The life of a mom

Instagram

2011-12-18T08:17:00.001-08:00

I've been so excited to use Instagram! And with my new iPhone I finally have the chance! I'm posting from my phone now and hope to get pictures up here regularly! For now, here are a few of my first shots from the past week of light seeing, Disneyland, baking and kids class parties!

Little Lexy Tidbits

2011-12-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

There are so many adorable things Alexis does but there are a few that I have been thinking I need to get down in writing now that I'm not doing her monthly blog! Something that I absolutely love is when she comes up to me and out of nowhere she says, "I love you too Mommy!" She's gotten so used to us saying we love her that she automatically adds the "too" at the end even when she says it first!

The boys love having everyone go around the table and each take turns saying they love her just so they can hear her say their name, "I love you too Ty-er!"..."I love you too Zachey!", "I love you too Jakey Boy!" It really is too cute!

I love that she loves to snuggle. She likes to bring one of her "friends" with her which is usually one of her Minnie's. She makes this little squeal-e voice like Minnie is talking and then she wants us to kiss Minnie and then Minnie kisses us and then her and it goes around like that for awhile.

I also love that when she wants to be picked up and held she says, "I need you Mommy! or I need you Daddy!" and then she just snuggles you when you pick her up.

Love that she calls her lunch, "Munch". Around 11 every day she starts telling us, "I need my Munch! I need my Munchy!"

I love that she continues to be crazy girly! A few nights ago I was finally able to try on the Christmas dress I bought her to make sure it fit. I did this right before bed. It's a beautiful, sparkly dress, right up Lexy's alley. She was so happy to twirl about and show that dress off everyone she could not have been happier...and then I tried to take it off to put her to bed. Wow, you would have thought I was literally hurting her she screamed so loud! She fought me and struggled so hard to keep that dress on. Every time I got one arm out she was able to shove it right back in. Poor girl! She kept saying "My dress! My dress! No Mommy, my dress!" But we put her in dresses and such as much as possible and she is always quick to show it off to the nearest person!

I love my baby girl!

There's only one "me"

2011-10-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

That is what I have been uttering to myself...a lot lately. Since the new school year started, with a third child in half day kinder no less, I have been pulled in a million different directions. I am back and fourth to the school at least 3 times a day which works out to every few hours. There is no chunk of time to really accomplish anything. And then when adding in volunteering at the school and now subbing as a Noon Supervisor...yeah, I just need more of me. I kept thinking I just needed to settle in, get used to things, but that just isn't happening. Again bringing me back to the conclusion that I just need more of me.

More of me to do the driving. To do the mountains of laundry and the piles of dishes. More of me to help each kid with their homework, go through the mountains of papers they bring home everyday and sign the daily forms. More of me to help in each of the kids classes every week. To write all of the blogs that swim around in my head and never find their way into the cyber world. To cook fabulous meals every night, clean the house, keep up the outside, list things on Ebay, go through the kids toys, wash the sheets from five beds and then put new ones on, to read stories to the kids throughout the day, to give baths, to take the little ones to the park...these are the things that have been stressing me out. Stealing my daily joy.

Last week I just had a breakdown. With all the stress surrounding the death of Craig's dad. The kids were not listening after the millionth time they were asked to do something. And I just couldn't repeat myself. One. More. time. I kept thinking that I just couldn't do it anymore. Couldn't be everything to everyone.

After a few days of just being really upset, I picked myself up by the bootstraps and decided to try and do something about where I was. I came up with some more structure and new rules for the kids. My friend Crystal, who is also a teacher, told me about a policy she uses called "First time listener". I am implementing this with the boys. They do what they are told the first time or they sit out of whatever is happening in the next 5 minutes. That has taken immediate pressure off of me to not continuously repeat myself which has lead to tremendous frustration. I have also been telling myself throughout the day that I do not need to be turbo woman every second of the day. Somehow I have taken on a "plow through the day" attitude that from the second I get out of bed I am rushing to start laundry, clean up the kitchen, pick up toys and it literally never stops. I never stop. The last few days after a very busy morning and afternoon, working at the school and volunteering both Monday and Tuesday, I brought the kids home, cleaned up a few things, went through papers, helped a bit with homework and then around 4, watched a little T.V. I haven't watched T.V. during the day in...forever. It was really nice to sit for that block of time and just rest in my living room. Today the boys sat with me and together we watched the Dugger family. I love seeing how they do things. How calm Michelle is. How amazing her children are turning out.

Today Craig was in L.A. speaking which meant I was on my own. Homework, dinner, naps, getting all three boys dressed for karate, then all four kids to karate, bedtime routine, stories...normally I would have been very stressed out. But it wasn't as bad. Hopefully I've stumbled upon something. I pray that God would give me a peaceful spirit. That He would take my total imperfect ways and mold them into what He wants for me and my family. I'm so thankful for my four little blessings and I want to do everything I can to raise them well.

And I know that with much prayer, God will help me do my very best!

Alexis Joy Turns Two Today!

2011-08-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Exactly 2 years ago from now, I sat in a hospital room in great anticipation, waiting to hear if we were staying to have our baby. The doctor at our OB office had sent us over to the hospital after hearing about her decreased movement, my amniotic fluid going down again etc. We were and are so thankful that he took action. A few hours after that, with the help of a little gel, contractions started on their own. After what would be by far my quickest labor, Alexis Joy made her way into the world that same day at 11:18. She was so tiny...only 6 pounds 4 ounces...a "little peanut" the nurse said. I couldn't believe we had a little girl. I still can't believe I have a little girl. After getting so sick with each baby and then having my life threatened while pregnant with Jacob, I should have never had another baby. But I am so thankful to God for blessing us with our sweet girl and taking away that ache for a girl I feared I would always be left with.

The past two years have been so fun. Things definitely started out rocky with her having reflux and crying non stop. But even through that we rejoiced in having her knowing it would eventually get better. And it did. She lights up the room with her smiles. She loves to give hugs and kisses...as long as it is under her terms. She has very good boundaries and will let you know when she wants her space. But just the other day she was having a love fest with Tyler. He kept asking her for hugs and she would run quickly up to him, knocking him over and then they would roll around hugging and laughing. So completely adorable to watch. Each boy will spend little sweet moments with her during the day. Teaching her new things like colors or how to say words. Tyler can often be heard saying, "Lexy, can you say computer?" They rush to greet her every morning and all love to kiss her goodnight. Lately Tyler and Zachary also enjoy reading to her.

AS I have said in the past she is completely "girlie". To the core, all on her own. She loves bracelets, necklaces, shoes, hair things, brushes, dresses, fluffy skirts, dress up clothes, purses, pretend make up...anything that screams girl. Her attention span is so different at this age then the boys were. She focuses so well. Our neighbor came to watch the kids for a few hours this eek for our anniversary and she couldn't believe how well Alexis was watching the movie we put on. She's like that with everything she does. She can literally play for hours with her little figurines. Especially her "Annie's" that she has rubbed at least half the paint off by constantly holding. Every morning she gets up she has to take her Minnie's, Mickey and blankey with her. That and her Annie's are her favorite things in the world.

Since we moved her to her new room she has been waking up really early every day, we think due to the noise on the main road behind our house that she didn't hear before. So we bought her a sound machine and just tried it out last night. She still woke up around 6:30 but hoping with time that will get later! She has only been napping about an hour...an hour and a half occasionally. When she is well rested she is such a happy baby. When she isn't....whew crazy banchee baby ensues! It's so different then her normal nature when she gets like that...it's crazy. Last week she took a super short nap and woke up screaming. I din't want her to wake Jacob so I ran her downstairs. She screamed and kicked and hit and nothing I said would stop her. The only thing that ended up pulling her out of her tyraid was to put The Little Einsteins on. It enough to snap her out of it and then the world according to Alexis Joy was right again.

For her birthday today she got a special lunch and frozen yogurt time with Mommy and Daddy while her "bo-bo's" were at school. When the boys get home and she is up from nap we will open gifts with her which is our tradition with each child. Then we will be off to Toys R Us for her birthday balloon and crown and to pick out a little something with the birthday card they send. And finally dinner at Souplantation with our good friends the MacHott's. They have 2 little girls one of which is just a few months older then Lexy and they have known one another since birth. It has been so fun to watch their little friendship form, watching them play and hold hands. Lexy will even ask to play with the girls out of nowhere, "I see Kee-a, Ewee?" (Translation I see Kiera, Ellie?"

So we will gather with our friends, she will eat all the yummy food she could wish for and hopefully it will be a day we cherish forever. I've been so excited for this day but also had the mixed emotion of saddness that another year has gone by and my baby is two and hurtling out of the baby stage. For as long as we can we will enjoy her soft skin, the lingering baby smell, her gibberish talk, the pitter patter of her tiny feet and that sweet little grin. I'm excited for the year ahead and finding out more about this special little person!

Alexis at 23 Months

2011-07-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Can't believe that my baby girl has less then a month before she turns two. I know everyone says it but I really do not know where the time has gone. I feel like it couldn't be more then a year ago I was anxiously awaiting her arrival...it's just going too fast!! I am thankful however that I have managed to squeeze these monthly updates in for the past 2 years. When the boys were this age I was so much better at keeping up on their scrapbooks. With Alexis I only have her first month scrapbooked. So I am thankful, that whenever I get around to it, I have all of this recorded! I know I will treasure these memories forever!

*This month Alexis has been trying to say even more sentences. The other day I was asking her where something was and she told me that, "Daddy took it, Annie's." Telling me that Daddy had taken her Little Einstein's from her before leaving the house. She surprises us daily with something new!

*We moved Jacob in with the boys a few weeks ago which made him immensely happy (He would tell us almost every night that he didn't want to sleep by himself!) That left us to decorate his old room and turn it into a beautiful, girlie wonderland! Over a weekend we did jut that! We are so happy with the results and that she now has her own room where she can play with all things girl! And she sure does love her girl toys! Her princess figurines, tea set, etc. She seems to have adjusted pretty well with sleeping in there although she keeps waking up way to early in the morning!

*On that note she still loves playing with some of the boys things as well! We saw Cars 2 this past month and she loved it!! After the movie she started wanting to hold their little die cast cars all the time. She picked a Lightening McQueen car and started carrying it everywhere. I got her a Holly Shiftwell die cast car that talks and she loves it! She has also taken a liking to Phineus and Ferb which really isn't a surprise since her brothers love them! She will see little Perry on a magazine and notice and say, "Perry!" So cute!

*She continues to love The Little Einstein's, Minnie Mouse and has added Mickey to her loves as well. She likes to "Fwatch!" which means watch TV. I'll give her options and she will let me know what she does or doesn't want to "Fwatch".

*She is trying very hard to learn her colors. She will come up holding something and ask, "Green?" if i say no it's "Purple" she will say oh, Pupple!" She absorbs everything. She will intently watch our mouths as we sing her the ABC's so that she can try and learn it well. She counts and has almost made it to 10 without skipping numbers. Not bad for a little one not even two yet!

*She loves being read to. She will easily sit for 4 or 5 books in a row. She knows at night she gets story time and will run over to her book shelf in anticipation. So fun to see that love form for our last little one, since all 3 of her brothers love reading as well!

I'm sure there is more but as usual, time is short! In about 3 weeks we will be celebrating her two years of life and it will be time for her two year blog! Until then!

Alexis at 22 Months!

2011-06-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

I am just going to jump right in since I am so late on this update! Life just gets fuller and more busy everyday!

*Our sweet girl is talking so much! She can be heard clearly telling any of us to "Stop it!" when she doesn't like something. She will tell us she's sleepy or that she wants wat-ah ! (water), or for you to play with her. When she wants something she says, "I have it?" She is very polite most of the time saying "Please" and "thank you".

She still adores her "Annie's, which is what she calls The Little Einstein's. She carries those four little beat up, scratched up figurines around everywhere. It's a full-time job just making sure we don't lose them. Literally at least 90% of her day she is carrying them around! This past month, the night before we left for Florida, I gave her a little Minnie Mouse. She took one look at her, cradled her, made sweet little awww sounds, gave her kisses and just held Minnie to her face. It was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen and was definitely love at first sight! And it's been like that every since too! She goes around saying, "Minnie, Minnie, Minnie" in the cutest voice! Whenever she sees her on something she gets so excited. And she can be found carrying her Minnie with her Annie's most of the day!

*She flew to Florida for her first trip to Disney World. This was her second time on a plane and it was a lot harder this time then the Denver flight. Nice for mommy to have some help but hard for her to sit so long. She did pretty well though all things considered. And she did really well in the parks. She loved the Princesses we were able to meet and getting to meet her "Annie's" and Minnie were definitely highlights! She did not like the bus transportation though and early on started to freak out when we would board one. Most of the time it took so long to get where we were going with all the stops around our resort that she didn't have much patience for it...and really neither did I!!;0) But she liked the rides and would start pointing to them and saying "Ride!" and I would ask if she wanted to go on one and she would say "Yeah! Yay!" She also thoroughly enjoyed playing in the kid ares at the water parks, especially the one at Typhoon Lagoon!

*She loves music!!!! She dances and nods her head when she hears something she likes. She still loves Maroon 5 and starts smiling right when she hears them!

*She's wearing size 5 shoes still but moved up to a size 4 diaper for a little more room. I'm not sure how much she weighs since we haven't been to a Dr in MONTHS thanks to no ear infections as of late!! I am SO happy about that and am glad that I went with my gut to wait it out! Her clothes size is still some 9-12 months but mostly 12-18 months.

*She's a little bruiser, always falling and scratching herself up! It's been a long time since I've seen her poor little knees clear of scrapes and bruises! She wants to run so fast, and really does run so fast at times she's almost a blur, that she also falls much of that time! It makes it very hard for mommy and daddy to keep an eye on her and is especially unnerving in busy places.

*She likes to dress up already. I put a Princess dress on her from a set that I've had well before she was even born. I broke that out, put the dress and little crown on her, and she loved it! She kept everything on all morning and walked around so proudly. I think I had just as much fun (OK maybe even more!) as her! She also loves to put on bracelets and rings and anything pretty!

*She likes to play outside. She loves to swing. She tries to ride Jacob's little 3 wheel scooter. She enjoys playing in the water and she LOVES slides! If she can find one her size she will go down it over and over and over again!

*Her love for shoes has only grown. She attempts to put them on all day long....her shoes, my shoes, the boys shoes...anything she can get hold of! This past month she especially took a liking to a pair of water shoes she has. So much so that when we would try and take them off her to leave the house she would have a melt down. Most of the time we just let he keep them on...pick your battles right?

*I love that when she says "Pooh" for Winnie the Pooh, she says "Poop!"...I have no idea why she adds the extra "P" but it really is hilarious. She gets the boys and I to laugh every time!

*When the boys practice for karate she does too. So adorable seeing this tiny little girl with her arms out saying "Hiiii!!!" and counting along with them!

She is so much fun to be with. She plays so well with people and by herself. She attracts smiles and attention everywhere she goes. It's a lot of fun being Alexis Joy's mommy!

Making Disney World Possible!

2011-06-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write the story of how we were able to plan a trip to Disney World for months now. So hoping to get this all down in one attempt!

We went to Florida 3 years ago. Craig had to attend a conference in Orlando for work and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to tag along and finally full-fill one of my life long dreams of going to Disney World. Our house and car rental were paid for by his company. We paid for flights and Disney tickets. What I didn't bargain for was the insane heat. We ended up only having a few full days to explore the 4 main parks, 2 water parks and Disney Quest. After our 10 day stay we had hardly explored anything! I vowed we would find a way to go back in three years and "do it right" with a "real" vacation!

Fast forward 2 years and the full on planning for Operation Disney World began! I have never researched and put so much time into something before. I looked at airline tickets daily trying to find the lowest price possible. I tried to figure out how to get even more points out of our Amazon rewards card and saved them up until we had two full free flights! I started buying the kids gift cards in August to spread costs out. We had them earn other cards as part of our reward system at home so all of their spending money would be taken care of before we even left. I looked on Disney's web site daily waiting for a summer deal to pop up.....just hoping there would be one! I researched every resort on property and even looked at staying off property again. The dining research was a whole thing in itself....and then figuring that into our daily schedule once we were there...insane!!!! I had multiple books and subscribed to an awesome app where I was able to ask a ton of questions and get almost an immediate response from the very seasoned Disney World visitors. I was able to prepare for so many things that way and get more opinions on dining, resorts, what to bring, etc. Many times throughout my head was spinning from so much information!

The day I finally saw a deal for the time we were going was an awesome day!! I raced downstairs to joyfully share with Craig my findings...FREE DINING for all 6 of us for the entire length of our stay!!! Unbelievable! That would be a free sit down, quick service and snack per person, per night! The only catch was that the offer ended on June 2nd...the boys last day of school. But realizing that there would be no other offers during summer, and that we would literally be saving thousands of dollars AND that their last day was only going to be about 3 hours it wasn't hard to decide that we would be heading there on June 2nd!

Booking the airline tickets was very exciting but also stressful as well. I tried to research when they would be cheaper but tickets are so hard to predict. We had to book a layover flight since it was so much cheaper too. I would have loved a direct flight as stopping makes for a very long day of travel! Using our free ticket reward points was pretty easy and I was surprised to find that the $400 limit also covered tax and fees....so awesome! And since Alexis would still be under two years old, we ended up only paying for 3 tickets out of the SIX of us!=0) To pay for those 3 tickets I little by very little sold clothes and such on Ebay. When I went to pay for the tickets I had almost the exact amount saved up in my PayPal account which covered the costs of the remaining tickets completely! So neat!

So with all of our food, snacks and plane tickets covered that left lodging and park tickets. Craig worked very hard almost nightly for about 4 months on a side job. When the check came that almost exactly matched the rest of the costs! We were set! And when staying on Disney property, all transportation is included so there was no need for a car rental which saved us a ton!

Another great little freebie was signing up for a Disney Visa. I had been looking at the offers over the years and never signed up. Around the time I started planning I came across the best offer yet...a $100 Disney gift card just for signing up and putting any amount on the card. So Craig and I both signed up for one and received $200 in gift cards!! There was any extra spending money we would need while there! And having the card came in handy later when I found out Disney Visa cardholders could attend a special Meet and Greet with Mickey and friends and receive a FREE picture of our choice!! Double score!

One of the craziest parts of planning was figuring out where to eat for our sit down meals. With the free dining we had the amazing opportunity to eat at places we could never have afforded otherwise. At least that many of them!! Character meals alone would cost our family over $100 a pop! Crazy! and thankfully due to all the research I found that you had to make reservations for many of those places a full 180 days in advance...which in return requires a lot of planning on spreading out which park your in, which park your near if the restaurant is in a resort, etc. And trying to narrow down where to go with SO many great options was no easy task either! I had everything all lined up and called exactly 180 days in advance...and got everything I had planned for with almost the exact times I had written down! Very exciting!

We told the boys about our trip at Christmas. I wrapped a box with a paper that told them where we were going and how long we would be there! I added Disney shirts, a kids guide book, an autograph book etc. They were over the moon excited! As extra surprises I left Phineas and Ferb characters on the boys beds the night before we left and Alexis got a Minnie (which she absolutely adored and which started her Minnie Craze!) I had also ordered pins off of Ebay for the boys to trade once there. And I bought Disney Pez Dispensers for another surprise once there.

Up until the day we left I read and planned and read some more. Asked questions by the dozens and painstakingly packed our bags. After a full year of intense planning, the trip was set and we were on our way!!

Alexis at 21 Months

2011-05-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Still trying to fit these updates in as there are so many changes every month! This month she:

*Has moved up to size 5 shoes!

*Had her second Easter and her first Easter egg hunts. She LOVED hunting for the eggs!! When we went up to my parents the day before Easter, we had two hunts. We gave her a basket at the first one and she didn't want to let go. She hung on to it all morning, then all through the second hunt and we then had to to pry it from her at nap time which made her very unhappy! She was happy to be reunited when she woke up! She looked adorable in both of her Easter dresses! It is so much fun getting to dress her daily and then the Holidays are just icing on the cake!

