Charlie

Our sweet little one joined our household on Friday, as most of you know. I'm so happy to have him here. :) I did enjoy feeling the baby but I was very excited for that day. I got really nervous at the thought of another kid and the surgery and the whole thing. Even if we hadn't decided that our little family was complete after this one, I would have decided after that C-section. I'm not sure what it was about it, but as I laid there waiting for them to start the surgery I started getting really serious and kind of freaked out. Thank goodness Rick was there to hold my hand and he sensed how I was feeling. I held it together until it was over and then there was a little boy there to keep my attention. Thank goodness for that too! It was exciting to not know until then the baby's gender. I heard Rick say, "Bonny, I see some dark hair." Then I heard a baby crying and Rick saying, "Bon, its a boy." I was really surprised because it was perfect.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, but I am very sore. It has been my best recovery so far, but I only just made it home from the hospital, so we'll see. Charlie has been a really great baby who only cries when he's hungry. He was 8 lbs and 21 inches. He's so skinny he just looks tiny. Anyway, enough talk. Here are some pictures.

Baby Charlie

Grandma got him to smile and I was lucky enough to capture it.

Big sister Carlyn loving her brother

Big sister Annie loving her brother while big brother doesn't want to share little brother.

Darren walked straight up to Charlie and held him like this. It made Rick emotional because it was very sweet.

We had a little trouble with his blood sugar and Daddy was giving him the bottle, which he really didn't like. Let's face it, Mommy's milk is better :)

Our cute little family!

Me and Charlie. My 4th little angel.

Another Date

I like posts with pictures better, but I'm just not up for it. Sorry!

I had my date with Annie tonight. We tried to have some time together yesterday, but she fell asleep as we got to Wal-Mart. Oh well. Anyway, tonight we didn't do anything great but I hope it showed her that I love her and have a little time for just her. We went to the DI, then to the library (gotta take care of business.) I asked what she wanted to do next and she wanted ice cream from McDonald's. I gave her a few choices about what to do afterwards and she chose to take our ice creams to the park. So we did. We sat on the bench eating our cones. She hadn't eaten very much when she said, "I'd really like to go play with those other kids, but that's okay," and licked her cone. I smiled and said, "Why don't you go play. You're done with your ice cream anyway aren't you?" She grinned and practically threw her cone at me as she ran off to play. I felt a tiny bit bad until I realized that after everything she did she'd look at me to wave or make sure I was watching her. Even though it wasn't super close or special, she knew I was there just for her and that was the point. I loved the huge smile on her little face.

Wish I Had a Camera

Last night I went on a date with Darren. I wish that I had the camera with me. He was adorable, even if he didn't understand the date idea. We went to Wal-Mart first because I needed to get a prescription. We walked around and got a few things. I've been trying to get him to say baby, which he refuses to do. We walked on the aisle with the baby dolls and he pointed to one. I grabbed it and tried again in vain to get him to say baby. What I didn't expect was that he would not let go of it again. I was just going to buy him a little car for a dollar so I tried switching them, but then he wouldn't go of either :) He kept hugging the baby, but called it dada. I'd been planning on getting him one when the baby came, so I let him keep it. He kept kissing the baby and then me. What a sweetheart.

We then went to Kmart to ride those little rides out front. Last time we were there he sat in the car for 20 minutes playing. He knew just where we were and got excited as I parked. Then fell down running for the car. He climbed in holding his new baby and car. I thought the ride would thrill him, but it scared him to death. Poor kid. He wanted nothing more to do with that. I brought a whole bunch of quarters to do just that. Oh well.

So we headed to Arctic Circle to share an ice cream cone. He fed himself from a cup and spoon and couldn't have been happier. He climbed right up on the bench and started eating. After we were done he played with his new car and baby on the table for about 20 minutes. That was it. Our grand date, but he sure seemed to enjoy it. He was just as excited to see Daddy when we got home as anything, but man, he was a doll!

P.S. 2 weeks from today!!! We still have no idea what to name him/her.

