Christmas Card 2011

2011’s update brings greetings with soul from the South,

With love from our hearts and kisses from our mouths.

This year has been fun; it’s been busy; and especially grand.

And the biggest news this year fits in the palms of our hands.

However I suppose I should start from the beginning

By the end I sure hope you will at least be grinning.

Brandon’s been busy with schoolwork and more.

Painting the whole house from ceiling to the floor.

His first year is now gone with a few shakes of his fist.

Just two and a half more and he’ll be an optometrist.

It is hard to believe he’ll be a doctor, but yet,

It sure will be nice to start paying off some of this debt.

Diedre stays busy with what comes with being a mom.

From wiping some... faces to picking up each little crumb.

She does a great job simply raising our boys.

With an occasional shout when she steps on some toys.

Then little by little she started putting on weight,

One pound in February, by November Thirty Eight.

We thought “is she over eating? possibly thyroid disease?”

Before I go further let me put you at ease.

What came next was a blessing that occasionally cries.

Measuring 21 inches, and 7lbs 14 oz in size.

Krew’s been busy learning about a billion new words.

Now when he poops he flushes his turds.

He’s big and he’s strong very picky with his food.

Incredibly smart with a big attitude.

His first imaginary friend has arrived and his name is Bert.

When I accidently sit on him Krew’s feelings get hurt.

“Dad can’t you see that your sitting on my friend?”

It’s so stinking’ cute and his creativity never ends.

Gray is our eater, that never stops smiling.

He makes his art canvas every inch of our tiling.

He never quits echoing Krew’s each minute move.

And if there’s ever music playing he’ll be “busting a groove”.

Singing about twinkles and stars 24-7.

It makes your heart melt as if it was coming from heaven.

Bennett Hoyt is the name of our newest addition.

Going from 2 to 3 boys has been quite the transition.

Lucky for us he has made it quite easy.

From his melancholy demeanor, to his grin that’s quite cheesy.

Literally sleeping about 18 hours a day.

The other 6 hours spent breast-feeding away.

In short we hope this message reaches you well.

The fact that you got one means we think that you’re swell.

We are so very blessed, and we’re thankful a lot.

Owing all to our Savior who’s given all that we’ve got.

2011’s been great and it’s end is quite near.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good year.

Bennett's Baby Blessing/Thanksgiving

So this year for Thanksgiving all of Brand's family came and we hosted our first ever Thanksgiving dinner at our little house in Walls MS. It was so much fun! Brand's Mom, brother, 2 sisters, and 11 nieces and nephews (Not to mention our 3 kids as well) all came and it was one crazy house. The main reason why we had Thanksgiving here was the fact that Bennett was born just 3 weeks earlier and we didn't want to do any traveling but Brand also blessed him the Sunday after Thanksgiving with all of his family in town. It was so nice simply because for Krew and Barton Graham's blessings there really wasn't ever any of Brand's family... just Diedre's.

So it all started with most everyone coming into town the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and then us all eating our hearts out all day on Thursday. Friday was basically our Christmas eve since we don't get to see our family often whenever we do get together we hold a Christmas gift exchange and that was set for Saturday. So Friday we bought all sorts of gifts on "Black-Friday" specials to exchange on our Christmas on Saturday. Then we woke up at 6 am on Saturday and opened up presents... EVERYTHING was under that tree, from remote control helicopters to neck ties to kindles! It was soooo much fun! Lastly on Sunday right before everyone left we went to church and Brand blessed "Bennett Hoyt Sloan" and he did a wonderful job. We are so thankful that Brand's family could all come and see us and can't wait till next time. Here are some photos...

Bennett Hoyt in his "Blessing Outfit"

Our "Not So Little Family"

Sloan Kids (wish Meg could have been there)

Krew Putting the Star on the Tree..

Gray Opening his Present from Grandma

All the Grandkids!!!

Visitors from New Mexico, Texas and Idaho

I know it's been over a month since my sisters and my mom came to help me out when Bennett was born, but I needed to share how much fun we had and how amazing they are!! I am so grateful for them, for their sacrifices to come here and all that they did to help. They sure did help A LOT!! Considering Gray and Krew got sick the day Bennett was born I am so glad I didn't have to do that all alone, it would have been AWFUL!! Both of my sisters each brought 2 kids and all 6 toddlers had a BLAST with each other. The day that they left Krew was crying and saying he didn't want his friends to go home he wanted them to stay here with him I had to explain to him that they missed their daddies and wanted to go see them, so then Krew said "their daddies should just come here." Oh if only it were that simple.

These 3 boys are lined up oldest to youngest spaced by 3 months and played so well together

Here they all are lines up this time not oldest to youngest but they are all there!

