Friday, September 22, 2017

Updates don't mean up-to-date: but this one does mean a birth date!

I gave birth to another kid. Probably time for an annual blog update...
I did not publish far and wide that I was pregnant with #7 kiddo. The miscarriage I had before Micah made me very skittish about announcing anything (anxiety is a real thing, yo). Plus, I know so many people who deal with infertility. Or who would judge me for having another kiddo, even a super-awesome-surprise kiddo. I don't know that rational thought played any role in my decisions, but I do know that I'm so glad I have this little Miss!
So...
On September 1, I was 39 weeks pregnant and GREAT with child.
I was DONE. The older I get, the more pregnancies I go through, the more it HURTS.
So at 39 weeks, you bet I got my membranes stripped. 
And all day...nothing.
I made Tyler go for a walk with me after the kids went to bed. Legit, trying to walk myself into labor. I ate some watermelon, using my stomach as a table. I sat in the jetted tub when contractions started going, but that didn't last long.
I walked one foot off the curb. We walked and walked (and took a potty break) and walked.
Guess what? It worked! A little before midnight, we headed to the hospital and I got there and could not walk through contractions! I was like, I finally got the timing right! But I was still only at a 7, I think. I really wanted to get there later, so I didn't have to deal with those stupid monitors strapped to my belly and falling off and needing to be adjusted. I didn't want to deal with all those pesky questions they ask you while you're in labor (why do I bother pre-registering if I'm going to have to answer all the questions again?). I had to deal with a head nurse that was SO skeptical of my ability to have an unmedicated delivery. And a nurse who hadn't done many unmedicated deliveries (and all the ones she had done had traumatized her). But guess what? I did it anyway. I was able to relax and feel peaceful even though my contractions hurt in a way I couldn't just relax away (that was probably my placenta starting to detach, whoopsies). I mostly lay on my side and tried to relax through contractions. And then I finally had the midwife rupture my membranes and...
things slowed way down.
They had the whole delivery crew there, while I'm hanging out over the head of the bed. I'm at a 9. And then I start feeling awkward and stuff because they're all there waiting for me...and nothing. I do not perform well under pressure. 
It felt like forever before my body decided to get things really moving again, but it was probably only 20 minutes or so. And then I pushed out my baby GIRL! And she was covered in vernix! 
And she was a lot bigger than anyone thought she would be.
 9 lb 7 oz 
Can you imagine how big she'd have been if we'd gone another week?
And then she chilled out and was totally content. First selfie!
And I was SO happy to not be pregnant and to have our little girl here safe and sound and perfect.
The kids were totally shocked the next morning, because Tyler came home in the middle of the night and they had NO IDEA we'd left and had a baby! They were so excited to meet her!
And Micah even liked her, which I really worried about!
He stepped into big brotherhood like a boss.
Cole adored her from day one and hasn't stopped being overly affectionate since.
Amelia was so sweet with her!
Henry held her and even liked her, but was ready to pass her along to Sheridan pretty quickly.
Sheridan was basically already a pro snuggler.
And Jack is about the best big brother a little girl could ask for.
And there we have our complete family! We have decided to keep them all.
Even if they are a little crazy sometimes.
Sweet baby Eliza Adelaide! It took us a while to figure out her name, but the Eliza is to honor Great-Great-Grandma Elsa and Adelaide is the root name for Allison and Alice (my grandmother who's birthday was the day before Eliza's).
She got her first bath...
And we got to take her home! It was really different taking a baby home in the heat instead of the cold!
Welcome home, sweet little Eliza Adelaide!

Monday, June 12, 2017

May 2017

 


(The problem with blogging about events 4 years later is that I've forgotten so much! Let's hear it for pulling up pictures from that month and adding my educated guess on the content!)

Ah, May, the month of wrapping up! Silly, you thought that was December, didn't you?
You might be correct.
But May is ANOTHER month of wrapping it all up! At least, all the school stuff.

