:) Thoughts :)

Well, this time a week ago I was in labor with my sweet M. I cannot believe how fast this week has gone. I knew time would fly by as soon I had her. We have had a great week with D home and a great week to look forward to with my parents coming into town.

Right now I feel so blessed. So many people have done so many nice things for us. I really feel loved and cared for. It truly is a blessing to live in a place with such amazing people to surround us.

I also feel like I am being blessed with understanding of what little M needs and what she likes and also with my other children. Z-man had a rough couple of days with her, but has really grown to be o.k. with me holding Meg and feeding her. He likes to sit on the couch by us and drink his sippy of milk while I feed Meg. He was a daddy's boy before she arrived, but has become SOOO attached to D this week. Lo has been growing up soo much and has surprised me with how much he loves on Meg. and of course J has been such a tremendous help. She plays with Z if he needs a little more lovin' on, she gets things for me if I need them. Really, I'm not sure what I will do when school starts again. :) j/k :)

Anyway, I knew having 4 small children would be a lot of work--it would be hard. I am busy, but I feel that I'm being blessed with answers to make it as easy as possible. :)

I'm so happy to have my little family here!!!

Happy Birthday L!!!! The big 4!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY L!!!!!!!!!!

I can't belive my little man is 4 already. He was so excited for his birthday. He would tell everyone how many 'sleeps' before his b-day. (that's how he figures out days. . . how many times he has to go to sleep.)

This year, he was playing with the baby moniter in our room and after a while, came down and asked to put his watch on. (this was the day before his birthday). I said, "oh, Lo" and he said, "sorry, I didn't mean to find my birthday presents." HA HA HA> they were hidden in my room under a blanket and everything. He is such a little sneak!!! :) The rest of the day, he would tell people that he had one more sleep until his birthday and THEN he could have his watch. I guess he didn't care he didn't have a surprise. He was still excited for his watch. (He's been wanting one for a LONG time.)

Here are a few things that make Lo my awesome little man.

1) He is my incredible DASH. For those of you that have seen the incredibles, Lo reminds me sooo very much of Dash. He is always on the move, seeing how fast he can go or how many twirls he can do in the air before he lands on his bum. He is super man from couch to couch and finds GREAT joy in doing 'tricks' off the couch or on the tramp. He is super agile and pretty coordinated little guy.

2) He gets SOOOO excited for things. It's fun to take him places or get him new things because he gets soooo excited. When he was two, he would shout "A present" every time someone handed him a present on Christmas.

3) Lo loves to be around people. He is a great little people person. He will talk to ANYONE (which can be scary sometimes) and frequently tells the cashiers at the store EVERYTHING about our family and what's on his mind.

4) He is very expressive in his thoughts and feelings. He DEFINITELY has a mind of his own and will express what he wants and thinks very clearly. . . VERY clearly! :)

5) Lo gives the BEST running hugs EVER. A tight squeeze around the neck and a great big kiss from him and your heart will be warmed for good!

6) Lo loves to learn. Although his attention span is about 5 milliseconds, he really does love to learn and remembers everything. He will frequently ask us to tell him this story or that story that we had told him months ago. He LOVES preschool and can't wait to start again in a month. He thrives in that environment and feels like such a big boy.

7) and how could we forget his awesome Red hair!!!! LOVE IT! :)

Happy birthday, buddy. We love you so much and are so glad you are a part of our family! You make us laugh so much! We love it. . . we love you!


His AWESOME watch and sunglasses!

Megann singing heavy, heavy, hang over.

Cheese!! I love my new glasses

Z thought hitting someone on the head was great!!!

Alright!!! NOW can I wear my watch?

Check out my cake!!! It's a ROCKET!!

Lo helped decorate

Chuck E. Cheese's!!!! WAHOOO

Here's how Z-man spent his time in toddler land!!

Lo spent ALL his tokens on the car races and ski races. . . SERIOUSLY!!!

J spent hers on anything that would give her tickets. She ended up with about 90.

Oh, look. More racing.

such concentration.

More.......

Here's how meg spent her time at chuck E. Cheese's.

We had a great DAY!!!!!

FYI

So, Z-man is really still here and apart of EVERYTHING. :) He has a booger nose, so that is why there aren't any pictures of him and baby M yet. But don't worry, he is VERY aware of her and interested in everything. He loves to see her and poke her, etc. We are doing our best to let him interact with her so he can feel apart of things. He doesn't like it when she's on my lap. .. but he didn't like it before she was born and J or L would be on my lap either. He thinks it's his territory. :) even though he never stays there long. :)

Anyway, baby M had another jaundice test done today and she is in a 'safe' range, so we don't have to have her checked anymore--wahoo! She is doing really well. . . . and we are all slowly adjusting. :) Today was the first day with everyone home. I think we did pretty good. :)

My First photo shoot! Aren't I beautiful?

