Eason, Hayes & Kate Ross http://murphree5.blogspot.com/

Well, it appears that aboutmybaby.com is NOT closing--YIPEE! So, I started murphree5.blogspot for nothing...ha! I enjoyed trying out the blogging world, but I don't think I am a very good blogger. I am better at just posting pictures and "happenings" from us without the preasure to come up with cute titles and explaining each photo. So, while I still may use the blog from time to time, I am working on getting our pictures caught up on here (of course, I can't have 9 months missing after all the years documented here); then, I will plan to go back to using this to share and document what we have been up to.

I was informed around the first of January that aboutmybaby.com was going out of business. I wanted to cry.:( I started this scrapbook way back in February 2004 (check out how little Eason was in our first album) and have used it for not only for organizing and posting pictures and videos but for tracking milestones for the children, since I stopped being able to keep up with baby books long ago. I will get a keepsake thumbdrive(?) of the entire scrapbook, but I wish I could find a way to keep all of this on the web. However, we have a new beginning at http://murphree5.blogspot.com if you want to check us out. I may continue to post here though until they are ready to shut down. I am still secretly holding out hope that they decide to continue--denial, I know.

Well we have had another birthday at our house.
Eason turned 7 on November 20.

"All About Eason"

Height: 4 feet
Weight: 49 lbs

Eason is such a neat child, and his daddy and I are so proud of him. As one of his Bible School teachers told me a couple of years ago, Eason is an old soul, and she was right. His little mind is always turning. He is quite the thinker and asks at least 350 questions daily, many of which I have to look up on the computer or just leave it at "I don't know", but for the most part we do our best to explain whatever he is curious about. He prefers to stay busy and the busier he is, the easier he is for me. You will rarely find him just watching TV. If he watches TV, he is doing something else at the same time, like building some kind of awesome creation with his legos (using instructions that I seriously cannot follow as an adult), drawing, word searches, puzzles..etc. He is doing very well in school (ALL A's!). He is a wonderful reader and with his love for math and building, I can easily see him following in his daddy's footsteps as an engineer. I took him to the library yesterday and he asked me to point him to the "fact books" (as he calls them). He spent the remainder of the time looking at this huge world Atlas and big encyclopedias--is he MY child? ;)
However, intellegence isn't all he has going for him. He has proven to be quite athletic and very well liked by his classmates. We are proud to be parents of such a well-rounded little boy.

Some "Eason Facts"
~He LOVES to play football and soccer
~He broke his collar bone this fall playing football with his daddy
~He can do some really cool bike tricks
~He has a short fuse...especially with his brother :(
~He is an amazing artist (have not a clue where he gets this since his daddy and I can barely draw a stick man)
~He is "wound tight" as his daddy said the other night when Eason was having a not-so-good moment
~He can be very serious, yet ridiculously silly
~He likes to know facts about geography, presidents, space, history..you name it (YES, he is my biological child:))
~He is very competitive
~His behavior at school has been excellent--has not had to pull a stick (their discipline system) all year
~He doesn't like superheroes or imaginary-type toys
~His favorite class at school is art
~He knows more scripture and Bible facts than I do (Huge shout out to Immanuel!)
~He seems to need alot of approval from us
~He still has alot of innocence to him--told me someone said a really bad word that started with "S". I gasped. Then told me it rhymed with "soup did"--STUPID--WHEW!!!
~He has trouble with patience
~He thinks everything has to perfect and often freaks when it is not.
~He is respectful and polite to adults
~He can be such a helper when I really need him to be
~He couldn't be more Type A Personality if he tried

Justin and I are both so proud to be Eason's parents. We thank God daily for this amazing gift He has given us, and we look forward to seeing what this next year holds for our precious first-born.

All about Kate Ross.....

***edited to add her stats at 12 months***
Weight: 22 lbs
Length: 30.5 inches
Head: 18.5 inches

I was going to try to post "all about" the birthday child in our house on (around) their birthday. I am almost a month late with this one and can't believe I have another child with a birthday tomorrow! Better late than never, I suppose!

