Multitasking

Exercise. Catching up with Jenna. Comforting Adalynn. 

The life of a mom of 4....LOVE it!

The Big Win

Nick and Carter have recently become really interested in chess. Nick told Carter one day, "The day you can legitimately beat daddy, I'll give you $10!"

Two days later, Carter was contemplating what to do with his loot...and Nick was making excuses like, "somehow he killed my Queen early on...blah blah blah." (hehe...j/k hon, good job!) 

Welcome, little one!

Wow. I didn't realize how quickly a night (or rather a life) could change in such a small amount of time. During Good Friday Services, I felt a few contractions...They weren't too strong (and barely painful - now don't mistake me for some tough girl - I'm a hard core wimp!) but they were timing about 7 minutes apart for the first 1/2 hour then trickled off any where from 7 min to 25 min then eventually 45min. This happened on Wednesday night so I figured it was all just false labor......When we left church I thought they were done for the night...


Well not so!  We were home for about 30 minutes and they came back in a hurry. I felt them coming about 3-5 minutes apart and stronger than before. I called the Dr and she said to come in. We almost decided to go to Bluffton instead of FW because I was so afraid I'd deliver on the road. (YIKES!) We left our house at 10:20 - arrived at Lutheran at 11:00pm and our not-so-little bundle was born at 11:17pm and the nurses held me off as long as they could until the Dr arrived...Yeah, if we have any more children, I'll be demanding to be started early so I don't have to go through that again! :)

A majorly HUGE thanks to Tara R. for coaching Nick and I on the way there. I called her and she kept me calm and gave us the excellent advice to call the Birthing Center to warn them we are coming so that  they could be ready for us. They told me had we not called they would not have been able to get ready in time! ( I think this means they would have had to "make do" with whatever they could get ready not that they couldn't have cared properly for me...)

AND a majorly HUGE thanks to Lynn for following us to Lutheran and breaking the speed limit against her normal judgement ;) to be there for us. Also - once again she was grandma to our children while we were away.  I'm really sad that I don't have any pictures of her at the hospital for some reason. She was there Friday night and again on Saturday with our kids. Thanks Lynn - we love you!

And thanks to Dad & Tami for getting our kids so they could be at Easter with their cousins. We are so thankful for you! And thanks to Gma F. and Gma Sandy for watching Addie during church Sunday!


Welcome to our family, Bodie. We love you to the moon and back already. Our lives are forever changed and I already can't imagine life without you!

Bodie William 

8 lbs. 8 oz. 20.5"

Born April 6th, 2012

(Ha! So this cracks me up. Before church on Friday we decided to take a quick picture of me this pregnant in case I'm not dressed nicely again before baby arrives. Glad we did!)

Every now and then I look at this picture and my heart starts racing at the thought of having FOUR kids. Wow...I'm so blessed (and scared! lol...)

Huge thanks to Grandma F. for rushing to our house Friday night to be with the kids. AND for sleeping on the floor in the living room with all 3 kids around you. What a trooper!

We feel unbelievably blessed. I'm totally in love. :)

Fiechter Easter

So - notice on the last post it said "Atalanta - Day 1"? Well, that is just like me. Start a series and never finish it. Ha! Maybe someday you'll see the rest of that trip. ;)

We celebrated Easter last night with Nicks family and as always had a wonderful time. 

She was so serious and intent on dying the eggs. So sweet!

I'm thinking Mason broke at least 3 eggs trying to get them from the tray to his cup. ;) Gotta love him!

He turned to kiss me at the last minute. Isn't he the sweetest? ;)

"Koink" Wars. 

Can you tell who won? 

Part of our family tradition is to dye the eggs, koink them (hitting 2 ends together and competing on who's egg wins the most koinks) and then eating them. We serve them with cider vinegar, horseradish, salt, pepper, and V8 to drink. :)

Thanks, Brad for keeping this little guy under control! :)

Who needs a slide when you have a treadmill?

Although I'm looking forward to getting together with my families Saturday and Sunday....I'm kind of hoping Bodie arrives and we miss them! ;) No offense to my family - ya'll can come visit us at the hospital. :)))

Atlanta: Day 1

Nick and I have the opportunity this week to travel to Atlanta, GA for a business trip. Nick has passed all of his actuarial exams (YAY!) and is currently attending the final event before receiving his "credentials" as an accredited actuary.

Nick Fiechter, FSA :)))))

So we drove (b/c I am 37 weeks pregnant and well...really b/c I hate to fly! lol...) 11 hours and arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta, GA. Go ahead. Google it. (WOW!) It is a 5 Star hotel (the only one in Atlanta, or so they say...)