Playing with Oma at the park

Dancing with Oma (my mom is a dance teacher for 3-5 yr olds and is so good at it) The kids absolutely LOVED it!!!

Bennett with Aunt Gretchen and cousin Wendy

Bennett With Aunt Heidi! ( he's giving her kisses) He sure does love his Aunts!!

Me with my best friends, my sisters!! Love you both so much!!

Bennett with Oma! Thanks mom for coming you are truly amazing!! I love you!!

Bennett's Birth

Now that Bennett is a week and a half old, I thought I should share his birthing story and more pictures. My sisters Heidi and Gretchen flew in on the 1st each bringing 2 kids. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful sisters who are willing to come help me. It worked out pretty perfectly, we had a few days before Bennett came to just hang out as sisters, and get a few things done. It was also really fun to watch our kids play, they got along so well. We had three 3 year olds a 2 year old, an 18 month old and a 16 month old. It sure was crazy but FUN!!! I started having contractions around 3 AM on the 3rd. They were pretty far apart but around 5 They were about 10 min apart and slowly started getting closer and closer together. So I started packing my bag for the hospital and getting ready for the day. Once I got ready my contractions started slowing down and around noon they were about 45 min apart. I was getting a little frustrated and started thinking "great I had all these contractions and he's not even going to come today." (which would have been annoying since Brandon had specifically taken that day off school to be with me) Then all of the sudden Gray starts screaming in his room we went in there and he had puked all over himself and his bed. Brandon gave him a little bath and had him sit on the couch and watch a movie. The next couple of hours were filled with Gray puking, Brandon and I each taking turns having to change our clothes, and my contractions getting stronger and more consistent. Gray finally stopped puking and went down for a nap around 4:30. Then about 6:30 we decided to go to the hospital because my contractions were 2 min apart lasting a min each. I was so excited thinking "I'm going to get to the hospital and have this baby quick." boy was I wrong. I got there they checked me and I was dilated 5 cm.

(a little tangent I told them I didn't want an I V because I planned on delivering naturally and I didn't want to be restricted, They made a huge fuss about it saying if there was any emergency that they would have to put an I V in quickly, they finally talked to my doctor and he said to put in the needle but just not hook me up just in case. I said that would be fine, then my nurse tried to put the needle in and on her 3rd try she finally got it in. The 2 other times they had bubbled so now my right arm is bruised from my wrist to my elbow, I was a little frustrated because I didn't even want one in the first place and all through out labor Brandon would try to help and hold my arm and I would freak out because my arm hurt so bad any way tangent is over)

So right after all of this IV nonsense they told me I was at a 7, So they decided to break my water. They got everything ready to deliver thinking that I would deliver really fast. My contractions were really hard, long and close together. an hour later they checked and I was at an 8. 2 hours later they checked and I was at a 9. Finally an hour later they had me push a little so she could move my cervix over Bennett's head once she got me to a 10 the doctor had to come running in. He barely had enough time to get his coat on I pushed once and he came right out at 11:43 p.m.. I couldn't believe how fast he came out. I was just glad it was OVER FINALLY! He was perfect. He had a little bruising on his face but when they checked him over he was completely healthy. We were so happy to have that day over. Brandon went to get us something to eat because we were so hungry, and the kitchen at the hospital was closed. And after he came back he decided to go back home with our other kids because when we called to let them know Bennett was born they told us that Krew was now puking. And he thought they might need him there. He was up most of the rest of the night with Krew puking all over him. Then Brandon woke up to come visit Bennett and I. Then when he went home he started puking. And can you believe Brandon never complained once. I can't believe all that he had to go through the poor guy. Dealing with 2 sick kids and a wife in Labor tugging on him and crying to him and then getting sick himself. All he kept saying to me is "I'm sorry I'm not at the hospital with you" What an amazing man I have!! He's such a wonderful husband and father!! He also went to go pick up my mom from the airport that same day. ( I will share some of the really fun adventures we had with Family in town later, We really did have a blast!!) So finally here are the pictures:

Here I am the day Bennett arrived (before I was puked on)

At the hospital in between a few contractions

And here he is 7 lbs 14 oz and look at that dark hair, Krew and Gray both had pretty much looked like they had no hair because it was so blond so I was shocked when I saw Bennett with dark hair. I love it!!

First time I got to hold him I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!

A VERY happy daddy with another son!

Since Krew was sick we made him wear a mask when he first held Bennett, He was so excited to see him and hold him he didn't really care that he had to wear a mask.

Gray was excited to hold him too we didn't let him hold Bennett to long since he was still a little sick and refused to put on the mask.

