Burning

Last Tuesday wasn't at all ordinary.   I don't have words to describe what happened in the foothills just a few miles from where I live so let these pictures speak:

view from Chapel Hills Mall courtesy Danielle Mortensen

 a different vantage point courtesy of Colorado Springs Gazette

 evacuees courtesy Paula McInaney Woods

 homes burning (including that of my dear friend's in-laws pictured in the center)

courtesy Kevin Kneble

 cadets evacuating the Air Force Academy

courtesy Eric Lescarbeau



What remains



*In 1996 when my family moved here and I was a 16 year old girl we drove into town in the dark of night.  When I woke up and stepped outside our hotel room that first morning I saw these foothills and was immediately drawn to their beauty.  There was hope in my sad heart that I might love this new place afterall.*

Needless to say, tears have been shed.  Prayers have been said.  And my heart still hurts.  You can read different accounts of this fire here (from a friend in my ward), here (from a girl who I met in the mother's room at church but has since moved a little further south from me) and here (from a girl I went to high school with).  My friends have words that I simply do not. 

Thank you, Robin for the perfect post title.  You came up with it first but there is simply no better!

Menu

I love to cook.  Except when I don't.  And I don't when I'm pregnant because nothing sounds good.  Or when I have small children because the task is too overwhelming: think about it. Dinner time is cranky time.  Those tiny mouths have got to be fed and fast!  And cooking takes time.  Not to mention the dirty kitchen that needs cleaned afterwards.  Now lets talk about heat...no one wants to spend time in a hot kitchen next to the appliances that are only making things hotter.  But cooking is so satisfying for me.  I love eating good food and I love when my children say this is the best you've ever made.  It happens occasionally! So today, even though I have small children and even though it's nearly 100 degrees outside and 88 degrees in my house (we don't have AC! can you believe it doesn't come standard in houses in this area yet?) I'm spending time in the kitchen and here's what is on the menu.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Steamed Green Beans

Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

And for dessert:

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

1 large package instant chocolate pudding

1 pt. whipping cream

1 qt. half and half

2 c. sugar

Mix ingredients in a bowl, pour into chilled metal ice cream mixer.  Add whole milk up to the fill line.  Layer ice and rock salt outside the container and turn on machine.  Takes 30-40 minutes.

The ice cream almost didn't get made...the ice cream maker we bought Marc for Father's Day last week didn't work at all today.  We successfully made a batch of vanilla last Sunday and I had a gut feeling that the machine only worked as a tender mercy so my Father's Day Celebration for Marc wasn't a bust.  Thanks to a borrowed machine, we enjoyed this sinful dessert.  Seriously.  Look at the ingredients.  I haven't had the guts yet to calculate the calories...even though I'm trying to get back to my calorie counting so I can loose those last pesky 5 pounds.  This homemade ice cream is definitely not helping!



Thankful 2011

Last November, I taped a large piece of brown paper to our wall and declared it our Thankful poster.  We were to write something we were grateful for on it everyday. Obviously we weren't successful everyday but it sure did help (me) to remember to be grateful for everything I have.

Anderson:
I am thankful for toys.
Heavenly Father (a picture)
Squirrel at family pictures (a picture)
Jesus (a picture)
play Wii with Jake
I like frends

Marc:
delicious dinner
a beautiful daughter
to have a good job
a patient gorgeous wife (ha--neither of which I am!)

