Dear Levi,

Four years ago today, your daddy and I had no idea what our future looked like. We were just a young married couple trying to live life to the fullest. Little did we know then how much you would change our lives. As our first born, you have reaped the benefits and failures of first time parents in every stage of your short life. Thank you for hanging in there with us.
I honestly feel like I have blinked these past few years and here we are. I am amazed at how "grown up" you are now. You have met every milestone with flying colors and have generally been a very easy preschooler.

You are still a little guy at 35 lbs and 39 inches tall, but I have a feeling you will catch up eventually. What you lack in size, you make up in personality. Your quick wit and matter-of-fact commentaries keep us laughing. Although you are still a little shy whenever you enter a new situation, you quickly let your true self come through.

Your favorite toys are still Cars cars, but you have also added Transformers, Board Games and Lego's to the mix this year. You love to play Mario Kart on the Wii and play outside on the playground. I love to listen to you when you are in your room playing - your imagination amazes me! On the TV, you like to watch Clifford, Curious George, & Transformers. Besides "Cars", you also like the movies Kung Fu Panda & "Animal"gascar. Listening to music has become a new favorite and we are loaded up on kid's CDs these days - you like to have "dinner music" playing while we eat.

You are currently in school five days a week and absolutely love it. I think the structure is really good for you and you have some great friends there (Aaron is still your best buddy). You recognize your letters and numbers and have just recently started to figure out the letters that make up words. You can also write your name. At church, you are now a "Cubbie" in Awana and I love that you are learning new stories in the Bible and memorizing scripture - such a precious thing to hear!

Eating continues to be a battle with you, although you are getting a little better. Your favorite places to eat are McDonalds and Chick-fil-a. It is amazing how those are the two places with playgrounds :). Favorite foods are rice, "handaburgers", chicken nuggets, hot dogs, potatoes, yogurt, popsicles, mac&cheese and you would drink only lemonade if we let you. Dessert is often an incentive for you to eat - you rarely pass chocolate up.

I can't leave out your travels for the year. As a 3-year-old, you added Hawaii, Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri to your list bringing your total to 25 states. I hope that your love to go on vacations never goes away - you share your mommy's excitement whenever we go somewhere new. You have a million questions, but your curiosity is refreshing.

As a big brother, you are the best! This past year, you and Kara ("Koko") have really developed a bond as siblings and it makes my heart happy to watch you all play together. At the same time, you both know how to push each other's buttons. Garison is your "little guy" and you are thrilled that he is here. You have helped mommy tremendously with the new baby and I honestly don't know what I would do without you!

I would be remiss to not mention that the last 2-3 months have been the hardest months that we have had with you. I think that you picked up on the stress we had both before and after Garison was born. We have expected a lot out of you on many occasions - more than a 3-year old should probably be expected to do and I think that has caused you to get frustrated and break-down a little more easily. We are trying to be more purposeful about spending time with you here lately and letting you just be a kid. You are such an important part of our family.

I love you so much and can't wait to see how you will grow this next year!
Mommy

Related: Levi at Three

The first two days with Garison

I'll be honest, Garet and I were kinda looking forward to our hospital stay this go round. We knew what to expect, so the anxiety wasn't there. Levi & Kara were with grandparents and if we needed a break from Garison, the nursery was waiting. I didn't have to worry about meals or cleaning and you have fewer visitors the third time around. I had a book, was looking forward to watching The Office on Thursday night and I actually had time to blog (there is a reason you have only seen one blog post post-hospital :). We enjoyed catching up on sleep and just spending time together meeting Garison.

It didn't take us long to get him in some Orange & Blue - War Eagle!


I'm including a picture of my toes here. The lady at the nail place put a design on them...I wasn't crazy about it, but I thought it would be a good focal point. Due to the short duration of labor, I didn't look at my toes then, but I had plenty of opportunities during those first few feeding sessions :) - not my favorite thing in the world.
I think this was about the first time Garison decided to open his eyes, so we tried to get some pictures. You forget how "puffy" they are those first few days until you look back at the pictures. Levi & Kara both have blue, blue eyes, so we are assuming Garison will follow suit, but you never know.
This was too funny not to include:
Here's his "old man" shot. Poor kid - I'm picking on him already!
These are two of my all-time favorite pictures below. All the people I love the most in one picture!
"What's up, fam - Little-G here"
An attempt at a family photo...notice that not one of us is looking at the camera. I have a feeling this will become a trend.
A little better...
Getting ready to take our handsome little man home:

I'm including this picture because our nurse forgot to cut off Garison's security tag when we left and we set the alarm off. We had to wait until security came and verified everything was OK.
Hanging out in the hallway:
Headed home to see big brother and big sister! The fun is just beginning!