*Is absolutely obsessed with her Little Einstein figurines. She walks around with them in her hands all day. This month she started coming up to us, handing us one, and then asking, "Play?" She moves them all around and makes cute humming sounds. And she loves when you kiss them, pretend they are kissing her, or making them kiss each other!

*She had her first plane ride this month. Just her and I went for a 4 day visit to see brand new baby RJ! She did pretty well all things considered but I am in no hurry to fly alone again! She had a lot of fun playing with Bella and checking the baby out. It was a really peaceful and enjoyable time! (Yes, peaceful even with 3 little ones 2 and under....!)

*Is now much more focused on TV. When we turn a cartoon on in the morning she gets all situated in her little chair, starts nodding her head up and down and says, "Watch?". She loves "Little Einsteins", "Dora", "The Cat and the Hat" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse".

*Now has a favorite full length movie, "Tangled". When we saw it in the theatre, it was the first movie she actually sat through and literally watched the whole thing. All other movies she has had to be taken out of the theatre, but not with "Tangled". Then about a month ago we watched it at home for the first time. She sat on Grandma's lap, and once again, watched the entire thing. I couldn't believe it! So when we went to Colorado, I decided I would bring it on the plane hoping it wasn't a fluke...and she again sat and watched it! My girl has very good taste as "Tangled" alllllmost takes first place for me against the long standing, "Beauty and the Beast". It's pretty darn close!;0)

*Still loves to sleep. She starts saying good night to everything in sight when she realizes she's going to bed. The balloon, pictures on the wall, every family member, the cats...so cute!

*She really likes our new fish. She will push the stool over to his tank and say, "Hi Ish! So cute!

*Has gotten worse about pulling out her hair stuff again. Such a bummer!

*Is somehow able to stash paci's while she's in her bed so that she can get to them later when she's out of her bed! Even when I look to make sure there are not any around she somehow still waltzes out with one at some point in the day. Silly girl!

*Has become obsessed with hairbrushes. She walks around saying "Brush? Brush?" She knows how to get into the drawer in my bathroom, that is taller then her, and fish around for a brush until she finds one. Therefore I find my brushes all over the house! About a week ago she climbed into bed with me, brush in hand. She started brushing my hair. Every time I turned to look at her though she would shove my head and yell, "No"! I was apparently disrupting her "brush time"! =)

The boys will often say that we have the cutest baby in the whole world...and I have to agree!=0)

Alexis at 20 Months

2011-04-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

When I really think about it, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my baby girl is quickly approaching two years old. It really doesn't seem that long ago that I was longingly looking at her clothes, awaiting her arrival. We are having so much fun with her and she constantly brings a smile to our face!

*One of the new things she does is say "Da" for "yes". It's super cute! "Lexy, are you hungry?"...."Daaa". "Lexy, do you want to put your shoes on?"...."Daa." Love it.

*She has started panting like a puppy more and more. Especially when she wants something and almost always when she sees us eating something and wants us to share with her!

*She had a fever yesterday and has a cough, but so far has not had another ear infection. I am asking that God protect her and keep her ears healthy.

*The girl continues to be obsessed with shoes. Everything is about shoes. She still wears a size 4 and I thought I should try a 5 on her. So I put a pair on her that just slip on. Unfortunately they are too big and fall off after a few steps. Even more unfortunate is that she gets very upset about this! She loves these shoes. Seriously as I type this she brought said shoes over to me asking, "Shoes? Shoes?" I told her to go ahead and put them on so she did. See how long before they fall off and she gets upset again!

*She loves apples and just saying "apple". If it's a food she doesn't know the name to...it's an apple. She can often be heard walking around saying, "Apple? Apple." Very cute!

*She has now said all of the boys names and will usually even say them on command. They get very excited about this. She is also in a phase where she loves to say "Mommy" all of the time. I love hearing her little voice call for me!

*The boys got some tiny jelly bracelets at a party last Friday. She has been wearing an arm full of them ever since. So funny to see all of the girly parts of her come out. She even puts them on herself!

*She likes to climb things. She has loved climbing stairs forever but now she will even climb up the very high play structure in our backyard. This has made it so that she can not be unwatched back there for even 30 seconds...it only takes that long before she has climbed right up the ladder to the top. She is too tiny to be climbing so high!

*She is in the 10th percentile for height and weight.

*She has added a new thing to her sleep ritual. She now needs her little blankie bear (one of those that just have the head and then a little blanket body), which I named "Pinky Bear" She loves it so much and I love that it was from her Auntie Susie who she doesn't get to see that often!

*On that note she had her first road trip this past month. We drove to Colorado and she did pretty well all things considered. She sure was happy to get out of the car after each two day drive though! She had fun playing with Bella and all of her things and getting to visit both her Grandma's in Fort Collins.

Alexis is a very happy girl. She loves to play, smile, snuggle and run. And every month brings fun and new things with her!

Alexis at 19 Months

2011-03-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Alexis turned 19 month a few days ago. I have been having a very hard time finding even a few minutes to write her monthly blog, so I'm just going to dive right in!

*My poor little girl has yet another ear infection. Seems that I am reporting this nearly every month now. As a result, the Dr did say that if this one doesn't go away, or she gets another one in the next month, she's going to need surgery. This makes me so nervous and sad. Zachary did have tubes put in, and they did help tremendously, but I really want to avoid putting her under! A friend did suggest blocking the water from getting in her ears during bath. She did this with her daughter who was having chronic ear infections and there was a huge improvement. So the ear plugs will be going in during bath and this gives me a spark of hope!

*I was surprised to find that she barely weighed 21 pounds with her clothes on. I guess I shouldn't have been since she's still in size 3 diapers that do not seem to be getting any snugger.

*She has been boycotting almost all the foods that she used to eat. I'm so bummed about this because she was just shaping up to be my best eater yet! She takes her food and chucks it on the floor and then just stares you down. We now have another one to do the food battle with and I'm not sure I have the strength left in me to go for round 4!! (I'll find it somewhere for her sake!)

*She absolutely loves to play! All day long moving from toy to toy. She is so good at playing on her own. She babbles along while she plays with a doll or one of her new favorites this month "The Little Einstein's Rocket". She has so many toys to choose from being the 4th child and she sure does enjoy them! It's really cute to watch her.

*If you had told me during the first months of her life that she was going to be an amazing sleeper....I would have laughed. Seriously. But she is such a good sleeper now! She will even ask for it sometimes by grabbing her blankie, going over to her crib and saying, "Nigh, Nigh? Nigh, nigh?" When we put her down for naps and bedtime she almost always, very willingly, goes right to sleep. Sigh. It's awesome!

*She's doing better with leaving her hair ponies in. She will almost always instantly rip them out in the car but while out and about she usually will leave them in for awhile. When I put them in I tell her how pretty and beautiful she looks and she seems good with that! The other day she grabbed a bow and asked me to put it in....made my heart happy! I'm so enjoying having a girl!

*She still likes to say "hi" to all the friends that are up on shelves along the top of her walls. We say hi to the bears, and then the other bears, and then to each one of her princess dolls who she loves me to say by name. She is very intent on learning all of the Disney Princess names and loves for us to say them over and over in books or wherever she see them!

*Her vocabulary has increased so much there are too many words to write. She will try and repeat many things that we say. Like this morning when I was telling her she was beautiful...she repeated me!

She's thrown a couple crazy-all-out-throw-yourself-on-the-floor fits but for the most part is pretty pleasant. She still likes to get in the cabinets and is always bringing me snacks she finds and saying, "Pease? Pease??" It's pretty hard to resist! We are all truly enjoying every day with our baby girl!

On the Road Again...

2011-03-04T13:56:00.001-08:00

So this week I have started running again. It had been over 5 months since my last time out. This winter I have gained some weight back and I'm hoping to pound some of that off on the pavement. I've been frustrated at the constant diligence it takes to keep the scale from creeping upwards and I am noticing it's getting harder and harder. I think it's one of my first clear signs of "aging" along with a few gray hairs! So today was my third run this week and I was able to get up to 1.8 miles which I was happy with after such a long break. The furthest I have run to date is 3.3 miles and the most times in a month is 8. My goal this month is to run at least 9times and to lose at least 5 pounds. Those reading, feel free to help keep me motivated and accountable! (Who is reading these days??? Roll call!! ;0) )

My Februrary through Facebook Posts

2011-03-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

I have often thought about how my Facebook posts tell a lot about my life in those short little blurbs. Here is a glimpse of life in February....through facebook!

Feb. 1st
Please pray for our friends baby, Finn. He went in for a routine surgery and is now having breathing complications. Please pray for his complete recovery!!

Feb. 3rd
Going to see Amy and Michael sing tonight!! A concert made in Heaven!!! Can't believe they are touring together...Merry Christmas to me!:0)

Nobody knew His secret ambition......

Feb. 6th
Big tv set up in the living room, lots of food covering the island...we are ready to start this party!:0)

Feb. 10th
So when you get a phone call home from your child's principal, praising them for their behavior and reading you a glowing note from their teacher...its awesome!!

Feb. 11th
Heading up to Arrowhead for the 6th year in a row!! Can't wait to make new memories!
:0)

Feb. 12th
Lexy's First time playing in snow!

Bryan is reading princess stories to the girls...so cute!!:0)

Feb. 13th
Feeding the ducks...6 year Arrowhead tradition after eating at the yummy waffle house!!

Feb. 15th
A member of Craig's team at work had a son born at 30 weeks yesterday and they lost him today. Please pray for their family. My heart is so heavy for them!:0(

Feb. 17th
Wow its amazing what just an hour of complete silence does for my head, mood and general well being!!

Feb. 18th
Happy Half Birthday to my sweet Alexis Joy and Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Bells!!! Wish we were there to celebrate with you!!

Today is also a day of loss as my Great Aunt Jocey passed today...I'm so sad for my Uncle Floyd, cousin Jessica and my Grandma.:0(

Feb. 19th
Making Valentine M&M cookies to bring to Grandma tomorrow!!

Feb. 21st
Lexy's first time facing forward and riding in her big girl car seat. She LOVES it!!!:0)

Hanging out with the Lemurs at the Santa Ana Zoo!! There are 5 on this rock!

Feb. 22nd
Craig just walked into the boys room to find Tyler standing in front of his closet...still asleep...looks like he was about to pee in it!! Good save dad!;0)

Feb. 23rd
At a Linkin Park concert with the hubby. Now that's love.

Feb. 24th
Happy Birthday to Susie! Friends since Jr High and as close as a sister! I wish all the best things for you today my friend!!:0)

Feb. 26th
Dropping off Tyler for GATE testing. Crazy.(Seriously how is my baby going to be in 4th grade next year????)

Jumping back into painting and starting with our room. I'm so excited that we finally will have color on the walls in there!!!

Feb. 28th
Just saw a woman smoking....and very pregnant. I can not tell you how upset that makes me and the restraint it takes not to go over and say something. Ugh!!!

It was an interesting month. God answered prayer and helped heal little Finn, there was a lot of saddness as an old soul left this earth as well as a brand new one and special birthday's were celebrated. I love Facebook and the fun interactions it provides but I also love how I can look back and see some of how I lived. Hopefully I can make this a monthly post and someday add it to our family scrapbooks. Some day being the key words!;0)

A Year and a Half

2011-02-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

Tonight my baby girl turns one and a half. How that much time has flown by is beyond me. Everyone says, "Enjoy this time it will go so fast", heck I've told people that same thing....and it sure does! That little tiny 6 pound baby is walking, getting more of an opinion every day, learning to talk and making our whole family smile! Here are some glimpses of Alexis at 18 months!

*She is talking SO much more!! She says, mama, dadd-EE, baby, peas (please), tank-tew (thank you!), shoe!, bite, uh-oh, oh nooo!, Owwww!, No! (really picked this one up the past few days!), ki-ee (kitty), pretty, ....I know there are more and I will add them as I remember them!

*She still usually takes two naps and sleeps pretty well at night. She has a little routine we have to go through every time she lays down that goes: Lay her down, give her "blankie", cover her up, give her a bite (paci) and turn on her mobile that plays a song and displays lights for about 10 minutes. Miss a step and she'll let you know!

*She loves playing with her little square board books. All day long she will bring one to me and then turn around and start to back up to sit on my lap...even if I'm still standing! So cute!

*When you pick her up and she doesn't want you to, she is very good at stiffening her body and throwing it backwards so it's really hard to hold onto her!

*When she doesn't want food she will still shake her head so fast it's impossible to get to her mouth but now she's also added, "No, no, no!!!"

*She's still small, in size 3 diapers, wearing a size 4 shoe and a 12-18 month shirt is big on her (if it isn't Gymboree....could seriously write a blog all about the difference in sizes from one brand to the next!)I just realized yesterday she could wear some Gymboree 12-18 month jeans without them sagging and 9-12 month jeans from Carter's.

*She loves to play with her babies! She has even started "feeding" them and likes to push them around in strollers. I love when she puts them over her shoulder and hugs them!!

*Poor thing is still on antibiotics and battling an on-going ear infection! This round even had a special drug mixed in that is specifically for ear infections. She's almost done with this 10 day round and still has a runny nose. That does not mean good things for her ears. I really, really, REALLY want to avoid having to go the surgery route. Putting her under makes me so nervous.=0(

*She loves music! When we get into the car and turn the music on, if it has a good beat, you will immediately see her head begin to bob. And it will go in different directions depending on the song and tempo...so cute! The second she hears one of the first few songs off of Maroon 5's "Hand's All Over" she starts grooving to the beat!

*She continues to be fascinated with shoes! The shoes from our shoe bin are almost always in a big heap right in front of the bin and then there's a trail from the bin to the kitchen...to the living room...to the office...

*She got to play in the snow for the first time this past weekend. It was man made and not an ideal spot for her to really get the full experience so I'm hoping she gets another chance when we drive to Colorado next month!

As for her baby book, yeah still haven't gotten to that yet. I think I may be able to retrieve some of my brain cells back once Jacob is in Kindergarten...even if it's only for a few hours and will require even more daily running about! For now I will keep recording what I can here so each stage is captured forever! Because it really does go by....too fast!

Their Thing

2011-01-28T14:33:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months I had been struggling with signing the boys up for baseball...or not. There is so much pressure that if they miss one year, they will be out for good because they will be so far behind. I have talked to Craig about my desire for our kids to have their "thing". That one thing that they are really good at and can take into adulthood with them. Something to fill out on a hobbies list. Something to be proud of. Something to engage themselves in. Tyler and Zachary both tried soccer and it became apparent that this was neither of their "things". We moved on to baseball and Tyler really liked it and Zachary liked it ok. In Tyler's second year he wasn't as enthusiastic. When asked if they wanted to play again this season, they both said "yes", but it was lacking the enthusiasm I was looking for. And for the money and time we would be investing in it...I wanted to see some enthusiasm!

Part of what makes baseball, or any sport for that matter, harder to get into is that we are not sports oriented parents. The only game you will ever find on in our home is the Super Bowl (which Craig looks forward to all year). I like going to a baseball game now and then. I especially like watching my kids play. But that isn't enough to keep the passion alive...especially when the kids are just "meh" over it too. So I struggled with finding their "thing" ....and being able to afford whatever that may be.

A few months ago Jacob took a little Karate class through the city. It was 4 weeks long and he enjoyed it. Craig took Karate for a bit when he was a child and has mentioned several times throughout our marriage that he would like to get back into it someday. I started thinking maybe we should sign the boys up for that. And it started more and more to sound like a better idea. The place Jacob went to is not the closest but they have been there for over 25 years. And the best part? The second child is half off...and the third and subsequent children are FREE! I decided to ask the boys what they would rather do. I asked them separately and they all VERY enthusiastically picked karate! Without hesitation. That sealed the deal for me.

We went to find out more details and ended signing them up. They started this week and as of now will be going every Tuesday and Thursday. Two classes in, and they can't wait to go back! Another neat factor is after Craig and I pay a fee for all of our gear, we could train for free as well. Because it is such a huge time commitment (they want adults to come 3 times a week!) and the hours are not good with small children, it might be awhile until we get to that point. But, at least the option is there for us. And it's so neat that it's something all 3 boys can do together since it seems that Jacob is always getting left out of what the older boys are doing. He has yet to play any sports being only 4, so he is going to get his shot at soccer come Fall.

And it looks like we may have found one of their "things" which makes me happy. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

Alexis at 17 Months!

2011-01-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

Alexis Joy continues to be a busy little bee. She loves her family, toys and being social. This past month....

*She has said more words! She would go up to our Christmas tree, point to an ornament and say, "Pretty!" She says "Baby" all of the time now. To her dolls, pointing at pictures, to herself. She says "Bite!" over and over every time she wants to eat, sees us eating or when she wants her paci! She'll say, "Bye" or try and say, "Kiss". She's trying to mimic more words all of the time now.

*Can't believe it but she is still in size 3 diapers and weighs about 20, maybe 21 pounds. She's in size 4 shoes and mostly 6-12 month clothes.

*She has taken to playing in the toilet every chance she gets. We try and keep doors closed but she has unfortunately learned how to open them. We have the bar handles on all our door so its easy for her to reach up and hang on it to open. Not fun. Yesterday she was playing in the toilet so I took her upstairs to give her a bath and clean her up. Only to then have her poop in the bathtub. Ugh! The boys did not do this...of course it's my "dainty" little girl!

*She's still super attached to her blankie. She calls for it and it kind of sounds like "baby" but slightly different. We can always tell when she wants it.

*She likes to hit people in the head, preferably her brothers when they are sitting on the floor. Or next to her in the car (poor Jacob!). You can tell she likes to see what reaction she is going to get. She is such a sweetie that this is an odd part of her personality and we are trying to break her of it.

*She's really bent on going into Daddy's office. All of the time. During meetings too. Craig has been on Skype in a meeting when all of a sudden the person he's talking to exclaims, "Hey, there's a baby back there!" Every time I turn around she's back in his office...or the toilet...or the cabinets. It's an interesting stage to say the least!

*She does love to play! She got a ball pit this month and loves crawling in and sitting in the balls. She will throw a bunch out and then go and put them all back in. We have seen her "clean up" different things a few times now and it gives me hope that she will be nice and organized (one can hope!) Some other favorite toys are her piggy bank, talking "Potsy", babies her purses, the Tag pens and play kitchen toys.

*She's sat down a few times now to "watch" tv. It's not for very long (which is good...I know, I know, babies are not supposed to watch any t.v.....what are you going to do?) "Backyardigans" and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" interest her with their bright colors and fun music. Today she sat and watched "Care Bears" very intently. Until she noticed that I had taken her picture. Then she was up and about as usual!

*Still pulls out her hair bows, clips, pony holders etc. Sigh.

*As for her baby book...I did one spread Monday...yay! Would like to try and average one a day but know that most likely won't happen as I already missed yesterday! Maybe I can do two today...one can dream right?

Our baby turns one and a half next month...here's hoping more of her book gets done by then!

Alexis is 16 Months!

2010-12-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

The days seem to go faster and faster lately. I still can't believe how little I have done on Lexy's baby book and again am thankful I have things recorded here. When the New Year hits my plan is to plow through her first year and get it done!(Feel free to encourage that plan!)

This past month Alexis:

*Has become much more vocal. She tries to say much more and has said baby, cheese (when taking a picture!) mama for "more", and uh-oh. She has said other words when trying to copy something we said. The cutest thing is how she says "Hi!" all of the time now. She says it as soon as she sees someone and in the cutest little voice!

*Has really started imitating us. She will intently watch what we are doing and then proceed to try whatever it was herself. Opening a compact, typing on a keyboard, picking up toys, stirring something. It's really cute and something we notice is different then the boys. She is much more interested in detail and doing what we do.

*Has developed an "evil villain laugh". It's pretty funny! She will wait until one of her brothers leaves something they have been carrying around (this is usually Jacob) and she runs over, picks it up and then runs away with this deep, throaty laugh! She does the same laugh whenever she is up to no good.

*Has started clearing out every cabinet, basket and drawer she can find. It is making A LOT more work for mommy during the day. Within seconds flat she can empty entire drawers of clothes in the boys rooms. I have put together pj sets countless times now...hoping she grows out of this stage quickly!

