It's funny 'cause it's true

Sweet Hubby and I caught this guy on TV tonight, and when he started talking about IKEA, I told Hubby, "That's so true, remember the bunk beds?" Our boys have IKEA bunk beds that we've had to put together a couple of different times. And then the guy started talking about bunk beds.



We laughed ourselves silly.

Catching up...a picture post

I finally uploaded some pictures from my camera to the computer. So here's the story of the big things going on in our lives since Evie arrived.

Stephen had a big weekend last weekend. Saturday was "Mayfest" at the gym we go to for gymnastics. Mayfest is really just a time when the kids get to show off what they've been learning. Stephen's been working extra hard, so he was really excited to show us what he can do. (I apologize for the quality of the pictures...it's hard to get good pictures of moving kids and I also wanted to avoid posting pictures where other kids' faces are clear which cut down on my options.)

Stephen stretching...he's the one in the middle of the picture. I show this picture only so you can see just how flexible this kid is...he's almost in a full split with his head down.

"T"-what they do after they've landed and stuck it.

Salute

Rings

Pommel Horse

Mayfest Trophy

I love looking at these pictures because in the pictures of him actually doing something he looks so intense but in between he's all smiles. I think he really enjoys gymnastics. Jonathon Horton (winner of the silver medal in the all-around at the Beijing Olympics) trained at this gym way back when and is coming back to train for the 2012 Olympics...I heard that he may even be working with some of the boys. Stephen thinks that's cool and I'm super-excited about it.

Zachary and Marc-Adam performing their own little routines while watching Stephen at Mayfest.




Stephen also had his first performance in children's choir. He even had a line, "Look at that old shoe!" He did great and loved being in the choir. Again, not a great picture, and I have a ton more, but don't want to post faces of other kids.


Also happening this week, Evie's first bath. Her umbilical cord finally fell off so she got her first good bath.

As you can see, it was a family affair. The boys were so excited for her and kept telling her how brave she was....as if a bath were something to be afraid of. :)


And just for fun, Marc-Adam, wearing some kind of Batman scuba goggles.


And Evie and I were left alone for a little while last week, so we played dress-up. I started trying all her bows on her. They are all still a little big for her, so we're sticking to the little bows that I stick to her head with Karo syrup, but she still looks awful cute with these big ol' bows on her head.

Must share!

Evie had her first photo shoot today...we got a deal with a photographer wanting to expand her portfolio, so this shoot was free! I think we'll be inviting her back for a paid session to take shots of all 4 of our kids. She was great!

So, she sent me the link to a couple of the shots on her blog. They are so precious. If it's possible, I think these pictures make our girl look even prettier! I can't quit looking at them! Check it out!

Oink

Evie had her two week check up today and the little girl has gained 12 ounces in 9 days and is 9.5 ounces over her birthweight!! I love it! It makes me so proud to know that she's getting all she needs from me. It totally validates my choice to breastfeed even during the times when it would be more convenient to not breastfeed.

We decided to go ahead and put her on reflux meds because she seems to be getting progressively worse and has had a really hard time the last few nights. Hopefully, she'll be on her way to feeling better in a couple days.

Nothin' much else to say...I hope to get a few minutes tomorrow to upload some new pictures from my camera to show you.

Updates

I don't have anything fantastic or wonderful to say. But I wanted to let everyone know how we're doing.

Things are going great in our home...and not the kind of great that you say when everything is falling apart but you still tell people that things are going well. Honestly, things are really good. My hormones have been in check enough for me to not freak out too much, I guess. Or maybe it's just that this is our fourth child (and fourth adjustment to a new baby), my expectations were low. In any case, life has been calm and wonderful since bringing Evie home. I haven't been exhausted, the kids have been acting normally for the most part (there's been some major power struggles between Stephen and his daddy, but I'm not sure that's directly related to having a new baby in the house) and the new has not worn off Evie. The boys are still in love and still fight over her. The fight used to be about who got to hold her first, but now the fight is over who gets to hold her last because in order to curb the fights over who was first, I told them that whoever held her last got to hold her the longest. They even fight over who gets to take her diapers to the Diaper Champ. Sweet Hubby and I fight over her, too. Whenever the kids are in bed or visiting grandparents, we sort of race each other to see who gets Evie first when she wakes up. He normally wins. 'Cause I let him. It's an awesome feeling to see him with his daughter...he has been SO hands-on with her. Way more than I expected because he was sort of nervous about actually having a little girl. But he's changed as many diapers as I have and never once passes up an opportunity to change her or hold her or spend anytime he can get with her.

