Happy Halloween

The Coates family has been keeping busy the last few months.
In September we spent a nice Saturday at a fun new place called Rafiki. It is a giant indoor play room for kids with a deli and nice couches for seating for the parents. We went with some friends (The Sprague Family). Peyton keeps begging to go back.
Brandon and I started Addi on the bottle a few weeks ago. I pump and Brandon can now do night feedings. We split the night in half so we each get at least 4 hours of sleep a night, including when Addi sleeps in her crib after a feeding. It has really helped me get better sleep, and Brandon gets less, but he never complains.
Brandon's work is keeping him busy, busy. We seem to both have full days. The weekends are always a nice time to catch up on a little R&R or at least some nice family time.
Peyton is keeping us on our toes as usual. He is a busy guy and so much fun to watch him play, he has such an active imagination. He is also a big helper with his little sister. He wants to be involved in anything he can. I ask him to grab things sometimes and he is right on top of it.
Addi has been gaining weight, you can really see it in her face. She eats and sleeps, and poops. She does stay awake for little bits at a time now and stares at us. Sometimes she with give us the biggest grin! I love it!
The kids both have been sick with bad colds recently, Peyton just recently cleared up. Just in time for Halloween.
HALLOWEEN!!! What a great time we all had. We went trick or treating with some friends and their kids. Peyton picked up on it very well and had a blast. He was a BSU Bronco Football player. Addi stayed in her stroller all evening and slept. I really enjoyed seeing Peyton have so much fun.
Today, is Sunday, November 2nd. Other than a little grocery shopping we all decided to lay low today and get a little rest before a busy week. Thanksgiving is going to be here soon and I'm sure there are many quiet evenings at home in our future.
Everyone is doing well and we hope you are all as blessed as we are.

Addi's First Day at the Park

Sept. 27th - We managed to get out of the house for a short while on a mild Saturday afternoon. It was Addi's first day at the park and some much needed play time for Peyton to use up some of that energy. Although Addison and I stayed off the swings and spent most of the afternoon on a nearby bench watching the boys play, it was wonderful to get out of the house and enjoy a nice day in early fall. Peyton and his Daddy went down the slides, swung, climbed, crawled, and ran around until dinner time. On the way home we picked up a pizza and stayed in the rest of the evening. I'm sure we will have many more days like this, hopefully before it gets to cold to get outside. We hope to make it to the zoo soon for their new African Exhibit including a Lion and a Giraffe.
Oct. 5th - Today we managed to get to church and I must say the weekend has flown by.
My mom was here all last week and the week before helping us in any way she could. The help was much needed and appreciated. This week I'm on my own during the days until Brandon comes home and I have to admit I'm a little nervous about keeping up with both my babies. I am getting used to less sleep, a lot less, but keeping up with two different feeding/eating schedules, diaper changes, nap times, giving some individual time to Peyton, taking time to eat myself, and possibly get a shower seems a little overwhelming. So I'm asking for extra prayers for all of us as we are continuing to adjust.
Addison is continuing to do her favorite things which include eating, sleeping, and using up all her diapers. She continues to sleep mostly through the day, but we have managed to have a few decent nights where she sleeps for two to two and half hours at a time (I consider this good) at night. I'm happy if I manage to get 5 to 6 hours sleep even if it does start at 7pm and end at 5am.
Peyton is busy as usual. Keeping us all on our toes. He adores his baby sister and wants to be a part of everything including her feedings, this can be a little difficult since we are breast feeding.
He is a joy to me every day and it is amazing at how fast the last two and a half years have gone.
Brandon has been busy at work and home. He helps out with meals, housework, and the kids. I don't think I could survive without him. I look forward to when we have a little more alone time together, although as we have learned when you leave the kids behind you end up talking about them and missing them. Funny how that works.
As for me, I'm lucky to get a chance to update our website, so forgive me if I haven't written in a week or longer. I finally managed to buy a pair of jeans, which was a treat since I haven't worn anything but sweats and maternity pants. I'm starting to feel a bit more myself day by day. I have also accepted the dark circles around my eyes as part of the package, besides that is what makeup is for.
We are all doing very well and look forward to some fun fall days!!

