Sisters

I was looking through old pictures and came across some of Audrey as a baby.  Now they aren't exactly the same but it is fun to see how she and Kate look alike!  Now a fun note, Kate is almost a month younger than Audrey was when these pictures were taken.  Kate is just a bigger girl!



My Big Boy Jack!

Jack really has come so so far in that past few months!  I was worried about him for a while there, but since he has been in preschool and getting some speech and now OT, he is progressing so well!

Recently he has wanted to start saying the prayers at bed time and meal time.  He can say the meal time one all by himself now and always has to scream amen!  The bed time one I help him with still, but he adds in what he wants to bless.  We always bless our family members, but lately he has added in his favorite friends, McQueen and Mater.  He waits until we are almost done with the prayer and then whispers, "Bless McQueen. Bless Mater. Etc."  He usually names ten or so Car's characters and then his train track, his toys, and his movies.  It just makes me so happy he wants to say them that I don't care if he blesses them and I know Heavenly Father probably smiles when he hears Jack's prayers!

Jack's main love in life is Cars.  He likes the non namebrand ones, but he lives for McQueen and Mater.  He can name all the characters in both movies and is now starting to recite the lines from the movies when he plays.  We have a myriad of Cars toys, books, bedding, his bed, shirts, jammies, socks, shoes, a coat, a jacket, underwear, silverware, plates, cups, fruit snacks, cereal, and the list goes on and on.  He idolizes them and worships them as if they were Gods!!!

Recently I was able to go on a field trip with Jack to the Natural History Museum at the University of Utah.  He had so much fun and his teachers were able to see a different side of him since he was so comfortable with me!  We stayed for an hour and only got to see a part of the museum, but it is way cool for all ages and I would recommend it to everyone!

I wore my University of Utah sweatshirt which made one little boy on the bus mad!

One of the mom's cancelled on the last minute so I was able to take her spot on the bus and ride with Jack!  He thought it was so cool and we even got to see an ambulance go past us!  Stimulus overload!

You could put the insides of an animal cell together and once all the pieces were in place, the outside would light up!

Jack thought it was hilarious to poke their eyes!

 Various displays

Jack LOVES Miss Shelley, but hated the feel of this horrible grainy sand!



They had a fun little kids play area and we ended the day here.

It was so fun to spend time with my little guy!  We got to ride the bus home and then get pizza with Audrey.  I am so proud of my big guy and how he has grown!

Oh Audrey Mae!

Audrey's current loves:

• PINK! Anything that has pink on it automatically belongs to her and is called princess ______. So if it is a shirt it is a princess shirt, if it is a book it is a princess book, even if it is a pink paper cup, it is a princess cup.
• Taking care of Kate.  Audrey is the second mommy around here.  She loves to hold Kate, try and feed Kate, wrap Kate up in "bankies."
• "Killies".  Audrey cannot prounce kitties, but she is obsessed with them.  If she saw a pink kitty I am afraid it would blow her mind!  She loves Secret of Nimh which she calls the "Scary Killy Movie."
• Eating.  Audrey loves food and loves to eat (unless it is her daddy trying to give her something)!  She always tells Grandma Stayner she's "hug-wee."
• A-ma (Grandma Stayner).  Whenever she gets in trouble at home, she informs me she is going "home" to see A-ma.
• Hassa.  She is connected at the hip to her Aunt Lisa.  The only way Lisa ever can escape her is going to the bathroom.
• Playing scary.  My dad chases her around the house and then hides.  She wanders around to find him, then he jumps out and "scares" her, prompting more running and screaming!
• Anything belonging to Jack.  Audrey had middle child syndrome for a while and really struggled with it.  She has gotten better with that but still hasn't given up sleeping in his bed, sitting in his chair, eating off his plate, etc.  Luckily Jack doesn't mind using all the pretty pink princess stuff.
• Being held.  Loves it!
• Giving hugs and kisses.  Anytime anyone is sad, even in a book or a movie, Audrey gives them a hug and a kiss.  If she can't actually get to them, like on the tv, she pretends.  She will even hug and kiss people over the phone!
• Santa house.  Santa brought her a kitchen this year and she loves to use it to make food.
• Talking on the phone (or any electronic device that looks like a phone).  Audrey will have whole coversations on the tv remote!  Quite entertaining.
• Preschool.  She doesn't actually get to go yet, but she loves when she gets to go and drop Jack off in his class.  You usually have to peel her out of the chair to go home!
• Gigi and Papa's house.  Good company, good food, good movies.  Need I say more?
• Leaving the house.  The whole process of putting on shoes, socks, coat, etc.  She just loves going somewhere.
• Shopping.  Audrey is GREAT at putting things in the cart.  Including all the stuff you don't want and/or need.
• Her daddy.  Every morning he is gone, she asks where he is.
• Singing.  Favorite songs: Popcorn Popping, I Am A Child of God, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She loves singing anytime, but these are her favorites.
• "Pay Wii"  she loves to play the Wii.  All she does is wave the controller around or stand on the board and flap, but she loves being there with everyone.
• Hannah.  She adores her cousin Hannah and will go anywhere if we tell her Hannah is going to be there.  Once she gets there they don't do a lot together, but that will come in time.
• Accessories.  Audrey loves to be pretty.  She wears multiple necklaces, tried to put on mommy's mascara, and has even been known to put on mommy's deoderant.
• Her family.  Audrey loves being with all her family so much!

