Aunt Nan returned my Peanut Shell sling the other day, and wouldn't ya know, we discovered that even my 6 year old still fits in it! (Ava was the first to try it out, and you can see that she is clamoring for another turn!) Sorry for the unflattering shot of me, but I was straining to breathe with her cutting my neck off (note to self -- sling it over my shoulder next time!).
It has been fun having baby cousins the same ages. (Logan was born first, Ava 4 weeks later, and Rhett 3 weeks from that.) If you watch them, a lot of times they will do the same kind of things at exactly the same time. Here's an example that I noticed when editing some pics of the kids playing in La Nan's yard.
Crazy kids.
Awwwwww.
Kodak Gallery is making me either delete my old pictures or buy something from them (cheapskates!), so I'm going through old pics and found this one.
Man, that kid had some wild hair!
(edited to add: Ryan reminded me that I should document that Josh scored 300 on Wii bowling. Whooppee!)
We got to Sacramento on Wed evening to stay with my BIL, Darren. Ryan's parents and his sister Lisa also came. Darren and Lisa both have cute little babies that I hadn't met before, so it was fun to see them. Thursday we walked the kids to a nearby park, but it was pretty chilly and foggy and soggy, so we didn't stay too long. My kids enjoyed following the babies around, including Ava who liked to pet Carson as though he were a cute little puppy. :-) Dinner was great, although the turkey took longer than expected -- doesn't that always happen? The kids played on the Wii with Cherish's family, and eventually Ava passed out on the living room couch. We stayed up late to hang out with the family and then got up the next day to head back out. A quick visit, but it was worth the drive to see everyone again.
Here is baby Carson (Lisa & Mike's son), he is such a cute little dumpling, huh?
And here is baby Eden (Darren & Cherish's daughter), also a cute dumpling. She was much harder to get a good picture of because she likes to be on the go!
Grandpa and Ryan pushing the little girls at the park:
Grandpa and the girls with Carson. Several notes: (1) Carson cracked me up the way he stared at my kids like he was taking notes on how to act insane if the occasion ever struck. (2) Here the girls are showing Carson a ladybug they found. Then they fight over where it should be located. (3) Carson says something that sounds like "Momma" but is actually "lawnmower," meaning it is time to take him to look at Uncle Darren's lawnmower.
Three year old little momma.
Twentysomething big momma. Good thing I'd practiced!
(yes, Delaney is crying and Josh is unhappy all at the same time.....)
The Newest One
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Announcing the arrival of
Ava Jayne,
born July 2, 2005
7 lb. 15 oz, 19" long
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Wednesday, August 3
Boy, time flies when you're having fun . . . and also when you're on auto-pilot mode! ;-> We have a sweet little baby who is mostly pretty happy (except for those other times!). She still sleeps pretty good -- goes down at night in the 10's, gets up in the 2's and again in the 5's, but pretty much eats and goes right back to sleep. So no complaints here (last night she even had a 5 hour sleep stretch). Sometimes she likes to be awake a little at night, but even then she just looks at you and smiles, so who can get too mad about that? We did go ahead and buy a new baby swing. Wouldn't ya know, Ava HATES the baby swing we already had that swings back and forth, but loves this swing that goes side to side. Small price to pay for getting to have a quick shower or putting on some dinner without a mad baby in the background. I still use the sling and my front pack, but my back has been having problems getting adjusted to carrying a baby around, so I can't use those all the time.
She is putting on even more weight,
and is working on getting herself a cute pair of fat little thighs. (see
below)
Her best friend is the living room
ceiling fan. It gets the most smiles of anyone/thing around here . .
.
"Uggg . . . I don't WANT to
sit up for a picture!"
Takin' a little snoozer . . .
Just being cute!
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Thursday, July 21
Today was the first check-up at the pediatrician -- everything A-OK. She weighs 9lb, 4oz now and is 21 1/4 inches long. Boy, she did not like the 2nd PKU test she had to do today. Not fun to have a sad little baby.
Ava is sleeping pretty great. She went through a few days of being a little bugger at night, but thankfully has given that up and is back to sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. She is smiling at us more, and is definitely recognizing her Momma, which is fun. :-) (ok, she recognizes her Daddy and her siblings too....)
Here she is right after a bath!
