These Faces...

make me HAPPY!

The kids!

On the 19th of this month Nathan was 2 months old. I wanted to do a post each month of his first year and I'm already behind. These pictures were taken on the 19th though. He is such a darling boy! He is so happy and good. He is the smiliest baby and it just melts my heart! He is sleeping good and eating good (pure cream it looks like!). At his 2 month apointment he weighed 15 pounds and 3 oz. (At one month he was 13 pounds 3 oz! I don't think I recorded that on my one month post and I wanted to just in case I ever get going on his baby book so I don't forget!) He has the cutest rolls! Honestly I think Maddie and Bella weiged 15 pounds at about a year! After a day of toting Nathan around my back is feeling it that is for sure! We are of course biased, but Scott and I are always commenting about how he has the cutest face ever! Seriously the sweetest boy! He is finally taking to his pacifier (hooray!) after a little persistence! You'd think I wouldn't want him to have a pacifier after my girls who have been SO attached to theirs. I like them when they are babies though! He is getting used to being dragged all about on errands and outings with the girls, although he still isn't a huge fan of the carseat. He is really strong, alert, and has a cute little giggle! We love this little boy and are grateful for what he has taught us already. There is nothing like a baby to put life in perspective. It is quite the difference to only have one little baby to feed and get to sleep and I have to say that I'm grateful for it! Maddie and Bella are still a handful themselves. I'm working on my patience daily! We already have a lot of DRAMA in our house. The girls are both quite emotional and sensitive so it is a good thing Nathan can bring a new dimension as he gets older. I'm exciited about all the good things ahead for him! We love you little bud!

This picture was after our friday night date. It is a weekly ritual that the girls have come to eagerly anticipate. They always think that date night means ICECREAM! They LOVE frosty's or soft serve cones. One of these days when friday night date means a date only for mom and dad they are totally going to be crushed! They love our dates with dad. Anyway, on the way home from getting icecream at the mall they wanted to play at the park. We decided we could since it was still light. As we were driving to the park it started pouring rain. I mean seriously pouring. The girls were pretty upset about it and I was trying to explain that they couldn't play at the park in the rain. When we got home they still really wanted to go and I made the mistake of saying they could just to get them to stop whining about it. I figured as soon as they got out of the car and got totally drenched they'd back down. Well, I was wrong. Scott was a good sport and he walked with them over to the park and played in the pouring rain. They definitely had fun and besides when else do you ever play in the rain except for when you are little?

The Parable of the Silverware

Whenever I write letters to Katie or think about our marriage I am reminded of a conference talk by Elder F. Burton Howard that we heard in the Conference Center while we were dating in April 2003. This Parable of the Silverware has since had a special place in our marriage and relationship. In fact, a quote from this parable has been taped to our bathroom mirror for nearly half of our marriage. I am putting this on the blog as a reminder to myself and so that you can enjoy it as well.

"Most of all, I think eternal marriage cannot be achieved without a commitment to make it work. Most of what I know about this I have learned from my companion. We have been married for almost 47 years now. From the beginning she knew what kind of marriage she wanted.

"We started as poor college students, but her vision for our marriage was exemplified by a set of silverware. As is common today, when we married she registered with a local department store. Instead of listing all the pots and pans and appliances we needed and hoped to receive, she chose another course. She asked for silverware. She chose a pattern and the number of place settings and listed knives, forks, and spoons on the wedding registry and nothing else. No towels, no toasters, no television—just knives, forks, and spoons.

"The wedding came and went. Our friends and our parents’ friends gave gifts. We departed for a brief honeymoon and decided to open the presents when we returned. When we did so, we were shocked. There was not a single knife or fork in the lot. We joked about it and went on with our lives.

"Two children came along while we were in law school. We had no money to spare. But when my wife worked as a part-time election judge or when someone gave her a few dollars for her birthday, she would quietly set it aside, and when she had enough she would go to town to buy a fork or a spoon. It took us several years to accumulate enough pieces to use them. When we finally had service for four, we began to invite some of our friends for dinner.

"Before they came, we would have a little discussion in the kitchen. Which utensils would we use, the battered and mismatched stainless or the special silverware? In those early days I would often vote for the stainless. It was easier. You could just throw it in the dishwasher after the meal, and it took care of itself. The silver, on the other hand, was a lot of work. My wife had it hidden away under the bed where it could not be found easily by a burglar. She had insisted that I buy a tarnish-free cloth to wrap it in. Each piece was in a separate pocket, and it was no easy task to assemble all the pieces. When the silver was used, it had to be hand washed and dried so that it would not spot, and put back in the pockets so it would not tarnish, and wrapped up and carefully hidden again so it would not get stolen. If any tarnish was discovered, I was sent to buy silver polish, and together we carefully rubbed the stains away.

