Special time of year!

This has been an exciting time for our family--especially for Sammy! Sammy started going to preschool 2 days/week and she LOVES it! Although, I felt horrible on her first day--I walked in to pick her up 2 minutes late, and since she had seen other parents leaving with their kids, she was crying to her teacher that her mommy forgot her and her mommy wasn't going to pick her up. I felt so awful, because I told myself I would never be late to pick up my kids from things! I couldn't believe that on my first chance to prove myself, I failed! It took me a while to calm Sammy down enough to walk home, and I had to gain back her trust the next school day--I am proud to say that I did so! I was the first parent there after school, and Sammy was very happy--I haven't been late ever since! :)

Well, yesterday was Sammy's birthday (September 3rd) and she was so excited to turn 5 years old! I can't believe she is growing up so fast already! She is definitely ready to grow up faster than I think she should. She is such a great helper, which is good especially because I am doing school now and need as much help as I can get! Unlike everyone else in the world, I did not start school at the end of August, but completed my first semester. I have September to relax a bit and slowly work on the preparation things for next semester, which starts October 1st. If I can keep up my pace, I will be able to be finished my bachelor's by September of next year (2011)! Anyway...

For Sammy's birthday, she wanted pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert! We all got sick the day before her birthday, so we didn't invite anyone over to share our sick germs with, and Sammy was a little bit sad about that, but I bought some balloons and giving her presents seemed to make up for that! She did have a good birthday :)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAMMY! :)


5th Birthday!


Constance wanted to go, too!


New backpack


First day of school!

Still growing...

Seamus is still growing really well. His 4 month doctor's appointment went well. The doctor is pretty impressed with Seamus' strength and development. He can stand up really well with support and hold his head up really well. He was 14lbs 7oz, and 25 inches long. I can't remember what the percentages are, but he is under 50% in every area, so there are no worries.

The only problem was a few days after his appointment. I think he had a really bad reaction to the immunizations. They have started giving one of the immunizations orally instead of injection. I really wonder if the oral version does it to him. He was throwing up so much for a few hours, and didn't keep anything down. He turned really pale and kept gagging even when there wasn't anything to throw up. He pretty much got everything out of his system, and then all of a sudden he was feeling better and kept food down and wasn't pale anymore. It was so weird cause it only lasted about 3 hours or so. It was scary at the time, and we really considered taking him to the hospital, but ended up not needing to. I think I will be telling his doctor about it and see if the oral immunization has anything to do with what happened.

Despite his being sick, Seamus was and is still such a little sweetheart. He is always so smiley and excited to discover new things. He is always putting things in his mouth and his favorite toy is my cell phone. One of his favorite things to do is watch Sammy and Constance playing and running around the house. The girls LOVE their little brother and are always making him laugh. If Seamus ever gets lonely in his crib or car seat, the girls are always willing to keep him company. He has been rolling all over the place but has started to scoot himself all over the living room floor, and he has already rolled off the couch once before I could catch him! He just wants to explore everything even though he can't walk. He will be 6 months old on September 19, so we'll see if he is crawling by then!


He is so cute when he sleeps :)


His shirt says "If you think I'm cute,
you should see my Daddy!" This is
his normal smile--always happy :)


He wants to taste EVERYTHING!


He LOVES sitting up!


Keeping Seamus company in his crib :)

Seamus is growing!

Seamus is already 2 months old and still growing so fast! Here are some recent pictures.


Jeremy can always make him smile
his biggest and best smiles!


Father and Son=Best Friends!


This is the cutest little bath robe with
matching slippers we got from our
friends! He is so adorable!


Love my baby!


We just love his smile!

Our New Adventure!

Well, we have moved to Erie, Pennsylvania! Jeremy accepted the job at the beginning of March and we moved right after the graduation and Seamus' baby blessing! It took us 3 days to travel the 30 hour drive in our little Hyundai Accent, so we were very grateful to have a wonderful townhouse to sleep in when we arrived!

Shortly after Jeremy started work and I was left at home every day without any transportation, we realized we needed another vehicle...and after the cramped 3 day ride in the Accent we knew we needed something with more space! A minivan seemed like a perfect choice, so we bought a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan!

Once we got in to our new apartment, we waited a whole week for our belongings to arrive. We were living on air mattresses and eating lots of microwaveable food or eating out. I think sometimes the Lord has us experience things that make us feel more grateful for what we have. I know that a week is not that long of a time to go without stuff, but we were still counting our blessings the whole time! :)

Fortunately, we knew we might be waiting a week for our stuff, so I planned ahead. I made sure that we would have stuff to keep us-especially the kids-busy! I had my school work to do, and I brought some fun preschool stuff to do on the laptop!


Our minivan!


Our new home!


This is the fun preschool stuff on my laptop!


Even Seamus had his brain development
time. He worked on focusing his eyes!


Seamus' baby blessing! Granny Wendy got his
outfit, and Grandma Beth made the blanket!

He did it! :)

Well, Jeremy graduated and we are so proud of him! It was fun to have him hold Seamus as he walked the line, with Seamus only 1 month old! He did a great job with his schooling and endured to the end :) We are especially happy that he was able to find a full-time job in this economy. We feel incredibly blessed and we are so happy :) Here are just some pictures of the graduation.

Congratulations, Jeremy!


Thanks to all the family who came to the graduation!


Lucky Seamus got to experience a
college graduation first hand!

Brand New Baby!

We welcomed Seamus (Shay-mus) William Butler to the world on Friday, March 19, 2010 at 4:10pm! He weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair (curly when it is wet, straight when dry) and he is so easy going! He barely cries, even when he is hungry he waits patiently for the most part. It is so much fun having him here, and we all love our little buckaroo so much!


He looks so tiny in his car seat!


Sammy with buckaroo


Constance with buckaroo


Proud papa


Proud mamma

Baby James

We love babysitting little James every morning for Carmen & Ryan! He is such a joy to us, and is such a great baby! He is always such a happy baby and brings sunshine to everyone he meets. Carmen & Ryan are doing an amazing job of raising him, despite their busy schedules. They are such good parents for him, and I truly admire them :) Here are just a few pictures of our little adventures with him :)


He loves sleeping with his little frog friend...so adorable!


Ryan's sister, Jenny, got this awesome hat for him at Christmas :)


He LOVED trying to get the balloon down. We tied it to his arm so it would move when he moved. Good times :)


Our girls are getting practice having a baby brother, and they love it! James has been a really good sport whenever they want to hold him.


Sammy has been such a great help while I've been pregnant, and I know both Sammy and Constance will be really great big sisters to baby Seamus when he comes.