Brynnlee Sue Has Arrived!

Alright...I know she's two weeks old now, but I feel like I haven't had any time at all to get on here and update. Well, here is a little bit about her birth and how she and us have been doing. On Friday, May 6th Jamie and I got to the hospital to be induced at about 7:30 am. After admitting, getting settled into a Labor and Delivery room and after contacting and getting the ok from my doctor they started the induction at about 10am. After just a little while I got an epidural...those things are heavenly! The only downfall this time around was that the epidural caused my blood pressure to drop to a scary level. NOT FUN!!! One of the readings that I remember was about 58/27...yeah...REALLY low! So, the anesthesiologist came in and gave me some kind of medication to bring my blood pressure back up....which then caused my heart rate to flip out! It was wonderful! NOT!! Well...after all that not so fun stuff (not that labor is supposed to be fun) I was checked at around 3ish to find that I was only at 4 cm. Very Depressing!! Then about an hour later I started to feel some pressure and was checked again to find that I was at a 10!! WOOHOO!! So the nurses went to call my doctor and let him know to come to the hospital only to find out that he was in the middle of a vasectomy! Eek!! So I tried to relax and not to sneeze!! Lol! It actually didn't take him too long to get there...which was very nice! So, after about 4 pushes she was born at exactly 5 pm! My doctor said that she was "Sunny side Up" which is probably why the labor went so slowly compared to the other kids. She was so purple when she was born that my mom thought we should call her Grape! She swallowed quite a bit of fluid on her way out and had to be suctioned out, but other than that she was healthy as healthy could be! Little Brynn was exactly 7 pounds, 18 1/2 inches long and so adorable!! She is such a good baby and hardly cries at all!! She is also an awesome sleeper...she goes for 4 hour stretches at night. Brynn also had her two week checkup last Friday and has already gained 9.5 ounces and grown 2 1/4 inches! Its no wonder newborns sleep so much! We are all so happy to have her home and a part of our family! All of the other kids love her...especially her big sister who rarely lets her out of her sight! Even Josh loves her and is so gentle!! We really couldn't have asked for a better baby or better kids!! We are so blessed!

Soccer Games

This last weekend Emma and Zach had their first soccer games! Zachie's was first in the day and was absolutely hilarious!! He didn't really seem too interested in the actual game and would just kinda wonder around the field for the most part. Jamie and I both had colds and so didn't have our voices, so we tried to yell to him to go after the ball...but I don't think he heard much. It was too cute though...the kids are 3 and 4 years old, so it honestly didn't even really matter which goal they kicked it in...everyone cheered regardless. He was totally excited however to get a treat at halftime and at the end of the game...I think that's what makes the game worth it when you're that age! Emma's game was a little bit later in the day and went really well! Emma seemed a little hesitant right at the beginning, but after a reminder that she didn't need to be afraid to kick it away from the other team she actually scored 3 goals!!! It was awesome!! She did so great and was really a little all star!! She had a blast!! Although...the person who was assigned to bring treats for the end of the game forgot about them, so that kinda killed her excitement at the end...I felt so terrible! :( Zachie was also excited because it turned out that Emma and Zach's coaches are brother-in-laws...so Emma's coach was at Zach's game and vice-versa! Kinda neat! A friend of ours was able to come to both of the games and is really in love with photography...so she took some really great pictures of the kids throughout the day! They turned out awesome! Thanks Megan!! :D

Joshie is 2!!!

Yesterday was Josh's second birthday! In the morning when he woke up I went into his room and said "Happy Birthday"...he answered with "to you!" It was so funny!! He didn't quite understand that the birthday was for him and he evidently really knew the song! He had kind of a rough start to his special day though. In nursery at church I guess another little boy tried to give him a hug, but knocked him over and he ended up falling flat on his face. So, he was brought to me during Sunday school screaming his head off and covered in blood from bloody nose. What a sight, let me tell you! Eek! After we got him all cleaned up and calmed down I brought him back into nursery and ended up staying with him in there for the rest of church...he pretty much wouldn't let me out of his sight. Hey...who could blame him after that?? Well...after church we went over to my parents house and had a tasty dinner and cake for Joshie. He had so much fun wrestling around with his cousins, brother, sister, Daddy and Uncle Jimmy! And oh my, did he ever love the cake! He had to blow the candles out twice because he thought it was so much fun! It was such a fun day for our little comedian! He is such a little blessing in our lives and we don't know what we would do without our little Joshie to keep us all laughing!

Soccer has begun!!

