Olivia

My friend requested that I post the birth story of Olivia on my blog and I thought that was a wonderful idea! This way, I will actually get it written down so I'm not wracking my brain thinking 'did that happen with Caden or was it Michael or Trey?' Although because it was done so soon, I remember all the details so it is pretty long - sorry! Thanks Kira for making me get it done!

Caden's birthday is May 5th, Trey's June 5th and Michael's October 12th, so when we found out I was pregnant, we thought it would be fun to have this baby on November 12th. However, when they told me my due date was November 20th I remember thinking "there is no way I could hold out until the 12th!", especially after I had a very vivid dream that I had my baby exactly a month early... that sure didn't happen!

I went in for my 39 week apt on Wednesday the 11th. My Doctor checked me and nothing had changed much since the week before (bearly dilated over a 1. pathetic) He asked if I wanted to be induced. Sure - I had to have patosson (sp?) after my water broke with Michael so what was the difference? I asked him if I could be started on the morning of the 12th, but he explained that he had surgeries that day and is always nervous to start someone, knowing he could be stuck in a surgery. I saved November 13th instead.

A contraction woke me up Thursday morning (the 12th) at 12:15 a.m. I didn't think much of it since it had happened a couple nights before. I fell back asleep just to be woken up 15 minutes later. The night/morning was filled with contractions ranging 2-20 minutes apart, nothing regular, but still SO painful that I had to breath through each one. Finally at 5:30 I called the labor & delivery nurse asking what I should do. She asked if this was my first delivery? I told her it would be my 4th. She said "You better hurry in. We don't want you to have that baby at home!" I still wasn't sure this was it cause with all my children, my contractions have been very regular at 2-3 minutes apart. I took a shower, did my hair and make up, (need to look good for pictures if this was it!) packed up the last little items in my bag, then got the boys ready to be taken up to Gramommas. We started driving and I told Cody "Just drop me off at the hospital and I'll get all checked in. By the time you're done dropping off the boys, I'll be in a room.

At 6:50 I walked in the Emergency Room doors - we wanted to beat the pregnant ladies being induced at 7:00 :) The lady looked at me and said "what can I help you with?" I looked down at my belly and had a contraction and she said "OH, I wasn't even sure if you were pregnant!" Hehe! She called for a wheelchair and they took me right up. What, No paperwork? Sweet! On the way up to my room, I noticed signs everywhere "NO children under 12 allowed IN the hospital." My heart sank. I knew my boys, especially Caden, would be so sad not to see their little sister. However I was VERY grateful there wouldn't be any risk of sick children coming up to the delivery floor, infecting my newborn baby!

As I got into my room, a nurse greated me saying that she was glad I finally made it. She checked me and I was relieved when I was told I was dilated to a 5! Wahoo! My baby was coming!!! And what an obedient girl to come on the day we wanted her on. Cody walked through the door and we smiled at each other, knowing we were both SO excited for our baby girl to make our family complete. After about an hour and dilating to a 7, I asked for a light epidural. Mine with Trey and especially Caden numbed me way too much and for way too long. Michael's was perfect cause it took the edge off the pain, I could feel pressure to know when to push, and could move my legs right after I delivered. That's exactly how I wanted it again. Cody has always hated needles, almost passing out when I got my epidural with Caden & Trey. He lucked out with Michael since my sister dropped by at the perfect time - she stayed with me while Cody ran out joyfully. This time I told Cody I needed him there with me. For some reason I was SO nervous and had been dreading this moment for the last several months. It was time and aside from a few skittish jumps (from me) we both did great! Cody even retained color in his face and didn't have to sit with his head between his legs. I was proud of both of us!

