Elizabeth Graduates!

My darling niece graduated from high school yesterday! She is the first of 20 grandkids in our family to do so :). We are SO proud of her and this great accomplishment! I so look forward to see where she goes from here...I know it will be good! Love you, T!

"Look mom!!"

So, last Saturday I was in the backyard doing some yard work. I went out front to grab something and I heard Leah scream "LOOK MOM!!". I turned my head, and to my amazement, Leah was riding the neighbor kids two wheeler! What?!?!? I was so amazed! She was grinning from ear to ear and was so proud of herself. She has yet to ride her own bike without training wheels, but I'm sure she'll do fine!

Wow...just wow!

Noah's Kindergarten Graduation

It's official, Noah's a Kindergarten Graduate! The program for the graduation was great...it made me laugh, smile, cry...it was perfect! Noah has had such a wonderful year learning at his new school. I am especially grateful for his amazing teacher who has gone above and beyond when it comes to teaching her students...she really is so wonderful! I'm thankful for everything that Noah has experienced this year and I know that he is ready for FIRST grade because of it! But let's not talk about that...the thought of having a first grader kind of freaks me out!

Back to that darling program...

Noah is not a fan of performing, so he was a bit nervous about this program. He really had nothing to be nervous about...he did an amazing job! He wasn't as into doing some of the actions that went with the songs, but he still did them...just a little bit more on the softer side ;). Doug and I were so proud of him.After the program with all the kindergarteners, we went to his classroom, where there was a little ceremony for the kids.

Noah getting his diploma...Noah and his wonderful teacher! She really does hold a special place in our hearts...she's amazing!The graduation was a few weeks before school gets out, so Noah has still been going to school, but he is SO excited for summer! Only one more week and we are off for a much needed break! I think that I'm just as excited as the kids are for summer break!

Kate {at 1 month}

Our sweet baby Kate is ONE month old! She's definitely a perfect fit in our family and it seems like she's been here forever!
During Kate's first month, she...

...is an absolutely wonderful little sleeper. She definitely cherishes her beauty sleep and loves to snooze the days away. I know that's typical of most newborns, but out of my four babes, she is the one who has slept the most. She'll wake up to eat in the middle of the night, but then she goes right back to sleep. I'm thankful for the long stretches of sleep during the night that she has been giving me lately...those extra hours of shut eye makes me feel like a new person!
...loves to snuggle. We love it too :)....is totally and completely spoiled, but I think that's the way it should be :). I hold her any chance that I get, which is often. I can honestly say that most of her life has been spent in my
arms, or Doug's arms. We sure love cuddling with our little angel!

...is a great little eater. She's already starting to get the cutest little rolls on her legs and I can't help but pinch them every time I see them :). So cute!

...hardly ever cries. The only time that she does cry is when we lay her down when she's still awake. There are times when she will just sob when we lay her down and it just breaks my heart! BUT, the moment that we pick her up, she stops! Oh boy...maybe us holding her all the time is back firing. I don't care...I'll hold her every minute if that's what she wants :).

...is totally and completely loved by her brothers and sister. I LOVE that they cherish her so much. They call her "sweetie" and "cutie pie" all the time...it's precious. Makes me smile every time!...just started to smile this past week and it is awesome! Having your baby smile at you is seriously one of the best feelings ever! Makes my heart swell every time!...is SO incredibly cute and we can NOT get enough of her!!We sure do love you, little one...to the moon and back!

Messy

One things that I love about summer is that I can send the kiddos outside to eat messy treats {ice cream cones, popsicles}. They love it too...they can get as messy as they want, plus they can play all the while. THEN I can just hose them down when we're ready to come in. Happy mom...HAPPY KIDS! Why is it that kids love being messy? I kind of love it too :).

Cookies!!

I'm definitely a cookie snob...I LOVE homemade cookies! The only store bought cookie I like are Oreos, and I honestly can't remember the last time that I bought those! Making cookies in our house is definitely a weekly occurrence, and the sad thing is that the cookies are usually gone within a day of us making them! I don't know if that's a good or bad thing! They're just so good :).

Isaac was my helper making cookies today...his favorite part is watching the cookies bake! He also love to dance around the front of the oven singing "I love cooooooooookies!!". But eating his cookie is the best of all :). Love it!