Funnies

I have pictures of this to come later, but in hopes of transitioning Darren to a toddler bed before baby comes, I bought a cute little Thomas the Train set at Wal-Mart last night and we put it on his toddler bed this morning. Darren's reaction was so cute, eyes wide and mouth open in disbelief. He ran to the bed and climbed on it and stayed there for awhile. Anyway, we were gone all day today so he didn't have a nap but he was excited to see his bed again. He tried to take his pillow (also Thomas) outside and anywhere else with him. I was at Enrichment night but Rick said he went to sleep really well. In the last 2 hours I have been on the computer in my bedroom. Twice I've heard a huge thump followed by Darren crying. Yup, he fell off the toddler bed! I do not laugh at my children's pain usually but it was so funny. The first time I debated about putting him back in the crib until we could put the railing on but thought that he was doing such a great job that I didn't want to confuse him. So I put him down and tucked him in. The 2nd time, he waited for me to comfort him then climbed back on, pulled the quilt up and rolled over! That's how much this boy loves Thomas! It was so cute I had to chuckle. As a side note, Rick is going out to the garage to get the railing to put it on his bed tonight.

Tonight we went to eat dinner with my mom and grandma. We went to Del Taco (Tuesday is 3/$1.00 taco night.) I sat down at a table with Darren and the girls were like glue to their grandma. My mom grabbed my grandma's order and verified she had the right one by saying, "You got 3 hard tacos, right?" Annie started getting upset saying she wanted an easy one. Then we figured out she was thinking hard/easy versus hard/soft. She wanted an "easy" taco really meaning a soft taco! Too funny. I think we have a new way of referring to them now!

A couple weeks ago Carlyn walked right up to me at eye level with my stomach and said, "Mom you're getting fat!" I chuckled and said, "Thanks honey." She corrected herself by saying, "I don't mean that you are getting fat, but the baby is making your stomach fat." Silly girl, as if that makes it a whole lot better!

This wasn't so much funny as cute, but I went to get Darren out of the crib this morning and he said, "No. Linney out." He wanted Carlyn to get him out. Too cute!

Kids! You gotta love them!

Anticipation

I'm not the first one to have 4 kids, but somehow it terrifies me that soon (5 weeks and a day) I will have 4 kids. Most of the pregnancy has felt like it has passed painfully slow but all of a sudden it feels very near the end and I'm not ready. They say that we have 9 months to get ready, right? Well, instead of getting ready I was feeling sick and taking care of the 3 beautiful children I already have. What was wrong with 3 again? Oh, I remember. It was Rick announcing to me the day that I brought Darren home from the hospital that he felt like we still had another child waiting to come into our family. Not that I disagree with him, but his timing stunk.

I'm actually really excited to meet this new arrival and find out whether it is a girl or boy. I'm curious if he/she will look more like one child than another, what it will look like and will it have any hair? I'm curious to see its temperament and if it is a good sleeper like the girls or a not so good sleeper like Darren. I'm curious to see how the kids will react to him/her. I'm curious to see if Rick and I will ever find a name that feels right for him/her. I'm also looking forward to not being pregnant anymore. I love to feel the baby move, but as everyone is so kind to point out, I'm huge already and I still have half the baby's growth to deal with. (Did you know that in the last weeks the baby is expected to gain a half to a full pound in a week? Yikes, I still have 5 weeks left. Do the math!)

To make my point, it isn't the actual baby that scares me. I LOVE that part about being a mom and having a baby. I'm scared of the pain from the c-section, even though I know what to expect. I'm scared that the other kids will act up or act jealous and that I won't do a good enough job balancing between them. I'm scared because our finances are tight and we are already pretty cramped in this little house. I'm scared of the mountain of laundry we already have that never seems to be any less. Ditto for the dishes. I had a meltdown last night at the thought of babysitting a little boy and felt like a total nut job. Oh well, I hope it is just pregnancy hormones going haywire and that I'll eventually feel a little calm. I know I will when I actually hold the baby, but it would be nice to feel calm before then.

'Twas the Night

'Twas the night before a school day and all through the house,
not a creature was sleeping, not even a mouse.
The parents were listening closely with care,
In hopes that soon sounds of life wouldn't be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of summertime danced in their little heads.
Mama-her impatience, and I in my wrath,
Had just shushed the kids for the twentieth time.


It needs a little work, but am I the only who feels this way sometimes?

