We're Comin' Home

Today was a good day. I was actually able to take a shower and get dressed. Food tasted good again. And yes, even broth tasted good. I actually spent some time cuddling my baby girl and staying awake for a few minutes to do so.


I love the look on Budge's face as he looks down at his baby girl. I can tell just from that look that he is already head over heels for her. So sweet!


I never had any doubt that Xander would be a good big brother. Full of concern for her well-being and being the protector. He seemed to step so easily into that role the minute he held her.


And Rohan, just look at that grin! So full of excitement and ready to be the favorite playmate. I can also see a little hint of teasing behind those eyes. But that's Rohan. So full of fun and playfulness.


And this picture of Jaden is so sweet to me! I know you are wondering why when Jacque is full on screaming. But I look at Jaden's big blue eyes and see how unsure he is but how concerned he is at the same time. Sensitive Jaden who gets so distraught when she cries. But that's why I love him, because of his big heart and his genuine concern for others.


So we are on our way home and ready to start the journey of becoming a family of 6. We can't wait to see what fun things Jacque will add to our little family.

Jacquelyn Naomi

Jacequelyn Naomi was born today weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz. When I woke up this morning, I felt like she had turned and it felt very uncomfortable to me. We drove to the hospital around 5am and was admitted fairly quickly. The only thing that didn't go very smoothly in the preparations was putting the IV in. I don't remember ever having an issue with that before but the nurse was having a hard time getting it in and I almost fainted. That scared the nurses when my heart rate dropped and the baby's dropped as well. But once I was feeling better it was pretty smooth from there. They did a spinal which was a very strange feeling, but I was glad that I could be awake for this one and see her right after she was born. And I will warn you right now, there is nothing glamorous about me when I am having a baby. My appearance is the last thing on my mind. So this first picture is Budge and I and Jacque right after she is born. She did end up breech so thank goodness we were already prepped for a c-section. We joke that she was turning around and saying that she wasn't ready yet.


And this is one of the first pictures of Jacque, blue little hands and all. Her cry was pretty weak when she came out but I was told that c-section babies are usually like that because they don't have to fight to come out like a normal delivery. I still think she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. But maybe I am a little biased.


Our first visitors to the hospital were our second family, Uncle Todd, Aunt Sara, Corbin, Cassidy, and Ari. Our boys were there that day too but we somehow missed getting pictures with them. It was a little crazy in our tiny little room.





Most of that night and the next day are a blur to me. Jacque cried a lot and Budge and I didn't sleep much at all. They moved us to another room that was bigger which ended up being a good thing when Budge's family came to visit. 7 adult visitors in one room is a lot. And apparently, it doesn't happen very often because somehow, the alarm from the tag around Jacque's foot went off after she was passed around the room. It caused all kinds of excitement for the staff and we had to wait for the security guard to come check the tags and make sure everything was ok. Glad we could test the system for them. My good friend Debbie also came and held Jacque so that Budge could leave and I could sleep.

May 23-27, 2010: Final Preparations

The week of final preparations before the baby is born has finally arrived. For the most part there were just a few finishing touches. I finally finished making the crib set and put it all together. It was hard to get a really good picture of it but this was the best one. Grandma Janell helped and I learned a lot from her. There were several sewing techniques I learned from this project and it was great to see it all come together. One of the main reasons why I chose the flower fairies material for Jacque's room was that it reminded me of my Grandma Helen.

I have been in the habit the last few months of getting out with the girls about once a week. So Joy rallied the troops and we had one last hurrah at the movies and then of course, Moo's Creamery. Please don't pay too much attention to me in this picture. It is just days before giving birth after all.

The next couple of pictures are of the "new" shared room. The youngest two boys and the baby will eventually be sharing a room. So to spruce things up and try to tie together an eclectic gathering of furniture and existing bedding, I decided to try polka dots. I have a great friend, Angela, who helped me to find vinyl dots for the wall and Chinese lanterns to mimic the dots. She also helped me put dots up on the wall... I told you, she is a really good friend. Then Grandma Janell helped me find material to make matching curtains and we added that to our sewing projects. All in all, I think it turned out great! A little busy, but the boys love it!


I was also able to sneak in a baseball practice with Xander. I hadn't been able to see him play yet because I was taking Rohan to his practices and Budge is helping to coach Xander's team. But for one night this week we switched roles since I didn't know when I would be able to see Xander play after the baby was born. Here he is batting and then in the next picture he was playing around and under the bleachers as we were waiting for Dad to come pick us up.


These last two pictures are the day before the scheduled c-section. We went to Heidi's house for a little bit and Jaden had fun jumping on the trampoline. Then Heidi took a picture of me, I still can't believe how big and swollen I was, so I could look at it and remember the day before she was born. Wow, the things we women put our bodies through to bring children into this world!

