your front tooth falling out of a chair at the Linhosses house, Crawford gave you a black eye by throwing a toy in your face, and your knees are permanently scraped and bruised. 
• are a blondie! I still can hardly believe I have a blonde-headed baby. 

Crawford is THREE

Crawford, at THREE YEARS OLD, you:

height- 37 in (50%)

weight- 29 lbs. 8 oz. (25%)

• are 100% potty trained. It was the easiest parenting feat we've accomplished so far. We waited until you were ready, and it went great. Like, one day you said you wanted to pee on the potty. A week later we put undies on you, and no looking back. You sleep in undies at night and nap time and you are a rock star.
• I guess I shouldn't say 100%... you won't poop anywhere but in a diaper. It has been such a fight, and I finally just gave up and put a diaper on you when you say you have to poop. You won't go in your underwear, and you always tell me, so I'm just trusting you'll want to go on the potty eventually.
• finally are front facing in your car seat. Daddy turned it around this week, and you FREAKED OUT at first. You wouldn't get in and said "it's upside down!" After I strong armed you into it, you love it. You literally don't stop talking and narrating every single thing you see.
• are a chatterbox. I video taped you in the car because before we turned you around you seemed completely unaware that anyone else was around and you would sing and chat non stop. You really talk all day long, and sometimes it wears me out, but I love that I can have a conversation with you. 
• are a great big brother. Most of the time. You and Lawson are constantly fighting over toys, but you really do love each other. He is DYING to sleep in your bed with you, which of course isn't going to happen, but you guys sit in there and read books for long periods of time. And you give him hugs and kisses and show him how to do stuff. And he chases you around hitting you with toys and trying to wrestle you to the ground.
• are tall and skinny. Now that you don't wear a cloth diaper anymore all of your pants fall off.
• LOVE animals and can identify literally dozens (and know many of their baby names).
• LOVE construction vehicles. LOVE. And you know what they are all called. You could play with your diggers and a sand box for hours on end.
• say "grrr" when you get frustrated (thanks, Daniel Tiger)
• like to watch Daniel Tiger and Mighty Machines.
• are pretty obsessive/ocd about certain things. You watch the same tv episodes over and over and over again, and you usually have a favorite toy that rarely leaves your had. 
• only like certain songs (Armor of God song, Fruit of the Spirit song) and will only "let" us listen to those... other music is "scary" to you (??!), and we can forget about any kind of participatory music experience. You freak out and hide.
• are pretty timid about trying new things. I think it's the pressure that you feel in the situation. You've finally decided that going down slides is fun, so that's a big step in the right direction. 
• go to Tuesday School at Red Bank Church of Christ on Tuesdays from 9:30-12:30. It KILLED ME to take you, but you love it. I think the hard part for me was that we signed you up when I was pregnant, and I expected to use that time for dr appointments. But I'm glad you're there. You have a sweet little class, and you do a good job being there and playing. I don't care if you learn anything other than how to play with/around other kids. I'm still (even more so?) dead set on homeschooling, but this is a good thing to do too. You love seeing Wade (when he drops the others off), Levi and Chloe. 
• have taken to running away and saying "I'm running away!"
• are honest to a fault. You'll come and tell me "I threw a toy!" so you will get punished. You often say "I'm crying" and "I'm crying again" or "I'm crying in the kitchen"
• like to eat applesauce, pizza, donuts, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, bagels, grilled cheese and berries. And pretty much nothing else.
• start sentences with "because" for no good reason.
• are the most irrational human being I've ever met. Apparently, it's a toddler thing... The tantrums are impressive and out of control. You throw yourself on the floor immediately if you don't get what you want. Shew. Some days are long and hard. You spend lots of time in time out (sometimes in your room if we all need a break from each other), and you get a decent amount of spankings (you always say "I get a small spanking?!"). 
• Favorite quotes:
• "Harley you're my best friend. I like your haircut."
• "Wedgie. Where are my nipples? They're around here somewhere!"
• "God help Daddy to be quiet. Help Lawson to not touch my peenie."

**These are pictures from March, December, January and February... I have a TON more to add, but it's going to take a while, so I wanted to go ahead and post.