fun with grandma and papa

My Parents came in on Monday. We have been having lots of fun. Today we had a b-day party for my mom and we've been having lots of fun with my sister and her family that live in Ohio. :) Not too many details right now, but I'll post some pictures. :)


Grandma with all the "Eastern" Grandkids. . . . Happy 66th Grandma!



Make a wish!!!!



L and cousin T Love the "I can't believe it's not ice cream" AKA sherbet


J and cousin L. changed to dancing clothes!!!!

Grandma and J working on fun letter books that Grandma brought. :)

D and L standing by Grandma's cake.

I will post more details of the days later. :)

Meeeee and Zeeeeee

So I realized that I didn't have any pictures of Z with me since the hospital, so here is my version. I had to take them myself (hence the close ups) since D was gone. But I still think they are cute. Sooo, here's me and Z. :)


Don't you like the spit up in his lower lip???? I didn't know he was spitting up when I took the picture!! :)

Not sure why his body looks so small in the pic. hmmm? But cute face.

He had to burp and was super mad. . . I caught him at an o.k. moment. :)

Weekend AGAIN!

I'm amazed at how fast time has gone by since having Z-man. It's already the weekend again. :) J and I had fun together today. We went summer clothes shopping while D stayed home and did manly things with the boys. :) J is quite the shopper. She cracks me up. She LOVES to shop so long as it's for herself. She is set for summer now. When we got home, L was all bandaged up. I guess he fell pretty hard while playing outside. His knee is all skinned up.

Something fun: D had a one day trip this last week, so the kids and I went to the dollar theater. J and L loved it. Z-man slept, drank a bottle and slept. :) My kids are the perfect age for the theater right now. It won't be long before Z won't be a good theater man anymore. It was pretty fun.

Something else fun: We have been enjoying riding bikes on the park trail. J and L LOVE riding their bikes. Last time we went, a HUGE snapping turtle had made it's way to the road. Some guy picked it up by it's tail and took it back to the pond. The turtle was going crazy. I wish I would have remembered my camera.

Something else fun: (I know, can we get anymore fun at the Palmer house??) Our Zinnia seeds that we planted out front are coming up. The kids (and I) LOVE going out each morning and seeing if anymore have popped up and how they are coming. I hope they keep growing. I don't have much of a green thumb, but I love "trying" to grow things. :) Also, all of the trees out back have blooms, so they survived the winter. :)

Z-man has slept 6 hours straight for 3 nights in a row now. :) So he's only getting up once. I think it's funny because I was talking to my sister and she asked, 'So if you feed him at 10, he sleeps until like 4 or 5??" I laughed and asked her how long ago she had a newborn??? Well, that night, he slept from 10 to 4. The next night he slept from 10:30 to 5. So I guess I shouldn't have laughed. :) Z is SOOOO close to smiling. Every now and again I can get a half smile out of him.

D and I are doing well. :) We are excited to have family come up for Z's baby blessing on the 2nd. :) :)

puzzles

Life is full of puzzles. :) Like. . . Why does Z hide one small little burp in his tummy so that at 3:30 right as I'm falling back asleep, I have to get back up and burp him. . AGAIN. LIKE, why when we plant grass, weeds grow. LIKE why L can't quite aim into the toilet??? And why some in our family are GREAT sleepers and others, not so great. :) Well, not all puzzles in life are serious and even with puzzles in life, I love my family and situation; However, I am very grateful for answers to prayers and the power of the Holy Ghost that helps me solve the important puzzles in life. I feel so blessed and have recieved so many answers to "puzzles" in life. It's amazing how Heavenly Father even cares about the little puzzles and know each of us individually and our accompanying puzzles. :)

Nothing really clever.

My brain is not functioning tonight, so no clever title. :)

I've been trying to get lots of yard work done lately. It's not very fast going. I raked out all the dead grass from the front yard today. I'm going to try to put down weed/feed tomorrow morning since it's not suppose to rain for a few days. (It can't be watered for 24 hours so the pesticides can work at the weeds.) We planted two lilac bushes over the weekend. They are one of my absolute favorites!!! They are miss kim's. They are dwarf lilac bushes. I can't wait for flowers to come on them. Right now, they stand about 2 feet high, but will get to be around 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide. :) We are also getting buds on our trees we planted by the creek. Tomorrow, I need to rake out all the yucky dead stuff from around our creek also. We will see how much I really get done. Between feeding Z and getting things for J and L when they need it, work is slow going. . . oh well. It's nice to be outside. :) I like to watch things grow. I think I get that from my Dad!!! :)

Speaking of Dad-- my mom and dad are coming in a week. WAHOOO!!! I can't wait for them to come and visit. My kids are SUPER excited. It's amazing how even though Grandma and Papa live so far away and yet the kids know they are loved by them. I think little kids have a strong sense of who loves them. :) It's a gift.