May 16-22, 2010: A Week With My Boys

This is a picture that Budge took as he was playing with our new camera. He has been fascinated with this plant this spring because it has been producing flowers; a lot of flowers. This doesn't happen every year so it is exciting. This is what I refer to as my rescue plant. To make a long story short, I rescued it from a dumpster almost 13 years ago and after many years of hardship it ended up being planted in our yard and flourished from there.

The next series of pictures feature Jaden and Rohan posing for the camera with their "special" stuffed animals. Jaden's Gorilla has become a friend that he is never far from at home. He also happens to be sitting in "his chair" which is what he refers to it as. And since it is the chair that was purchased for Momma (me) after he was born, I allow him to think that on most days. Then we have Rohan and Jaden together. And finally, Rohan is proudly showing off Super Bee, which is the special friend from kindergarten class that accompanied him home for being "Careful, Kind, and Caring" at school that day.




So I talked about showing improvement in Rohan's baseball abilities and I think this picture accurately does that. I have been blown away by how well he progresses each week. Look at that throwing stance!


One of the outings we went on this week was to Cold Stone for a school fundraiser. It was a perfect warm evening and we enjoyed sitting outside and eating our cold treats. Talk about cheesing it for the camera!


This is a picture of our backyard garden. And being less than a week away from having a baby, I'm wondering what I was thinking! The growth this week has been exponential and suddenly, I will need to be harvesting right at the time when I will be the least able to. So this is an invitation to anyone who may be reading this, please come harvest some things from my garden so that it doesn't go to waste! And of course, Jaden HAD to be in the picture. In fact, he made me take several with him in different poses so he could choose which he liked best. Love that kid!

May 9-15, 2010: The Start of Baseball Season

This week was the beginning of baseball (or T-ball) season. This is Rohan's first year and he was so excited to get started! We ended up having two practices at the same time, on the same days, at different fields so we had to split up and tackle practices separately. So this week there are pictures of Rohan and hopefully I will have a few of Xander in the coming weeks.


Now, remember... this is Rohan's first week. He did very well but as you can see, we have a little bit of work ahead of us. Can't curb his enthusiasm though which is what makes this so much fun. And then of course there is Jaden who always has a smile on his face.



The other major event of this week was Open House at the Elementary School. We were able to go into Rohan and Xander's classrooms to talk with the teacher and look at all of the artwork and schoolwork they had been doing all year. They both did a fantastic job and we had a really fun time!



These last two pictures are of Xander at batting practice with his teammates. And last of all, but not least in terms of time spent, is a picture of all of the boys, Daddy, and Grandma, watching the very last episode of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Believe me, this was a major event that needed to be documented!

Baby Girl Bliss

I have some of the best friends. Several of them got together and threw a baby shower for this soon to be addition to our family. And I was excited about all of the girly stuff! So many friends and family members came it was a regular party!

Heidi insisted on the baby bump photo. I am 36 weeks here and it isn't just my belly that is swollen.

Jennifer made this awesome baby buggy cake and had the shower at her house. She is amazing and the cake was delicious!!!

Several of the highlights of the night were of course all of the adorable baby girl clothes. She will be stylin'! Above is the fairy crib quilt that Janell and I worked on together. And below is the scrapbook that LaDonna and Jordan made. That gift made me cry... I know just how much work goes into something like that and they are amazing! And then of course, the stroller, which of course is pink! How could it not be?

It was such a fun night and I feel so blessed to have so many good friends who are so generous. Thank you everyone!!!

New Goal

I have a new goal. I have several friends who have been doing several versions of blogging and scrapbooking this year. The one that intrigues me is "A Picture a Day". So I have decided to make a goal of doing this. I thought that starting now might help me to document our new baby girl's first year of life. But given my track record, it will most likely not be EVERY day. So once I week I will sit down and document our week.

This week, the boys and I went to see puppies at a friends house. Welping puppies three years ago at our home was something that my boys will never forget and they continue to have a love of puppies. But then again, who doesn't love puppies? These little guys are 2 weeks old.

I love this picture of Xander and how relaxed this little puppy is. It was almost humorous how asleep he was. So cute! And Rohan couldn't decide whether or not to hold this little one. He kept picking her up and putting her down. But she was very cuddly.
Then there is Jaden. Sweet Jaden and this little puppy, Oreo. He happens to think that is the perfect name for babies so when we found out his name was Oreo, he was ecstatic! He was so excited to hold the puppies that I had to make sure he wasn't "loving" them too much. This poor puppy is looking a little squished.