Carter:
I am thankful that we have sports
I am thankful that I am mom's helper
I am thankful for our parnets (parents)

Me:
preparing a Relief Society lesson
the Savior
prayer
good friends who feel close like family
my 3 smart boys!
Christian WALKING!
Ella's patient temperament
an adoring husband who talks me down from the ledge multiple times every.single.day (must have been a bad one!)
boys who bring in the groceries
babies who behave on a marathon shopping trip

Everyday Monday

Yesterday was the type of day summers should be made of.  I got up for an early morning run.  Came home.  Started laundry (because even on a perfect summer day, there are chores to be done). And then the kids and I headed to the pool. We stayed, played, caught up with some friends and ate.  After a few hours the babies were DONE so we came home, napped and vegged, folded laundry (see above statement), ate dinner and went to the gym and baseball practice.  It doesn't sound like much but it was the type of summer day I have been dreaming about for 2 summers.  There are many challenges about having babies back to back but having babies born in May back to back means that the last two summers were not necessarily spent doing what my big boys preferred.  We did a lot of staying at home doing nothing.  Well at least they weren't doing much.  I was nursing and changing diapers. I don't think they will ever resent it because honestly they will probably not remember, but I had so much mommy guilt because I couldn't engage in the things that would be best for them.  But this summer is different...we don't have a newborn! Determined to make the most of it, a few weeks ago we sat down and made a Summer 2012 Bucket List: 
*swimming lessons (check)
*Rockies game (July 14)
*remember/learn how to ride a bike
*go camping (Sand Dunes?)
*picnic (tomorrow 6:00 pm Wolf Ranch Summer Concert--join us if you can!)
*hike the incline
*Denver Zoo
*Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
*pool (check!!)
*play dates (had one, more to come!)
*pillow fight
*dance contest
*Pictures on the Promenade
*see BRAVE
*see Madagascar 3 (check)
*run the Color Run (August 11)
*America the Beautiful park
*get a pet (doubtful--this is Anderson's #1 request all the time)
*make pretzels
*make chocolate milkshakes
*Grandma sleepovers (tonight!!)

It's going to be a summer to remember!  If you live here, you are welcome to join in the memory making!

Everyday Monday

I've been reading A Girl named Gay for a while now and a few days ago this post of hers inspired me.  I've been looking for something for my blog that might resemble Taco-Tuesday on the dinner menu for quite some time and I think I found it.  And the bonus is that I'll be paying more attention to those everyday things that I sometimes tend to miss because lets be honest, it's overwhelming raising children. Period.  Let alone 4.  With the last 2 still being quite small--I like to call them babies and hope I grow out of that by the time they are 18!  Time will tell.

So I had every intention of starting this yesterday.  Except for I had a major meltdown (over a DVD remote that couldn't be located when I was going to do my pilates).  It wasn't pretty and then I hated myself for the rest of the day for getting so angry over something so inconsequential.  It was the perfect way to start Everyday Monday since I wasn't paying much attention to anything except how some days I hate myself.  Then, ironically someone I don't know re-posted and commented on one of my pinterest pins: President Monson's quote, "Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, I'll try again tomorrow." I couldn't quite hear that last night and even though I was still raw this morning, I heard it ever so quietly.  So here I am.

Even though it was a fairly dark day yesterday, Ella was one little glimmer of light.  While the big boys were at baseball practice I pushed her in a swing at the park a few feet away.  The way she sat in the back of the seat with her legs attempting criss-cross applesauce in front of her and her hands holding on to the seat, her red hair blowing in the wind and her 5-tooth smile looking at me...that was enough for one day. 

different day, different swing, same girl with the same windblown red hair.

But right before I crawled into bed, Marc pulled out the souvenir he got me from his weekend in California--a hoodie from a Newport Beach surf shop that initially I thought would be too small but fits just right.  I love it.  (And it might be the very first thing in all the years we've been together that he's picked out all on his own that I wouldn't return even if the store was down the street. And that's saying something because I am the queen of returns.  For real.)

"Father I Promise to Walk in Thy Ways, On This My Baptism Day"

(I can't get the picture to fit as it's original size which is the only way it's not blurry...boo!)

Today was a truly lovely day.  My oldest got baptized.  Surprisingly I didn't shed an ugly amount of tears...just a few.  I am so lucky to be raising such a special boy.  

Thank you to all our friends and family who attended in support of Carter's decision to be baptized and made the experience that much more memorable.  We all feel so blessed. 