Audrey has so many loves I needed to stop here because it was getting late!  Even though some days can be a challenge with a two year old girl, she is a light in my life and I love her so so so much!

Poor tough Kate!

Poor Kate for a few reasons, we are not taking nearly as many pictures of her that we did of the others because we are managing life!  It seems like by the time we get to an event with everyone fed and dressed, no one remembered the camera!  So I am trying to make myself remember to take more of her because she is changing everyday!

Another reason, it has taken a little while for her sister to completely warm up to her!  Most days are great, but then we will have one where Audrey does not want me to hold the baby, touch the baby, or even look at the baby!  One of these days I wanted to dress the girls the same.  Audrey was so mad that I wouldn't take off the baby's clothes so they weren't matchy!  She threw the biggest fit (as you can see) but I made her stay in her clothes and by golly she survived!



The last reason is the older two kids want to hold her all the time!  Now if they were older it would be great, I could use the extra hands, but since their hands are so little, it always takes my hands under theirs to hold Kate.  It is a sweet thing that they love it so much, but I worry a little when they get so casual while holding her!

First it was Audrey's turn:

Then it was Jack's:

So if she survives them, I think she will become one of their best buddies!  By the way, don't you just love the matching jammies?!

Kate's Blessing Day

Our little Katharine Sophia was blessed today!  I so love days like today!  We were surrounded by family and friends who all love us and her!  My mother-in-law made a spectacular dress for her with an heirloom earring as a necklace for the baby.  This earring came from my mother-in-law's grandma which makes it my daughter's great-great-grandmother!  Pretty amazing!

The blessing was beautiful and we are going to get pictures of her in the gown!  She was blessed with wisdom and that in a world of chaos she would be someone others could look to for guidance.  She was also blessed with happiness and an unwavering natural faith in Jesus Christ!  She was told to seek out a worthy priesthood holder for a husband that they could raise their children together.  Kate was perfect during the blessing and then promptly fell asleep in my arms.  The other two also did very well!

We then went to my mom and dad's house for a luncheon.  I really can't think of anything that could have gone better!  It was a perfect day!

Christmas 2011

What a wonderful year!  Christmas was amazing but I didn't get many pictures because I was enjoying myself too much!  After the bills for the baby came rolling in, my husband and I decided to not get anything for each other this year and just enjoy the season.  Well he was a stinker and got me something anyway, but I am definitely not giving it back, an hour massage from a real masseuse!  We were very blessed with beautiful gifts from our parents, and once again our children were spoiled and loved this Christmas!

I got a chance to think about my three treasures this Christmas, really that was all I needed!  Everyone is healthy and happy!

Jack:

I love my little guy so much!  Life has not been easy for him or us since he was born!  With his weird gastrointestinal prolems and other little delays, we have been to lots of different doctors and specialists in his little life!  However, I think we have finally found the right balance for him and he sleeps through the night most nights!  He started preschool at Murray this year and has fantastic teachers!  His speech therapist has helped him make such great progress and oh how I love to hear him talk!  He sings me cute little songs and will hug and kiss his sisters!  He has huge blue eyes that just take my breathe away!  He loves Cars and anything with Mater and McQueen on them!  I got to rock him in the rocking chair last night and I almost cried it felt so good.  He is getting busier everyday and loves to be independent, but every once in a while I will get a moment with him where we just cuddle!  I love you Jack and will continue to work so hard for you so you can make as much progress possible!

Audrey Mae:

My little Audrey Mae makes me feel every emotion every day!  She knows how to make you smile and also knows every button to push to drive you crazy!  She is currently struggling with middle child syndrome and I have to remind myself all the time to take a moment to be with just her!  Audrey wakes up talking, talks all day, and falls asleep talking!  She loves to bug Jack and vice versa!  She lives for food and will often tell me she is "hungee" even after she has eaten a big meal!  She loves her little sister most of the time and will hug and kiss her.  Audrey is sweet to her family and will kiss and hug anyone if they act like they are sad in the least degree!  She loves pink and princesses and is such a girl!  I never thought I would have such a girly girl and I can already tell she is going to be a challenge as a teenager!  I love you Audrey Mae!