The next couple hours flew by without interruption (the nurse was told not to even touch me since my doctor was still in surgery). Cody filled out ALL the paperwork that I missed by being wheeled directly to my room (which nearly killed him. There was a ton!) and we finally decided on a middle name for Olivia - Malaya. It is a beautiful Tagalog name from the Philippines where Cody served his mission. We excitedly talked about our growing family and the perfect addition a little girl would make! Then uh oh, out of the blue I started feeling the contractions HARD. I pushed that little button they told me about. As I was waiting for the sweet relief of meds to kick in, I felt my water break... weirdest sensation ever. I was nervous cause my doctor still wasn't here. I think I practically yelled to my nurse and she came running. She checked me. Just like that, I was a 10. Embarrassingly, I started whimpering, not only cause of the pain of the contractions but mostly because of the PRESSURE. My body wanted the baby out yet I was trying to hold her in. It was SO hard. My doctor finally ran in, putting on his coat and gloves, three pushes and two minutes later she was out! I've often wondered how ladies can have their baby naturally and now I have the answer: Either you're crazy or you don't have a choice! I have never felt such pain. During delivery, my sweet doctor was trying to talk to me, then he started joking around with me to get me talking and I totally ignored him! All I could do was close my eyes and breath deeply. I guess I did too much deep breathing cause after she came out, I was shaky and almost passed out. I remember my doctor telling me "Open your eyes and look down!" I saw my beautiful baby! I remember Cody saying "It's a girl!" (something I had been worrying about throughout the entire pregnancy) I remember the doctor telling the nurse to check my blood pressure. I remember opening my eyes and seeing Cody taking pictures of Olivia getting her weighed and her under the warmer. I remember the doctor telling the nurse to get more fluids in my IV. I remember Cody holding his baby girl all wrapped up with her hat on. I remember the doctor telling me that seeing Cody holding Olivia would be a perfect picture. I remember the doctor asking for my camera so HE could take a picture Cody holding Olivia :) I remember the doctor taking off his coat and telling me I did wonderful. I remember thinking that I should get a picture of the doctor and nurse with Cody, Olivia and I like I have done with all my boys (but the words never made it out of my mouth). I remember Cody coming by my side to show me Olivia and reminding me that we finally had our girl! I remember seeing Cody hold her and I started crying for happiness of that beautiful sight and for sadness that I was so out of it that I couldn't hold my sweet little baby girl. My "memories" were just moments that I finally opened up my eyes just to close them back again. Going natural work best for some women, but since I wasn't trained on how to do it, it made ME miss out on so much of my only baby girl's delivery that I will always regret not getting more epidural.

About 30 minutes later I finally felt well enough to hold Olivia. There are no words to describe that first moment of holding something so small, with such a sweet calm spirit that has just left heaven. I cried again, cherishing that moment. Then I was super mean and unwrapped her - I had to look at everything! She had long legs, 10 fingers and 10 long toes. Then I took off her hat - She had hair!!! (the boys didn't get hair until they were 2 years old!) It was long, dark brown and a little curly! I got her all snugly again and looked at her face to see who she resembled. She has my eyes and chin dimple. Were those cheek dimples I saw? Yes! Who she got those from, I don't know! She looks most like Trey and gratefully not much like Cody... Don't get me wrong, I am SO glad my 3 boys look like mini-Cody's but I want it to stop there! I think you all know what I'm saying.

My next most memorable moment was Cody's parents coming to visit. Since they had our boys, they had to come in shifts. Billie came into our room holding a soft pink material house with Olivia's name on it, filled with a bunny family along with furniture. What a cute gift! She held her 6th grandchild, 2nd granddaughter. We chatted and she snuggled. She went back down with the boys and Bruce came up. He held her, stared down at her and told me she was beautiful. It was heartwarming. Cody's brother also held her and told me she was the cutest baby ever! I already knew that :) Cody came back into the room after visiting with our boys in the waiting room. He showed them the pictures from the camera and Trey exclaimed "That's our baby? Olivia's here?!?" He didn't realize it was OUR baby that his Grandparents had been talking about all morning! As I expected Caden was sad he couldn't come see us and hold Olivia. Michael was just upset to be stuck in a room and was throwing fits to go outside. Cody's sister was dying to come ASAP but because of the no kid rule, she had to wait until her hubby got home to watch her kids. Breanna came and held her for over an hour while Cody took a little nap. We are so excited to both have girls now that can be best friend-cousins! It was so nice visiting with her with no interruptions from kids! I love my in-laws so much and am so grateful for all their help.

