Round-up parade

Our ward was tasked with creating a float in the Lehi Round up parade this year.  We missed out on much of the decorating because it all occurred around the time Tessa was born.  But the kids had the opportunity to ride on the float or walk in the parade.  Bella decided she wanted to watch the entire parade, so she was with us.  Sophie rode on a little bench on the float and got to blow bubbles while Jack pulled the float along with some other kids from the neighborhood.

After the float the kids were on got to the end, Jack ran back and walked with the Youth Football players.  He really was excited to see his friends from his team last year.  I can't believe football season is upon us again.  He is pretty excited about that!

Arrow of Light

When Jack turned eleven in April, we finished up his three year stint in cub scouts. He had so many great leaders and such a great three years. He finished up his Webelo and completed all the requirements for his Arrow of Light. He was awarded these at pack meeting in June.

The cubmaster has a man come who does a great job of making it into a nice ceremony.  They paint the boys faces to represent each of the ranks in scouting.  And they present a really nice arrow of light plaque.  Now Jack has moved on to regular boy scouts and loves it.

Pictures of my baby

I had Sanae take some pictures of Tessa when she was just over a week old.  I love how they turned out-she really captured her creamy newborn skin.  Tessa was fairly uncooperative so far as babies go.  She was awake almost the whole time we were there-she only slept for about a half an hour.  It's harder to pose a baby while they are awake.  And she is wiggly and didn't want us to put her in any positions.  She is pretty strong also and would keep pushing with her legs when we would pose her.  Nonetheless, I love the pictures and can't believe how much she has changed already.

 This is the quilt in full view-it's one I made and couldn't give up.

 So even though Sanae thinks she doesn't do newborn photos well-she totally does.  We love these and I am so glad to have images of Tessa captured while she is still so small.  She is such a good baby so far, I really keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I am tired, but not exhausted.  It's been a good four weeks.

Fun With Grandma

We are so grateful my mom came to stay when Tessa was born.  She was here for over two weeks and it wasn't enough! The kids keep asking for her to come back-she's way more fun than Nate and I!  She's more on the ball than either of us when it comes to dishes and laundry, Nate said every time he went to check the sink it was empty.  And she just jumps right into our schedule and keeps the kids getting to where they need to be.  She did something special with each of them and they love her so much!

 Grandma and her newest grandbaby.  Tessa yawns all the time, huge yawns.

 This is Sophie playing baseball in the front yard, I have no idea when this occurred, but my mom is way better at taking pictures than I am.  She takes them more often and I always download her memory cards before she goes to see what I missed.

 She took the kids to Boondocks and they had a fabulous time.  They all got soaking wet, played laser tag and mini golf and ate lunch.  I stayed home and slept-which was sooo nice!

 She always remembers to get a picture with her and all the kids, they love these.  She sometimes puts their adventures into albums, they love looking through those.  Sophie thinks they all belong to her and is confused as to why there are no pictures of her and small Jack and Bella together.

 She took pictures while I took video of Isabella's gymnastics exhibition.  Grandma is always interested in the kids activities and I was really glad she got to be here for Bella's meet, they only do it once a year, so it's a hard one to catch.

 And I had really forgotten how much my mom loves baseball.  I think she kind of wanted to stay to see the end of the season.  She got much better pics of Jack than I have.  I didn't make it to the games the week Tessa was born, but got a play by play.  Jack played catcher this year and did an amazing job.  He has such a good arm and really hustles behind the plate. 

She was here for Isabella's birthday and brought her some really fun presents.  The girls have played with Rapunzel's tower a lot since it arrived. She always finds amazing deals in her small town Walmart and the kids benefit greatly.

The kids had a great time!  We all did!  I know she was pretty tired when she got home but hopefully she will recover quickly and be back soon!

Baptism

Isabella was baptized on June 4th of this year.  It was a bit hazy as Tessa was so new, but I don't want to miss recording the event.  Tessa was also blessed right after the baptism.  It was a really good day.  Bella was really excited and was smiling all day long.

