Scott & Ashley

First few weeks at home...

2013-11-26T19:12:00.002-08:00

Even though the first few weeks of bringing a new baby home

are sleepless and overwhelming, they are probably my most

favorite time! I have loved all three experiences of having a newborn

in our home. Avery and Jax loved holding Grady.

First night at home.

7/24 Grady's first bath in the tub

Taking pictures of all three is so fun!

The kids begged to hold him all day long.

They were so in love!

First Sunday at church 7/7/13

Grady was three weeks old and we did pretty good!

7/22/13

One month old and full of smiles!

This outfit was newborn size and wouldn't stay down over his big belly.

Grady's Blessing Day

2013-11-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

We blessed Grady on August 4th. Scott gave him an amazing blessing, he's such a special boy.

We love you Grady.

He got pretty angry during our little photo shoot...so in came the swaddle/binky trick and he

was pretty content after that.

Summer 2013

2013-11-23T22:39:00.001-08:00

So much happened this summer, and at the same time, I feel like we really didn't do much. Having a new baby in the beginning of summer is nice,

but at the same time, it was hard because the kids wanted to

be outside, and it was so hot!! I was afraid of the baby

over heating or getting sunburned. But, we

made it to the park as much as we could

and swam in the back yard and ate popsicles, which

is what my kids love doing!

We spent a lot of our days cuddling this sweet baby.

My kids were never jealous, and probably wanted to love on him a little too much!

We had a pretty low-key 4th of July. The kids played with sparklers and we had

a bbq at the Boyce's with everyone. Luckily it doesn't take much to make these

two happy!

We played as much as we could with Scott in between him studying for the bar (which he passed!)

We've really loved having a backyard to play in.

Family celebration of Scott being done with the bar.

We took lots of walks on the walking trail behind our house.

It conveniently leads us right to a park that no one is ever at.

Scott and I attempted to climb Badger mountain....we made it about half way before

we headed back. I was a little antsy leaving my baby for the first time.

We went to the fair with Rachel and Brandon...it was HOT.

We attempted to potty train this kid...not so much success! I think we will keep

talking about it, but he is definitely fighting it.

We did LOTS of indoor picnics.

Grady William Boyce

2013-07-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Grady William Boyce is here!
He was born on June 22nd at 8:07am and
weighed 9.1 lbs and was 21 inches long.

The weeks leading up to his birth, we tried everything we
could to induce labor so I wouldn't have to have
a repeat c-section, but nothing was working. The baby
was measuring big and
I also had polyhydraminos, which meant that I had
too much amniotic fluid (I had the same issue with Jax).
So, we decided that if he wasn't here by my due date,
we would have a repeat c-section.
We were scheduled to be at the hospital at 10am on Friday, June 21st. The kids were going to be going to our parents house
and that morning we were all prepared to go, and had just left when I realized that I had a voice mail from the hospital. We called them back and they ended up being full that day, so instead of having a baby,the kids and I went home and Scott headed off to study. I was really upset, I finally had felt at peace with
doing the c-section, the kids were really excited and then
everything was postponed. Lukily we only had to wait one more day.
So we got up bright and early on Saturday, the 22nd and Grady
was born at 8:07am.

After Grady was born, he was having difficulty breathing. Nothing too serious, but
they had us do skin on skin contact all morning to help calm him
down and get his oxygen levels to where they needed to be.
When the pediatrician came to check on him, they decided
that to be on the safer side, they needed to rule out more serious complications.
Poor Grady was poked so many times that day! They also did
an x-ray to rule out pneumonia. Talk about a stressful morning.
But Grady passed every test and we were so relieved!
Since he was over 9 pounds, they also had to test his blood sugar
every few hours. When we got home, he had so many scabs on his heels
from being poked at so much!

I didn't know when I wanted the kids to come to the hospital before I had the
baby. But I was ready to see them meet their baby brother, so they came later in the afternoon.
Avery was instantly all over him, she's such an affectionate big sister! Jax kind of ignored me
and then finally came over and held him. He was much more into it the next day. I'm
sure being in the hospital was weird for him, but he's adjusted so well to being a big brother,
I'm so happy about that.

The hospital that we had Grady at was insanely busy. I was disappointed with my
experience with the staff this time around, but oh well. Grady wasn't bathed until really late
the night that I had him, so he had blood and gunk on his head all day.
When they were finally able to bathe him, he hated it! Haha,
I think all of my babies have screamed through their first bath.