I can't believe our sweet baby girl is ONE! The bottles are packed away along with all that other "first year" baby gear. This has been the fastest year. I am convinced it has something to do with keeping up with 3 children. Her birthday was just perfect and celebrated with family. Nonnie and Hoppy gave her a baby that cries and Nac-Nac and Jim gave her a baby that laughs--and she loves them both! Our dear friends, Shawn and Callie, gave her super cute MSU cheerleader outfit, and we think she makes a mighty cute bulldog. We gave her a ride-on car and she really likes to climb on and off of this.

Just a few words she knows and can point to when asked: hair, nose, Eason, Hayes, birds, balloon, paci, Elmo, swing, book, bath, shoes/socks, baby

EATING:
(Still has 8 teeth)I think it would be easier for me to list what she does NOT like vs. what she DOES like beacause this girl will eat practically anything I give her! She has been on all table food since about 9 months and eats whatever I cook for the rest of us at mealtime. She normally out eats her brothers...seriously. She doesn't seem to care for milk, but doctor said no big deal if she likes cheese and yogurt, and she does. I think the only thing I've seen her spit out has been hotdogs. She eats a lot of cheese toast, green beans, peas, bananas, turkey sandwiches, soups, REALLY likes grapes...

SLEEPING:
Doing much better at night--Naptimes are not great, but we have to be on the go so much that this routine has never been properly established. She normally only naps about 1 hour (if that) at home. I will be honest--this wears me out, but her bedtime is around 7:00 each night. She mostly naps in her carseat taking and picking up her brothers from school. Since we live about 17 miles from town, she has LOTS of time in the car. She will also sleep in her bed all night a couple of nights a week. (We are those parents who get her and bring her to our bed when she cries at night from sheer exhaustion--it works for us)

TALKING:
Mama (but doesn't say it too often)

Dada (loves to say this when her daddy walks
through the door in the afternoons. I
love watching her reaction--she drops
whatever she is into and runs to hug her
daddy and wants him to hold her right
then!)

Nigh-Night And if you tell her to go night-
night she'll lay her head down
where ever she is like she is
sleeping

Dora (which sounds like "Dorda") She can spot
Dora across a store and points and
says "Dorda!" I think it is so funny
that she is already a Dora fan at
almost 13 months old.

Bye-Bye (Says this often and waves to anyone who
leaves our house...along with random
cars that ride past our house.)

Uh-Oh Which is usually more like a sound

MOBILITY:
She has been walking for a while now, but still falls ALOT! She is usually sporting a bruise somewhere on her face. Sometimes we just watch her and laugh because she looks like a drunk midget. She likes to climb up on our kitchen step-stool and then holler because she hasn't figured out how to dismount yet.

HER LIKES:
Babies--When she is holding her doll, will pat her back. She spots them out and points and says her little language for "baby". They can be babies on TV, dolls in a toystore, pictures on the side of a diaper box, she notices them and loves to show them to you. She also tries to touch babies in infant carriers. She points, runs over to them and babbles, and to think that she was in a carrier 3 months ago!

Books--loves to bring us books and plop down in our laps as she points and "reads" the book. She loves to for us to read to her too!

Dogs--We don't have one, but she LOVES them and tells us they say "woof-woof" when we ask her.

Her Brothers--(I think this one is pretty mutual.) The sweetest thing I have seen her do is try to comfort the boys if they are crying. She goes over to them and pats their back and tries to "love" on them...such a little mama.

Music--loves it when you sing to her

Potty--Not using it of course but she seems to enjoy doing lots of "Will it Sink or Float" experiments since I find random items in there--yuck!

Pinky--She love, love, loves this pink bunny that she has slept since she was probably 3 months old. She will not not go to sleep without it!!


Kate Ross is such a blessing from God, and we are so thankful that she is in our lives! I can't wait to see what all this next year has in store for her!

Since this seems to have turned into the children's baby book (don't seem to have time for the real thing these days), I thought I would add a very important milestone for Kate Ross.

Kate Ross is walking! She really started taking off about 2 weeks ago and now walks as much, if not more, than she crawls. At 10.5 months, she is our earliest walker. See videos below for the proof! :)

9 Month Update on Kate Ross

WEIGHT: 19.4 lbs 50-75%
LENGTH: 28 inches 50-75%
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 18 inches 90-95%
(glad her head percentages were not this high as
a newborn!)

