Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie!

Today is Ellie's 2nd Birthday. While it's been a whirlwind past few days I couldn't let the day go by without recognizing and celebrating my sweet, sweet, girl.
Ellie is gentle and girly! She loves babies(esp real ones) and books! Not a day goes by that I am not eternally grateful that I have such an amazing daughter. I can't wait to see what this little lady does as she grows up. I think she's definetly going to surprise us!

Here are my favorite pics from her birthday (July 14th) over the past two years:

July 14 2009



July 14 2010 (Just learning to walk on her first birthday)



June 26,2011 *almost two*

The BIRTH-day of Bennett Troy Bever

Friday, July 8th, 2011 Troy and I headed to Presby Plano to welcome our third child into the world. Once we got to the hospital and I was all hooked up to the moitors the nurse asked if I had been having contractions...to which I replied "no, of course not!". Then she looked at the monitor and said: "well, you are having one right now". I couldn't feel a thing! While we waited in Triage for the next hour my contractions got stronger and I was able to feel them and tell Troy when I was having them....pretty exciting since I never went into labor with my first two.
At 9:35am Bennett was born. The doctors and nurses kept commenting on how big he was and how much hair he had! He looked so small to me that I was sure he couldn't weigh more than 7 pounds (but I am used to looking at a 2 and 4 year old all day). *At my last OB visit my doc said she thought this would be my smallest baby...maybe around 8 pounds. When they put him on the scale he weighed 8lbs 12.6 ounces and measured 19 inches. He was just perfect!!!
I stayed for 3 nights in the hospital with Ben and my mom (Troy visited during the days and then stayed with the kids at night at his parents house). The recovery was much faster/easier than with Rett or Ellie and I tribute this to my moms overnight stays where she stayed up most of the night and let me sleep. She says she averaged around 6 hours of sleep over the entire weekend. I also credit a speedy recovery to getting up and walking around. I requested my epidural out as soon as possible and was up and walking around the next morning. Although not the most comfortable walk, it really helped to move and get things going again. I haven't even needed to take any pain medication since I've been home.
Here's the weekend in pictures. (Special thanks to Lauren for taking all the pictures right after the birth!)

Day 1

7:00 am


Roughly 2.5 hours later at 9:35am





Meeting their new little brother for the first time



The biggest brother, Rett




The new big sister, Ellie


Troy and his sister, Jamie


Cousins!



Day 2
Patient Rett drinking apple juice





Day 3



Ben's "friends" that kept him company in his crib


He gets really relaxed laying on me




Mini-Photo Shoot while waiting for daddy to pick us up:

Which belly is biggest?

I'm not big on posting "belly" pictures when I am pregnant. I guess partially because most of the time when I am pregnant I just feel flabby. I have however taken a picture just before I leave for the hospital with each baby. The doc tells me this is going to be my smallest baby....I can't tell...my belly feels like it's just as big as with Rett and Ellie.

What do you think?

Rett (July 20th,2007)
Birth weight: 9 pounds

Ellie (July 14th 2009)
Birth weight: 8 pounds 8 ounces


*updated*
Ben (July 8th 2011)
Birth Weight: 8 pounds 12 ounces

4th of July at the Lake

We made it to 4th of July at the lake this year. Many didn't believe we would be there because everyone was SURE I'd have the baby early this time...before the 4th of July. But, just like my other two pregnancies...this kiddo wants to stay nice and cozy as long as possible.
The lake is really low so this year we mostly played in the baby pool, did the slip n slide, jumped in the bounce house and played indoor games because it's beastly hot. Oh, and there was also alot of drinking and fireworks involved....but I didn't really partake in either of those activities. Rett was scared of the fireworks this year. :( I did however, eat and eat and eat....there's nothing like good, home-cooked food at the lake.
I have a million pictures to share.....peruse them if you'd like. :)

Finding ways to entertain ourselves:



An Oreo in the baby pool=big mess!!!


Ellie meeting Gage...she was simply smitten with the new baby!

One of Marmie's many surprises:






The roses Troy surprised me with for our anniversary. (July 2nd)

Scrabble