J has about a month left before she "graduates" from pre-school. She has a little part that she will say at graduation. She worked on it a few times and now has it memorized. She is amazing! She is learning how to read and VERY interested in what EVERYTHING says. She really does amaze me at her desire to learn.

L has had TONS of fun outside lately. He especially likes it when the neighbors are out playing. He is SUCH a people person and loves being around others. He has his own ideas about life and it's "interesting" to get his ideas and my ideas to coincide. :) He is a good boy, though.

Z is doing great. Last night he slept 15 minutes short of 5 hours. He has a hard time falling back asleep because of burping issues. Hopefully I will get better at getting ALL the burps out, not just the obvious ones. But he is doing well. :) He is starting to stay awake more and enjoys looking around. He will follow my face from one side to the other if I'm close enough. He LOVES it when I sing or play the piano and will be mezmorized!

Well, that's about it. D is with J and L at the park right now giving me a break. Isn't he the BEST!!! I think so! :)

big smiles

Everyone's lovin' on Z.

Little feet

Well, the weekend is HERE!!! wahoo. I know as a mom, my days, nights, weeks, weekends all run together, but the main difference for me is that D is home on the weekends and I LOVE it. I can't wait for retirement when we get to hang out together ALL the time. :) But for now, I'm doing my best to enjoy the journey!



I'm enjoying the family time we get. We played a game of soccer yesterday as a family. J and I were on a team and L and D on a team. Z cheered from inside asleep!! :) I really think J is going to like soccer this fall. L still throws a bit of a fit when someone else gets the ball. We'll see how he does. He really wants to play though, so we will see. :) He turns 3 in July and soccer starts the 2nd week in August, so he just makes the cut off. :)



Z is such a sweetheart. He is such a happy boy. Today after eating, he hung out in his boppy looking around and watching J and L. L spent quite a bit of time today holding Z and giving hugs. He had a proud big brother look on his face. I'm sure those two will have fun in a few years. :) J keeps asking me if we can have another girl. . . . hmmmm??? I think we'll discuss that in a few more years. :)

Z sleeps in about 4 hour chunks at night still. Hopefully he will sleep longer in a couple more weeks. :) We'll see. He drinks about 5 oz each feeding and is getting BIG! it's amazing how much they change in such little time. :)

earthquake, earthquake; shake, shake, shake!

So today at about 5:30ish a.m., there was an earthquake in Illinois that we felt here. D was feeding Z and so we were up. It shook our house for about 10 or more seconds. CRAZY!!! It was kind of cool. . . since nobody got hurt. Now I can say I've been in a tornado as well as an earthquake. zoiks.

bare feet in Green grass

Does anyone else like the feeling of bare feet in Green lush grass???? Well, It looks like I need a pedicure, but I still like it!!!!

Spring feels so good. The kids have REALLY liked going outside. We are outside quite a few times in the day. I love having more energy too now that I'm not pregnant. Yesterday I mowed the lawn and I had a neighbor come ask me if He could mow since I just had a baby. I had to explain, that I like to mow the lawn and that It feels sooo good to have energy again. (our lawn isn't big at all. I only mowed the front.)

oh, D thinks my second toe looks like ET's finger. He always says "oooouuuucchhhh" and points his finger to my toe when he sees them. Any opinions????

Yesterday, J woke up and decided she wanted to be a queen. She made this crown all by herself. She tried to get L to wear one also, but he wasn't quite as into it. :) I think she is a beauty!!! :) But I'm the mom!!!