I took these pictures right before the picture lady came--since we had her all dressed up and all. :) Baby M is a sweet heart. She has a bit of jaundice (sp?) so we are still in the hospital, but that is o.k. They will test her again tonight at 7 and see where she is at. After that, they will decide whether to put her under the lights or if we are o.k. to go home.

M is eating soooo well. She will eat anywhere between 2 and 3 oz every 3 hours or so. She loves to be swaddled and WARM!! no cold for her. :) She really is doing great. :)

family

My AWESOME sister. she stayed with the kids last night and is taking them to her house until Monday. Seriously, the BEST!!!!!!

Cousin L. . .

My two red heads.

SISTERS!!!!!!! :)

my cute hat that mommy knit for me. :)

labor details and first bath!!!!

This is the labor and delivery time table. It takes me FOREVER to dilate to a 5 and then I usually go pretty quick. I went from a 5 to a 10 in 8 minutes!! :) Baby M is doing well and I'm feeling pretty well also. :)

1:30 Non-stress Test
2:00 Non stable heart beat
2:30 Admitted into Hospital
4:00 Hooked up pitocin and antibiotics for strep B
4:00 to 6:00 Watched man from snowy river!!! :)
4:45 Start feeling contractions
8:00 Second round of antibiotics, dialated to a 1-2
9:00 Epideral….freedom….peace….sleepy…..very sleepy
2:10am dilated to 4 cm 75% effaced
2;25 epidural reload---awww, sleep again.
5:30: Dilated to a 5 water broke
5:38 dilated to a 10
WAIT FOR DR. to drive to hospital from her home. . . I didn't think M was going to wait for the dr. to get here.!!!!!!

BORN 5:52 in one contraction!!!! What a sweet baby. She GOBBLED down her first bottle like a mad woman. :D D got so many great pictures of her right after being born and now we can't find them. . sad, sad, but we are trying to make up for it with other pictures. :) Here are some from her first bath. :)

D waiting for the bath to be ready!

bubbles all over me!!! :)

What is going on?

My red hair is CLEAN now!!

Daddy stretching and yawning during bath time.

We love you sweet M!!!! :)

M!!!

Here are a few pictures of baby M. We just realized that somehow all the pictures we took got deleted (sniff sniff). So we are going to try to find them, but until then, here are a few we took just a second ago. :)

She was born at 5:52 a.m. and weighed 8 lb 13.4 oz. They haven't measured her yet, so we aren't sure on the length. We are pretty sure she has red hair. :)

I'll post more about the timing, etc. but for now, I'm tired and going to bed. :)

Baby M is READY!!!!

Well, here I am blogging in labor again!! :) It's because I have such stinkin' long deliveries!! :)

Actually, I went in for a non-stress test today and they ended up admitting me. M had irregular heart beat and so since I am 6 days over (according to my dr.) they kept me here and induced me. Once I was admitted and hooked up, baby M's heart beat was fine, so no worries, but since we are here and admitted, they are starting me.

I am just now starting to feel contractions, so you probably won't hear from me again until I get my epidural!! :)

2. . .

2 more days until my due date.... Well, the date that I think is my due date. According to my dr.'s I'm almost a week over due by that point. I'm really ready to have this little bundle. . . . It's pretty much all I think about, which makes the time go by slower anyway. :)

I have another nonstress test tomorrow and a dr. appt. on Friday. We will probably pick an induction date on Friday. Part of me really wishes I would go into labor on my own. I did with L and Z and they were much easier than J's labor. But at the same time, it would be nice to have scheduled so babysitters were in place and I would know when to expect my sweet M.

Either way, it is getting close. . . . . I just wish it were today. :) hee hee. Send the 'have a baby' vibe this way!! :)

We actually made it. . .

ALL THE WAY THROUGH SACRAMENT MEETING TODAY!!!!!! Nobody had to be taken out. . this is a day to remember!!!

tile. . . tile.. . . tile. . . tile. . . . . . . .