Krew and Gray certainly love having Bennett home!! They both love to rub his head and hold him!! We sure love this kid!! He is an Angel. We feel so blessed to have him in our family!!

He's Here

Bennett Hoyt Sloan

Born Nov 3rd 2011

Time: 11:43 pm

Weight: 7 lbs 14 oz

Length: 21 1/4 in

I have more pictures I will put them on soon and tell the story. But it's kind of a long story and a lot of pictures. Hopefully I can get it done soon. But he is here very healthy and we could not be more happy.I am recovering very well and He is such a wonderful sweet baby, We are so glad he is here and we are loving every second.

Trunk or Treating!

Here are my boys all dressed up for halloween. Krew as a Monster and Gray as a shark: (the white on Krew's face is suppose to look like teeth; I know it looks bad... just play along)

I usually make our costumes but this year I was a little worried that Bennett would come before we got a chance to wear our costumes and I didn't want to put a whole lot of effort into something we wouldn't wear, So we just bought the boys outfits this year. And now that Bennett has not arrived yet, I'm kind of wishing I would have done something a little more creative. Oh well, they really liked their costumes. Krew has been wearing his a lot. And he has definitely been in character for about a month, he has been Going around saying "I'm a MONSTER RRRAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!!!!!

The day of our trunk or treating I decided Brandon and I should have somewhat of a costume I found this idea on a blog and thought it would be fun.

Showing an x-ray (sort of) of our bellies, Bennett trying to get out of mine, and a burger and fries in Brandon's.

A side view of our bellies

Me with my Monster and shark

Here are a few halloween crafts I made as well:

I made these trick or treat bags for the boys, I first made the Ghost and Frankenstein and I showed Krew and he first said "Mom those are so cool I love them" and I asked him which one he wanted and he said "oh, I don't want one of those I want a pumpkin" I tried to convince him to want one of the ones I already made but he was already set on having a pumpkin, So I guess Bennett already has a trick or treat bag for next year.

And here are some jars I had and made them into a Ghost, Pumpkin and Frankenstein I love them, They are so fun and look cool at night with a candle.

3 Weeks Left...

I can't believe I only have 3 weeks left till Bennett gets here. I'm so excited an so nervous to be a mother of 3. I don't feel old enough to have 3 kids but yet here I am. We have been trying to get things ready for him. I have all of these ideas of things to do and things to get done that I feel like I'm going crazy some days. But I have been getting quite a few things done surprisingly. I still have a little energy left at the end of this pregnancy so I have been trying to organize and clean our house as much as I can. I also finally finished Grays quilt (it only took me a year) So now that Grays quilt is done we have been transitioning him into a big boy bed. The first couple of days were a synch! He would just lay right in the new big boy bed and fall right to sleep just as if he were in his crib he didn't come out of the room once till the morning, I thought it was amazing. Then I think he realized that he could get out no problem, and now that he knows how to open the doors he has been having a hard time staying in his big boy bed. So we have been switching back and forth. Hopefully he will start doing better. Once Bennett starts sleeping fairly well he is going to need that crib.

Gray just turn 18 months which means he is in Nursery now at church and it's AMAZING!!! I love it and he is doing so well. They tell me he mostly is very quiet and just plays. It has been so nice to not have him in primary with me running around disrupting the kids. He has also been getting better about talking, it's still hard to understand him he mostly grunts when he wants to say something. We have been trying to encourage him to talk more but sometimes he gets more frustrated and stubborn about talking if we try to force it. Here are a few words that he "knows":

first of all he has been signing a lot more if I show him the sign and ask him to sign it he will try. right now he knows, more, please, banana, and sorry.

here are the words that he will actually speak:

Dada

Mama

Kew (Krew)

Baba (baby)

Wawa (water)

Buba (could be either blankie, Bongo his monkey pillow pet, or Binky)

Baa (Ball)

Baba Gam (Barton Graham)

Ge cu (thank you)

Uh (up)

Bu (bug)

aga (again)

And then the rest of his talking consists of grunting the right "pitch" (anything we tell him to say he will grunt it just like we said it, it's kind of hard to explain I guess) He LOVES LOVES to sing and he sings pretty much right on pitch I always know what song he is singing and he sings all the time, every-time we are shopping he will just be in the cart singing his heart out and I always have people stopping and commenting about his singing. His favorite song right now is "Popcorn Popping" he loves to do the actions with it, and he also LOVES to dance anytime there is music he is dancing, it doesn't matter where we are if he hears music he will stop and dance.