*Still wears size 3 diapers. Is wearing 6-12 months jeans and most 6-12 month outfits. Gymboree 12-18 month tops are fitting. She's a site to see as she runs around, being so small. As most people say it, "She's a busy little thing!"

*Still not drinking milk. Trying to put a little in her water but she will only drink that with the tiniest amount of milk. I dropped her morning nursing time yesterday which has been hard. She was really out of sorts about it this morning. So now she nurses just once a day at night.

*She has really been enjoying the Christmas season! She loves when we dance around every day for our Advent Tree drawing! Something else super cute is how she dances everytime she hears my text notification. It's a cheery Christmas song with ringing bells and she grins and dances so sweet every time without fail!

*She's been making a funny face where she freezes her mouth into a little "O" (There's a picture below that kind of shows it!). She'll do it if she eats something funny or something happens she doesn't like.

I was telling Craig the other day that I found the perfect way to describe her being in our family. It's like having a sundae with 3 scoops of your favorite ice cream (the boys) complete with a big cherry on top! Alexis is definitely our sweet "cherry"!

Advent Tree

2010-12-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when the bells ring and "Advent Tree! Advent Tree!" can be heard once a day in the Shoemaker home. It is one of our most beloved family traditions as we have been doing it for most of the boys life! What is Advent Tree? It is a tree that I made at a MOPS meeting one year. Someone came and spoke to tell us about their Advent Tree traditions and it was such an awesome idea I couldn't pass it up for our family. There are 25 pockets to put a slip of paper in that holds an event for each day until Christmas. It can be as big as a trip to Disneyland or as simple as reading Christmas stories together. But when we grab that tree off the wall, begin to shake it so the bells jiggle and yell out "Advent Tree!" over and over....priceless! The kids run from every corner of the house as fast as they can in anticipation of what that little piece of paper holds. Even Alexis is getting in on the action this year! She grins from ear to ear and tries to dance around...so cute! So far this year or Advent Events have been:

December 1st - Started off with a Bang! Went to Disneyland and thoroughly enjoyed all of the beautiful decorations and "snow"!

December 2nd - Went to get frozen yogurt at Berry Sweet and bought our Christmas Tree! The boys go crazy for our trees...ahhh the wonderful scent of pine!

December 3rd - Went to spend time with our friends the Hoopers! Our kids have grown up together and playing with them is always high on their list of favorite things to do! And going to Mc Donalds for a treat certainly sweetens the deal!

December 4th - Going to Sea World and meeting Grandpa and Grandma there! Very exciting being able to enjoy more awesome decorations and 3 shows this year with a Christmas theme! Also watching the "Polar Express" 4D movie there...so fun!!

December 5th - We decorated our Christmas tree! The boys love getting all of the ornaments out and remembering each special one. Speaking of traditions I have bought a Hallmark ornament (or two or three...) every year since we have been married. The buying of Hallmark ornaments actually goes back 3 generations. My Grandma Pape used to work at Hallmark before I was even born and when I was born, bought me an ornament every year for many years (which I still have). My mom continued this by buying them nearly every year while I was growing up and now I get to continue the tradition. So neat to be able to carry it on!

December 6th - Was "The First Gift of Christmas!" Around the time Advent Tree started I began this tradition. The boys get to open a gift during the first week of December. Sometimes they each get something small but lately it is usually just one gift for all of them and is Christmas themed. This year it was a Phineas and Ferb Christmas movie that they were able to watch that night.

December 7th - Chick- Fil-a Family Night and read Christmas Stories! Nearly every Tuesday we go to Chick-fil-a for Family Night. That night one of the girls that usually runs things played her guitar and sang Christmas songs with the kids. They were also able to color Christmas pictures. When we got home they each picked a Christmas Story and we read them together.

December 8th - We had Wednesday night Small Group and the kids Youth Night. Before going they got to watch "Charlie Brown's Christmas". Another "must-do" of the season!

December 9th - Last night we took our Family Christmas Pictures and got treats at See's Candy afterwards! Can't beat all of the free samples and the lady that helped us even gave us their suckers for free!!

December 10th - Today's much anticipated activity is making sugar cookies. Mom's going to have to find her second wind to get through that one! Make the dough and frosting from scratch and then let the kids cut out different Christmas shapes. We may be frosting some of them another day as it's a L-O-N-G process!!

I really have so much fun getting to share this special event with my kids. I hope they grow up with fond memories and pass the tradition onto their own families! As for the rest of the activities planned...to be continued!=0)

Alexis at 15 Months

2010-11-23T10:43:00.001-08:00

Alexis had a very busy month! So many new and fun experiences! She:

*Got to touch the gooey inside of a pumpkin! She was very hesitant to touch and made such funny faces! But she was intent the whole time and loved the experience!

*She was Tinkerbell for Halloween...and all of the other events we went to! We even dressed her up for Disneyland one day and she literally stopped crowds with her cuteness!=0) And usually when I do her hair she rips it out in seconds flat. On Halloween when I dressed her, and then did her hair....she left it in...ALL NIGHT!!! It's like she knew it was a special night and that she looked adorable!

*She spent an entire day at Disneyland and DCA so we could see World of Color. She did great and had a fun day. She really likes to be out and about exploring the world!

*She got to experience the "snow" at Disneyland for the first time and LOVED it!

*Cute story. Tyler won an award this past month so we were up at the school one morning. As we were leaving a huge group of 5th and 6th graders were waiting to enter the gym. Alexis was doing what she does best...running from one place to the next....until she saw those kids. They started ooohhhinnggg and ahhhhiiinnngg over her so she promptly stopped running, stood right in the middle of them, and beamed!! It was hilarious! She loves to get strangers attention!

*She had her Dr appointment right on her 15 month birthday and has been feeling sick ever since. Poor baby has such an upset stomach and a horrible rash as a result. She doesn't usually react to her shots so I'm not sure what is going on. Thinking maybe the flu shot? She also woke up with a runny nose this morning and has been super fussy and clingy. She does not do well when she is at all "off".

*At her appointment she weighed exactly 20 pounds!! I'm thinking she may be down again due to her upset tummy but we are waiting a bit longer to turn her around anyway since she was so close to the line. She is in the 10th percentile for weight and height so her weight moved from the 3rd to the 10th. She is still wearing all of the same clothes but just yesterday finally fit in her 6-12 month Gymboree jeans! Yay! Good timing since it has gotten SO COLD the past few days!

*Down to nursing just in the morning and at night. Dr gave us some more ideas for getting her to drink milk. Hears hoping it eventually happens!

*She tries to say "blanket" now as that is her most prized belonging. She started barking this month after visiting friends that have a dog. She says, "Woo-woo, woo-woo! It's very cute. She will also do a cute kitty sound. She has "Ma-Ma" down and says "Dad-DEE!"

She is our Joy even when she's cranky! We are looking forward to seeing her experience the Thanksgiving feast and the Christmas season! We will see what damage she does to the tree!=0)

When it Rains...it Pours!

2010-11-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have had so much going around in my head the past months I think I just need to get it out on paper so to speak.

A few years back we bought a condo as an investment property. We were advised by Craig's friend to buy one in Indiana where they were especially "cheap" at that time. He had been buying up real estate like crazy as the market was super hot at that point. We thought we were being responsible, making a wise decision. Soon after the market began to decline, and our first renters were a nightmare.

We finally got that situation cleaned up (literally) and after a few month's vacancy through the winter, had someone else move in. Right away there were domestic violence police calls made on her and her boyfriend. Things in the condo were broken...another unbelievable situation. Eventually boyfriend moved out after a restraining order was in place and peace seemed to follow for the next few years.

In the meantime we were in the hole over $200 every month. With the market tanking we had to lower the rent even more. On the plus side we thought we at least had a "good" renter in there because we didn't hear much from the agency we hired to take care of it. No news is good news right? WRONG! So began our nightmare this past July when we find out the tenant wants to move out. She starts getting really weird and doesn't want to let anyone in. Long story short on this part...agency finally gets in and finds the place a mess. They apparently hadn't been checking things out at all. We then have the agent who sold us the condo go in and take a look...and she came out appalled at what she saw. It was a complete disaster. A huge leak upstairs left for who knows how long caused major damage, slats broke off accordion doors, walls a mess, carpet a mess, a bathroom counter broke in half, knobs on faucets broke, junk left needing to be hauled away and new refrigerator needed to be bought...and on and on. It was devastating.

The tenant took forever to let someone in to get quotes. And then being a completely awful person, she skipped out on us without paying that last months rent. After leaving the place trashed. We didn't know what to do and I was terrified of all the options. We felt that fixing the place up was really our only option and hoped once it was, it would rent quickly.

Well, repairs took forever once they were actually able to get in the place. I watched our savings dwindle to nothing. After trying really hard to build one up, it has been super stressful to watch it all disappear so quickly. More and more money was needed. And this on top of paying the mortgage and insanely high association every month since August. The place has been fixed up now for nearly 2 months complete with new refrigerator. A few people came to look at it in the beginning. In the past 3 weeks, 1 person has been by. Now we are in the holiday season and winter will be picking up. Not the time people move especially in really cold areas.

And it seems we are completely trapped. I have been sick to my stomach (literally) over all of this. Especially the past week as I try to pull Christmas together for my family and our car just failed it's Smog Check. As I continuously think of all the other ways that thousands of dollars could have been spent. When I think about how our once amazing insurance has turned so bad that I'm afraid to go to the Dr. because every time we go, we get a bill for a surprise amount anywhere from $60 up. I feel so scared, frustrated, angry and helpless. I. Hate. It.

What's making things even worse? (Yes, it can get worse) We have been planning on taking a trip to Disney World for the last 3 years. We were able to go 3 years ago but we combined it with Craig's business trip to save money. We missed out on seeing so much because we fit everything around his time at a convention. So we left with the consolation we would do it right in a few years. Around June of this year I really started planning for our trip the following June 2011. We signed up for Disney credit cards just to earn 2 free $100 gift cards, I bought gift cards for the kids with special Christmas messages in them to give them at Christmas. I was theming our entire Christmas around the trip. Bought Disney clothes, games and an autograph book. I started putting money aside and selling things bit by bit to pay for plane tickets. I have been watching plane tickets daily. And pouring over all of the different options. We have even saved up our Amazon points for the last year and almost have enough points for TWO FREE plane tickets!! With Disney you need to book 6months in advance to get reservations for their restaurants. And their big dining offer ends in a month. That means moving on things now...or not moving at all.

I don't want all of this planning to go to waste. Thankfully only a small amount needs to be paid up front for the trip but it's still hard to go through with such a big trip not knowing when the condo will rent. This trip has taken so much of my thought and time and energy to find ways to save that with everything else it would crush me not to go. I've prayed for God to send someone. I've tried to figure out what I'm supposed to learn. I've tried so hard not to think about it or let it stress me out. But it's always, always there. Nagging at me. Freaking me out. Telling me how I could have used that money to get someone to paint our house instead of doing it ourselves. Or I could have gotten my new wedding ring we have talked about getting the past few years but keep holding off on. Or new floors for the house. Or sign the boys up for baseball. Or put Jacob in an actual pre-school instead of just a class through the city. The thoughts go on and on.

If anyone reads this your prayers are appreciated. Especially that I could somehow find peace in the middle of this stressful situation. And of course that we would find someone to move in quickly that will actually care for the place. We haven't talked much about this situation, especially me, because it's really hard to talk about. But, I just needed to get it out.

I hope to have a praise update sooner then later.

The Sweetest Thing

2010-10-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago we put the kids down as usual. Often one of the boys gets back up for one reason or another. That night I was feeding Alexis and in walks Zachary. He had a strange look on his face but keeping with the rules I told him he needed to get back into bed. He told me he needed to tell Daddy something. I responded that I didn't know where Daddy was and to just tell me. He started to speak and as he did, his sweet little face started to crumble and his voice break. He said, "Daddy just did something that made me so happy! He pulled my dog and he hadn't done that in a long time...and when I heard it...it made me so happy I cried. And I pulled it over and over again...." by now tears are rolling down his face. I thought my heart was going to break and my eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Dog" as he was affectionately named years ago, has been Zachary's "lovey toy" of choice since he was born. Dog has slept with Zachary every night the past 6 years. He is a pull toy and plays a little song for about a minute or so. Since Zachary's first year of life he started asking us to pull the string for him so he could hear Dog's song. Over the last year the intensity of Zachary's love for Dog has been waning which made me sad. As a result, we stopped pulling Dog's string. When Craig pulled it for him that night our sweet Zachey was moved to tears.

I'm telling you, that was one of the sweetest things I have ever experienced! Oh how I am going to miss their babyhood!

Alexis at 14 Months!

2010-10-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

Time continues to fly by! Here's what Lexy is up to at 14 months.

*She started off being 14 months with getting really sick. She has had a cold for a little over a week and a few days ago she spiked a fever. Having dealt with Zachary and all of his ear infections (which eventually resulted in having tubes put in) I knew that a fever a week into the cold was a very bad sign. So the next morning we made an appointment for her fervently hoping I was wrong. Unfortunately, I wasn't. The Dr. looked into one ear, flinched, and said, "Wow! That ear is reeaallly red!" Then looked in the other ear and exclaimed the same thing. Poor baby has a double ear infection and is miserable. She has been super clingy, whiny and cries most of the day. She is acting like a total different baby. She is on the meds 3 times a day in hopes to really knock it out. I hope she wakes up tomorrow morning feeling like herself again!

*At the office yesterday they weighed her. I was curious to know how much she had gained and was surprised to find that she was still just over 19 pounds...fully dressed! So no facing forward for her. Maybe around Christmas?

*As a result of her smallness I am having a very hard time clothing her. Now that we are having cooler weather, I realized how few pants I have that fit her. There are 2 pairs of Carter's 6-9 month jeans that she can wear although they still sag. Why oh why don't they make adjustable pants for babies??? The 6-12 month Gymboree jeans I have for her are a joke...their huge! Does anyone know of a company that does adjustable pants for babies? And when do they start making those for girls?

*At 14 months she still isn't saying a lot of words. She loves to wave. A few times she has meowed like a kitty when I've asked. She will say "hi" and "bye" occasionally. And she still "blows kisses" and makes a cute smacking sound when doing it...love that!

*This past month she really began getting teeth in!! I was finally able to really look into her mouth and found that a few molars are trying to break through!

*She is officially in size 4 shoes. Still in size 3 diapers.

*She is still nursing. We went from 4 times a day to 3 this month. She loves it the most out of all 4 kids and will not touch milk. I don't mind doing it especially since we are down to 3 times...except when she bites me! I really wish she would start to take cows milk though so I knew I had the option!!

*We went to Oak Glen this past weekend. She loved walking around and looking at everything! Hoping to get another blog up on that trip!

Normally she lays down for a nap really well. Both times I have tried to put her down today she has screamed...which she is currently doing right now. She's exhausted and needs sleep more then anything to heal but isn't giving in. Looks like I am going to need to get her up again. God please help my baby to feel better...she is such a mess!! Hopefully next month I will be able to report a happy, healthy baby again! Until next time....

Zachary's Great Day

2010-09-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Zachary told me he had had one of the best days ever. And it truly was an awesome day for him! It started off with a bang when he received an award that morning at the first assembly of the year. We were so excited to find out that it was for his artwork! He works at home everyday on his drawings and it has been amazing to see him get better and better and to watch his passion for art grow. Having someone else outside the family recognize that right away is super exciting!

Later that day he won the estimation jar! Every week his teacher fills the jar with a food item. Each child in the class gets to guess how many items they think are in the jar. The child with the closest number to the actual one wins and gets to take the contents of the jar home. This week Zachary's number was the closest and he got to take home a bag full of cheese Ritz Bitz!

When I picked the boys up I also found out that he had won their weekly class raffle and was able to pick a prize out of their treasure box! Both boys also received green all week (meaning perfect behavior, no warnings, on time to school everyday, school and homework all completed) and they were able to go to Principals Recess which is a reward for doing all of the things mentioned above. They get extra time to play and can purchase a treat for a quarter. Double awesome!

As if all that wasn't enough for a very cool day, I greeted the boys with the news that we were headed to Disneyland...right then! The screams that followed...priceless! We proceeded to have a great night with Jacob getting to ride Splash Mountain for the first time and all of us getting to ride the seasonally decorated Space Mountain for the first time. I do believe you had a fantastic day Zachary! ;0)

Alexis at 13 Months.

2010-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Baby girl has been one for a full month now. We are enjoying her as much as ever. In the past month she has:

*Not grown much. Actually make that the past 4 months! At her one year check up we found out that she only weighed 18 pounds 10 ounces. Not big enough to face forward and only weighing 5 ounces more then she weighed at her 9 month appointment. That puts her in the 10th percentile. She is only 27 1/2 inches which puts her in the 3rd percentile for height. Still baffled at that since Craig and I are both fairly tall. I hope she get s a little more height to her when she's older but for now we are enjoying our tiny girl!

*On that note she is still in all of her 6-9 month clothing and some 9-12. She is still in a size 3 shoe! I have been looking for a size 4 shoe in the stores and am having a hard time. Most hard sole shoes start at a size 5. Since a size 3 is usually worn by a 6 month old they make most of those a crib shoe (soft bottom). I started looking on-line and am currently bidding for a very cute pair of 4's. Now if the person bidding against me would kindly step away from the shoes...that would be great!;0) She also continues to wear a size 3 diaper.

*Right after turning one she said her first word...or words actually. She said Thank you (pronounced Tank-Chew!). Oh my word that was one of the cutest things I had ever heard! I thought it may be a fluke but she kept saying it! She also says "Hi" occasionally while she is waving and will blow kisses. She claps and dances when she hears music...all of which is super cute!

*Looks like she is getting two more teeth. I can see a little bit of white poking through next to each of her top teeth. Once those come in that will be a grand total of six!

*She has started pulling out her hair bows, ties etc. As soon as she realizes they are there, she rips them out. As soon as I try to put it back in, she rips it out again!! Little stinker! Doesn't she know how adorable she looks with piggies? Doesn't she know how excited mommy is to do her little girls hair? Apparently, not so much.

*She's as busy as ever. Roaming the entire house. Shoes, magnets and baby purse contents strewn all over the place. She loves her baby dolls. Loves toys in general. She continues to be very good at playing by herself. Something she needs to teach her youngest brother!

*I love how silly she is getting. Her "sniffy face" is the best! If you haven't seen that you are definitely missing out! She scrunches her nose up and sniffs loudly...it's a family favorite!She even does it on command! Lately she has also been sticking her neck out in a really funny way while looking to the side...it's hilarious to watch. I nicknamed that "The Turtle". She has also started growling, such a goofy baby!

It's fun to see our little girl growing and changing! I can't wait to keep finding out more about her!

Tyler

2010-09-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Tyler's teacher asked us to send in a note about our kids so that she could know a bit more about them. Due to the chaos that is our house I just got that email out to her. Also due to the craziness I realized I never did an update around Tyler's birthday. So, I thought I would post here some of what I wrote to her. We love our boy and are so proud of how he is growing. We are also proud that his teacher calls him "Smiles" and that she constantly says he brightens her day! =0) Here are a few things about Tyler at 8 years old.

Tyler is a smiley guy! He has a very big heart and really likes to please people. If he knows he's done something wrong or really upsets someone, he takes it pretty hard. He is very kind and is usually willing to give things up for his siblings.

Tyler is an avid reader. He can be found at all points of the day with a book in his face! Usually when we can't find him, he's tucked away somewhere with a book. It makes me so happy to see his love for books (I love them too!). His other great passion is video games. If allowed, he would play them all day! That is one of the things that can make him lose all train of thought...when playing that's all he can think about! As a result that is the thing most often taken away from him! He also loves all things Star Wars and has recently become obsessed with Michael Jackson! Hilarious to watch he and his brothers "put on shows" for us!

