Merry Christmas

 I am busily trying to get everything together for Christmas and our trip out to California so I don't have much time to write. I do want to say merry Christmas to you all and hope you have a blessed Christmas spending time with friends and family. We are super excited to be able to visit both our families this next week and I am sure we will have lots of stories and pictures to share. 

Boaz sleeping in one morning.

Boys playing together. Davey loves getting Bo to smile.

Davey has been doing really well in learning to read. We have been going through the Hooked on Phonics and he has been loving it and doing really well with sounding out his words. Below is a video of him reading his first book. 

Fun Weekends

Boaz doing some tummy time

I want to start this post with our miracle. In my last post I shared how Boaz was scheduled for surgery on Dec. 12th. A little less than a week after meeting with the surgeon and him telling us we needed to do surgery since Boaz's belly button wouldn't heal on its own, Bo's belly button was completely healed. The hole is fully closed and it is no longer oozing. I waited a week before calling the surgeon figuring it might open up again, but it never did. When I called the doctor they said since it looks good we can canel the surgey. Thank you all for your prayers. Praise God for healing Boaz and keeping him from having to go through surgery.

Boaz helping mommy in the kitchen. This is also where he sits for dinner time:)

We all had a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend. We enjoyed spending Thanksgiving day at home enjoying our family. Friday I got to do a little black Friday shopping. Saturday we celebrated my birthday going out to breakfast, getting me a cover for my new ipad :) and getting our Christmas tree out at the tree farm. Sunday we went down to San Antonio to celebrate Davey's birthday at Rainforest Cafe. Davey loved seeing all the animals, but poor Abigail sure was scared of the thunder storms.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Picking our Christmas tree. Can you find Boaz?

There he is - nice and snug!

This past weekend was packed with fun too. Saturday I helped work at an event my MOPS church put on called Bethlehem Village. I tried to explain it to the kids as they dropped me off before naps. After naps they came back when my shift was over and we walked around the different booths. When the kids came they told Dave they were excited to where mommy works and if it has lots of windows like daddy's work. They still talk about Bethlehem Village as mommy's work.

The kids at Bethlehem Village - They really are stair-steps!

On Sunday Davey had his birthday party at our house where they made forts and had a war with nerf guns. All the kids (and Dads) had a blast, then we enjoyed some ice cream cake that Davey helped me make. That evening we finally got the chance to decorate our Christmas Tree. The kids loved looking at the different ornaments and putting them on the tree. This year Cassia got to put the angel on the top.

Cassia putting the angel on the top.

Welcoming Baby Boaz

Here are each of the kids birth pictures.  Can you guess who each one is? 

 As you all know our biggest news is little Boaz Jon Dunahm. He arrived at 2:32am on Wednesday Oct. 26. He was 7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long. It was a smooth delivery that got a little scary at the end. Boaz's heart beat started dropping with every contraction once I was about 9cm. Labor went quickly from there and once he was born we found out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, which was causing his heart rate to drop. Even though the cord was around his neck he was perfectly healthy and I was so thankful to finally get to hold my beautiful baby boy. It is hard to believe that was already 3 weeks ago. Boaz is a great nurser, which is a huge answer to prayer and has been gaining about 1 pound a week. Last Monday he was already up to 9lbs 3oz.

The Dunham Boys!

 Davey, Cassia, and Abigail all love Boaz so much. Our first night home from the hospital, when they had to go to bed, they asked worriedly if Boaz would still be here in the morning. Abigail seems to be the most interested in Boaz. When I am nursing him she brings me a blanket for him, whether it is cold or not. Whenever Abigail is near Boaz she always asks if she can give him a kiss. All three of the kids love holding Boaz. Throughout the day they will ask to hold him. One day I came out of my room to find Abigail on the couch with my boppy pillow around her and her arms up asking for Bo. 

Always giving kisses

 We were blessed to have my mom for the 1st week of Boaz's life and then my sister Janine came for 2 more weeks to help with the kids and around the house. This past Wednesday Janine went back home and we have survived 2 days on our own. We are slowly starting to figure out how to be a family of four kids as dinner has been pushed later some nights as I finish nursing Boaz, and sometimes Boaz has to wait a little to nurse as I get the kiddos down to nap. Like I said we are slowly figuring it out and I am excited to figure out and get into a routine again. 