And here she is after crashing in her baby sling:
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Tuesday, July 12
I think this kid is about to do some serious growing -- she alternates through the day, sleeping for a really long stretch, then eating often and lots to make up for in the next stretch of the day, and so on. She is already up to eating between 2.5 and 3 oz at a time! We did get a sling carrier, and she is powerless to stay awake in it for more than two minutes. I think it will be nice to have that at places like church, because hauling around the infant carrier is something I've always hated, and yet sometimes you just need to have some hands free, so this is a good way to solve that problem. I like this sling because it is perfect for newborns (has a Velcro insert to secure the baby and has elastic along the edges so it fits more snug and doesn't leave smaller babies floating around), although if we like the sling and want to continue using one for awhile, we'll have to get a bigger one down the road.
As for the stroller and infant carrier that I picked out, I love both of them to pieces. The carrier has a really great insert for newborns and she fits snug as a bug in there. The straps are also really easy to adjust, as opposed to the one we had before, which you had to adjust in the back and was a major pain in the rump, not to mention impossible to do with the baby in it, so you had to guess how tight to make it, put the baby in, and see if you were right. This one you can easily adjust from the front with the baby already inside. The stroller is really cool too, tons of great features. Ryan has taken it out for an inaugural spin around the 'hood, and I am looking forward to being healed enough to do walks with the baby myself -- hopefully next week.
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Monday, July 11
It's official -- we have a beautiful and sweet little baby! :-D She is still sleeping pretty good for a newborn and we are loving having a new baby in our home. Although the best part is still that she's finally OUT!!! My body is finally starting to feel somewhat back to normal, and that is so nice.
Daddy went back to work today, so it's just me and the kiddos now! We gave Ava a bath this morning, and she actually liked it this time. All of the kids helped (so far they still think it's fun to help take care of the baby . . . )
Hey, I actually caught Ava
smiling! She actually does it quite a bit, and it's an honor in the family
to be the one to receive the smile of the day. The funny thing is, the
thing that seems to amuse her the most is the sound of her brother and sisters
playing (and/or fighting)! It was the same when she was in the womb, too!
Takin' a snooze after her bath --
she was nice enough to snooze long enough for me to entertain the other kids
outside for awhile
With Daddy and Momma a few days ago . . .
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Wednesday, July 6
My mom had to leave today, and it sure was nice to have her around to help out. The kids had lots of fun and I'm glad that I was able to get out of the hospital early so that I didn't have to do a "hi" and "good bye" as she headed out! Ava is a very calm baby so far and is sleeping really well. I am planning to enjoy that as long as it manages to last. We're figuring each other out and things are going pretty smoothly. I am still pretty sore from the surgery but it's slowly getting better.
Monday, July 4
Well, I was supposed to be in the hospital two more days, but managed to talk my way into getting to come home today. It is SO NICE to be home! Ava and I are both doing pretty well. I'm obviously still in a lot of pain, but that's to be expected. My mom and hubby are both around to help out, so I'm going to rest up and enjoy hanging out with our family over the next several days. Here are some pictures from our hospital stay.
Getting ready to head out the door to go home!
With my doctor, Dr. Laurette Smith
====================================================================
37 WEEKS:
I have a doctor's appt today -- hopefully the last one, since the c-section is in 7 more days. I am getting very excited for the baby to finally be here, and so is the rest of the family. D asks me every day how many more days it is until the baby comes out! I have been feeling really lousy, to say the least. There are times where I am either so nauseous or having such intense Braxton Hicks contractions that I'm pretty sure I'm going to die, but then what do ya know, I don't. Here is another belly shot. I am getting very huge. Brace yourself.
I have been told that from the back, you can't tell I'm pregnant. Not sure I believe that at all, but at any rate, the profile sure gives it away, eh?!?
36 WEEKS:
Stroller and carseat have arrived, so the baby can come now! I am working on all of the last-minute projects that I'd like to get done before D-Day, but I think time is running out. I am looking forward to holding a little ball of warmth and snuggles. I am looking forward to fitting into a regular pair of pants. I am looking forward to everything on my body shrinking back to a halfway normal size. I am looking forward to being able to bend over again. I am looking forward to being able to eat sitting down again. I am looking forward to tiny little noses, hands, and feet. :-)
35 WEEKS:
So I went to Babies R Us to check out strollers and carseats (yes, this has been put off a bit late!). I discovered the one I want, but of course, they were out of it.