Build-A-Monkey

We wanted to do something special with the kids this past Tuesday Night since we knew that we weren't going to get to hang out with them for a few days. I had read an article in a magazine about doing a Build-A-Bear for the new baby, so away we went. Levi had wanted to do a monkey for Garison and thankfully they had one when we got to the store.
After they filled the monkey with stuffing, they have the kids do a little routine to get the heart ready. Garison's monkey is extra-special because it has two hearts in it - one from Levi and one from Kara.
I think Levi's heart was a little more ready than Kara's:

Stuffing the hearts in the monkey:
Giving the monkey a bath:
Levi scrubbed him down good:
while Kara provided her assistance from a distance:
The finished product! Levi chose a "Happy Birthday" shirt since they were going to give it to Garison on his BIRTHday.
They named the monkey "Ooh Ooh, Aah, Aah" (like the sound a monkey makes). You never know with those two:
The kids were a little hyped up, but it was nice to do one last thing as a family of four. You can see where the kids gave him the monkey here.

Garison's Birth Story

Before I forget it, I wanted to write down the events of yesterday - I so wish I would have written things down for Levi & Kara, but that is life. Thanks to social networking, I was able to Twitter the entire day:3:30 AM: Wake up to get ready to go to the hospital

4:20 AM: Mom arrives to watch kids (yes, her day started early too!)

4:40 AM: Head to the hospital (past the doughnut shop where I see the employees getting ready for the day)

5:07 AM: Arrive at the hospital for our 5 AM appointment (yes, we are always late)

5:45 AM: Called back to LDR16 (yes, hospitals are always late too)

Getting ready for the induction - I was 38 weeks, 6 days:
6:00 AM: The IV drama begins...after 4 nurses and several tries, a nurse finally gets my IV in. I've never had problems with nurses finding my veins, but the comment of the day was, "You have very thin skin and "valvey" veins". Unfortunately the IV was put in the vein that I had my IV in for the version which must have been inflamed. The IV plagues me the entire day and was literally the only uncomfortable thing for me to deal with.

6:30 AM: I finally find out via an ultrasound that Garison is head down - I was so nervous all morning and it took forever (or so it seemed) for them to bring the u/s machine in.

7:15 AM: Dr. Callison comes in to break my water, but is unsuccessful. The pitocin is started to move baby down.

8:15 AM: Dr. Callison comes back and successfully breaks my water. I'm 4 cm and Garison has moved down.

10:30 AM: Contractions are coming about every 3 minutes, but I don't feel a thing. The nurse is pretty surprised, while I keep reading my book. Despite the lack of pain, I go ahead and get the epidural so that I don't miss the anesthesiologist on his lunch break. I literally almost have words with the anesthesiologist. While he is working on me, he is quizzing the nursing student on all these medical things. I feel everything, scream in pain, but he keeps talking the entire time...never stopping to ask if I'm OK - only to tell me not to move. It is ridiculously unprofessional and I will be commenting on it for my exit survey.

10:45 AM: Take a good 2 hour nap after only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before. It was wonderful!!

1:15 PM: I'm at 7 cm and feeling great - I heart epidurals!
1:40 PM: Progress to 10 cm after just a few minutes. Ready to push, but my doctor is in surgery - Could I wait?? Pitocin turned off and my legs stay shut :)

1:57 PM: My doctor runs in and I start pushing immediately. Garison is face up, but they are able to turn him face down. This slows me down a few minutes.

2:02 PM: Garison is born!
My guesstimate weight was 8 lbs, 8 oz and Garet guessed 8 lbs, 4 oz. He is only 8 lbs, 2 oz which is fine with me!
2:15 PM: I get to hold Garison, but have a difficult time due to my inflamed IV arm

First photo with parents:
2:30 PM: My dad gets to come in and meet Garison (John) - his namesake. He has to leave at 3:00 for a business trip, so Garison made it just in time! Three generations:
Meeting Nana & Granddaddy - Fuzzy #8!
Aunt Kelly came down to welcome Garison in to the world - we were so thankful she made the trip!
3:15 PM: Garison & Garet head to the nursery for the first bath. I'm left in the LDR all alone for 30 minutes - It was very weird after everything that had just happened. I watch an "Everybody Loves Raymond" rerun.
5:30 PM: After spending 12 hours in a LDR, I move upstairs. They were at capacity and didn't have a room for us immediately.

6:30 PM: Levi & Kara get to meet Garison for the first time. It is about the greatest thing I see all day - they are fascinated by their new little brother.
Getting gifts from the baby :). Amazingly, Garison had time to get them gifts in his short life ;):
Kara loved her baby doll and Dora "big sister" book, but is attached to my water cup all night:
7:15 PM: Grandma finally gets to hold Garison after keeping Levi & Kara all day (thanks mom!). The kids give Garison the build-a-bear they made him (more on that later).

9:00 PM: Head to bed after a long, but full day. I experienced hardly any pain and was quite comfortable (a benefit, my doctor tells me, of having more and more children :). I think I'll stop here.