Camo hat and booties Aunt Janine made. Too Cute!

 On Monday Boaz had an appointment for the Dr. to look at his belly button. Bo's umbilical stump fell off at about 6 days old and ever since his belly button has been wet and slightly oozy. At his 2 week check up the Dr. put silver nitrate on it to help it close up. That didn't seem to do anything for him, so on Monday the Dr. looked at it and scheduled us for an ultrasound to see what was going on inside his belly. Tuesday we had the ultrasound and things looked good, but there was some swelling. Our pediatrician then referred us to a pediatric surgeon to get another opinion on what could be wrong with Boaz's belly button and how to heal it. On Thursday we met with the pediatric surgeon and he found that there is a cyst just under Boaz's belly button that is attached to the tract that the umbilical cord was attached to. He said that it will not heal on its own so Bo will need to have it surgically removed. The Dr. wants to wait until Boaz is 6 weeks old so there is less risk involved with the anesthesia. It seems that it will be minor outpatient surgery, but Boaz will need to be put fully under with the anesthesia. We are scheduled for Dec. 12th to have the surgery. The cyst and surgery seem to be minor, but we would still appreciate your prayers for the surgery and his healing. 

Mommy and Boaz

I know it is random, but thought you would like to see our Halloween costumes - Peter Pan with his fairies!

Answers for baby pics - 1-Abigail 2-Cassia 3-Davey 4-Boaz

Quick Update

I feel I have been appologizing every time I write, but I am truly sorry it has been so long since my last post. My computer got fixed and it worked for about a week, but unfortunately it is down again. I haven't had much time to write, but wanted to give you all a quick update on Boaz and Me. I am sure most of you heard I was in the hospital last Wednesday all day in active labor. I was at 3 cm in the morning and never progressed further so they discharged me, and that evening the contractions slowed. Yesterday I had my weekly appointment and I am now to 4 cm. My Dr. feels I will go into labor soon on my own. If not, next Tuesday he will do a procedure to try to get things moving. Boaz is doing great. We had an ultrasound on Monday and the Dr. said he looked perfect. At that appointment they also monitored Boaz's heart and my contractions. He is doing great with the contractions and has a strong active heartbeat through even the hard contractions. So, now it is just a waiting game. Every day I wonder if this is the day that Boaz is going to come into the world. Not yet, but I am anxious to see my little boy's face and hear his first cry. We hope you are all doing well and will be sure to update you once Boaz decides to come. Below I put a few pictures of the kids for you all to enjoy. They are all doing great and are also anxious for Boaz's arrival.

Enjoying breakfast with Mommy when Daddy and Abigail were in CA.

Davey and Cassia on the slide at McDonalds.

Abigail testing out Boaz's carseat and the new carseat cover a friend and I made. Can you see the shose? They are her favorite, little hot pink ballet slipper type shoes.

The girls enjoying our reading corner. Abby likes to sit in the books.

Davey up to bat at T-Ball game.

Cassia up to bat at T-Ball game. She is so small and the helmet is so big it reminds me  so much of the movie "Spaceballs".

We Have A Name!

Well, I am sure you can guess that my computer is still out of commission. I am sorry this summer the posts have been so sporadic. I have enjoyed not having a computer during the day so that I don't get so distracted with Facebook or surfing on the internet, but on the down side I feel it is an easy excuse to become lazy with staying in touch with people.
 Our biggest news right now is that we have come up with a name for the baby, Boaz Jon Dunham. We have had a little roller coaster of emotions lately with Boaz, but he is doing great and looking really healthy. About 2 weeks ago I had a routine ultra sound with the high-risk doctor. I go regularly due to the medicine I am on. At that visit the Dr. found that I have too much amniotic fluid. She went through all the measurements again and told me a whole list of things that can be wrong with baby or me due to having too much fluid. She ruled out most of the major issues since Boaz's heart, stomach, and kidney's all look strong and healthy. At the end she told me it could be due to gestational diabetes (which I don't have) or a birth defect that they can't see on the ultra sound like a cleft pallet. I left knowing Boaz is in God's hands and He is forming Boaz into who he is to become "fearfully and wonderfully made", but still had that worry of what if. When I went to my regular OB doctor he told me my fluid levels were a little high, but not by much. Everything else is normal including the size of my belly right now, he is willing to bet there is nothing wrong at all. I went this last Tuesday back to the high-risk doctor for another ultra-sound to check the fluid levels and Boaz. My fluid levels are at the same level, even though they are high, it is a good sign they haven't increased. Again Boaz and all the measurements look really good and he is a strong healthy boy measuring at 4lbs 1oz right now. I will go again in 3 weeks for another ultra-sound to keep an eye on everything.

