Big brother and a great babysitter. He can get Cohen to calm down really well!

Better entertainment than tv!

Father's Day Paper by Max and Ellie

My favorite thing to do with my Dad is:
Max - Play Wii with him
Ellie - Cuddle with him

My dad is really good at:
Max - Finance
Ellie - Working

I am glad he is my Dad because:
Max - He helps me with my problems
Ellie - He hugs and kisses me

One funny thing he does with me that I love is:
Max - Fake boxing
Ellie - Tackling

My best memory with him is:
Max - Playing Star Wars Battlefront
Ellie - Buying gum

What he loves about me:
Max - How cute I am
Ellie - When I share

Max's Mother's Day Paper

What is your mom's favorite food?
Swedish Pancakes
How old is your mom?
30
What is your Mom's favorite thing to do when she relaxes?
Watch tv - American Idol
What does your mom cook better than anyone else?
She cooks what I like most to eat
What does your mom do while you are at school?
Takes care of Ellie and teach piano
If you had an afternoon to spend with your mom what would you do?
Watch Wipeout
Where was your mom born?
Virginia
If your mom could have lunch with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Me
Fill in the blank...I love my mom because:
she cooks well and we have fun with each other

Ellie's Mother's Day Paper

My mommy is 13 years old
Her favorite color is pink
Her favorite food is mac n cheese (lol - I haven't had it since she was 1)
She likes to lay in her bed and watch tv (k- I need a break here, I'm 8 months pregnant and I'm too exhausted to even read)
I like it when she plays with me
Her favorite thing about me is my hugs
She has taught me to be a good listener
I love her shoes
When I'm not with her, I miss her dress the most.

A Poem To My Beloved Mom, by Max Stroud, Grade 4

Your blue eyes are like buckets of water that extinguish the fire when you love me the most.
Your soft voice is like silent ninjas hat are ambushing enemies when they are attacking me.
Your warm hugs are like a heated blanket that keeps me warm when it is a cold day.
Your pretty, enormous belly is like a balloon that is being pumped that is just about to pop when the baby's just about ready to be born.
Your gentle smile is an opening to a hot furnace that burns things when you start to love me the most.
Your smoth hair is a forest of tan trees that attract tourists from all over the world when you start to blossom like a flower.
You make me feel warm inside when you tell me that you love me with all your heart.
You have inspired me to write this poem because you have loved me and guided me on the trail to glory.
I do not care how old or young you are because that does not change how much I love you.

Cohen's arrival...checking in...I was going in for induction, but went into labor within a few minutes of being there. Since I've felt like I've been in labor for two weeks, I'm not surprised.

The little guy came out blue as a smurf because the cord was wrapped around his neck so this sight of him crying with color in his skin was a relief. Doc said he was in shock, but would be just fine. He weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. His head and shoulders were so hefty, the nurses and I thought he'd be over 8, but he's got the long and lean limbs of his daddy!

He was cute as can be and very mellow.

We are some proud parents...we're finding its much easier the third time around.

Proud daddy

Max took to him like a duck to water - he's going to be a great big brother! Hopefully him and Cohen will be good buddies. Mas hoping it would be a boy "because a boy probably wouldn't annoy as much as Ellie".

Big sis - she is so excited and loves to be involved in everything that has to do with Cohen.

Our brood..oh how busy life will be :)

Maternity Pics...so excited for baby #3 to arrive. Here's some fun pics we had taken - our first "Family of Five" pics...I was supposed to have to be on bedrest pretty much the whole 9 months so we thought we were done, but Heavenly Father had a different plan and blessed me with an amazingly wonderful pregnancy. We're so glad we get another little Stroudling to join our team and we didn't find out the gender with this one, so it feels like Christmas excitedly waiting to see if our present will be a boy or girl!

Ellie's preschool graduation...she got to have a good friend of mine as her teacher and be with her cousin and friends from church. This girl loves school - yay! Kindergarten in the fall!

Shane's second wife...she even has a name and a special room downstairs :) She subtracts an hour and a half of mowing time off his Saturdays - love it! And the kids love getting tractor rides around the lawn in it.

It's just in the blood I guess - she loves ballet! We've never seen her so in her own world as she is in dance. So fun to watch!

Most of my students...2011 Spring Recital at Steinway Piano Galleries. Love what I do and love these kids!

Backyard Fun...Shane has done such a great job turning a wild, wooded area into a fun, explorable wilderness. This first picture is the zipline - platform on the bottom left behind the tree and it zips down the path and into the woods.

Tramp, playhouse and a wicked 50 foot tree swing that swings over a little ravine. One of the reasons we love Georgia! We get deer walking up our paths like they own the place too.

My baby girl is 5! She is delightful, energetic, shy with others, self-empowered around us, very animated and we love her so much!

Our family night Minute To Win It game show host. See all the water bottles on the floor behind him? Can you tell I'm pregnant - I drink one of those a day on my own. Anything besides spring water makes me throw up. I have such a snobby body. So far no MSG (throw up), tap or even filtered water (throw up), wheat (chronic inflammation and fatigue), sugar (blood pressure drops to 80 over 40) or dairy (you don't want to know). Anywho, cute boy, huh?

Pinewood Derby - I have yet to attend one lasting under 2 1/2 hours but he seemed to have fun. Next year I think it will be a Father/Son event for us. The car was two pencils on wheels - when Shane asked him what he wanted his car to look like, he was looking at a pencil and decided to go with it. It looked very real!