Milestones

It has been a huge month at the Raulstons, aside from adjusting to a new baby Sloane has started kindergarten and Beckett has stepped his game up and started going on the big potty. Sloane is so excited to going to School everyday she can hardly wait to go to sleep in anticipation for the next day of learning. She has started to read, which I swear I did not do until I was a Freshman in college, she is getting so big! There are a couple kids in her class from pre-school that she is friends with and has made a few new friends too.

We have been working with Beckett on potty training for the last couple months, he never seemed to interested in it even though we were holding a new mit and ball hostage until he went consitently, that is until he saw his new baby brother had diapers just like him...he decided that was not so cool. Last Saturday he decided diapers were bunk and he wanted to use the toilet like the rest of the fam. He has not looked back on his decision and is a bonefide potty user, we are so proud of him.

Hayes has started to smile and coo, he is still struggling with sleeping through the night but is getting better every week so we hold out hope that a solid eight hours is coming soon. He is getting big he already is looking around when the kids are playing near him wanting to join in on their shenanigans.

New Addition

We welcomed Hayes Benjamin to the family on Wednesday the 26th. He weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long. Jeanne was scheduled to be induced that day and in fact was in labor when we showed up for the induction, it was reminiscent of Sloanes birth when she showed up to the hospital dilated to an eight, she has a crazy pain threshold. Hayes on the way out decided to come out like superman with his left hand leading the way and his right hand on his hip, the Doctor kept saying "this is not the way I would do it but we will make it work.". His incorrect birthing form made his come out looking like he was on the wrong end of a prize fight, he was swollen and bruised, pretty brutal. The kids were pretty stoked to have baby brother finally make an appearance, and Jeanne was happier than anyone to be back to normal. We are excited to start this new stage in our life and are grateful for all the well wishes from friends and family.

Snake!

We had a visitor at our pond this last weekend, a snake! The kids got a kick out of seeing a snake in our yard but I realized the massive amounts of danger we were in so I was not to keen about them getting to close. If I had to guess I would say it was close to 17 feet in length and probably about as thick as my thigh...thick not chunky. I was able to capture a picture of it with my phone, unfortunatly I do not know how to get the picture off my phone so I have to use a stock photo of what I recall the snake to look like. I am pretty sure nature has it out on the Raulstons, Sloane and I both got stung by bees within the last two weeks and now this reptillian intruder. I have not been able to find the snake since our encounter but I am sure he is lurking in the shadows waiting for his chance to attack. So help me if any of my kids or fish go missing that snake is going to feel my wrath.

Countdown to Thirty

We celebrated Jeanne's Birthday this last weekend. She is now officially on the down slope to thirty, where has the time gone. We decided to go out to a movie and lunch on Saturday to celebrate. One of our favorite places to eat is Yamasaki (900 E. 6000 S.) so we went and just got in before they closed between and lunch and dinner. After lunner we saw "The Proposal" which was not as bad as I anticipated, not a huge fan of Sandra. Anyways I thought I would take this time to write down my 29 favorite things about Jeanne then I re-thought that and decided to do just my favorite 11 things (2+9=11)

11. She does great hair
10. She takes life serious but not too serious
9. She is willing to do things out of her comfort zone (a tri with 7 weeks to train)
8. She has a great sense of humor, dry just like I like it
7. She is the voice of reason in our house
6. She holds no grudge even when I prune (butcher) her favorite plants
5. She loves Michael Cera (see prior posts)
4. She is super low maintenance but still looks fabulous (even preggers)
3. She is really open minded and holds no judgment over anyone

2. She is a great wife... I am a pain in the arse sometimes and she still loves me.
1. She is a great mom- I hope our kids grow up and realize how awesome of a mom she is.

I LOVE you and Happy Birthday.