Combi Savvy EX (don't bother
clicking to enlarge; that's just attached to the pic from their website)
Luckily I found a place online that will ship it for free (and no sales tax) -- gotta love the internet! It also has a matching carseat that snaps into the stroller, so we'll be set to go.
While I was there I got some fun
goodies for the baby, including this magic new blanket where you can swaddle
your baby, then velcro her shut! My babies always manage to un-swaddle
themselves, so we'll give this a try! (Although the baby in their pic
looks a little nervous about it, dontcha think?!?)
I am also looking at different baby slings. Here is one I'm looking at getting from Fussybutt.
As far as how I'm feeling -- well, I'm going to employ the saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." :->
33 WEEKS:
The date is set for the C-section now -- Saturday, July 2nd. Woo hoo! I am very much looking forward to having this baby out and to finally meet her. And as a P.S., of course the second I type below that I am starting to feel better, my nausea returns! Ugg! Only a few more weeks to go.
30 WEEKS:
It's been a while, eh? Since the last update, we found out we're having *another* girl! Sometimes the thought of that is a bit funny, but it wasn't a surprise. She's healthy and happy. I finally starting feeling better a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad I didn't know originally how long that would last. I still have off days and if I don't eat right on time, my blood sugar crashes pretty quick, but mostly I'm just really tired. I'm now in the "heartburn stage" of my pregnancy. Just like with S, I get incredible heartburn with this kid. It's not fun. And I'm getting fat. Here's a couple of pics I took at about 25 weeks:
So, yeah, not only am I fat, but my vanity mirror is dirty. :-D
I can't believe how close the end is coming. I have finally bought some clothes for this kid (you'd think I'd have some left over from the other girls, but I don't), but we still have to get a new carseat and stroller, and probably a bassinet too. I have my first doctor's appt with my old doctor back here in Texas. She delivered my other two girls that were both C-sections, so I'm glad that she'll be delivering this one too. Plus I really liked the hospital.
18 WEEKS:
I had a good check-up at about 16 weeks, and am due up for another on February 25. That one we get to do the big ultrasound to look at everything, and we get to find out if we're having a boy or girl. So far, those venturing a guess are leaning slightly toward the girl side, but I guess we'll know pretty soon here! The baby is quite active and I've been feeling s/he moving around for a few weeks now. I am still sick a lot, can you believe it?!? I guess it might just be like that the whole time. Oh well, I am at least getting used to it and have been able to find sort of a daily routine around it. I think this is going to be like S, where even while laying in the hospital bed shortly after the C-section, I was practically giddy because I felt so much better already to not be pregnant anymore! Our kids are getting excited about a new baby, especially D. They think it's going to be a girl, and D talks to her all the time and gives her kisses. Not sure that S will be too excited when the baby actually gets here though!
12 WEEKS:
Well, here we go again! This is my 7th pregnancy (with only 3 kids to show for it!), and so I was a little bit in denial at first, but apparently this one is really coming. Here are the ultrasound pics from today:
The first one shows the back of the baby, with the head on the left, legs at the right, and the bright white line in the middle is the spine. The second picture shows the top of the head at the right, and an arm and a hand. Cute, huh? This one is measuring almost a week big, just like J did.
My due date is July 9, but since this will be another scheduled C-section, it usually gets done about a week before that. Who knows, maybe I'll get them to do it on the 10th, my mom's birthday.
I have been REALLY sick this time. That part stinks. And it doesn't seem to really matter what or when I eat, I get sick. I am pretty much sick from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, and even wake up in the middle of the night sometimes because I am so nauseous. I have discovered that peanut butter is definitely out for some reason! I am craving lemonade a lot now, and for awhile it was too sweet, so maybe I'm starting to feel a little better.
I *DO* know this -- my stomach has laughed at me and given up on trying to hide the fact that there's a baby in there. A few days ago I had to give up and start wearing the beginning maternity clothes. Luckily, Gap has a decent selection of maternity clothes and I've been hanging out there a lot lately. :-D
July/August 2005
Sadie applying her lip gloss after
getting dressed in the morning. Beauty rituals take high priority in a
house with 4 girls. ;->
Josh and Delaney playing "pet
shop." Josh was negotiating the price of the cat with the shopkeeper.
Delaney (& the other kids) love
helping to take care of their baby sister.