Often Tyler can seem to be "walking through the clouds". He will daze off and we have to bring him back to Earth! This leads to forgetting to do certain things or losing items such as jackets, glasses etc. As he gets older he has been doing better but there are still times when he is really focused on a book or a game where we really have to put effort into getting his attention! He is also quite a chatter box and loves to let you know about facts that he has recently learned. He is specifically interested in animals and learning all about them.

I am so happy at how sweet and innocent he is. I love that he will still happily watch "Backyardigans" or "Go Diego Go!". He isn't trying to grow up too fast or be older then he needs to be. Other things he enjoys are riding bikes and scooters, going to Disneyland and Sea World, playing baseball and going out for frozen yogurt. He loves his family and has a good relationship with each of us. I love when he shows concern when one of us is hurting. He will come up to me and rub my back asking, "Does this feel better, Mommy?" Too sweet!

Alexis is a Year Young!

2010-08-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Baby girl turned a year old last week. Still can hardly believe it. I spent that day and those leading up to it remembering what was happening at the same time last year. How awful I felt, how nervous I was. Then on the 18th, after our normal trip for a Stress Test, we were sent to the hospital to "have a baby"! Such a crazy, exciting, stressful,amazing and life changing time! By 11:18 that night we were holding our little girl.

It has been an awesome and challenging year. It's a year that started out rough when she wouldn't sleep and cried more then not (and so did I!). But once her little system worked itself out, it has been so much fun! She is truly a delight. A joy to our family and others around her. She smiles willingly. Giggles. Makes funny noises and faces. She's determined yet so super sweet. We all adore her!

At a year she is:

*Still wearing size 3 diapers, all of her 6-9 month clothes and most of her 9-12 month ones. Still in size 3 shoes but almost ready for size 4.

*She is WALKING EVERYWHERE! Pretty much right after the 11 month post she stopped crawling and started completely walking. She loves to walk! All day long she will walk back and fourth...so cute to watch her!

*In addition to walking she has also learned how to climb this month. She crawled up onto Jacob's little toddler bed and thought that was the best thing ever. So she decided to try something even better...the stairs! One day I didn't see her walking around, went around the corner, and she was already half way up the stairs! I let her finish and she made it all the way up. Now that's all she wants to do and we are constantly having to block the stairs or she won't stay off of them. She can go up great...but not back down. She is keeping us on our toes!

*She has her 1 year appointment this Friday. It will be interesting to see how much she has grown since her 9 month visit and sad that she has to get her shots. I hate when my babies have to get shots!

*She still has quite a few nicknames. I think that I have somehow forgot to write about one of the top ones I came up with. One of the sounds she makes all the time is, "Tee-tee". Stemming from that I somehow started calling her "ti-ti Roni" (R0-Knee) and now sometimes it's just Roni or Rone. The whole family has picked up on it. Tyler, awhile back, started calling her Pexy and the other boys will too. When she gets into everything I like to call her a Lex-a-soraus! There's also Joy Bear and Mama Girl!

*She still has just 4 teeth although it had seemed like she may be teething last week. She has such a cute smile with those 4 little teeth!

*She loves playing and plays so well on her own. She has really been into the magnets on the refrigerator. We have the Leap Frog Farm and Letters on it and they are constantly being spread throughout the whole house! She always has something in her hand, walking from room to room. A baby doll, an item from one of her new play purses, or a magnet! So cute!

*She likes to try and put hats and other accessories on. This is one of those things that is already different then the boys. She wants to do it all of the time. When she finds one of our hats she is instantly trying to put it on and then will walk around with it...adorable! Yesterday she wanted Grandma's sunglasses on and yelled when they were taken from her. Today she took a stethoscope and hung it around her neck...so cute! She loves the sets of bead necklaces we got on vacation and will play with those forever. And she also loves shoes! She will get into our shoe bin everyday and walk around with them, spreading them all around the house!

*As far as talking she babbles a lot. It sounds like she has said "hi" a few times. It doesn't seem like she pointedly calls any of us anything yet but there has been quite a few times where it's sounded like it.

*She waves hello and good-bye almost anytime you say it now...one of my favorite things!

So that is Alexis at a year. I am so happy that I have all of these memories written down at each stage of her life. I plan to keep doing her updates every month since they still change so much. Let me know if anyone is still reading these...good to know you are out there! I hope to get to a post on her First Birthday party within the next few days...it was a lot of fun!=0)

Quote of the Day Returns!

2010-08-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

So in an attempt to get more memories down I am blogging from my phone for the first time. I just had a conversation with Zachary and Craig that went like this.
Me: Who is taking charge of this platypus?
Zachary: Me.
Craig: isn't it a duck?
Zachary: No! It's a platypus!
Me looking at the tag: Oh it says Daffodil the Duck.
Zachary (after pausing a split second) Tell you what, I'll just call it a platypus!

The First Day

2010-08-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

The first day of school is always extra exciting. I remember the way I felt as a child. Nervous. Excited. Apprehensive. Sad to see summer end but eager to see what the new year would be like. And now as a parent I felt...nervous. Excited. Apprehensive. Sad to see summer end yet eager to see what the new year would be like! So strange! Same emotions but now through a mother's eyes. I had been feeling super anxious about Zachary going from half day Kinder to full day First Grade. Especially with the school hours changing and the kids now getting out at 2:57 instead of 1:57. That just seems so much later! And I think having two big, school age children is throwing me for a loop. I spent the whole night before their first day asking myself, "How did my babies get so big?! How did my babies get so big?"

So, ready or not, Wednesday August 21st arrived. The boys got up super excited for the day ahead. I had gotten everything ready the night before. Clothes laid out, new backpacks out, lunches and snacks packed. Before leaving we made sure to go out front and get our traditional first day of school pictures. Then we were off to school.

A few days prior we had found out the kids teachers and who would be in their rooms. We are so pleased that they both seem to have gotten really wonderful teachers! Zachary's teacher is Mrs. Cromwell who is the one everyone seems to want. She is the head of First Grade and we are really excited to have her! Quite a few of the kids he had last year are also in his class so it's nice to see the familiar faces! When I asked Zachary how he liked his teacher he said, "She's really cheerful. She's cheerful all the time!" So cute! Tyler is paving the way for our family so we didn't know anything about the Third Grade staff. So when we saw he had Mrs. Helmer that didn't tell us much. But after just 4 days of school, we already think she's great! He is so excited about being in her class and I'm excited because she already thinks Tyler is great! =0)As an added bonus for him his little buddy Nolan is in his class again after they were separated during 2nd grade!

We were able to go into class With Zachary, see his desk and take a picture with Mrs Cromwell. As we said good bye I felt the stinging begin and as we got into the hallway...the flood gates opened. I tried not to cry, but I was just so overwhelmed with emotion. I'm not exactly sure why I had such a hard time considering he is my second in full day school. The days seem so long with the time change and school not getting out until nearly 3:00. I hate not knowing what they are doing during the day but look forward to helping out in both of their classes as much as possible. I already spent some time in Tyler's and love seeing him in class!

When I went to pick up the boys they were so excited and both had great days! We are off to a good start to a new school year!

San Diego Vacation

2010-08-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to write so many things and yet there is never enough time. Last week we had our family summer vacation to San Diego. I really want to get down all of the fun things we did and am happy to be here finally getting that done!

Our trip was Sunday July 25th to Thursday July 29th. Since our Honeymoon we have gone to San Diego nearly every year in the summer. Most trips have been about the same. Find a hotel, go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, maybe head over to Coronado Island. We kind of get stuck in the rut of doing the same things. This trip was very different. Yes we went to Sea World. And the Zoo. Even drove around Coronado one day as the kids slept. But what was so different about this trip you ask? The FOOD! Yep, food defined this vacation.

Before leaving on our trip I began researching good places to eat in the area. I learned about Yelp for the first time and it was very helpful. We had recommendations from friends and I made a list of places to try and eat at. These were places that had been highly rated, been on the food network and other television shows. I was excited to try this out! And those that know me well know that I typically like to stick with the familiar. I usually gravitate towards a chain because I know what to expect and that they don't serve cat there!;0) But I have been becoming more adventurous and was truly excited!

We started our trip by eating at Souplantation. Not exactly new as it is one of our favorite places to eat but new in that we ate there for breakfast for the first time.
We got to our Hotel,the Westin, which was in the Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego. Afterwards we set out to spend the evening at the Zoo.

The next morning I started to get bummed because the weather was so unusually cold for this time of year. While on our vacation we had planned to go to the beach, Soak City and swim in the hotel pool...and it was barely in the 60's! So we decided to go to Sea World. It was a fun day doing different things then the norm. We saw the new Dolphin show for the first time, and all 3 boys went on Shipwreck Rapids for the first time. They loved it! That afternoon the kids napped in the car while we drove the length of Coronado. We tried going to a famous BBQ for dinner that night only to find it closed on Mondays. So we headed back towards the hotel and ate at Bucca Di Peppo's.

The next morning we were finally able to start in on our list of great places to eat! And a great way to start it was! We ate at the little Cafe 222, which was just a few blocks from where we were staying. We have heard the wait can be long but we were seated on the little outdoor patio fairly quickly. Their peanut butter banana stuffed french toast is their famous item. We ordered that, pumpkin waffles and pancakes. Everything was delicious! From there we went back to the zoo for a few hours and then attempted the beach for about a half hour. The kids loved it even though it was freezing! We wanted to try Phils BBQ again since it had been closed the day before. We knew we had to get there early since every review had stated "lines around the building". We got there right at 5, waited in line, and in about 20 minutes had ordered, found a table and got our food. I am not usually a ribs kind of person but wow...that was some good food! Super tender and tasty! Craig really loved it and has already talked about going back more then a few times!;0) Oh and when we left...lines around the building! That night we went back to our room and then walked to the Ghiradelli chocolate shop. oh my goodness....the sundaes and malt we ordered were wonderful! Good thing that shop is not closer to home!

Wednesday we walked to another yummy restaurant for brunch, The Broken Yoke. Great French Toast, Breakfast Burrito, Blueberry Pancakes and Eggs Benedict. We then decided to brave Soak City since it was our last full day and the sun had started to peak out.
It was our first time at this location and there were no crowds so we hardly had to wait for the slides. We had a great few hours there!

On our way to Sea World for the night shows we stopped for dinner at El Indio. I looovvve Mexican food so was particularly excited to try this place out. It had been recommended by friends and has been featured on television shows. It did not disappoint and was so yummy! We had tacos, taquitos, chips and quesadillas. Mmmm Mmmm good! With full bellies we headed to Sea World and enjoyed "Sea Lions Tonight" and "Shamu Rocks"! We were able to watch fireworks as we were walking out. Another great day!

Thursday morning we packed up, swam a little and then left the "home-tell" as Jacob calls it. The kids are always sad when we leave...they love staying in hotels! For lunch we stopped at a pizza place called Giovanni's. We found it on our own just driving around last time we were in San Diego. They have some of the best pizza and breadsticks I have ever had. So, so good! And the perfect way to end a great vacation!

So even with the cool weather we had a great trip. New memories were made and lot's of new favorite restaurants found! We can't wait to go back!

Alexis at 11 Months

2010-07-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

So it seems I only get on here these days to keep up with Lexy's updates. Would like to be able to write more again someday soon. I have been struggling with the fact that my baby will be turning one. I need to start planning her first birthday but have been hesitant. I am really looking forward to having a girly party for the first time but a part of me is holding back because I don't want her to be a year. She is so sweet in this stage. She plays so well by herself. She loves exploring and discovering everything around her. As long as she has slept and been fed she is such a happy baby girl. Love her sweet babbling sounds, the way she hums and then shrieks when she sees something she likes. She is a delightful little person!

*The big news this month is that her two front teeth have broken through! The week before turning 11 months I noticed the little bits of white and they are now moving into position quickly! There have been no new teeth for months and these make numbers 3 and 4.

*She is walking much more now. She will take 15 steps or more at a time then fall to the ground and crawl. Get back up, take a few steps and fall and crawl again. She pretty much goes with whatever is most convenient and the time!

*She still prefers girly things. Last weekend we were at a birthday party. She was playing in the little boys room and out of everything in there, she found the one pink toy to play with! She loves baby dolls and her tea pot that sings...makes me so happy to see her, well, be a GIRL!=0)

*She so loves to be on the move that it has become nearly impossible to get pictures of her. She will look every which way but towards the camera. During her last pictures taken at JC Penney's she kept mad rushing the camera. With the 3 of us working hard (and occasionally calling in a brother to try and help make her smile) we were able to get a few good poses. But she sure made us work for it!

*She is still in size 3 diapers, 3-6 months onsies and can still wear all of her 6-9 month clothes. She is just now fitting into a few of her 9-12 month things and wears a size 3 shoe. Thankfully she is growing slowly and we are getting good use out of all of those adorable outfits!

*She continues to be a wonderful eater. She will eat anything we give her. It is so nice!

*She just had her first trip to the beach on Monday. She loved it. She loves being outside though so that was perfect for her. It was too cold for her to play by the water but we are hoping she gets the chance next week when we head to San Diego.

*She got the chance to play in our baby pool last week and really enjoyed that. She was in there for about an hour, just happy as a clam. She really likes water and is always eager to get in her bathtub.

*This past month she has been napping well...YAY!!! She usually takes 2 naps and will go right to sleep when put in her crib. She likes to be laid down with her cuddle blanket put on top of her face. She snuggles into it and usually will go right to sleep. So wonderful! She sleeps really well at night and usually wakes up between 6:30-7:00.

Next month will be the big one year update. I am looking forward to all the things I will get to do with a daughter. I think I will reflect on that more next time! For now, time to change a dirty diaper! ;0)

Alexis at 10 Months

2010-06-21T13:30:00.001-07:00

The time is nearing. Alexis is now less then two months from turning the big ONE. Can hardly believe it. Her newborn stage was so crazy I feel like I missed out on a lot of her "babyhood". The last few months with her have been so much fun and I am mourning that they will soon be just a memory. We are trying to relish all the time we have left while she is still a baby though. Smell her sweet smell. Hold her all we can. Enjoy the sweet baby sounds. Stare at her when she falls asleep while nursing. So many wonderful things to take in with babies! Here is Lexy at 10 months!

*She has started waking up early in the morning, screaming. She has done it the past two mornings and today was up at 4am. She screamed for well over an hour before finally giving up. I really hope one day her sleeping patterns get better! Her usual nap is still usually only 20 minutes or so long. I don't know how she makes it through the day! (and right on cue she just woke up from her 20 minute nap!)

*She still only has her two bottom teeth. Hope the others don't all come in at once! Right after my last post stating she hadn't bit me yet, she started biting. Thankfully she stopped pretty quickly...and I'm hoping that was the end of it. (Could I get so lucky??)

*All on her own she started waving this month...so stinkin' cute! When she first did it I thought it was just her moving her arms around since we hadn't been teaching her to do it, but then she continued waving "hello" right on cue! It really is adorable to see her grin, stick her hand out and wave!

*She adores her baby dolls! She has two actual dolls and whenever we hand them to her...well you just have to see it! She shrieks and beams and it's just so sweet! The boys love to be the ones to give it to her so they can make her smile. Craig and I keep saying we don't know how people believe this stuff isn't built into boys and girls from the start. Alexis is so small and yet she clearly already has very different preferences then her brothers! She LOVES her dolls and her Princess figurines. She examines the flowers on my toes whenever she gets the chance. The other day she was crying in the car and I tried to reach back for one of her Princess dolls. I could only find a Star Wars one (which is the exact same type of toy, chunky and plastic) to hand her. She stopped crying for a minute, then realized it wasn't one of her Princess toys and started screaming again! I love seeing the girlyness come out in her!

*At her 9 month appointment we found out that she has grown a bit more and is now in the 25th percentile for height. She had to get one shot and didn't even cry. She seems to be pretty tough...it's just when they keep going and going. Which I certainly don't blame her!

*She stands alone and doesn't need anything to pull herself into standing position. She started learning to using a walker and does pretty good with it but is still definitely not fluid! I'm in no hurry to have her walking!

*She loves food and has started smacking her lips when she's hungry. It's really cute! She is trying lot's of different things and actually has yet to turn anything down! The boys are under thick threats not to ruin this beautiful, adventurous eater! (Tyler and Zachary got to Jacob when he was a baby and turned him to the dark side of picky eaters. I am determined that this not happen to Alexis!)

*She has very clear "boundaries". When her brothers get too close, squeeze too tight or get in her face she will "yell" at them to move away. I'm grateful she has that strength. Now we just have to get the boys to listen to her!

*We were able to put her first ponytail in!!! I have been so excited to be able to "do" her hair...and finally she has just enough for a tiny sprout! Now I can't wait for "piggies"! ;0)

*She continues to be a magnet in public. Everyone wants to touch, hold, coo at, tickle, fawn over, and smile at her. And she is happy to let them!

Love having a girl. Love having a baby. Love that she has turned into such a pleasant baby!!

Alexis at 9 Months

2010-05-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Time continues to fly by. Alexis is doing so many new things.

*She is now crawling everywhere. She is super curious and loves to play with everything that is not actually a toy. This includes cords, her diaper basket and all of it's contents, shoes, papers, balloons and their strings, cords, cords oh and did I say cords? That makes us the most nervous as she likes to stick them in her mouth...even when they are plugged in at the other end! Definitely have to keep a close watch on her.

*She does love to pull herself up on everything. The coffee table, entertainment center, her crib, toy bins, bath tubs...but she also often ends up falling into those objects...with her head! Poor baby always has a bruise on her forehead and usually multiple bruises. She's tough though and if she actually cries, you know it's going to leave a huge mark!

*She is only nursing four times a day now and eating solids with us at meals 3 times a day. She now loves her food and eats happily. She does easily get distracted...both when nursing and eating. If Craig walks up and starts talking while I am feeding her she will stop nursing, jerk her head towards him and grin. And then will repeat that over and over...cute at first but starts to get old! ;0) She adorable and no one can resist that smile! Just yesterday she tried little bits of Macaroni and Cheese and Panera for the first time. She really liked it! She also got to try some watermelon and peaches and thought those were great as well!

*She still only has two perfect little bottom teeth so we are limited on starting real solids with her. I am super thankful that she has not bit me yet. As crazy as she is when she eats I am surprised about that...but very, very happy! Hopefully that will last!

*She has still been in her 3-6 month sleepers! We finally just tried a 6-9 month one last night and it was huge! Her legs kept coming out and getting stuck...she is just so short! Her 9 month appointment is coming up so it will be interesting to see what her stats are this month!

*She makes A LOT of noise!! She is super loud and gets louder as the day goes on. She gets so much attention and everyone looks at her and thinks she's so cute...even though we are apologizing for how loud she is...people don't seem to care. She loves to just hear her own voice, growling, screeching, yelling and she will do it non stop for an hour at times!

*She likes to jump. If you are holding her in your lap she will stand up and bounce and bounce and bounce...while making said loud noises. It's a sight to see!

*She does not like to sleep. Definitely a pattern since birth. The only way to get her to sleep is by nursing her. I have tried and tried to lay her down for a nap and she will just scream, stand up and scream some more. She sleeps through most nights but will often be up super early. This morning she was up and ready to go at 5. No lounging around. She stands right up and waits for someone to get her.

*She loves to be carried around the house with you. We call her our "Traveling Buddy".

*Nicknames for her at this point are: Lexy, Lexis, Lexy-Loo, Loo-Loo, Puppy (I call her and Jacob this for some reason), Joy Bear, and Baby Gwirl (Don't know why but we add the w sound in there! =0))I'm sure there are more but that's all that is coming to mind!

And that is our sweetie at 9 months in a nutshell! ;0)

First 5k!!!

2010-05-06T16:12:00.001-07:00

This morning I ran my first 5k! I have been working up to this for over a month now. Starting with 1.3, working up to 2 mile runs and then two days ago I tried 2.3. This morning about half way through my run I decided to go for it. The sun had fully come out and it was pretty miserable...but I DID IT!! In about 12 runs I worked my way up to 3.1 miles! I was pretty happy with my time of 32 minutes and 27 seconds which averaged out to about 10 minutes 27 seconds a mile. I feel happy to have accomplished something like this and am proud of myself for pushing myself to go further. I tell ya, watching Biggest Loser is such a huge motivator. I constantly think, "A much bigger person then I can run 5 miles, I can do this!" Or, "Jillian would so be yelling at me to go faster right now...I need to speed up!" I love that show!!