Going home!
We came home from the hospital on Monday the 24th.

Family Time in Omaha

2013-06-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

We tried to get as much fun in as possible while everyone was in Omaha.

Keeping four kids entertained in a house that all the

toys were packed was kind of tricky, but between the zoo

and playing outside, they had fun.

We were so busy packing and getting ready to move that taking pictures

wasn't on my mind! Oh well, here's the few that I got.

Scott's Law School Graduation!

2013-05-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

We can't believe that we are here! We made it! Scott graduated on May 17th. My parents, Scott's parents and his brother Taylor and Brittney and Derek and Dallace all came to help us move and celebrate. It was a CRAZY week with 4 kids running around while we tried to pack up our house, but we are so thankful that everyone came to support us.

We are SOOOO proud of you Scott!!!

Ok, sadly these are the best pictures we have of all of us,

but we are just going to say this is how kids get

when they sit in a two hour long graduation without being able to move.

We are glad they did as well as they did....let's all just laugh at these because they are pretty crazy.

This is probably the best one.

She's saying, "We're SO excited that daddy is DONE with school!!!"

Then & Now

2013-05-03T18:25:00.005-07:00

We are getting ready to finish a huge milestone in our life in the next couple of weeks. Scott

is graduating from law school! I can't even say that without getting huge butterflies in my stomach.

I have realized in these past 3 years, that I am not good with change! But we are really

excited for this next phase in life. We have all grown and changed, and have hopefully learned a lot in these past few years!

Avery!

When we moved to Omaha, this girl wasn't even two years old yet! She still had a binky, bottle, slept in a crib and was my little baby. She has grown up SO much! She's going to be 5 this year and I'm in major denial about that. It's crazy to think that she was ever that little. Avery has definitely been my little buddy since living here. I hate doing things by myself, and the first few months of living somewhere new with a husband who was always gone, I felt alone a lot, and Avery helped me not be so lonely and doesn't even know it! She went from being an only child to now being a big sister of almost 2 little brothers! And she's such a good big sister. She's made so many little friends here and I know she will be missed when we are gone, and she'll be missing her cute little friends too. I feel like this is home to her and she'll probably be asking me to go back to Omaha a lot once we're gone!

Jax!

This boy came into our lives at the perfect time! It was so overwhelming having a second baby, moving so far away and Scott starting something that was so time consuming, but Jax fit right in. It's so funny to me that we moved here while I was massively pregnant and we will be moving away while I'm again, massively pregnant! It is bringing a lot of memories back! This has been the only home Jax has ever known, and as I've started taking things off of the walls and packing, he has noticed and has gotten really upset every time he sees me do it. I was taking our kitchen shelf down a few days ago, and he threw the biggest fit over it, I guess he's not so good with change either! :) Jax is Avery's little shadow and it's been that way for so long. He is really going to miss it here. There's so much to do that he LOVES! His favorites are probably the zoo and the children's museum. We will probably all miss being able to drive 3 minutes down the road to those places! But Jax definitely will the most. He is going to have to adjust to a lot of changes in these next several weeks, I hope that he can adapt to the roll of being a big brother instead of our baby, because we all still treat him like that! Jax's little personality is so funny, he loves to make us laugh, we love him!

ME:

Well, when we moved here I had a horrible time adjusting. I thought we had made a mistake, tried to talk Scott into transferring to a different school, was awkward at making new friends, I was a mess. But as time went on, it became very clear that our prayers were answered and we were supposed to be here. Now I tear up every time I think about leaving my house and my really good friends!!! I've learned to be more guarded and careful of who I am friends with, and at the same time have learned to have such an open mind to service and new friendships. It's been a huge learning experience for sure. Scott and I have become more dependent on each other then ever before, and I really have learned to appreciate our time together. We have grown into our own little family, and have made this our home and I am really sad to leave. But I am so excited to move on and start a new adventure, I'm SO ready to have this baby, or at least not be pregnant anymore. It's been so much harder this time, mostly because I can't keep up my energy level with my two kiddos like I'm used to and I feel guilty about that. But soon, this baby will be here and we'll adjust all over again!

SCOTTY!

This man is amazing! I knew that before we came out here, but he has proven it a million times over.