Uncle Ben and his family came to
visit last weekend. Here he is meeting Ava.
And Josh is entertaining his
cousin, Logan. Logan is about a month older than Ava. If you
remember, he started out big, and has managed to get even bigger!
Sweet sleeping cousins. Ben
couldn't help but get in on the action!
Ben and his wife, Karyna, goofin'
off
The kids (including Ben) having fun
playing upstairs --
Having fun with the babies
All the kids (my 3 plus their
cousin, Natalie) are ready to head to the pool! (Natalie is about to turn
2)
Keeping an eye on the babies while
they wait for the lifeguard break to be over
Yummmm -- ziti!
We all went to Cabela's
one night and then went fishing with the girls' new Barbie fishing poles!
After Ben's family left town, Uncle
Devin's family popped by. Their new baby, Rhett, is about 2 weeks younger
than Ava!
Sisters hanging out together first thing in the morning:
Hmmm, notice any similarities?!?
S having fun, goofing off outside. Don't mess with a gun-wielding toddler!
Posing in some of their new not-back-to-school clothes:
Daddy is getting skilled at multi-tasking!
"HI!! I AM REALLY SUPER HAPPY!!"
We're trying to relax and have fun with the next month of our summer vacation and break from school. The kids played outside on the back porch (in the shade!) with the wading pool, bubbles, chalk, etc. I do believe that the tiny plants we were growing were lovingly watered by S -- enough for the next few years. So much for a successful attempt at growing plants!
The two menfolk in the family -- they are definitely being overpowered by the abundant supply of estrogen in this family!
We did a major rehaul of J's room recently, including paint, wallpaper border, and all new furniture. I will post the before and after pictures soon, but here are the kids trying out the new hanging chair. They were feeling a bit silly at the moment . . .
As part of the new room changeout, S got her brother's old bed (which actually matches D's bed, as they are meant to stack as bunk beds). S was very pleased to have a "big girl bed," and of course it freed up the crib for the new baby to use sometime later.
I didn't get many pictures of Mee Mee's visit to help with the new baby, but here she is with S, who is finishing up her Happy Meal. Earlier in the day, the kids ran some errands with Mee Mee, and ya know, you have to finish that off with a round of Happy Meals.
Some sister love for the baby! That is one thing that our baby is not running short on -- attention from her doting siblings!
Today my little baby had her one-year birthday party, can you believe it?? I think the kids all had a lot of fun. I will post some more pictures as I get a chance over the next few days, but here is a good one to start with. This includes all of our cousins (our kids, Ben's kids, Devin's kids) and is just after everyone opened up their goody boxes and it's about time to go home.
Back row: Rhett (who turns one in a couple of weeks!)
Middle row: Josh (7), Alayna (turns 6 this coming week), Delaney (6)
Front row: Natalie (2), Sadie (3), Logan (1), Ava (1), Dallin (4), moi (old)
It's getting hot out there, boys and girls. We have been spending a lot of time at the pool lately! We are usually still getting in some reading, math, etc in the mornings as well, although I babysat a lot this past week so it didn't happen on those days. Thursday we joined up with a new (to us) field trip group and went to Wild Connections to see butterflies and take a nature hike. It was a wee bit warm, but overall the kids had fun. Here are Sadie and Delaney with my niece. Can you believe that she is actually about six months younger than Sadie? She looks so big in this picture.
Ava is almost a year old now! Her big birthday party is July 1 and she told me she wanted a Hello Kitty party. Smart girl, her sisters will love it! I got this cool Radio Flyer walker/wagon for her online that I think she will love.
The other day we wore her out so bad that she fell asleep after having a bit of lunch. I love how she is holding her hands, too cute!
And we have a pet update. The kids have been wanting a reptile, although they have gone back and forth about what kind to get. This morning my friends took me out to Marie Calendar's for my birthday breakfast (yum!) and there is a pet store right around the corner. So I figured that while I was alone I would browse the pets to make an easier decision. So I present to you Frankie, the tree frog.
And here is his friend, Biscuit the hamster.
They are both having a little nap. Everyone was delighted to meet Frankie. It was even exclaimed that this was "the best surprise of my life!" I think we will have lots of fun trying to make sure that he stays moist, but I figured it wasn't any higher maintenance than some of the other options that were being discussed, including the blue-tongued skink that my husband wanted . . . . ewww.