He just had his 18 month check up and he is:

26 lbs 12 oz

33 inches long

He's getting so big I can't believe that soon he wont be my baby anymore.

Krew is also getting so big all of his clothes all of the sudden don't fit him anymore. but the problem it he is SO skinny that the next size up in pants is the perfect length but fall right off his little bum. He just had a check up as well and is 33 lbs and 3 feet tall. The thing that he talks about the most is how he is getting big big big like daddy. The other day he turned to Brandon and said:

"Daddy? Mommy doesn't want me to get big big big she wants me to stay little, but she is going to stay little little and I'm going to be BIG BIG BIG just like you"

He also loves to run. The other night we were having a picnic dinner outside and we told Krew to run around the house and we would time him, he ran around our house 18 times he LOVED it!!! He kept asking if he did better on his time, his best time was 24 sec. He's pretty fast.

Another thing that happened actually yesterday, usually Krew doesn't eat much of his food and Gray will eat A LOT and we have to keep coaxing Krew to eat with treats at the end of dinner and sometimes he hasn't been able to earn his treat but Gray will, well last night Gray wouldn't touch his dinner and we always say all you have to do is try it and he wouldn't try it so he didn't earn a treat and he threw a fit wanting a treat. Krew then turns to me and says

"Please mommy can you just give him a treat" and I had to tell him "no I'm sorry I know he wants one but he didn't try his dinner so he doesn't get any" and then Krew said "Well if you cant give him some can I share mine with him" Of course I said yes how can you say no to that. What a sweet boy I have. (he is also naughty a lot lately but we wont get into that) When ever I am upset at him he just looks at me and says "Mommy I love you" and then gives me a big hug! Sometimes it's frustrating because then I think oh man how can I punish him now he's so sweet. (I think he might know how to manipulate me.)

Oh something else he said yesterday we thought was pretty funny he said "Mommy if you touch my M&Ms I'm going to be real angry like this" .... then he shows me his angry face and points to one eyebrow then the other. I reassured him I would not touch his M&M's

i guess since I have shared what Krew and Gray have been up to lately I will share what Brandon and I have been up to lately

Lets see

Brandon ........ School/studying

Diedre......... Cleaning the house/taking care of 2 boys and growing a third boy

Yep that's about it

Homecoming and other family fun!

Sco had a homecoming party a few weeks ago and we had a BLAST!! The dinner was good, I bet you can't guess what the dinner was ok you probably can because it's what we eat in the south BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw mmmm. I never thought I would EVER like coleslaw but being here in the south slaw is SO good. I made my own the other night, it was a HUGE batch and I was thinking we are probably going to have to throw some of this away because I thought we would never eat it all before it would go bad. But sure enough we finished it and pretty fast too. Anyway I am totally off topic. The Homecoming party had a lot of fun games,They had a Bouncy house for the little kids (that Krew went in and freaked out because he couldn't control how he bounced so came running right out and refused to go back in) Then the had other blowup "gladiator" games things for the adults I wish I could have played some but alas being 8 months pregnant I could not. They also had a rock wall that I think would be so much fun maybe next year when we go Brandon and I can challenge each other. My all time FAVORITE thing though was the balloon man. He was AMAZING, the line for him to make a ballon animal was very long, and he would make anything that the kids would come up with, some of our favorite things that we saw him make was a unicorn, motorcycle, Elmo and a fish on a fishing pole just to name a few. He was super cool here are a few pictures of the boys with the balloons that were made for them and Brandon and the boys plying on some of the blow up games.

Krew with his good friend Michelle.

Gray trying to shoot for the basket

Krew trying too.

We had a really good time and look forward to next year when we can go again.

A few weeks ago we decided to get a pass the the childrens museum of memphis. The boys LOVE this place. It is really cool. We went all together for the first

time as a family here are a few pictures of that day

The costume section, You put on a costume then dance on stage.

Krew as Batman:

Then Spiderman:

Gray as a construction worker, he loved dancing on stage with daddy:

My boys being pilots:

Fishing, this is a favorite place for the kids they have fishing nets and fishing poles, they love to watch the fish swim down and then catch them.

Gray the policeman on the super cool motercycle

Firemen Krew and Gray

The same day that we went to the children's museum my boys had a lot of fun goofing around, while I made dinner.

They saw the cabbage on the counter and thought the leaves looked like hats so they picked them up and wore them around thinking of different people that wear hats, they were cowboys at one time grabbing golf clubs as their horses running around saying YEEEHAAWW and then they were peter pan and the lost boys running around with their swords. It was a lot of fun to watch them playing, I love when they get together with their daddy and play pretend, Brandon is such a great dad and thinks of some really fun things to do with me boys,