Eight years ago I was laboring with this child:

 

(He was born at 3:11 am on May 25 after approximately 38 hours of excruciating back labor...a morphine shot helped with that at the beginning and an epidural put me to sleep for the last 8 hours.)

 One year ago I knew she would arrive in only two days: 

This is how I felt about that but you can read her story here.

Let the celebration begin:

Balloons are hanging.

Pizza Night tonight.

Slurpees afterwards.

(because I drank a few in the last days of Carter's pregnancy)

Birthday pancakes and presents in the morning.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Donuts to share with classmates.

Maybe a special lunch (if the parents can fit it in with all the packing for--)

"Cabin"ing with friends.

And we're just getting started!

I'm so excited.  I've been waiting for this for a whole year.

(Ella is getting her first doll but I can't say a peep about Carter's gift because a. I don't know what it is yet and b. he can read.)



I just bought these for Ella. I simply couldn't resist. 

(And surprisingly Marc likes them, too!)

The Beauty

I can hardly believe this little beauty is 11 months old this week.  She is cutting her top two teeth right now and is a bit of a mess but I got her prettied up so I could show her off (to Jamie who asked for pictures if to no one else since she might be my only reader now that I've all but abandoned my blog) Even when she's a mess she's my little princess and I adore her to pieces.  I've noticed the other day as we snuggled and I smelled her blanket that she smells different than my boys. I really think boys might just come out stinky! Which is fine because I love 'em anyway but having a sweet and a sweet smelling girl has been a welcomed change.  She is a little emotional which I just laugh about and of all my children, she is threatening to be the busiest.  She loves climbing the stairs when I'm not looking! You can't tell in the pictures but her hair is auburn and I'm in love with it.  I hope it stays.  And while her brothers all had blue eyes (Carter's have since turned hazel) she is my pretty little brown eyed girl. 

,

And one hysterical little pucker face from our Easter dinner:

PS: I bought her a pink convertible car seat and Marc calls it her throne because since it's still backward facing it seems like a monstrosity compared to Christian's that faces forward.  Ask anyone...I am loving this daughter thing. 

Quote of the Day (Animal Lover Version)

Every February our ward (church congregation) heads up to the mountains for a little winter wonderland activity. There's an iced over pond for skating, broom hockey, and ice fishing. Given enough snow you can sled, go snow shoeing or just play! And some choose to stay in the lodge and play games and eat. Truth be told, I've never been. There's always been something going on that I have to stay behind but Marc has taken the boys the last few years and he along with some families even stay the night in the cabins up there. I hear it's so much fun!

Well, February is once again here and as we were discussing our family plan for February and reminding the boys of the fun they had on that outing last year, we tried jogging Anderson's memory by telling him of the ice fishing he did. He adamantly stated (and was nearly crying) that this year there would be no ice fishing for him--because he would be hurting an animal. I had visions of a newly proclaimed vegetarian in the household for a split second but thankfully, the conversation didn't lead in that direction. At least not yet!

He also stated on the way to church last Sunday as he watched an owner walk his dog out the car window that he would gladly get rid of Ella so he could get a dog. (So far babies have been our excuse for not getting a puppy...we'll see how long that lasts as the babies grow up!)

List

Here's a list of chores Anderson did to earn back the Christmas gift he broke and lost the privilege of having for awhile. As part of the learning experience I wanted him to be able to look back and see how hard he worked to earn his gift back. And he never once complained because that was part of the deal, too!

