Big Sis, Little Sis...

She is SO Sweet!


Big Sister, Little Sister....!


Braylen telling her to look at the camera and smile.....seriously she was!

Trying out the Bumbo to strengthen out the neck

My precious 2 year old with SOME attitude!

Bath time! They always take together and Braylen loves helping me bath Carsen!

Carsen LOVES bath time....perfect way to end the day! (check out that belly)

Laying in her crib just being happy!

***Life is still busy in our corner! Braylen has been an excellent big sister and has come a long way! Carsen is just the SWEETEST little baby ever.......and maybe I think that because she doesn't say much these days....lol!

Carsen is 10 weeks and her schedule is wake up and feed at 8:00am, stays awake for an hour then snoozes till 11:30 and she eats around 11:45 then plays for a bit, snoozes again and eats around 3:30-4:00....stays awake....fights sleep, then eats again around 7:00 stays awake, plays with Grant and Braylen, get bath, then falls asleep around 8:30 or so then I wake her to eat around 9:30 and then she is put down for the night no later than 10:00. She is still in the pack n play in my room but she is sleeping on her tummy which she enjoys much more than her back! She wakes around 3:30 or 4:00 to eat ( and it is not a lot) then I put her right back down. That feeding could possibly be done away with but I am just going to hold off right now since I enjoy the schedule we are on. Carsen goes for her 2 month appt. next week....i know....it is late....she will almost be 3 mths but I guess that is all they had available....ha! I am curious to know her weight....I think we might be getting close to moving to a 2 diaper....she is growing SO FAST!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Carsen's Newborn Pics....

Hey friends, here are a few of Carsen's newborn pics....there aren't many but I just wanted to share some! Enjoy!!

When I turned the corner....

This is what I saw...



My reaction: I wanted to scream but instead I let her know that this is NOT paint, told her what it was and then spanked her on the bottom and grabbed my phone to take a picture

After the clean up, we are still stained!

This is what happened: Grant was at a meeting one night and Carsen was resting....she is an afternoon/evening person, so I actually had a little time to check my emails.....while I was doing that, Braylen got content and found something to play with.....FOOD COLORING! Yep, friends...FOOD COLORING! I heard her in the pantry but I didn't hear anything unraveling, or really I didn't hear anything at all...! I kept calling out to her (while I am on the computer,) Braylen...what cha doing? Nothing...she would say! Then after a GOOD 15 minutes went by, I walked around the corner and peeked in the pantry and I saw her covered in GREEN/BLUE FOOD COLORING.....ahhhhhhhhh! It was on the floor and all over her jeans and her sleeves.....! All I kept saying was DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING....because I wanted to clean the floor up first...which made a HUGE smearing mess as I was doing that...but I needed to clean it up fast because Addie kept licking it....and yes....Addie had a MILD Green snout for a day....lol! After I cleaned up the mess, I then took her up to the bath.....it was quite a GREEN experience....the water, tub, bath cloth, towel, EVERYTHING was GREEN....even my hands were! Oh man, I swear Braylen is so curious!!! Anywho, it stained her hands and she had to go to school the next day with GREEN hands....it was quite funny when I had to explain to the teachers why they looked the way they did. NEVER AGAIN....I guess she thought it was paint...who knows!

And to continue on the story of when I turn a corner....here are a few other stories that I will leave all the DETAILS out of.....POOP on the little potty, big potty, and the wall????? Addie's dog food and water all over the laundry room floor and soaked in water???? A kitchen stool pulled up to the counter in the kitchen and she is drinking my drink????? Crayons on the wall???? A whole roll of toilet paper unraveled on the bathroom floor???? Clearisil Zit Cream rubbed on her face, arms, and legs????? Water from the bath tub poured on the floor of the bathroom, a single layer of water covered the floor??? That is just a few...I guess I should be keeping my eye on CURIOUS BRAYLEN!

So needless to say, our lives are constantly busy but we are still in love with our Braylen and our Carsen. Speaking of Carsen, while all this is going on she is just hanging out, watching and listening....well I guess she has too....she can't do anything else...lol! However, I did want to add a little punch in for her....she is GROWING LIKE A WEED! She has doubled and now I call her my CHUNKY MONKEY....see for yourself!!

Almost doubled....

Carsen Faith is a whopping 9 pounder...whoa!!! She has almost doubled in size in 5 weeks....!!! i guess the doctors werent kidding when they said she would grow better outside the belly.

