Thursday, April 5, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
4 kids and a camera
The dogwoods are in bloom, a bit early for the 2nd year in the row! Saturday, before church, we took the kids to a nearby park to get their picture taken. I had brought a stool and a pretty blanket, and I had visions of doing a photo shoot with a lot of creative poses. Let me just say it is nearly impossible to get 4 kids to look at the camera, with a pleasant face, all at the same time. I allowed myself 30 minutes to take pictures! This is the best that we got. Isabella and Olivia are look darling! Zach is looking very handsome, despite the shadow on his face. (I'll have to ask my Dad to correct that with his computer magic.) And Vincent is doing is typical superhero good guy/bad guy impression. Right after this picture was taken, Olivia went off on a screaming jag that ended the whole photo session. The photo session lasted 2 minutes before I made everybody pile back into the car...at least we got to church early.
Friday, March 30, 2012
4 weeks and on the go!
Our "little one-y" is already 4 weeks old! Zachary gave her that nickname and I am sure it will be one of many. She grew 1 3/4 inches and gained nearly 2 pounds in her first month. Born at 7lb 13 oz, she immediately lost a bit and was 7lb. 5oz at her first pediatrician check up. At one month she was up to 9lb. 4 oz and 21 3/4 inches.
Things have been very busy since bringing our little one home. She goes everywhere we go, so she spends a lot of time in her stroller. Since moving closer to the big kids school we also walk a lot more too...on some days for hours! The double jogging stroller was worth every penny! She smiled her first little smile! Although brief she has done it many times...a little advance for her age, I think!
For the 4th year, the older kids have been in St. X's spring musical production. This year it was "A Funny Thing happened on the way to the Forum". The kids love being in the play! Last night, Kyle and I were ready to skip the Thursday performance because Zach had soccer practice, but he insisted on going. They both were begging to go! Vincent looks ready to perform as well. I'm sure next year he will be up there! Nothing stops him and he loves to be the center of attention!
Things have been very busy since bringing our little one home. She goes everywhere we go, so she spends a lot of time in her stroller. Since moving closer to the big kids school we also walk a lot more too...on some days for hours! The double jogging stroller was worth every penny! She smiled her first little smile! Although brief she has done it many times...a little advance for her age, I think!
For the 4th year, the older kids have been in St. X's spring musical production. This year it was "A Funny Thing happened on the way to the Forum". The kids love being in the play! Last night, Kyle and I were ready to skip the Thursday performance because Zach had soccer practice, but he insisted on going. They both were begging to go! Vincent looks ready to perform as well. I'm sure next year he will be up there! Nothing stops him and he loves to be the center of attention!
Ranger Rick fairy house
When I was a kid, my favorite magazine was Ranger Rick! I was a LONG time subscriber and for many years my bedroom walls very covered with cute animal centerfolds from Ranger Rick Magazine. Last August Isabella saw a request in Ranger Rick magazine for reader submitted photos of fairy houses. She really wanted to build one, so we collected sticks, flowers, bark, walnuts and pine cones from a local park. We brought home our bag of nature goodies and built a fairy house in the backyard. Her fairy house had many cute little features like a fairy swing and a adorable pine cone owl that was perched on the roof. I sent in the photo via email and we got a quick response from the magazine. They thanked us and said they loved the photo, but they couldn't guarantee that it would be in the magazine.
Last week we got a response from the magazine congratulating Isabella on being featured in April's Ranger Rick Issue. They mailed us 5 copies and I sat one of the copies out on the couch before the kids got home from school. They came in from school got their snack and did their homework like usual. Later that afternoon I saw Zachary flipping though the magazine, but I said nothing. A few minutes later I heard this squeal! He saw her photo! He was so excited and so was she! She was very proud, especially because she was on top!
For closer pictures see:
http://fourtimesmore.blogspot.com/2011/08/fairy-house.html
Friday, March 9, 2012
Babycakes Olivia Kate
Our new baby arrived almost 3 weeks ago. We named her Olivia Kate. She is a treasure.