The Herron kids and Dunham kids after a fun weekend together.

 Last weekend we had the joy of going out to visit our friends the Herrons in New Mexico. It was a long drive, but so worth it. The kids did so much better than I was expecting on the car ride and we made it there and back with relatively little headaches. We haven't had a chance to visit the Herrons since we moved from Fernley a little less than 2 years ago. It was so nice to escape the hot humid weather here and enjoy the crisp mornings and afternoon rain at their house. The kids had so much fun playing with their old friends. Cassia really enjoyed playing with their 2 girls. There aren't too many girls here for Cassia to play with so it was neat for her to have girl friends, even though they are older, to play with and look up to. Davey enjoyed playing trains and cars with Colin who is about a year older than him. He also really liked getting to watch the different tv shows that they have. One of the evenings after the afternoon rain Dave enjoyed going out 4 wheeling with Robert and a few of the kids. Davey came back with all sorts of stories from their time including telling me that "Daddy got your car REALLY dirty".

Davey and Colin during the 4 wheeling trip.

While 4 wheeling they found a cave to explore.

 Abigail is doing well, but sure is a handful. I think I have done more praying for her and how to parent her than I have for the other two combined. Abigail is a sweet girl, but demands everything her way. When she doesn't get the toy or attention she wants she screams, hits, and head-butts anyone within range. We have done many timeouts and lots of talks. Slowly she is starting to learn to say please when she wants something not just start screaming. Having Abby look up at you with those big eyes and say "peezz" is so adorable! It is a daily battle of being consistent with discipline and being aware of my reactions to her. Even though her tantrums can get trying I do love how strong her personality is and how passionate she is about things. I pray that Dave and I can train her effectively so that her strength in personality can be something that drives her to do great things rather than a hindrance to her and those around her.

Growing Up

Well, my computer is still down and so is my camera, but I thought you might enjoy hearing what is going on with the kiddos lately. On Sunday August 7th Cassia asked God into her heart. She has been asking for awhile now that she really really wanted Jesus in her heart. At kids club the youth did a great job in explaining what it means to accept Jesus into her heart. Cassia truly has that child-like faith and love for Jesus. That Sunday morning Dave and I talked with her about what it means to have Jesus in your heart and she said she wanted to do that. So Dave and Cassia prayed a beautiful prayer. Dave said a few words and Cassia repeated. As she prayed you could hear the truth and sincerity in her voice. I am tearing up right now remembering it. After saying "Amen" Cassia opened her eyes and had the biggest smile on her face and you could truly feel the difference in her in having the Holy Spirit come into her heart. I feel so blessed to have been able to be with her when she made the decision and prayed. This is the first time I have ever prayed with someone while they accepted Christ and it has left me in awe of how real and great our God is. And how real the transition is in having the Holy Spirit come into one's life. When we got to church that morning she was excited to tell everyone she could. Later in the week we made it out to the Christian bookstore and she got her first Bible. She picked a Precious Moments Bible and loves looking at the little pictures in it.

