Emme Beth

If I don't do it now, I'll never remember and my little Emme is already 10 months old.

I went to the doctor for my 36 week appointment and I was already dilated to a 3.  Dr. Horsley told me that if I hadn't had the baby by the next Monday, the 14th that he would induce me. We didn't have ANYTHING ready, so I rushed home and washed all the baby clothes, set up the changing table, and packed my hospital bag. 

I was having small contractions on and off all afternoon, but since I had never been in labor I really didn't know if this was the real thing or not.  I had to drive to Hyde Park to pick Allee up from soccer practice and the whole way was having contractions.  I called Aunt Corinne to ask her when you know it's time to go to the hospital and she told me to try resting and see if they go away.  We came home and made dinner and then I sat on the couch.  Sure enough the contractions stopped.  We wrapped a few Christmas presents for our friends and did our bedtime routine.  Derek had to go into work for meetings that evening, so I waited up for him until about 10:30.  We got ready for bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow my contractions started up again.  Around midnight I finally got out of bed and told Derek to try to sleep, but I thought we might be going in tonight.  I showered, put on my makeup, and started blow drying my hair when Derek walked into the bathroom looking puzzled and concerned.  I told him that we needed to find a babysitter.  We called Judy and she didn't answer her cell, so about a half hour later we called her home phone and she came over.  We woke up Allee and told her we were heading to the hospital and we were out the door by 2am.

When we were admitted to the hospital I was already at a 5 1/2, but since I had just had my group B strep test that morning, they didn't have results and as a precaution they had to start me on antibiotics for four hours before the baby was born.  At 3 am they started the antibiotics, and sometime around 4:30 I finally received my epidural.  Derek excused himself to the restroom while I was getting it, and when he came back was pale and green.  He dove for the couch and just about fainted.  The nurse was more worried about him than she was about me! 

Right at the four hour mark, at 7 am the doctor came in to finally check my progress.  They hadn't dared check before that because they didn't want to accidently break my water.  Sure enough I was at a 10, but the doctor had surgery scheduled for 7:30.  He asked if I thought I could push her out before that, otherwise I'd have to wait another hour and a half.  We went ahead, and little Emme was born at 7:29. 

She was the tiniest thing I had ever seen!  I couldn't believe how small she was!  She was 3 1/2 weeks early and perfectly healthy.  She was beautiful and had light brown hair.  We instantly fell in love with her. 

One of the most exciting things was that Derek and I were the only ones who knew she was a girl.  We had kept the secret from all of our family and friends, so when they came to see us at the hospital they were able to find out.  Almost everyone had guessed that she was going to be a boy so it was fun to surprise them with a pink bow on her head.  Layla had said from the beginning that it was going to be a girl, so she was thrilled.  Allee was happy either way, but when Pierce found out that it was ANOTHER girl, he said he was going to move out.  The moment he met her that all changed.  He fell in love with her and was the one who wanted to snuggle her the most. 

We learned that pre-term babies require lots more testing.  She had to sit in her carseat for 90 minutes with oxygen monitors on her to make sure the buckle wasn't too heavy for her chest.  Her glucose tests came back low and we needed to supplement with formula and LOTS of skin to skin contact.  Nurses came in to check her every 2 hours, but after her glucose picked up she was perfect.  She didn't even have a high bilirubin! 

The spirit in this little Emme Beth is something unbelievable.  As soon as I looked at her face, I knew Heavenly Father had blessed us with a special little girl.  She is my rainbow baby.  She has brought so much more love and craziness to our lives.  She is stubborn, happy, sweet, and perfect.  



It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!

It sounds a bit odd, but I am so So SO thankful for the ice/snow storm we received on Thursday night!!  It is finally making it feel like Christmastime here in Texas.  Having four seasons is really one of the things I really miss!  I know everyone in Cache Valley is complaining about the cold and snow, but I miss it!  This storm shut EVERYTHING in town down!  The ice on the roads is 2 or 3 inches thick and then we got 3 inches of snow on top of it.  Rock Salt doesn't exist here, neither does snow plows or even plows on trucks for that matter!!  School was cancelled on Friday, Saturday we ventured out to HEB and the roads were full of ice, Sunday church was cancelled because the heater in the building was broken, and today, Monday school is once again cancelled because of poor road conditions. 
The kids have been having a BLAST dressing up in all the winter gear and playing in the ice/snow.  The snow is really just the consistency of shaved ice, but good for playing non the less.  Allee was so proud of all the ice she pulled off the trampoline, and Derek payed Allee and Pierce each $5 for cleaning off the tramp, it was sagging pretty badly! 
Oh how I miss winter!!  For now we will enjoy every minute of this snow because in just a few short days it will be 55 degrees again and we will only have our white memories to hold us through til Christmas!

