Abe turns 3

I wish I would have blogged on Abe's actual birthday, but I didn't.  The Saints were playing SNF so I was watching football:)  We had a fun day with Abe and shared it with some special friends.

Abe's entire birth and delivery was a surprise so I'll retell the short story now since I didn't blog in 2009.  Abe was due November 10, 2009.  The pregnancy was going well and I was in full swing with school while 7,8, and 9 months pregnant.  It was a Wednesday and I had a parent conference during my planning for a struggling student and we decided that we would start morning tutoring for math help.  After a full day of school, I walked with Sharon and Ann for 30 minutes in the work-out room at school and then headed home.  Our plans that evening included heading over to Adam and Lisa Foss's house for dinner and to help them get their nursery ready since Lisa was expecting in December with their first.  The goal was to get baseboards up and painted before leaving.  Well Mr. Abel had different plans for us.  During dinner I sort of felt weird and then felt like I needed to pee every 3-4 minutes.  I could feel a little leaking and ask B to get me some pads since I just thought I couldn't really hold my pee anymore.  Then all of a sudden, I had a contraction!  It was about 7:30 pm and I called my doctor.  Dr. Chawla returned my call and asked me a few questions.  She decided we should come in to at least get checked out to see if it was my water that was leaking or urine.  So B and I left Rin with A/L and go to the hospital around 8:20 pm.  I went into a triage room and changed, got some blood taken, and then the paper test in the 'liquid'.  The paper turned a certain color immediately which meant that I was leaking fluid and my water had torn.  At that point, it was probably closer to 9 pm and we were admitted to the hospital, taken to a room, and started making phone calls.  I was a wreck!  We were unprepared emotionally to have a baby that night.  We still had 5 weeks left!  I just was going crazy.  I called Sheree' so she could find me a sub and then we called family to tell them all the news.  Hospital people kept coming in and asking B to fill out paperwork while I was in the bed breathing through heavy contractions.  The nurse kept checking on me, but I was pretty much alone.  Finally the nurse checked on me around 9:45 and she said I was ready to push.  Bryce was still trying to tie up loose ends with the insurance woman, but stopped so he could come hold my leg.  Dr. Chawla came into the room quickly and Abel James was born at 10:03 pm after a few rounds of pushing.  He weighed 6lbs 4 oz and was so small.  He weighed a good amount for being 5 weeks early, but was still small.  I think he had some trouble breathing because he spent a few hours in the NICU before staying with us in the nursery.  It was well after 1:00 am by the time I was cleaned up and into our room with baby Abe.  Abe was born on Wednesday October 7, and we were in the hospital for a week with him due to his weight and temperature.  Finally the following Tuesday, we got to go home!  Such a whirlwind....

October 7, 2009

So fast forward to 3 years later.  Abe's 3rd birthday is on a Sunday and the morning was spent getting ready for church and eating breakfast together.  Since A was 3 now, he was moved up to the "big class" which is the same class that R is in.  He was very excited about that.  After church we headed home for lunch and then naps.  I need to bake while everyone was napping so I didn't get to take a nap:(

October 7, 2012

Abe picked the desserts he wanted for his dessert party.  He wanted spiderman cupcakes (we bought from Sam's Club), dessert fruit pizza, and sugar cookies.  The dessert pizza was time consuming because the crust was brownie and then I had to cut up all the fruit for the top.  Everyone said it was pretty good, although I didn't eat any.  It had cream cheese on it, and I'm not a fan.  Abe's guests included the Gillams, Daniels, Caldwells, and O'Janpas.  We asked for no gifts, but of course, people brought some anyways.  Abe got a J.Vilma jersey from J/K/L/B, a Spiderman puzzle from S/A/L/L, a spiderman toy & cup from J/N/G/B/R, and we got the boy spiderman socks!  That's what he asked for:)

The evening was fun and everyone was full on sugar!  Abe had a great time and a great day.  On October 9, B took A to the doctor for his 3 year check up.  B said all the nurses just complemented A on how smart he was.  We know that A is smart, but usually he's with R so he's not the one that stands out.  He did great on his vision test and his hearing test.  He weighs 32 lbs, is 34 inches tall, and is in overall great health.  He was in the 60th percentile for all his categories and you wouldn't even be able to tell this boy was premature. 

