A very Merry Christmas

I can't write much at this moment since I only have one free hand while I am holding the baby (who does not want to be out down today) but suffice it to say that we had a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!


(a California girl in the snow -I can't seem to convince her to wear pants!)

First Month

I can hardly believe that Bria will be one month old tomorrow! What a wonderful month it has been. We are half-way through our doctor recommended "house arrest" to shelter the baby from the cold and germs outside and although a little stir crazy at times, I have been loving the "cuddle time." I am so grateful to be close to our families, as they have been a big help getting Alexis to and from school and helping entertain the girls for me.

They have also been attending all the events I've been missing. Aubrey had her first dance recital. She was so excited to perform on stage and thrilled by the rose her grandpa gave her after the show.

Alexis has been performing all month long at various events throughout the community with the "One Voice Children's Choir." The choir has around 150 kids and does a fantastic job.

She has enjoyed learning the music and her sisters love to help sing along in the car while she practices. Her dad has been so great to adjust his schedule to take her to her performances; sometimes three a week! It has really been a busy month with a lot of activities...and Ambria and I have been snuggled up inside for most of it. She is doing great and growing like a weed. At her two week check up she had almost gained a pound from her birth weight and her "chubby-ing" cheeks would suggest she is continuing to grow. She has been good at night to go back to sleep after she eats and is very peaceful most of the day. She loves to be held and she has a lot of people willing to help out with that. Her sisters frequently request the chance to hold her, but no one more than Aubrey. She would hold her for hours if I'd let her. One morning while she was cradling the baby on the couch while watching morning cartoons, Aubrey told me her hand felt funny. I told her that her arm was probably falling asleep and her response was, "No; I don't think so. It feels like there are dots in my fingers." What a perfect description of what a hand feels like when it's been asleep!



Keeping up with all four girls is exhausting but feeling more managable everyday. There is rarely a dull moment, however. For example; this morning (after being awoken twice by Allie crying about leg cramps, and three night feedings for the baby), Allie came to my bathroom and wet all over the floor (she apparently arrived just a few seconds too late). After I cleaned up the mess, I bathed the baby who smelled like spit up from the night before, and her she had a diaper blow-out moments later while I was feeding her. I changed her clothes and cleaned up her mess and headed upstairs for some breakfast where I found Aubrey and Alexis doing "service." They were mopping the floor...with a half inch of soap suds covering the ENTIRE kitchen and dining floors! Aubrey was skating around and around the kitchen island in the suds in her bare feet as Alexis was adding more and more water to the floor. What a mess! There were about a dozen towels on the floor and a third a bottle of dish soap. By that point, I was ready to go back to bed! No chance of that however, it's Christmas break and we have fun things to do. We are all excited for Christmas and wish you all a very Merry one!


P.S. Today is Adam's birthday; this is how I found him at 8:30 this evening. Apparently this father of four is exhausted in his old age!

My sweet, sweet baby!

Our sweet baby Ambria was welcomed into our family with joyful hearts on Sunday, November 21st at 3:35pm. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz, was 20 inches long and has black hair! (That makes one of each for hair color...we hope it stays dark.)Everything went perfectfully. I had a very easy labor and delivery and the recovery is going well, although I am exhausted! We have greatly appreciated the help of family and are glad they are close by to enjoy our baby with us.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Ready to turn in my parking pass

Dear pregnancy,

This letter is to thank you for the ride and inform you that I am ready for my journey to be through. Before I turn in my expectant mother parking pass, there are just a few things I feel I ought to say.
We got off to a bit of a rocky start in the first trimester. You should know that in my opinion, morning sickness (make that ALL DAY sickness) is a terrible way to get someone excited about having their fourth child. I clearly already had my hands full with three. A new baby sounds cute and exciting when you feel well, but when you are sick for three months, just the thought of all the work of a new baby could bring me to tears. The thought of about anything besides rainbow sherbet and mashed potatoes brought me to tears. I had a hard time getting excited for a baby when I was hardly excited about living. During that phase, the world around me was spinning all the time and I had zeal for nothing. I wanted only to stay curled up in a ball on my couch all day, every day. Thank heavens I had kids to take care of (including the two extra kindergarteners I was babysitting at the time)to get me out of bed and dressed each day. The break from cooking was a thoughtful gesture; too bad I couldn't feel well enough to enjoy it. I had started a few spring projects just before you came, the thought of which completing still makes me nautious to this day.


