Happy birthday, Eefie! (plus one month)

Yikes! Ethan turned two a month ago, and I never said a thing about him. Whew. I just can't keep up with the break-neck pace life is coming at me.

So here's to Ethan and his second birthday...

I think he is in my absolute favorite stage. He has the most kissable, pudgy, smooth cheeks, and he's always asking us to "ha-choo" (sounds like a sneeze but means "hold you"). His hair is soft (yes, he has hair finally!) and smooth too, and I just love holding and cuddly with him. At bedtime, he asks for "baby" which means "hold me like a baby," which I willingly oblige if I'm not holding my OTHER baby. I also like when he gets a stool and says "wash," which means he wants to watch what I'm doing. He loves "ta-ta" (tractors and all construction equipment), so we got him two new ones for his birthday.

He is a talking machine now too. He has a word for just about everything. My favorite is "tee" for television. His favorite movie is "E," which is the only letter he's learned from watching Letter Factory every MWF morning when Brennan is at school. (I feel less guilty letting him watching tv all morning if it's "educational.") He has learned "mine" too, but he also likes to remind us of what belongs to everyone else. He calls himself "E-E." It's adorable.

He helped me make his birthday cake the morning of his birthday. I wanted pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese frosting, so that's what he got. :-) He loved it! Of course, he loves "cha" (chocolate) and all junk food, so this was no surprise.

He absolutely loves his little sister. He likes to hold her and kiss the top of her head. He gives her her "ba-ba" (his word for blankie) when she cries. He even tries to give her her binky, but she doesn't really take it from anyone anymore. He is truly the most affectionate little man in our house.

He is a mess-maker. Even though I do really love this stage, I also really wish he was less into everything. He is constantly pulling every book off the shelves and every pan and its lid out of the drawers. Everywhere I turn he's dumped something. Today he took the top of Ryan's deodorant and LICKED it. Gross. He draws on everything, lots of circles around and around. He also likes to turn on the faucet and fill and dump cups. It's a big mess, but he loves his "wa-wa."

He is a great eater. He definitely goes through phases (teething, colds) of not being hungry, but all in all, he'll try just about everything. He still loves pasta, yogurt and hot dogs best.

He sleeps from 7pm-6:15am, and he naps every day from 12:30-3:30pm. I am learning that I have really good sleepers for kids. I think they've inherited the need for lots of sleep from their mom. I love my sleep too!

He unfortunately has a cough and runny nose right now. It is making for some rough days and rougher nights. He gave it to me and Katelyn too, so that sucks.

He loves sharing a room with his brothers, and he really doesn't know he isn't a big kid too. He wants to ride his bike in the street and go to preschool too. He jumps on the trampoline with them and splashes in the bathtub. (Yes, we still put all three boys in together. Kate goes first by herself.) He refuses to hold my hand in the preschool parking lot, and he's constantly in trouble for running ahead.

He is still quite the escape-artist, and I keep all the doors out of the house locked, especially the one out to the garage. He loves to play in the driver's seat of the van. He knows how to eject all the cds from the player, turn on the hazards and mess with the interior lights. He's trouble, and the most adorably cute and fun little boy in the world!

We are headed to Utah in the morning for Thanksgiving. Wish us luck with an 8-hr drive plus stops for pottying, nursing, burping and screaming. I'm terrified. And there's no saying how well the kids will all sleep once we get there. Sigh. The things we do to see family.

Halloween 2015

So our newborn sleep-deprivation sapped all our creative energy this Halloween. We decided we'd just re-purpose old costumes this year. Lame, I know.

I'm actually pretty impressed with what we came up with, since we threw it all together the day of our ward trunk-or-treat. Katelyn is supposed to be my udder, hence the pink fabric on the pack.

Here's a cute pic of our cowboys. Yes, Ethan did have a hat; we just couldn't get him to keep it on. Real life, I guess.

Here's our pumpkin for the year. The boys are really into Transformers lately, and Ryan liked that everything was straight cuts. Simple.

We always carve our pumpkin the Monday night before Halloween for family home evening. Unfortunately, with treat-or-treat on Saturday this year, it was pretty shriveled by the big night.

And here are the big boys up way past their bedtime in order to see the finished product. Happy Halloween! 

October Overload

I just plugged in our camera card, and we have 525 pictures on our primary camera. That doesn't include whatever pictures Collin has taken on his camera lately (and I'm sure there are plenty there), and mine and Ryan's phones. Yikes, I'm behind.

Okay, so here's what we've been up to according to the camera card in age-order (youngest to oldest)...

KATELYN

Katelyn has some of the cutest little outfits. Between the tubs and tubs of fun things from my sister (who has three girls), a shipment from Ryan's sister (who also has three girls), and her seamstress Nana, this girl is decked out at all times!

We think she is just beautiful!

She is sleeping very well too. She particularly loves being in her swing, sleeping from 8pm- ish until 4am-ish (with a quick feeding) and then again until 8am-ish. She eats good and fast, which is a major blessing in our busy home.

You can't tell in pictures, but she actually has dark blue eyes.

She loves to smile, and it makes my heart melt. I think God has babies smile right when Mom thinks she can't take any more; the adrenaline wears off at six weeks, you get a smile, and you can keep on trucking!

She was screaming a lot in her car seat, but now with the velcro-swaddler, she is doing much better. She also was squirming and grunting and needing to be held all night, but without the velcro-swaddler (but with a blanket-swaddling instead), she is doing perfect. This baby didn't come with a user manual, so trial and error is the story of our lives. Can anybody relate?!

ETHAN
Eefie is a little parent. He does everything he sees his mom and dad do, including taking pictures. He is pretty much the cutest thing in the world.

He also loves to hold the baby, rock the baby, give the baby her pacifier, and give her kisses on the top of her head. It is the most adorable thing in the world! He is my first child to ever care about babies. He is very nurturing and gets quite concerned when "baby kies."

Ethan still can't make it more than an hour without his precious "ba-ba." He sucks on one corner, while sniffing another. Gross, I know. He takes it in the car, watches tv with it, and drags it around the house. I usually can get it away from him once a week to "give it a bath." It's gross, but our lives are crazy enough right now without taking away his comfort object.

BRENNAN
Brennan has really turned into a pretty wonderful little guy. Here he is ready to go on a daddy-date nature walk one day.

I think the sun was in his eyes.

He is still pretty physical and silly, and he often hits, slide-tackles and kicks people. I spend a lot of time trying to re-channel his energy or putting him in time-out.

Other the other hand, though, I am starting to see an entirely different boy when Collin is away at school. He helps me with the baby and Ethan, and he and Ethan play really well together. I can often find him quietly drawing at the kitchen table too.

He plays soccer on Mondays after preschool gets out, and he LOVES it! He is still our crafter too, creating page after page after page of art work each day. He still naps almost every day too, which I love. 

Everyone says that these are my two kids that look the most alike

COLLIN
Collin is slowly but surely adjusting to full-day school. At my parent-teacher conference last week, I learned he's at the top of his class and far ahead of age-expectations. He can read pages in the Boxcar Children books (with me alternating pages with him) which is super fun. He has the ability but not the stamina to do more yet. I am super proud of him.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he is only home a couple minutes after school to have a snack and put on his soccer gear before returning to school for soccer practice. His coach is hard-core and very competitive, and he isn't enjoying it at all.

We'll finish out this season (two more weeks), and then we'll pursue his interests in running and piano instead. 

Collin doesn't like babies. He's never liked any of his brothers until they are walking and talking a little bit. Ethan still kinda annoys him. The other day Collin referred to Katelyn as "the new one." He just doesn't view them as people. It's sad. He isn't mean to her, but he just doesn't care about her.

LINDSEY 

And then there's me. I am doing pretty well. Now that I am getting a bit more sleep and getting my elliptical-time in every day, I am handling all the craziness as well as can be expected. 