"Over the years we added to the set, and I watched with amazement how she cared for the silver. My wife was never one to get angry easily. However, I remember the day when one of our children somehow got hold of one of the silver forks and wanted to use it to dig up the backyard. That attempt was met with a fiery glare and a warning not to even think about it. Ever!

"I noticed that the silverware never went to the many ward dinners she cooked, or never accompanied the many meals she made and sent to others who were sick or needy. It never went on picnics and never went camping. In fact it never went anywhere; and, as time went by, it didn’t even come to the table very often. Some of our friends were weighed in the balance, found wanting, and didn’t even know it. They got the stainless when they came to dinner.

"The time came when we were called to go on a mission. I arrived home one day and was told that I had to rent a safe-deposit box for the silver. She didn’t want to take it with us. She didn’t want to leave it behind. And she didn’t want to lose it.

"For years I thought she was just a little bit eccentric, and then one day I realized that she had known for a long time something that I was just beginning to understand. If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by.

"Eternal marriage is just like that. We need to treat it just that way."

I LOVE YOU KATIE, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY AGAIN!

Happy Mother's Day Katie!!!

When I married you Katie nearly 6 years ago (wow that sounds like a long time) one of the things that I loved most about you or saw in you was someone who was going to be a very successful mother. Now I look back at the last three years and the three beautiful kids that have come into our lives and your nurturing and love for them have exceeded all that I thought possible. I just wanted to tell you Katie, that as I watch you raise our sweet twins and new son my love for you is deeper than it has ever been. You amaze me in every way, with your energy, selflessness, service, dedication, and optimism. You are the reason that our daughters are the amazing little girls that they are, so smart, sweet, gracious, and easy to love. Thank you sweeheart for everything you do and know that I feel like the luckiest man on earth to have you as my wife and the mother of our kids. I look forward to standing by your side through all that lays ahead and will at some future date, join with our grown children, and call you a special and blessed Mother and Wife.

Love,

Scott

Lately...

Spring has finally come to Cleveland! It is beautiful around here. Shaker has so many huge trees and it makes it so nice to have everything green again after a long winter. We had a wonderful surprise when our big tree in the front bloomed lavender! We love it. There is cute little Maddie next to the tree.

Things are going well with all the kids and we adore little Nathan more and more everyday.
We had to take a picture in his Rhino shirt. I have a feeling that his dad's nickname "Ryno" will be carried on.

This week the BYU Ballroom dance company came to Cleveland on their summer tour. We had two cute girl dancers, Elisha and Shayla, stay with us. They were darling and it was fun to bring back the BYU memories- especially the tour days. We loved that. We went to their show and even took the girls. They loved it and thought that all the dancers were princesses. We had to talk about all the colors of dresses in each number. They were definitely thrilled to have "BYU Cougar dancers" stay at our house. We are brainwashing them early!

Blessing Day

Scott gave Nathan a sweet blessing two sundays ago. We were glad to have Grandpa Randy here in the circle as well. What a special day. He looked so sweet in his blessing outfit that Aunt Lacey found for him.

The girls were of course darling too in their sweet white dresses from Grandma. I still can't get them to smile good for the camera. Oh well.

Visitors!

We were so lucky to have Scott's parents come out to visit us! Scott had to take a test in Kirksville and from there he flew to Vegas where he met his Dad. He and Randy drove our new Toyota Sienna all the way across the country here to Ohio. Melanie came out to help me with the kids while the boys were driving. It worked out well and I was grateful that I didn't have to make the drive! Scott and Randy took about 3 days to get here and they made sure to hit up a few Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives restaurants along the way! We have LOVED the van though and are so grateful to have a little more room. The three kids' carseats were definitely squished not so safely in our other car. Anyway, we had a blast with them here and are so grateful for wonderful family. We miss you!

We went to Kirtland and saw the church history sights.




Scott and Randy grilled some delicious steak, salmon, and chicken- all bought at the west side market. We love going out there and always find the best produce and yummy treats! We convereted Randy and Melanie to the falafel too! We love it!

Nathan and Grandpa!

We played at our favorite park, ate at Cheesecake Factory, went to Westside market, the boys hit up an Indian's game, we did a little shopping, and the kids loved playing with the grandparents. It was such a treat for us to have you all here! Hooray for the new van too!

First SMILES

Nathan has been smiling tons the past couple weeks. How can you not love this chubby face?

One month old!

