Sport can roll!

On December 11th, Sport started rolling over from his belly to his back.  He is still a little sporatic, but he is starting to do this lots more and even on purpose!

Sledding

I've said before how much Dash likes the snow, so it was really only a matter of time before he finally convinced us to take him sledding.  The sledding hill in Upton is actually a dirt lane that runs through the trees.  There is a small development of new houses off this road so there is the chance that a car might pass you while you are sledding, but it is pretty much protocol for vehicles to yield to sledders.

Brandan and the older boys at the top of the hill.

Brandan and the boys at the bottom of the hill.

Brandan pulling the boys up the hill.

If you think this looks snug, you should see it when Brandan gets on with us.

O' Christmas Tree

When we finally got a Christmas tree, we didn't want to break tradition, so we went out and cut one down.  Brother Booth took us just a few miles down the road and we walked around in the snow a while until we finally settled on the tree we first saw.  It is a little Charlie Brownish, but that's another one of our traditions.  The boys absolutely love it.  In fact, they would have loved anything we brought home.  After we unloaded the tree, we cut off some of the bottom branches so it would fit in our stand.  To tease the boys, Brandan brought one of the cut off branches into the house and put it in the stand instead of the tree.  Dash and Colt couldn't have cared less.  They were just as happy with that twig as they were with our real tree.  Dash's only concern when he saw the branch was that it might not hold all the ornaments we have. 

Looking for a Christmas tree.

The boys immediately started to decorate the trick tree.

Halfway through decorating the real tree.

Sport's Blessing Day

We had Sport blessed on December 5th.  Brother Booth and Jared Ivie stood in the blessing circle with Brandan and Sport looked super cute in the blessing outfit Grandma Clayson made him and the blanket Grandma Madsen made. 

After church, we invited the Bensen family, the Booths and the Ivies over to our house for dinner.  It was a little tight with 8 adults and 6 kids all running around the house (the adults were the worst), but it was really fun.  We had a great day.

I took pictures of Sport in his blessing outfit and planned to post just one, but I thought they were all too cute not to share.



Dec 5th -  Dinner at our house after Sport's blessing.




While the adults ate and talked and ate more, the kids spent most of the evening in the boys' room.



Santa!

Dash and Colt (and Brandan) are all very excited for Santa to come this year.  So when we found out he was in the Gillette Wal-mart we were shopping at we had to go back and give him the boys' wish lists.  Dash was a little nervous, but he really wanted Santa to know what he wanted for Christmas so he put on a brave face and went right up to him.  Brandan and Colt were both scared too, but then they spotted the candy cane basket up by Santa and decided it was worth the risk.  Sport played dead in the blanket. 

December 4th - The boys visiting Santa.

Thanksgiving

We went back to Idaho for Thanksgiving.  The drive both directions was super scary with horrible roads and bad storms, but it was worth it.  The boys had a great time seeing their grandparents and playing with their cousins.  Dash shed a few tears when it was time to go home, but we reassured him that he would see everyone again at Christmas and promised him a Christmas tree when we got home.

Thanksgiving Night - Grandpa and Sport are napping after a busy day.

Sport at 3 weeks!

Sport at 3 weeks.

Nov. 17 - Sport smiling.

Snow

Dash has been asking when there would be snow since the end of August so he was pretty happy when we got a major storm on November 9th.  I wasn't so thrilled.  The boys begged to go out and play all morning and I finally broke down and took the 30 minutes it takes to get them into snow gear and send them outside.  They loved every minute of it so I guess it was worth it.

It took a lot of work, but I finally got the boys ready to go outside.

Playing on the porch.

The boys used their dump trucks to make tracks through the front yard.

After Daddy got home from work, he took the boys back outside and built a snowman.

Life Continued

After all our company left, we were sad to see them go, but the weather was unusually beautiful so we spent lots of time outdoors and kept busy.  The boys love their brother and my biggest worry is that they might try to help a little too much.

Dash and Colt raking the leaves (again, but we finally bagged them up).  Sport is in his car seat on the porch in the background.

Sport (Nov. 1)

Colt snuggling Sport in the sunshine.