This is how Carsen and I finish out the day...in my bed sleeping.....she is a snuggler just like Braylen was...I love that!

***Dont forget to check out the Halloween blog below***

Happy Halloween Ya'll

I bet you haven't seen a Raggedy Ann as cute as this one! Braylen was ADORABLE and LOVED her costume.....! This Halloween we had our friends over again to all go trick or treating together. Our friend Tara was the only adult that dressed up with the kids...what a great sport!

Carsen didnt have a costume to "sport" but she was there dressed in her (not so girl) Halloween clothes.

Grammy and Poppy came to hang out that night also.

Some of the crew on the Hay ride ready to set out and get some candy!!!

Since Elisabeth doesnt blog, I had to share the cutest doggy ever on Halloween! Check out Bodie, is he just not Adorable....love my nephew and miss him terribly!

Next update will be on our growing Carsen...

Sneak Peek...

So yes, Braylen is Raggedy Ann this year for Halloween! She looked so adorable in her outfit, the only thing missing is a Raggedy Ann doll for her to hold....! Elisabeth and I grew up with a Raggedy Ann and Andy, too bad Mom didn't hold onto them for us. Anywho, Braylen doesn't know who Raggedy Ann is but the costume was handed down to us and it is too cute not to use.....! It is on my list to get a Ragged Ann doll, hopefully I will have one before Halloween Night. Our family was invited to a Halloween Barn party this past Sunday. I stayed back with Carsen and Braylen and Grant went. Braylen is OBSESSED with horses (she talks about them daily....this might become an expensive Obsession.....) but anyways, she got to ride the ponies while at the party.....she LOVED it!

And Carsen is GROWING and doing wonderful! She had a COLD last week and the doctors suggested she come in since she had a SMALL fever.....! I "NURSED" her back to health but while at the doctor she was weighed and she was 7lbs 14oz., exactly 2 FULL pounds since she was FIRST born.....that is awesome! Carsen is doing wonderful...sleeping and eating great....can't complain....YET.....ha! The picture below doesn't do her justice....ORANGE isn't her color but I have so many Halloween onesies that I am trying to get use out of them! Happy Halloween everyone!

2 weeks down....and she is growing

Just the other day I couldn't wait for Carsen to be here and now it has already been 2 weeks of her life.....goodness! Carsen is such a sweetie, she just sleeps and observes when she is awake. She loves to cuddle, as did Braylen, and is still just a tiny little bug! She went to the doctor her first week of life and she had gained a few ounces that put her back up to 5lbs 10oz. She goes tomorrow (monday) for a weight check! I am almost positive that she has gained weight because she pees and poops VERY REGULARY and even looks like she has gained!



I keep telling myself that the girls look different but there are times that I look at Carsen and think I see Braylen, as a newborn, all over again! They definitely have differences but I haven't figured out their similarities....but they are there.




When Bray wakes up from her nap, we all go outside and walk Addie and just enjoy the AMAZING weather. THis is good for Bray to get out and run around and play, this is really good for Carsen to get some Vitamin D, and then this is especially good for me because if I sit in the house too much longer, I might have a break down.....ha!




Elisabeth and Bodie came in town and stayed with us the first week of Carsen's life. It was definitely a trying week with the older kiddos....! Braylen is in the stage of everything being HERS and not knowing how to share! And Bodie....doesn't understand yet about others toys and really just picks up toys for two seconds and then is done with it. Elisabeth and I were doing MORE parenting over them TWO than us focusing on the new baby! It was a great week but SUPER exhausting! I love having them around and I LOVE being around my nephew but we ALL needed to get out of the house and it just wasn't as fesible this go around....maybe next time! Anyways, they got a bath together a few times during the week and Braylen LOVED pouring water on Bodie....and Bodie was such a good sport....because every time I looked up....another flood of water was going down Bodie's face! We had to keep reminding Braylen to keep it on his back and on the back of his head! They were super cute though and I have always wanted a cousins picture in the bath tub....well now I got it! Can't wait till all FOUR of them are in the tub!




Last weekend us four had to get out of the house so we went and did our annual trip to the Apple Orchards and then to the Pumpkin patch. It was another BEAUTIFUL day so it was nice to be outside! Braylen loved picking out the pumpkins and sitting on them and she also enjoyed the animals at the Apple Orchard. And well Carsen, well, she just slept the whole time...go figure! We collected our pumpkins and got some baby ones that Braylen picks up on the front steps on a daily basis and we also got lots of apples from the Orchards! I was a baking fool this past week. I made Homemade Applesauce (in the crockpot...who would have thought,) apple cake with sugary iceing, and then an amazing upside down Apple pie....! I am not appled out yet but getting close!
Enjoy the update!