 

What have we learned about a 5 star hotel? Let me tell you. ;)

• We are out of our element here. We arrived in pj pants (c'mon, we were in a car for 11 hours!) BUT - you can be proud of me. I packed in a suitcase, NOT my normal ( a laundry basket!) I learned my lesson about that. ;)

 

• A doorman is a man who greets you at the hotel while you are still in your car. He opens the door for you, insists on you taking a bottle of water, makes you feel very welcome, tells you all about how he'll take great care of your car and park it for you. I mean, they do valet service here (oh, and it costs $35/day!!!!!!!!! AH!). AND....this guy is to be tipped. $1 per bag, no less than $2. 

• If you insist on carrying your own luggage, it doesn't really work. If you ask for a luggage cart, they'll bring you one, but you aren't even allowed to push it. That's the Bellman's job.

• The Bellman is a man who brings your bags on the luggage cart (that you are perfectly able to push yourself) up to your room. Then when he gets to your room, don't attempt to unload the cart. He'll do that for you. AND....this guy is ALSO to be tipped. $1 per bag, no less than $2 if you only have one bag. 

• The front desk lady will not hand you your keys over the countertop. She'll walk ALLL the way around the long marble desk, addressing you as Mr. & Mrs. and personally welcome you to your hotel, and hand you the keys with a hand shake. (even if you are dressed in pj clothes that are much too warm for the climate, and even if you do have messy hair and no make up! eeks!)

• If for some reason your 5 star hotel overbooks themselves for the 3rd night of your stay, they'll move you next door to another hotel and oh, don't worry, the Bellman will take care of your luggage. ;) 

• And to apologize for their mistake, they'll offer you free Wifi service, bring you a bottle of tea, a personal letter, and candied pecans and leave them in your room while you are out for dinner. (How did they know we were out? Are there hidden cameras in our room?)

• OH! Don't forget the 30% discount they offered on their spa! Duh! Now instead of paying $125 for my pre-natal massage that I could get if I wanted, I'll only have to pay $87.50. Oh, don't forget the 20% expected tip.... ;)

 

• The Varisty is a fun restaraunt to visit if you are in the area. It is basically a "Bummies on steriods" and very yummy. According to Nick, their milkshakes and onion rings are shhhh! (actually better than Bummies!) I have to say I thought they were about equal (I'm VERY loyal to my Bummies!)

• The Boston Celtics also like 5 star hotels and have a basketball game Monday night. No, they are NOT a NCAA team, but still famous all the same. IF there happens to be a player working out in the fitness center, it is apparently very funny to try to trick your wife that you can't get the 50lb. bar off your chest. But really, the jokes on you when the fitness coordinator comes to your rescue before your wife even notices your joke. ;) (she was too busy "checking out the treadmill beside the Celtics player!" ;) ) 

:) We are having a fabulous time! 

My 4 year old boy!

This post is going to sound like a repeat of Carter's birthday post - lots of pictures and a really proud momma! ;) I looooooooveee my boys! ;)

Mason too has been a real joy to raise. Although, he has caused me to be on my knees a bit more and also taught me a lot about patience! ;) I think this is all VERY good though! He is both incredibly sweet, and ornery, loving, silly, energetic, smart, and oh-so-full-of-life! Mason is 100% pure BOY!

 (Patch 36 Photography)

(Patch 36 Photography)

Like I've said before, Mason and Carter are absolute BEST FRIENDS. This brings me so much comfort and joy! I continuously pray that this will stick through the adult years. When we were discussing what he would do on his birthday I asked who he wanted to be with (as in friends). Without hesitation he said, "Carter!"

Recapping Mason's year:

He LOVED to play in the sandbox last summer. He spent HOURS there!

This picture makes me feel SO bad!  He wanted to run the bases with Carter but Carter took off and ran too fast! Mason also had a bad cold so he coughed and coughed after he was done. 

He made this hat at toddler time - one of his favorite places to go!

Oh how he loved to watch Carter play the computer...Now he wants HIS turn too. :)

Never a dull moment....

He has more personality than I ever thought a little guy could have!

AND attitude. ;)

And the stongest bones....Can't believe he hasn't broken any yet!

SERIOUSLY? Mason!!!!

Serving up our supper! 

Recapping Mason's year:

• learned to swim with water wings
• became extremely agile on the trampoline
• learning to add very simple math on his fingers
• learned to rhyme
• learning to read simple words (cat, dog, sit, hit, tan, fan, etc...)
• learned to write his name
• became potty trained - through the night
• moved to the top bunk!

Sweet story about Mason - He wanted this baby to be a BOY so badly! After finding out that it is a boy, he proclaimed that HE gets to name him. (yikes! I thought...) 

A few days after the ultrasound, I was tucking Mason in for a nap and he said, "Mommy, bremember? I get to name our baby. I am going name him B - O - D - E!" 

I began to quickly dismiss it as I do many of his made up names such as Tervio, Bario, Kerchunk, etc. Then my body bolted up from bed and I gasped! Bodie? YES! I LOVE it. And am still in love with it now.  :) Thanks MASON! :))))

Happy Birthday, Mason!! 

We love you to the moon and back!