It is hard to believe that it has already been a month. It has gone by so quickly. How fun it has been to have this new little boy in our life. Life is finally starting to feel more "normal" and that is nice. The first week of his life Nathan was basically asleep-like all newborns! The next couple weeks were a little more of a challenge because he started getting a little fussy and had some reflux issues. He was throwing up everytime he ate and would cry and squirm after he ate too. It was hard to figure out how to take care of him and keep the girls happy and everything else all at once. It was nice to have my parents here during that time for some help and distraction. This last week and a half has gotten easier and I think it will be that way more and more as we get into the swing of things. Nathan has been much happier and isn't so fussy. He still has his moments after he eats, but it is usually pretty quick and he is fine. He likes to be held all the time- but what baby doesn't? He absolutely loves his dad already! I think it is great. Scott can calm him down and get him to sleep way faster than I can. They are little buddies already. The reflux trouble has gotten quite a bit better too so that is nice. Overall we are probably just getting more used to everything too. He is such a handsome little guy and everyone is always saying that he is a mini Scott- which he is! We love this sweet little boy and are treasuring each little stage because we know it goes so fast. It seems like yesterday that we had two little newborn girls and were rocking them to sleep all day and night instead of Nathan!

Here he is in his Easter outfit from Grandma. His first time to church was on easter sunday!



Love those cheeks and that darling red hair!


Often when you have more than one child people wonder how you divide your love between them. I was talking about this with a friend who said she heard from a wise older man that you don't have to divide your love between your kids- instead your love just multiplies with each one. It is like the love that Heavenly Father has for all of his children. That is why we are commanded to multiply and replenish the earth- so we can get a small taste of what our Heavenly Father feels for us. I think that is a perfect way of saying it and I have been amazed at how my love has grown for this little boy from day one (and even before that) and for Maddie and Bella as well. Now I think the challenge is actually how you divide your time and your hands between everyone because unfortunately those things can't be multiplied! We love you Nathan and are grateful for the precious spirit you have brought into our lives this last month.

Easter Sunday

Here are the girls on easter morning right after they woke up. They are getting ready to go see if the easter bunny came.



Finding their Easter baskets...


Aren't they cute all dressed up for church? Thankfully my mom brought these darling easter dresses out so the girls had a new dress for church. They loved them and thought they were princesses all day. They were also excited to carry their very own treats to church in their bunny purses from Aunt Joan. They are getting so big! It was a sunny day, but still a little chilly- hence the sweaters, but spring is coming!


Best friends!

Happy Easter

We love holidays around our house! It is so fun to carry out family traditions and start new ones as well. This year the girls loved going on an easter egg hunt at our church. They were eating the treats out of them as fast as they could open the eggs.


We also had to dye eggs and Maddie and Bella thought it was a lot of fun.

We love Grandparents!

We were so lucky to have my parents come for a visit over conference weekend. Their schedule is so busy at the temple so we were thrilled they could steal away for a few days. We loved having them here and they spoiled us like they always do! We are glad they could meet little Nathan too. We had an excursion to the Science Museum and then the west side market. It was funny because we decided to buy the produce for Conference Soup at the market and you should have seen how much food we left there with! We all loved the falafel and got some yummy treats as well as tons of fruits and vegetables. It was a treat to have them for conference soup- especially since my mom did most of the work! It was delicious as always. Conference was wonderful as always too. My Dad headed back to Salt Lake on Sunday and my mom stayed a couple extra days. She was such a good sport to just hang out with us and help with the girls and Nathan. We miss her already! Wednesday morning when the girls woke up they were very distraught to realize that she really had gone back to Utah- even though we all took her to the aiport the night before somehow it hadn't set in! Anyway, thanks so much for everything Mom and Dad. You are the best and we love you so much!

A classic Maddie and Bella moment!

You've got to watch this video! It is darling and classic Maddie and Bella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvHR9Dnb4bY

The details

I've been wanting to record Nathan's birth story for journaling sake and Scott took the girls on some errands and Nathan is sleeping, so I have a few minutes! So here come all the little details if you all want to skip ahead.

Last tuesday I went to my doctor's apointment to see how everything was going. I was dilated to a three and 80% effaced so we were happy that things were moving along. Wednesday evening I started to have contractions and not feel very good. Bella woke up in the middle of the night and it woke me up so I went in to see what was wrong. After that I couldn't fall back asleep because I really started having contractions close together. They got painful really fast and so I woke up Scott and we were trying to figure out what to do. It was about 3:45 and we didn't want to bother anyone in the night to help with the girls. I thought I could wait it out a bit, but the contractions were coming so fast and were really strong. My labor with the twins was so quick so I thought that this labor would go really fast and I wanted to make sure we got to the hospital in time for an epidural. We finally called our wonderful neighbors across the street, Lisa and Chris, and they had us bring Maddie and Bella over with their little blow up mattresses. The girls were a little confused and not too happy to be woken up in the night and taken somewhere else, but I think they eventually went back to sleep. Thank you so much Chris and Lisa for letting us ruin your nights' sleep! We are so grateful to have you so close.