As far as Evie goes, she's just so precious. She's amazing. She's a very calm baby and rarely cries...when she does cry, 90% of the time she settles down before I can get to her to soothe her. I think she has a touch of reflux, which is no surprise since Zachary and Marc-Adam had it as well. But it really only seems to bother her when she's trying to go to sleep and it only keeps her from actually being able to sleep at night. The rest of the time, she just whines and winces for a few minutes and then goes to sleep on her own. For the last feed, I've started giving her Mylanta and that has helped her nighttime tremendously. She generally goes about 6 hours between her last feed of the evening and the first time she eats at night. Sometimes she'll wake up before then, but when I try to feed her, she goes right back to sleep. And then I doze off and we wake up a few hours later all snuggled up and she'll finally take a good feed. So considering there's a newborn in the house, I've been getting amazing sleep.

More brags on my hubby...Sweet Hubby is still home with us and will be for four more weeks. The only reason I'm able to hold it together is because of him. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'd be a weepy mess for the majority of the time. He's been amazing in taking care of me and the kids and the operations of our home. I haven't made a meal in almost 2 weeks...haven't done laundry, haven't cleaned anything, haven't wiped any butts, haven't given the kids showers, haven't done dishes. And yet, we've eaten well (and not just the dinners that have been made for us, but breakfast and lunches, too!), we still have clean clothes, the kids are clean (with clean butts), the house is semi-straight and we still have dishes to eat off of. And the kids are well engaged, not climbing the walls and are having fun. It's just been wonderful and such a burden off my shoulders. In addition to running everything for me, he has also just been an awesome emotional support for me. When I told him yesterday that I was going to take a few more days to take it easy, he told me to take as long as I needed because he was still going to be home for another month. He is such an amazing answer to my prayers. There will be many tears the day he goes back to work.

As for me and my recovery...well, it's abundantly clear that this is my fourth c-section and that my body is not the same as it was when I had Stephen. It took a little while for my incision to become comfortable and I've actually finished off the bottle of vicodin I got when I left the hospital. I've never done that before. Most of my current pain is coming from a muscle in my hip...it is extremely painful and I've woken Hubby up in the middle of the night a couple of times by crying out in pain. It's fine if I stay perfectly still, but I have to be very careful in moving around because if I move the wrong way, it feels like that muscle has been lit on fire. It's getting a little better slowly, but I'm looking forward to my 2 week check on Thursday to talk to my doctor about it. Other than that, things are healing up quite nicely. Nursing is going really well. My milk came in before I left the hospital and Evie has been fairly good at getting the hang of things.

So, for now, there is much peace in the kingdom.

For Alison (and everyone else, too)

I've been instructed to post more pictures...so I'm popping on quickly to show Evie off a little more. I think I have more pics that haven't been uploaded yet, but those will have to wait. So here's a few from the first few days:

I changed this picture from the one I had up originally...I hated that picture and it's been bugging me all day knowing it was up here...so here's the first picture Evie and I took together, just a few minutes after she was handed to me for the first time.


Couldn't you just eat up those cheeks?

Going home dress...such a pretty girl.

The proud brothers (Big, Bigger, and Biggest).


Pretty sweet, huh? :)

And now you know...

....why I've nicknamed him Sweet Hubby for the blog.

My Wonderful Life!

Just two days ago Alli and I brought our precious daughter Evie home. She has to be the sweetest baby girl that I know. I want to say that I am very grateful for all that my wife has gone through these last few months. They have been long and hard for her, but the payoff is more than I would ever dream of. Our handsome boys have welcomed Evie home with nothing but love, hugs and lots of kisses. I have never seen our boys more in love with a baby until now. Our life will be different from now on and I would not change a thing.

Evie was born 7lbs. and 1 oz.. She was 18 1/2 inches long. She is so precious and I can't wait to get my hands on her every chance I get. My life is so blessed! Alli, I want to tell you that I love you and I am so proud to be called your husband. You are the greatest wife that I could have ever asked for. We make an awesome team.

