January 13, 2010

Natalie's First Day Home

My sweet little girl came home to meet her family. The kids were not allowed at the hospital so Mike and I were excited to bring her home for them to meet her. They were SO happy and excited to meet her!

Camden was the first to hold her. He wasn't nervous at all. He is so sweet with her! I remember when he first met Addison, he was nervous and wouldn't hold her at first. Of course, he was only thee and a half at the time! Now that he is almost 7, he is just great at holding her.
Carissa and Addison both love holding Natalie, too. They are really great big sisters!

Now that Natalie is home, we can get to know her and it feels like she has been a part of our family forever. She just fits right in. All the kids are great with her, plus, she is a really good baby....so far anyway!

January 11, 2010

Natalie Rebecca Arrives!

She was 6 lbs. 4 oz. ~ 19 1/2 in. ~ Born at 11:03 am.

Her due date was February 10, 2010. She was born 4 weeks early but is doing very well.

Natalie's Birth Story:

It was Sunday and after church, the kids and I hopped in the car and headed to grandma's house for dinner. As soon as I got on the freeway, I had a contraction. I noted the time but since I had been having contractions for months, I thought nothing of it. 5 minutes later, another came....5 minutes later, another one again. Now I was getting a little worried. I started paying closer attention. I got to my mom's and didn't say anything. I just kept timing my contractions. After I was pretty sure I was in labor, I told them what was going on. Mike was at home resting before he had to go to work, so my mom took me down to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitor and said that I was in labor and they were going to admit me. I called Mike and he headed over to the hospital.

Now, I have never had an epidural with my other labors so this time I was determined to get one. And at about 8:30 that evening, I got one. It was strange not being able to feel my legs but it was so nice not feeling my contractions! And then we waited....and waited....and waited. My other labors were pretty short so all the waiting (while being starving!) was really hard. Finally, my doctor came in just after 10 o'clock that next morning and broke my water. Natalie was born an hour later. Let's just say, I was really glad that I had that epidural because she came out looking up instead of down, which makes delivery WAY harder!

She is so cute and I think she looks like Camden did as a baby. Same color skin, hair and she also has those blue eyes!

Mike and my mom were with me in the delivery room when she was born and then my dad joined us.

Great Grandma Becky came to see her. How amazing it must be to live to see all your great grandbabies be born!

Grandma Dona and Grandpa Ron....Dona is SO excited to meet Natalie!

I stayed in the hospital for two nights, well three if you count the night of labor! I was exhausted! Mike took this picture of me sleeping with my new baby girl. I am in love! She is a sweet heart. I am so blessed.

Christmas 2009

It's Christmas!

I love Christmas morning. It is so fun to see the excitement the kids are feeling. It is magical to them and I know this only lasts a short time.

Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk, then he filled the stockings and left Camden and Carissa razor scooters they have been wanting. He left a princess tea set for Addison. They were very happy!Santa gave the girls' their own brushes....can you see how excited Addison is about this!
My favorite part of Christmas morning when I was a kid was my stocking. I can remember dumping it out and spending a long time sorting through the candy, peanuts, toys and of course, the apple and orange. It brings back those memories when I see the kids doing the same thing....only Santa didn't leave peanuts or fruit this year. He must have forgotten them!

This year, we let each of the kids pick out a present for each other. They had a $10 limit and were able to pick all by themselves. We took them to the store and they had fun getting to pick for each other. Christmas morning, they exchanged gifts. Carissa got Camden two Bakagans and, as you can see in the picture, he loved it. Besides his Nintendo DS, that was his favorite gift.

The girls got some dress-up clothes to add to their collection.

Mike had to work on Christmas. He wasn't able to get the day off but he was able to trade with someone and work in our area for the day. This worked out well. He was able to be at home with us for the entire morning! He didn't get to go to Christmas dinner at his or my family, but at least he was with us for the morning. We had an exellent Christmas this year. The kids are at such a fun age right now so I am trying to enjoy this while it lasts!

December 1, 2009

We went out and got our Christmas tree today. It smells SO good! We have been using an artificial tree for the last few years, so I am loving having a real one this year! Every year we get the kids a new ornament to open on the day we decorate the tree.

I like that, even though they know it's an ornament, they are still excited to open it!

Costco Ice Cream ~ Nov. '09

Sometimes we take the kids to Costco for some delicious, yet super affordable, ice cream. It made me laugh when Addison tried to eat this huge ice cream bar! I think there was more on the floor and her face than entered her belly, but she loved it!

Addison loves to make funny faces when the camera is out.

My two guys. May not look alike, but they act like two peas in a pod!!

November 14, 2009 ~ 28 weeks Pregnant

Well, here I am....almost 7 months pregnant. I feel pretty good. We just found out this week that we are having another girl! At our first ultrasound, the doctor told us it was a boy. I had some spotting and had to have another ultrasound. This time the doctor said it was definitely a girl. Wow....three girls, I was shocked! Camden was a little disappointed but when I asked him how he was feeling he said, "It's okay, Mom. Heavenly Father knows what our family needs." That made me cry and I remembered just how special my little boy is!

Halloween Night ~ October 31, 2009

It's time for CANDY! I don't allow the kids to eat very much candy except on Halloween night. I give in a little and it's actually sort of fun seeing them be surprised that they could eat multiple pieces of candy all at once!

This year Camden was Darth Vader, Carissa was Hannah Montana, and Addison was a fairy. (All costumes were from Aunt Kelly!)
I put makeup on the girls, which they thought was spectacular. They looked cute and sparkally!

Mike and I took the kids to the church Trunk or Treat. I love that the ward does that. It is safe, fun and short! When we got home, Mike wanted to take the kids to some of our neighbors' houses. Addison didn't like the Halloween decorations so she stayed home and dug into her candy instead!

Halloween Afternoon ~ October 31, 2009

Time to carve a pumkin! Mike printed out a few jack-o-lantern faces and let the kids pick one. Then he helped to trace and cut it out. The kids enjoyed carving out the face on the pumpkin. It turned out nice but I don't have a picture of the final product...I don't know why. We saved the pumpkin seeds and I roasted them in the oven. Mike and I love to eat the seeds. Yum!

Halloween Morning ~ October 31, 2009

On Halloween, I give the kids a little goodie bag in the morning to start the day off. It usually consists of a candy apple, stickers, a small toy and a flash light. They love getting the little bag of goodies!

October 27, 2009

My wonderful hubby turns 33 today. Wow....I met him when he was 17 years old. He is the love of my life and I am so happy to have spent the last 16 years with him!

I got him this awsome cake. It may look nice but it tasted like chocolate heaven. It was so very yummy. We actually split this cake between all five of us. It was so rich and chocolatey, that a small slice was perfect. I will be getting this cake again in the future!