Here we go!!!! A flashback on 2012!! I have a feeling it is probably going to take me a long time to finish this blog...I have to admit that this has been one of the most amazing years of my life....if not the best yet!!
This is how I started out 2012.....
(Kaleb's first birthday!)
Not too differently from the year before!! Hahaha!! But this is [probably] my last baby belly......it's sad (some days) but also very exciting to be watching my 3 little ones grow and turn into the people God has created them to be and to be looking forward to our future child that we will be adopting one day.
In January, we celebrated our big boy's 1st birthday!!! It was heart-breaking!! Lol. But he is such an awesome little man!! I am so proud to be his mama!!
February, we got to have a 3d/4d ultrasound of our surprise baby :)
And celebrated Adia's 3rd birthday!!!
In March we got to play outside a whole lot and got a surprise visit from Grandpa Rex!! He lives in Tennessee so we only get to see him once or twice a year....this was actually the first time he got to meet Kaleb.
April was the MOST exciting month of the year!!!!!!!!!!!
We spent Easter with Oma!! We love her so much!!!
5 days after Easter we welcomed our 3rd child into this world,
Kasen Evan Poppert!!!!
That Friday morning at 10:30, I went in for my OB appointment to see if things had changed; I was having contractions and had dilated more.
So my mid wife told me to go ahead and go to the hospital...and I needed to be there by 12...we were going to have a baby today.
I was in complete shock rushing around making sure Adia and Kaleb were taken care of and knowing I was prepared and they were ready to go.
I remember walking into my house to tell my mother in law what was going on and I looked down to see my 14 month old sitting on the floor and it hit me like a ton of bricks that things were about to change.....
I picked Kaleb up and held him and cried so hard. I was so scared that having this baby was going to change the way I felt about the baby I STILL had at home.
After Oma got me calmed down and settled, she helped me to remember how joyous the day was about to be and off I went to the hospital.
Honestly, the reality that we were having a 3rd child did not hit until this day. Yes, I loved this baby with all my heart and knew it was a blessing from The Lord.
Yes, we were excited to be having another child!!
And yes, we prepared and planned for him the same way we did with our other two.
But I think I was just so busy with Kaleb and Adia that it really just DID NOT hit home until this moment.
I got to the hospital at 12:30, had an awesome epidural (sorry ladies but after delivering a 9 1/2 pound baby with nothing, this girl was getting the juice!!), sat around and joked and enjoyed the time with my husband (who by the way was out of town that day and I had to call him to come home!!), and was pretty much pain free until the last 30 minutes before our baby made his debut into this world. It was a cake walk...
until delivery......
The baby was turned and after his head had came out they needed me to push one more time to finish getting him out...ok, one more push, I can do this, and his shoulder got stuck and his arm was bent and twisted behind his back. I was in pain, but I was aware of everything going on. So they had to push him back up in me (worse.pain.EVER!) and twist him into the right position to get him to deliver right. Praise the Lord it worked and out he came!! But they were so worried about him. Mike didn't even get to cut his umbilical cord. They thought he may have broken his arm, shoulder or collar bone. So I am laying on the bed waiting to see my baby, worried because I had no idea if he was okay or not and I started bleeding out twice. The doctor was a mess! Ha. And I am laying here not sure who to worry about more, my baby or myself. But I had been praying from the time we entered that hospital through the whole labor and delivery and God was there with me through it all. After what seemed like forever the doctor got the bleeding under control and Kasen checked out to be perfectly fine!! HALLELUJAH!!
Waiting for 10 months to hear the words, "It's a boy!" was the most amazing thing I have ever done!! I just started crying when she told us we had another little man!!! I was so happy to be able to have one more rough and tough joining our family!! I strongly suggest if you have the will power, wait until delivery to find out!! We have done it both ways and this was definitely so rewarding!!
WELCOME TO THE WORLD KASEN!!!
April 13, 2012~ 8lbs 10oz, 20 3/4"long, 5:14 pm
He has seriously been the most AMAZING baby ever!! I could not ask for a better baby. I have said that with every one of my children and somehow God always blesses us with such wonderful babies that exceed anything we could have ever expected.
In May, we loved being outside!! And of course our newest member of the family turned 1 month old!!! :)
We also got to have a fun day at the lake with some really good friends!!