Thank you all for you comments and love to Alli and our family. We are blessed with a great group of friends.

Gary

At last

We are home!! Just wanted to give a quick update. Evie's here and perfect and we're so overjoyed with her and all of our children.

More details and pictures to follow, but I'm tired and hurting a little now, so I'll just leave you with a picture of her. Jury's still out about who she looks like.

Love all around!

T minus 3 hours

Well, it's here. May 7th. We made it! We've got some last minute packing to do and then we're off to the hospital. C-section is scheduled for 7:30, so I'd love your prayers during that time, if you've read this by then.

I won't be back until probably Monday, but I may see if I can walk Sweet Hubby through the posting process so that those of you who won't be getting a phone call can get the deets of our baby girl a few days early.

I love you all and I can't wait to share our little girl with you.

To my daughter, on the day before your birth

There was a time when I would have laughed at the prospect of ever having a daughter. It seemed to me that I was born to be the mommy of all boys...being the mother to your brothers has changed me to my core and I couldn't ever imagine being anything different than what I was for them. The love and bond I have with each of your brothers runs so deep and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to love a child that was not my son.

But then came you.

And my heart began to leap at the ideas of bows and baby dolls and sweet little dresses. My soul aches for the kind of relationship that a mother can only have with her daughter. Our home seems to long for the girliness and softness you will bring when you arrive.

I'm not quite sure what to expect from you and how the dynamic of our family will change. I'm sure that in the beginning, life will be much the same as it was when your brothers were newborns. But as you grow, I can't wait to see how our relationship develops and how you change your brothers and daddy. They are all already so in love with you that not a day (an hour sometimes!) goes by without all 4 of them reaching over to feel you move, or talking to you in sweet voices or exclaiming how much they can't wait. Stephen declares his love hourly and tells me how sweet you will be and tells everyone that will listen that he is the most excited. Zachary told me yesterday that he's going to dance when you are born--complete with "jazz hands". Marc-Adam gets a sweet little smile on his face every time we mention your name, and he tells me he will hold you and kiss you on your head. And your Daddy? Well, let's just say that it won't take much for you to get that pony if that's something you ever desire. He's already wrapped around your little finger...he bought you your first outfit and shoes and his whole face changes when he talks about you. And I think your daddy is already your hero...you often calm at the sound of his voice. Your brothers used to roll around within my belly when Daddy talked to them. But you get still as if you are listening intently.

I look forward to our quiet moments together, although they might be few and short. But I can't wait to learn all about you. I want to smell your head and feel your breath against my neck. I want to play with your fingers and marvel at your little tiny fingernails. I want to watch you grow and learn and thrive. I can't wait to see what plans God has for you and how you choose to live them out. I can't wait to see how you fit into our family....however it is, whatever you bring, you are the missing puzzle piece in our lives.

My dear Genevieve, you are so loved and so cherished and our family is already immensely blessed from your existence within me. And tomorrow, as we celebrate you and your birth and finally meet you face to face, I hope you can feel that love....I hope you've felt it all along. You're coming in to a family with so much love already, that I think you must have some kind of understanding of it. You and your brothers are a dream come true for your daddy and I. I hope that with our love and guidance, we can help you make your dreams come true, as well.

I love you, Baby Girl. I can't wait to meet you.
Love,
Mama

The age old dilemma...

...to wear make-up or to not wear make-up to the hospital.

I've been debating this for days. On the one hand, I want to look good for pictures, especially since I'll be donning one of those sexy maternity hospital gowns and probably a little bit of bed-head from the operating table. On the other hand, I tend to cry quite a bit at the birth of my children, and I'm afraid I'll end up with raccoon eyes for the pictures. So I went out this morning and bought some waterproof mascara (which I generally avoid, but I think will come in handy for this situation) and some pretty new lipgloss. I'm thinking of just putting on foundation and mascara and lipgloss and skipping any other eye makeup.

What do you think? What did you do?

MAY!

I've been saying all through this pregnancy that I wasn't sure I'd make it to my May due date. But here we are, May 1st! I still don't know if we'll make it to the 7th, but I'm glad May is finally here and that we are this much closer to meeting our baby girl.