Merry Christmas from Colorado 2012

Merry Christmas, dear family and friends! I hope the year 2012 brought happy moments of love and peace. Life sure has been busy for our little family in Colorado! One of the best trips that we had as a family was to go to Ohio to visit family and friends for 17 days! It was amazing to get to see everyone. It made us realize how much we miss Ohio due to our family members and friends who are still there. As many people knew that Chad and I moved in with his parents to come to the mountains, the end of the year saw 12 people and 17 animals living in the house. Who would have guessed that? Chad's sister's family and animals, and brother's family and animals joined to form the Cripple Creek Corder Circus! While there have been trials, tests and sadness, there have been many blessings from this year.

Chad is still a miner for the local gold mine. He drives his haul truck for his 12 hour shifts faithfully. He also has recently started voluntering with the boy scouts at church, which he really seems to enjoy (besides earning vacation time from work). He is teaching snowboarding part time (14 days) at Breckenridge again. This year he was able to get a new snow board and snow jacket which made him so happy! One of his happiest moments of being a dad includes catching his baby girl when she was born. He has a new church calling, which he loves and keeps him busy at times, which is opening us as a family to wonderful blessing from the Lord.

Diana is now a mother of two wonderful and busy children! Besides keeping care of them and chasing one around the house, she is not up to too much. Mostly hanging around the house to save gas money. This summer she was called to work with the young women at church as the girl's camp director. She LOVES working with the young women as it brought back many happy memories. She had lots of help from great sisters from church: camp wouldn't have been as big as a success without them. Hopefully next year, she will be able to go to camp with the young women as this year's camp was a little too close to a due date with baby two.

Cameron is now two years old and acting just like one! He loves to climb over anything and everything. He can now twist bottle tops off, use any smart phone or tablet, help daddy and grandpa corder with getting firewood spilt and stacked, loves to read books and play with his toys. Needless to say, he is one busy little boy! Still not saying too much, but boy does he understand everything you say!

Abbygayle is the newest addition to the family with being born in August. She wasn't daddy's birthday present until two days later! She was small but she has put on the weight! At four months, she now LOVES to sit up straight to see everything and everybody! And does she love to talk to get her two cents in and make sure you are paying attention. Girls are definetly different than boys. But she is a joy to everyone in the family. Plus she has acquired so many nicknames, here is hoping she won't be confused when she is bigger ;) What a joy to have Abby here with us!

The cats (Sam, Gladiator, and Jean Grey) are all doing well. Sam had a hematoma on one of his ears two weeks before Abby's birth. He now has scar tissue on that ear which makes him look like a mean old alley cat; but we all know better. Sadly, we lost one of our precious ferrets. Burton is now in heaven with Terje playing around and stealing whatever she can. Needless to say that we greatly miss our precious white ferret who brought so many happy moments to us. She is always thought about. Lago is doing well without her sister and cagemate. I am really glad that she has three other cagemates to keep her company. So our animal numbers are down to four and will probably stay that way for a while.

There have been many lessons that our family have experienced and learned this year with different opportunities the Lord has given us. But there have been many blessings that have come to us as well. The joy of our little family growing, the love and joy of animals that bring to us even when they are not with us anymore, the love of family and great friends who we miss a lot and the joy of making new friendships, and how much we love our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has done so much for us. We are so grateful for the blessings and trials that bring us closer to him and Heaven Father. We know we are never alone, that the Lord will never give us more than we can handle as individuals and as a family. Going to the House of the Lord, the temple, has been a gerat blessing to us this year as we made it a goal to go once a month. How joyful it is to know that we are an eternal family and will be together once more. We pray that each of you know how important you are to us, and if you do not, here is a reminder! We love you all and wish you a very merry christmas from cripple creek!

Two kids.. am I crazy yet?