In June, Mike MADE me cut Kaleb's hair....It was awful!!! I was so upset!!! But my husband hardly ever is adamant about anything so I gave up fighting him, and Adia and Kaleb both got their first hair cuts.
and we went for a picnic and walk around Grand Bay for Father's Day with the best Daddy in the world!!!
2 months old!!!
July was full of friends, birthdays and baby love!!!
Fourth of July!!!
Baby Love....
3 months old!!!
This year was the first year that I have had to be by myself (with the exception of the babes) for my birthday...so we decided to make a cake at home!! Someone was sick, I don't remember who exactly, that is why we were kinda confined to the house that day.
The beautiful flowers Mike had delivered for me! This is the first time in the 7 years we have been together that he has ever had me flowers delivered!!
August started off with a BANG!!! I had an awesome birthday party Girls' Night Out with some amazing ladies!! The best part was it was a themed party!!!!......80's!!!!
Adia started her first year of gymnastics!! Which has been amazing!! This sport fits her so much better than ballet!!
......Kasen kept on growing!!!
Kaleb's love for Thomas the Train really hit in full force!! He was/is obsessed!!!
And we started having play dates with Papa at the mall once a week!!
The kids love their Papa!! We go to the mall to play, eat Chick fil A and then ride on a 50 cents ride every.single.time!! Hahaha!! They love routine!!
In September, Mike and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary!!! Boy, we have come so far!!! Still just as crazy about each other and more and more in love everyday!!
We had plans on going out of town on an intimate weekend get-a-way, just the 2 of us for our anniversary but it fell through last minute. We were super bummed! We couldn't get a refund on our hotel at such short notice so we loaded up all the kids and took them to Fernandina Beach with us.
WORSE.TRIP.EVER!!!! It was way too much on them!! They were so tired by the time we made it there. So we napped in the hotel and then went to this cute little place on the shore of the ocean and had lunch. It was so nice there because we sat outside and they had a playground for the kids to play right where we could keep a close eye on them!! After lunch we went to the beach for a couple of hours and it started raining on us. It rained the entire time we were there!! So we were cooped up in a hotel room with 2 really grumpy kiddos. We went to dinner that night and came back to go to bed. We were so done and really looking forward to heading home the next morning. Then an hour after we all had fallen asleep, Adia woke up upset so we stuck her in the bed with us......and she puked EVERYWHERE!!! It was awful!!! Needless to say we made it through the weekend and got home ASAP the next day!!! And in spite of the extremely disastrous weekend we had, the baby was STILL the easiest one!! He is so go with the flow!! But we did get some good beach pics and this was Kasen's first visit to the beach.
And of course......
October was full of fun!!! I LOVE the fall!!! We stay so busy with fall festivals, being outside, enjoying the weather!!!
We also got a visit from Sandra, Aaron and the kids in October!!! Sandra is my best friend. I love her and her family so much!! Her and Aaron are also our children's Godparents so while they were here, we dedicated our sweet little Kase!!! What was awesome about dedicating Kase during this time is we were celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles at church. Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles and was brought to the temple on the 8th day. Unbeknownst to me, we were actually dedicating Kasen on the 8th day of the Feast as well. Such a wonderful symbol and time to bring our baby boy before the Lord.
The most beautiful woman of God I know!!!
We got to take Adia and Kaleb to see Thomas the Train in October too!!!
It was soooo much fun!!!
6 months old!!!
And of course the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween!!!
Our first official family portrait with all 5 of us!!!
In November, Adia and I went to Movies in the Park one night!!! A big screen, blankets and lots of junk food!!!
We also went to A-maze-in-Cane, cane maze with the Megows and Cumbesses!! So much fun!!! We will definitely be doing that again in 2013!!!
Oh yeah!!!
And we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents this year!!!
And we wished Daddy a Happy 27th Birthday!!!!
Adia also started preschool at Carpenter's Kids Preschool!!! She loves it!! I am so happy she enjoys school so much!!
AND FINALLY DECEMBER!!!!!
We got our Christmas tree!! This was the first time Kaleb and Kasen got to visit the Christmas tree farm!!!
And his final mini birthday of 2012!!!
Christmas Pictures 2012!!!
And Christmas morning with our family of 5!! The more the merrier!!!
Then we blew out 2012 with some awesome friends!!!
This had definitely been such an awesome year!! I am looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us! We are beyond blessed with what we have!! I know God has so much more for us and am anticipating what He is going to pour out on us this New Year!!!
-Ashleigh