Dear Garison,

Happy BIRTHday! I can hardly believe that you are now with us. While we were quite surprised to learn about you 8 months ago, we have been anxiously awaiting this day for several weeks.

Today was just amazing - you did everything you were supposed to and made things very easy on Mommy (of which I am very thankful). Despite being early, you are a very healthy thing weighing in at 8 lbs, 2 oz and 20 inches long. The day started early for your Daddy and I...at 3:30 AM, but you were here at 2:02 without any problems.
I got a bit emotional when I spent my first moments with you (which was a first for me). I feel that God gave you to our family just for me. I can't explain it, but there is just something about knowing that you are going to be my "baby" forever even when I'm sure you will stand 6 foot plus!
A special bonus of you being born on this day is that it is my half-birthday. I know that isn't a big deal, but I love that we share something in common. You have an amazing Daddy who loves you so much already. I know that you two are going to have a lot of fun together in the years to come.You also have a protective big brother and loving big sister to show you the ropes at home. The three of you are going to be great friends, I just know it. They were very excited to meet you today. I can't stop staring at you today and thinking about what the future holds for you. I pray that you always know that you have a family that adores you and a God that loves you.
Welcome to the family! Hugs and Kisses, Mommy

Garison Update

An update on Garison is long overdue and I apologize. As much as I am trying to make sure everything is just as special for him as it was for a first born, I am failing miserably. He may not have anything written down about him, but at least he'll have two playmates for life, right? At least that is what I'm telling myself.

Here is Mr. Garison at 36 weeks. We had not planned to have a 4D picture taken, but we got one anyway. At my 36 week appointment, we learned that Garison was not exactly in the best position, so we moved into the ultrasound room where we spent 30 minutes getting the low down. The ultrasound tech was so excited to get these pictures because she said you can never get them this late due to the positioning - we were glad to oblige although Garison had a little frowny face the whole time.

As happy as we were to see these pictures, the news wasn't so good. He was sitting in an unusual position and I had two options: 1) schedule the C-section or 2) let my doctor try to turn him. For me it was really a no brainer...after having two children without surgery, I wanted to go for it. My doctor spent a lot of time talking with me about the procedure (ie: that pain would be involved), but I really felt good about it. What I wasn't ready for was all the negative opinions I got about the procedure - that was a little frustrating.

Anyway, here we are on 9/1 at the hospital ready for the turning at 36.5 weeks. I had to check-in to the hospital and my doctor told me to pack my bags because there was a chance they would break my water or need to do a C-section. I was ready! They got me hooked up to the IV, started the medicine to reduce contractions and we waited for the doctor. I don't know what they gave me, but the meds made me shake and I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest.
A few minutes later, my doctor came in, looked at the ultrasound and low and behold Garison had turned head down. I almost cried. So, so, so many of you were praying for me that this would be the outcome - thank you!! I had three really bad contractions the Sunday Night before and I'm guessing that is when he made his move. My doctor was happy too because she said she was going to have had to do a long lateral cut based on his position and she didn't want to do that. I'm just glad she told me that after the fact.

After going through that experience, I've found myself stressing out about what position he is in. At my 37 and 38 week check-up, he was head down (confirmed by ultrasound again), so hopefully we are still good.

One diversion was a lovely baby shower the girls at church had for me at PF Chang's. I failed to get a picture of everyone, but here I am in the "spotlight". I couldn't ask for better friends!
Well, we are down to hours now for Garison's arrival. I am being induced at 5 AM tomorrow morning and if history repeats itself, he should be here around lunch or a little later (although, I have learned that every pregnancy is very different - I'll have to blog on how different they really have been).

I would appreciate your prayers tomorrow that he is head down and regardless of how he gets here that he is a healthy little thing (or a big thing since I have big babies!). Fields Family Five, here we come!!

Job Updates

For some reason, we like to cram as many life changes into as short amount of time as possible. For example, Garet graduated from Auburn two days before we got married. At the rehearsal dinner, he was filling out paperwork for his new job that he started when we returned from our honeymoon. We were also moving all of our belongings from Auburn to storage and into an apartment. It was a crazy time, but we were young and in love :) (although Garet probably would have preferred to have had more sleep if you ask him).

Here we are 9 years later and making a lot of life changes within the span of two weeks because that is how we roll. A few months ago, Garet was offered a new job opportunity with one of his former bosses. After a lot of prayer and dialogue, we felt like it was time for a change. However, the contract took a little longer than anticipated and Garet wasn't able to start until this past week. Garet will be doing some of the same type work he has done in the past, but with less travel. It is a small business and we are looking forward to good times ahead.