Scott has had so much pressure put on his shoulders these past few years, and yet he has never let me stress out about anything. He has somehow worked and gone to school, studied and

has been a present dad and husband while balancing it all. I have called him at my wits end on more then one occasion, and he has dropped everything and come home every time. He has always

provided us with everything we need and has put our needs

above his own countless times.

He always puts his family first, and our kids are so in love with him. We are so proud of you!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Dance recital 2013

2013-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

Avery had her second dance recital this spring, on April 26th, and it was so cute! They only ended up performing one dance, and Avery was hilarious as usual. They didn't do costumes this year, so Avery got to pick out her own. I put some really light make-up on her, which she LOVED, and it made her look way too old! But it gave me a glimpse of how fun that stuff will be when she's old enough.

Avery and her BFF Miya. Those girls are so cute together.

BABY 3

2013-04-19T13:37:00.003-07:00

We had an ultrasound for this sweet baby last week and got to see how he is growing. He was pretty shy for most of it, but at one point Scott got me some cold water to try and wake him up, and then talked to my belly and the baby scrunched up his face in a little frown, it was so sad!! I wished I could just hold him!

This pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, which we are so thankful for! We can't wait for the next 10 weeks to fly by so we can finally meet him!

Baby 3 Belly Pics

2013-04-19T13:30:00.002-07:00

I decided with this pregnancy that I wanted to be better at tracking my growth because I always wish I could look back and see how the baby (and I) has grown. The weeks that I thought I looked and felt huge aren't even close to where I'm at now.

It's so awkward taking pictures of yourself, but I'm trying to get

over that!

10 more weeks!!

13 WEEKS

15 WEEKS

16 WEEKS

18 WEEKS

20 WEEKS

22 WEEKS

24 WEEKS

26 WEEKS

30 WEEKS!!

Easter 2013

2013-03-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt and they loved it!

Jax is still talking about eggs, he became obsessed.

Here we go trying to get pictures of the kids, and us with the kids...they are so

wiggly, oh well, we caught them at this stage in life and that's what's important!

Bubba

2013-03-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

This sweet little boy of mine is so fun and we love him!! He is obsessed with airplanes, choo-choo trains, his daddy, Dora, bubbles and so much more. He's getting so much better at communicating and trying to voice his opinion. We are constantly trying to figure out what he says and usually can, his little language is so cute and sweet.

LOVE YOU JAXY!

BABY BOY 2013

2013-01-08T13:57:00.002-08:00

We are SO excited to announce that we have another

sweet baby boy coming to our family!!

JUNE 2013

Little man at 16 weeks!

Skinny little arms!

Baby's spine...

Baby's feet and little toes!

Baby's skinny little legs!

Christmas 2012

2013-01-04T13:05:00.001-08:00

This year was a little different. We decided to stay in Omaha for the break so Scott could work. We ended up driving to St. Louis where Luke and Brittney live because Derek had RSV

and was in the hospital so my mom had flown there to help, and would be there until Christmas Day.

Derek ended up getting better and was able to go home earlier then they thought, so we were all together for about 5 days and the kids loved it!

We drove home Christmas Day and Santa made a special stop that night.

Luckily the kiddos are young enough to not know the difference.

So the next day, with the stomach flu hitting, we opened presents!

It was so fun watching them open everything we had picked

out for them. Avery is the best at making everything

seem so exciting, and Jax was just happy to open

throw it to the side and move on to the next thing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

First Snow!

2012-12-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

The kids were so excited when they woke up to snow after a blizzard a

couple of weeks ago. I on the other hand, am a big fat baby when it comes to snow,

so I made them wait until their daddy got home to play in it!

So as the sun went down in 12 degree weather, they made snow angels, attempted to build

a snow man and threw snowballs.

Afterwards we came in and decorated our dozens of sugar cookies. Avery is getting so good at helping

with stuff like that. Jax on the other hand probably ate more frosting

then he put on cookies!

Decorating the tree!

2012-12-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

They were both so into putting ornaments on the tree this year,

and instead of trying to control what went where, I just let them have fun,

and it turned out so cute!

And they were pretty proud of their work, especially Avery.

My kids are the greatest posers....

5

2012-12-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

Scott and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary this year!!

We've been much better at taking pictures together since we

got our new phones, so these are a few I found of us this past year.

I LOVE THIS MAN!

Family Pics 2012

2012-11-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2012

2012-11-02T13:46:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween!

The kids were both into Halloween and Trick-or-Treating this year,

they had so much fun!