My parents weren't able to visit until that evening, which was great because after a night of no sleep and such a hard delivery, I was tired and that gave me time to rest. My mom held her first, and she did exactly what I did - undressed her from head to toe... I know where I get that from :) It was fun cause as I was telling her about the delivery, she told me about some of her horror birthing stories. Funny, you can live with someone so long and yet still hear new stories about their life! I loved it! Olivia finally woke up so my mom could see her eyes, then my dad promptly stole her away and started chatting to her - those are some of the fondest memories I have of my dad is his love and patience with children! This is their 17th grandchild, 9th granddaughter and yet you would've thought it was their first - they were so excited! My mom brought Olivia a headband that will match her beautiful blessing dress that my mom made for her and an adorable fleece snow hat. Thanks mom & dad! Your love and support means so much to me!

After another sleepless night filled with nurses coming in and out, we decided since everything was going well for me and Olivia was perfect, we'd go home. We did the classes, filled out paperwork, loaded the car and took Olivia home to meet her brothers. On the way, we passed the boys playing at the park. Caden got so excited that he let go of the monkey bars and fell on his butt! It made Cody and I laugh so hard! (don't worry, he wasn't hurt) I have been worried that because Michael is SUCH a Mommy's boy that he would either hate Olivia because she was taking me away from him or resent me for spending so much time with her, so we planned to put her in her room, hug & love the boys then bring them into her room to show them. Caden came charging in the door and a couple minutes later, so did everyone else. They all fell in love with her the moment they saw her and have been great big brothers! They love to hold her (Caden has even figured out how to play Playstation games while holding her) they give her hugs and kisses, they give her a binki when she cries, (Michael actually started sobbing, saying "uh oh Babia" the first time he heard her cry) they make sure everyone washes their hands before they touch her, don't let her look into the bright energy-saving lights, etc... yes, all that has it's drawbacks too, but at least they love and protect her! I couldn't ask for anything better!

She is now 4 weeks old and I cannot believe the time has flown by so fast. I'm trying to figure out her feeding and napping schedule to make my life easier. Right now she falls asleep while eating, doesn't finish, sleeps for a minute, wakes up then wants to eat again. I feel like I'm feeding her ALL THE TIME. Any suggestions?!? For me having FOUR kids (It still shocks me to say that!) schedules are mandatory for my sanity. She is growing wonderfully, staying awake longer to play (unfortunately usually right when I want to put her to bed) and gratefully sleeps through her noisy brother's rampages - actually sleeping better with the noise I would say. I absolutely LOVE dressing her all up and am trying to teach her to enjoy it too. Michael gets in on the action by picking out her clothes and Trey gives her baby messages to calm her down after we dress her (Caden's usually at school when we do this). I am grateful for my boys' help, especially my biggest guy - couldn't do it without them. I love my little family so much!

She's finally here!!!

Olivia Malaya

Born: November 12, 2009
Time: 10:32 a.m.
Weight: 6 lbs. 13 oz.
Height: 18 1/2 in.

The kiddos

Caden

Trey

Michael

Cody, me and my belly

November 7th, 2009

Almost 39 weeks?!?!

I NEVER thought I would get the 'chance' say that I was this far along! I would always ask women, "How do you do carry a baby full term?" and now I have the answer for myself... You don't have a choice. I've been having braxton hicks contractions like crazy and the other night thought 'This is it!' but the contractions slowed down to a halt, I fell back asleep and woke up not so happy :) If I don't go on my own before, the big day is Friday the 13th... ooooh, spooky huh?!? Cross your fingers for me and I'll keep you posted! P.S. Kendra won!

Halloween!