 That weekend  Davey made great progress in riding his bike. He is now able to go all by himself with no help from Daddy. They have even started riding around the block a couple times on the weekend. Dave takes the girls in the bike trailer and Davey rides his bike. He falls at times, but gets right up and starts riding again. The next hurdle is going to be going down hills. This morning Dave tried to get him to go down a little hill and it was a total meltdown. Later when he was telling me about his bike ride and the scary hill I asked if he would try it next time. He said he probably could.
 Abigail just had her 18 month check up on Friday and we have lots of good news! Abigail is finally over 20 pounds. She weighed in at 20lbs 2oz. She also is just about on the growth chart at the 5%. She grew a lot too moving up to the 50% for height. For the first time since she was 4 months old she doesn't need to go back in a month for a weight check.  Abigail is also getting a lot more words and communicating with us very well. This morning we were getting ready for church and she brought her red dress shoes so excited to wear them. Unfortunately they really did not go with her dress. Dave got her flip flops and she threw the biggest fit over having to wear them. Normally she loves getting her flip flops and wearing them, but she was adamant in wanting her pretty shoes. We finally compromised on some new tennis shoes that were neutral and she hasn't worn them much. We have also had quite the time with weaning her from her pacifier. We threw all, but one away and then have been cutting the tip down a little each night. It is down to where she can't suck on it anymore, but still insists on holding it as she falls asleep. Unfortunately earlier this week she was playing with her baby, putting her to sleep in their pretend nursery. Abigail laid her baby down, put the blanket on her, and gave the baby her pacifier. That is the last we have seen it. It has been lost ever since. Naps and night time have been rough falling asleep. Yesterday nap was the first time she went right to sleep with out asking for her "fire" and screaming herself to sleep. Thankfully we are just about to the end of the pacifier saga.
 Dave is just about to leave on a business trip to New York for a couple of days. I don't have time to upload the video of Cassia telling everyone she has God in her heart or some pictures we have taken on Dave's phone. So, later this week I will work on posting pics of the kids.

Camping Pics

Sorry for the lack in posts and pictures. My computer isn't working at the moment so the only time I get on the computer is at night when Dave gets home with his laptop. Then the card on my camera all of a sudden isn't working and I am afraid we lost all the pictures that were on it. Thanks Danielle and Krista for the pictures from camping! They are precious. We all had so much fun visiting with family and miss you all so much. Here are a few pics from our time in CA to enjoy.

 Davey is learning to ride his bike with no training wheels. Dave posted a video on Facebook if you are interested in seeing it. Davey was super excited about it then got really scared once he tried it. After much talking with him he got back on a rode a little longer. With it being so hot here Davey doesn't really have the opportunity to practice ridding except in the morning on the weekends so Dave can help him. Just this evening Davey asked if they could work on it tomorrow. He is excited about it so hopefully it goes well tomorrow.
 We have also started weaning Abigail off the pacifier. For awhile now she has only had it for naps and bedtime. We decided it was time to get rid of it so we threw all but one away, and have been slowly cutting the end of the pacifier down further and further. She notices there is a difference, but still insists on having it and biting it to keep it in her mouth. Tonight we cut it again and it is pretty short. Abigail is still fussing so I think we finally reached the stage that it is too short. We will see how it goes.
 Cassia has been enjoying playing in the pool. At the start of the summer she was always really scared to go in the big pool and would cling to Dave or me. We got her some water wings and she has slowly built up confidence with them. Today we went to play at a friend's pool and she was kicking away all by herself with her water wings in the big pool. I had to keep reminding her to stay close to me, she was ready to swim all over the pool. Davey has been doing well in the pool too. He is super proud that he can put his whole face in the water and blow bubbles. He really enjoys playing the game where he puts his face in the water, opens his eyes and counts how many fingers I hold under the water.

It's A Boy!

Baby #4

Well, to start off with the exciting news. It's a healthy boy!! We had our 20 week ultra sound today. At first he was not cooperating with getting good pictures. He was curled up in a corner and I was afraid we weren't going to be able to find out the baby's gender. But, he turned and it is definite he is a boy. Davey was just beaming when the technician said its a boy. Cassia started crying that she really wanted a girl. Once we talked that the boy is still going to be baby and she can hold him when he comes out of mommy's belly; she was much happier.

Proud Davey for writing his name.

 We finally started getting back to doing "school" again. Davey is doing great and is able to not only verbally spell his name, but also write it all by himself with no help. Abigail has really started enjoying reading books. She gets a favorite and wants that one book read to her over and over. Right now her favorite is Old MacDonald Had A Farm. Luckily the kids picked up on the song quickly and likes to "read" the book to her. Abigail calls the book "E I E I O". She doesn't say many words, but that is very clear.

Davey reading "Old MacDonald" to Abigail.

Cassia reading "Old MacDonald" to Abigail.