Life is really busy with two kids! How do people do it with having more?! I can so understand Jeff Foxworthy's comment about his in-laws being crazy "I understand why my in-laws are nuts because they looked at each other and said why don't we have kids?" lol. but honestly... i love having Abby and Cam. They make my days full and crazy but wouldn't change it. Abby is such a good baby like her big brother was as a newborn. She is so strong too! it amazes me how much she can already hold her head up and steady it, even for a short time. At her first check up, she weighed in at 7.10 lbs and 21 inches long. holy cow!! talk about growing like crazy!! she beat her brother in height but not weight. It's awesome to look back and see pictures from the hospital and then now. :) so cool.
Other than getting use to having two kids and more stuff (which i have never liked big purses!), we are all doing well. getting sick or being sick. I wish this cough will go away, and thank goodness it is starting too. And I can't wait till our family trip to Ohio in December! 17 days of nothing but family and friends and a similar schedule with Chad! Yay for having Daddy for those days with no work. lol. Super excited.

 three days old

a month and three days old

 abby showing off her blessing dress at a fashion show for chad's mom's shop :)

Little bit makes her apperance

I tell you what... it is really nice to fianlly have my baby girl in my arms and half of my body back! :) Little bit, aka Abbygayle Molly, made her apperance on August 21. Chad was hoping that he would be able to hold his little girl as his birthday present which was on the 19th. ( he got the Hunger Games as his present like a week later). But here is her tale of her entrance into this world:

As stated in previous post about being induced/membranes stripped, we made arrangements to have our little guy stay with a good friend from church to play with her two girls for the day then Grandpa would pick him up and come down to the springs. So we get to my doctor's appointment just barely in time and finally see her around 2 (forty minutes after my scheduled time). She tells us that she is only on call until five o'clock and if I was far dialted that she would just have me come back down the next morning instead. Well... my body was five cm dilated and baby was VERY low! And my contractions were not very consistent, at least whenever I tried to time them during the day and were not very painful (it is really hard to time them with chasing after Cam). My doctor decided that it would be best to go ahead and strip my membranes, which felt like majoring cramping and uncomfortable but wasn't too painful. Well.. she broke my water doing this, which she didn't mean to do! :) So that means that baby girl was planning on coming very soon, like maybe that weekend. As we head over to the hospital, I am eating my Which Wich sandwhich because we didnt' have lunch yet. And i just knew that as soon as I check myself in that I would not be allowed to have food! And it was a GREAT sub! As we drive the few blocks to the hospital, my contractions are getting stronger and closer together. Chad laughs while he drives as I'm eating my food and complaining of "there's another contraction". So we get checked into a room (which is really odd to walk to the room where I'm going to deliever compared to Cam's birth experience) and get placed in the bed. And sadly, I had to have an IV put in me. Which I have to say, I HATE needles! (yes I still have a bruise from having my blood drawn from the hospital over a week ago!) I really complained about having it put in compared to all the contractions I was feeling. A big baby when it comes to needles! Anyways, while we waited and waited, we wrote down six ways to spell Abby and get most family guesses on weight, height, hair and eye color, and time for baby girl. :) My doctor came over to the hosptial after 5 and waited. I was sitting at 9 cm for a while so they gave me just a little pitocin (spelling?) to move those things along since walking, birthing ball, and pushing wasn't getting me to a ten quick enough (and this is around 6:30 or so). Wow, my contractions got harder and way closer together. And yes, I did elect to go all natural again (which I somewhat regretted when I remembered the pain of pushing at the very end! lol). At 7:19 pm, Abbygayle Molly came into the world with Daddy catching her :) When she got placed onto my chest, I said "hi Abby" and saw how we should spell her name out of the two ways we liked best. She weighed 5 lbs 11 oz (which is just a pound difference between her and big brother) and 17 3/4 inches long. She is a tiny thing but she is two weeks early! But she is beautiful! Chad is the best dad and husband ever! He teared up just like when Cam was born. Well.. so I tore a small amount which had to get stiches, but I recovered so quickly with this birth compared to Cam's. I even put my own PJs on at the hosptial, which was great! I have to say that pushing hurts like no other but the recovery time (at least for me) was great. Cam and Grandpa came to the hosptial to see Abby and take pictures. It was great! I just wish my mom could have been here for her birth. This is the second grandchild she missed out on. At least with Cam, she barely missed it, but we were not sure for Abby. So we just figured it would be best if she just out from the 30th to the 4th to be here mainly for the blessing. :) So that is basically her entrance into this world.. and yes, I know I am a little crazy for electing to go all natural again. But here are some pictures from that day/night. And Cam LOVES his little sister. He gives her kisses, wants to hold her, and everything, but he also tries to sit in the baby swing when she is sleeping in it or folds it over. Oh well.. he does well for being just 20 months old. lol