Kate:

  



Kate has the sweetest spirit!  I can tell already she is going to be a peacemaker!  She loves to nurse and would do it every ten minutes if I let her.  Kate is a cuddler and will fall asleep on me chest daily.  She is only two months old but it feels like she has been with us for much longer than that!  She is only waking up 1-2 times a night now, which makes me very happy since I am back at work!  She is a champ at taking a bottle too!  I look forward to getting to know her more and find out what her personality really is!  I love you so much Baby Kate!

My family is my life and the reason I go to work is just to help and support them!  I love them all so much!  My husband is also the best partner and support!  He works so hard to provide for our little family and works with me towards one day having a "real" house with a backyard!

Merry Christmas to everyone and here's to a fun eventful new year!

Back Again and Kate's Birth Story

So it has been almost exactly a year since I took a time away from blogging!  I missed it, but not enough to do it in that year!

Our lives are very busy!  Lots of stuff happened this year, and I can not possibly cover it all, so I am not even going to try!  I am going to start with the most major thing that happened to me this year and go from there.  I will not include gooey details, but the following is Kate's birth story . . .

Jack and Audrey joined us in 2008 and 2009, and according to our plan we were going to wait three years and have two more 18 months apart.  But our lives rarely go according to plan and we found out in March of this year that I was pregnant . . . again!  I know how this all works!  I know how babies are made!  I have already had two kids, but apparently Kate decided she wasn't going to wait!  We even bought a puppy the previous December, which Johnny wouldn't let me sell, so we were going to have a very full two bedroom townhome!

My doctor retired that delivered my first two so I had to choose a new OB and as far as I am concerned, choosing an OB is like choosing a husband, it should only be done once!  I decided to stay with the same practice because the location is fantastic and so I decided Dr Thackeray was the one!  From the beginning I thought he was wonderful!  He was competant but so calm and always had a smile on his face!

I started my monthly appointments and then when I was 20 weeks, I went in for my ultra sound to find out what it was and make sure everything was okay.  They said it was a girl and Johnny asked her to please check again!  He wanted another boy!  After we found out she did the rest of the ultra sound.  This one seemed to take longer than the other two did and she was doing some of the measurements twice.  Being an already emotional basket case from being pregnant I was starting to worry and think the worst!  I found out at my appointment that my amniotic fluid was low and the baby was measuring small.  This is not great news and of course I started crying.  The dr said to just drink lots of fluids and that I couldn't really do anything to change it, so not to worry, ya right!!!  He also said he would do a few more ultra sounds during the pregnancy to make sure the baby was okay.  I drove home and immediately called my dad to have him come and help my husband give me a priesthood blessing.  I was told that she would be healthy and I would be able to carry her full term (along with other things).  I was so relieved and at my next appointment, she was measuring average for size and my fluid was above average!  I don't really think it was the extra fluids that helped and I am so grateful for good men in my life!

I felt from the beginning of this pregnancy that I was supposed to go drug-free during labor and delivery!  I wasn't trying to prove myself to anyone but me and so I commited myself to it!  I knew I had to be educated so I read about it, watched videos, talked to friends, and soaked in everything I could so I would be ready!  My dr was very supportive and gave me tips and good moral support.  As her due date came near, I was scared, I was so excited!  I was induced with Audrey and it was miserable!  My water broke with Jack and contractions were slow to start so I had Pit with him too!  I couldn't wait to feel what it was like to go into labor and half this baby on my own.

I was due Sunday Oct 23 and at my appointment on the 24, I was feeling some contractions but they were inconsistent and still about 10 minutes apart.  I was 75 % effaced and dilated to a 4 so the doctor stripped my membranes and told me to go home and rest up because I would be having a baby in the next few hours!  I had my membranes stripped with Audrey and it did nothing, but it really gave this labor a kick start.  I came home and tried to sleep, but the contractions started getting a little more intense and closer together.  I wanted to do most of my labor at home so I decided to take the kids for a walk.  I saw my friend Kate and she asked how I was doing.  I told her I was having contractions seven minutes apart and she told me to get back in the house!  Walking was great and chasing Jack and Audrey up the street was fun!  This was the last time I would do it as a mommy of two!

My parents had gone up the canyon for a drive and the last my mom knew was that I had left the doctor and wasn't feeling anything consistent yet.  We called them on their cell phone . . . no service!  Great!  We finally got them and told them we were coming over just so everyone would be there.  It was dinner time and Johnny wanted to BBQ steaks!  We packed everyone up, including the stupid dog and headed for my parents.  I was timing the contractions and they were 5-7 minutes apart with a few here and there 4 minutes.  I decided when we hit three we would go to the hospital.  We stayed at my parents' house for an hour.  I was up and down.  I walked around and ate some bread and water while Johnny grilled the steaks!!!  I talked with my mom and would have to pause every now and then for a contraction, but then things were getting too intense and we decided to head for the hospital.