 Abigail had a weight check yesterday. I was very excited for it because she has been eating a ton and seeming heavier. She did gain weight, but not as much as she should. Her last weight was 18lbs 2oz and she is now 18lbs 8oz. Right now she isn't sustaining her growth curve. The Dr. didn't seem too worried about it. He is just encouraging us to try to get her to drink more milk. We had weaned out the carnation instant breakfast that we had in her milk to make it sweet for her to drink milk. So to get her drinking more we have increased the amount of instant breakfast. It seems to be helping. She is slowly drinking more milk each day. I am doing my best to not worry. I know God has made Abigail unique. As we have struggled with her weight gain her whole life it becomes more and more apparent that she doesn't fit the standard and that is ok.

Sweet Abigail always has to have her necklaces on. More is always better!

 We have also been counting down the days till we fly to Santa Barbara for our annual 4th of July camping trip. We are flying out Saturday and can not wait to see family and enjoy beautiful Santa Barbara weather especially after our countless days of over 100 degree weather. I wont be posting next week since we will be camping, but I'm sure I will have lots of photos to share when we get back.

Kiddos having fun ridding their bikes. 

Pool and Play Time

 I am sorry for not posting last week. We have had a brutal past two weeks with sickness. Poor Cassia came down with mouth sores last week, which we have recently found out was most likely from a stomach bug that is going around. For 2 days she was barely able to eat or drink anything because it was too painful. For someone who eats constantly it was really rough. During this time I was extremely nauseous. By the end of the week I was afraid it was just the pregnancy since it still wasn't letting up, and I was fearful I would have to endure feeling sick for the next 20 weeks. But praise the Lord we are all better and back to normal. We have spent most of this week catching up on all the chores around the house so I don't have too many pictures to share.

Sweet Girls snuggled up after swimming.

Davey showing off his new kick board.

 A couple Sundays ago we enjoyed the hot hot weather by going to the pool. Davey is really taking to the water and I am starting to teach him the basics for swimming. My hope is that we will go fairly often so he can learn to swim by the end of the summer. We got Davey a kick board and he can kick across the pool all by himself. Every now and then he will lose his balance and roll, but hasn't been scared by it. Cassia enjoys playing in the kiddie pool, but still gets pretty scared being in the big pool. Abigail also loves the kiddie pool, but takes a little bit to get used to it.

Daddy tickling all kiddos at the same time. That is talent!

Davey likes to get in on the rough housing and tackle Daddy.

 The kids look forward to Dave getting home every night and love playing with him before bedtime. This particular night Dave had to work late and missed dinner with the kids. So the kids stayed up for Daddy and enjoyed a quick time of rough housing before going to bed, even though it was after bedtime.
 Our big event for next week is I have my 20 week ultrasound scheduled for Thursday and as long as baby cooperates we will be finding out the gender of the baby! I will be sure to post so you all can join in our excitement.

Memorial Weekend

Boys getting the Jimmy ready for some Wheelin Fun!

For Memorial weekend we ended up having a boys weekend and and girls weekend. Davey and Dave went 4wheeling and camping with 2 of Dave's friends from work. Davey is still telling me stories from their adventures. The one he tells me the most is how he and Daddy went for a walk before the other guys were awake and saw 2 snakes! Davey also "secretly" told me that they had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and ate chili right out of the pot.

Not sure if you can see the nails. One had is blue the other green. One foot is pink and the other yellow. 

 Our girls weekend wasn't quite as exciting. Abigail came down with a stomach bug Saturday evening so we had to stay home all Sunday while she got better. Poor Abby slept most of the day Sunday so Cassia and I had some girl time. We painted our fingernails and toenails. Cassia chose the colors and where they went. She picked orange for my hands:) Then I gave Cassia her first haircut ever. After 3 years of growing the ends were getting pretty damaged and her hair was getting a little frizzy. I don't know if you can tell in the pictures, but it is shorter. I am just happy it isn't all crooked. Cassia has seen brother get many haircuts and was happy to finally get her's done. She just told me yesterday that her hair is getting longer and she needs another haircut.

Before...

After.

 On Monday Abigail was doing much better and Cassia felt we needed to go to tea. Since the boys were having special time she wanted special time too. We tried going to this cute coffee/tea shop, but it was closed due to the holiday so we ended up just going to the mall and getting Starbucks. She didn't want the milkshake type drink she insisted on tea. Luckily she agreed to ice tea since it was 98 degrees outside.

Cassia dancing with her tea.

Just had to put this one of Abigail  wanting to sweep. What a big helper!