happy birthday daddy!

last sunday with belly

last belly shot!

mom, dad, abby

grandma with abby

he loves his little girl

big brother meets little sister

grandpa holding abby

first bath

awake and alert

cam going to give sister a kiss

hiding in the room

how small she is in her carseat to go home

hanging out on the blanket

Ohio Visit Pictures... Finally!

Finally here are the pictures from one of my best friend's wedding! Sorry that took so long to finally post!

the bride and her dad!

 us in pink!

Cam playing at a little park while we visited with great-grandma corder

Playing grandma canter's piano!

Visit to Grand Junction..and three days left

Last weekend was a lot of fun. We went to Grand Junction for a wedding and got to see some great friends who we haven't seen in a LONG time! We decided to turn Cam around for the trip in his car seat to see how he would do.. he seemed to really like it! And.. wow.. is he loud when he yells! What a difference from backward facing to forward facing. :) We went to a store first before we checked into our hotel. Once we got there, we went down to visit with Rachael, Mark, Matthew, and Jaclyn! I have to say that I have never seen Cam so shy! We get into their hotel room and he just hides behind Chad when people come up to him. It was so cute and I so wish I had my camera to capture that moment. Matthew was so cute! and getting so big too. Finally Cam came out of his shell and started to "play" with Matthew and saying hi to Rachael. :) It was cute. We let them get back to doing stuff before Jacob's wedding by us going to the pool. Chad and Cam swam together while I watched and talked to my mom. It was so hot there about 96 degrees which we are going used to like 80 something. Poor Cam was so cold from the pool that it took him forever to warm up. We got ready and went to the wedding. It was a really nice ceremony which pictures will show. And it was just great to catch up with Jaclyn who I hadn't seen since her wedding and when we found out we were pregnant with Cam. :) My mother-in-law kept saying to me that I better not have baby two there in Grand Junction! We took the hospital bag to make sure. Sadly, we didnt' get to hang out with Rachael, Mark and Matthew on Sunday because poor Matthew was sick. So they decided to head back home to make sure Matthew got sleep and didn't get sick later the next day. Chad, Cam and I enjoyed our last hotel trip with just the three of us. and we got to watch some of the olympics! Which maybe means nothing to others but that was all I have gotten to watch since I never think about getting on the computer much anymore. (yet here I finally am!)

My handsome men! (Cam's pointing at an airplane)

Jacob and his wife!

Rachael with Matthew, me with Cam (and can't see the belly much of little bit)

me, Jaclyn and Rachael

Watching the Olympics with Daddy

On the 14th, we had my doctor's appointment which we found out that I was 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. So baby could come anytime but we are planning on Tuesday for sure! Wow.. I only have two days left until then. Yikes! So the plan is (if this all goes according to plan): to drop off Cam at a friend's house, go to my doctor's appointment at 1:20, have her strip my membranes then go to the hospital. I feel a little bad for Chad because he is coming off of night shifts.. so no sleep for him on Tuesday! Unless he gets a nap in the morning which I might try to make sure that happens.. again.. if it goes according to plan. And we should have baby girl aka little bit later that day! Wow.. life is going to get crazy this week! I can't believe I'm doing this whole birth thing again. Granted, I knew it was coming but it is still crazy that it is just around the corner now. I'm excited to see her since I've dreamed of her the past two nights but here is just praying and hoping that she waits until Tuesday. :)