The sun started bursting through the clouds a couple weeks into the second trimester and aside from some very painful sciatica, it was a comfortable few months. I found the joy in life again and in decorating for holidays and cooking and eating and exsisting. I was grateful to feel like myself again; something I had once doubted would ever happen. We had surprisingly been able to keep you a secret until then and it was fun to finally start to get excited as I began feeling well and people began to discover the news. This was the trimester during which our family moved and it was a very busy time and days and weeks passed by quickly.
The third trimester has also moved along rather quickly. You have been kind to me these past couple months. I have been grateful to feel relatively comfortable overall and had very little swelling or other discomforts. While sleep during pregnancy is never easy, it has been better than in some previous pregnancies. Most of my greatest frustrations these past two trimesters have involved wardrobe issues and the challenge of picking the perfect name for the baby. That is until the past week or two. I am openly uncomfortable now. I feel (and I am)huge. I can barely get my socks on my own feet. Sleep is tough and I am tired all the time. My tummy hurts a lot not to mention whatever it is the baby is resting on! Braxton Hicks are quite painful the fourth time around and if this had been my first pregnancy and I had not known better, I'd have thought I was in labor a couple times already. Everything is in order at home; the baby's things are washed and set up, the name has been chosen (I think), and I am now feeling ready for the baby's arrival both physically and emotionally. I am rapidly becoming miserable and impatient, so please, accept this as my two weeks notice.
Please feel free to send the stork and release me from my pregnancy duties at an earlier time. I am ready to begin my new position as a mother of four.



Sincerely,

Yours truly

October

In October we enjoyed the first snowfall of the season; my grandma's 90th birthday (I had the privilege of making the cake); and a Happy Halloween. Alexis and Allie both dressed up as witches, Aubrey went trick or treating as a cowgirl and I decided to go dressed as "the old woman who swallowed a fly."

Autumntime

Dress -ups


Trip to the zoo with Alexis's french teacher


Bowling with Grandma

We have been having all sorts of fun this month. There is certainly never a dull moment! The girls have been enjoying costume parties, fall festivals, pumpkin carving, visits to the zoo, bowling and lots of play time. The atmosphere has changed and it "feels" like fall here now; something I have missed during our years away from Utah.

more dancing

Allie recently started a little toddler dance class. It's rather adorable to see a room full of two year olds in diapers and tutus (Allie is now in her "big girls" and a tutu). She feels pretty big time doing something that her big sisters do. Aside from the scheduled classes, you can find my girls wearing tutus around the house on a fairly regular basis. They love to be fancy and they LOVE to dance!!!

Happy October!

This past weekend, we had our annual "October Day" celebration where we break out the candy corns and fall decorations,make sugar cookies, decorate the house and play dress-ups with the costume box. We are so happy fall is upon us and I am excited to enjoy all the activities associated with my favorite season of the year.

Mission Accomplished!

Just thought I'd give you the happy update that Allie has given it a good effort and is now fully potty trained! Hooray!!! She has been a great little trainee (she is adorable at everything she does) and is proud to be a "big girl" now; she doesn't like anyone to call her a "baby" anymore. Although it will be short lived, this will be the first break from diapers we will have had in over 6 1/2 years!

Tummy tickles

The other night, my girls were taking turns feeling the baby kick and every time they did, the laughed and laughed and laughed (especially little Allie)! They eventually all had their hands on my tummy at once (nothing like feeling sufficated when you already feel squished). I got a "kick" out of it, particularly when Aubrey asked, "Can we play with her again tomorrow?" I'm glad they are excited about their new baby sister. Just over ten weeks to go!

Eat Cake

As many of you may know, I love to decorate cakes. My grandma used to always make a special themed cake for each of our birthdays. After I had kids, I decided I had to carry on the tradition and I have had a lot of fun in the process. Since moving back home, I have gotten a lot more practice as we celebrated both of my parents' birthdays in Augusut and also made a wedding cake for a marriage themed Youth activity in my mom's ward this week. The greatest part about all this cake making, is getting to help eat it! :) Here are my latest creations: