Halloween...almost a month late.

The weather was incredible for Halloween this year, and we certainly enjoyed taking advantage of the warmth. No costumes hiding under winter coats this year! We enjoyed a delicious bowl of homemade chili and cornbread, a night of trick-or-treating with the neighborhood, and snuggling up with our Halloween candy to watch scary (not really) movies.

Zoey was a little stinker. Fit her personality beautifully.

The princess, her frog, the skunk, and the lame mom.

Gearing up for the trick-or-treating.

Savy gave up after only a couple "trunks" (I think she was too shy to say trick-or-treat), so she handed out candy with Sam while Zoey, Dex and I went around and collected the goods.

Zoey Lou didn't last long.

One scary little princess.

And enjoying the goods.

Can't wait for Halloween to come again next year. Kids make Holiday Season ten times better!

Baby Z's Blessings

We had the excuse to round everyone up this last weekend to bless this beautiful little girl. Because of many reasons, we ended up blessing her at my parent's house, which made for a much more intimate affair. And this handsome man....

...gave her an absolutely beautiful blessing. With many words of wisdom. Things I still strive for in my life. Confidence in herself and the knowledge that she's beautiful (no matter what anyone else says), patience for her parents, strength to endure, a strong and faithful testimony, and a thirst for knowledge, both of things temporal and spiritual. It was beautiful, the spirit was strong, and Zoey was an angel.

AND we were also lucky enough to have Tiona come join us for the weekend. And might I say, "What a fabulous group of girls!" I admire each and everyone of my sisters (and especially my mom) for their strengths (and their weaknesses) and count myself incredibly lucky to have 6 built-in best friends. And so blessed to have another generation of girls to spoil rotten!!

Oh...and these crazy kids....?

...how could you not love them?

small miracles

Today we had a breakthrough...a small miracle. (Which I attribute to my sweet sister and her sincere prayers to help Zoey Lou find peace somewhere other than my arms). I taught my first day of preschool, and Zoey was an angel. She spent most of the time hanging out in her carrier, but did settle down into her swing towards the end. I think we may be able to do this preschool thing. I was so worried about how things would go with her, because I get so uptight and anxious when I can't calm her down, and I didn't want that to affect our preschool experience. But she hardly interrupted our morning at preschool...Hallelujah!! And another small miracle...my class of 4 year-olds are also angels. I'm sure this angelic feeling will not always be there during our preschool time, but I think the Lord knew I needed a wonderful first day, or I would throw the towel in right off the bat. Thank you Zoey, thank you preschoolers, and thank you to my sweet little sister who prayed for these small miracles!!

My Sweet Ladybug

Dear Zoey Lou,

Why can't you be more like this......

and less like this...

...? I could sure get a lot more done.

I love you immensely, but I can't go through life with you constantly in my arms. At least you're starting to give me some sweet little smiles. And we are getting some quality bonding time. My arms are just getting a bit sore, and my children/house/husband/calling/preschool are all getting a bit neglected. So cheer up, little ladybug! Life here isn't that bad...

Love,

Mom

Baby Z

Zoey Lou Stroman

July 19, 2011

6:42 AM

6 lbs 5 oz

19 inches

I waited and waited and waited for her, and BAM!! She came into this world fast and furious! This sweet little girl certainly knows how to make an entrance! I woke up at 3:45 in the morning with contractions, woke Sam up at 4:45 to start timing contractions, and called for babysitter at 5:30 while my mom drove up here. I wobbled to the car, and held on for the most painful 5 minute ride of my life as Sam swerved to hit every single bump in the road on the way to the hospital. I wobbled to the elevator (pausing every minute as contractions overtook my body), checked in to the hospital at 5:50 AM, realized Sam had forgotten our bag and camera at home (thanks to Andy for running those things to us!), changed into my gown, tried to pee in a cup (the one time I need to pee is the one time I can't), switched rooms, and finally laid down on the bed. The nurse asked the routine questions while I gritted my teeth through each contraction, and then she settled down to check me...9+ cm! "You're going to light a fire under us today." Ahhh!!! A mad rush of activity ensued as bed was taken apart, equipment was brought in, Dr. Horsley was called, and the room was prepped for delivery. I was in complete shock! Dr. Horsley came in, broke my water, propped my feet up, and told me to push. I was STILL in shock...so I pretended to push. The nurses quickly reminded me how I should push, and then told me to push hard! I pushed through one contraction while Dr. Horsley turned baby around (she was sitting face up)...OUCH!! Then pushed and hollered like my life depended on it through the next contraction, and out popped our baby girl at 6:42 AM!!

Our BABY GIRL!!! Sam was emotional, I was still in a state of shock, and our baby girl was crying the sweetest little squawk/squeal I ever heard. The most INCREDIBLE experience we have ever been through.

We are so glad she is finally here!!!