Countdown to Showtime

Four weeks... seriously? I can't believe in about four weeks that our "little bit" will be here! Chad is really excited to hold her and everything. I'm a little nervous...yes, I am. I know now what birth is all about but still a little nervous about this one. I might be induced unless she comes on her on before the 29th or 30th. So there is that.. and then.. I'll have two kids to take care of! AH! I mean, I have a good routine with Cam but adding a newborn? Hmm.. we shall see how well this goes. And I'm sure that everything will work out just fine with having Cam and little bit. I am happy and excited to have her in my arms (espeically so I can sleep on my stomach or back again :)) but still a little nervous. Other than that: nothing else is really new with us except that we are getting ready for baby girl's apperance...but the best thing was that Chad and I went to the royal gorge railroad to do a dinner train ride and a night at a motel without  Cameron. It was so strange not having our little man there but it was so nice to. Poor Grandma Corder...she had him for a day and a half, but it was good for Cam too. This shows that he does okay without us espeically since I'll be in the hospital for who knows how long with little bit and what not. We shall see. But the train ride was a lot of fun and it was just nice to be us two again. And yet it was so strange without the third and soon to be the fourth. :) It is so funny how things are when you are so used to being with your child for 24/7. Even with some breaks, you think about them all the time when you are not with them. But I do have to say.. it was great sleeping through the night and in! I hardly ever get to do that any more.. and it is just going to get worse with lack of sleep with a newborn again. :) Joys of parenthood...but so worth it :)

To Ohio...Back to Colorado

I had a wonderful time in Ohio at the beginning of this month. My mom flew myself, Cameron and my mother-in-law out to Ohio. I am so glad she came with me to help with Cam.. cause it was great to have her on the plane rides. Cameron did really well but still, I would have been driven crazy by myself. One of my best friend's got married and I got to be in her wedding, hence the trip to Ohio :) I was so glad to be there for her and her husband, even dressed in my least favorite color (pink) but the wedding colors looked great together! I got to visit with a bunch of family which was so great to see and show off how big Cam is now. What was a little scary while I was in Ohio was that two wildfires happened back home. Scary! Those were not close to the house, thank goodness. What a reality check when you live there. Also, before our trip even began, Cam kept getting sick: Two weeks before we leave, found out that Cam  had a double ear infection, One week before fly, Cam breaks out into rash: fifth disease plus fevers; and when we get home, sickish with red throat. Crazy kid! I had my blood taken before we left to make sure about fifth disease and being pregnant: I'm immune! Chad was so relieved to find that out and me too. Little bit (baby girl) has been moving like crazy the past few days. It is just such a cool thing to experience as a mom to be. I am almost 29 weeks along.. really? Only like ten weeks left? So now I am down to seeing my doctor every two weeks. Here in about four weeks we get to see her again! So exciting and nerve racking too. But the trip to Ohio was great to see my family and great friends again. Can't wait to be back in the winter time with two kids! (such a crazy thought!!) Hopefully here soon I can post pictures from my friend's wedding

Pink, Pink, and more Pink

Well for those who have not been told or have not seen on facebook... Chad and I are expecting baby number two this year! And... it's a GIRL! We are both really excited about this new coming addition to our little family and happy to have a girl :) I think Chad was way more excited than me (and I was pretty excited) to find out and see our little one at the big ultrasound. Cam still doesn't understand that he is going to be "big brother" and have a "little sister". But I'm sure that he will once she is here. And I am way excited to buy girl clothes...yes that means dresses. Even though I am so tomboy.. I'm excited for some pink clothes and girly things :) One of our best friends sent us some girl clothes and that made me happy to think about. So the hard part comes down to the names we like. We had three picked out when I was pregnant with Cam but which one do we pick? One of our traditions is to go pick out a stuffed animal for out little one after the ultrasound. It took us FOREVER to do. And we ended up having Cam help us out! :) She will have a pink hippo since that is the one he kept grabbing first. It was that or a really cute cow :) We didn't even pick out an outfit like we did for Cam. It was TOO hard! I mean I"m excited to have more selections but maybe there is too much compared to the boy stuff. lol. This is going to be interesting when I go to munckin market here this coming week. I'm shopping thursday, have a youth camp fundraiser for church friday, and more shopping saturday and possible camp kick off that day too for girls camp. Talk about busy. Plus thats when Chad has that weekend off for work. Crazy!
But bring on the pink with our new addition!