Our tree that we planted in the fall has started blooming. I was so excited to see that it didn't die. We also have one in the back yard that produce the helicopter things. I'm excited to show the kids what to do with them. D's not as excited about things dropping off the trees and more work raking them up, but . . . . oh well. :)

Such GREAT weather

Today was such great weather. We were outside a lot. We finished planting the flowers, mowed the lawn, and worked at starting to get the dead grass out of the lawn (that is hard work.) L had a blast riding his bike with neighbors. J, on the other hand, didn't have as much fun. She had red eyes today and later told me her ear hurt and throat. We took her to the Dr. and she has pink eye in both eyes and an ear infection. . . . :) She was hoping to go the zoo tomorrow with a friend, but unfortunately, it will probably have to wait. Darn. :(

Well, no great pictures today. Sorry.

no binki naps

Well, Z is starting to fall into a bit of a schedule. He still sleeps A LOT. I forget how much they sleep as newborns. :) He will stay awake for about an hour (feeding included in that) and then go down to sleep for 2-3 hours. We decided to try and let him fall asleep without his binki. He likes to suck on his binki while he falls asleep, but we are hoping he will be a better sleeper if he can sooth himself to sleep. Sooooo, today we attempted it. He squirmed and fussed (not really crying) for about 15 minutes before falling asleep the first time this morning. The second time, he didn't even fuss or cry and fell asleep after a few minutes. Soooo, hopefully he will be able to do this and he will be a better sleeper because of it. We will see. :) He is such a good baby!!! I feel so blessed to have my kids and D. They keeping me laughing, moving, and living life! :)

This is how we see Z most of the time. . . . asleep!

And soooo my knees are great!!!

Today we had family night and were singing "I am a child of God" as our closing song. J was happy to show us that she knew the second verse. She sang, "I am a child of God. and so my knees are great." instead of "and so my needs are great." We thought it was great and made us smile. :) She is such a sweetheart.


L and J had a great time flying our kite today. It really wasn't that windy, but we did our best. :) After family night, the kids were restless, so I went on a run around the block with them and finished with a race up our back hill before coming in for bedtime. They did great and love RUNNING!! :)

announcement, announcement, announcement

O.K., so here is the official announcement for Z. I'm not very good at mailing things, so here is my version. :)

3 peas in a pod

J, L, and Z are doing great. So far everyone likes everyone!!! :) Most of the time! :)

Z slept in 4 hour chunks last night. D got up with him first so I actually got 8 hours of mostly uninterupted sleep. :) I'm felt so good, I went shopping at the gap outlet today! O.K., I could go shopping even if I wasn't feeling good, but hey, it was a good excuse!!! :)

I found this picture yesterday and thought it was great. It was from D's b-day. My tough family!!!! :)

The wind is blowing me up?

Today I told L he was growing up. He said, "The wind is blowing me up???" He was looking out the window at the time watching the rain fall. I guess the two signals got mixed in his head. :) Funny kid. He really is growing up though. OR maybe it's just that we have a newborn in the house. :)

MORE SLEEP!!!!

Well, I took Z's pictures today, so I thought I'd post a few of the good ones.!!! :) Enjoy.



What are you doing to me mom?

happy little Z.

I'm getting tired of this, mom. Can I go to sleep yet?

Wow, getting my picture taken is hard work. Sleepy time.

wow, d and I are starting to feel like zombies. . . . HOWEVER, Z did much better last night. He slept 4 hours then 3 then 3. As appose to his 2 hours all through the night. I felt like I got double sleep that first 4 hours. :) he's sweet. :) I still had to wake him at 8 a.m. this morning, so he's not QUITE there. He still likes to sleep in the early morning. :) Don't we all???? (Except L who is up at the crack of dawn.)

For those of you who are having babies, I'm going to promote babywise. it's a book/method of scheduling babies so they are content and sleep well. I'm not sure why it works, but it does. the basics of it is a pattern of eat/play/sleep as appose to eat/sleep/play. It helps regulate their digestive system, etc. .. blah, blah. Anyway, it works. :) I know things like that always sound a bit crazy, but SERIOUSLY it works. O.k. I'm off my soap box now.

J and L are having fun with Z. I haven't noticed any too hard adjustment concerning the baby. . . They were a bit "spoiled" from playing at cousins though!!! :) We are so glad they have someone to spoil them every now and again.

Well, I've now officially been peed on AND pooped on. ZOIKS. I changed Z's diaper after feeding him and it was poopy. Well, I checked a few minutes later after smelling him and he was poopy again. . so I changed him AGAIN. Well, while I was changing him, he decided to projectile poop on mom. L thought it was the greatest thing ever. :) Mom, not so much! :) but we laughed about it anyway. :)

We are a happy Family

Well, Z didn't sleep too well again last night. he likes to sleep from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. He's a bit mixed up. I have tried to keep him awake more today and hopefully he will get adjusted soon.