It will always be special that these sisters share this day!   Both of them looked so beautiful!  Vanella has some more pics on her blog as well.  Everyone was excited to see their aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that attended.  After the baptism and blessing, Tessa and I went home and took a nap while everyone else went out to eat.  We missed those of you who weren't here!

Results of the poll! Welcome Tessa June! And how I saved 900 dollars!

If you haven't heard, because I am a slow blogger. We had a baby girl on the 1st of June.  I need to record the story somewhere, so here we go. If you aren't a fan of birth stories, feel free to skip.

This pregnancy was a bit rough I would say.  Near the end of January, my legs and feet began to swell.  It was so early, I didn't even realize the epic proportions they got to until just this past week when all the swelling was finally gone.  And Nate kept commenting how I seemed to be carrying this baby differently.  Like, way in front, like a beach ball.  Anyway, the swelling was beginning to do me in.  I was particularly alarmed when one leg and foot seemed to be soo much more swollen than the other.  I called my doctor and finally cried mercy.  I hadn't been having other complications, but it felt like I was walking on glass and no amount of laying down was making any difference.  Dr. Smith told me to come in the next morning, the 1st, and we would start an induction.  Oh how I was so torn about this!  I have always gone into labor before and really believe that it's generally best to let your body do what it needs to do, but realized that things weren't going to get any better until the baby was born.  It was very strange showing up at the hospital not in labor.  I actually looked around a little and saw where things were. 

When we were all admitted the nurse and I talked a little bit about my last three births and how things had gone.  Usually I have short labors and everything goes pretty smoothly.  I told her because my last baby was so fast, I had been reading up and preparing to not have an epidural.  But that was just because I had been so fast with Sophie, I wanted to make sure I knew what to expect.  I had read a book on Hypnobirthing and felt so so about that.  Some of it was really great, some I just had a hard time going along with-having been there done that.  Anyway, turns out the nurse is a Hypnobirthing instructor and was very excited I had read the book and seemed to know a bit about it.  I did point out that I had never had pitocin before or been induced, so we would see how things went so far as pain management goes.  She then set up the pitocin and off and away we were.  For a while, contractions were pretty mild and manageable.  Then they suddenly picked up and were very hard and about two minutes apart.  We had the pitocin at really low level because I am pretty sensitive to meds.  My lower back was really hurting, more than I remember with labor before. So the nurse made the bed into a chair-like position and had Nate press hard on my knees to relieve the pressure in my back.  This worked really well and I think he kept at it for almost two hours.  She also brought in a birthing ball in the event I wanted to sit on that.  Every time I would change position though, the contractions really intensified, so I was not so much into sitting on the ball or moving a whole lot.  At that point I was about five centimeters dilated and the nurse said the baby was posterior and needed to turn around to be born more easily.  I was ready for an epidural at this point, but the anesthesiologist was in a c-section and I would need to wait about an hour.  I then turned around in the bed to lean over the back and try to get the baby to flip over.  The nurse and Nate put a lot of pressure on my lower back and helped me really breathe and focus.  I also got a little fentanyl to take the edge off and relax and they turned off the pitocin.  My body took over contracting on its own, and those contractions were much easier to deal with that the pitocin