I went in to the doctor on her due date and he suggested/somewhat insisted that I be induced the next day. I had several reasons for not wanting to be induced. 1-there is supposed to be a higher rate of c-section when women are induced. 2-I had never been induced before. 3-it seemed too planned and I wanted the excitement of going into labor when the baby was ready. However, my doctor said I was very favorable for induction and I felt confident of that. I knew that he really wanted to deliver our baby himself...and I kind of wanted him too also, given my previous negative experience with a unknown dr. who was just on-call. So, I agreed and we went to Norton's Suburban Hospital at 7am the next morning. It was exciting. I had time to get ready and shower, check in and meet the nurses..all without having to be in the pain of labor. They hooked me up to the machines, started a pitocin drip without any pain meds and waited for the contractions to start. It didn't take long! It did hurt, but nothing I couldn't handle. She turned it up a notch and it hurt a bit more! But then the epidural nurse came in and hooked me up..from then on it was a breeze. He told me I had a spine fit for students. I guess that meant that my epidural was easy to administer! He rattled off the list of side effects..paralysis/death.. and then said to tell him if I had any ringing in my ears or metal taste in my mouth...I always have found that odd/nerve racking! Then I was able to relax a couple of more hours and wait for baby Olivia to come. At 12 pm, Kyle and I were chatting when the nurse came in to check on us. She looked around and then said..I'll go get the doctor..you're ready to have a baby! That was quite a surprise since I thought we'd have another few hours to go! Baby Olivia was born at 12:21 weighing 7lbs 13 oz. Dr. Penta was able to deliver her easily with no complications. It was definitely the easiest of all deliveries that I have experienced! I don't regret my induction one bit!
I went in to the doctor on her due date and he suggested/somewhat insisted that I be induced the next day. I had several reasons for not wanting to be induced. 1-there is supposed to be a higher rate of c-section when women are induced. 2-I had never been induced before. 3-it seemed too planned and I wanted the excitement of going into labor when the baby was ready. However, my doctor said I was very favorable for induction and I felt confident of that. I knew that he really wanted to deliver our baby himself...and I kind of wanted him too also, given my previous negative experience with a unknown dr. who was just on-call. So, I agreed and we went to Norton's Suburban Hospital at 7am the next morning. It was exciting. I had time to get ready and shower, check in and meet the nurses..all without having to be in the pain of labor. They hooked me up to the machines, started a pitocin drip without any pain meds and waited for the contractions to start. It didn't take long! It did hurt, but nothing I couldn't handle. She turned it up a notch and it hurt a bit more! But then the epidural nurse came in and hooked me up..from then on it was a breeze. He told me I had a spine fit for students. I guess that meant that my epidural was easy to administer! He rattled off the list of side effects..paralysis/death.. and then said to tell him if I had any ringing in my ears or metal taste in my mouth...I always have found that odd/nerve racking! Then I was able to relax a couple of more hours and wait for baby Olivia to come. At 12 pm, Kyle and I were chatting when the nurse came in to check on us. She looked around and then said..I'll go get the doctor..you're ready to have a baby! That was quite a surprise since I thought we'd have another few hours to go! Baby Olivia was born at 12:21 weighing 7lbs 13 oz. Dr. Penta was able to deliver her easily with no complications. It was definitely the easiest of all deliveries that I have experienced! I don't regret my induction one bit!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
My Neptune
2 posts in one day? I just had to post a picture of my Isabella, as she was so proud of her Neptune project for school.
A week to go
It's been a great start to 2012, but obviously there's been no time for blogging! It's only a week, or less, until our new baby girl arrives. Things have been so hectic that we haven't had much time to think and plan for our new arrival as much as we'd like. Shortly after MLK day we moved to our new house. Moving with 3 kids, being 8 months pregnant and working full time presents it's own challenges..but thankfully we had lots of help from friends and family.
