Sometimes Being the Mom is Fun

There are quite a few hard and demanding parts of being a mom but it can also be a lot of fun. Like the days we have dessert before we eat dinner or when you can pretty much go the entire day without saying no it just makes life more fun really. Thursday Gracie, Emery, and I ventured out to get a few groceries. At Sam's Club in the mornings they have complimentary donuts, muffins, and juice. Gracie loves to pick something out to eat while we shop. That day she picked powdered donuts and juice. The sample machine gave out air heads so before 10 am I had fed my child donuts, juice, and candy...mother of the year right here..lol but she loved it.

 Friday Hallie had an end of school year party with the girls form the ward. They did mani/pedis, had treats, and watched a movie. They were supposed to bring a treat and a nail polish to share. Hallie has been really interested in learning to cook so a couple times a week we pick a simpler recipe and I observe and help her where is needed. She wanted to make no bake cookies to take as her treat to share and she did all of it by herself. Its fun to see how proud she is of herself when she does something by herself.

Being a mom is really the best ever, hard at times, but best ever

2 Week Visit

Emery is already 2 weeks old I'm having those moments that I want to freeze time so she will stay little longer. I do think it has been harder to really enjoy all the cuddles and snuggles I would like while still chasing around 2 other girls. I will be really glad when school is out and then we can make our own schedule. I think we are now getting on a schedule where they all nap together and when it does happen I usually will hold Emery the entire time so that helps a lot. She has been hit and miss with how she sleeps at night she has a couple times that she sleeps 4-5 hour stretches but usually is up between 1-3 for a night feeding and seems to really struggle getting back to sleep after that which is exhausting. She usually settles about 4 but not for long because she is hungry and hour later and then she settles for a good 4 hours so right now we are trying to figure out how to change that so I can get more sleep. She still doesn't really cry just gives a warning cry that she needs something and then looks around to see if you are going to "save" her. She spends more time awake than I remember my other 2 doing this early but she is content to be held or just to look around. The girls think its just fun for her to be awake they love to just talk to her. Th eyucky cold crap is still going around the girls have had runny noses and now Emery has had some stuffiness....grr! But what do you do? The Dr. said not to worry unless she slows down on her eating or wet diapers which she has done neither. It just makes me want to never leave the house. At her 2 week check she weighed 7 lbs 1.5 oz(35%) she is 20.25 in(50%) and her head is 14 in(55%). We scheduled for her to have her hip ultrasound since she was breech they have to check and make sure her ball and joint have developed correctly. At this point she has no hip click so they aren't worried just doing the ultrasound per protocol. 

Performing Arts Day

Its that time of year...dance performance time! Performing arts day is used as a kind of dress rehearsal for the real recital. Usually it is held at the outdoor amphitheater in downtown Ogden but it has been raining cats and dogs lately here so they were able to move it to a local high school so we could all stay dry. I was so excited to see her perform she has improved so much in the last year but we were pretty crammed in the little gym and my anxiety wasn't prepared to have Emery that close to so many people even though we kept her in her carrier covered the entire time I still had a hard time but it was great to see Hallie dance. She was so excited and has been practicing quite a bit. They danced to the song "Lollipop" Hallie is the first one in the row closest to the camera

She is the first one in the front row on the far left

Emery was so good and slept the entire time despite the loud music and frequent cheering and clapping.Our little family of five!!

After the performance we went to dinner with some of our good friends the Lindseys and the Roberts. We went to Pizza Pie Cafe which is good when you are trying to feed a large crowd. The girls love it there or probably mostly the amazing balloon girl there. Its always a motivator to get them to eat

This is our friend and our favorite babysitter ever, Cierra. The girls absolutely love her and she really is the dream babysitter. We love their family and spending time with them

It was a fun time and we are so proud of Hallie. Im excited to see what she decides she wants to do with her extracurricular activities

Aunt Nikki to the Rescue

Last week I had over done it on Wed so Thurs I was really paying for it so I called for back up....hence aunt Nikki. She got the kids ready and headed right up. She even made sure that we had dinner for the next couple days covered. The kids played while Nic visited with me as well as doing some cleaning and tidying up. I don't know that Nic will ever know how much this means to me. I know that if I ever need anything she is only a call away and she will drop what she is doing and come help me. I also hope that she knows I would do the same thing for her.  She came with multiple bags of goodies for us and gifts from both my mom and Kimber. 

When it was time for her to head for home she offered to take Hallie with her for a sleepover. Hallie jumped at the chance to play with Rigs more. As she was packing to leave Gracie was telling her how much she would miss her and how much she loved her. Nic then asked Grace if she wanted to go as well and she also was excited and said yes so we quickly packed her as well. As I helped get the girls in the car my heart sunk. I missed them already and wasn't quite sure with just one child. After Nic left I fell apart and cried on and off the rest of the night. It was so weird and hard. I knew they were having a ball but I selfishly wanted them to come home and never leave. Nic called and let me talk to each of them before bedtime and then she and I talked for a few minutes. She felt bad that I was having a hard time and as I explained my feelings she completely understands how I feel. Both our husbands are gone...alot. We are both in places in our lives where we have our kids(mostly on our own) 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and although its nice to have a break it feels unnatural. I don't know what its like to go somewhere by myself, to not buckle kids, and have little hands to hold in the store. It might sound crazy to some people but this is our lives. The following day Nic brought the kids back home and helped me run a few errands that I needed to get done and it was nice to get out of the house but still know that I had help if I needed it. Im grateful for my sisters, for their friendship, unconditional love, and thoughtfulness. Im grateful that they don't judge me even though I know Im not perfect. I am truly blessed.

Family & Emery's Newborn Pictures

Originally I was wanting to do our pics in an orchard but with the crazy off set weather we have been having the trees are mostly done blossoming...oh well maybe next year. Im still pretty thrilled with how they turned out. Everyone cooperated and we got a lot of great pictures in a short time.

Hallie at 5 years and 8 months

Gracie at 3 years and 4 months

Hallie & Gracie Find Their Green Thumbs

The girls, especially Hallie, were disappointed when I told them we couldn't plant a garden since we don't really have a yard this summer so we did the next best thing planted a few things in a pot. The girls were super excited to plant the flowers they had picked out but possibly more excited to water them.

Once they flowers were planted each of the girls got a turn to water them.

All done...I hope they live and done die from over watering

Then it was time for a treat since they had worked so hard. I love that the girls have take interest in different things and that I can help them learn different skill that will be beneficial to them in their lives.

1 Week

This sweet and bright eyed little girl is a week old! I need time to stop or at least slow down. She is such a good baby. She hardly ever cries when she is hungry she will cry one time and then wait for a response its pretty cute actually. She still loves her binki and I think its safe to say we all love to hold and cuddle her. She is still on a pretty good schedule eating every 3-4 hours except at night she usually goes 5 hours 1 time which is a god sent for her mom that loves sleep. She is awake more than I remember my other girls being at this age but I can't complain since she pretty much is content to look around and observe. The past week has flown and we are slowly finding our groove again. We love this little girl and the sweet and special spirit she has brought into our home. Is it bad if I want to freeze us in time right now?!?

As for me I am feeling pretty good better than I ever remember feeling with the other girls. I am already 20 lbs down so I only have just under 20 lbs left to lose. I can't wait til I am feeling like my real self again and can get out walking and running stairs. I really think my abdominal binder has helped with my recovery a ton. I have had very few after pains and feel like it has held me all together. But in reality I would do it all again in a heart beat.