Alrighty folks...the soccer season has officially begun!!! Emma and Zach had their first soccer practices this last week and are both so excited to play!! Emma was a little pro with all of the kids on her team! And we honestly thought that Zach was going to be the smallest one on his team...boy were we wrong! He's one of the biggest if that gives you any idea of his team! It's so funny to see those tiny little ones run around after the balls! The games are really going to be comical! We can't wait!! We didn't take too many pictures yet of them practicing...but they will be coming soon! :)

Bittersweet...

I know we're supposed to be excited when our kids lose their teeth and reach those awesome milestones in their lives...but is it terrible of me that I'm so sad about them?? Emma lost one of her front top teeth a couple days ago and I'm just not happy about it at all. Now, before you judge me, I did act very excited for her sake...I'm not all "gloom and doom" to her. It's just that I loved the little smiles that I used to get from the little face before it changed! I know in time I will grow to love these new little smiles...but I just feel like I lost the little girl that I had before. Ok, ok...pregnancy hormones could have quite a bit to do with this post...but it still makes me sad. *sniffle, sniffle* I just wish they could stay the same longer.

Zachary James Earl

Click here to view this photo book larger

Such a ladies man!

Ok...I have decided that Zachary is going to be a total ladies man! Yesterday for FHE we walked down to the park near our house. While I was walking holding Zach's hand he tells me "Mom...when I get bigger I want to be pregnant." After a little giggle on my part I say "Zachie...boys can't be pregnant...but when you get bigger you can get married and have a wife that can be pregnant and have a baby for you both." Zach was quiet for a few minutes after and finally responded with "I can't wait to have a wife!" How cute is that?!?!?! I had to give him a good squeeze after that! :)

Anything to get out of bed!

Zachary has a really hard time staying in bed when it's bedtime. I'm sure there are a ton of kids that have the same problem. He really has some interesting excuses. They range from the usual "I'm thirsty" and "I have to go potty" to a really new one that he tried out last night: "Mom...my blankie's on fire." You have to understand that he came out very casually and stood in front of my husband and I for a few minutes until we actually asked him why he wasn't in bed. Then after thinking about it for a second he came up with that one. Jamie and I just looked at each other and laughed...then asked him to go put the "fire" out and stay in bed. He must have really run out of excuses for the night because he actually stayed in bed after that. What a goofy kid!

I don't get it!

Ok...seriously...what is the fascination with the toilet?!?!?! I got away with having our first two kids not care much at all about that nasty contraption, but Josh can't seem to get enough of it!!! Today while Zach is sitting on the toilet (doing his "business") josh decides to come up behind him, toss a couple toys in and flush!!! WHAT?!?!?!? So from the living room I not only hear Zach scream for me to wipe his booty, but I then hear him yell at his brother followed by immediate crying for flushing Zach's favorite letter magnets to their doom! GRRRRRR!!!!!! I sent Jamie a text with my rant a few minutes after and he suggested that I flush Josh down and tell him that he wasn't allowed to return until he came back with the toys. The truth is that he might honestly enjoy that ride! Ok...thanks for letting me vent. *Sigh*

Snow!!

Last night we got dumped on, so Jamie and the kids went outside and played for about an hour in the snow while mom stayed in baking cookies! :) It was Heavenly!!

Super Kid of the Week!

Two weeks ago Emma was chosen as her Kindergarten class' Super Kid of the Week! This is basically a week of Emma being the paper "hander-outer", the line leader, and other fun things that kindergartners love! During the week each member of her class draws a picture of Emma and the teacher puts it together for a little keepsake book for her to keep! Then on Friday the Super Kid brings a poster to class to show the other kids more things about Emma! She had a blast feeling a little extra special for a week!

Free Zoo Day!

I didn't realize it until the day before their last one, but Utah's Hogle Zoo has a free zoo day once a month in the winter. When I found out I had to take the kids! I also invited my sister-in-law, Kim, and her two kids, Austin and Maddy, to come along! It was sunny outside but only about 40 degrees, so we bundled up the kids (and ourselves) and went to see some animals! We all had so much fun!! Zachary loved the bats, Emma's favorite was the leopard, and Joshie loved the monkeys! When we came to the big cats (Tigers, Leopards, etc.) Zach hid behind me and didn't want to look at them...it was kinda funny! We would have had an incident free day, but Emma got a little excited to see the next exhibit and lost her footing...she got a scraped knee and a bruised ego, but other than that she was ok. We are going to have to remember these fun free days for next year!!

Slacker!!!!

Ok...I just want to officially tell everyone how much of a slacker I am! Although...if you've noticed the lack of posts to the blog, I'm sure you've already figured that out! I would like to apologize to everyone who reads them...including our family who uses it as a way to find out how we're doing and how the kids are growing! We took a trip to the zoo yesterday with my sister-in-law and her kids so I will be posting about that very soon! I PROMISE!!!!