One Joy of Motherhood

There are some things I never thought about when preparing to become a parent. Being the "poop police" was one of them. Maybe your children don't have this problem, but a couple of mine do.

Have you ever had to have the following conversation?

Mom: Honey, did you poop today.

Child: No.

Mom: If you don't poop by dinner you will have to have a suppository.

Child: No. Please no. I hate them.

Mom: I know, it would be much better if you could do it on your own. But if you don't, we'll have to give you one. Why don't you go sit on the potty to see if you can go?

Child: Okay.

Or this conversation?

Child: I want Sugar Puffs for breakfast.

Mom: No, it doesn't have enough fiber for you and you need to poop.

Child: Can I have a banana then?

Mom: No, you won't poop if you do. How about some apple juice?

Child: *sigh* Okay.

This one is my favorite.

Mom is waiting patiently at a store, friend's house, church, or anywhere when she hears:

Child: Mom. I went poop!

Mom: Great job. Now wipe really well and flush.

Child: No, you've got to see it. You'll be so proud of me. I didn't even need a suppository! Look how big it is. Mom, come see my poop! (All said very loudly.)

Mom: Okay. Wow. Good job pooping. Now wipe and flush.

Child: Okay. We have to tell Daddy too, okay? Tell him how big it was.

Ah, the joys of Motherhood. :)

Update- Birthday, Ear Piercing, Goodbye

Hey everyone, I'm on my new computer, and it runs much faster, thanks to Rick. I haven't downloaded pictures for a long time, so I'll try not to make it too long. No promises though.

We've had a busy April. I'll start with Rick's birthday.

I mentioned in a previous post that the girls wanted to dress up for his birthday dinner. This is what they wore. So sweet!

That's quite a little fire on the cake there. We had to sing fast! :)

This is the end of the movie when all the kids were sitting on Rick's lap. I love it. They love their Daddy so much, just as they should.

The next big thing was the girls getting their ears pierced. I think I mentioned that they had to earn it by being good and earning beans. They had a few not so good days, but mostly they earned it pretty quickly. I am still not sure I should have let Rick talk me into this, but the girls love them and take care of them pretty well for how young they are. We got a little choked up while we were there. I know its a lot of pictures, but again, this was hard for me so deal with it!

Annie before

Annie during

Annie after. She chose green birthstones (I don't know what month.) No tears, no flinching. I am amazed by my brave daughters. Rick tried to talk me into it and I still didn't dare and was secretly relieved that they wouldn't do mine while I'm pregnant without a doctor's note.

Carlyn before

Carlyn during. Notice that she has her lamby. Anyone who knows her well know her lamby too. She chose lamby that night to comfort her.

Carlyn after. She chose the pink birthstone, of course. Again, no tears and not even the tiniest flinch. Tough cookie! For at least a week they proudly showed their ears to everyone. They'd say, "Look, I got my ears pierced. I didn't even flinch!"

Darren was bored out of his mind and screamed through the whole thing. He also went through at least 2 suckers.

Now I need to mention that my brother,Mathew, had let us know he was working in Canada for the summer and would be leaving in May. I was having a hard time with it because we're pretty close and see him a lot and my kids just adore him, especially Darren. Plus, I'm pregnant and he won't be here for the baby to be born. I'm not sure why this is so huge to me, but it is. So we had their ears pierced on Friday night the week before Easter. That weekend was also conference weekend and a family Easter party on Saturday morning (to be blogged about later.) So Saturday morning I had everything timed just right so that we can eat, bathe, get ready and watch conference then leave to the party immediately after. Well, Mathew threw it all off :)

Rick hadn't gotten much sleep that night (thanks to WOW) and was sleeping in while I showered. Next thing I knew, Rick was up and dressed. I was surprised and he said I had a call from Mathew who was on his way to Canada that day and wanted to say goodbye to us on his way out! I just stared at Rick then finally said, "You're a little late for April Fool's." He laughed but then said it wasn't a joke. Mathew was on his way. Well, I lost it. I bawled while I got ready. I know he's a grown up and I think this adventure will be really good for him, but I still miss him. Its hard when you get used to someone being there, able to come play games or watch the kids most times when we'd call. (Mathew, if you're reading this I don't say it to make you feel bad. We really are excited for you.) Anyway, he came by hugged us, used our computer, then was off.