Sticking Together

Yes, we have many ups and downs in this house everyday, and lately there have been far MORE ups, and I love it. These three little ones have been sticking together a lot more than usual, an it has been so very wonderful. We went to the park this morning before Noah had school, and they held hands the entire way! All while talking to one another nicely! AND they played so well at the park...Noah pretty much kept by isaac's side the entire time. He went down the BIG slide with him over and over again, and played on the teeter totter...I love how he watches out for his little brother. I'm so glad that my kids have one another...makes me so happy to see them sticking together :).

Playtime with Isaac

Doug had a basketball game one night during Kate's first week home, so my awesome sis-in-law was able to watch Leah while Doug went to his game, while Noah went along to watch. That left me home with Isaac and Kate, and, of course, Kate slept the entire time! So...I was able to spend some one-on-one time with my little guy. One-on-one time with my kids is hard to come by these days, so I totally took advantage of the opportunity.

Isaac is such an awesome kid! He is so obedient and kind and loving and independent and the list goes on. Noah and Leah always want me to be with them when they are playing, but Isaac is totally content to go in his room by himself and play with his toys. During this evening, Isaac and I just sat on the floor in his room and played with all his toys...we really had a blast! We made a train track, shot hoops with his basketball, read books, played with his trucks...it really was a great time! Isaac knows how to have a good time and makes the most of everything! That is defintiely one trait that I admire about him :).

He's also quite hilarious and loves to make us smile. This is his "CHEEEESE" face.
Check out those long lashes.Whenever Isaac is really into playing with a toy, he will open his mouth as if he's in awe of whatever toy he is playing with. He also loves to talk to his toys, which is so hilarious to witness. I love sneaking up on him while he is in his room playing and hear these little conversations. Here he is saying "Hi guy" and then he proceeds to point to him and say "Guy's shoe, guy's nose, guy's eye, guy's hat...". And then he starts to laugh like the "guy" said something funny to him. It's a hoot!

First Week with Kate

Our first week with Kate was great. The adjustment to having four kiddos has proven to be a lot easier than Doug and I anticipated it would be. Kate has such a wonderful temperament, she sleeps great, she eats well...she's great! Doug was able to stay home the first week that Kate was home, which was wonderful for ALL of us! My recovery has gone surprising well, so it was nice to truely enjoy having everyone home together for such a long period of time! I so wish that moments like this lasted longer...having my hubby and kids all together for an entire week was the best gift that I could have ever been given! It really was SO wonderful!

During that first week, I pretty much held Kate every moment that I could and just took in every moment...I have learned that they are only this small for such a short period of time and I didn't want to miss one second! Cuddling with a newborn is one of my most favortie things to do, so I'm really cherishing it this time around ;). Needless to say, our first week with Kate was a week that I'll never forget. Here are some pictures of baby Kate during her first week with us :).

Leah begs to hold Kate every day. She absolutely adores her little sister and will hold her and talk to her for a pretty good amount of time. I so look forward to bond that they will share as sisters :).Kate pretty much slept the entire first week that she was home with us! Here's are some pictures of her awake. She's a beauty!And, just like her daddy and Noah, she sneezes all.of.the.time! Daddy and his girls.Kate has the longest fingers! This picture doesn't do it justice, but I can say that I've never seen a newborn with fingers as long as hers! Maybe we'll have to get her in piano lessons when she's older?Kate's umbilical cord fell off when she was five days old, so we were able to give her a *real* bath sooner than later. She absolutely loved being in the water......but she absolutely hated it when we pulled her out! Pretty much every bath has been like this ever since. Doug and I are becoming a pro at getting her out and dressed in record time.

My Little Artist

Leah is definitely the little artist in our family. Just like me, when I was young, she loves to draw, color, and be creative with her crafts. She spends hours at the counter making pieces of art for me, and I treasure these little creations. She also likes to mix the paint together to see what colors she can make...she loves to experiment like that. I'll have to share some of her creations soon :). They're pretty good, if you ask me.

So Loved

I am totally and completely in love with this little angel. Just like her brothers and sister, she has stolen my heart. And it's not only me, everyone else in this house is head over heels for Kate! The moment that she cries or fusses, everyone is by her side to make sure that she is ok. She is so loved...she is definitely one lucky little girl :).

She's Here!

Kate Smith

April 20, 2012

9:51 a.m.

7 lbs. 9 oz.

19 1/2 inches long

Our sweet baby Kate is finally here, and we couldn't be more happy to have this little angel here for us to hold and love. She is a perfect fit to our family and we love her SO much! There is so much love to go around, and we definitely are giving a lot of it to Kate. She really is so special to each one of us!