Halloween came and went so quickly this year! We planned to do fun fall family things on the weekends, but it seemed like every weekend someone got sick, and was usually poor Caden. Unfortunately we never made it to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. We were the ONLY ones on our street without pupkins... Cody was so embarrassed! We also missed out on Caden's anual school carnival due to him fevering, but he happily to chose to stay home and chill on the couch and watch a movie with our family instead! His cute friend felt SO badly that Caden missed out that he invited Caden to his school Halloween Party the next weekend. I am so grateful for his wonderful, thoughtful friends! It made Caden so happy!
This year, Caden chose to be Indiana Jones! We had his whole costume done by pulling out different things from closets. His sachel was complete with a map and a gun and around him hung a real whip! Trey changed his mind about 5 different times but once I pulled out Caden's old dragon costume, Trey's eyes lit up! DRAGO (or however you spell it) from Bakugan! Sweet, done there too! I figured Michael wouldn't mind how I dressed him up (if he would even let me dress him up at all) so I found Caden's & Trey's old Eeyore costume, grabbed a couple books to show him who it was and was done there too! Didn't have to spend a dime on costumes this year! Besides ALL the wrestling and fighting they do, it's kinda nice having 3 boys to use and re-use clothes, toys, etc :)
We went to the neighborhood Trunk-or-Treat a couple weeks before Halloween and it was a great way to give the boys practice for the big night! One of my sweet neighbors took Caden and Trey around with her son from car to car while I was able to spend the night holding the cutest little newborn, using my belly as a little shelf - how convenient that was! Trey absolutely LOVED it, refusing to say anything but "TRUNK-or-Treat" even on the 'real' Halloween! Michael 'helped' Cody pass out candy and I'm sure eating more than I ever would've let him! It was a fun night but such a long drive home! (haha!)
Now for the real Halloween night, we decided to go trick-or-treating at the mall. I have to thank whomever came up with this! We walked from store front to store front, filling 3 buckets of candy within an hour!!! So easy, convenient and WARM! "Trunk-or-treat" Trey would yell, Michael would pretty much grab the candy from the bowl and Caden would leave them with a quiet "thank you!" The boys had a perfect system and thought that was great! We had a fun night visiting family, grabbing some food, then sorting and eating all our candy - YUM! LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!

Baby's Room

Here's a picture of the baby's room! Yes, I've had it decorated since about a week after I found out I was having a girl... If you want to make fun of me for that, you should see all her clothes hanging up in her closet :) I've never had so much fun shopping, decorating, creating, crafting, sewing, washing and hanging in my life! I love to just sit in the beautifully recovered chair (done by my super talented sister-in-law) and look around! I never thought I'd be one of those 'pink' moms - I always thought I could re-use all my boys' clothes and just put a bow in her hair, but as I was looking through their stained, blue clothes... no way! Sadly, at negative 4 weeks old, she is already a very spoiled baby girl and I doubt, judging by the way her Daddy talks about her, will that ever change much. We can hardly wait!!!

Baby Belly

Here's my updated belly time-line! I love the pictures but can't decide if they're complimentive to myself. All I can see is how BIG I am!!! I can hardly squish in those tiny pants anymore and the shirt is being stretched to the limit... I guess that means it's time to have her :) Things are going good! She's growing well and her heartbeat is strong. I realized that she is due exactly 2 weeks to the day from when Michael was due, so IF she comes as early as him, I could have her in a week and a half! WOWIE! I've only had a 9 month break from nursing... can I do it again? (ugh!!!) To be demanded upon by another child, am I ready? First things first, Labor. I should be a pro but I'm already NOT looking forward to it more than the others. But then I walk past her beautiful PINK room that's all ready for her and look at all the tiny clothes with hearts, flowers and butterflies on them in her drawers - it's my favorite room in the house! I think about holding a sweet new baby, a gift directly from God. Such an Amazing, indescribable feeling! I get teary eyed thinking about it! Yes, I can do this again! Ready or not, she's coming in 5 weeks or less!!!
(Kendra, the race is on :) hehe!)

My Baby Boy is 2!!!

