Picture Overload!

I was going to blog yesturday because it was Lena's 3 month birthday but just ran out of time! I think a day late will be ok though:) Yup...Lena is 3 months old!! How fast time flies! I can't believe it - she is getting big so fast. She is just always soooooo alert and loves to smile at ANYONE who will smile back - heck! Even if they don't smile back like the puppy on her bouncer, she still smiles! She giggles REALLY cute! It's not dainty at all which you would think it would be by looking at her. She has just discovered her hands and has a great time going to town chowing on them. Talk about slobber! Piper and I were trying to get a good 3 month old picture of her last night but this is the best we could get. I think all of them turned out with her looking like she'd just seen a ghost. Anyway, she is a beautiful, sweet, perfect baby and I just wish time could stand still so I could enjoy it a little longer.

Curtis was really late on Monday so we decided to have FHE last night and we decided to start holding our kids to a chore chart. I know! We are aweful and insane for not having started yet but I just wasn't sure how to go about it. Well last night we made up charts and talked about what all our chores are blah blah and guess what... Piper is SOOOOOOOO excited about it!!! I knew she would be because she is awesome like that but I didn't think she'd be THIS into it! So today we decorated little jars for each of them that when they go over and above their chores or do a good deed or are super nice to me or each other they can earn a pom pom to put in it. Once it's full they get to go on a special outing with one of us - Piper is STOKED! All day she's been cleaning up after herself and asking if she can help and saying please and thank you and EVEN sharing! I love it! I hope she keeps it up because I REALLY REALLY want to take her to the Nutcracker in Houston - wouldn't that be so fun!

Moving on...I went to a thrift store and got this little bumbo seat and LOVE it. Lena is still not a fan of laying on her back and so this chair is PERFECT for her. I just threw this pic in because it has all my cute girls in it.


This last weekend we went to Houston outdoor theater for a super fun russian circus performance totally FREE! and we got seats up close! How great is that. Piper LOVED it and it was actually a really good performance!




On October 30th we blesses little Lena! She was so good and SOOOO cute. This is her in her blessing dress. I was sad I couldn't use the same dress that Piper and Bailey were blessing in but they were blessed so early and we waited so long to bless Lena BUT it was fun to get to pick out a new one! I thought she was ADORABLE!!


We were so lucky to get to have Curtis's family out for it and had SOOOO much fun with them. Wow! it sure was a whirlwin (sp?) of a weekend though! We went to the beach on saturday, rode the 4 wheeler and motorcycle in the afternoon and went to Kemah in the evening! Sunday we blessed Lena in the Relief Society room (haha - our bad! we didn't know it was stake conferance until after everyone had bought there tickets - oops!) which was nice to have our family and close friends there then had a BBQ at our house after. It sure was a party! In the afternoon everyone (minus me and chelsea) went on a walk to the park by our house and little Bailey hurt her ankle:( going down the slide. She crawled for the next week but she's back up on it now at least until she decides Lena has been held too much and it's her turn - then she acts like it hurts again;)

Here's my little beach baby! She ALWAYS has been since she was a tiny baby- LOVES the beach! I swear she could entertain herself at the beach indefinately!

(I swear the water was warm and I was NOT torturing her) little Lena, however, is not sure about the beach yet

Bailey entertained herself with the birds at the beach. I think she chased them the whole time we were there!

Halloween was a blast! Piper and Bailey were Minie and Mickey Mouse at the ward trunk-or-treat and Lena was a lobster in Chef Curtis's pot. Then for Halloween Piper wanted to be a butterfly (from TWO years ago! I couldn't believe it still fit!) and Bailey was Mickey and Lena was a little pumpkin. We partied at Julie's AWESOME Halloween party and then went off to collect some sweets! Bailey didn't fair too well in the treats department because she couldn't walk and therefore couldn't go to as many houses but I don't think she minded - we just hung out at Julie's house and ate all her Halloween candy:) while Piper went trick-or-treating with the big kids and Julie.

It sure has been a fun month and we are still on a high from having so many cousins here to play with! Wish we could do it more often!

Pumkin Patch:)

I know! I have a lot of catching up to do but I thought I'd start with the most recent seeing as it is the most festive activity we have done lately:) This last weekend Curtis actually didn't have to work! Hooray! So, although I REALLY wanted to go to a pumkin patch that was almost 2 hour away with pony rides and pig races, we instead decided to try out the little patch by our house. And it was still FUN! It was super hot and the mosquitos had a field day on us but we got the best darn pumkins in League City:) Kennedy was staying with us for the weekend and the girls sure LOVED having her around!!!!!! Bailey is still asking if "Kenny" can sit by her in the car. I told the girls they could go pick whatever pumkin they wanted...Piper came back with one of those tiny gord pumkins haha. She was obsessed with it and therefore Bailey was too. I couldn't get them to focus on picking out a carvable pumkin until I agreed to buying a "baby" pumking too. Funny what they decide is obsessive worthy:)

I Love this picture of Bailey helping pick up the HEAVY pumpkin - she sure helped daddy out:) Well this WAS the pumkin Bailey picked until she discovered that Piper picked a white one so guess what...yup bye bye orange pumpkin and we hunted for another white one:)






Piper found a little hay pile and LOVED it...