We had to drop the dog off first, stupid thing, so I was in the car while my husband ran in.  He was taking forever and I called him on his cell.  He told me he was changing his shirt and shaving!!!  Are you kidding me??!!!  We drove the two minutes to the hospital and checked in.  Our nurse was the night charge nurse and seemed a perfect fit!  I told her I didn't want an epidural so don't talk about it because I might cave towards the end.  She talked to my husband about medical stuff and got my IV in.  By now it was after 8:00 and my doctor was not the on call doctor so they were going to let him know I was there and he would come a little later.  My contractions slowed down to 8 minutes apart, but I was dilated to a 6.5 and fully effaced, so they let me stay.  She said I had a "bulging bag" so my water hadn't broken yet, but I knew that part already!

We watched some TV, called some family and friends, and chatted with the nurses for about an hour.  The on call doctor came in and said he talked to my doctor and he would be coming in an hour to stay there til the end.  An hour later, about 10:30, my doctor came.  He was all smiles and told me to just hang tight because my contractions were still consistently five minutes apart, although they were definitely increasing in intensity!  He told me he was going to go upstairs and sleep in his office until midnight and then come break my water.  Probably an hour after that I would be ready to push so we were looking at having our baby about 1:30-ish.  No one ever checked my dilation since the first time and they decided to just go by my contractions!  Now, funny thing, everyone in my family has even birthdays.  March 24, April 8, September 8, and December 22.  It was October 24th and the doctor was telling me that she would be born after midnight!  That would put her on the 25th!!!  Bummer!

I could no longer talk, walk, groan, or happily get through these contractions!  Five minutes from start of one to start of another was not enough recovery time!  Everything was ready to go and the nurse was watching my sheet from her desk.  Twenty minutes later, just after 11:00, I was ready to give in and get the epidural!!!  I told myself one more contraction, and I would ring the nurses button to tell them.  The contraction started.  Johnny was sitting on the couch, I begged for his hand and he slowly got up.  The contraction was not stopping!!!  It was going on two minutes and I was about to throw up!  Then, I felt a pop and my water broke!!!  Then this feeling started.  It was unlike anything I have ever felt in my life before!!!  I was telling Johnny to push the nurse button and he couldn't find it (he was frantic!)  The nurse came rushing in and I told her I had to push!  She just kept saying, "Don't push, don't push!"  She was calling my doctor STAT down to our room and he came rushing in too!!!  My contractions were STILL 5 minutes apart.  It was like they didn't believe me when I said I had to push.  He told the nurse to check me to see if I was ready to start my practice pushes.  She barely started to check and said, "Oh we are ready!!!"  The doctor then realized I was right!  The baby was almost crowning!!!

Now this feeling was all encompassing.  I had three nurses and a doctor telling me not to push, yet all my body could do was push!  I was telling it not to, but it wouldn't listen!  It was the most intense thing I have ever done!  The weird thing is, all the pain went away.  It didn't hurt at the end, only the feeling to push.  I pushed for one minute and she was fully crowning and I pushed for another minute and she was out!  I got the biggest rush afterwards as I held my baby and knew I had done it all on my own!  Granted Johnny was there holding my hand and one leg!  He even had to take his wedding ring off because I squeezed his hand too hard!!!  She was beautiful and had red hair!

Our little Katharine Sophia weighed 7 lbs 9 ozs and was 21.5 inches long!!!  She was born at 11:19 PM so she made it on an even day!!!  She was so alert and aware the whole time and was even nursing with a few minutes of being cleaned up!  She got an APGAR of 10 which is unheard of!!

She looked just like Audrey!



She was doing so well and was a rock star eater!  I decided after my experience with Jack and how he reacted to the drugs I took after I had him that I wouldn't take any pain meds or stool softeners with my other babies.  I was blessed that I could breathe through anything I needed to and not take any Ibuprophin or other drugs.  Only problem was my bleeding was still heavy and needed to be stopped.  They had to put me on Pitocin to get it stopped and even then another shot in the rear given by a cute male nursing student!  But after you have had three kids it doesn't really matter who sees your kiester!!!

We had many visitors but these were my favorite!!!  They both did so well and Kate even bought both of them a sticker book so they would like her more!!!

I went home on time to a full house and our lives have been such an adventure ever since!

My little Kate is now eight weeks old today!  Time flies and although we have had good days and bad, it has been an amazing experience!  Three is definitely different from two!  Throw in a 75 pound golden retriever puppy and our house can seem like a zoo!  We love it and we love our little Kate!