Exploratory spelling is a new thing for me since Carter didn't really try it. It's an endearing process I don't want to forget! The list isn't inclusive since after the 2nd or 3rd week of the "earn back" period I started to forget to have him record his chores.

bathrooms
bathrooms papr (restock toilet paper)
wacyoom
rsiclen (recycling)
slvrwar
diprs
diprs
diprs
mop
diprs
diprs
slvrwar
slvrwar
grosres
grosres
mop
clen up the basmit
slvrwar
loury (laundry)
cuttig vevbdls (cutting vegetables)
rsiclny (recycling)
slvrwar

Highlights

My Relief Society president asked me a few weeks ago if I was able to find joy in my life. Yes, of course I can. And it usually comes in one of four forms: Carter, Anderson, Christian or Ella. It's funny how our children can be the source of so much joy and on the other hand bring us some of our darkest moments, too. Don't you think? Here are some recent highlights:

Literally minutes ago, Carter stepped through the front door and announced he has a new kid in his class: Matthew from San Antonio. In his very next breath he said he had already asked the new kid if he had ever been to a Spurs game. Sometimes his passion for basketball drives me crazy like when he tirelessly writes out every. single. team on a piece of paper daily and then leaves said paper in some random spot throughout the house. I find them everywhere. I say tirelessly because I asked him yesterday if he ever gets bored or tired of writing out the teams. Nope. I'm not sure what purpose it serves but on the bright side, he's practicing his writing, right? Love that boy of mine.

Two days after Christmas, Anderson was mad at me. He had been in time out for breaking one of Christian's new toys. And he wasn't allowed to eat lunch until he talked to me about that incident but he had moved to the table anyway. When I told him his choices were between talking to me and eating or sitting in time out longer until he was ready for a chat, he got really worked up and ended up hitting me when I tried to remove him from the table. I sent him directly to his room and told him to come talk to me when he was ready. It took him a while but he approached me in my bedroom a little later. We plopped on the bed, had a good chat and he ran off to play. I commenced with cleaning up the basement a little and came across his brand new Christmas present broken to pieces, and in some places shreds. I went from calm and loving to raging in 2 seconds flat. Seriously. He spent the rest of the day in his bed and lost all of his stuffed animals including his brand new pillow pet and 2 angry birds. He was devastated! This animal lover of mine had a serious broken heart but I wasn't going to relent so easily. Being a parent was hard that day. He has since begun the long process of doing any chore when asked without question. If he does this he can earn each gift back by the end of the month--1 per week. Last week he got his pillow pet back and he's currently working on one of the angry birds. Next the cage and then the last angry bird. I feel like we successfully navigated that difficult situation and I'm hoping he won't be so destructive in the future. There's almost nothing I tolerate less than destructive behavior. This mama has 0-patience for that sort of thing.

Christian is the funniest 20 month old I know (but I should qualify that and say he's the only one I'm around much!) On Christmas Eve as the boys, my in laws, Marc and I toasted over our dinner of clam chowder and rolls, Christian learned to toast as well, with his sippy cup full of milk. As we went around the table giving thanks Christian would not be left out--he wasn't satisfied until everyone had clinked his cup, too. And I wish I had a picture of his satisfied grin each time.

On Saturday night we mopped the floor (why does that always come up in my blog posts?) as a family. We had finished the living room and moved into the kitchen when we noticed that Christian had grabbed a drying rag and joined the big boys in drying behind Marc's mopping and my rinsing. Seriously, he does the cutest things EVER!

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen today. On my list of things to make was a batch of baby food for Ella. I know I mentioned it last year but I gain so much satisfaction from making her food. Especially now that I don't nurse her anymore. Today's batch was a recipe of potatoes and spinach. When I tasted it, it made me think of scalloped potatoes. All I have to say is girlfriend better like it...we have to balance out all the squash and sweet potatoes that are giving her that baby orange glow.

And even though this has nothing to do with the children, one of the brightest spots of my day was this morning at 5 am when in the dim light of the bathroom I stepped on the scale before heading to the gym. And the number said I'm down 3-4 pounds. Woot!