Bailey, however, did not! Check out my blue pumkpkin!!!!

All in all - Good pumkin pickin'

Curtis's New Toy!

I thought I should maybe post a picture of Curtis's new toy! What do ya think?! A couple months ago Curtis saw this on Craigs List and just COULDN'T resist. I was very pregnant and couldn't try it out but a couple weekends ago we all played on it for a while and MAN that thing is FUN!!!!!!!!! I think Curtis figures he'll make little tom boys out of the girls since we don't have any boys...Not sure how that's going... Piper REFUSED to try it until finally I made her! Such a good mom I know. But hey, she ended up loving it. As for Bailey, it didn't take much coaxing. I think Curtis has his little tom boy with her without even trying:)

More of Lena!

I just got back some of Lena's new born pictures! The best are yet to come so if I don't' have your address email it to me so I can send you an announcement!!

I can't decide if i like the black and white or color better!

Baby Lena

All my kids are asleep (well at least Piper's having rest time:)) So I guess I better document how little Lena got here right!?! Ok, here goes...





Monday I went to the Doctors and was at a 1 so we decided to strip my membranes. I had a few "contractions" but nothing severe. Then Tuesday I had them more intense and a tiny bit more regular so I thought it would at least be within the next day or two. I was hoping because we went to the beach and I had to lug all that stuff around in the 100+ weather it would, you know, get things going. Nope WRONG! (remember my due date was Tuesday Aug 9th!!!!!!!!or the 11th no one really knows for sure haha!) So all "contractions" stopped by that evening and nothing really happened (aside from the random "contraction" here or there) until...

Side note: As ticked as I was that this baby wasn't coming, it was actually a good thing and I knew it! We A.) really needed to get a car that fit everyone which we were able to do on Saturday and B.) wanted grandmommy to get here to help with the girls! She was coming Wed!!

Sunday morning I woke up around 6:30am with a few mediocre (sp?) contractions. Nothing too insane but I was suspicious that this might be the day. So we all got up and got ready for church. Curtis thought it was a good excuse to miss but I didn't want to sit around having my mind on contractions all day. So we went to church at 9am and I had contractions all through sacrament meeting. They sarted being pretty regular so I timed them and they were 6 to 7 minutes apart. I had TOTALLY forgotten when your supposed to go the doctor - is it 5 min apart?? So anyway we went about our business. Next sunday school then relief. The contractions became more irregular and so I gave up keeping track of them.
We went home, had lunch, took a little nap and them kaboom! They started HURTING! And I'm so stupid, I was like 'it's not that bad, let's wait until they are really intense to go to the hopital' Yeah that was DUMB! We had plans for the Bishop to come over to visit at 5 and then we were having Donald and Julie and gang over for dinner. Curtis, being the wise husband that he is, said we should cancel everything but me being the NOT so wise one said oh no we shouldn't, it's not that bad. (I think I forgot how this labor thing goes! See last time I was induced so the contractions were WAY more intense and I kept thinking this time that when they get THAT intense I'll go in. Well, silly me! They don't get THAT intense when you aren't induced - at least not until the end hint hint. Oh well, now I know) So the Bishop came over and I could barely pay attention to what they were saying and was trying to not let them know I was having contractions because uh AWKWARD! I think I did a pretty good job but after they left Curtis was like come on we cant have donald and julie over with you like this. And AGAIN I was like no I'm fine I already made the food. So poor Donald and Julie come over and I'm totally moaning in bed, taking hot baths, pacing! (P.S. Bailey was so cute durring this time - she found something that she decided looked like a phone and was talking on it as I lay moaning in bed and then I hear her say into her phone " mommy has owies" Haha I laghed )So they eat, Curtis askes if I want to play games and at that point I think I'm going to DIE so I give him a look like seriously. So LUCKILY Julie is a very wise person and offers to take the girls home with them ( I was thinking we would just wait LONGER yes I know I'm and idiot and then bring them on our way tot he hospital) If she wouldn't have taken them then...who knows who knows!! So after they all had left I was like (are you just reading this and thinking man what an IDIOT!) lets watch Harry Potter. So we begin...

Seriously like Two minutes later I have this HORRIBLE contraction - It wasn't like a cramp it was like sharp, I'd never had a contraction like that before even with Piper. So then I'm like crap that's not good so I tell Curtis and he's like dude if you have this baby here NOT COOL MAN!

He still had to shower so off he goes to shower - I start packing my bags (yes I actually waited until the last minute to pack my bags) Hey at least I have the girls' bags packed. And then we're off to the hospital! Every single bump Curtis hit I seriously wanted to DIE! I almost wanted him to pull over because it was just so not worth it. Call the ambulance - make them come to me! I know I know ! I'm the biggest baby EVER!

