Natalie's Blessing

On March 14th, we had Natalie blessed. She looked cute in her white dress. Mike gave her a beautiful blessing. He got emotional at the end which brought me to tears. We know how lucky we are to have four beautiful, healthy children. I am so thankful to my Father in Heaven for this beautiful child. She is truly a blessing!

March 11, 2010

Two Months Old

Wow, the time is flying by way to quick! Natalie is already two months old. She is smiling now which makes Mike and I turn into big nerds trying to coax a smile out of her! But it is totally worth it. She looks so cute when she smiles. She smiles easily for her brother and sisters. All they have to do is say hi and she smiles at them!

At her 2 month check-up, she weighed 10 lbs. 14 oz. She is growing like a weed. She has grown out of her newborn clothes. She is pretty easy going as long as she is fed and has a clean diaper. She still wakes up a few times a night but she eats and goes right back to sleep. Camden and Carissa have been a great help. They hold her when I need to get something done and they help out around the house when I am busy with Natalie. It is so nice having older children while having a newborn!

Oh, and she loves her pacifier......man, what a life saver that is! Plus it's cute watching her suck on it!

February 11, 2010

One Month Old

Natalie is doing great! She is a sweetheart. I took Natalie to her well baby check-up and the doctor said she looks good except that she is still a little jaundice. He said that it should go away within a few weeks. She now weighs 8 lbs. 8 oz. She gained over two pounds in 2 weeks! That makes me feel like I am doing a good job! I can't get enough of her. I kiss her just about every minute and I hardly ever put her down. She even cuddles with me at night. I am soaking up every minute of having a newborn since she is most likely my last!

I love her chubby cheeks, which she gets from me. They are just so kissable!

Natalie's Birth Announcement

My wonderful friend, (more like sister) Addie, came to California to take Natalie's pictures for her birth announcement. Addie did an awesome job, as usual. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is an amazing photographer!

Here is the front of the announcement:

Here is the back:

Natalie was three weeks old when we did these pictures. She was a little more awake than we would have liked her to be, but we still got some great pictures!

So precious!

I still can't believe that Mike and I have FOUR children! They are the best kids we could have ever hoped for.

First Days Home

Natalie has been a joy to have. The first few days home, her jaundice was too high so her doctor ordered her a billi-blanket. She had to wear the light around her belly for a couple of days and get her blood tested every other day. Her numbers finally came down and she started gaining weight. She is a great nurser. She wakes up every 1 1/2 to 2 hours to eat...and that is around the clock! I don't get much sleep but I am actually enjoying every minute of it! I do admit, I forgot just how many diapers newborns go through!!

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!