It's hard for me to believe that my baby is officially a toddler! We had such a fun day to celebrate! I woke up to my Mike-alarm yelling "MOM! OUT!" He let Caden get him out of his crib (which rarely happens - he usually wants Mommy), he climbed up on my bed, found my hand, started tugging on it while saying "Hugee (hungry). Eat." I realized what day it was and said "Happy Birthday Michael!!! How old are you?" and in his high, singing voice, he said "TWO!" We went out holding hands (I'm sure so he can be certain I don't get distracted on the way to the kitchen) and when he saw Trey in the living room, he said "Trey, Dirday, TWO!" The rest of the morning was filled with him making 'cakes' out of anything he could find to put on his little plates, singing Happy Dirday to you, blowing out candles, and carrying his cards from Aunt Kari and ones made by his cute brothers, all over the house. It was adorable! I got some videos I planned on posting but I had too much fun recording and all were over 2 minutes, more than what I thought people would like to watch :) Anyway, he had a great birthday nap and woke up to Daddy coming home early so we could go eat his favorite food "pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza and bead sticks!" He was so excited! We decided to try a new pizza place down the road, but I wasn't thinking very well about timing and ordering it beforehand and he got kinda ornery waiting for the pizza to cook - thus him refusing to look at the camera unless I asked him what he had in his mouth (sorry, the rest of the pictures were of the back of his head!). After the delicous dinner, we headed down to Gateway to let him pick out his own animal from Build a Bear. It was nice being a Monday evening, we were the only ones in the store. He picked out a "nice doggie" and was mezmorized by the stuffing machine. I think he could've sat there all night just watching it. He had some help from Daddy stuffing his doggie, hugging it to make sure it was perfect, then placed the heart in his doggie without kissing it... he had no idea why we wanted him to kiss a material heart and can you blame him? Then it was off to the bath for all the boys' animals. Caden brought his Police Bear andTrey brought his Buzz Lightyear Monkey. It was cute seeing them all lined at the bath, brusing and pusing the air pedal. Michael was so busy getting brushes and putting them away, he walked off the top step of the stool twice in a row, but just looked at us and kept going! Sure gave Cody and I a good laugh! We dressed his doggie in a Spiderman costume and went to get a certificate. I asked Michael what his Spider Doggie's name was - "WOOF" was his response. We bought his doggie, they packaged it up in a house and Michael proudly carried it out of the store, to watch the waterfountain then to the car. While heading home, I heard Trey ask Michael if he wanted his doggie out of his house. The next thing I heard was Michael whining "scaee, scaee" I looked back to see the Spiderman mask on his doggie (the cashier must've put it on while he was playing with a build a bear motorcycle) Awww, He thought his doggie looked too Scary with his mask on! I took it off for him and he proptly said "Hug. Kiss" and gave his doggie loves. We got home and it was past the boys' bedtime, but we HAD to give them a dose of sugar right before they went to sleep! We sang (again) to him and ate some cake and ice cream. I realized that this was his first time eating his own birthday meal! Last year he still refused to let anything in his mouth! WOW, we've come a long way in a year! He was not a fan of the cake (as you can see by the picture) but I think had 3 helpings of his ice cream (which he calls by making the sound like he's slirping it up! He LOVES ice cream!). Since both grandparents were out of town for the big day, we will be celebrating more this weekend - I'm sure he'll think his birthday is everyday for the next little while, but I don't mind hearing his cute 'happy dirday' singing all day! Happy 2nd Birthday Michael!