Things went pretty smoothly..despite a mix up with the title which delayed our closing a couple of weeks. Kyle borrowed a truck from his work and moved a lot of stuff over the weekend before the movers arrived on Monday. I was sure that with all of the little stuff out of the house, it would take no time for the movers to move the furniture. But I guess we have more than I anticipated. We still had to pay the movers for a full 6 hours to move our furniture!
Things had been going too smoothly I guess. On the day we moved in, I got home from work, headed to the bathroom and noticed a leak on the back of the toilet. After flushing, there was a nice size puddle of water on the floor behind the toilet. I asked Kyle to take a look at it and my mom and I went upstairs to put some stuff away in our closets. The next thing I know I hear shouting and the sound of water rushing from downstairs. We ran downstairs where Kyle and his Dad are frantically trying to find the main water cut off and water is gushing out of the valve behind the toilet. Water spewed out of the wall for10 minutes or more..while we took turns trying to plug it with anything we could, call a plumber, call the realtor, call the previous owners, catch the water that was raining into the finished basement, and find the water shut off. It was total panic and madness for about 20 minutes. Thankfully Bonnie, our realtor literally lives across the street. She was home and came running over, was able to call Kelli, who was able to tell us where to find the water shut off. We will never forget where that sucker is!!
So now we are moved in and fairly settled. We still have a lot of work to do. Toby is still hanging with my mom until our new fence is put up. The garage and basement still need some work and pictures need to be hung..but that stuff will get done eventually. We are trying to shift our attention to getting ready for our new girl. Hopefully little Vin will adjust well. I'm really excited about getting to be a stay at home mom for a while!! I can't wait to spend some time with my little Vin and new baby. I'm looking forward to the spring's warm weather, walking the kids to school, library storytime, and trips to the zoo! I also got a great deal on preschool music classes for Vincent. I know he'll love those. He loves to rock out!
So...it won't be long till I'm the mommy to a baby again. Can't wait!
Things went pretty smoothly..despite a mix up with the title which delayed our closing a couple of weeks. Kyle borrowed a truck from his work and moved a lot of stuff over the weekend before the movers arrived on Monday. I was sure that with all of the little stuff out of the house, it would take no time for the movers to move the furniture. But I guess we have more than I anticipated. We still had to pay the movers for a full 6 hours to move our furniture!
Things had been going too smoothly I guess. On the day we moved in, I got home from work, headed to the bathroom and noticed a leak on the back of the toilet. After flushing, there was a nice size puddle of water on the floor behind the toilet. I asked Kyle to take a look at it and my mom and I went upstairs to put some stuff away in our closets. The next thing I know I hear shouting and the sound of water rushing from downstairs. We ran downstairs where Kyle and his Dad are frantically trying to find the main water cut off and water is gushing out of the valve behind the toilet. Water spewed out of the wall for10 minutes or more..while we took turns trying to plug it with anything we could, call a plumber, call the realtor, call the previous owners, catch the water that was raining into the finished basement, and find the water shut off. It was total panic and madness for about 20 minutes. Thankfully Bonnie, our realtor literally lives across the street. She was home and came running over, was able to call Kelli, who was able to tell us where to find the water shut off. We will never forget where that sucker is!!
So now we are moved in and fairly settled. We still have a lot of work to do. Toby is still hanging with my mom until our new fence is put up. The garage and basement still need some work and pictures need to be hung..but that stuff will get done eventually. We are trying to shift our attention to getting ready for our new girl. Hopefully little Vin will adjust well. I'm really excited about getting to be a stay at home mom for a while!! I can't wait to spend some time with my little Vin and new baby. I'm looking forward to the spring's warm weather, walking the kids to school, library storytime, and trips to the zoo! I also got a great deal on preschool music classes for Vincent. I know he'll love those. He loves to rock out!
So...it won't be long till I'm the mommy to a baby again. Can't wait!
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