Look at that smile! Any questions how much she loves Mathew? He lived with us when she was born and for awhile she liked Mathew at least as much as Rick.

I don't think Darren would have been smiling if he had known he wouldn't see his buddy for such a long time :)

Carlyn is old enough to understand better what was going on and was a little more clingy to him, but it was also really sweet because every prayer for over a week prayed for Mathew to be safe and have a fun time in Canada. How sweet is that?

...just waiting

Hey everyone, I have lots to post about: my brother leaving the country to work, Rick's birthday, fun Easter stuff, a trip to my parent's, ear piercing, a new sprinkling system, and a new kitchen faucet. Guess what I'm waiting for? My computer. Rick took my old computer minus hard drive and gave it to my sister who is a teacher, and also has 3 kids in school, and they really needed one. So he's got my hard drive and I'm waiting for a new computer. :) He promised to have it done last week and then he started to work on a few projects around the house (mentioned above), which in all reality are more important than me having a computer, but still...

So here I am doing a quick post to say Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a great time. We sure did, but it was pretty laid back. We had a family party with Rick's family last week and then spent some time at my parent's house after that. We had our Easter Funday Saturday waking up early to have the kids look at their baskets followed by our neighborhood egg hunt and breakfast, then naps all around, and worked/played in the yard til it started pouring rain later. We enjoyed a nice relaxing Easter Sunday at church followed by a movie marathon and a yummy dinner of ham and funeral potatoes.

A Quick Happy Birthday

Rick is going to work on my computer tonight so no pictures. But I wanted to say (a day late) a quick Happy Birthday to my sweet man. I love you, Rick, and I'm glad you had a great day.

We had french toast for breakfast and he worked until after 4 when he had a massage. Thanks Massage Envy for getting some knots out of my husband's back because I can't. I frankly was a little jealous. I've feeling very sore and would love a massage, but I'll have to wait. I am glad he got one though. He requested golden rod eggs for dinner (I told him I wanted to cook but his first request was Sizzler.) He liked the movie night at home we did for his birthday last year and requested another one this year. We rented Bolt and had popcorn. Half way through we sang to him and had some rich chocolate cake. We had a great time.

The best was that while he was gone the kids made birthday cards for him. Darren wanted to get in on it too and sat at his booster seat and colored with marker on the construction paper. It was cute, he was very serious about drawing and got mad when I wrote Happy Birthday Daddy on the inside. The girls always take it seriously and made some cute cards. Annie put princess stickers on it and Rick laughed saying he never thought he'd get a princess card for his birthday. :) We gave him the cards at dinner and Darren knew just what to do with the card he made and proudly passed it to Rick. It was adorable. Then, when Rick gave the girls hugs after reading their cards Darren grunted and held out his arms. Rick said, "You want a hug too?" Darren, who says no to everything, nodded his head and said yeah. It was great. He gave Rick a big hug. I unfortunately had a sinus headache and wasn't feeling great, but I hope that Rick never questions how much any of us love him. :)

Haircut, Fire Safety, & Ear Piercing

After our bad Friday night we luckily didn't have anymore sickness but it did take us several days to recover as we were all so tired and worn out. Carlyn asked for a blessing since she saw that it helped me feel better and while she was down for a few days, she didn't throw up more.

Sunday morning my mom and I decided to tackle Darren's crazy hair. He freaks out when we cut it but it was driving me nuts hanging in his eyes and being crooked from him fighting during cutting. So we thought it would be quicker to use the clippers. As soon as he heard them he started freaking out. I wanted to take a video, but apparently we left the camera home. You would have thought we were killing the child the way he was freaking out. It wasn't any better when we just used the scissors though and it ended up so crooked (and too short, in my opinion) between him fighting and Rick and I holding his head still. I don't like it because it makes him looks so different but I am happy to get it out of his eyes. I'll have to take an after picture.