And I will keep hitting the pavement and pushing myself further!

Zachary is 6!

2010-05-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my Zachary turned six years old. I always tell people, "He's my Cinco De Mayo baby". While getting his birthday button yesterday at Disneyland, I was once again saying that to a cast member. Zachary was nodding along but then for the first time in 6 years looked up and said, "Wait. What does that mean exactly?" Hilarious! That's our Zachey James. Full of funny things to say, many which are way beyond his years. He is my baby that walked the day he turned 10 months old. Who often tells us he thinks we are going the wrong way or that he knows better. Yesterday he woke up and came to cuddle with me. We were talking about when he was born and he was saying how he didn't want to come out. (We have told him his birth story many times which includes the fact that he took two days of labor and 2 hours of pushing to get out...) He thought for a minute after saying that and then came up with, "Maybe I was just trying to find another way out!!"

Our "Zoo Bear" is a unique one. We used to say he doesn't much care what others think. And this still holds true in many instances. But lately he has become much more sensitive. He has always been super aware of what's going on around him. Picking up on things you are trying to get past him, knowing just the right moment to start listening in. So I think this awareness is making him more sensitive. He will go from not caring that you are upset to crumbling because he all of a sudden realizes that he has really upset us. He is nurturing and gets really concerned if one of us are hurt. These past few weeks he has been sick on and off. Last week I joined him and was sick with a cold/flu something or other. He was so sweet and kept asking how I felt, if I was still sick. Such a sweetie!

Zachary has many loves that include Star Wars, Spiderman, video games, drawing, Souplantation, his family (especially his baby sister), riding his bike and scooter, going to Disneyland and Sea World, water animals, waffles, yogurt (especially vanilla) treats, using a fan to sleep, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, Sonic, his green blanket, giving huge hugs, making "books"...the list goes on. He is one that will often say he doesn't want to grow up. He dearly wanted a baby sister and couldn't have been more excited to find out he had one on the way. He is a sweet, funny, witty, loving, smart, cunning, artistic, energetic, clever, and happy little boy. We thank God for who he is, and who he will grow up to be!

I love you Zachey, and I always will!

Four Years Ago...

2010-04-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Four Years ago, in the early morning, my third baby boy came into the world. It had been a long process. A hard pregnancy and a hard labor. But he was finally here. Jacob, my sweet baby, was here.

And a sweet baby he was. Wow! So content. Such a good nurser (the only one who "got it" from the start). He came into the world sick at first but was a star NICU patient. He rarely cried. Slept almost the entire time and gained weight like a champ! We were instantly in love.

How that day seems so long ago, yet not that far away at the same time. He has changed so much over the years. Jacob. What do I think of when I say his name? I think goofy, smiley, challenging, snacker, sleeper, loving, energetic, crazy, mischievous, funny. At four years old some of Jacob's loves are his family, Cody (one of our cats), Blue Blanket (which has to be folded just right so he can lay his head on it to sleep) Lego Star Wars on the Wii (he will ask for this all day) SNACKS (he will ask for these about every 2 minutes or so...not joking!) swinging, "my Hoops" (our friends), Mac N Cheese, Chick-pa-lay (Chick-fil-a), "Pirates" at Disneyland, puzzles, paper airplanes, Chicken Stars (What he calls Carl's Jr), gymnastics, cottage cheese, Spider Man and all things Star Wars.

Jacob is a strong force in our family. He makes sure you know he's there! He goes through waves of being super challenging to super sweet and agreeable. He adores his siblings and has become a wonderful big brother to Alexis. He takes good care of her, bringing her toys and helping her when she's upset. He loves to be just like his brothers and will imitate everything they do...good and bad! He loves spending time together, doing a puzzle, swinging, riding bikes or playing the Wii. He has the biggest smile and a silly grin!

Happy 4th Birthday Jakey! I love you so much! You will always be my baby boy.

Alexis at 8 months

2010-04-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Baby girl turned 8 months Sunday night. Going. Too. Fast!!! She is so much fun, so adorable and so sweet we don't want her to "stop being a baby" as the boys would say. She is full of smiles, babbles and funny noises. Here's Lex in a nutshell at 8 months old.

*I was able to drop her late night feeding this month. Was feeding her before we went to sleep to help her get through the night. She now eats around 8-8:30 and sleeps through the night! Hurray! She still occasionally wakes up a few times and just needs her paci to get back to sleep. She wakes up at different times in the morning and depending on when that is, will sometimes going back to sleep after eating.

*She is nursing 5 times a day, eating solids twice. Trying to fit that 3rd feeding in and drop one of her nursing times. She is enjoying her baby food much more now.

*Just last week she cut her very first tooth!! You can't really see it but during one of my times checking her gums, I felt that tiny sharp point on the bottom right side. It took so long to show up and I'm still sad about it. Just another sign that our baby is getting bigger! (Plus mommy is not fond of babies with teeth...well my babies anyway...because I am not fond of being bit with said teeth!)

*She is getting around the house now. She's not really crawling...more like rolling, flopping, flipping and scooting around! She gets up on all fours, moves forward a bit and then falls over. We will find her stuck under a chair or grabbing a cord...she's really going to keep us on our toes!

*She LOVES playing with toys! The Weeble house we have is a favorite. She has a toy bin near my computer and she likes to get over to it, pull up on her knees and go through it trying to pull out what she can. It's so cute and she looks so tiny next to the big bin!

*She loves eating her Gerber puffs and has learned to pick them up and sometimes get them in her mouth! I often find them stuck all over her high chair, hands, and clothes instead of in her mouth! She has also been learning to drink water out of a sippy cup. Still learning!

*She still needs to be swaddled. Crazy I know. She wins the prize for needing to be swaddled the longest...out of anyone we know! Maybe next month we will be able to report that has changed!

*Still spitting up a lot and on medication. Thought that was supposed to be getting better. Can't wait until it does!

*Still uses her 3-6 month sleepers and onsies! My little shorty! I'm happy with that though because her clothes are lasting longer!

We are holding onto every minute with our little Joy! We are so proud of her and love showing her to the world! We usually don't go anywhere without someone noticing her and commenting on how sweet she is. Last night at Chick-fil-a a woman must have been watching her and when I walked by said, "I just want to take her and hold her for hours!" Another day a woman walked in and just started fawning all over her, touching her, even kissing her head. Very sweet but made us a little nervous to have a stranger love on her that much. She just draws everyone in! She sure has all of us smitten!

Look at how happy she is with her brothers!

Quote of the Day

2010-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hearing Alexis on the monitor Jacob was eager to go get his sister. When I picked her up though he exclaimed, "She pooped!" I said, "How do you know that?" and he replied, "Cause I know things. I know everything!"

Oh boy!

A New Challenge

2010-04-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to write this the past few weeks. As things usually go, it takes a lot longer to actually get done many of the things I want to.

After the weight loss challenge ended, I kind of had that "What am I going to do with myself now?" feeling. Many of my friends have taken up running or have been running for a long time. The day before the challenge ended I thought, "What the heck, I'll give this a try". Now mind you, I have always hated running. Truly hated it. I can clearly remember back to Jr High when we used to have to run a mile weekly. I think it needed to be completed in 15 minutes or less. I would usually power walk it, walk, maybe jog...and barely make the cut off. So as far back as I can remember, never a fan.

So back to the first run. I threw on my shoes, told Craig I would be back in a few, and started out on my pre mapped 1.3 mile run. Run! A friend had challenged me to try getting out there and doing a mile without stopping...and I did not stop once!! I was so amazed....and completely out of breath! It took me quite awhile to cool down with the combination of that being my first run ever and not pacing myself all that well and going too fast. But I had done it. I hated it and yet, I was somehow intrigued. Could I do that again? Would it get easier?

That was a Saturday. On Monday, I set out again. Same route, only it didn't feel as hard to recover after. And then I ran again. And again the day after that. I decided I wanted a way to track my progress. I wanted to know exactly how far I was going, how fast, what my pace was and my calories burned. I had heard the Nike Plus system was good and decided upon that. The first week after the challenge, I ran 5 out of 7 days! 5 of those were in a row and then we went to my parents for 2 days and I didn't get the chance to run while there. Craig told me he was really surprised I had kept the running up. That he thought I would run the one time, and be done with it. He said he thought, "She's not a runner." Thanks Hon! But really, I know what he meant and I felt the same way about myself. But I just wanted to see what I could do. I've surprised both of us!

Another thing that helped motivate me to run, and is really the main factor, is keeping the weight off. I don't have a lot of time to work out in this stage of life. Knowing that I can just throw my shoes on, grab my itouch and run around my neighborhood in 20 minutes, burning about 230 calories is great motivation! So far my fastest mile is 10 minutes 6 seconds and longest run is 2 miles. I'm hoping to increase that length soon but fell last week and really did a number on my knees. I have been frustrated at the delay that's caused and am worried I will lose the progress I have already made. While I still greatly dislike running, I am eager to get back out there and keep that metabolism boosted!

And, I'm excited to have a new challenge! Next challenge, an actual race! ;0)

Before and After

2010-04-12T13:01:00.001-07:00

I didn't take any "official" pictures before I started the weight loss competition. I wish I had but these are what I came up with. Pictures that I look at and think, "Ugh! Glad I did something about that!"

And here are the "after" shots. Happy to see an improvement! All the hard work was well worth it!!

Mission Accomplished!

2010-03-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

Whew! I did it!! I made it through 12 weeks of intense weight loss! It really has been challenging, emotional, frustrating, amazing, all-consuming and just a crazy experience!

Sunday night that all came to an end. Our final weigh-in was at 7:00...at night! It was a really hard day as I usually gain 2-3 pounds by the end of the day. Over the past 2 weeks, we stopped getting the email updates so I had no specifics on how the other contestants were doing, and how close or far away anyone was to gaining on me. (Or losing I guess!;0)) I did find out right before the end that I had finally taken first place after being in second for weeks. I was SO excited but figured that I must still be pretty close to the other contestant based on prior numbers. That last week I was quickly approaching my goal weight as well, so the scale was not being kind to me...what a week for that! I ate as well as I could, worked out and continued to kep track of everything I ate. I had a feeling it wouldn't be enough but gave it my all anyway. I knew it would be better to completely know I had given everything I had, every step of the way.

On the night of the final weigh-in, there were only about 5 woman that showed up out of the original 44. The woman I was in direct competition with weighed-in before me...and lost 10 pounds! My heart sunk. I couldn't believe it! Hard to know in that moment that I had lost it...and be in a room full of people when you want to cry for a minute. I was able to recover quickly, there are just a lot of emotions that go into this intense of a competition. When you literally put your whole life into it for so long.

I did end up with a solid second place with a percentage of 17.8% of my body weight lost!! That really is an awesome accomplishment! First place was 19.9% and third, 13.1%. My total pounds lost in the 12 weeks was 33!!! =0) And I am not looking to find any of them!

I am so happy that I did this, even with all of the emotional ups and downs. I set out to lose weight and accomplished all of my goals! I lost 13 more pounds than I had hoped to, and I never gained during the entire 12 weeks! (Even with a trip to the mountains and Vegas!) That I am proud of. I feel healthier. It has reset my outlook on food. I am highly aware of how many calories and fat are in everything. I again know how to make better choices when eating out, and to pay close attention to my "full meter".

This leads me to the work it's going to take to maintain. I am taking the week off from writing things down and then I plan to pick that up again. I want to find that "sweet spot" I need to maintain.

Thank you to those that have been such an encouragement to me! My husband has been great and so have my boys! My mom and Crystal, you have been so awesome as well, always full of praise and kind words! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So to sum it up, I am SO glad this is over with, I'm very happy with my results and I'm pleased I set out to do something...and did it well! =0)

(P.S. I finally have pictures to add but for some reason blogger is looking really weird and there is no spell check or link to add photos... ideas anyone??)

Quote of the Day

2010-03-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, need to pick this back up! So today we went to Disneyland and the kids saw Captain EO for the first time. After leaving the show, Zachary is walking with Craig and says, "I didn't know Michael Jackson was a girl!" So Craig asks why he thinks he's a girl and he answers, "Well, because of his voice!" =0)

Alexis at 7 Months

2010-03-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

Thursday night baby girl turned 7 months! How I love that sweet little bundle! She is such a happy baby, beaming at her family, sharing little giggles with us. So different from the first months of her life! The only time she really gets fussy now are if she's sleepy or hungry. And she would still rather not be in the car. She started sitting up this month which was a huge milestone! She really loves being able to sit and play with her toys. I think this new view on the world has really helped her to be even more content. Here is Alexis at 7 months old.

*She now sits on her own. Falls over occasionally.

*She's eating some solids. Yes, we did finally start, the day after her 6 month blog actually. She still is not the biggest fan of solids but has done better. She really needs to learn how to eat from a spoon as she still licks at it like she's nursing. While attempting to eat she can often be seen "shuddering" at whatever we just put into her mouth. So far she has had squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, bananas and most recently, apples. It seems that she likes the bananas best which fits in perfectly with her brothers whom we affectionately named, "The Banana Brother's" due to their love of the fruit! She has also tried sweet potato puffs.

*She still needs to be swaddled. Seriously hope she can get over that soon!

*At her 6th month check up she measured in the 3rd percentile for height! I can't believe she is so short! The boys were always so long and Craig and I are so tall it's really surprising!

*As a result of her shortness she is still in 3-6 month clothing. We are using size 2-3 Swaddlers on her. They smell sooo good (when clean of course!)

*And on that note, she is now a pooping machine, making up for lost time I guess. The bad part about that is it often does not stay in the diaper. We can pretty much count on her pooping everywhere at least once a day. Not fun, especially when we are out and about!

*She had her first out of state trip this month. We traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada where Craig had a conference to attend. She did really well and enjoyed being outside by the pool everyday. She sat very contentedly on a towel playing with a few toys and just really enjoyed the atmosphere. Cute story, on our last day there, Craig was able to come to the pool with us. We went in the Lazy River and put Alexis in her little boat floaty. We went around quite a few times and she kept sinking lower, and lower and her eyes got heavier and heavier until she was out. She was so relaxed in the water it put her right to sleep!

*She swang in a swing at the park for the first time and really liked it! We bought her a baby one for our swing set at home but still need to put it up.

*Still no teeth (I am very happy about this!)but seems like she has been teething for months! She drools a ton and wants to chomp down on everything she can get into her mouth! I'm sure it won't be long now until a few make their way through!

*Her favorite toy is her Leap Frog doggy, "Violet". She loves for it to sing to her. She also still really enjoys her saucer.

Over all we are enjoying her immensely! There is always someone in the family going over to her, giving her kisses and sweet talking her. I have said it before but I feel so complete with her here. We all do!

Adventures in Vegas

2010-03-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in a dark hotel room. I hear the shuffling of sheets and the occasional whisper of a child who is supposed to be napping. Currently 1 out of 4 are sleeping and I'm hoping that count is about to go up.

We are here for yet another of Craig's conferences. It's a great deal as the gas to get here, and the room, are paid for by his company. Since Vegas is within driving distance we usually try and come with him. Ironically the kids LOVE coming! There really are a lot of things to do here with them. This visit we are staying at the Mandalay Bay for the first time. I have always wanted to stay here because I knew they had an awesome pool area. We made it down to the beach area this morning and it was better then I thought! The beach part has sand, a huge wave pool, and a huge children's wading area that the waves roll into. The boys played without stopping for nearly an hour and a half. I finally had to call them out. Alexis wore her very first bathing suit and looked absolutley adorable! I sat her in the water with me for a bit and she did well with it. There are other pool areas (and spas!) that we will have to check out as well.

The view from our room is amazing. I will have to try and get a picture. We have an unobstructed view where we can see the entire pool areas, beyond that is the airport runway where we can see airplanes and helicopters coming and going...so awesome! At night we can see tons of lights that go on forever...it's a great room.

Tonight Craig has a dinner after the conference and then a party after that. So bummed! Today is going to be the hardest. He is going to come back in between all of that to help us navigate through the maze that is Vegas so we can get a quick bite to eat though. Whew! Last night we walked around "The Miracle Mile" mall, ate dinner and watched it "rain" inside. I ate a very yummy Chinese Chicken Salad. I really wanted a burger but that actually really ended up hitting the spot!

It's always weird stepping out of "normal" life but it's refreshing too. Getting away from the routine of life every now and then is really helpful. I'm missing weigh in today though which I'm bummed about. Two weeks left as of today. We have a cooler with us and lot's of food to help me stay on track while we are here. When the kids wake up I plan on doing my pilates video as well.

Looks like the baby is still asleep and Jacob is as well. Yay those are the two that really needed a good nap! Thankfully everyone did really well sleeping last night despite all 6 of us sharing a room AND the darn time change! We will see what tonight brings!

Weight Loss...Akkk!

2010-03-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

At over 9 weeks into this weight loss competition, I am SO READY TO BE DONE!!!!! I am really happy with my progress, and have done better then I had even hoped. At this point I have now lost 24 pounds even and am in second place!! Hurray! In the school competition I have been in first place nearly the entire time. Next week is the end of that one, but I have to weigh in 4 days early since we will be out of town. So bummed!

And I am frustrated, tired of scales, tired of watching everything that goes into my mouth, tired of my life centering around weight...just tired! I'm tired of all the scales being different everywhere I weigh in and literally never knowing what to expect each week. I'm tired of being frustrated that no matter how hard I try, I can't get to first place. I have been able to stay so consistent the entire 9 weeks. Never losing less then a pound and a half every week. I have not cheated at all. And yet it's not good enough. There are so many times I wanted to eat something, or a lot of something, but I knew it would only hurt me. Even if no one else saw, I knew. So I didn't do it. I have also pushed myself to work out more. I enjoy using the Wii Fit because I don't completely despise it and I like how it keeps track of all my records. Last week I pushed myself to do the Island Lap 3 times in a row which meant running for over 40 minutes. It's been good to see the progress and to continue breaking my own records!

Now that I am so close to goal, it gets even harder to push the weight off. Nursing the baby adds another hurdle as I can't be stupid and starve myself for the babies sake. And my body reeeallly wants to hold onto the last ten pounds that usually does not come off until I'm done nursing. So adds more frustration. And days where I am a mess from stress, fatigue and not enough food. I'm thankful for my husband who understands how I am feeling and has been such a HUGE support to me through all of this! Listening to me talk and helping me through it...your awesome Craig!

At this point, I am itching for April when this is all over. I should be at goal by then and will just have to work at maintaining all of my hard work. I do not want to gain any of it back and that in itself will take some hard work. Oh the yummy things I want to eat....but all in moderation of course! ;0)

Sitting Pretty

2010-03-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

My baby girl started sitting up on her own this past weekend. I don't know but it seems pretty early to me. I'll have to go back and look in the boys baby books but I thought it was more like 7 months until they sat on their own. Wow, how can it be that she has mastered this skill already?

My Valentines...

2010-02-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well I'm sure I could be doing a million other things but I figured I might as well go for it while I have the peace and quiet.

We had a good Valentines weekend. We kicked it off on Friday with both boys parties. I am thankful that I was able to help out in both classes and be a part of their day. I started in Zachary's first. The kids rotated as usual to different "centers". Counting candy hearts and recording the different colors on a graph, coloring decorating a ginormous cookie, making a bee costume...he had a great time. Then it was off to Tyler's class. He played Valentine Bingo, passed out his Valentine cards and treats, and then received a massive amount of goodies. Brownies, cupcakes, candy, cookies...so many tasty things (which were very hard for me not to indulge in...but I didn't!) We topped it off by watching a Charlie Brown video on inventions.

Saturday we were able to attend a Valentine party at our new friends home. We met them through attending Family Night regularly at Chick-fil-a. It was great to be there and the kids had a blast. They loved their play room, making candy necklaces and frosting cookies and mini cupcakes was definitely a plus! They also watched Charlie Brown's Valentines Day. (I see a Chuck trend...)