Escapade

***Interrupting my current blog hiatus to report the boys' latest escapade***

Today was a little crazy; the older boys who are typically pretty well behaved...above average for their age, I would say...were not that great. Was it overstimulation because of a completely booked Saturday? Was it because they are so excited to have nearly 3 weeks off of school for the holidays? I don't know! They just wouldn't listen to any instruction or direction from Marc or me. At one point in the evening Marc sat them down on Ella's blanket and told them in frustration that everything he was saying was going "in one ear and out the other." Not moments later Carter told us that something we said had finally gone in one ear and stayed. And we thought the humor would end there. Nope.

At around 9:45, after they had been tucked into their beds in their basement bedroom for almost 2 hours, Marc and I finished watching the latest episode of The Mentalist. Marc noticed the red light on our DVR box indicating something was recording on the TV in the basement. Curious, we checked to see what was being recorded. Sports Center. But then Marc noticed that Wild Kratts was playing downstairs, too. Hmmmmm.

I snuck downstairs to see if in fact the boys were up. I snuck back upstairs giggling. Yep, the TV was on. I didn't know if I could handle this without laughing but Marc was busy doing paperwork he's behind on for work so I snuck back down and watched the boys for a few minutes. They had no idea I was watching them.

Me: Do you know what time it is?

Them: No.

Me: You are in so much trouble (stiffling a laugh). Go upstairs and see your dad. Let's go...March!

Once upstairs, I wondered what Marc would do. He was so calm. Here are the highlights:

Marc: Why aren't you in bed like you are supposed to be.

After a bunch of I don't knows:

Anderson: I wasn't tired.

Carter: It was Anderson's idea. He wanted to watch cartoons and went out first but after a few minutes I did too. I didn't want him to be alone.

Me: You didn't want your brother to get in trouble by himself?

Carter: Yah.

Marc: (at Anderson)Why didn't you just come talk to us?

Carter: He was being a problem solver!

After a few outbursts of laughter, Marc gave them high 5s for being problem solvers and sent them back downstairs to continue to be problem solvers since Anderson "still wasn't tired." Cool dad, yes? Well, punishment comes in tomorrow.

Nursing Matters

Two weeks ago, I realized my milk was drying up. It was such a complicated (because Ella refuses a bottle) and emotional situation (because I don't think I'll ever live down the guilt I feel about those sad two months last year when I was starving Christian and I didn't realize it). The only option I saw was to increase my supply so I started pumping after EVERY feeding and taking Fenugreek and thankfully, things are looking up at this point. Last Friday, I found Christian holding the motor to my pump. He was looking at the on switch and the frequency wheel and then, what did he do? Yep, he pulled up his shirt and placed the motor on his belly button. What a smart boy.

In other nursing matters, Ella has started biting, or rather pinching me since she doesn't have teeth yet. I flick her, just like I did the boys when they would do the same thing. Since she is still so young, I started out giving light flicks. But she would giggle at me, clearly not getting the point. So last time she "bit" me I really flicked her. Guess what, she still laughed at me. I truly am so grateful for such a good natured baby, but really?

And by the way, Christian started walking last week...just days before his 18 month birthday. It was a joyous day.

Mopping

I just finished mopping the floor...I haven't done that since the last time I posted. Yikes! It needed it so badly and I always have lofty goals of doing it more than once a month but let me tell you what my floor takes: Section by section of the entire main level of my house, I spray with a vinegar/water mixture, mop using a microfiber pad, then on my hands and knees I rinse it with water and dry with a clean rag. It's the only way to get a streak free shine. Now you know why I only mop once a month! The first time I ever mopped my floor it took 3 hours. I've whittled the time down to an hour but I usually have a little help. When I was pregnant, Marc and the boys would help. Today, Anderson was my little helper. I bribed him with a McDonald's lunch but I spun it a little differently for him and he became a willing helper. Boy, I love that boy of mine.

I had music playing and when we were just about done, Taylor Swift's Never Grow Up came on.



