Special girl time (thanks to Meemaw!)

Maggie and I had a special girls day with Meemaw.

She took us out to get a manicure and pedicure.  

Maggie was just in heaven!

It took her a LONG time to pick out her colors, but she decided on hot pink finger nails (with sparkles), and then royal blue for her toenails (Go Royals!).

She got to watch a princess fairy movie while getting her nails painted, and then got a popsicle afterwards.  They even put a little jewel on her toes!

Watching her princess movie

She had so much fun!

What a lucky girl to have such a sweet Meemaw!

Apple Orchard

Our family made it to the apple orchard last weekend.  The kids were pretty tired, so they weren't super excited about picking apples.  We just walked around, fed some goats, checked out the pumpkins, then headed home.  It was a beautiful afternoon and was nice to get out with Eli to get some fresh air.

Colin had a blast chasing around the chickens - but Maggie didn't think they smelled all that great :)

After we convinced her to unplug her nose 

Colin thought this chicken was pretty awesome looking

Our 3 kiddos!

Awkward smiles, but they wanted a picture with the kitty pumpkin

Feeding the goats!!!

They had a really cute pumpkin display out front for picture-taking

Another fun trip to the apple orchard - next trip will be to the pumpkin patch!

Meeting GG Rita

Out of Brian and I, we only have one living grandparent left.  That's our spunky and awesome GG Rita!  We took Eli (and Colin and Maggie) to hang out with her early last week.  This was the first time Eli has met her.  Of course, he slept right through it all, but GG Rita had a great time holding him and getting some baby snuggles!

We slowly added people to the picture...

And we even got fancy and set the timer on my phone to get a picture of all of us together!

We had a great time visiting, while the kids colored and played card games.

Another Teson baby boy to add to GG Rita's ever growing list of family members!

We love you GG Rita!

Girls day and Boys day with Grammie and Granddad

Grammie and Granddad planned a special day with the KC girl cousins and the KC boy cousins.

The girls went to the Savor event at St. Therese and got to spend time at the carnival as well as at the Princess Tea event like they have done the past 2 years.  This year Anna and Elsa came again, and Maggie was secretly wishing she could meet a different princess.

Grammie sent us these pictures while they were gone - looks like they had lots of fun!

Olivia is such a great big cousin - I know Maggie has so much fun playing with Olivia!

A couple weeks ago the boys had their turn.  They went to a Lowe's Build and Grow event where they built a Haunted Birdhouse, and then went to Carolyn's Pumpkin patch.

Johnny and Colin are the best of buds lately, which is really cute to see.

I know they had a ton of fun in the corn pit.

I know this because I was finding corn kernels in all of Colin's clothes and (ahem), areas under his shorts for a while after he got home! :)

They even were able to meet up with cousin Daniel while they were there.

It is so nice to be able to spend some quality time with Grammie and Granddad.

It really does make the kids feel special and they get so excited looking forward to their fun day!

Eli's Birthday!

Eli Jacob Teson was welcomed to our family on October 1, 2015 at 11:58 am.

He weighed 9 lb 5.4 oz and was 22 inches long.  He also had a rather large head at 14.5 inches.

I was able to deliver him without any medication - although I'm pretty sure I would've made a different decision on that if I'd known he was going to be so big.  All long the pregnancy, the baby was measuring "large", and just one day before his birth, the growth check estimated him at 9 lb 4 ounces by sonogram.  They assured me they were probably over estimating his weight - little do they know how accurate they were ;)

After a morning of contractions at home - we called Grammie to come get the kids and take them to school.  Brian and I checked into the hospital around 7:30 am and I was dilated to a 6.

After just a couple hours of manageable contractions, I was almost an 8.  They broke my water a little before 11 am and Eli arrived just before noon.

As with all my kiddos - I only had to push a few times - but he had significant bruising on his face.

I remember thinking how "blue" he looked, but they assured me it was just the bruising and trauma from the birth.

Such a big boy - almost a full pound heavier than either Colin or Maggie

Snuggling up after birth - 

He did great with nursing right away.  There was a little bit of a scare after delivery when they thought I was hemorrhaging - likely because of the blood thinners.

I had to get a few shots and a bag of Pitocin ran very quickly and I stopped bleeding about 10 minutes before they were threatening an emergent surgery.  Thank goodness! 

Eli was flexing his muscles

The kids came by after school - they were so excited to finally meet him!

They have been so great with him - we have even had to set a timer to make sure they have equal opportunity to hold him.

Granddad and grandchild #11 (with #12 to be born the next day!)

Grammie and Eli

Proud Daddy!

He was so supportive during the labor and delivery.  We made a great team!

Meemaw drove up the next day to get some Eli snuggles

Olivia and Johnny also came to see Eli - 

and we are so glad we had this surprise art set for the kids - they colored forever and were very well behaved!

Eli had a new cousin the very next day, with Caroline Renee being born at the same hospital.

Katie and I were in rooms right next to each other.  It was so nice for friends and family to come by and see us both!  The nurses were all talking about how it had been a long time since there were family members that delivered at the same time.

Maggie being an amazing big sister

She is such a good helper

Tiff and Chad came up with Gordon the day after I was discharged from the hospital.
Gordon was very gentle with Eli, and was very quick to proclaim "mommy" and "daddy" when they were holding Eli.  Yes Gordy, they are still YOUR mommy and daddy, not Eli's. :)

Colin has already learned to multitask while watching Eli - he LOVES playing Uno!

One of my favorite pictures of the 3 kiddos

My 2 handsome boys

It's tough being the 3rd kiddo :)

There is hardly any peace and quiet, but he doesn't seem to mind it at all.

I am so glad to have 12 weeks off with Eli (even though I know they will just fly by!)