Family photo's and video's

Before we were Coates family four, Peyton, Brandon, Kim, and I spent a day at Boondocks playing miniature golf. It was a great way to spend an evening as a family before Addi joined our clan!
Proud Daddy admires his little girl. She captured his heart long before she was even born.

This video was taken at the hospital of Peyton seeing Addi for the first time. Nanna (Kim Coates) is holding Addison while Peyton loves on his sister!

Mommy and Baby Girl Home from the Hospital

Monday, September 15th Brandon and Peyton picked Addison and I up from the hospital to bring us home. It was a strange and exciting feeling to be home at last with our newest edition to the family. Brandon took off the following week to spend at home while we all got settled in.
Our first outing together was on Wednesday, September 17th we all packed up the van and headed to Cosco for a short shopping trip and a quick bite to eat. Our first outing went very well and a long nap was sure to follow.
The next two days were spent in the doctors office. I had a little fluid retention around my heart and had to go on diaretics for a little while. After the weekend I got a clean bill of health from the
doctor and am continuing to feel better everyday.
Addison sleeping soundly in her crib. This usually happens during the day. I think she likes the comforting noises of her big brother playing while she sleeps.
Addison's first bath. She doesn't like it to much, but she enjoys having her hair rinsed under warm running water. Peyton loves to watch and help mommy by getting Addi's washcloth and towel. He is a big helper!!

She's A Keeper!

She's finally here and she decided to make things interesting during her delivery. First and foremost, mother and daughter are both doing fine. However, it has been quite the adventure.

The planned c-section did not go quite as um...well...planned. Due to some complications during the surgery (I think Addison didn't want to let go of her mommy) they put Summer out to finish the delivery. I was a bit nervous because I wasn't told what was going on, but everything turned out okay.

Of course that is when the fun really began. We decided that we wanted to tour every floor of St. Lukes to find the perfect room for mom and daughter. Our game of musical chairs with hospital rooms ended after stays on floor 2, floor 8, and floor 3. We finally found "room at the inn" on floor 7 for Summer, and Addison is still staying on the 8th floor nursery. Hopefully that will be the final room changes.

We are so very happy to have Addison here finally and her big brother can't wait to get her home. I am not sure if St. Lukes will be very willing to give her up though, in fact I heard she was voted Most Beautiful Baby of the Year (a title previous held by her older brother). Unless something "new" comes about, we are planning to bring mom and baby home on Monday, Sept. 15!

Thank you to everyone sending their love and prayers we can use all we can get and appreciate every one of you. Here is a little video of our new baby girl.

New Baby Girl Coming Soon...T-Minus 6 Days

Well we now have only 6 days to go (Sept. 12) until we (Summer) have a scheduled cesarean to bring our new baby girl into the world. So we decided to spend our last weekend as a threesome at the park and the Morrison Knutson Nature Center in Boise.

Peyton loved the fish, but I think he was a little upset that we didn't bring his "fish pole"! They had a lot of big trout swimming around those ponds and the Kokonee had turned red and were starting to pool. We even saw a HUGE (over 4 ft. long) salmon they had captured in the traps near Riggins. He finally made back from the ocean and was rewarded with a safe and relaxing rest in the ponds. Peyton's only comment... "that's a big big fish."

On to the park and jungle gym where the children run free! We had a bite to eat before we played and of course it was not easy getting Peyton to sit for 2 mins and eat a pb & honey sandwhich. However he had no problem helping his mommy eat her chocolate pudding. We took turns following him around the playset climbing from slide to ladder to pole. Peyton has no sense of danger and climbs everything in sight. The only problem is he sometimes takes the fast way down...jump or fall!

It was a great day and we plan to spend many more like it when Peyton's sister arrives. I sure hope she isn't as big a daredevil as he is!