Family Picture

Our family
August 2009

Caden's First day

Caden started his first day of first grade two and a half weeks ago! He was up and ready early, which was perfect cause of course I had to take pictures of everything! Trey, Micheal and I took Caden to school where we walked him into his classroom and got him set up. I asked if he was okay if I left. He looked at me with a bit of fear in his eyes but gave me a smile, waved and said goodbye mom! I got the hint - no kisses :) We walked out, I turned at looked at him and my heart skipped a beat. I was willingly deserting my oldest son with strangers for the next 6 and a half hours! He was so cool and mature about things, I decided I better act that way too so I just waved goodbye and we drove away.
When Caden came home, Trey ran to him, gave him a hug and told Caden that he missed him! My boys make me so happy sometimes! Caden then informed me that this is his favorite school, even compared to playing at preschool! WOW! Not the reaction I expected! For those of you who don't know Caden very well, he is wired to be outside 24/7. I think he was really suppose to be born in the 1800's when all they did was work the field and minimal schooling. He can 'mow' the lawn with his Dad or Grandpa's, sweep, rake, weed, etc ALL DAY and never complain. (he once told his Poppa that he likes mowing the lawn more than going swimming!) On the other hand, you sit him down for homework and you'd think his world was coming to an end before we've even started. SO I am VERY grateful that he still loves school! He is making new friends, likes his teacher, reading so well and already learning much Spanish. I am 'muy' PROUD of my big guy.

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Lately the boys have been making me laugh so hard! I thought I'd share a few of the recent experiences with you!

Trey got out of a very long bath - the water was freezing by the time he let me wash him. I was drying him off and he started examining himself. He said "my fingers are pickley." (Which is the word Caden used to describe wrinkly, wet skin when he was a toddler and it just stuck.) He was quiet, then a minute later he said "Even my foot fingers are pickley too!" I laughed and said "you mean your toes?" Trey said "oh yeah, my toesies!"

Michael is my man of little words. He is smart, understanding what I ask of him, but just doesn't want to vocalize himself more than sounds, so I hope these sounds make sense in my typed words. The boys were playing wonderfully downstairs while I was making dinner, which doesn't happen very often! I heard Michael cry, and since it wasn't a 'serious cry' I waited for him to climb up the stairs. He came up with a sad look on his face and said "blblblb" (the sound we make swishing our tounge from side to side when the kids bonk their heads to have them shake it off.) I said "did you bonk your head?" He shook his head yes then said "brrrr." I asked "did you bonk your head on a car?" and he smiled and said "uh hu!" then happily went back downstairs!

Trey and I were watching a show while Michael napped & Caden was at a friends house. He looked at me and said "Mom, we're going to have a jammie baby." I said "A jammie baby?!? How come?" Trey said "cause you always wear your jammies" YES I DO! Love to be comfy as possible with my growing belly :)

Caden was riding his bike outside. He came in wincing in pain. He told me "Mom, we need to get a softer seat for my bike like Poppa has." Knowing what happened now but asking anyway, "why is that?" He said "I was riding my bike standing up. My foot slipped and I landed on my batteries!" I was dying, laughing so hard at that one. I think Caden forgot all about his 'hurt batteries' by my reaction too!

We were playing with Little People toys. Michael grabs an animal, I tell him what it is and he makes the sound. I noticed the pig was on the other side of the room so I asked Michael "Where is your piggy?" He walked over to me and lifted his foot in my face - we call toes piggies, smart little guy and there they were!

I LOVE my boys so much!!! They fill my life with love and laughter! They are so amazingly different in their clone bodies of Cody. So full of energy, each busy in their own little way and although I daily count the minutes until Cody can come home and wrestle some of their energy out, I don't know what I would do without each one of them!

SURPRISE!!!