These pictures are the best we could do before church last Sunday for the baby blessing. 

I turned 34 at the beginning of the month. (Apparently we didn't take any pictures though.) We had two families over for our birthday bonfire (much smaller than our usual bash). It also rained on and off during the party, so we grilled the hot dogs and roasted the marshmallows under the oven broiler. Gotta keep things simple when you have a newborn and three other children!

RYAN
Ryan is the most amazing help around the house. He's super patient with our sucky dinners, and he does almost all of the boy-care in the evenings. He is super patient with Katelyn when she is inexplicably cranky when I want to go to bed at night. And he holds the house together so I can get my twenty minutes on the elliptical each morning.

Ryan turned 34 too at the end of September. Katelyn had turned one month the day before. He's still as skinny and active (road and mountain biking, running, and strength-training) as ever.

He was called as Sunday School President in our new ward, and he's been handling the calling of all the teachers and his counselors really well. He loves being on ward council again and being in the information loop.

And that's October up to today. But we still have Ethan's birthday this Friday and Halloween next week, so get ready for more posts soon. :-)

Katelyn's Baby Blessing

Katelyn - 3 weeks

Pretty in pink

Big yawn

Don't let this serenity fool you

Getting chubby

Holding that big head up

Peaceful little princess

Grumpy face

Little smile

Stubborn Little Miss

And the face we really see most of the time!

PreK - 4

And now for Brennan's first day of his last year of preschool. He's attending three days per week for three hours.

I switched his teacher from last year. This one is next door to last year's though, so he's already familiar with the routine and the playground and everything.

Doesn't he look so handsome?

It is always so sunny here. They always have a hard time un-squinting their faces for pictures. 

He loves crafts and friends, so he loves school. BUT, he also loves tv and jammies, so getting him out the door this year is going to be a chore.

We plan to car-pool with the neighbors across the street, so that should ease my burden on school days. Fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan.

Happy first day, B! Love you!

Ha ha. Look how different I look just a week after Collin's back-to-school pics.
TONS of work to do still though.

Introducing...

Katelyn Marie Williams

THE STATS
August 28, 2015 (her due date!)
1:38 pm
3-hour labor
7 pounds, 7 ounces
19-3/4 inches long

THE STORY
My parents came on Friday the 21st. My aunt and cousin stayed that night too on their way to Utah for her to start her first year at BYU. On Saturday, Ryan and I went to a friend's birthday party in the evening. The theme was Minute-to-Win-It games, and we were team Big Red. We both wore red t-shirts, and Ryan stuffed a playground ball under his. It was super fun, and we got last place. Ha ha. 

After all the drama

On Sunday, my parents took the boys to our now "old" ward, and Ryan and I attended a different stake's conference, by way of geographical assignment. We learned that a new stake was being formed, and our neighborhood was being reassigned to a new stake and ward. Perfect timing to have a new bishop, relief society president and no visiting teachers. Not. 

Weight: 7 lbs, 7 oz

Monday was Collin's first day of school. I walked him over alone, since my parents could keep Brennan and Ethan, and I think he was a little nervous. He did great. He is super tired and hungry each day when he gets home, but I think we may survive this transition... maybe. 

Proud Daddy
I could never do natural labors without this super man. He is amazing!

Tuesday I had a routine ob appointment. I was 39-1/2 weeks, and I asked to have my membranes stripped. I was dilated to 3 cm, 70% effaced and at -2 station. I had had this done with Ethan too, and I told the midwife. The rest of the day I had a light period with heavy cramping. She never mentioned these side effects, but I guess she thought I knew because I had had it done before. I didn't. In fact, I cramped the rest of the week. It was absolutely horrible. 

Love the tongue. Ready to tease her brothers back already!

After my appointment, my mom and I went together to get mani/pedis, which was really fun. We also vacuumed out my filthy van and got it washed. All while I cramped. :-( 

On Wednesday we took the kids to a park in the morning, and I mostly tried to nap and take it easy. 

My favorite position to cuddle my newborns. Those sweet open lips make me melt.

Thursday morning I woke up at 3 am with lower back pain every 10 minutes. This is how all my other labors started, and since Brennan came so quickly afterwards, I woke up Ryan at 5 am and told him we were having a baby. He took a shower, but by 6:30 am the back pain wasn't getting any more often or more painful, and I fell asleep. I went ahead and sent him off to work at 8 am. I had a few more painful contractions throughout the day, but they were spaced sometimes hours apart. We went to the library. I was so uncomfortable ALL day long, but I still met my friends for book club that evening and stayed out until after 10 pm. Whatever. Life goes on, right?

Happy Mommy

Friday morning I woke up at 3 am with lower back pain every 10 minutes AGAIN. I was so fed up and exhausted with it all by 5:30 am that we decided we'd go to the hospital no matter what and just see what happened. I was basically having constant lower back pain, but only a couple of abdominal contractions. We arrived at the hospital about 8 am, and the nurse checked me at 8:30 am - I had made NO change since Tuesday's appointment. I was so frustrated. They said they couldn't admit me, but that they would let me walk the halls for two hours. If I didn't make any change in those two hours, they would send me home. And that was that.

She's a sucker. Loved her fingers and a pacifier - despite the nurses' objections - right from the beginning

I was devastated. I KNEW I was in labor and that Brennan came so super fast after just back labor, but they wouldn't count my back labor as real labor. They said I need to get the baby to move into position in order for the pain to make any affect on my progress. They told me to take some Tylenol and use a hot pad. I was not happy. 

Anyway, Ryan and I walked the halls of Mother & Baby for two hours. Nothing seemed to really change. I was still miserable, my back was still killing me, and now I had to face going home and having no idea when to come back. 

Because she used her fingers to self-soothe, I kept her unswaddled in the hospital.
Unfortunately, her face got pretty scratched up from it.

At 10:30 the midwife checked me again. I was crying because I knew nothing had changed. She prodded around and in utter disbelief declared me dilated to 6 cm, 90% effaced and baby at 0 station. Yeah, she wasn't the only surprised one! The nurse finally admitted my back labor counted as real contractions, and they took my blood, got me admitted, set my IV, and started treating me like a real patient. 

The only brother brave enough to hold the baby when they came to visit the hospital on Saturday.
They look so angelic.

Of course by the time they got all these chores done, labor was in full swing. When they quit messing with me, I sat on the birthing ball and Ryan applied pressure to my lower back with each contraction. Still only a few of them were in my abdomen. 

My "not-even 2-year-old, but already a big brother"
We're in trouble!

At 12:30, my midwife checked me again. I was now dilated 8 cm, and we decided to have my water broken. Ohhh baby!!! I hate this last part. My contractions were on top of each other. Ryan tried his best to help with my back pain, but it was intense. I felt the urge to push after only three contractions on the ball. 

First bath. They don't bathe the babies here until they are 24 hours old. She smelled like a cow pasture until then.

With me back in the bed, the room filled with people. I was checked and declared 9 cm. After that, it was all leg holding and screaming and pushing and pain and craziness. I was never checked at 10 cm. That's what happened with Brennan too; it's all so chaotic because my babies came so crazy fast, and no one ever listens to me.

And here's our little tomato ready to come home. We left after 24 hours because they don't have a nursery at the hospital and don't give the mother ANY help. I figured my mom and Ryan would be better than that at home, and I was right!

And Baby Katelyn was born at 1:38 pm. Three hours from the medical community finally admitted I was in labor until she was in my arms. I can't imagine if they had sent us home. We never would have made it back to the hospital in time.

My oldest boys with the pink cake they made with Grandma. Happy "birth"day, Katelyn!

Anyway, she's here and perfect and beautiful in every way! And I had my natural, un-medicated, un-induced labor on my due date. Now I call that wonderful.