Pumpkin Patch

A few Fridays ago, B's company, AJE, was having family day at Ganyard Farms which is a pumpkin patch near Durham.  B was planning to take the kids and asked if I would be able to join them.  Since I have planning at the end of the day, I finished all my work and left school about 30 minutes early.  I rarely leave school early, but this was a worthwhile exception. 

We met a few of B's coworkers with their children around 2:15.  One nice thing about AJE's socials and get-togethers is they always pay.  Going to pumpkin patches around here is expensive.  It was a lot of fun though.  When we fist got there, the kids headed straight for the tunnel slide.  You had to climb up some big bales of hay to the slide and then rode down the tunnel.  Beside the slide was a tunnel that just ran flat along the ground, and W spent most of his time there. 

After playing around the tunnels, we went for a hay ride.  The hayride was fun, just hot.  The hayride ended near the pumpkin patch so we decided to look around for our pumpkins.  R & A got to pick their own and our only rule was they had to be able to hold them.  So nothing real big. I didn't know pumpkins were prickly.  The 'stem' has prickers around it, which made it difficult to hold by the stem.  R & A had to hold their pumpkins from the bottom.  They picked really cute pumpkins for their sizes!

Before leaving, we played in the kernel pit.  It was under a tent that provided some much needed shade, and all the kernels were very cool to the touch.  I believe the kids would have stayed in for a lot longer, but since it was 3:30 and they hadn't had a nap, we knew that it was time to leave.  We had corn everywhere though!  We found some in our washer/dryer after washing all their clothes.  W even had kernels in his diaper!  It was such a fun family event and I'm glad I left school early to go.

Living Room Fort

The weather has cooled down and one night last week it was too cold to go outside.  It may have been wet as well, I can't remember.  So, we got creative and made a fort inside.  When shopping at Sam's Club, there are not shopping bags, so B has been putting our groceries in boxes.  We had 2 left over that he duct taped together to make a big box.  I used one of our blankets to make a tent/fort for the kids.  They LOVED it and played all evening in the fort.  I think they even watched Spiderman in the fort. 

Spiderman is a whole different story!

Corn on the Cob

I wrote an earlier post about how we have become a Sam's Club family.  I've managed to squeeze groceries out every 2 weeks instead of weekly like we did over the summer.  One of our favorite meals is BBQ beef and corn on the cob.  The kids have grown to like BBQ now and have always enjoyed corn on the cob.  I used to cut the corn off the cob for W, but last time we had it, he would not eat it and kept asking for mine.  Last week we had BBQ and corn again, and I gave W a whole cob and it was the funniest thing to watch him eat!  We all got a kick out of it:)

W at 17 months eating corn on the cob

that's better:)

Family Update

Time flies and I can't believe it's almost October.  Here's a quick update about our family:

Bryce: B's main job is AJE where he works 75%.  He also teaches 1 class ast CaSE and is a students at SEBTS getting his EdD.  He has about 2 more years until he's done.  Next semester he will have to choose between teaching a class at CaSE or a online course at Lancaster Bible School in PA. 
Katie: K teaches at WFRMS still in 7th grade.  I also coach girls soccer this fall and I'm still the department chair.  When I'm not teaching and coaching at school, I'm planning with my PLT who are my best friends at school.  I look foward to weekends when I get to spend the days with my kids.
Rin: R is 4 years old and loves to learn.  She's currently taking gymnastic lessons on Tuesdays for an hour.  She really likes it, but I couldn't tell you what her teacher's name is or what she is learning.  We stay and watch, but it's not like we can practice at home.  Besides gymnastics and learning, R loves princesses and fairies.  She still likes puzzles and is eager to learn to read.
Abe: A is a couple weeks shy of turning 3.  He's very athletic and seems to be pretty fearless.  When he turns 3, we are thinking about finding a program for him to do (maybe at the factory).  A is learning how to be independent of R, and he's developing his own personality.  A likes to joke and be silly.
Wes: W is almost 18 months and is starting to form more words.  He's got about 5 words he can say now, and the funniest is when he says 'yes' and 'uh-oh'.  He's a big boy wearing 18 month clothing since he was 15 months.  W likes to wrestle with B and he likes to sit in my lap while I read him a book.  It seems to us that W has a bit of a silly personality, but we aren't quite sure exactly what W will be like. 

We have a lot of fun as the Hantla Clan and thank God everyday for the family he's blessed us with.

Are you Ready for Some Football?!

