Daniel Turns Three

Our at-home celebration (Unfortunately, we were so busy video-taping Daniel w/ his cake that we forgot to take still pictures!) This was his big gift from us
(with Grandma Jo's PlayMobil fire truck).

Daniel wanted a Thomas cake like the one Grammie got him last year.

His party was at the park!

There were about 20 kids present! We almost ran out of cake!

Daniel is our verbose three-year-old! He has had to deal with some big changes this summer, but he has handled it pretty well, despite the occasional lapse into baby-talk and lots of silliness. Daniel still loves construction trucks and trains, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Let him enjoy these "little boy things" as long as possible!

After a few weeks of diligence on our part, he is FINALLY almost potty-trained. There are still accidents, and we have to remind him often, but he has had several dry days lately.

Daniel is definitely in the "questioning" phase! In the car, especially, he asks about a million questions- about the trucks going by, why people throw trash on the road, the list goes on... He will start preschool on Monday mornings at the home of a friend, but we are learning letters during homeschool time right now.

We love our sweet, happy boy so much!

Andrew: One Month

Andrew was one month old yesterday! Although it has been four short weeks since we brought him home, it feels like he has always been a part of our family...

He is a great little eater and sleeper! We think that he is probably the least fussy infant of all three boys, although we sometimes have a hard time getting him to go to sleep at night! We think we are waiting too long to put him down, and he is getting overly tired. We plan to remedy this by putting him in bed about an hour earlier than we have been. When he does go down, Andrew will usually sleep for about six hours, so I am only getting up once per night to feed him- thank goodness!

Nicholas and Daniel are doing well with their new brother. Both love to touch his hair and talk to him, and Nicholas especially seems to be very affectionate towards Andrew. :-)

Andrew will go to the doctor on August 9 for a check-up, so we have no idea how much he weighs now, but I'm guessing around nine pounds. He already has some meat on his bones, and eats well (just like his brothers!).

Andrew's Birth Story

Today we came home with our new addition, Andrew Thomas. Thinking over the past couple days, I am so in awe of God's goodness and mercy during the labor and delivery. Chris and I showed up at the hospital on Thursday morning thinking that we were headed for a "boring" and probably uneventful delivery (Like the delivery of any baby is every boring! But, compared to our first two middle of the night births, this one seemed a lot less exciting).

So, after having my water broken by the doctor around noon, and getting an epidural a bit later, I began having very strong contractions. "Won't be long now!" we thought. Because of the epidural, I wasn't aware that I was having a five-minute long contraction. The nurse noticed that Andrew's heartbeat was rapidly decelerating, and rushed into the room along with a couple of colleagues. The doctor was called, and came over with surprising speed from his office across the street. Meanwhile, Andrew's condition was not improving. Dr. Reutinger had Chris dress in surgical scrubs, and told me that if the drugs they had given me to stop contractions didn't work quickly, I'd have an emergency c-section. I was quickly taken to the operating room to prepare for surgery. Although this wouldn't have been an ideal situation, we knew that God was in control, and Andrew's safety was our main priority.

After a couple of scary minutes, we were told that Andrew was better, the drugs had worked! Thankfully, we returned to our original room. We still didn't expect to wait another five hours before delivery, but were so relieved that Andrew was doing well, we didn't care! Finally he arrived at 5:44 p.m., perfectly formed and made. Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful blessing.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well... All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Andrew meets his big brothers for the first time!

Andrew Thomas Wells

Delivered happy and healthy at 5:44 6/24/2010. 7 lbs, 10 oz. Mom and Baby are doing great.

40 Weeks!

Today, June 21, is my due date. I never thought Andrew would hold out this long, especially since I've been having contractions for the past 6-8 weeks! The end is near. I'll be induced on Thursday morning if he hasn't come before.

T-Ball

Nicholas has been playing t-ball with the YMCA for about a month. Chris is one of the coaches, and they have both enjoyed it a lot! Above are some pics.

Something Special

I wanted to share with you something very special that happened with Nicholas last week. He has been asking about what happens to people when they die recently, and did so again the other day. I answered that those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven, and he responded with a smile, "I believe in Jesus!" Normally, when he's said this in the past, we've said, "That's wonderful!" and left it at that, but this last time, I told Nicholas that we also need to trust Him as our Savior, which means confessing that we are sinful, and asking Him to be the Lord of our life. I said, "When you are ready to do that, you can tell Mom and Dad." After thinking for a moment, he said, "Mom, I think I'm ready now!"
So, we prayed that very awesome prayer together, and Nicholas is now a true believer. We are so thankful that God has drawn our son to Himself, and for his salvation. Please pray that Nicholas will always love the Lord as he does now, and that his life will be pleasing to God.