I'm sure some of you have wondered or maybe my skills at deception have been perfected... YES, I'm pregnant!
I had just finished nursing Michael in February and I just wasn't feeling right. I figured a year and a half of strictly nursing had made my body forget how to function so I gave it a couple of months. Even after those months past by, I was still SO tired, shaky and dizzy all of the time. I figured it was time to go see the doctor in April. I decided to see my OB first to get my girly stuff checked out then if he didn't see anything wrong, go see a regular doctor. He did all sorts of blood work, tests and questions. He left for a minute then came back in laughing. He said that what I have is nothing that wouldn't cure itself within 9 months! AHHH! Not prepared for that one!!! I called Cody and he had a similar reaction... how do you get pregnant when you haven't had a period in over two years? I have NO idea? The ultrasound confirmed it, I was 10 weeks pregnant!
I've let a few more months go by, just to be on the safe side. Then I thought it would be super fun to surprise everyone with the gender of the baby as well... Yesterday was the big day and I could hardly sleep waiting for morning to come. My appointment was at 9:15 but we got there at 9. Me and all my boys crowded this tiny room. The Doctor said he had some news - Good news is he didn't see any 'telephone poles' and with all the kicking it was doing, he's sure he would've seen something. The bad news is he wasn't seeing those 'two little lines'. The baby was breach so even with me poking my belly and the doctor searching, it was super hard to see anything in between it's modest little legs. Finally he spotted what he thought were those two lines! He said he can't give us 100%, but he's 90% sure we're having a girl! A GIRL!!! That's all I need to hear... I don't think Cody or I have stopped smiling since then. We have gone shopping and found some cute PINK outfits and tiny little ballet shoes! SO MUCH FUN!
Even if when I go back in a month the doctor changes his mind and tells me it's a boy, I will still be super excited for my 4th boy and cherish that month I had shopping and thinking I had my long awaited girl! But I'll hope that doesn't happen :)
Surprise everyone!!!

Easter!

Is anyone else as proud of me as I am that I'm posting this the day after the holiday?!?! Okay, I'll be honest... my memory card was full so I HAD to download the pictures :)

The boys finding their baskets Easter morning.

The Easter egg hunt at our house after church.

The Scavenger hunt at Gramommas.

Michael and Caden

Caden & Trey getting on their Power Wheels
to find their Easter Treasure.

Trey, Bella, Crew, Caden and Michael
Cute kids were blinded by the beautiful day!

Afterwards, we went to my parents house where so much is going on with Grandparents, 10 kids and 16 grandkids that I often forget to pull out my camera... and this happens to be one of those times (which makes me SO upset at myself!). We had so much fun celebrating this Holiday with Family and are so thankful for this time we have with them and also forever after because of Christ and his ultimate gift to us. Happy Easter!

Ah-Ha!

My cute friend read that I couldn't find any pictures of Cody and I together so she went through all of her pictures and found one that she had taken a year and a half ago at Cody's work Party! (... In my defense, this was taken only 2 months after I had Michael.) I don't think I've seen a picture of us together since our wedding pictures :) Thank you so much Selina!

Mothers

 I got an e-mail from my brother, which is weird enough
as it is (love ya Bri!), but the most crazy thing about
this email is that I was practically sobbing by the
time I reached the end (I hardly ever cry... that is,
until I became a Mommy!).  The story is cute, but it
was the ending that got me.  Most of the sections don't
even apply to me yet but it makes me very emotional just
thinking about it. I have 3 very busy boys.
My first baby is now in kindergarten and the other two
are trying too hard to catch up to him.  Life goes by
so fast and I'm trying not to be one of those "I wish..."
people.  I love them more than I can say
and although on certain days won't admit it, I
absolutely LOVE being a Mother.  I LOVE my Mom and am
so grateful for all that she has done for me in raising
me in the gospel.  I hope I can do the same for my
children.  I love my Mother-in-law and am constantly
in awe of all she can do.  I also want to thank all the
other Mothers out there who help me and my children so
much - you all know who you are!
I am SO blessed... and that is why I'm sobbing!
Here it is and I'm sorry if it affects you as it did me!

"Somebody" said it takes about 6 weeks to get back
to normal after you've had a baby....
"somebody" doesn't know that once you're a mother,
'normal' is history.
* * *
"Somebody" said you learn how to be a mother by
instinct...
"somebody" never took a three-year-old shopping.
* * *
"Somebody" said being a mother is boring....
"somebody" never rode in a car driven by a
teenager with a driver's permit.
* * *
"Somebody" said if you're a 'good' mother,
your child will 'turn out good'....
"somebody" thinks a child comes with
directions and a guarantee.
* * *
"Somebody" said you don't need an education
to be a mother....
"somebody" never helped a fourth grader
with his math.
* * *
"Somebody" said you can't love the second child as
much as you love the first....
"somebody" doesn't have two children.
* * *
"Somebody" said the hardest part of being a mother
is labor and delivery....
"somebody" never watched her 'baby' get on the bus
for the first day of  kindergarten ...
or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'
* * *
"Somebody" said a mother can stop worrying after her
child gets married....
"somebody" doesn't know that
marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a
mother's heartstrings.
* * *
"Somebody" said a mother's job is done when her last
child leaves home....
"somebody" never had
grandchildren.
* * *
"Somebody" said your mother knows you love her, so
you don't need to tell her....
"somebody" isn't a mother. 