Avery's Preschool went on a parade walk over to a Rest Home

and the kids sang a couple of Halloween songs.

2

2012-10-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

Jax turned 2 years old on October 8th!

On his actual birthday, Scott had to be gone until late, so the kiddos

and I did some of Jax's favorite things.

We had gotten some doughnuts, and Jax wanted that for breakfast.

And then later we went to a puppy store and played with a puppy that Jax picked out,

and then went to Costco for dinner.

Jax loves pizza and smoothies from Costco!

On his birthday, I wanted to capture him
and his little personality...whenever he sees the camera, he makes the silliest faces.

Then a few days later, we had birthday cake and opened presents with Scott.

Jax is starting to pick up on some words, and it makes us so excited when he

decides to talk! He completely understands what we are saying

to him and is able to follow directions, but he's perfectly content without saying much.

He tries to say things and it's usually not understandable, but he's recently started saying a ton

of words.

The words he knows, so far are,

mama, dada, baba, plane, nana(bannana), choo-choo-, bye,

hi, baseball, ball, more, done, spoon, no, baby.

We can't imagine our lives without this sweet boy.

LOVE YOU JAX!!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

First Day!

2012-10-04T18:02:00.001-07:00

Avery is in Pre-School this year, and is loving it. I was a little worried that she'd have some separation issues when I dropped her off the first time, especially because we missed the orientation..but she saw her little friends and almost forgot to hug me goodbye! I did not cry right along with Jax as we drove away....

Little man thought we would be going right on in with her....

So mad he had to come home with me and leave Avery!

Almost 2....

2012-09-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

We decided that since Jax's birthday was coming up so soon, we should celebrate with everyone while we were home.

Jax got pretty spoiled too!

4

2012-09-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

I've been in denial that I'm going to have a four year old for the past few months...it just sounds too old, and I don't feel old enough to have a child that isn't considered a toddler or baby anymore!

Avery, you are the best part of me, I love you!

We got to celebrate her birthday with family this year,

which was so fun! We missed having Scott there, but thanks

to technology he was on face-time during the

whole party.

She got way too spoiled, enough that we had to bring 2 extra suitcases home!

The birthday girl decided to go to Chuck-E-Cheese

and then McDonald's for lunch....same exact thing as last year.

At least you know what you like, Ave!

Then we had a rainbow cupcake party with everyone.

I love this picture!!!

Ray-Ray is the favorite.

We love Grandpa!

Avery has special place in Grandma Watson's heart!

This is you guys in 5 years....and B this is what you get for making that face in every picture!

Avery, you are loved by all who know you.

I am so lucky to be your mom!

I love you!

WA trip 2012

2012-09-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

The kiddos and I drove to WA for a few weeks after our trip to Utah. The drive was eventful...Avery had a few accidents after having no accidents for over a year! CRAZY. My poor in-laws were with us and we stopped 3 or 4 times in about 2 hours, I felt so bad! But we made it there! And we had so much fun hanging out with so much of our family, it makes me excited to move back someday and do it more often!

(that means you have to stay there too R!)

On Labor Day we drove to Othello to have a BBQ and see everyone. We ate,

took a tour of the orchard (for the millionth time in my life...never gets old!),

zip-lined (scariest thing I've done in a long time....I think I screamed the 's' word the whole way down)!

Grandpa Beus always has the best entertainment!

LOVE this girl.

Lil' cowboy.

Designated pusher of the tree swing...

Best compliment I got when I was home was looking more like this

gorgeous lady!

Somebody made a new best friend who he sometimes mistakes as his daddy.....

The famous tour of the orchard! Never fails!

Here's me getting the courage from my daughter to do the zip-line, what a mistake....

Mid-scream of the 's' word....

This girl has no fear! I'm pretty sure she's telling me she can do it by herself here.

Cousins!

Malia, Crew, Jax & Avery

You're caught on camera, Jax!!

Carter + Rachel

2012-09-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

We got to fly to Utah over Labor Day for Scott's brother's wedding. It was so fun having the whole family together and meeting Rachel, Avery calls her the 'new Rachel'.

I'm so lucky to have such awesome sister-in-laws!

On Friday, we all got to hang out in Salt Lake and see some of the

church sites, eat lunch and shop!

Friday night, we went to Uncle Orson's house for a BBQ with a bunch of the Boyce side cousins.

Jax ate like 5 corn on the cobs!

The wedding was beautiful, and the lovebirds were so cute!