I Love It

Now this is a picture I absolutely love. My 4 favorite people, all smiles!

Just In Time for Christmas

My dad is back! We knew he would come around Christmastime, and are very glad he made it before the holiday. It's SO nice to have him home and out of harm's way. No more IEDs, snipers, or rocket attacks to worry about. We are so proud of him and the excellent job he did in Iraq. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for "heroic or meritorious service." He was also chosen to be promoted to colonel. There are still so many others currently serving overseas. May God bless and watch over them and their families this season. Their service is such a sacrifice both personally and for their families.  

Tortuous

I am a mean mother. I forced my children to endure an hour and a half of cold temperatures yesterday for the sake of family pictures. Did I mention it was cold? By the end Emmy's lips were blue and her little fists were frozen. Ty was screaming and Macie was whiny. BUT, they looked really cute and hopefully we got some good pictures. If not I guess I was just mean for nothing.

Emmy In A Flash

Since life goes on, whether we like it or not, Emmy has almost reached 5 months old. I've never been very good at keeping my blog updated, and I'm only getting worse it seems. I've hardly touched on life for us these past 5 months, and it's kind of sad to me that my third child seems so grown up already. 

While I don't have time to take pictures of her all day, hold her as much as I want to, or cherish every minute of the little baby stage, I don't feel like she's getting the shaft. Life is just different for her at this age than it was for my other kids. There is so much going on around her all the time, and lots of people hugging and kissing her. She's a great spectator and cheerleader. She thinks Macie and Ty are very entertaining and laughs pretty hard at the silly things they do. She is always looking for them, and they love to be around her. Amid all the chaos she's only been stepped on (her hand) once, and never been hit by anything flying through the air. That's pretty good! Here's a brief look at her life thus far:

    

The labor and delivery went well and quickly, as is usual for me. A couple pushes and she was out. Physically, I felt awesome right away. We left the hospital in 24 hours so I could get home to the kids and Josh didn't have to keep coming back and forth from school and home. Never a day off for dental students, unfortunately. (Or the mom for that matter!) As you can see in the picture, she was born with ultra-squishy cheeks. YES!

This is the first picture (and the best one I have to date) of my little crew. I still can't believe we have three kids. 

My dad had 2 weeks leave from Iraq and was able to meet Emmy Jade.

She looked gorgeous in her blessing dress and hand-crocheted blanket by Grandma Great.

Emmy is a happy, engaging little girl. And gorgeous, of course.

This is typical. We are now officially outnumbered.

My little beauty.

She enjoys being the only one allowed to sit on the table.

A close-up of the cheeks.

Happy Halloween! We went to our ward trunk-or-treat and the kids had a great time. This is the only picture I have of Emmy in her ballerina costume.

So yes, life is crazy busy these days, but I'm getting the hang of it more and more each day. Emmy brings so much more happiness into our lives, and to top it off really is a sweet little girl. My kids are pretty wonderful, so I can't complain!

VOTE

Did you vote yet today? Go do it! If you are a Nevadan, we especially need your vote to send Reid packing.

Very Overdue

Yes, we are alive and doing well! I haven't had much time for blogging in the past 4 months. Life is extremely busy with another new baby and sometimes two hands just aren't enough! It's gone by super fast at times, and as slow as can be at others. We've been on a roller coaster of ups and downs, but as always the highs completely outweigh the lows. Macie and Ty love their little sister and are very sweet to her. Macie has really grown up and become Mommy's helper. Not only does she help with Emmy, but she takes great care of Ty. It's indescribable to see the love and concern that they have for one another as siblings. I love our sweet little Emmy Jade to pieces. She is such a sweet baby, very happy and my best sleeper at such a young age. One of the best things about having 3 kids is I now have another set of chubby cheeks to kiss all day long. I love all of my babies, and even though some days can be challenging, I want them to stay little forever. I keep blinking and they keep growing. Here are some pictures from her first photo shoot at 3 weeks old:

She's Here

Emmy Jade 

Born Monday, June 14th @ 8:49 pm

8 lbs. 11 oz. 

21 inches

Thanks Dad

I talk to my dad about once a week. However, I don't get to call him whenever I want or have the chance to see him every now and then like most other people can with their parents. When we talk it is via skype, contingent on my dad's choppy internet connection in Iraq. It is better than nothing; we are very grateful to see him at all.

My dad recently sent pictures and I chose two to post. It is so peculiar to see him in a country so different and isolated while we enjoy our lavish homes with flushing toilets and air conditioning. It's unimaginable to me that for many people, this is normal life. Not only that, but it also very sad. The horrible things that we hear about happening over there (and we still don't even get many details) make me so grateful that I was born in America. It is a true luxury that is easy to take for granted.

On Memorial Day amidst the BBQs and pool parties, take a second to reflect on the people that gave their lives so we can enjoy ours as free people.



Waiting for his ride.



This is where he lives. The far door on the right. Surrounded by concrete barriers. Looks fun, huh?

The Funny Guy

I tried talking to Ty about the baby in my tummy today. He completely doesn't get it. He pointed at my tummy and said, "Big one." Yes Ty, it is huge.

He really cracks us up with the things he says, and of course his little voice is the cutest ever. The phrases I hear the most are:
"Dis way" - When he wants someone to follow him.
"Watch dis" - When he does some sort of trick or something.
"I turn!" - When he thinks it's his turn...which is always.
"Kick it" and "sotter" (soccer) - He loves balls.
"Get it" - Like we fetch or something.

His favorite things to do are throw and kick balls, "fisbee", play "ow-side", watch the garbage truck, wrestle with anyone (especially Macie), dig in the dirt, play guitar, sweep the floor, squirt spray bottles, and see/play/talk about all kinds of trucks and buses. Last weekend Josh took him to the speedway to watch a friend race his baja truck. Sadly I didn't send the camera along, but Ty had so much fun and loves to talk about it. "Cutch (truck- this is the only word he totally says wrong) fall down. Cutch cash (crash). Cutch fast. Cutch big. Etc, etc.



Playing some tunes on the ukulele.

It's amazing to me how rough and tumble he is, yet the next minute he is wearing Macie's shoes around the house. He really likes his mama and gets jealous anytime Josh hugs me, has his arm around me, or lays down next to me. It's kind of funny because he starts to fake-cry every time. It won't be so funny anymore if he doesn't like new baby sister getting all of the attention. Yikes!

I tried to do a simple video interview of my buddy in the backyard and this is as good as it gets. Life is busy when you're 20 months old. Ty's exit at the end is what I typically see these days...his little legs running away from me as fast as he can.

A Little Help Here

I'm starting to feel stressed. I had a doctor's appointment today (36.5 wks) that went fine. However, the news that I am dilated 2 cm put me into a panic. I do contract all the time and dilated early with my other kids as well, but I was always more prepared by this point. When the doctor says, "I'll see you next week, if not before that at the hospital," then you know you're reaching the end. Gee, I guess I should pre-register at the hospital. We don't even have a name picked out, let alone a list a mile long of things I need to do. The frustrating part is some things I have no control over and I don't know what to do about it. (I know, that's very vague.) So yes, I am slightly panicked. Josh and I have ZERO names that we both like. Please help me out and give us some girl name suggestions. At least one. Por favor!