Nate never slipped or spilled the beans, I am so proud of him!  I had been prepared for her to be pretty messy because there was meconium in my water when I broke, but she was surprisingly clean.  I was also prepared for her to be pretty big, which she was, 8 lbs, 11 ozs. and 20 inches long, our biggest baby.  She was so strong when she was born, they nurses all commented how she grabbed my gown and lifted her head and looked side to side.  She had a great loud cry and had no complications due to the meconium or anything else.  I held her for a long time before she got all cleaned up and diapered.  I have heard there is quite an adrenaline rush after natural childbirth and would say that is true!  I think a lot of it has to do with the relief that the majority of the pain is over and my excitement over finding out the baby was a girl after all those months, and the sense of wonderment that I didn't die!  Because part of you thinks you just might for a time there.  Even delivering the placenta didn't bother me.  My main nurse was very excited, Nate was pretty sure I made her day.  She said I did such a good job, no screaming or hitting or freaking out.  She was really complementary about how in control I was and how relaxed I remained.  It was nice to hear because my inner dialogue was not that calm.  She said I had all the hard things, pitocin, posterior baby, having to wait for the doctor, but I did a great job working through them.  She was clearly the nurse that needed to be there.  She was with us most of the labor and really kept me focused and calm.  I am not really relaxed most of the time, so I think she had a magic touch getting me to be so.  I really trusted her and am grateful she was there.  She saw us again just as we were getting discharged and was still really excited about the delivery.  Anyway, so that is the birth story-it was exciting and I do feel a sense of accomplishment after it all.

Then the next two days were spent in the hospital going over names.  Nate and I really seem to wait until the last minute to decide.  We had suggestions from all the nurses and all our visitors.  I made a list and we went through all combinations we could on that.  The fact that she was born in June helped decide her middle name.  Isabella really liked June as well.  And Tessa seemed to fit.  It's always hard for me to name a baby, it's such a major thing!  Anyway, we managed to fill out the paperwork for the birth certificate before we left, which was the goal.  I ate about 20 packages of Lorna Doone cookies in the hospital and had more Fresca and Orange/Cranberry juice that I can admit to.  Nate took the rest of the week off and would come hang out-which was really great.  My mom and the kids came up and they all love Tessa and want to hold her as much as possible.  Alta View now does a dinner for two the night before you leave, which was nice.  You choose from a nice menu and they bring in a table that is all decorated and fancy for the hospital.  Also they give you a plush robe.  I am sure all these things are on the bill somewhere, but it was nice.  I had to take lasix to get the swelling to go away in my legs and feet and I can't believe the difference.  They had been swollen for so long, I had just become accustomed.  Now to see my normal feet is a bit shocking! 

Tessa is a great baby, she nurses well, sleeps well, and is super snuggley.  She has had to get her bilirubin tested more than any of my other kids, but isn't jaundiced, I think we are just being way cautious.  She still seems pretty little even though she's the biggest of the four.  She has the lightest hair at birth, but the least as well.  She is pretty alert and strong.  We are so blessed to have her in our family and I love how quickly you can't remember not having each child there. 

Happy Birthday Isabella!

 

Isabella turned eight years old on the 29th of May.  She had a fabulous birthday and I didn't have the baby, so she doesn't have to share, which made he pretty happy.  Her sister picked out this little giraffe for her weeks before her birthday.  Then while we were out shopping after the fact, she showed it to Bella and said, isn't this cute Bella, don't you wish you had a cute giraffe like this.  Bella said she did like the giraffe.  Sophie whispered to me that she now knew that Bella would like her gift, it was pretty funny and clever for a three year old.  I had prepared everything well in advance and since Bella doesn't like cake, we just had Oreo ice cream.  It was a nice day and I can't believe she is eight!

Eight Things about Isabella

1.She is dedicated.  When she wants to do something she sets her mind to it and accomplishes it.

2. She is kind.  Bella is always loves everyone.

3. Bella is super helpful.  She reads a bedtime story to Sophie every night because they both like it.

4. Bella is strong.  Three years of gymnastics have made her strong and very coordinated.  I can't believe how much the gymnastics helps with other sports.

5. Bella is a great student.  She always got great notes home from her teacher and loves school.

6.  Bella loves to dance.  She gets the music in her and can't sit still.  She had us all entertained at her gymnastics meet because she just couldn't hold the dance moves in.

7.  Bella is a great writer.  She brought home five or six journals this year filled with poems and stories and all sorts of things.  She got a few journals for her birthday and has already begun to fill them up.

8. She is inquisitive.  She is always wanting to know more and asking what things mean.  

We love Isabella so much and can't imagine our family without her.  She is a great sister and daughter and we are so blessed to have her!