We picked up J and L from my sister's house today and it's soo fun to have them back home. It was good to have a break and have some time to adjust, but I really did miss them. Life seems so much more normal now that we are all home. I loved that when L jumped on me to give me a hug I was able to squeeze him tight and not have a pregnant belly in the way or that hurt!!! :)

J and L got presents from Z today. J got an aqua mat that she's loved coloring on. L got a romote control truck that he is going CRAZY over. It's halarious and crazy and fun. They also got disposable cameras to take pictures of Z and whatever they want. They thought that was GREAT. I'm going to have to look for some "kid" friendly cameras for birthdays or christmas or something. :)

It's good to have everyone home! I was a bit nervous about it, but really it just feels like life is normal. :) I'm sure we will have crazy moments when all three need something, but we take it a moment at a time. :)

I think Z really loved having his big sister and brother home. He layed on a blanket and listened to the chaos for about an hour and a half after eating a bottle this afternoon. I'm sure he has been wondering where all the noise that he heard before had gone!!! :)

It's been a good day! :)

J and L

I just talked to J and L on the phone. I miss them and am excited to see them. I'm also nervous. How am I going to take care of 3 kids with NO sleep. I guess we just take it one day at a time. :) I'm sure it will be fine. It's just the anticipation of adjusting to something new. :)

More Baby Z

Z's first walk!!!!! :) so fun

Well, we are on day 4. Z is doing well. He likes to eat A LOT!!!! He likes to be held and doesn't like to be left a lone a whole lot. I'm not too use to this since my other kids were fine laying on the floor by themselves. :) It will be interesting. :)

Last night he was up a lot, but now he's slept from 6 a.m. to 11. Sooo. He may have his timing mixed up a bit. :) Oh the joys of newborns. .. ha ha ha. :)

Luckily, we have been having good weather, so we've been able to get outside a bit. Which helps me emotionally.!!!!

Day Number ONE!!!

Well, we are doing really well. We brought Z home from the hospital yesterday and he has been great so far. J and L are staying at my sister's house and having a BLAST. I called them last night and L was so busy having fun he didn't want to talk much and J was excited to tell me what movie they were able to watch and that she got CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!! She was super excited. I miss them; however, it has been soooo nice to be with D and Z with some time to adjust.

I'm feeling pretty well. Some normal post pardum issues that I will spare the details, but overall doing well. I slept sooooo good last night. . even though I was up in the night. I slept better last night than I have in a LONG time. It's amazing how you can sleep when you are a bit more comfortable. Z woke up at 1:30 a.m. I made him a bottle and by the time I got to him, he was back asleep. I fed him anyway. After I fed him and changed his diaper, he slept until 7 a.m. D got up and fed him this time while I enjoyed lying in bed watching the two of them. During the day, he eats about every 3-4 hours. He didn't lose very much weight in the hospital and is doing great.

We have to be careful when we take his diaper off because everytime he feels the air, he pees. CRAZY. It's sort of funny. . . Not sure how long it will stay funny, but for now, it makes us laugh. He makes all sorts of funny noises and grunts while he sleeps. He stayed awake this morning for about 1 1/2 hours. It was fun to play with him. :)

Thank you everyone that has given us help, called us, and loved us. We really do feel all of the support and love from others. :) We are very blessed.

GOING HOME!!!

Yeah, we get to go home today!!!!! My own bed, food, etc. :) Z is getting his PKU testing done right now since it has been 24 hours. Then we get to go home.
Z had a great night last night and is still sleeping. It will be interesting to see if it changes. He seems pretty laid back so far. that could be the first 24 hour syndrome though. :) We'll see. :)
J and L LOVED cooming to visit in the Hospital. L thought it was great to roll coins all over the floor and chase them. J just wanted to hold Z the whole time. Check out her smile in the picture below. :) Lets just say a hospital room isn't a great place for 3 kids!!! :)
We have had our temps and blood pressure taken so many times I can't count, Z had his first bath since last posted--which he LOVED. Other than that, we are just hanging out. . .
J and L went to my sisters for a few days, so it will give me a few days to recoup. :) Thanks for all the prayers and support. :) We are doing well and will keep you posted. :)
Here are more pics.. . . just for fun.

Baby Z is HERE!!!!!

Baby Z is HERE!!!!! He was born at 3:12 p.m. He is 8 lb 13 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He has brown hair tinted with red. (not sure if it will be brown or red). Once I started pushing he was born in about 5 minutes. He is a sweetheart. . . . of course. Here are some fun pictures. :)

Love, H


Z and MOM!!!!



Mom, Dad, and Z

Nurses cleaning him.

ummm, not sure.

being weighed.

BIG boy.

Footprints.

Mom and Z.

Mom and Z

Dr. and Nurse.