Teeth--She has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on bottom) and has 3 that are just now breaking the skin. For a grand total of 7!!!!

Social--She is still delightful as ever. Laughs and smiles most all the time. This baby loves to wave and waves to us when we walk into the room while flashing that big smile--SWEET! She started clapping while in the bath at NacNac's last week. She will also dance(bounce up and down while moving her head) when asked. Still does great at church nursery (the only time I am really away from her).

Sleep--definately could be better, but with being on the go so much since she was born we probably have not esablished the best sleeping habits. Also, being the light sleeper that she is, and having 6 and 4 year old brothers in the house can make for too much activity for a nap.

Eating--down to 3 bottles a day and she really does not care much about those. She would much rather be on the floor exploring than sitting in my lap taking a bottle. :( She is eating mostly all table food. She likes green beans, peas, grilled cheese, cheese ravioli, rice cereal, fruit, and loves juice in her sippy cup. I love putting food on her tray and letting her feed herself--she likes it too!

Movement--crawling everywhere-FAST! Crawls JUST LIKE Hayes...one knee down and uses the other foot to push (I'll have to post video). Pulling up on anything and everything she can and will even take a few steps while holding onto coffee table. If she goes missing, we can usually find her in the boys' room. She LOVES them and their room! This makes me nervous because they have some little bitty toys (legos, puzzle pieces, marbles..etc) that would go straight to her mouth. They do pretty well to watch out for these things--I have had several lessons on what can and can't go into her mouth with them.

Vocal--babbles "dada" and now is onto "mama"..not sure if she knows what she is saying or not, but she sure crawls around the house during the day saying "mamamamama". :) The verdict is still out on her first word.

All About Hayes.....

Since Hayes turned 4 years old on April 21, I thought I would give a little update on that sweet boy.

Weight: 32 lbs
Height: 38 1/2 inches

Hayes is such a caring child and thinks so much about others, even before himself. He wants to do everything Eason does (which drives Eason nuts). He is very sensitive and speaking sternly to him is just about all you have to do to discipline him. He can't stand for anyone to be mad at him, and to be honest, being upset with him usually just lasts until he says, "You're mad at me" with his head hung low...melts this mama's heart. Thankfully, he is a pretty obedient child so he doesn't get into trouble much. From what I have read, his characteristics seem to be pretty typical for a middle child.

I have really loved having him home with me and Kate Ross everyday since Christmas. However, I look forward to seeing him go to preschool in the fall so he can have fun and make friends. Here are some other things about our Hayesie....

~He is really quiet and a bit shy until you get to know him. Then, he is such a clown and will make you laugh so hard with his silly dances and imitations of people. This child is seriously funny!
~He is super easygoing and goes with the flow.
~He loves to ride his bike!! Rode without training wheels back in the fall, but we took them off for good in January. He is now riding Eason's "big" bike and doing little tricks on his bike..pretty impressive, but I am biased.
~He loves pretty much all music--church songs (Contemp. Christian) are his favorite right now..he and Eason call it "cool music" and I love that!
~He still gets in our bed in the middle of everynight...we leave a pillow in between us each night and never even hear him climb up...can't say this bothers us. We realize that he will eventually stay in his bed all night, so for right now, we enjoy that little cuddle-bug!
~He is playing T-ball after a rough first game start, has LOVED it! He has gotten several grounders and he really likes to bat and run the bases. It's so fun to watch him in action!
~Some of his favorites: books, puzzles, Clifford, Bernstein Bears, MUD, motorcycles, monster trucks, bikes, race cars, snuggling while we read or watch TV, his Bear-Bear, coping whatever his big brother is doing, harassing his big brother ;), and making his baby sister laugh!

We praise God for blessing us so richly with this special little boy!

Last weekend was a really big weekend of firsts for Kate Ross(4 months).

1)started eating rice cereal and LOVED it
2)started sitting in exersaucer and jumper
3)rolled from tummy to back
4)and her first snow..along with Eason and Hayes

Kate Ross had her 4 month checkup Wednesday, and the doctor was very pleased with her.