Anderson loves that song and he began talking about how no one wants him to grow up but that he wants to. I began wondering why I always tell the boys to stop growing but I sadly look forward to simpler days. I know the day will come when my house will be quiet and the kids will have grown up and gone. As Anderson babbled on about growing up and not breaking hearts, I envisioned myself in 20 years mopping my floor by myself with only Marc's and my needs to tend to and I told him he will break my heart...when he is no longer my little guy I can take to lunch and who will help me mop my floor. Usually (and sadly) I look forward to those quiet days of the future but today I don't. It was such a pleasant afternoon.

**What is equally as satisfying is that Anderson learned a lesson in work today and genuinely seemed pleased in his efforts and accomplishments.

8/22/11

It's been so long since I've had a day like today I had forgotten what it felt like--it's been one of those superwoman sort of days and it feels GOOD! I woke up with plans to get back on a gym routine but since Carter woke up sick, that plan was scratched pretty quickly. As sad as I was about skipping the gym, I was productive just the same:

90 minutes of vacuuming and mopping
2 rugs rotated (to ensure even wear)
2 walks to the school to drop off and pick up Anderson from kindergarten
6 loads of laundry, washed and dried (folding will happen tomorrow)
5 lists made (of fall shopping needs for the boys, home improvement projects to do, decorating projects to do, cleaning jobs, and birthday gifts to buy for Anderson)
1 doctor appointment made
1 trip to Sonic for drinks for the boys and me
more than 5 poppy diapers changed and more wet ones, too (to be honest, I lose count of exactly how many diapers I change a day)

Obviously, that doesn't include any meals I've prepared or cleaned up.

And it's only 5 o'clock. More to come before bed time, too. But for now, I have a crying baby to attend to.

Pretty Pretty Princess

My little girl is nearly 3 months. I can hardly believe it. As much as I am loving everything about this little girl, I'll be honest, somedays are tough and I look forward to when she gets a little older and things get a little easier on the kid front. Because let's be real, life in general never actually gets easier. A few days ago my amazingly talented friend, Chelsea of ShutterBliss Photography came over and took a few shots of the pretty princess. And I'm seriously thrilled with them. When I look at Ella each day, I am always so amazed at how pretty she is. After having three boys, I guess it's just surreal. And these photos really capture her beauty and her personality.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area and need a photographer or know someone who does, send them to her: shutterblissphoto.com.

And So It Begins...

Yesterday on our way into church, I accidentally caught Ella's finger on her car seat buckle and scratched it...OUCH! She cried her loud, hurt cry for 10 minutes. Okay, it probably wasn't 10 minutes, it was probably 2 or 3 but it sure seemed like 10 minutes compared to the time it would have taken the boys to calm down after a similar incident. As she was crying inconsolably, she seemed to say, Mom, you hurt my feelings! Whaa! (how do you spell that crying sound?)And so it begins...girl drama. But I wouldn't trade it for the whole world...I love my little lady.

...

Christian was a dream baby by all accounts. He accompanied the big boys on a trip to Idaho a few weeks ago and was a dream baby there, too. But when he came home, oh my! I kind of want to send him back. All of a sudden he's a monster toddler. He's into everything he shouldn't be and gets cranky often. He's even actually screamed at me and hit me a time or two. I'm hoping it's only teething but since he just cut his 6th tooth we've got a long road of that ahead of us. And so it begins...toddlerhood. (even though at 15 months, he's still not walking) Sigh.

...

Carter got invited to a birthday party on Saturday. It's the second one in a month and when he got the invitation in the mail, I could tell Anderson was feeling jipped. Anderson considers all of Carter's friends his own so he doesn't understand why he can't tag along to a birthday party. So to make sure he didn't feel too bad I planned a date with him. He wanted to go to a pet store but instead I planned to walk a friend's dog and go get a treat. I thought he'd love one on one time with his favorite animal. He didn't love it as much as I thought but that's beside the point. This friend of mine who let us walk her dog has two teenage boys that are close in age like Christian and Ella. I asked her what her boys were up to and she explained that one was on a boating trip with a friend and the other was moping because he hadn't gotten invited to go. She was pretty much in the same predicament I was in. And so it begins...the struggle of wanting to be a tag along brother. And I thought we'd grow out of that soon!