His co-workers at TSI had a going away lunch for him last week and they all assured me that they would still be my Facebook friends - I have a harder time with break-ups than Garet :). In honor of the job change, Garet went out and bought a Wii - he had 3.5 weeks of vacation built up and he decided that if he didn't get to use it then he was going to put some of the money to good use! Levi is hooked on MarioKart - the kid is only 3 and already making a run for first place! He was even talking trash today (sigh) while on the "quarter pipe".

Now on to me... About a year ago, I began to feel like God was preparing me to do something else in regards to working and parenting. Since Levi was born almost 4 years ago, I have worked part time - most of that as the Life Group Minister at our church. Working has never been something I've had to do, but rather chosen to do - I had the best of both worlds - the work place and the home. I wasn't sure what was ahead for me at the time, so I just keep going - we were in an interim period at our church and didn't feel like I needed to make a big change. In January, we got the shock of our lives and found out we were pregnant. In case you are wondering, I still don't know how it happened. This was the start of some very hard months for me - my emotions were all over the place, I was really sick and I couldn't keep things together.

Once I got through that time, I began to really evaluate what the fall would look like for our family. Long story short, I decided to step down from being the Life Group Minister. There is an amazing story to go along with this as to how God worked out so many details in regards to this decision - I could cry just thinking about it. I've written it all down, but I feel like it is for me only right now. My last day was today and I can honestly say that I have an extreme peace about the future. Those who are around me often know that I am not exactly made for motherhood, but I can tell that God is pouring his grace on me right now.

The evening of Garet's going away lunch, we had my going away party - we joked that it was almost as if we were moving! Two of my other co-workers are moving on as well, so here are the three of us sharing what we will miss (and not miss) the most! I said that I would miss the daily interaction with my co-workers and being a part of their lives, but that I would NOT miss the meetings - especially those at night.
Below are some of my fellow co-workers and the management team from our church. I appreciate all the hard work they put into the evening and for the massage and pedicure gift cards - no better thing for a 38 week pregnant girl!

That's the low-down on Garet and I - Garison's update is another story in itself....

Vacation - Day 5 - City Museum, Metropolis & Home

Because of the meltdown on Friday, we ended up staying in St. Louis most of the day on Sunday. Our first stop for lunch was at Union Station (nice, but not a "must-see"), then we headed over to City Museum.

Words can not describe City Museum - it is honestly something I think people just have to experience. It is like nothing I have ever been to. We had several people tell us to go and I am so glad we did. Despite having "museum" in the name, there is really nothing "museum" about it. Garet commented that he couldn't believe a place like this existed in this day and age with people being so worried about safety. Instead of trying to explain it, let me just show you.

Our first stop was "The Roof". There was an old Ferris Wheel at the very top. This was the first time Garet had ever ridden a Ferris Wheel.

You could also go down a few large concrete slides...

...walk across the water....
...and get in an old bus that was suspended 13 stories over the ground below. This I did not like.
At this point we are thinking, "What in the world is downstairs?!?!". Well, I'll show you.

Outside, they had a large ball pit for children of all ages...
...and a massive maze of wire tunnels, slides and abandoned airplanes that were suspended through the air. Here are Levi & Garet climbing one such tunnel:
Inside there was a little train that took the kids through a tunnel of recycled materials...
...and an indoor skate park that you don't skate on. That door in the back led to a pitch-black maze that the kids and Garet went through.
This video is in the "skate park" room. The video doesn't show just how steep that side was that Levi was going down...it was probably 10 feet straight down. Who comes up with this stuff?


I want to insert here that if you preferred not to take the stairs inside, there were slides from floor to floor. I really wish I would have gotten a picture of this, but I never did.

Garet and Levi had a great time on the outside tunnels, but they really liked the bottom floor as well. It was called the "cave" area and I seriously don't know how people don't get lost in there. There were several entrances to the "caves" and here is just one example:You might be wondering what Kara and I were doing during all of this. I obviously could not crawl through a small tunnel and I wasn't about to let Kara loose or we would have lost her. So, we stuck with the preschool area (again, no picture) and hanging out in the less enclosed areas of the caves.
We ended up staying most of the day at this place. The ideal age for kids is probably elementary school age, but there was no shortage of things for all of us to do. Garet is still talking about it.

After all the excitement, we decided to go ahead and make the drive all the way home despite getting in late. The trip went amazingly smooth because the kids were so worn out that they slept a lot. We also got a new DVD set for the car that will let the kids watch their own shows, so Kara watched Dora about 500 times while Levi watched Transformers (the animated one :). I think that helped a lot.

On the way home, we drove right through Metropolis, IL. Garet came here a lot as a child and so we couldn't stop being tourists yet...
Levi refused a picture, but Kara sure wanted to be Superman:
What would I have done if we hadn't stopped :)??
Well, I think that will be the last of our travels for 2009. I'm so thankful that we got to go somewhere new this year. Garet and I have kept it up for 9 years now and I hope we never stop!