Sunday, which was actually Valentines Day, we went mini golfing with the kids for the first time. We laid out treats on their spots at the dinner table, and cards from their Grandma's and they were so excited to see it all there. They really enjoyed golfing which I'm thankful for since it was pretty hard for Craig and I to do with 4 little ones. Not stroller accessible, and we kept getting huge crowds behind us. Zachary did get a hole in one though! We topped the day off with dinner at Chipotle which always makes Daddy and Mommy happy! Mmm mmm!

Alexis is Half a year old!

2010-02-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

My baby girl turned 6 months last night. I know everyone says time flies...but it really does. I remember everyone telling us to enjoy Tyler while he was little because it would all go by so quickly...and it has. My first baby is in second grade and hurtling towards eight years old! And here I am, knowing that my baby girl will be that old before I know it as well. So here I sit, trying to capture what I can of her sweet babyhood.

*She has become so vocal, and social. She loves to study others faces as they talk to her. Or just track what is going on around her. She often has such a pensive look on her face. As if she is trying to take it all in and figure out what it's all about. She makes so many different sounds. Wish I could record them all!

*She continues to be terrible at taking studio pictures. Every time I hope "this month will be better" and inevitably, it isn't. For the first few months it was crying the whole time. Making sure she had slept and ate, only to have her still end up crying. Tonight she almost rolled of the platform numerous times, chewed on the tool, looked up when we wanted her to look sideways, sideways when we wanted her to look up, wouldn't grab her feet when we were trying to take those pictures but then decided she wanted them when we were trying to have her sit upright. It was crazy! I always thought it would be so fun to have a girl to do "girly poses"...yeah not so much fun right now!

*She is still so short! Her 0-3 month onsies still fit. Her 3-6 month sleepers are really long on her. And she is still in size one shoes! Doesn't she know the cute little shoes that await her tiny little feet? She is a little chub though and we are moving to the size 2-3 diapers so we can stay in Swaddlers for awhile longer before moving to 3's. We used her last size 2 today...so sad.

*She started rice cereal this month and didn't think it was the greatest. Mommy and Daddy have not been consistent about giving it to her anyway. For the past few weeks I have been trying to start baby food with her and end the day by saying," Darn it, I forgot to give Alexis food again!" Poor baby...really she won't be 5 and just drinking breast milk...right??

*She had her first ear infection this month. The antibiotics did a number on her bum, poor sweetie. I am not entirely sure it is gone and should take her back next week for a re-check...but boy do I detest Dr's offices. I have way too much to do to add waiting hours on end for my 2 minutes with the Dr. I'll do it for my kids, but then it takes drastic measures to go for myself(hence walking around on a broken foot for over a day because I didn't want to go to urgent care...I said great measures!)

*She really likes sitting in her saucer and still enjoys the kick n play bouncer. And since she was super tiny, the fans and mobiles stay strong forms of pure enjoyment for her!

*She went on her first vacation this month. We went on our annual trip to Arrowhead. She did pretty well although staying in a tiny room with her and Jacob was definitely difficult!

*She is still spitting up. Tonight was particularly bad as she proceeded to throw nearly her whole dinner up as we walked around the mall. It hit the floor, my hands, sweater, shoes, her outfit, blankets....

*She has the prettiest, rosiest cheeks...just love them!

*She went to the Wild Animal Park for the first time. It was her first trip to a zoo-like environment. She did great.

*She adores her brothers and just beams at them. They love making her smile and will try all day long, never tiring of it. They are so darn sweet with her!

*This month she has resumed screaming in the car more times then not. She does not enjoy being where she can't see us. She is so super relational that anytime she can't make eye contact with us, is not a happy time. A funny thing, she will have just screamed for an hour in the car (that parts not funny) and when we stop the car, she instantly stops crying. Note that she hasn't even seen us yet, but she knows the car is stopped and she soon will. Pretty smart for a little one.

*Our little girl is still needing to be swaddled to sleep. Yes, one day she will sleep unwrapped and eat solid foods...and be happy in the car....right??

I'm excited that I got to write this blog uninterrupted for once. The kids are asleep and Craig is on a plane heading home from Washington. Ahhh the peace of a quiet house where I can finish a thought!! I really have forgotten what that feels like!

Smiling at Jacob...too precious!

Weight Loss Progress..Half Way There!

2010-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

So this Monday completed the half way mark in the big competition. That means 6 weeks to go! This last week started to get really hard. I didn't eat more, but I was resenting that I couldn't. I worked out 6 out of 7 days. I don't think I have ever done that in my life. The frustrating thing is that the more I work out, the less I lose. Not exactly what you want to happen. I think I must be gaining muscle because I can feel my clothes getting loser, but the scale is not wanting to budge. I'm struggling to figure out what to do...drop the working out? I guess I will see what continues to happen.

As for weight loss, I did lose 3.8 pounds the past 2 weeks! I wasn't able to weigh-in last week because we were out of town. Craig and I have been talking about how the competition gives you a misconstrued view of losing weight. Normally losing even a pound a week would be amazing. Something isn't right when you are bummed about not losing more then 2! I am happy with how I am doing and proud of myself for sticking with it. I just need that scale to keep moving for me as long as I am doing what I should be! As of this week, I am in 3rd place, and have lost 16.2 pounds in 6 weeks! That is really exciting to me! I am less then a percent away from 2nd and 2% away from first. I just need to keep finding my will to keep fighting forward...for another month and half!

I haven't taken posed pictures to show my progress but I should find one of before I started the competition, and a current one. Two weeks ago I decided to just try my smallest jeans on...and they fit!! I was so excited! They are even starting to get baggy now! Yay! Motivation, motivation, motivation....

Weekly Weight Loss

2010-02-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Another week gone by in the weight loss journey! Four weeks down, another eight to go in the competition. I am very excited about my progress so far. Doing this on my own would have taken forever!

Monday weigh in went well. It was harder because I usually go during the morning weigh in time and that was cancelled this week. So I know I weighed more at night then I normally would have. But, I still lost 3.6 pounds in ONE week!!! I am now in third place, nearly second! My total percent lost is 6.7% and second place is at 6.8%...so close! This week will prove to be even more of a challenge as we are going up to Lake Arrowhead for four days. At least there are 8 weeks left!

Tuesdays weigh in at the school was very exciting for me! I lost 4.2 pounds and lost the most for the week, winning $25! That's half of my enterance fee back! I am also now in FIRST place for the whole competition...hurray!

I continue to feel better. And I am happy to be carrying less of me around!;0)

On a Roll...And Other Firsts

2010-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

Alexis just rolled over from her back to her tummy for the FIRST time and then rolled onto her back again!!! Yay! She was laying in the boys room and everyone jumped up and cheered for her! The boys surrounded her kissing her, congratulating her...what a sight!=0) Our baby girl is on a roll!

Not the greatest picture. By the time I got the camera she had started to cry and was very ready for bed!

Earlier this week Alexis also tried her first food (other then breast milk)! It was just a little rice cereal and so far she hasn't been too fond of it. The first night she spit it all back up and she still has yet to learn to open her mouth!

Yesterday, our Zachary received his first award at school. It was for character...isn't that fitting? We are so proud of our newest "Toucan"!

Shaken

2010-01-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

This has been rattling around in my head for awhile now. I can't stop thinking about death. It started when my good friend Monica died back in May. That was such a blow and I had never experienced such a sad, untimely death that close to me before. I still think about her everyday. About her husband and son. About how she should be here with them.

My Grandfather died suddenly in November. He was more like a Father to me. I spent much of my life with he and my Grandma. I always told Craig that I dreaded the day I lost one of them. And then the call came. I couldn't really believe my ears. It was the first time I have ever received a call like that. The first time that I had lost someone in my family. To that point I still had all 4 Grandparent's, all my Aunts and Uncles, all siblings...everyone. I couldn't even take it in. I think about him everyday. All of a sudden something will make me burst into tears...it's always there on the surface. Waiting to bubble over.

A week ago, I found out a woman who's blog I read, died a sudden, tragic death. I found out about her through another friend's blog. I noticed her on the top of her blog list. She stuck out to me because she had 3 boys. She stuck out because she had become pregnant again and lost her baby girl nearly half way through the pregnancy. My heart ached for her. I became hooked and enjoyed checking in to see what her crazy life with 3 boys was like as well. And then I became pregnant with Alexis. Shortly after she became pregnant again. I waited in anticipation to hear the sex of her baby and was overjoyed she was having a girl! Her baby, Bella, was born 3 months ago. Last week she went in to get her tubes tied. She didn't feel well and they found out her bowel had been perforated. She died just days after the surgery. She died from having a routine surgery. She left behind FOUR children! One of which still needs her mommy to feed her. She's gone just like that. I can't stop thinking about her. I can't stop the thoughts of fear that just keeping growing and growing in my mind. I don't know what to do with the fear, the finality. Why did Anna have to die?

And other stories I have heard through the past year that have stuck with me. Abby from "The Biggest Loser". She lost her husband, daughter and one week old son. Oh the pain. I can't imagine and yet that adds to my fears. While I was pregnant, hearing a woman died in her sleep while pregnant with her first child. Another died right after giving birth to her first daughter. I know we are supposed to trust in God but I am honestly finding that trust shaken. Oh how we prayed for Monica. She had an army praying for her. I just don't understand.

And I'm scared.

Weight Loss Check In

2010-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

So I didn't check in here last week...and nobody asked me about it!;0) Not even sure anyone reads this too regularly anyway. BUT, the reason I didn't check in was because weigh in was cancelled. Why? Because of RAIN! Seriously and that was just day one of five straight days of down pour. Of all the things to cancel it for...I was really disappointed! Knowing how everyone is doing, how I'm doing really helps get through the next week. So I went yesterday. The scale for this weigh in has been about 2 pounds different then my home scale. Yesterday it was over 3 pounds different. I was so disappointed to see that number. I lost 2.8. I expected more. To see higher numbers on the scale is not good for the mental morale you know?

On a side note, I joined another competition through the kids school right after I had joined this one. It is only for 9 weeks and started one week after the other. There are only 10 of us compared to the 34 in the other competition. When I went to weigh in this morning, they confirmed that I had lost 4 1/2 pounds the past 2 weeks. It made me feel better to know that weight really was off and that my scale wasn't broken!

So, overall, I know I am doing well. I have not gone off track at all. I have been pushing myself to exercise. I am doing sit ups although have been battling a very stiff neck and think that may be the culprit. I can't even move it today. But on a happy note I at least did 125 sit ups last night!;0) My pants are a lot loser and I feel a lot better!

The Tooth Fairy Strikes Again!

2010-01-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a big event at our house...Zachary lost his very first tooth! The night before I saw it was loose and the next morning at breakfast it fell out! Simple and painless. He was super excited to leave it under his pillow and even more excited to find money there the next morning! It's burning a hole in his pocket and he can't wait to go to Target to spend it!

Alexis at 5 Months

2010-01-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Alexis turned 5 months old Monday night. Can hardly believe it!

*She has just started taking better naps!! It's not all of the time, or even consistent, but it's better. Tyler didn't start napping until 5 months so I kept that in the back of my mind. And boy is she like her biggest brother so it's no surprise she's following that pattern of his as well. Today I swaddled her (yes she is still being swaddled...another thing she has in common with Tyler) and just laid her in her bed. She fussed for less then a minute and fell asleep! She has done this a few times over the past week which gives me hope it may become a habit. I am SO excited about that!

*She is now sleeping until about 5:30 - 6:00 before she wants to eat again. Still feed her at 10:30 before we go to bed but she doesn't wake up. So she is basically sleeping from 8-8:30 to 5:30 or 6. Sometimes she goes back to sleep after that feeding and sometimes she decides to stay awake.

*She is a super smiley girl. Her whole face just beams when she smiles. She likes to screech and talk when she gets excited. She still yells when she doesn't see anyone. She kicks her legs in anticipation.

*She is getting better at grasping things but still drops whatever she's holding after about 30 seconds. She likes holding onto the ring links and gets a better grasp of those.

*She loves her fingers! She sticks them in her mouth, stares at them and goes cross eyed, holds onto them, licks them...she usually prefers them to any toy!

*Her love of ceiling fans continues. If one is not moving she will stare at it and make noises until someone moves it for her. Luckily she has 3 brothers who are happy to indulge her and can often be found switching them on and off. The beaming smiles that follow are priceless!

*She started playing in her stationary saucer this month. She really likes looking at the toys on it and is starting to play with some of them. She also still enjoys the Kick n Play bouncer and can be entertained for awhile in that.

*She loves nursing and would stay latched on all day if I let her! She moves her arms so much while eating though and if I don't hold her hand I often get pretty scratched up.

*She is still just rolling from stomach to back. She has no interest in being on her tummy and will flip as soon as placed on it. So it seems a good reason why she doesn't roll onto her tummy! She is really strong though and continues to do crunches. It looks like she is desperately trying to sit up!

*She's still spitting up even on the reflux medication. Sometimes with crazy force as it flies across the room!

*This month she will start rice cereal. It will be fun to see what she thinks about it!*Still in size one shoes, 2 diapers and 0-3 and 3-6 month clothing.

Our little girl is changing and growing so much! She is becoming more social and content. Right now though she is yelling at me on the floor, letting me know she is quite ready to be picked up! Until next time!

Monday Weight Loss Week 1

2010-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

So I have completed week one of the weight loss challenge. I went to weigh-in this morning and was very pleased with my results! I lost 6 pounds which is the most I have ever lost in a week! There are now over 30 women competing which is crazy! My goals for the 12 weeks are: 1. To not gain at any of the weigh-ins and 2. To lose at least 20 pounds.

So now to keep plugging away!

I'm Going to be a Big Fat Loser!!!

2010-01-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

So I accepted the challenge. Even though I have to drive an hour 1 way to get there, I accepted. I have been so tired of the extra weight. When we moved to our new house 2 years ago, I steadily started to gain. 20 pounds to be exact. Then another 10 still hanging around from my last pregnancy. I needed motivation. I now have it! A group of girls are participating in a weight loss challenge. So far around 22 have joined. There is a lot of money at stake for the first place winner....over $1000.!! We have to pay $5 every week, another $5 if we don't make the Monday weekly weigh in and another $2 for every pound gained! Lot's of motivation!! To keep myself even more motivated I am going to record my progress here after every weigh in. Feel free to ask how I'm doing if I haven't posted. This is day 3 and I'm getting into the groove. It's hard to say no to all the goodies but I think I'm finding my determination. I'm excited to be a lot thinner and healthier in 12 weeks! Cheers to that!=0)

Alexis at 4 Months

2009-12-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here I am feeding Lex while trying to get her update out. I haven't been so good about blogging...considering my last post was about her 3 month progress. Seems these updates are the only thing getting me on here! I know I need the information logged for whenever I get to her poor, neglected baby book! I have never waited so long to start. Then again I have never had such a difficult baby. Or 4 kids. It helps to know that I at least have these entries to fall back on.

On that note...there really isn't much different with her since last month.

*She still doesn't nap well. Seems to be only when we have to go somewhere and I'm in agony that I have to wake her because she is actually asleep, or if I have help from Craig or my mom. Oh yes, then she sleeps!

*Still waking up every morning at 4:30. Ugh! Want. To. Sleep. All. Night!!!!!!!!!!

*Something very new is showing signs of stranger anxiety. So early too! Last night we had a Christmas party and she had not slept all day. When one person looked at her she stuck her lip out. When the next person she didn't recognize looked at her she bawled. Oh boy! Earlier last week she had started playing "bashful". My mom would say "hi" to her and she would push her face into my neck. Then look back for more. So cute! Our boys were never afraid of strangers so we will see how this develops!

*We just started size 2 diapers. Much better as those 1's were getting snug! She is in o-3 and 3-6 month clothing. Still LOVING dressing her! And still in size 1 shoes! Tiny feet!

*She's getting more vocal. She likes to talk and smile at her family. She will actually yell when she doesn't see anyone and wants to make sure someone is near. It's very cute.

*She does stomach crunches to try and sit up. Hard to get her to relax!

Right now she is on my lap and Zachary is singing songs to her and sweet talking her. Her favorite stuff! She is smiling, cooing and giving him little laughs. Just a few more days and we will be celebrating our first Christmas with her! Such a Joy.=0)

Alexis is 3 Months!

2009-11-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get this post out for almost 2 weeks now! Nov. 18th she turned 3 months...amazing. So here are a few tid bits about Lexy at 3 months.

*She still wakes up for a feeding every night between 3:30 and 4:30. That's after her last feeding of the night around 10:30-11. Wonder when she will finally sleep through the night?!

*She has had a stuffy nose for about 3 weeks now and is very snorty.

*She is cooing and "talking" a lot now! So cute!! She will talk with you for awhile when she really gets going. I don't remember the boys cooing so much at this age!

*Still loves, loves, loves fans and mobiles!

*She found a first toy to love up...her soft doll we named Lucy. She likes to play with her piggies and suck on her! So cute when she smiles at her!

*She just started pooping more regularly....yay!!!! Never thought poop would make me so happy!

*She still will not nap well. Best bet is in the car.

*Wears 0-3 month clothes. 3-6 month is huge on her. Still in size 1 diapers. Size 1 shoes. (Finding out how cute shoes are on girls! Fun!)

*She lost her Great-Grandpa Pape this month. Part of why it took me so long to write this post. One of my biggest regrets is that she didn't get to meet him.=0(

*Our little girl is growing! At 3 months she weighs about 12 1/2 pounds! She loves her milk and nurses 7 times a day.

*We realized we have to closely watch her cues. If she yawns, we need to prepare to get her to sleep. If she yawns twice, we really need to move. If she gets to the third yawn before we have started the sleep process, not pretty! She goes from calm and smiley to screaming in no time flat! People don't believe it until they see it!

*She has worn a bald spot on the back of her head. Poor girl!

We are excited to share the Holidays with our little girl this year! The boys are excited to show her all of our family traditions including the Advent tree which starts tomorrow! And I am looking forward to dressing her up in all of her adorable Holiday outfits...oh the joys of having a little girl!=0)

Disney Old School

2009-11-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made a trip to Disneyland. We decided to start at DCA first because we hadn't been there since Alexis' birth and had been blocked out the whole summer before that. It was SO NICE to finally have a day there where the place wasn't bursting at the seams with people. Back in the day pass holders were rewarded with many of those days. Many months actually. You could always count on September through November until the Christmas decorations went up, to be prime Disney time! And then again in January until Spring break. Then they introduced the 2fer during that time. Gone was the bliss to be replaced with chaos. And then the Halloween Time, they even added a "special" fireworks show and a spooky image in Space Mountain this year and everyone went crazy. That place was insane!! Fun to have the decorations but I miss my quieter Disney days. I felt like that was part of the benefit of having a pass, you could avoid those super crowded days. So I was very pleased when we were able to nearly walk on some rides yesterday.

To add to the fun, Jacob has recently reached a new height so that he is now able to go on a bunch of new rides. He has waited in such great anticipation as his brothers would go on them and he would have to go on something else. Oh happy day when, with the help of tennis shoes, he reached 40 inches!! So yesterday we went on Soarin Over California with him for the first time. I was so excited!! That ride is truly amazing and unique and I couldn't wait to share that experience with him! He loved it and we are excited he doesn't have to sit out anymore! We walked on Monster's Inc, watched an animation show for the first time and went to "Turtle Talk With Crush".

We then headed over to "the real Disneyland" as Zachary put it. After eating dinner we realized it had gotten busier due to DCA closing and dumping into it. Star Tours didn't have much of a wait and is another ride that Jacob is now tall enough for. And how wonderful that is with the boys ever growing love and affection for all things Star Wars. While the boys were on that I was able to get Fast Passes for Space Mountain. Very exciting as this would be our ticket to getting Jacob on the ride for the very first time! After Child switching on Matterhorn we headed over to Space. I was concerned that Jacob would come off in tears. I should have known better. As Craig said, "He giggled the whole time and said, "This is awesome!" He was ready to march right back on with me!=0)

Less people and two new rides for Jacob made for a very enjoyable evening at the happiest place on earth!;0)

(And I typed most of this with my left hand as I fed Lex! Can we say multi-tasking, super talent??;0)

"A" is for Alexis!