Weight 14 1/2 lbs (in the 75%)
Head 16 1/2 inches (in the 75%)
Length 25 inches (in the 90%)

Looks like we have BIG girl on our hands! She is sooo sweet! She is grabbing at toys and loves to chew on her hands. She smiles and chuckles very easily, and is just a very pleasant baby. Napping during the day could be better--she thinks she only needs a couple of 15 min. cat naps. I think she is afraid she is going to miss something! She sleeps anytime we are in the car, so that has made it hard to get her into a real schedule. She likes to eat every 3 hours, and goes to bed around 7:30, eats again around 11pm, then sleeps until dawn.

Kate Ross is a model! A few Saturdays ago I decided on a whim to take her to Olan Mills for pictures. I planned on doing really nice pics in the spring, just wanted someting done before she got too big. Anyway, the session went really well, and the photographer asked if she could submit her pics to the Olan Mills corporate office. So, I signed the permission form thinking they do this with everyone. Well, when I picked up her pictures today they told me that her picture had won an award and they asked for permission to hang her picture up in their studio. If it goes national, it will be on their website and other promotional things. So, if you happen to be in Columbus, Ms at K-Mart pop your head in Olan Mills and see if our sweet girl is hanging on the wall(black and white naked baby in blanket pic)!

Well I realize I have not updated our journal since Kate Ross was born. So, I thought I would share a condensed birthstory.

Labor and delivery were easy and pretty fast (epidural is such a great invention!). Justin and I laughed because he actually got to sit on the couch and watch college football and I got to lay in the bed all day. We felt like we were on vacation! As you can imagine, with 2 active little boys this does not happen at home.

Saturday,October 25, 2008 Scheduled Induction
7:00 am 1st check ~ 3 cm
8:45 am Pitocin Started
10:45 am Doctor broke water
11:30 am Epidural Started
12:00 pm 5 cm
1:00 pm Baby's heartrate started dropping with each contraction. I was put on oxygen, and they also put an internal monitor on the baby and added more fluid. For the next hour my doctor and 2 nurses stood right by my bed watching the monitors and having me move from side to side to see if that helped. I was a little concerned, but I knew that if the baby was in great danger the doctor could get her out fast.
1:50 pm 10 cm ~ Start setting up for delivery
1:59 pm 2 pushes and she was out! The cord was around her neck which was what was causing her heartrate to drop with contractions. I think that is fairly common.
Her Stats: 7.4 lbs (our lightest baby) and 22 inches (our longest baby)

Her Name: We had the hardest time deciding on a name. Why is it that I think of all these cute names when I am not pregnant, but when I really need a name, nothing sounds right? We wanted something not too trendy, not too popular, not too hard to say/spell or too much of a mouthful..lots of conditions, I know! We decided that using a meaningful family name was the way to go. We both love double names...yes, we are true Southerners. So we decided on Kathryn for my dear mama, and Ross for my grandmother who was born, Elizabeth Ross, and was so special to me. I have always liked girly names paired with boyish names. So there ya go, Kate Ross!

Doctor Udate: (38 Weeks on Friday)
I am 3 cm and 80% effaced. The doctor does not think I will hold off for our original induction date (10/30) since my cervix is changing so much. After considering how fast my labors have been in the past and the peace of mind that Eason and Hayes are settled with family, we have decided to induce on Saturday (10/25)...if I make it! I can certainly tell that I am in early labor. While I am not in pain (just uncomfortable at times), contractions seem to be increasing in frequency and getting stronger but nothing I can time yet. Please keep us in your prayers!

Doctor update from today (37 weeks tomorrow):
I am still making some progress..2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. He put me on the schedule to induce on October 30. However, if my cervix is even more favorable at next Thursday's appointment, he will induce sooner...that is if I don't go before then! Looks like we better be deciding on a name SOON!

I wanted to give an update from my doctor's appointment this week. We had an ultrasound and they said that from what they can tell, the baby is doing great! She is head down and weighs about 6.2 lbs. I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. Of course I could stay this way for weeks, but it is nice to know that I am making progress. Doctor does not think I will make my due date. I go back again Thursday.