So we Finaly make it to the hospital and I don't know where to go. I forgot to ask! But I thought I remembered last time going to the ER . So we pull up and I asked Curtis to go ask and make sure before I get out. So he does and he comes back and said that they wanted him to bring me in and then park. Yeah that was not going to happen! I'm so sure - me go up ALONE! NO WAY (and I'm SOSOOO glad I didn't) So I'm like go I'll goi with you to park and then we can go up together. So we park and slowly make our way inside.

OK so this is totally awkward. I guess I'm just really self consious but I really don't like being in pain or ACTING in pain in front of people I don't know. Well there are tons of people in the waiting room of the ER! Come on really at 8:30 at night people! Have your emergencies earlier - just kidding. I just felt so self concious walking in and everyone like oh man she's having that baby! I don't know it was just wierd and I had to try harder to act not in paing and it was just exhausting!!

So we get in and the nurse comes down with a wheel chair. Again, I just don't want everyone seeing me go up in a wheel chair not to mention it hurt SUPER bad to sit down so I KINDLY declined. Well actually I said, "Do I have to go in the wheel chair, can I just walk?" And gues what the nurse says to me... "You could have the first time" in serious ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that! I mean aren't they required to be nice to you when your in labor!!??!!! (I guess she had come down once to get me already but since I parked the car with Curtis she had to go back up and was bugged) Whatever, I got my way and walked up. The nurse was walking so fast though I couln't have kept up it I WASN'T having contractions and she was so bugged every time I had to stop for a contraction. Looking back, she was probably just worried I was going to have the baby there on the floor but still. Anyway guess what welcomed us when we got to Labor and Delivery?

A bunch of scowling nurses!!! YUP! I don't know if it was the timing (but seriously they choose to work at night come on!) or it was just a bad day for all of them or what but they were not happy to see us. Again WHATEVER! I just remember seeing the most scowly nurse and saying in my head 'PLEASE bless she's not my nurse, PLEASE bless she's not my nurse!' Guess who was my nurse... You guessed it!

So I change and the nurse checks me and get this - the whole time i'm like Please bless they don't send me home. seriously I didn't think I was far enough along! (O.K. back up... the whole way walking up to L and D I was saying "get the anesthiologist! over and over because I was NOT about to put up with more pain! And I didn't want to have to wait for him to be paged then wait for him to get to the hospital seeing as it was the weekend and it was night.) K then the nurse says 'oh I'm sorry'. I thought maybe she thinks she's hurting me so I ignored it but she says it again and I'm like what? And she says..."your an 8." Come again! No I'm not! She's like you might not get an epidural it takes the lab a half hour to get your tests back. All of a sudden nurses are everywhere taking blood, hooking up the IV, asking me questions and durring all this administration has the nerve to ask to see Curtis. I stepped in on that one and said can't it wait for heaven sake!
Amazinly the Anesthesiologist comes in then ready to give me one - seriously a MIRACLE!
But then I hum ha around about getting one because who wants to go through all that if it's not going to kick in in time. So I ask the nurse if there is time for it to kick in and she says she doesn't know and the anesthesiologist is just as nice as everyone else and is like Now or never - exact words. At that very second I was having a contraction and was like do it NOW! So he did...THREE TIMES!!! AND he got mad at me when I flinched the second time! But in my defense I thought the first one had worked and he didn't tell me everything he was doing like they usually do so I totally wasn't expecting it. His exact words were "what was THAT!" when I flinched. Yeah he pretty much HATED me! and then after it was all done it didn't work so I made him come back three times to up the ammy! He REALLY hated me after that! In fact I was in the middle of calling him in for a forth time when the nurse was like just push it out already. Luckily it did work and all went well. Once it kicked in I could finally rest. I'm sure it slowed everything down but I was so ok with that - I needed to rest! Amazingly I could feel my legs (and even move them) and the contractions (they just didn't hurt) with this epidural. So I could feel myself pushing which was helpful. Before when I've had them I have to ask if I'm pushing! I did have to push a little longer than with Bailey but no 3 hours like with Piper. I think it was only about 20 minutes.

Finally, Lena was born! She had maconium so I didn't get her right away but I got her pretty quick. I actually prefer them to clean them off a little before giving me the baby - is that wrong? I dont' want to touch all that gross stuff! She nursed great and slept with me for a good little bit before her first bath. Curtis and I were both surprise she doen't look at all like either of the girls. She has strawberry blond hair and her cheeks are normal size, not the huge marshmellows the other girls had. But she is still a cutie!

So that's my novel of a birth story!

Lena Marie

Our little Lena was born Monday Aug. 15! She was born at 1:08 am :( not recomended) and weighed 8lbs 7oz and was 21 in long! She's a GREAT baby and we're so glad she is finally here! we waited FOREVER! but I'm glad she decided to join the fam:)

Due Date

So I found out yesturday that today is my actual due date:) I went to a doctor apt yesturday and long story short (with a little confusion on my part) I found out that although they said my due date is Aug 11, I am actually 40 weeks today! However...NO baby yet:( So... I think we'll go to the beach:) Here are our most recent pictures at the beach back when Dan and MaryAnn visited. Fun Fun!