Alexis' first time on Monster's Ic.

The boys with one of their favorites!

Alexis' first picture with a princess!! I was pretty much beaming!!!=0)

Alexis is 2 Months Old!

2009-10-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

Last Night Alexis turned 2 months old! What a crazy 2 months it has been! I want to record what she is doing, and what life is like so that whenever I get to her scrapbook, I'll have something to refer to!

*Since last month, we have seen some leaps in the right direction. One big leap is car rides. While she used to scream every time we drove, and usually the whole time be it a 5 minute trip or an hour one, she now usually falls asleep!! Hurray! That is a huge improvement as we would all get stressed out every time we had to drive somewhere. Not fun listening to a screaming newborn and not be able to do anything about it!

*Although she usually falls asleep in the car, she still will not let us put her down to sleep when out of the car. As soon as we try to lay her down, she wakes right up. Example. She had been up most of the day today. Sleeping maybe 20 minutes at a time. After dinner Craig got her to sleep once again, tried to lay her down and said "let's see if we make twenty minutes." Eight minutes later.... So I am trying very hard now to get her to fall asleep on her own in her bed. This requires a bit of crying, and one of us standing near by to keep popping the paci back in. Hard to hear her cry but necessary for all of us.

*She still needs to be swaddled to fall asleep.

*On the 15th we used her last newborn diaper and started her on size 1's.

*She had a HUGE growth spurt this past week or so and all of a sudden fit in a bunch of her 0-3 clothes! Still quite a lot she doesn't fit in but it was fun to find some new things to put on her!

*On that note I noticed today that all of the tiny Gerber onsies she wore the first month or two now look super tiny next to her. Sad to put away her first clothes. Crazy to see how much she has grown!

*Tomorrow she will go in for her wellness visit and get her first round of shots.=0( This does not make mommy happy. I hate shots. =0(

*She is smiling a lot more and just started making some new cooing sounds. Adorable!!

*She is crazy strong and whips her head all around. She now can hold her head up for quite a long time!

*Her right eye still has a leaky tear duct that seems to have gotten worse instead of better. I spend a good part of the day wiping yellow goop from it.

*She doesn't have a bowel movement but once every 8 days or so. A few weeks ago she required "a little help". Poor thing!

*She is still incredibly gassy. Stinky!!

*She has been on medication for reflux now for almost 2 weeks. It seems to be helping as she is not spitting up quite as much. We will talk to her Dr. more about this tomorrow as we have only seen the Dr. out here. (And our Dr. back in Whittier is the best there is! Looking forward to talking with her!)

*She's been to Sea World twice this month, once for the first time! And she did really well!

*Her 2 month photo shoot was awful again. Got a few good ones before she fell apart and was once again inconsolable!

*She still wakes up a few times a night and eats once around 4am now. Still looking forward to a solid nights sleep!

*Along with the growth spurt came new roundness to her cheeks and she now has ROLLS on her little thighs!! Our boys were all skinny legged and I wondered if she would get the typical girl thighs! I didn't have to wait long for that answer as she is only 2 months and already getting them!! So cute!

*She is more aware of her surroundings. Something off in the distance will catch her attention and she will just stare and stare. She likes looking at fans and mobiles. She loves the one on her swing and that it has a mirror to look up into. Keeps her happy for a few minutes at a time!;0)

*Does much better with her baths. Usually gets one every morning and can get through most without any tears!

Tonight our little one fell asleep in her bed. It took a lot of patience and time, but we did it! Seeing bits of improvement here and there is very helpful to keep going! I am struck all of the time with the fact that I have a baby girl! I love her so much and am so thankful for her. No matter how much she has cried these past 2 months she still has a family that adores her. You would think the boys would have tired of that by now, but their love for her is unconditional. Truly amazing to see. We are complete with her here.

Strong neck!

"It Will Get Better..."

2009-10-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to get on here and blog. Actually, I haven't been able to do anything. I am barely able to keep up with the three other kids, laundry, dishes and general picking up of the house. Alexis takes up most of my day...and to prove a point, I started this blog ohhhh about 6 hours ago but Alexis woke right up and screamed. So now she is in my lap after a feeding, it's almost 9:00 and I am hoping she will sleep a bit until her 10:30 feeding. I admit, I have been having a hard time. I love children, especially babies and especially newborns. This newborn is giving me a run for my money. I am often at a loss on what to do. I always had a certain pride or satisfaction at getting babies to stop crying. To help calm them. This adds to how hard it's been caring for Lexy. She needs to be held all day. She has periods in the day where even when I am holding her, she just screams. And today I was at the point where I was just too tired, to physically and mentally exhausted to get up, walk around and do the bouncing she needed. I sat in the recliner with her instead and just cried. That was a new low. I'm sad because everyone keeps saying, "It will get better". I know it will, what makes me sad is that she will be bigger when it is better. And I don't want to wish this amazing newborn stage away. I want to enjoy it, savor it, like I have done in the past with the boys. I'm also torn wondering if something is wrong with her. Does she have reflux, colic something that can be helped with medication? Is she in pain? I tried calling her pediatrician, left a message but never heard back. Knowing how wonderful she is I am assuming she never got the message.

I am so thankful for those that have encouraged me. Facebook has been a wonderful place for that. I am thankful for those reminding me this to shall pass, I just wish it could pass more peacefully. This is my last baby. I have looked forward to her arrival for what seems like forever and I reeallllly want to enjoy her. I would like to not feel so emotionally drained by the end of the day and not feel like my boys are getting the short end of the stick. And even more simple, I would just like to be able to finish my pregnancy album...do something other then taking care of children or cleaning.

It will get better.....

This is a picture of her last week when I talked about having her fall asleep on the bed while doing laundry!

Alexis is 5 weeks tonight!

2009-09-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

It is a rare moment that Alexis is sleeping...and not in my arms! She wouldn't stay asleep in her bed so I had to swaddle her, lay her next to me on our bed and she fell asleep with me next to her while I folded laundry. I'm sure I don't have much time but wanted to get a few things down about Alexis at one month old!

Alexis is a high need baby. My most high need yet. I keep saying that she must not have gotten the memo that a 4th child must be easy, and know that they are a 4th. She wants to be held ALL of the time and let's you know it.

Alexis needs to be swaddled a good part of the day. Her arms get her all worked up and the only way to calm them, is to be swaddled.

Alexis has become much more alert. She will have more periods during the day where she can be calm and look at the world around her.

Alexis is still in Newborn clothes and diapers. She's a tiny little thing! I keep searching through her outfits to find things that will fit! Thankfully a few 0-3 month things shrunk enough to fit her!

Alexis sleeps well during the first part of the night. Eats around 10-10:30 and wakes up again around 2-3:30. After that, she is usually restless and ends up sleeping in daddy's arms. We are really hoping to pack some weight on her so she can make it longer stretches at night. We were very spoiled by our first 3 that were mostly sleeping through every night within the first few weeks!

Alexis loves to be cuddled and warm hence the constant holding! Diaper changes need to be quick, and don't leave her naked! She loves to hang out in the Bjorn as well.

Alexis did not like baths very well until her last one which was given in the afternoon. She gets fussier as the day goes on and we had been giving her baths at night. She had cried through all of those but did much better with the earlier bath time. Hopefully that will stick!

Alexis likes to bounce on the birthing ball. I find this really funny. I bounced on that ball for hours everyday the last month or so of pregnancy. She must find comfort from that familiar motion felt in utero!

Alexis is very gassy, poor girl! And boy does it smell!! And she only has a bowel movement every few days which is completely different then her brothers who went about 10 times a day!

Alexis has 3 brothers who absolutely adore her! They constantly ask to hold her, kiss her and just love on her! Jacob sings her Twinkle Little Star whenever she is upset. They help put her paci back in, throw away diapers, anything they can to be involved!

I can't believe that she will be 5 weeks old tonight! I love her silky soft skin. Her cute little lips and soft head! I still am in shock that I have a daughter! She is an amazing baby girl!

Birth Story

2009-09-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to sit down and write this everyday since Alexis has been born and hopefully I can get through it in one sitting!

I'll go back to Sunday, August 16th. I had not felt the baby move much all day. I could not get the kick counts required to help assure things were OK. I wrestled all day with going in to the hospital to have things checked out. It's so far away, what would we do with the kids...but I did call about mid day. The Dr. on call of course said to come in. But I still waited hoping she would become more active. After much debating we finally went to the hospital after the kids were in bed. Our wonderful neighbors came to stay with them which was so helpful! At the hospital I was monitored and of course once I was hooked up Alexis went crazy. Accept this time it worried me because her heart rate went into the 190's, and even hit the 200's. And it stayed that way consistently for over an hour. A babies heart rate in utero is normally about 145. They waited until her heart rate had calmed down and then told us that there were no ultrasound techs there at the time and that we needed to come back the following day for a fluid check. I was really worried but relieved we would at least be checking things out.

Monday we got to the hospital and went up to the screening center. The nurse running it took care of us. She was really awesome and a blessing to me during such a stressful time. She did the fluid check first and confirmed that she could barely squeak a 6 out of the fluid and was concerned. I was fighting tears because I had just known it was lowering. She then did the stress test and began the hunt to contact Dr. Gray who was not on call but she said she had connections. We ended up needing to consult with the Dr. who was at the hospital, Dr. Buchanan. He said to send me up to labor and delivery for monitoring. The nurse looked at me and said very pointedly, "If you are worried enough about your baby, you need to tell them that and that you don't want to leave." She was very sweet and supportive and walked us up to Labor and Delivery. We thought this would be it so called my parents who prepared to come down. We also had Zachary and Jacob with us and Tyler was still in school.

Once hooked up we were there for hours before the Dr. came in. He said he thought the baby looked fine now and that there was no reason to induce labor. I was crushed. I knew the fluid would just keep dropping and wanted to get her out before it became emergency situation. He gave me a few options, none of which were very feasible, so I asked if we could at least have the fluid monitored everyday. A huge inconvenience with the drive but the only way to have any peace that the baby was safe. So we agreed to that all when my parents were pulling into the hospital parking lot....ugh. I was SO frustrated! So we decided they would stay the night and see what the fluid check in the morning revealed. Thank God they did!

Tuesday we went to the Dr.'s office for the fluid check and stress test. During the stress test Alexis was hardly moving. Dr. Buchanan was consulted about that and he ordered to stay on the monitor longer. Finally we stopped so I could get the fluid checked. Thanks to God again, the tech who isn't very attentive or people friendly was on vacation and we got the awesome one! She was super caring and really took her time. She was having a hard time getting 6 and was concerned at the rate it had dropped from the previous weeks. She wanted to show a Dr. and specifically set out to find a Dr. she knew would be more apt to act on this. And again thank God that she found Dr. Henderson instead of Buchanan. He came in about two minutes later, looked at us, shook our hands, smiled and then said the words that stopped us both in our tracks, "It's time to have a baby!" I thought I was hearing things. He said what I had been saying over and over that there was no reason NOT to get the baby out, it was a no brainer. He said "the fluids low, your full term, let's have a baby!" Wow! So we thanked them both and left to go across the street to the hospital. It was about noon.

Even though the Dr. had been so cut and dry we still were apprehensive. We knew Dr. Gray was the Dr. on call which was just too perfect. But from the past days events we were taking the we'll believe it when we hear it approach! When we walked in I was surprised to see a friend there who is a nurse. She normally works at Whittier Pres. and was the nurse who briefly took care of me when I was first admitted with Jacob! It was like dejevu! We talked for a minute and then I got set up in yet another room. They unfortunately were having an insanely busy day so when the nurse said she would be right back, it was actually nearly an hour and a half. This whole time we were unsure if I was actually staying or not so I was a nervous wreck not knowing if this was really happening. When the nurse finally returned she started talking about different things. We just looked at her and were finally able to ask, "But are we staying then?" To which she replied, "Oh yeah, your admitted!", like we had just known! Whew!

As soon as she said that, my stomach turned to knots. I had been trying to eat before they starved me but I instantly lost my appetite! I could not believe we were actually going to have the baby after sooooooo long! I was so scared of an induction because it had gone so wrong with Tyler, even though I knew she needed to come out. She explained their plan of action. At 3:30 they inserted Cervidil just to see how that would help. It's not supposed to necessarily start contractions but can just get the body even more ready. Apparently my body was very ready because I had a contraction 5 minutes later! I was supposed to lay flat for an hour to let the gel really work and then she would come back but she didn't return for over 2 hours! Finally another nurse came in to do the dreaded IV. I had told the nurses, told my nurse friend Jodi, that I was a hard stick and asked if they could send in their best. I have had IV horror stories and just didn't want to add another one to the lot! So this nurse came in and joked that she would tell us how good she was after she got the IV in. And thankfully, mercifully, she got it on the FIRST TRY! One of my biggest fears of labor was over! I was so thankful to her and told her I wanted to keep her in my pocket for future use!

Soon after that the nurse came in asking when I wanted my epi and telling me Dr. Gray was going to be in soon to break my water. The last cervical check they had done was super painful and I just decided to get the epi before things got really bad. That was scary but again went very well. Dr. Gray came in because my monitors were going crazy at the front desk and wanted to make sure everything was alright. He stayed until it was done, joking and trying to make me smile. He was such a big help! Somewhere around then they had also put an internal monitor in to measure the contractions consistently and also a monitor on the babies head because she was having heart decels with the contractions. I got very overwhelmed because something was being put in me every other second it seemed, and began to cry. Labor sure is no picnic!

Dr. Gray came in, broke my bag of water and set up for an amnio infusion in case it was needed. Soon after that came the catheter. With the water broke, my body naturally went into a very consistent labor pattern. I contracted every two minutes like clock work. Although the epi helped, I was still feeling the contractions. I tried upping the dose but it just made my legs more numb which was very uncomfortable so I just tolerated the pain. During this time the nurse had rushed in a few times because the babies heart kept dropping during contractions which was really scary. I ended up on my left side the entire labor. I was afraid to move a muscle and upset the baby. Our nurse was so great and on top of things. They never had to give me pitocin which was good because they didn't want to use anything else and chance upsetting the baby further. Also during the labor my blood pressure was very low. The bottome number hung around 33 so the monitor would go off every 15 minutes as it was taken...very unnerving!

My mom showed up around 6. I was shaking through the whole labor again and she rubbed my legs and feet which really helped. The three of us just sat there and watched the monitors to make sure Alexis got through each contraction. All of a sudden somewhere in the 10:00 hour I heard a weird pop sound and some other clicks. I wasn't sure what it was so I didn't saying anything right away. I finally said to Craig that I had felt something weird. When the nurse came in she was saying she wasn't going to check me for awhile. I told her I had felt something weird, she lifted the covers and saw that I had bloody show, and decided to check me. She barely started to check, smiled really big and said, "You are a 10 and ready to go!" I had felt the baby drop into the canal! We were all shocked!!! This had happened SO fast for me! She started setting things up and I was trying not to completely panic and freak out! Before I started pushing the nurse told me I needed to get the baby out quickly because she would not tolerate much pushing the way her heart had been acting. She asked me to push, and I pushed with all my might 3 times though the next contraction. She knew the baby was coming fast, asked me to stop and went out to get Dr. Gray. He came in, got suited up and I pushed 3 more times through another contraction, determined to get her out. Then he said, "You'll have a baby with the next one" I could not believe it! And with the next one, our sweet baby GIRL came into the world!!! When just her head was out they said, "Oh she's not very happy about this" and "She has a head of hair!" Wow, hair! I managed to ask, "Is it dark?" and it was! I had been wondering if since it was a girl this time around she would be born with a head of dark hair like I was...and she was! Alexis Joy came out screaming (she was terrified at what had just occured and was quickly consoled by cuddles from mommy)! They put her right on me at 11:18 pm and it was wonderful! I held her for a long time before they cleaned her up a bit and weighed and measured her. When she came out the nurse had exclaimed, "Oh it's a peanut!" and I was very curious how much she weighed. Finding out she was only 6# 4oz. and 18 inches long was crazy! Especially since our last two were almost 8 pounders! Soon after they put her back on me and she latched on for 45 minutes on each side! It was such an amazing bonding time and one I had longed for! After awhile the baby nurse came back in, bathed her, gave her her shots, etc. And thankfully I was able to push her out so quickly because she had her first bowel movement on the way out which is a sign of stress. She wouldn't have tolerated much more! Her apgars were 9 and 9!

My labor was nine hours. NINE HOURS!! That is so amazing after my other marathon labors! We thank God for all of the things that did go right. All of the details we could see worked out. For a sweet, healthy baby. For a happy ending to the beginning of the rest of our lives!

Dr.Gray

Proud Daddy!

Alexis Joy

2009-08-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

In the late night of August 18th, our lives were again changed forever. At 11:18 sweet baby girl, Alexis Joy, entered the world and instantly into our hearts. I have been wanting to write her birth story but that will have to come later. For now I just wanted to share the excitement we are still feeling that she is here at last! She is almost 5 days old and it feels hard to believe it's already been 5 days since we met her yet at the same time already feels like we have known her forever! She is an amazing, beautiful little girl. To say we are smitten with her isn't quite strong enough. She has such a gentle spirit. Coming into this world shook her up but she was happy to be comforted by mommy and daddy and has been ever since. She loves to feel our warmth. To hear our voices soothing her. She sleeps well and is happiest when snuggling up with one of us. It has been a challenge learning to feed together. She was born with a hoover vacuum suck but needs to learn to open wider. As a result mommy has quite the "owie" and feedings are taking most of the day. But when we are finished, is one of my favorite times. She is so content and lays passed out warmly on my chest. I could sit there forever in those moments. Smelling her. Staring at her. Just completely taking in her beauty. I am so unbelievably thankful for my sweet baby girl. I find myself getting overwhelmed that she's really here, that I really have a daughter. That my family is finally complete. That I know how quickly this time will pass and it makes my heart ache.

These days are so precious. I am trying to take in every minute even in my exhausted fog. My boys are loving on their sister every chance they get and we are all just in a wonderful period of time. I thank God for my family, He does great and mighty things!

38 Week Dr's Appointment

2009-08-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have been getting a lot of questions about the Dr's appointment today so I thought I would pop on and write about it.

It was quite eventful. The ultrasound tech was great (one of the other ones we have frequently had, not so great) and was really attentive, thorough and caring. My fluid measured lower then last week and so now I am at the lowest end of normal. That brought tears as I have been so worried about that being a cause for an automatic c-section. Thankfully the baby measured well and seems to about 6 1/2 pounds or so which is right where she should be. She had a harder time measuring today because Alexis was so curled up. But there was fluid in her belly which is a sign she is still swallowing fluid. As in the past, the babies kidney's are fine, it just appears to be my placenta beginning to get old.

After that we headed over to see Dr. Gray. He was reassuring about the fluid and making sure we did everything to ensure the babies well being. He scheduled me to have a NST (Non-stress-test) for that day and I will schedule more for next week. The BIG HAPPY news was that when he checked me, I WAS DILATED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you know the meaning of that??? =0) Seriously, I was 1 1/2 centimeters...I had to ask him again if he was serious!! In the past, it has taken me literally a day and the second time about 15 hours..of labor...to get to about 2 centimeters!! So I was, and am, amazed!! He then swept my membranes which is pulling the sac away from the wall to try and stimulate labor. If it helps, it should work within 48 hours. If you are effaced, there is a higher chance of it working. And since I am, that is also in our favor. We will see what happens.

We then went to lunch and then back again for the NST. Everything with that went well. Right now my parent's are both here and I am just very crampy and sore. I'm also very edgy, nervous, sensitive and frustrated. I just want this to be over...but then I am so scared of what has to be done for that to happen! I'm thankful for your prayers and for all the love being sent! Thank you! I can't wait to introduce our little girl to the world...hopefully sooner then later! (And let me know you came by and read the update! Nice to know who reads these things once in awhile!)

