Easter

Easter was so late in April this year I thought we would be safe to plan outdoor activities. Wrong!! We were only going to go to the hills close by and have a picnic with a little four wheeling and shooting guns. We woke up Saturday morning to rain/snow flurries! What the crap is mother nature thinking? I am so sick of the cold wet weather I could just scream. So we settled for lunch at my mom's and a egg hunt in her yard. It did warm up a little by the afternoon so we went up by the water tank and rolled and threw eggs. This was my first time ever doing this, but it is a big tradition with people around here. I still don't understand the fun in it. After that Mom took the kids to the movie- Rio. Friday we had dinner at Mom's and then colored eggs. It's amazing how fast four kids can go through four dozen eggs.

One Month

I survived the first month with our new little addition! That may not seem like a big deal to some people, but if you only knew how bad I get post partum depression and how I do not deal well with the newborn stage it would seem like a bigger accomplishment. I am proud to say that I am already through the post partum depression and functioning without anti-depressants! It has really helped having two big helpers in the house. Sekoya and Katera have been such great help with feeding, holding, and entertaining Nixon. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. Nixon is definitely not lacking in getting enough love and attention. The girls still fight over who gets to hold him. We are still working on getting on a routine with feedings, but he does have his days and nights figured out for the most part. I still look at him and think of what a miracle he is and how hard we worked to get him here. Our family would just not be complete without him. I have been really horrible at taking pictures so I don't have any to post. I don't even have one of Jason with him when he was born! I feel so bad about that.

Nixon's Arrival

The labor and delivery of our sweet baby boy was EXACTLY what I ordered! Friday, the 18th, was a normal day for me... just waiting for this baby to decide to come. If he hadn't made it by the 22nd we had scheduled to be induced. I was induced with Katera and, while it wasn't a hard or traumatic delivery, it wasn't my favorite. So I was really hoping this little guy would decide to come on his own. Thursday night I actually woke up with a few contractions, but didn't think anything of it. Friday I went about my day- shopping with my mom, lunch with some girl friends, and celebrating Quincee's birthday later at Cortney's. All through the day I was having contractions. They were weak, sporadic, and irregular so I still didn't think much of it. They were just enough to make my belly go tight but not painful. While we were at Cortney's they went away for a couple of hours so I thought it was false labor. We went to bed and after being asleep for about an hour I felt a woosh of warm. I have never had my water break on my own with my other two kids so this was new to me. I wondered if I had just had one of those 'I peed my pants' dreams that really makes you pee a little. So I got out of bed and the water gushed down my legs as I rushed to the bathroom. I took care of my little problem as best I could and opened the door to tell Jason we needed to go to the hospital. The funny thing is I had JUST packed my hospital bag that day! We called Grandma Sindy to come stay with the girls and headed to the hospital at midnight. Once we got settled in the delivery room the nurse checked and I was dilated to a 5/6. The contractions started coming more intense and quickly once my water broke so I was ready for that epidural! The anesthesiologist was there quickly and the epidural went great. Jason was really excited and relaxed a lot more once I wasn't in any more pain. They kept asking if I could feel any contractions, which I didn't. I just felt lots of pressure. The nurse checked again and I was dilated to an 8 and it was time to call the doctor! I just have to say what an amazing doctor we had! She is a CNM and takes such an interest and concern in each and every one of her patients. This was by far the best delivery of all of my kids! Once she got there she checked and it was time to start pushing. When my water broke Nixon had a bowel movement so there was meconium in the fluid. They worry about this because they don't want the baby to inhale any of that when they come out. We were informed that Jason wouldn't be cutting the cord so they could hurry and have a respiratory therapist start working on him. After about ten minutes of pushing Nixon was here at 3:00 AM! They immediately took him over to the incubater table and started suctioning his lungs and pounding on his back to get his lungs clear of any gunk. I didn't even get to see him for about 20 minutes, but they reassured us that everything was fine. When I finally got to hold him it was so awesome! He just nuzzled right into me. He weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches long. I had forgotten just how little brand new babies are!

March

Wow, I didn't even get any pictures! I have been horrible at blogging and picture taking lately. Sekoya had her hair braided by Kenzi in "karate kid" braids for the few days before so when we took them out she had nice kinky hair. I did a really cute hair do on Katera that I found online- a rainbow with ponytail chains. They each made sure they wore green so they wouldn't get pinched and were quick to pinch Dad and Grandma when they noticed they were missing the crucial color of the day. For dinner I decided to do something a little fun so I made green jello, green mashed potatoes, and a green and white swirl grasshopper cake. My creativity and ambition at this point are waxing thin with our baby boy due any day.

I went to the doctor on Monday the 14th only to find out I wasn't dilated very much and would not be having a baby in the next couple of days. Kind of depressing to a woman who is nine months pregnant and feels like she is going to pop! I also had a little bit of a scare this week. On Tuesday night I went to bed feeling like Nixon hadn't been moving as vigorously as usual. I shrugged it off and figured I was just being paranoid. I woke up around 2 am to go to the bathroom and my belly felt really small, soft, and just like something was wrong. I also couldn't get him to move. So after laying on the couch for a while jiggling my belly to get him to move I woke Jason up and we went to the hospital. They hooked me up to the heart monitors and did a stress test for about a half hour. He was just fine and probably just asleep. The one monitor was picking up a few contractions, but I wasn't feeling them. We went back home and went back to sleep, but it eased my mind that he was ok.