Hunting Eggs

CAm, Baili and the Easter bunny

Cam and I waiting in line for the egg hunt to start

Easter was a lot of fun this year. On Saturday, I took Cameron and his cousin Baili and her friend to the egg hunt in town. It was a lot of fun. Cam was in the age group 0-3 and could only find 5 eggs to make it fair for everyone in the group. Instead of finding eggs right behind us, Cam took off across the lot and then went left then straight then left again to find his eggs! He did a great job of finding, picking them up and bringing them back to me. :) He was SO cute! He was also so curious of the people dressed up as Peter Cottontail and the Easter Bunny, and two donkeys (due to our town donkeys). He didn't know what to think of them at first then got to touch one to feel their "fur" and then kept pointing at them. Not because he wanted to be held or touched by them but because I think he wanted to "pet" them. Lol! My cute boy who is so used to animals!!

On Sunday once Daddy got home from work, we did a small family egg hunt upstairs. Of course, I hid the eggs in plain sight but it was still fun to watch Cam. Espeically when he would find an egg and go "oh". :) So cute! I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He will be sixteen months on the 17th. Two more months and he is in nursery at church! I'm excited and a little sad too... but I know Cam will LOVE it! :

Zoo Adventure

a chicken trying to escape :)

Daddy and Cam coming out of a "bear cave"

sleeping porqupine (spelling is so wrong!)

Mountain Lion/Cougar

My favorite.. OTTERS!

so cute!

Looking at the fish in the bear's habitat

relaxing

love tigers. so pretty

Cam got to touch the Wallaby's nose! :)

Feeding the giraffes!

It was so much fun having a good family day on Chad's week off in March. We went to the zoo down in Colorado Springs. Even with it being the week of spring break, we saw the whole zoo in about 3 hours or so. The best (and our favorite part) was feeding the giraffes! Cameron didn't know what to think of their tongues but it was so cool! Cam stayed awake the whole time we were there. As we were eating our lunch, we ran into one of our friends from church and her two cute girls. :) After the zoo and being in the sun ALL day, we met up with Chad's mom at goodwill and I got some shorts for the summer! So excited! :)

Still following in March

Here are some OLD pictures from last year.. that I just haven't posted..better late than never!
Cam and his cousin all locked up in a dog carrier

Static hair!

Playing with Grandpa Corder's christmas present!

What did Santa bring?

Opening first present.. he had fun ripping the paper!

Poor Chad...after getting so sick in Feburary what happens on his week off at the end of the month and the beginning of March? He gets sick of course! He has sore throat, cough, headache...poor guy of mine. I don't know where he is picking it all up from. Our best guess is from the gold mine since it is that time of year where sickness gets passed around. So yeah, he is just so tired of being sick all the time. All I have to say is that I hope he doesn't get sick at his next week off.. I want to go to the zoo!!

Other than that...there isn't much going on with us. CAmeron is as busy as ever. Still not much on the talking side yet, but will get there. He can now climb onto all of the couches on the main floor. He is such a smart cookie and I just don't know always what to do with him. Today was fun because he "helped" me vaccum and take out the dirty water to throw out. He LOVED being outside. I am so going to have to do that more with him. Of course, he doesn't always listen when I say "Come here" when he runs off. can you say independent?