Ella

I was planning on quitting the blog business after Ella was born...and I think I probably still will but for tonight I'll post a few pictures of the little lady or stinky lady. I call her which ever one fits for the moment. But little lady isn't going to fit her for long since she's growing like a weed. Seriously. Since she is our fourth and regrettably neither Marc nor I have talents in photography, our photos of her are few and far between. I'm hoping the memories of her as a baby will remain tucked away in my brain because even if we were talented photographers, our life might just be crazy enough right now that we wouldn't find the time to take more pictures.

The above photo is one of my favorite photos and was snapped in the early morning hours of her 3rd day of life. She was a terrible sleeper and Marc would snuggle her on the couch so I could catch a few hours of sleep here and there. Seriously, without him I would NOT have survived those first few weeks. Thank goodness for such a patient and giving husband and father.

The photo below was shot right around midnight on her 1 month birthday. Still not a great sleeper so I had rocked her, swaddled her, let her fuss and finally put her in her bouncy to see if she'd sleep. No dice. But isn't she ADORABLE? She still looks the same today on her 2 month birthday, just a little chunkier and a much better sleeper. Thank you, BABYWISE!!!

Life with 4 is a little crazy but definitely managable. I'm sitting here on the tail end of summer realizing WE MADE IT! At the end of every week I think: we survived another one! When summer began I certainly wasn't sure if we'd survive it but we have and aren't too much worse for the wear.

9 months in the making...

It's been a long 9 months but when I think back (and look at all those pictures I just downloaded the other day) we've done quite a bit, the most difficult thing, I think, was growing another baby:

(arriving at the hospital for my induction

my only official belly shot of the entire pregnancy)

7:30 am Arrive at the hospital

8:30 am Dilated to a 1; get the cytotec

10:30 am Still dilated to a 1

12:30 pm Dilated to a 3; Dr. breaks my water

2:00 pm Receive epidural and get put on pitocin

4:30 pm Still dilated to a 3

My sister spent a few hours with us at the hospital, keeping us company but both of us were discouraged that I was progressing so slowly--she wanted to see the baby born but had to leave at 5 for another commitment. I called my parents to bring the boys by because I missed them terribly and like I said, the baby was showing no signs of a quick arrival. They spent a short time with us after Carter got home from school.

5 ish pm Danette leaves

5:20 pm My parents and boys leave

Around 5:30 or 5:40 I suddenly and I mean suddenly felt one contraction (only the pressure of it--thank goodness for epidurals!) Then I felt the pressure to push. The nurse checked me and I was ready. The dr. walked in, (he was on his way to my room anyway; he had come earlier and said he'd come back when the kids left) got his gown on, sat down, and I could tell he was basically holding her head. I pushed on the next contraction and she came right out at 5:45 pm. Since pushing for a mere 15 minutes with a nearly 9 lb boy my first time around 7 years ago, I've always said if I could have a teeny little girl, she'd fall right out. I was always joking a little and had no idea it would actually happen exactly that way someday! It was a whirlwind few minutes and laughable that her arrival was missed by everyone by just a few minutes.

(Christian laying on his sister just minutes before she was born.

What you can't see in this picture is that Christian's shirt says 'I'm the BIG Brother.'

Should they even sell that shirt in 12 months size? Probably not!)

Baby Ella
Born 5:45 pm
6 lbs. 14 oz.

(My parents rushed back to the hospital after feeding the boys some dinner.
They saw her and loved her instantly, even though she hadn't even had her bath yet and was still quite gooey!)

(I usually fore go posting terrible pictures of me on this blog, but so far this gives the best idea of what she looks like. And no I did not color coordinate us--it just happened that way.)