My due date with Kate was April 24, but I scheduled to be induced on April 20. I was really happy that I made it to that date for a number of reasons...it just seemed like the perfect day to have this little angel. I was contacted by the hospital the day before and was told that I was going to be their first induction of the day...YAY! With Isaac, I wasn't contacted to come in until 7:00 at night! It made for a very, VERY, long day, so I was beyond thrilled when I was told to come in bright and early at 7:00 a.m.!

I was very lucky to get a very good nights rest the night before. I was seriously so exhausted from getting everything ready for my absence for the next few days. My mom was an angel and came to spend the entire weekend with the kids! I was so thankful for all of her help! She arrived on Friday morning at 6:15, and Doug and I were off to the hospital soon after. I just had to say goodbye to the kids, and when I did they woke right up instead of going back to sleep! Ugh! I guess they were just as excited as we were to have this baby!

After we arrived at the hospital, we got settled in and met with our nurse. I was very insistent to the nurse that I wanted to get my epidural before they broke my water. All of my labors have been exactly the same...as soon as my water breaks, my labor takes off! Within the hour I am completely dilated and ready to deliver, and I just knew that it would be the same with this one! With Leah and Isaac, they waited to give me my epidural and it didn't work because I progressed SO fast! SO, this time I wanted it beforehand. I got my wish and got my epidural before they started the pitocin or broke my water at 8:45. BUT, I could tell that the epidural wasn't working as it should as soon as the doc broke my water. My right leg was numb, but my left one wasn't. I waited it out, but I was starting to feel the contractions within 10 minutes, and they hurt so badly. I know that some people prepare for this kind of pain, but I am just not one of them! The doctor came back to adjust my epidural, and about 5 minutes later my left leg went numb, BUT I could still feel my contractions! The pain from labor is definitely not in your legs! I could feel the contractions where it counts and I was starting to go insane by all the pain. SO, once again, the dang epidural didn't work! I was frustrated, but at the same time I understood why it didn't work...my body progresses too fast for the epidural to work! It kicked a little bit of the pain, but definitely not enough to matter! By 9:40 I was pretty much crying from the pain, so the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a TEN! I had gone from a 4 to a 10 in less then one hour! Crazy! The doctor came pretty quickly, and during my next contraction I pushed ONE time and our baby girl was here! Seriously, this was definitely my fastest labor and delivery. And as bad as it sounds, I am so thankful that it went as fast as it did...pain and all. I probably wouldn't be saying that while I was in labor, but now that it's all done, it was worth it :).

As soon as Kate was born, they put her on my chest. I couldn't stop staring at this precious little girl...she was beautiful! I kept thinking to myself how perfect this baby was...she was absolutely perfect! During the first few minutes after she was born, the nurses tried to get her to cry, but she wouldn't. She kept grunting, but not crying. They were nervous that she had a lot of fluid in her lungs and couldn't cry, so they took her to the nursery to make sure she was OK. Doug went with her and everything was just fine with her. It turns out she is just a mellow little girl and didn't want to cry...I don't mind that one bit! Although, she did finally cry as soon as she was given a bath, and I don't blame her at all! After an hour, they brought her back to me and we were able to cuddle and love on her the rest of the time that I was in the hospital.

That first day with Kate was wonderful! It was just so great to finally be able to touch her and look at her. That feeling is the absolute best! What was even better was having her meet Noah, Leah, and Isaac for the first time. That was a moment to remember! The kids have taken to her so well...they all can't get enough of her and love her SO much! She is definitely loved by her siblings, that's for sure!

My stay at the hospital went by very fast, thank goodness! Coming home was all that I wanted...to come home and really start living our lives with this new bundle of joy! Life with Kate has been so wonderful! We couldn't ask for anyone better...she really is a perfect fit for our family!

Last picture of me pregnant.

One of the first pictures of Kate.Family of SIX! I still can't believe that there are six of us! I love it :).Daddy cuddling with Kate on our first night in the hospital. She LOVES to cuddle :).I still can't believe how much hair Kate has! When she was born, the nurse asked us if our other kids had that much hair, to which we said "yes" because at first it didn't look like much. As soon as she had a bath and it was all "fluffed" up, we were so surprised to see how much there actually was! Leah had long hair, but not as much as Kate. All of the nurses in the hospital would come in and say "Look at all that hair!". I just hope that it stays...I doubt it though.Getting ready to go home...