Carsen Faith Schmeelk has arrived...

So our newest addition arrived yesterday!!! This is how is all went down:

So I went to the doctor on Thursday for my ultrasound and regular doctors visit. I had a feeling I was either going to be induced or she was going to let me go on to my due date but I didn't know for sure it all just depended on if Carsen had grown or not. So in the ultrasound while doing the measurements they realized that she hadn't grown really any since her last ultrasound that they took measurements at....so really in two weeks.....I mean....I had grown but I guess they wanted a significant growth to have happened. Anyways, my midwife said, "well you ready to go have a baby, she hasn't grown any and you are past 38 weeks so we need to go ahead and get her out of you, she will grow better outside the belly!" I actually was okay with it at that point, I was ready to meet her and not be uncomfortable any longer. So I left the doc's office and made arrangments and called all the family. Grant met me at home and we packed out bags and then my Dad met me there also to get Braylen, etc. We left to head down to the hospital around 1:30.....got checked in around 3:00 and then the midwife came to check me out and just decided to give me the cervidal and let my cervix ripen over night. I was already dialated 2 cm, but she felt like the process would be easier if we went that route....we were okay with it considering if she went straight to induction, it would have been a late night. So....my best friend Lauren brought us dinner and Grant, Lauren, and I just hung out Thursday evening.......letting everything sink in.

They woke me up at 4:00am took the cervidal out, gave me an enama and then I did my business, showered and was back in bed at 5:00.....! Grant and I slept for another hour and then they gave me the pitocin in the 6:00 hour. By that time I was awake and ready for things to start happening. Grant left the room around 7:00am to go get breakfast and walk around and do some business (as usual...ha) At 7:00 is when I first started to feel contractions and as time went on they were getting stronger. The doctor came in around 8:30 to check me and said I was 3cm...so I was SLOWLY progressing, so they uped the pitocin. During the 9:00 hour contractions were getting heavy and were every 2-3 minutes....the nurse (who we LOVED...Shanda) actually came in and knocked the pitocin down a little because she said I was contracting TOO much.....I was thankful....because I was starting to debate on when I was getting some meds. I then started setting mini goals in my head....just make it to 10:00 and see how you feel....which then turn to 11:00. The 10:00 hour was full on contractions and I was hurting.....breathing and humming through them. I kept telling Grant, I don't want to be a woose but this hurts and I don't know how long I am going to last....lol. So I waited till 11:00 and they ordered the epidural and it was administered between 11:00-11:30. At 12:00, the doctor came in to check me and break my water....I was 5cm at that time. And the epidural kicked in just in time for her to break my water....which I wanted to be on meds for.....considering last time it hurt SO BAD! But anyways....during the 12:00 hour, Grant and his mom went to lunch and I rested and then my mom showed up about 12:30.......! The nurse then came in and said....are you feeling any pressure and right when she said that I said...actually I am....and she said let me check you, I think you might be ready to have this baby! So she checked me and I was 9cm...she went to get doctor, they set up shop at 1:00 and then at 1:20 she was born.

How the process went down: They told me to do a practice round of pushing during 1 contraction...so I pushed 3 times during 1 contraction and then she said you will have this baby on the next contraction......I was like WHAT.......that quick....so I laughed.....the doctor said.....don't laugh, she is about to fall out. So next contraction, i pushed once and they said...don't push anymore because her head is out...we have to clean her up and pull her out........so all in all....it really was like 5-8 minutes of pushing Carsen out......it was CRAZY! And what was more crazy is that I went from a 5 to a 9 in less than an hour. I will say, the doctor had two surgeries before she came to break my water so we think Carsen would have been here sooner if the doctor would have come in earlier.

So Carsen was born at 1:20pm on September 24th 2010. She weighed 5lbs 14 oz and was 17.5 inches long! She is so cute and we think she has more Bodie in her than Schmeelk but time will tell! We are in complete aww of her and are truely BLESSED. GOD is AMAZING and has given us an amazing miracle who is PERFECT in our eyes! We can't wait to share her with the world!

*** Oh and Braylen did excellent with her....she loved on her and wanted to hold her.....she loves that she has a LIVE babydoll....lol! More updates to come!