And we're back!!!

So, I started this Blog right after Riley was born so that I could have a wa to keep all our friends and family up to date on what is going on in the life of the Sipe family! Turns out that was about the time when I stopped having time to do anything...even take a shower! :) 
It's now been almost 2 years and things are finally starting to slow down just a little,so i'm going to try to start blogging again so that you all can check out what we have going on! 

Riley is now 22 months old and will be turning two on October 8th. I can't believe how much she is growing up. She is super smart and talking a lot now. She has such a great little personality and is really a joy. She absolutely loves to dance and cannot contain herself if you turn on the radio! Its just hilarious. As most of you know it hasn't been all roses and tulips with her though. She has definitely given us a run for our money but she has gotten so much better over the last few months. She is finally sleeping through the night most of the time and she is starting to be much easier to deal with during the daytime as well. She will start preschool this year along with Carter and I'm sure she is going to have her world rocked for the first few weeks just like Carter did last year. But i'm sure she will eventually love it!

Carter will soon be turning 3 on September 11th and is getting so big. She is such a sweet little girl and is really starting to get into all things "girly"! She loves baby dolls and loves to dance and play mommy. She will hopefully start a dance class for 3 and 4 year olds this year and I know she is going to love it. She will go to preschool again this year and has been bugging us all summer about when she gets to go back to school. She became fully potty trained this summer and started sleeping in a "big girl bed"! I can't believe she is already about to be three though!

Brayden has the biggest news of all! Yesterday he started his very first day of Kindergarten at Lake Carolina Elementary. He loved it and was so excited to go back again today. Of course I cried after we dropped him off yesterday b/c I just can't believe how fast he is growing up. I know he is going to do great and love every minute of it though. His teacher already told me how sweet he is and how well he listens and follows directions. He really is a sweet kid and such a great big brother to his sisters. 

As most of you know we are in the process of refinancing our current home and will be renting it back out come October and are planning to buy a new home and be moving to Irmo in the very near Future. We've been under a lot of stress trying to make this happen but we are very excited that we are finally getting the opportunity. I am sad that we are going to have to move Brayden to a new school so soon after starting but I know that he will be fine and transition well. Hopefully we will have more definite news on this in the next couple of weeks! 

I hope to be able to keep up the blog this time so we will see how it goes! Now the girls just went down for a nap so it's time for me to go squeeze in my shower! See I told you things are slowing down now. I finally have time to shower during the day! :)

Riley is here!

On October 8, 2010 at 12:51 Riley Rene Sipe was born into the world. She weighed 6lb 9oz and was 18 1/2" long. She is perfect in every way and as healthy as we could ever ask for. The delivery went very well. We had to be at the hospital at 7:30 for the induction. Things progressed well. I got my pitocin and then my epidural and it was time to push before we knew it. Three pushes and she was out! It was my easiest delivery yet. We are so excited to have her here with us. Everyone seems to be taking to her well. Brayden loves her to death and always wants to hold her and Carter is slowly warming up to her. She is starting get more and more interested in her. Life as a family of 5 is great so far. More to come soon!

38 weeks and counting!

Well, we have made it to 38 weeks! Riley must have gotten comfortable in there b/c we thought she would have come on her own by now but glad that she decided to stay for a while. Now she will hopefully be healthy and happy when she arrives! I have been extremely uncomfortable for the last 2 weeks or so. I think she has run out of room in there. It looks like my doctor has decided that if miss Riley has not graced the world with her presence by this coming Friday she will induce me that day. So one way or another we should have a baby by Friday. We are all getting very excited and can't wait to meet little Riley! Brayden seems to be excited about seeing and holding her. Carter has no clue what's about to happen obviously and we are a little worried about how she will do with all of it but hoping she will be a trooper and everything will be fine. Damon and I are just trying to make sure that everything is ready for our new addition and that Carter and Brayden understand to the best of their ability and know that they are loved! Looking forward to expanding the Sipe household and all the craziness and chaos that will come along with it!

Happy 1st Birthday Carter Ann

This past Saturday was Carter's first birthday and we celebrated her day with a princess party with her friends and family. She had a great time. It was so much fun watching her with her cake and presents and just enjoying being the center of attention. She got so many wonderful things! Thank you to all who were able to come be a part of her special day and most of all to those who helped me out in making her day so special. Those who were not able to make it were definitely missed. I can't believe my baby girl is already a year old. This year has gone by so fast but I have so enjoyed watching her change and grow into a beautiful little girl!

Missouri trip

This past weekend Damon, Brayden and I braved the long trip to Missouri to visit Brayden's cousins who have been living there for about 8 months now. This was our first trip to Missouri and we had a great time. The ride there was not too bad. Brayden had one little bout of car sickness (which he got from his daddy) but other than that we did good. We drove up on Friday and spent two full days seeing the sights of the little town they live in and spending time with Brayden's Uncle James, Aunt Gartha and cousins Nick and Dylan. We went to the water park and the pool and just enjoyed hanging out. It was just as hot there as it is here.....hence the reason our outdoor activities involved some type of water. We had such a great time and didn't want to leave. Especially Brayden who informed us that he just wanted to stay at Uncle James' house forever. He played so hard with his cousins from sun up to sun down that they wore him slap out! We were all ready to get home to see our little angel Carter who stayed here with her Gana and Papa though. We didn't think she would have enjoyed the 11 hour trip very much so we left her here with them. She was very good while we were gone and I'm sure she was thankful to them that they let her stay and not have to endure the long ride in the truck wether she realized it or not. A big thanks to the Missouri Sipes for having us come visit and for putting us up and feeding us for the weekend. We really enjoyed our stay and can't wait to do it again! Might be a while though. =)

Edisto 2010

We recently returned home from our week long summer vacation at the beach. We went to Edisto this year for the first time. We loved how quiet it was and how family oriented it was. Much more relaxed than the hustle and bustle of Myrtle Beach. Brayden was so much more brave at the beach this year. He wanted to be in the water most of the time swimming and didn't seem bothered by the big waves at all. For Carter's first beach trip we learned that she loves splashing in the water but being her diva self she did not enjoy crawling on the shelly sand that Edisto has to offer. I think it was a little rough on the knees. We spent a lot of time taking turns strolling her up and down the beach in the stroller which seemed to make her very happy. Overall we had a great week with my parent's, brother and his girlfriend Ashlee! We are looking for a new beach (a quiet one) to check out next year if anyone has any suggestions. Damon made a great video of our trip and as soon as I figure out how I will post it!

Hello to everyone! I decided to start a blog to give everyone a chance to keep up with what's going on with our family these days! I will try to update it often to keep all of you who are interested "in the loop"!