Jack had a Strings concert in this fancy auditorium. I think it is located at UVU, but (go figure!) I cannot remember! I am sure it was a wonderful performance, and that I took this picture so I could never forget.
Amelia graduated from Kindergarten! Of course, her class presentation was adorable.
Mrs. Adamson (R) and her TA. Amelia called the TA "Lovey Girl" and now I can't remember her actual name. Oops. They were an amazing team.
And Amelia was recognized as "Most Energetic" by her teacher. Wow. At this point, I'm wondering if her teacher was just trying to give us the heads up that Amelia could have a little ADHD going on...
We sure love our sweet Amelia!
And Amelia sure loved having her bff in her class with her!
Congratulations, graduates!
We celebrated Mother's Day in reserved sophistication.
Lol. No. We had a goofily wonderful day.
May means warmer weather and lots of time to play outside with Daddy.
And lots of time to finally take courage and learn to ride a bike for Sheridan!
Cole is ready for anything in his sweet bike helmet!
Don't worry, we still took the time to ride inside, where apparently "trike" means "room for 3."
Micah continued to climb the walls, literally and figuratively. He wants to be a part of everything fun!
Jack played in his last Strings performance. This is the last time he played the upright bass. He played beautifully, but he was bored out of his mind and ready to move on to other things!
Sheridan was able to perform in the 4th Grade "Utah" presentation. She even had a speaking role! It was a rousing performance, full of trappers, pioneers, and railroad workers.  They gave a nod to the Native American tribes who settled Utah before Europeans. You'll have to ask my kids to sing you some of the songs. They have been stuck in my head for the last 6 years.
We visited the neighborhood duck pond on one of many family walks.
We wrapped up the month and the end of school with watermelon and homemade pizza, which feels like winning!
Happy May!

Sunday, April 30, 2017

April 2017

 That time when I forgot to take a picture of Tyler blowing out the candles....
Happy birthday, Babe!

We took a road trip to Portland. Sweet ride, Micah.
While in Portland, Tyler took the kids to OMSI, a really cool STEM/hands on museum. I stayed in bed, because I was the sickest I'd been in YEARS. Blech. 
We visited my mom's grave.
The whole reason for this trip was to be there to see my niece get sealed to my brother's family. She was adopted the year before from foster care, and it was so special to be there to witness it.
We were all feeling some serious feelings.
Love this family of mine!
Grateful for time to spend with 3 of my 4 siblings (our big brother got stuck in S. California unexpectedly, and we totally missed him).
And Micah got to go to work on Uncle Learon's fixer upper they just bought.
Amelia dazzled us all with her Kindergarten report on saltwater crocodiles.
We dyed Easter eggs!
Such a fun tradition!
Happy Easter!
Look at these handsome boys!
Hey hey, gorgeous girls!
Cole showed off his tricks.
We made all the kids eat cupcakes to find out if they were going to have another baby brother or baby sister.
Pink means it's a girl!
Micah went for his first horse ride!
Look! It's a pikachu on a pony!
Farm country at Thanksgiving Point.
Jack and Micah made a friend at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.
Ahhhhhh! It's a shark!
Look out, because May is on the way!

Friday, March 31, 2017

March 2017

 Hooray for March! It makes you think the world may not be frozen forever!

Sheridan got 
her braces off!
Jack got his rank advancement in Boy Scouts!
Micah got even cooler (I didn't even think it was possible, but dude! it was).
Amelia got to wear her cousin's cute hand-me-downs!
Micah climbed higher than ever before!
Jack rocked it in his Orchestra performance (especially this trio of strings)?
AND Jack rocked it in the Battle of the Books! He made it to the school final.
Sadly, Micah got a serious gash on his head. It wasn't even from his interior mountain climbing. Poor dude. :(
Henry got to race his Pikachu pinewood derby car! Spoiler: our kids' cars are not fast, but they do look cool!
Sheridan and Henry got to perform in the elementary school's original production: Channel 2 Bunny News. It was very cute and so much fun for them to perform.
Look at all the cute bunnies!