Nov 5 - The Madsen boys

The First Week

Grandma Clayson stayed for the rest of the week after Sport was born.  We were super grateful for all her help.  She cleaned our bathroom!  I might have to have another baby soon, our sink never looked so good.  On Friday, Grandpa, Gracie and Charity arrived.  Dash was thrilled to see more cousins.  They ate dinner and stretched for awhile and then they all loaded up and headed over to see Mount Rushmore (or Mountain City, as Dash calls it) under the night spotlights.  Colt, Sport, and I stayed home and called it an early night.  Saturday morning, all the Clayson family headed back to Idaho and by Saturday afternoon Grandma and Grandpa Madsen pulled up to the delight of the boys.  They came with us to the ward trunk-or-treat and then the next day, Brandan took them all to Spearfish, SD to visit the Wildlife Sanctuary and his friends there.  The Madsens left on Monday morning and Dash has been asking who is coming next since their departure.

Dash absolutely loves to hold Sport and will do so for long periods of time.

 Oct. 29th - Grandma and Grandpa Clayson at Mount Rushmore.

Oct. 29th - Charity, Gracie and Dash at Mount Rushmore.

Grandma and Grandpa with Sport.

Charity and Gracie with Sport.

Oct. 30th - We carved pumpkins while waiting for the Madsens to get to our house.

The boys were complete babies about gutting the pumpkins and in the end Brandan and I ended up doing the gutting and carving by ourselves.  We had fun anyway.

Oct. 30 -Naked Sport.

Grandma playing with the boys.

Superman and Spiderman trunk-or-treating in Newcastle with Daddy.

Oct 30- It had been a long day.

Oct. 31 - Grandma and Grandpa with Dash and Colt at the Wildlife Sanctuary.

Colt looking at the mountain lion.

Dash and Colt with the mountain lions.

Grandpa, Daddy, Dash and Colt with the camels.

Grandma and Grandpa with Sport.

The Big B-Day (Finally)

So my induction day finally came.  Monday morning Brandan, Colt and I all woke up early.  Colt wasn't necessarily supposed to wake up, but he had been sick all weekend and not sleeping well so he was up anyway.  Brandan and I headed out into the rain and made the drive to the Rapid City, South Dakota hospital.  While we drove, we tried to think up a name for the baby.  I don't think people believe us when we say we really don't have a name picked out before the baby is born, but it is very, very true.  We had decided just the night before on the middle name of Brent because it had significance in both families.  The true story of the baby's first name is this:

We were in the hospital with me hooked up to IVs and on pitocin and, of course, we were watching television.  In the meantime, we kept suggesting random names, mostly inspired by objects in the room, such as "switch" and "frame"; yes, we were that desperate.  It won't come as a surprise to most women who've spent time in a labor and delivery room with the average husband that the television kept finding its way to the sports stations.  I happened to notice the station title, FoxSports, and jokinly suggested "Fox".  We laughed and then Brand said, "What about Sport?"

So five hours and five failed epidural pokes later, Sport Brent Madsen was born at 7lbs 5oz and 19 1/2 inches.  Sport had tons of dark brown hair and a great set of lungs.

Mom, Cam, Jill, Kamber, Dash and Colt were killing time in Rapid City that day waiting for the birth announcement so they were able to come meet Sport soon after birth.  We were glad to show off our new addition and if they didn't think he was as beautiful as we did, they hid it well.

DISCLAIMER:  I'm not exactly overly proud of all these pictures, this isn't exactly my most photogenic time, but since I'm using this blog as a family journal...I'm willing to share pictures I might not otherwise.  (Just keep that in mind when you look at my horribly swollen face.  I was on an IV for over 10 hours!)

5 am, October 25th- We had to distract Colt with a movie so we could make our get away to the hospital.

This is our labor and delivery room.

Sport Brent Madsen about 3 minutes after birth...gooey, but cute.

The boys meet Sport.  Colt was a little nervous at first, but they both loved him.

New family photo. Yikes. This one probably won't ever make it on the wall.

Sport after his bath.

Daddy and Sport.

Colt finally warmed up to Sport and has been more than helpful ever since.

Sport loves to suck his fingers.  He had his fingers in his mouth immediately after birth and most of the time over the next few days.

Daddy and Sport watching ESPN in the hospital.

October 26th - Sport getting dressed to come home.

Mom and Sport just after arriving home from the hospital.

Grandma Clayson was just putting the boys to bed when we got home from the hospital, but they stayed up long enough to snuggle their new brother.