On Monday night we decided to do a follow-up fire safety family home evening. We did one maybe 6 months ago and thought a little practical lesson after talking about what to do would be good. So as we talked about getting out of the house and staying out of the house Carlyn started getting really upset after I asked her, "What if you left lamby (her lovey as long as she's been alive) in the house? Would you go back and get her?" I was saying it so that she would know NOTHING was important enough to go back into the house if it was on fire. I didn't think it would be a big deal since she's not as attached to lamby anymore. I was wrong. The poor thing got so upset and was bawling that she wouldn't leave lamby and we couldn't let her die in the fire! Oh it broke my heart. She was getting so upset by the whole talking thing so I suggested that Daddy show us what the smoke detector sounded like and we would pretend to be asleep and practice what we should do if there was a fire in the night. I thought this would be good practice, but also a distraction to Carlyn. Then Anneliese started freaking out. The whole thought of it scared her to death. It took awhile to convince her that it was fine and just a practice and the drill went great. Darren, not to be left out, was put in his crib because that was where he'd be at night and he put up quite a fit. So our fire safety lesson, while I think it went well, was full of drama.

Totally off the point, I'm wondering what suggestions any of you have about where to get the girls ears pierced or any pointers you may have. They did really great earning 100 beans together through minding, not fighting, and not sassing. So its time to get it done soon.

A Quick Little Trip

*I hope this isn't gross. Sorry if it is.



Why is it that things never can go as planned? :) We came to my parent's house Friday night and planned to go back Saturday night. The trip was so that Rick could help my Dad refelt his pool table. Well, I hadn't been feeling well but we attributed that to pregnancy woes. I felt so sick the whole way down and was really upset when I got sick in the car as we pulled in. Ugh. Anyway, we ate dinner and put the kids in bed completely unsuspecting of the night we were about to have. I got really sick at that time, so sick that I asked Rick for a blessing. I did feel better almost immediately which was so nice. Carlyn thought it was so special that Daddy and Grandpa gave me a blessing and the kids quickly fell asleep. I was playing a card game with my Mom while Rick and Dad worked on the pool table. Then I heard a little voice saying, "Mom, I threw up." My least favorite words ever! I was feeling queasy still so I called for Rick. Without going into details I'll just say that Carlyn was sick all night. Darren whined all night until he was sick and didn't sleep well after that, and I was sick myself. We both got up with the kids but then I was so exhausted myself that toward the middle of the night somewhere I couldn't wake up to help anymore. Poor Rick ended up sleeping next to Carlyn on the floor. Lucky Annie seems to have avoided the bug for now and slept surprisingly well considering but still was awake quite a bit in the middle of the night. It was a bummer that this one trip I decided not to pack extra jammies or clothes or anything, only what we needed for one night.

A Sad Little Moment

Okay, this is pretty private for me but I'm sharing because I need support :) I talked to Rick and he understood, but I'm just wondering how anyone else would feel.

Rick and I have decided that 4 kids is our limit. In pregnancies, c-sections, and our house, and we feel like our family is complete after this. My mom asked if that wouldn't make me a little sad and I said, "Not yet." Well, today I had a little sad hit me. I went to a doctor appointment and we talked about how I would schedule my c-section at my next appointment. Yeah! Then I asked about having my tubes tied while he was already in there. He said he's great with that because 4 c-sections is enough for my body. Then I signed some forms saying I asked for one and went home. I was feeling pretty sick today for some reason and it wasn't until later in the day that my thoughts have been consumed with it. "Charlie" seems to sense something and has been especially active which makes me feel a little sad thinking about this being the last one. I really do feel like I can't handle another pregnancy and that we're a good sized family so why am I sad? Hormones most likely, but also because so much of the last 6 years of my life have been focused on having babies. Actually more than that because I went through fertility stuff before I got pregnant with Carlyn.

Most of my friends who have blogs are still in the baby making years so maybe you can't relate, so if not, how do you think you'll feel when you have decided you're done? I've felt really content until today :)


For a little chuckle after a serious moment, Annie was folding washcloths the other day. She does a good job and loves it. I hadn't even asked her to so I told her I was so proud of her for doing it. She grinned and said, "Yeah. Now I'm a teenager!" What a funny little girl.

A Busy Week Cont.