September Blessings

September is our birthday month.  Layla turned 2 on the 8th.  She is our little spunky girl.  She thinks she is hillarious and sometimes Derek and I will let her stay up late just because she gets so FUNNY!  She loves Minnie Mouse and playing with Pierce and Allee.

Allee turned 9 on the 27th.  9!!  She is growing up so quickly.  She is sweet, sassy, and ALWAYS fashionable.  She is at suh a fun age where she just loves to go into Justice with me and "look around"  She loves playing soccer and wants to be a singer when she grows up.  She isn't too big to give me a hug around her friends and I love that. 

Our girls are such a blessing. They bring warmth and love into our home. I am very grateful for my September Blessings.

Back to School

Yep. . . .  I officially feel old.  Allee started third grade and Pierce is off to all day Kindergarten.  That leaves just Layla and I together.  

Allee knew exactly what she wanted to wear for the first day of school for over a month.  The only problem, white denim jackets were hard to come by.  I finally found in in the juniors size and we made it work!  It came just two days before school started.  She was totally rockin for the first day and I love to see her so confident!

Pierce was a little easier.  As long as it wasn't a button up shirt he was happy.  Alas he didn't tell me about this new found dislike for button-ups until AFTER school shopping, and I merrily bought him 4 because they look so darn cute on him.  I am hoping I can persuade him to wear at least one or two before they don't fit him anymore!!  Kindergarten was a little tough for him at first.  It wasn't being away or anything he struggled with kids on the playground.  Poor kid woke up with nightmares for three nights and when he finally told me what was wrong he said some kids wouldn't stop chasing him so he finally just stood in the cornor of the playground.  Totally broke my heart!!  Luckily he has adapted and learned to stand up for himself and now school is AWESOME.  

Layla is loving running the house. I can just listen to her chatter nonstop. It is really a blessing to have this one on one time with her and I love the opportunity I have to give her the attention she sometimes misses out on when everyone is home.

Pierce's 5th

 And the force was with us. . . . .

This kiddo is ALL about Star Wars right now.  We had a Star Wars everything party.  Since his birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year, we decided to have his party on Saturday and it was a blast.  He woke up to being barricaded in his room with a door full of balloons.  We sprayed Darth Vader with silly string, had balloon races in the back yard and opened presents.  The only gift this boy got that wasn't Star Wars was a Nerf gun from Derek and I.  Pierce was pretty excited that Layla even gave him Star Wars underwear!  He loved the gun and everyone took turns shooting at all the Battle Pod bad guys.  I love how obsessed he is, it really makes me smile.

Pierce is such a handsome young man.  We love him so much and it is fun to watch him change into a big boy.  He is such a gentleman, he will always open my car door for me and says sweet things in his prayers like thank you for Mom to make this delicious food.  He really melts my heart in a way I never expected.   
Pierce's stats right now:
Weight: 33 lbs
Height: 40 inches (Just tall enough he can ride Star Tours when we go to Disneyland.  It's a HUGE deal!)
Loves: Star Wars
           Ropes
           Drawing (we go through about 10 pieces of paper daily, NOT KIDDING)
           Soccer
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Song: Nephi's Courage

Cheese

Trying to take a picture of Layla is always funny.  This girl has the best faces.  She is such a little cheese ball.  The only problem is if you want one of her just smiling for a project you are doing, GOOD LUCK!!  My little baby turns 17 months this week.  She is so much fun! 

Running around naked after her bath.  This little stinker ran outside (don't worry it was like 80 degrees that day!) and parked herself on this chair for 10 minutes.  I love her crazy hair!

Speaking of Cheese ........

This week Derek went to Missouri for the grand opening of the Schreiber Health Clinic.  To help all the partners in Clinton Derek started up a health clinic.  No copays, and access to a nurse pratcioner.  She can do everything from stitches to ear infections, to blood work, to physicals.  Wish we could be there to take advantage of it!

I am SO PROUD of all his hard work getting this up and running, especially considering the last six months he has been doing this from Texas.  What an amazing man I have.