Maternity Photo shoot

I was really hesitant to do a photo shoot with this big belly, and wow is it big! I didn't realize just how big until I looked at these pictures! A good friend in our ward is also an excellent photographer so I figured why not. I didn't do a maternity shoot with Sekoya- I think because we were poor and it wasn't quite so popular then. We had JaLee do a few maternity shots with Katera. Where this is our last child I thought I might as well document the 'beauty' of pregnancy. I am definitely not saying I am beautiful because I feel far from that right now at 37 weeks. Just what a miracle and beauty it is to bring a child into this world. Jason was just as thrilled as usual to have pictures taken, but the girls behaved wonderfully! We even got a cute new shot of them together! I have the cutest girls ever!

Nixon update

This week I have had a Dr. appt, non-stress test, and another ultrasound resulting in 4 hours in the clinic or hospital! Not my idea of fun. At my regularly scheduled Dr. appt our little guy's heart beat was lower than it normally has been so she sent me for the other two tests just to be safe. Everything was found to be just fine and I am finally convinced that this baby is going to come out a boy. I guess I can finally start calling him by name- Nixon, since the rest of the family already is. I have just been really skeptical and paranoid that the early ultrasound was wrong and we were going to get another girl. That would have been fine, I just didn't want to buy too many 'boy' things and end up stuck with them. The ultrasound tech measured him to be 37 1/2 weeks and weighing 6 lb 11 oz already. According to my due date I am only 36 weeks with four more to go. I hope he decides to come early so he isn't a 9 lb baby! I am pretty miserable and uncomfortable, but expected for the last few weeks of pregnancy. I also just realized that I better start getting prepared with a hospital bag, clothes washed for him, etc. It has kind of creeped up on me!

V-day

Valentine's was a 14 day long event at our house. I made some cute little chair hanging bags (yes, another sewing project). I put a little surprise with a special note every morning from the first of February until the 14th. We made cupcakes one day and cookies another. On the 14th Jason was able to be home with us and we made the girls pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. It was really nice just to have him home for the day of love and be able to give him a kiss and hug. Neither one of us bought any gifts, but he spent the whole day doing my chores for me, took me to lunch, and then made dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better gift! And no, Sekoya is not actually hitting Katera with the rolling pin. It was a good staged photo! The little stinkers could not quit eating the raw cookie dough which explains the silly looks in the last two pitures.

Mashed potatoes????

Tonight the girls were arguing over watching American Idol or Wipeout. I told them we would switch back and forth on commercials, even though I hate that! Katera put her fist on her open palm and said "Let's do mashed potatoes." I could not figure out what she meant until she said, "You know, 1,2,3" That's when it dawned on me that she meant 'rock, paper, scissors'. I have no clue where she got 'mashed potatoes'! It made for a good laugh after a long, rough day with her. It's a good thing kids can be so cute after being so rotten!

With a dirty, dirty dishrag....

Katera can NOT make any decisions lately without doing eeny, meeny, miney mo. It drives me crazy! Especially when we are in line at the grocery store and she is trying to pick a treat while the checker and all the people behind us are waiting on us!

She is funny about sweets too. The other night she picked a hot, caramel cake out of the freezer for dessert. After about 4 bites into it she turns to me and says, "Mom, I hate to say this but........I don't want this. I want some more mashed potatoes." She will pick fruit, chips, or jerky over cookies, cakes, and candy any day! And she loves food with lots of flavor. Most kids you have to give plain, bland food. Not her. The spicier, more flavorful the better. She also has EXPENSIVE taste! Her favorite dinner is steak and shrimp! What would we do without her!

Someone's grandma/grandpa

Tonight for YW we took the girls to the care center to 'entertain' the old folks there. I was really nervous that we weren't going to have a good turnout of girls since this isn't their favorite activity. I was shocked and very pleased with the eight girls that showed up. I also took Sekoya and Katera with me. I thought this would be a great experience for them. Sekoya got to perform a couple of her piano songs for them and she even walked around and visited. I remember what a scary thing it was for me when I would go with the primary. I can't figure out why I was so intimidated by these old people that are just someone's grandma or grandpa that need help taking care of themselves. Sekoya and Katera had tons a questions for me when I got home- about why some had shaky hands, some had drool, others kept shouting out, why one had a prosthetic arm, why one lady didn't talk, etc. Katera was really shy and clung to my leg. By the time we left though she was her bubbly self and shook hands to tell them goodbye. I could see the look of appreciation and joy in some of their faces for the short half hour we spent with them. I really hope it brightened their day and I hope it helped the girls in some way too!

Crazy about cousins!

This last weekend was spent from daylight to dark playing with the cousins. They played Wii, Biggest Loser, store, and took a trip to the roller skating rink. Sekoya is getting really good on her roller blades, while Katera scoots around on her scooter or "plays" the video games. I just wish I could have put skates on and skated with them. I'm really getting tired of sitting by the sidelines watching all the fun!