Anxiously Waiting

I feel as though I'm about ready to pop! Every evening as I lay down to sleep I think...maybe tonight will be the night. And every morning when I wake up I think...maybe today will be the day. But no baby yet. There has been progress made, and I keep willing my body to let baby come into this world, but baby must be waiting on something. Sammy picked July 17th as the day for baby to enter this world, so maybe baby's holding on for that date. Or maybe I'll just be stuck prego until July 31st. Either way, I've got to get my mind off of it, because it makes me slightly more depressed each day I anticipate baby's arrival with no baby to be seen. Honestly, I have nothing to complain about with the end of this pregnancy. I feel fantastic, am sleeping wonderfully, can move fairly easily, no gross redness on my face, and only have experienced a few days of swelling feet. Sam keeps telling me to slow down, but it's hard to when I feel so good...and I need some way to keep me distracted! Hopefully I will soon have some exciting pictures of baby number 3 to show, but until then, call me up and help me keep my mind distracted!!

Stroman Update

Alright, Celeste (and the rest of the world who cares to read my blog...even though I'm such a slacker!), here's an update. I have been slacking in many areas of my life, and as I'm stressing out because baby will be here in 6 weeks or less, I thought I might as well try to catch up in some area of my life. And what better way to start than my blog?

Life has gone by way too fast in the last few months, and although I'm looking forward to getting this squirmy, little baby out of my body, I am also willing time to sloooow down because I'm not sure I can handle three kids. I don't know if it's the fact that baby's gender is a surprise, but I'm having a hard time finding motivation to get things ready for this baby. Our list of things to get done is forever long, and I'm not sure where to start--sell car, buy car, rearrange rooms, get rooms ready, get baby stuff ready, buy double stroller, and prepare myself for a natural birth. What? Did I just say natural birth? Yep, we have decided to forego medication this time around and have this baby the natural way. (Maybe that's why I'm slightly hesitant about getting baby here.) And maybe that's why I'm dragging my feet on getting anything done...I haven't prepared myself mentally for the birth of our third child. But enough about me and my worries and stresses. Take a peek at my adorable family and see what we've been up to lately!

We celebrated Easter, and along with that, we discovered Dexter's passion for sports. He loves any type of ball, squeals anytime he gets to watch someone play a sport, and asks continuously to watch basketball on TV. Sammy is quite thrilled about this.

Savana performed in her first dance recital, and totally rocked! She cried her eyes out during rehearsal and refused to dance with her class, but warmed up (with a little bit of bribery) for her afternoon performance.

Savana also graduated from preschool. (She had a freaking awesome teacher :) who taught her so many things!!) And we both survived our first year of preschool together.

We've enjoyed the warm weather that's finally started to show up and have spent many hours walking, playing at the park, and attempting to hike with two young kids and a prego lady.

Savy started playing T-ball this month, and it's pretty hilarious to watch her play. Dexter tries to sneak out onto the field anytime I turn my head and Savana is rarely paying attention to what's going on--but it's fun to watch her!

I've really enjoyed watching this little boy's personality pop out--and he's pretty funny! Always pulling cheeses, funny faces, making funny noises, or doing silly things to make us all giggle. I sure love him.

And lastly...Savy celebrated her 4th birthday--Princess Style!! She got spoiled rotten, and is already planning her 5th birthday party.

There. A few things to tide you over until the next time you hear from us...which will most likely be after baby 3 comes into our lives. So...ENJOY!!

We Survived Winter

Wow. Where have I been? I can't believe it's been since December I last showed the world how adorable my chitlins are. Christmas has come and gone, New Year's parties have been celebrated, Valentine's Day has even disappeared, and now hopes of spring are in the air (even with 6 inches of snow still hanging on in my yard)! Well, I'll tell you where I've been! On my couch!! After recovering from my first trimester of nauseous pregnancy, I got hit with a cold that left me scrambling for any soft surface where I could snuggle under a warm blankie and doze off the minute my children were softly nestled in their beds. I'm still battling the cold a month later, and dreaming of the day I'll be able to breathe clearly through my nose and laugh without hacking up a lung. I know you've been waiting months for shots of my kids, so here's a few photos of my cuties playing in the snow.

After one failed attempt at making it up to our family cabin this winter, and being snowed out, we finally made it up there at the end of January. We spent a great weekend with our family, and I came to realize how much of a snow bunny little Savana is. She spent two hours during the morning sledding and playing in the snow, and then went back out for another two hours of sledding and building a beautiful snowman. She even zipped down the hill on her very own sled and survived to tell the tale. Dexter loved tasting the snow, and even enjoyed sledding down the hill....until I gave him a face full of snow while trying to control our sled. Then he decided he was done with the sled, the snow, and his mommy!

I can't believe winter is almost gone, and I'm anxiously waiting the days of bike rides, walks to the park, and playing in our yard soaking up the rays. Hopefully it will be here soon!!