Most of you already know this, but it occured to me that I have not updated our news....Well, so much for waiting to find out what kind of baby we are having in the delivery room. My curiosity quickly turned to obsession after my 16 week ultrasound. I was nothing like that with Eason and Hayes! I was actually pretty content not knowing with them. However, after watching and pausing the DVD from my u/s more times than I would like to admit, Justin and I agreed we needed to just find out and move on. So, we all traveled to Millport, Al to the video store for an u/s....yes, the video store (another story all together). We found out that Eason and Hayes will be having a SISTER! I was in such disbelief that we went back a couple of weeks later to check again and still saw GIRL parts! The Murphree home will now have something pink. We are all very excited about meeting our baby girl and watching how she and our boys interact.

Well we had our big ultrasound this week, and everything looks perfect! The baby was very active and had those hands and legs just a going. We decided not to find out the sex for a couple of reasons... First, I really like the guessing game too much and it keeps me excited during the pregnancy. Also, if they were to tell me it was a girl, I think I would be way too skeptical to go out and shop pink. However, if it is a boy there still is no need for shopping because between our 2 boys and my sister's 3 boys, he will need nothing! With all that being said, Justin and I *think* we saw boy parts! =) We shall see in the fall!

We are so excited about having another baby!! I went to the doctor today and saw a hearbeat. I am about 9 weeks along. Estimated due date is Nov. 8. However, given our past track record... Eason due in December--born in November & Hayes due in May--born in April... I would say this is going to be our pumpkin baby!

Eason lost another tooth this week! But, this time he really lost it! It had been very loose or "wobbly" as Eason calls it. He had a snack, then later realized it was gone. He must have swallowed it. He cried because he thought the tooth-fairy would be mad at him. We left a note for the tooth-fairy under his pillow, and she understood and left him $1 under his pillow.

Eason lost his 1st tooth a couple of weeks ago. He was SO excited! I was SO shocked!

HAYES IS POTTY TRAINED! He was really ready from watching Eason so it was really easy. This is the 1st time in 5 years we haven't had to buy diapers! WOW!

Eason started riding his bike today without training wheels!! I just asked him if he wanted to try without them, assumning he would say, "no" as usual, but he said he wanted to try. He must have been ready because he took off great the first time and kept riding all afternoon! If he would fall he would say, "I'm not giving up". I'll have to post a video tommorrow.

It has been so long since I have written any news about Eason and Hayes--they have grown up so much! After 9 months of being without our things and a house, we are finally settled in our new home. We are so happy to be here and it was like Christmas when we unpacked all the boys' toys, many of which Eason didn't remember he had!
Eason just turned 4 and has the sweetest nature. While he is slow to show this side around others, he is hoot and so full of himself at home. His teacher always tells me how polite and smart he is.
Hayes is a little cuddlebug! He has a bit of a temper at times, but mostly he loves to give hugs and kisses. He thinks he is as big as Eason and tries to do everything Eason does. He is saying more and more everyday.

Hayes is quite the little mover now. He has this funny little crawl-hop move that takes him anywhere he wants to go..mostly to something he can pull up to. He loves to stand up while holding onto things. I can already tell he is going to try to do everything his big brother is doing!

Eason has become such a big boy since he turned 3! He undresses himself and puts his clothes in the dirty clothes basket before bath. He can also put on his own pull-up and pants. He still needs a little help with his shirt but he'll get the hang of it!

Eason is too sharp! His daddy asked him what a part was at the motorcycle shop and he correctly replied, "I think that is a piston". Wow!

Eason is also a BIG help with his brother. Mama was about to give Hayes a bath in the sink and Eason appeared with bathseat, towel, and babywash and said, "I got the (in)grediants, Mommy". Of course he meant supplies but how cute and helpful!

Hayes has 2 teeth on the bottom and working on the top two. He can sit up (while leaning forward). He thinks his brother is so funny and laughs at him all the time!

Eason is going to be a big brother!! We are all very excited!

Eason has exploded with language! He tries to repeat anything you say, but here is a list of all the words he can say without any prompting.

17 Month Vocabulary:

Mama
Daddy
NacNac
Nonnie
Popple (?Hoppy)
bye-bye
no-no
tee-tee
poo-poo
ta-ta
truck
tractor
bubbles
ball
outside
tree
moon
quack-quack
pool
nana
apple
keys
book
baby
pop-pop (posicle)
Melmo (Elmo)
night-night
boat
more
door
shoes
socks
go
boots
dirty
sky

Welcome to Eason's online home!