The BIG day...but not THAT one!

2009-08-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the Big Day ...the first day of school for both Tyler and Zachary! Tyler entered into Second grade and Zachary began Kindergarten. I can not say how absolutely relieved I am to have gotten through this morning!! I have been so worried I would miss seeing them off and staying with Zachary in his class. I had visions of him being the only child without a parent with him on his first day. But thank God all went well! The boys woke up super excited about the day! Tyler was elated that his brother would be going to school with him. Zachary was elated just to be going to school...so cute to see them so happy! We all went to drop them off together and then I stayed for Zachary's first morning. Mrs. James read a story, the kids went to play on the playground and she went through a packet of information and then the kids went around to 4 different centers to complete activities. And that was it. The day ended almost two hours early! Tomorrow he will go and start his normal routine without Mommy. I know he will be fine...and hopefully I will be too!

Before we left we saw Tyler outside for his snack time. It was fun to check in with him and see how his day was going. He was really excited, said he liked his teacher and was eager to get to the playground.

Looks like we are off to a good start with both boys!

Exhausted...

2009-08-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to do with myself right now so I thought I would write. I am so tired all the things I know I could be doing or should be doing just don't sound appealing. The kids are napping/ resting so I probably should be too. Only problem with that is that Tyler is in my bed! So here I sit (on a birthing ball) so tired I can hardly hold my head up. Reason for that besides being 37 weeks pregnant? I keep waking up between 2 and 3 every morning and can't go back to sleep!!! I haven't had more then 4 hours of straight sleep in I don't know how long. It is really starting to take it's toll. And I wonder how I will manage when the baby is here.

I had another Dr appointment yesterday. I saw Dr. Lin for the first time. Another ultrasound was also performed. The whole experience was a bit disapointing for me this week and put me more on edge. My fluid count a few weeks ago was 16 which was really great. Yesterday it messured at 10, not so great. From my past history I know that above 8 is still "normal range" and getting near 5 is cause for alarm. Anything below usually requires immediate attention. With Tyler and Zachary the fluid hung around 10 a lot at this point which is the cause of my alarm. I was just so bummed to hear it had dropped so much. It was in week 39 that the fluid went to almost nothing in the past, which helped found my theory of why I didn't lose all my fluid with Jacob. He was born earlier in week 38. The baby was measuring about 5 1/2 to maybe 6 pounds according to the techs measurements and 6 1/2 is average for 37 weeks. I don't take a lot of stock in those measurements as they tend to be wrong but usually they over estimate the weight so I'm hoping she is still growing fine.

As for the Dr. appointment, not much new. She checked me and I am still all closed up. No full moon help for me! When my belly was measured last week, Dr. Gray measured right on at 36 at 36 weeks. This week Dr. Lin measured me at 35 (should be 37) so she thinks the baby dropped. I have had a lot of pelvic pressure and the ultrasound tech confirmed her head is very low but I felt that way at my appointment last week as well. I'm just trying not to worry that she has stopped growing! I will be relieved to see Dr. Gray again next week and once again get the fluid checked. That just seems so far away! I am definitely hoping to not even need that Friday appointment! New ideal time would be to start labor after Zachary is out of school Monday as Dr. Gray will be at the hospital that day! If only we could plan these things ourselves! And on a side note, the Group B test came back negative...yay for that!

So a ticking time bomb I remain until who knows when! I am getting so scared of what's to come! I just want it over with so we can move out of this "waiting phase" and into the next phase of adjustment. Hopefully not too much longer.....

Moons...

2009-08-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Interesting bit of trivia. I have heard that a New Moon (where the moon is not visible) and a full moon, can bring on labor when you are near your due date. I found a site that shows the moon cycles dating way back when so you can look to see if your birth fell around one of those dates. I was surprised to find that Zachary was literally born on the one day the moon was full and Jacob was born on the exact day it was a new moon!! Wow, what are the odds of that? And Tyler was induced so didn't come on his own timing.

Just a fun tid-bit! =0)

Losing Our Minds...Quote of the Week!

2009-08-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

So the other night Craig and I were talking. Thinking how exciting that it was almost August, the big anticipated birth month, I said, "I can't believe there's only two days until September". To which Craig corrected, "You mean two days until June". Oh my gosh we are losing our minds!!! At least I had a really good laugh! =0)

Almost Full Term...Wow!

2009-08-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I will be 37 weeks pregnant and considered "full-term". At my appointment Friday, Dr. Gray did the group B swab test and I asked if he would check for progress. In my past pregnancies I never felt even a Braxton Hix contraction. I had NO progress whatsoever until actual labor had begun. But since I have had B.H., and other signs, I wanted to see if that had actually done anything. To my surprise, he said I was about 75% effaced!!! I couldn't believe it! Just to know that I won't have to do everything in one shot is wonderful! Maybe I will get to experience a labor that doesn't last over 24 hours!! As of now I am very crampy and am getting back pain off and on. It was pretty bad the other night and had me on alert. Dr. Gray said that this week would be fine for delivery...we'll see what happens! Wednesday is also a full moon. I have heard that labor and delivery gets crazy crowded during a full moon so there must be something to that gravitational pull!;0)

Something that makes me a bit more stressed about the whole labor-at-any-minute situation is that Tyler and Zachary start school Monday the 10th,(one week from today!!). Zachary will be starting his first day ever as he is going into Kindergarten. The school has it set up for a parent to spend the whole first day with their child, learn about what will happen during the year and just help transition the child into the school setting. I love that they are doing that...such a parental "hands on" school! But, my concern is missing that experience! I really want to be there. So I am hoping the baby comes enough before then so that I can see them off or waits until after. So many "ideal" times but we just don't know! Makes it hard and I am just needing to trust that God will work it out.

As of now I am crampy, and now the baby feels lower adding to the difficulty of walking (swollen feet, sciatic nerve....). The boys are super excited and keep saying they want Lexy to come out so they can hold her. And Craig is such an excited Daddy!! I love to see him so happy for this new little life! We are both such infant people and that's often rare in a male. He is excited to hold her, see what she looks like and just relish in those sweet, priceless first days of life!

And I am too!

34 Weeks!

2009-07-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated...4 weeks since my 30 week post! I'll just dive in.

I finally started my pregnancy album for this baby. Once I got going things went quickly. I was caught up but now have more pictures to print. I have been using my blog posts to add to the album which has been really nice. I wish I had been doing the blog during the other pregnancies! It has been fun using the girlie scrap stuff (finally!) and doing my first "It's a Girl!" page! So many fun things when having a different sex the 4th time around!

As for the pregnancy, I am reeeeaaaallllly done!!! My sciatic nerve which is in my bum, has been getting worse and worse over the last month or so. Shoots pain every time I move, sit on it, rotate, try to lean on it...pretty much whenever I move! This has made me walk pretty funny...definitely with a waddle! My fingers seem to be swelling more then ever. I wake up feeling like I can hardly bend them they are so stiff. insomnia is setting in more frequently. And for the first time I am feeling braxton hix contractions. They make my ears burn! ;0) I have had a few days where they wouldn't stop until I was finally down for the night...a little unnerving. I still feel like I have an eternity to wait and yet when I think that in just 3 weeks now I can be considered full-term...then I start to panic!! One of those weird things in life where you can't wait but then reality hits (and the anxiety!)! I'm going to be in a TON of pain again. Are we both going to be safe? Will we make it on time to the hospital? We are going to have a NEW BORN again! Sleepless nights. A human that needs us 100% of the time. And I could go on!

But really, I can't wait to see her. To see my daughter!!! To see what our little girl looks like! To have the boys finally meet their baby sister. To kiss and smell that small little body. To dress her! To have all of this waiting over and move forward with our lives. To taking a million adorable pictures! To feeling more like myself again and moving without groaning!

I have a Dr.'s appointment on Friday along with an ultrasound to begin checking my fluid levels. I am really looking forward to seeing Lexy again! One more appointment 2 weeks after that and then we go to weekly visits! We are getting closer to the final countdown and we couldn't be more excited!

32 Weeks. (The thing in my hair was for VBS. We helped out with crafts for the week!)

Today at 34 Weeks! (Look awful!)

A Fun Baby Poll!

2009-06-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to take bets on when Alexis will come. If you want to participate, just leave a comment on what day you think she will come, what time of day I will go into labor and how much she will weigh/measure. It will be fun to see what actually happens! =0)

30 Weeks!

2009-06-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

So I am in the last stretch! The last block of 10! I am trying to tell myself to act like it's normal life and I'm not anticipating a huge life change...yeah right!! This baby and delivery is all I can think about and I'm about to go crazy! I am not good with anticipation. I'm not good with waiting. I'm not good with surprises. I'm NOT good at not being in control! So, you can see why I am going a bit crazy! But this too shall pass I know. I will just feel such relief when she is here safe and sound and I can sit up in bed without groaning!=0)

I had my Dr appointment yesterday. I am still measuring perfectly. We heard her strong heartbeat. The Dr. ordered an ultrasound for my 34 week appointment to start checking my amniotic fluid level so that is really reassuring.

I am still on my nausea medication, Zofran. I tried going off it completely about a month ago and that did not go well. I missed my morning dose I usually take before eating. I ate some cereal and immediately started feeling sick. I couldn't even get up in time before everything came quite forcibly back up! Not fun! So I am on it until this baby is out!

Even though I know I shouldn't, I keep thinking the baby is going to come early! Oh I hope I am not super disappointed! Jacob came about a week and a half early so I keep thinking anytime after the 15th (which happens to be our 11th anniversary!) I thought it would be fun to take bets on when she will come. If you want to participate, just leave a comment on what day you think she will come, what time of day I will go into labor and how much she will weigh/measure. It will be fun to see what actually happens!

So besides being completely sore, tired, stressed, anxious and moody all is well! =0)

Another Glimpse

2009-06-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago today we went and got another sneak peek of our baby girl! I told Craig that was what I wanted for Mother's Day. I really wanted to see her again, get some more pictures for my pregnancy album and most of all, confirm that "nothing had grown" if you will!=0) Thankfully, girl parts were still in tact and Alexis looked adorable! Really, really an amazing experience with the 3d technology! I would highly recommend it to anyone who is expecting!

Here are some of the latest pictures of Alexis Joy! =0)

Profile

Girl Shot.

When we began, she was lying sideways, with her legs over her head!

Her face.

Face and upper body.

28 Weeks and Counting...

2009-06-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday marked 28 weeks into this pregnancy. I am now officially in the 3rd trimester. Some books say that begins the 27th week, others say the 28th. Whatever the case, we are now a few days into week 29...which is getting closer to 30...which feels a little closer to the end. Can you tell I'm counting down?

This pregnancy has just been all around hard on me. None of them have been easy but number four is taking me for a very bumpy ride. I don't know if it's being 3 years older then last time, now being in my 30's, that I have 3 rambunctious boys to care for or that this is the FOURTH time my body has been through this. Pretty sure it is a combination of everything! The Dr. has warned me that with this being the fourth I need to be very careful. Rest lot's. Do half of what I plan for that day were his exact words. SO hard to do! I get involved in my day and before I know it, I realize I haven't rested at all. But I don't know how much of a choice I'll have these next weeks. I've been getting cramping in my lower abs and low back after doing a lot of walking, like spending the evening at Disneyland. Last night I had that same cramping and hadn't done all that walking. I had just been on my feet all day. For Tyler's Open House, errands, etc. and just hadn't rested at all. I guess we will see how this keeps progressing!

I'm also having a hard time waiting for this little girl! I really feel like I have been pregnant for well over a year! I'm nervous to see her healthy. I'm nervous about the delivery. I feel like it's never going to end! And, I am nervous about the delivery! For those that don't know, with my first two pregnancies, my amniotic fluid vanished with no explanation. That lead to an induction with Tyler, which failed when the contractions squeezed him too hard with no fluid to cushion him. I didn't get to see Tyler again for a few hours while I was in recovery. So hard! Second time around I went to the hospital in labor, they checked the fluid level and all the fluid had disappeared, again! Thankfully I was already in labor and this time I had an amnio infusion (they put water back into me to help cushion Zachary). It was a horribly long two day labor, but he came out after two hours of pushing. And I got to hold him and stay with him. Enter Jacob. He was a week and a half early and thankfully this time I still had fluid. Labor lasted almost exactly a day this time around but Jacob had had his first bowel movement while still in me. To make it worse, he aspirated it into his lungs and had to be whisked away to the NICU right after birth. I again didn't get to see my baby for hours or know what was going on. He stayed in the NICU for a week. One of the worst weeks of my life! All of this to say, I have not had one easy, smooth delivery and I have only been able to keep 1 out of 3 of my babies with me afterwards. Not very good odds. I'm scared of what lies ahead. I'm scared that my fluid will drop and I will have to have a c-section (They will not induce labor after having a prior c-section so loss of fluid would equal emergency c-section for me). Please pray that my fluid would hold up. Please pray that I would be able to stay with my baby girl after her birth. I really appreciate any prayers!

Everyone is still so excited here though! We talk almost everyday about when she will arrive. It will be exciting to get to July and be able to say, "Next month!" I feel Lexy moving all throughout the day now, especially at night when I finally lay on my side to rest. I'm constantly nesting and doing whatever I can to get things ready and in order. I am trying to hold myself off a bit longer from packing bags for the hospital but I have already made some piles for that. Some stuff for me and the baby! I just can't wait! Only 80 or so days to go.....

26 Weeks

28 Weeks

FIRE!

2009-05-29T20:58:00.001-07:00

In case you are not on Face Book, or happened to miss my status, here was the fun event for today!

So it was time to get lunch together. Craig put a tortilla into the toaster oven to heat up. Meanwhile, I was around the corner cleaning up play doh from the kids craft table. I all of a sudden hear him yelling. I was alarmed but went to finish what I was doing. Until the yelling got louder and I hear, "FIRE!!!" Seriously not what you want to hear or think you ever will! So I go running and there are huge flames coming out of the toaster oven, getting bigger by the second and Craig whacking them with a towel. He's yelling about help (panicking!) so I get under the sink, grab the fire extinguisher and give it to him. He about rips the top off to get it going and thankfully, after a good spray, that worked. Not thankfully it sprayed all over our lunches...and the entire kitchen. And then all the alarms went off. And the whole downstairs filled with smoke. The flames were so high they were licking the wood cabinets way above the toaster oven! Scary!! And who knew what a mess those things made! There was a fine powder all over the kitchen...even far away from the site of the fire. And it must hang out in the air for awhile because I will clean it up and then there will be a new layer. And needless to say our oven is "toast"! =0)

So that was our big Friday event. Can anyone top that? ;0)

Monica

2009-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

A sweet and wonderful friend lost her battle against cancer Monday night. I never believed it was going to happen...she was such an amazing woman. So incredibly strong and brave. A fighter.

The past year and a half were hard on Monica but she hardly faltered. She kept her sense of humor, witt and charm. With her blog she enchanted many who had never even met her. She had an army storming the gates of Heaven in prayer. An army of God's followers standing behind her. And now she's gone. I struggle to understand how that can be. I struggle to understand why God didn't heal her. And it's hard. I sobbed when finding out she was gone, minutes later. The past two days I have been numb. But writing this is letting it all bubble up again and I just don't know how to deal. My heart literally aches for her husband Sol and there 2 year old son Kai. It just hurts.

Monica fought until the last moments. She wanted to live. She wanted to give it all she had to stay here and raise her baby with her amazing husband. Even with the incredible pain. But she is in Heaven now and able to rest. The pain and tumors gone from her body. Now it is those left behind that are in pain. Please, take a few minutes to pray for her precious family. For Sol, Kai, her mother, father and 2 sisters Karen and Janelle and the rest. Whenever they enter your mind, please pray. Her amazing story and heart can be found here http://solandmonica.com/ . I promise you will never be the same.

We love you Monica. And we will take care of Sol and Kai for you and surround them in prayer.

All in a Name

2009-05-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

I realized after that last post that I had never talked about naming our baby girl here on the blog. With Facebook and so many other ways of communication, I figured everyone knew. One of my few readers brought to my attention that not everyone did know (thanks Jess!)

So, we finally found a name a few weeks ago. I really didn't think anything was going to "click", to feel "just right". We had a nice size list and a pretty set middle name. Somehow one name started to take over and then when I changed the middle name with it, that's when it fell into place.

I wasn't sure about the first name at first because it was wasn't one of my long standing, forever favorites. But for this baby, those favorites hadn't seemed to be working right. We have a lot of "criteria" for baby names and one of those is I must be able to "play" with the name. In other words make shorter and have other cute versions of it. This name fit the mold. And when I told Craig one day after thinking about it for awhile, he just smiled and smiled and I knew that was it.

So, her name is Alexis Joy. Lexy Joy for short. Alexis is so much fun because there is so much to do with it. Already she is my little Lexy-Loo! Joy is what completed the name for me. Joy because that is exactly what she already is...a complete joy to our family and everyone who finds out she is on her way! That word just sums up how we feel about her..complete and utter joy!

Too Cute

2009-05-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

I was just cleaning Jacob off after lunch and when I walked over he smiled really big, pointed at my tummy and said, "Ahhhhh so cute! And baby Lexy is SO cute!!" Oh my goodness that was adorable!=0)

Good Things Come in Three's

2009-05-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

We have had continuous birthday celebrations the past week in our house. With three out of the five of us having our birthdays within a week and two days! Yesterday Zachary turned the big 5! Exactly a week before that, my "baby" boy turned 3!!! So during this post I wanted to talk about Jacob's special day and then hopefully soon after I will get to Zachary's! They have a combined party coming up soon as well!

For all three of our birthday's we celebrated at Disneyland. Nothing like a free offer to get us there on our actual birthday's! After having passes for about 15 years, this is the first time that I have ever been given anything from Disney and I was not going to miss out! You either 1. get in free on your birthday, 2. Use that money towards a pass or 3. If you already have a pass, the money towards a ticket goes on a card to spend on whatever you want! Great deal isn't it? So since Jacob is now the magic number of 3, where all of a sudden you have to pay for them everywhere you go, we put his $59. towards his very first Disney pass. We had left the house around 2:00, and were set for a fun day. The only rule: It was Jake's pick of what we did all day.

And it turned out to be an awesome day! We started out on "Buzz Lightyear". After that we surprised the boys by going to the "Jedi Training show" that we are never there on time for. They were SO excited and SO into the whole thing. The only other time we had been to the show they had not yet entered into the world of "Star Wars" so it didn't mean anything to them. Oh how different it was this time around! The two older boys had Star Wars shirts on. Jacob had his light saber with him that he had just opened for his birthday...they were ready! Craig grabbed Zachary and held him up when it was time for the kids to be chosen. We yelled and screamed to get their attention...and it worked!! Out of the huge crowd Zachary was chosen! We were so excited! So he did his thing and in the middle of the show, a coordinator noticed Jacob with his saber and birthday button. She had him come over and then brought scary Darth Maul over to "fight" him! We could not believe Jacob was so brave! No fear! Darth Maul came over twice and it was great! The coordinator was so sweet and really made all of our days by including Jacob like that!

After we ate some pizza, visited some more attractions including the Nemo Subs, Matterhorn (which I was not on due to baby) Dumbo, the Star Wars store, and the Tiki Room. The only big disappointment of the day was that "Pirates" was closed. That is Jacob's favorite ride and he had been talking about going on it for a week! But we told him we would go on it for Zachary's birthday and then we got to hear about it none stop for the next week! =0)

It was a great day! Jacob is a fun little guy who loves to imitate his brothers! He is starting to not be SO "independent" and does what we ask once in awhile without arguing! Good bye to the two's! Whew! But he is so funny, has a huge smile, LOVES his kitties (has to see them all throughout the day, especially his Cody) enjoys Star Wars with his brothers, playing Indiana Jones, playing outside, loves his blue blankie, wants treats or snacks ALL of the time and is a great part of our family!

Birthday cupcakes before we left for Disneyland.

Yelling to be picked for the Jedi Show!

Special birthday boy getting to start off the show in the Tiki Room!=0)

Getting sleepy after the long day!