I LOVE games!... Do you?

So, here's how this game works... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the next couple of months, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play (comment) and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember, only the first three get a gift, so you have to be super fast!

New Old Bathroom

I figured I'd post these pictures since mid-project, I told and showed some of you the mess I was in!
Our master bath got a crack in it a few years ago. It's just fiberglass but it was a soaking tub so of course it's more expensive to replace. We tried fixing it and that worked for a minute but after it cracked again, we took over the boy's bathroom and had to walk down the hall to shower. (It proved how spoiled we are cause it was so annoying to us!) After watching many designer shows, I decided I could totally remodel our bathroom! I ripped out the tile (which if anyone else has done this, it's not 'ripping' but more like banging, back breaking, ear peircing work). It is in the corner of our house and closed all doors but the tile, grout and cement dust got everywhere. We took out the tub entirely since we've used it maybe three times in the last 7 years that we've lived here, also figuring we have two other baths if we feel so inclined. Taking the tub out showed that the builders didn't support the tub correctly which is why it cracked.
After going to Home Depot to buy the tile and get some advice, I decided I was way over my head. Instead we got some bids. The person that came in the lowest was the same person that tiled our basement and he did such a good job that we weren't concerned in the least. I told him what I wanted, picked out the tile, he gave some suggestions and then went to work. His work is amazing as you can see! We can actually use our shower for the first time in years! It has a built in shelf and shower seat and everything is tiled with beautiful details. If anyone needs tile work done, I have his name and number for you :)

Christmas!

I know I'm horrible at posting things remotely close to when they actually happened and I apologize! I hope these cute pictures make up for the fact they are so late!

This year I finally made Christmas Cookies with the boys! Trey thought he was so sneaky and ate the frosting and sprinkles the entire time. Michael had fun crushing up his cookies then throwing them on the ground. Caden and I stayed until the bitter end making sure all the cookies were perfectly decorated!
We are such a good team!

Here are our edible masterpieces! The were so yummy!

The boys in their Christmas PJs! Caden got Army Men ones, Trey got Iron Man ones and Michael got Spiderman ones.
Awww, they look so cute!

Our Christmas Tree after Santa came.
We were REALLY good this year!

Opening Christmas presents at our house!

The boys got their own Laptops! Caden's is a Cyber Spy and Trey's is Little Einsteins. They were so excited to have one's like ours!

They could hardly wait to play their laptops! We got their cousin Crew a spiderman computer so they all had to show each other, even though none of them were paying attention to anything but their own. Funny Kids!

These are our little Clone Trooper Bobble Heads!!! Aren't they adorable?!? Cody's Mom and Dad got these for the boys and obviously they were an instant hit! Thanks Bruce and Billie, the boys have been asking for these for months!

Michael got the cutest little Airplane and penguin set but he was far more interested in his most favorite food in the world... Pringles! He gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees the can, then once you open it, he reaches in and grabs a handful then shoves them in his mouth! I hope I never forget how cute it is when the can is almost empty, his arm is the perfect length - it's up to his armpit so he can get his precious last chip!

I know this picture is hard to see but I had to post it anyway. This is at my Mom and Dad's house. Caden got a Mars Mission Lego set, Trey got a Mac and Lightening Cars block set and Michael got a Sock Monkey made by my Mom. You couldn't have picked more perfect gifts for each of them, thank you!

It seems like Christmas flies by faster each year. I enjoyed every second of my boys' joy and excitement over seeing family and of course their presents! I am so thankful for this time we have to celebrate our Savior's birth with friends and family!
Merry Christmas :)