We got to the hospital around 4:45 and I was dilated to a five. They came and gave me my epidural within an hour. I was relieved! I'm definitely not tough when it comes to pain. My water broke about 7:30 and I thought things would go pretty quick. After that though we just had to wait a while. Finally he was ready and I only had to push a few minutes and he was here. We were shocked that he was such a big boy! I figure that last time I had 12 pounds of baby so my body was like, "Come on, this is lightweight!" Good thing I didnt' go until today (my due date) or he would have been 12 pounds! Anyway, the doctor laid him right on me and it was a wonderful experience. With Maddie and Bella I barely even got to look at Bella before I was focused on pushing again and getting Maddie here. With the girls we were in the OR and it was a totally different experience with a lot more people around. I was suprised at how low key this delivery was. It was just Scott and I and a nurse and the doctor. Right after he was born I remember everyone saying how cute he was with such big cheeks and rolls already! When I finally held him my first thought was how much he looked like his dad!

After we all recovered most the day we decided to get Maddie and Bella. My wonderful friend from Kirksville, Jessica, drove up from Cuyahoga Falls to pick up the girls from Lisa's that morning. She had a field trip for her daughter that day and she still loaded up her kids and came and got them for us. She took them to my other sweet friend Melissa's house in Massilon who watched them all day long. Melissa has a daughter the girls' age so they loved playing with her all day. It was SO nice not to worry about them at all. We knew they were happy and well taken care of. We appreciate good friends closeby- especially being away from our families. Friends become like family. Thank you Jessica and Melissa for taking good care of all of us. We appreciate it so much. Scott brought the girls to the hospital and they were excited to see Mom and their little brother. They each held him for about 2 seconds and then they were ready for us all to go home. They were a little sad when they realized that mom didn't get to come home with them quite yet.

The next morning Mike and Chantele drove from South Bend and came with Scott and the girls up to the hospital. It was so great to have them here! They took the girls on an outing that afternoon and were a much needed distraction for them. I asked if I could go home that day instead of the following day because I like being home much better than at the hospital. I knew it would mean a little more work, but we had help, and the girls were happier to have mom home. Saturday we just spent recovering and getting used to life with three. Maddie and Bella got to go to their friend Ashlyn's princess birthday party and were thrilled to come home with all sorts of princess jewelry, crowns, wands etc. It was good timing for them to have something fun like that. Mike and Chantele thanks so much for coming. We loved seeing you and really appreciated all your help. We sent them grocery shopping, on our errands, and they helped so much with the girls. We love you guys!

The last few days have been good. Scott has been home and I have been so grateful for that. He has been a hero dad- doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, playing tons with the girls, holding and cuddling Nathan constantly. I wouldn't have survived without him! I'm so sad he has to go back to real life tomorrow! I'm remembering all the fun things that come with giving birth and nursing as far as recovering and pain go, but I know it will all pass soon. Maddie and Bella have been troopers- a little out of sorts and more defiant- but that is to be expected. Overall they've done wonderful and are going to be good sisters. Nathan is a little sweetie and we think he is the cutest thing. I took him to the doctor today and he is already 9 lbs 9 oz so he has passed his birthweight and is doing great. The doctor commented that I don't look that tired and I have to admit that having one newborn to take care of is so much easier for me than two! (Though of course I wouldn't trade having twins for the world! It is wonderful, especially right now because they are really entertaining each other and playing together.) But I'm getting so much more rest! It helps that he is such a happy little guy and he is eating and sleeping really well too. It is so fun to have a little boy and I lOVE watching Scott with him. He is just thrilled for this little buddy. I know the next few weeks and months won't be the easiest but it is a good challenge in every way. We have wonderful friends bringing meals all week and we've been spoiled with gifts and phone calls. We are grateful for all the support and are thrilled to be a family of five!

Our sweetie

I-Nathan Scott Rynearson- am a child of God,
and He has sent me here-on March 19, 2009.
Has given me an earthly home-in Cleveland Ohio-
with parents-Scott and Katie- kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me.
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.

Baby!

Nathan Scott Rynearson was born thursday March 19th at 1:00 pm. He was a strapping 9 pounds 5 oz! He is so darling and chubby and just such a mush. We adore him! Everything went well with the delivery and thanks so much to wonderful friends and family who have helped with Maddie and Bella! We'll add more details soon, but we are all home and doing great. (We are trying to figure out what is wrong with the settings on our camera and why all our pictures are so grainy :( We'll try to get some clear ones soon)