We have been working on getting our basement finished. It is a Ssssslllllllooooowwww process. We were hoping to have it done by the time M arrived, but we decreased our goals to a bedroom and a bathroom. We have the bedroom done and J and L are happily sleeping in there. And we are SOOOO close to having the bathroom done!! :) This was D's first tiling experience, but thanks to some good friends that had great advice, and a great tile saw by my brother-in-law (thanks Dan) I think it worked well. Once the tiles are dry, we can put the grout down, and we have the vanity and toilet ready to go as well. It will be close. . but we just might make it before baby M arrives. :D.. . if not, then really soon after. Our growing family is growing out of our home!!! LOL But I think we will make it. :)

A Man hard at work!!!!. . GO D!!!!! :)

First hair cut for Z-man

Oh, my sweet Z-man. How I love this little guy. Today he had his first hair cut and it was pretty much a chop job since a 15 month old doesn't really know the meaning of 'hold still.' :) oh well. He still doesn't have a ton of hair on top, but he was getting a scary-hairy mullet in back, so we decided to chop the mullet and bring him out of the 80's. :)

While I have him and only him here, I thought I'd write a few things about Z-man and what he's into these days. Into is the key word.. . and it's EVERYTHING. He loves to explore and is a busy, busy boy. He loves the garbage can, the toilet, toilet paper, any drawer with lots of things to pull out and 're-organize,' etc. etc. He is a smart little cookie and knows what button to push on the dish washer to make it go, the computer to turn it off, the TV to provoke his brother, (that's always fun), and how to make his toys sing to him.

He is getting to be a great little climber. He climbs on all the chairs. We turn them backwards so he doesn't climb onto the table as well. He loves to climb the stairs and is getting quite proficient at sliding down as well.

He knows what fast food is (I think the kids and I have eaten out way to much while I've been pregnant.) As soon as the bag is handed to me through the window, he is 'uhhh-ing' for me to hand him a fry. doh. We're going to have to break that habit. :) He loves to drink out of straws and water bottles.

Z-man is in the run everywhere stage of life. He doesn't walk anymore. . just runs. :) He doesn't like to sit still or be trapped in anyway. . . (church is an interesting thing right now.) He has made it through sacrament meeting a few times, but most of the time, D takes him out. He is a loud screamer if he doesn't get what he wants.. . . but on the flip side, he is the easiest kid to make laugh. SERIOUSLY. I think he came out of me laughing. He loves to wrestle with his Dad and will giggle, giggle, giggle. All you have to do is look at him funny and he cracks up.

Z loves J and L. J takes good care of him when we have babysitters, etc. and helps him feel o.k. I think he relies on her for a lot of things too. J loves to chase him around and make him squeal. L likes to bounce bouncy balls in the kitchen with him. After the ball goes, they both run with all their might to get the ball (which usually ends up bouncing somewhere else and they have to turn around and start the chase over again.)

Z is a great sleeper. He will take two 2-hour naps each day and sleep all through the night as well. He has a binki hooked to a monkey that we call 'mr. monkey' that he loves to sleep with. He is such a fun little guy to be around.

Right now he is teething, so he's having a bit of a hard time, but he will make it. I think he's getting his molars. . . OUCH. poor guy. Z has been my most cuddly baby and loves to give hugs and big wide mouth kisses. . . I LOVE THEM, but I think I'm the only one that doesn't mind the slobber. It must be a mom thing.

Z also LOVES being outside. He loves to go for walks and would play outside with the big kids ALL DAY!!!!

We love Z so much. I can't imagine our little family without him. We were thinking about only having two children at one point in time and then we felt as though there were more for our family, soooo, here we are. I'm soooo glad I have my z-man. He makes my little heart happy. :) We love you, Z!!!!!! :)

Nice 9 month belly shot of me!! :)

Another Dr. Appt. . . and more to go!

Well, I hit the dr.'s office again today. I am actually dilated to 1 cm instead of zero! :) Hey, I'll take any progress at this point. ;) My Dr.'s think I'm due tomorrow (the 18th) due to an early ultrasound. So next week, I'm considered 'past due'. Therefore, I get to go in for 2 nonstress tests next week as well as my next Dr. appt. I don't think my due date is for another week, so . . . . . .. We'll see what next week brings. :) If I don't have baby M by my dr.'s appt. next Friday, they will schedule an induction date. Most likely the 27th.

I'm glad they are taking precautions, but at the same time feel a bit like it is unnecessary for another week. I've tried to tell them I have big babies, but they are stuck on tomorrow being the due date. :) Oh well. I'll just use the time as a get-away time for me and enjoy the relax time! :)

Sunday Baking!!!!!

Sundays often become a baking day. We like to do something fun as a family and we like to eat treats too!! :) So last Sunday we baked snickerdoodles. These are such GREAT cookies to make with little kids because they get to help roll the dough in the cinnamon and sugar and 'criss-cross' the cookies afterwards with a fork. :) J and L LOVED the hand-on activity. . . . and I enjoyed letting them help. :)

They are growing up so quickly. I love them so much!!!