I forgot to add something. After Carlyn mentioned that she hadn't had a Mommy date in a long time the concert last week came up. She felt so special and Rick and I talked about it and decided that we would rotate through the kids for Daddy or Mommy dates. We plan on most of these being free dates or cheap dates but the cost isn't really the point. So Carlyn got her turn and it was Annie's turn last week. On Friday Rick and I decided it had better be that night so we gave Annie the option of having a date with Mommy or Daddy. She chose Daddy. He took her to the mall to walk around and have an ice cream. She wore a dress and everything and looked so cute. In the van Rick told her they were going to the mall and she said, "You're kidding!" She was also very shy (according to him.) They looked in a few stores and even checked out ear piercing (the girls are earning it.) They got home and she was beaming and said, "Mommy, we had the best time!" I love how special she felt and knew that she was loved. She's been in a much better mood since.

A busy week

We started our week last week with a family home evening flying kites in the park. It was a really windy day so I cajoled Rick into going. He really didn't want to but we had a lot of fun when we got there. We had cheap kites from Wal-mart and they were amazingly good flyers. Carlyn had a lot of interest in flying them but Anneliese lost interest after a few minutes. Darren played with a ball for a few minutes and played on the playground, mostly throwing wood chips, the rest of the time. Carlyn said, "Look. I'm a master at this!" She was great too. She got it really high all by herself.

Darren with his ball.
D on the slide. Probably with wood chips in his hands.

Daddy running after helping Annie get her kite up.

I know its hard to see but Carlyn is there all by herself and the kite is pretty high. She was doing it by herself. I let it go and she did the rest.

St. Patrick's Day was on a Tuesday and didn't turn out as we expected :) My mom couldn't come for our regular Tuesday visits. I had called my grandma to tell her we would eat at home and then head out. As soon as we were ready to leave my friend Denise called and said she was on her way to visit and also had some things to drop off. She had a garbage bag of barbie dolls and brat dolls. It was like Christmas at our house :) I have some extra brat doll bodies if anyone wants them. I don't like to keep the ones that don't have clothes. I never did make it to my grandma's house but we had a great visit with Denise and her two youngest kids. Carlyn must have been excited for St. Patrick's Day because she came up all in green and helped Annie wear green too. She kept asking when I was getting dressed so she could pinch me. :) I told her when I got dressed I would wear green. I made green eggs and ham for breakfast and it grossed me out and I don't think I'll do that again! I forgot what we had for lunch but we had taco salad for dinner and I figured the lettuce was green enough for me.

Annie in her green. She has on one of Carlyn's denim skirts and red tights. I did their hair all fancy too with lots of green bands in it (not in these pictures). They loved that.

Carlyn in her first outfit. The green sweater and tights are so cute, but don't match. She also decided it was too warm to wear the sweater and changed into a cute green top.

Rick wanted me to take this picture because Darren never sits still like this. I think he was watching Jungle Book, his new favorite movie.

Our ward had a Primary talent show on Saturday. I'll have to put a little clip on of Carlyn later, but I don't know how to do it from the other camera. Rick used our digital one and took several pictures of Carlyn's dance, but the lighting didn't work well so he took video of Annie's on it. This is part of Carlyn's dance class that are in our ward doing "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted. It was super cute and Carlyn was very enthusiastic. She's on the left and I'm sad I didn't get a better picture of just her. They have aprons on over their leotards and holding scarves.

Annie was in a group with the Sunbeam girls (and a cousin of one girl-she's the tall one) and they did a cute little dance. I chose this one because you can see Annie best. She's in the front right to start with the pink leotard and shoes. She's the smallest I think.

On Sunday the kids went with Aunt Belinda and Josh while Rick and I went to the Draper Temple dedication. They were so excited, even Darren, as they waved goodbye to us from Belinda's truck. Mathew came up last night too and we finished the night with a game of Cities and Nights (Settler's expansion.)

It was such a nice week weather wise. We went for a walk everyday. Yesterday was fairly cold and rainy and this morning we woke up to snow. What a change! I think it was last Thursday we were walking around the block and a neighbor lady came running out and gave us St. Patrick's Day bags of candy. She said she just missed us on St. Patrick's Day. It was so sweet and unexpected. Carlyn now wants to take her something in return. She's so thoughtful. I love it.