Too Long

Sometimes I wonder if I should even post because I am SO far behind.  I have decided that at least for now I am going to focus on the here and now, and worry about back posting later (if it really happens, Christmas is overwhelming!)

Just a little update for now. 

Allee is growing up way too fast.  She has decided she wants to be a famous singer and I hear Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber cranked as loud as possible blaring from her room.  Her bed is the perfect stage (except for when she leaves Layla there all alone!)  She is testing her bedtime and almost every night is up messing around in her room until well after 9:00.  She is a great help with Layla and honestly still loves playing with Pierce which is awesome.

Pierce is in speech right now and loves every minute!  He loves going to the same school Allee is at (even if it is only for 30 min two days a week).  That kid is SO excited for kindergarten.  I see and talk to him every day, so I really haven't noticed any change, but our family always comments on how he is getting easier to understand and that makes me so happy for him.  He is such a sweet little thing and it breaks my heart when others can't understand him.  For example he was called Ian for two months when we first moved to our ward in Texas because his primary teacher couldn't understand him.  I was devastated.  Thank Heaven for speech therapists.

Layla is getting to be quite the little character.  She is climbing on EVERYTHING.  I have never had a climber.  She has colored on walls and the beanbag.  She is constantly in the pantry handing me things.  She rarely eats and is a tiny thing weighing almost 17 lbs at her 15 month visit.  This last week her pediatrician had us get a consult with the GI clinic at the children's hospital so hopefully the addition of some Zantac and an allergy medicine which will help stimulate her appetite will help her gain enough to get back on her growth curve.  She is definitely our sweet loving monster.

AAAHHHHHH.  It really does feel better when I can get some thoughts down, remember the good and crazy going on in our lives, and just take a time out and remember the little things that unfortunately get forgotten too easily. 

A Beautiful 8 year old and her Baptism

 What a blessing Allee is!  It was so bitter-sweet to celebrate her 8th birthday, I can't believe she is already 8.  Time has passed and she has grown right before my eyes and I still feel like I have missed it!
Allee is such an awesome kid.  She takes good care of her brother and sister, leaves notes for Derek and I all over the house, and has the sweetest spirit about her. 
At 8 Allee loves:
Music: Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez
Movie: The Game Plan
Favorite thing about school: Recess
Best Friend: Mikiah Carter in Missouri
Favorite Color: Neon Green and Neon Pink
She loves to wear her hair down
Will wear anything with sequins or sparkle

We were blessed to have LOTS of family fly to Texas for Allee's baptism.  Stephanie and her kiddos came for a month while Dave is deployed in Afghanistan.  Judy came on Allee's birthday, and Christy, my parents and grandma came the next day.  We had a wonderful house full of people all weekend, and it made me miss having family close!

It was awesome to watch Derek baptize Allee.  What an amazing father/daughter moment.  Then when it came time for her confirmation Derek gave her a beautiful blessing.  What a blessing it is to have a priesthood holder in our home.  It was one of the sweetest moments between those two and I will never forget it. 

Congratulations Allee!!  We are so proud of your decision.  You couldn't be a more wonderful daughter.  We know that Heavenly Father has a special plan for you and we are so happy you have chosen to follow the example of Jesus Christ. 

Layla's First Birthday

I am always amazed at how fast the first year goes by.  Our little Layla was one in the blink of an eye!

 Waking up to a room filled with balloons.  This little one was in heaven crawling all around chasing them.

 She was so into unwrapping.  She caught on very quickly and loved tearing the paper.  She got very upset if anyone tried to help her.

 Her favorite toy from Mom and Dad.  She would just hug it.

 This is her "after" picture.  No cake smashing for this kiddo.  She wouldn't even try the stuff!!  After about 10 minutes of coaxing I finally just gave up.

Lucky for her, my cake and ice cream was delicious.  She ate half my plate.  This girl is such a character!!  She makes me laugh, she is the best cuddler, loves her Daddy, and she puts a smile on my face every time I see her.

Happy 1st Birthday my little Layla!  We love you so much and are so blessed to have a spunky girl like you.
Layla's Stats at 1:
Weight: 16 lbs 7 oz
Hair:  Blond and for us TONS!
Loves: Rice cereal and oatmeal
Hates: Pretty much any other food.  The little stinker will some days love noodles and other days not even try them.  She is very strong willed, hence only weighing 16 lbs!
Crawls all over and will walk a little around furniture, but isn't even close to walking.
Loves to clap and squeal at the top of her lungs.