Our annual trip to the Panthers/Saints game came earlier this year.  The Gillams and Hantla's were onboard for making a weekend of it, except B had class that week.  We waited for B to get out of class on Saturday and then left for Charlotte.  MP watched the kids for us over the weekend. 

We got on the road about 4:15 pm, and made our way to Charlotte.  K/J had made reservations at a hotel that they normally stay at, and Chris & Heather were meeting us there.  C/H decided to meet us and go to the game with us this year.  We are always welcoming more friends, so having 6 of us was going to be exciting.  By the time we made it to the hotel, it was already getting pretty dark.  We were all starving so we headed into Charlotte for dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery.  B & I had never been there, but the other 4 had.  I looked at the menu ahead of time and knew I wanted the Chicken-n-Mac.  It was yummy mac and cheese with shredded chicken mixed in with some spice.  It was so good.  Jen even got it also.  B got Jambalaya, Chris got a burger, Heather got veggie quesadillas, and Keith got a steak.  I think everyone's food was great, but I know mime was.  We didn't even sit down to order until almost 10, which made for a late late night.  I think we got to sleep shortly after 1am. 

We were so excited about sleeping in, but around 7:15, I woke up and was wide awake.  B and I layed in bed for a while, and then finally got up for the continental breakfast.  The breakfast was hot with eggs, bacon, muffins, gritts, and some fruit.  It was nice to just take it easy and eat breakfast without cooking or cleaning up afterwards.  C/H came down for breakfast later, but J/K never made it down.  They got to sleep in late....We all checked out of the hotel and headed to the stadium for our tailgate.  We found an awesome spot for free, and started the pregame party.  We all brought some stuff to snack on, but B and I weren't very hungry since we just had breakfast.  We ate and talked for a while, and then headed into the stadium around 12:15pm.  Keith and I wanted to be in our seats so we could see both teams come out and warm up.  The past several years we had been late to the game and missed all that excitment.  This year we had plenty of time though.  The entire weekend was a blast, but the Saints lost:(  Carolina's defense was just better than our offense that day. 

Jen and I took naps on the way home, while B and K talked in the front.  By the time we got back to our house after stopping at K/J's to get our car, it was after 9pm.  MP had kept R & A awake so we could see them, but W was already asleep.  We missed our kids a lot.  We look forward to the days when all the Hantla Clan can come to these games together.

Pregame snacking

Keith, Bryce, and Chris

Heather, Katie, and Jen

Gillams, Bryants, Hantlas

Silly

Cam is #1

Who Dat

So Sad:(  Panthers 35   Saints 27

Not in the mood for a picture

Best Friends

Spaghetti Dinner

Since I'm coaching again this year, I asked B if we could host a spaghetti dinner for my soccer girls before their first game.  We wanted to do something special to promote commradary.  Our first game was Thursday, so Wednesday we had the team over for spaghetti. 

I have 20 girls on the team, but 2 were unable to come.  My manager came, which made 19 girls in our house.  I warned them before hand that our house was small and that they might end up sitting on each other's laps.  I also told them I didn't want to see cell phones out the entire afternoon since this was supposed to be a time to get to know each other better. 

B started cooking the spaghetti and I cut the bread.  The salad was just thrown into a bowl and the sauce was in the crockpot.  I used my mom's recipe for sauce and it makes the whole house smell so good.  We had water and lemonade to drink.  Well these girls ate, and ate, and ate some more.  B cooked 3 lbs of spaghetti and the girls ate every single ounce.  They ate all the bread, all the sauce, drank all the lemonade and ate all the cookies.  The only thing that was left was a tiny bit of salad.  B and I didn't even get to eat!  The girls kept coming back for more.  I'm glad they enjoyed it, but I would have liked some myself. 

I also wish I would have taken pictures.  All their backpacks and soccer bags were in the back of the van, and all their shoes were on the front porch.  R & A had a blast with a bunch of kids to play with them.  After eating, most everyone went outside for a big game of tag and hide-n-seek.  All the girls were gone by 6:30 and then we headed to the WFRMS football game vs Heritage, by way of MacDonalds so B and I could eat.  The game was fun and the Cougars won.  Some soccer girls were there too and R wanted to go off with them.  We did not let her because they were more interested in socializeing than playing with a 4 year old.  R & A sat with us as we cheered our team on.  We got home a little after 8 that night which meant no baths, but such a fun evening!