Hayley Meets her Brothers

   Grammy picked up Kyle from school and Nolan from his friend Andrew's house and brought them to the hospital to meet Hayley. When Kyle met Nolan he said, "No want it. No thank you," and it was a pretty sad experience for me. My heart warmed up when the boys came bouncing through the door asking to see their new sister. Their proud smiles meant so much to me. I am so thankful I am blessed with these three kids. Each of them teach me in different ways and make me want to be a better person and mother. I love you Kyle, Nolan and Hayley!

Now a big brother! Nolan told us he would rather have a baby sister than a pet bunny. That is huge news!

 Kyle was protective of her from the get-go. He didn't want us to take any more pictures with the, "big light," (the flash) because it was making Hayley cry.

Mama Bear feeling big and tired but mainly HAPPY:

Happy Family of 5:

Kyle gave her this pink teddy bear and the stuffed dog is Nolan's animal that he wanted Tim to sleep with at the hospital :).

Thank you Grammy for bringing the boys and the beautiful red roses they picked out for me.

Hayley Diane Ray

I wanted to type up Hayley's birth story while I still had it fresh in my mind:

  On Monday, November 3, I went for a doctor appointment. I had felt no contractions at this point (my due date was the next day) or any signs that labor would be coming soon. In the past my body never progressed until I went into actual labor, so I tried to not let the feeling that nothing would ever happen get to me too much. One of the comments I got ALL the time from people was, "You haven't even dropped!" Anyway, I showed up to my appointment hoping that all of my walking at the zoo the Saturday before would have done something to bring me closer to labor, but no such luck. We talked about induction. I could have gone in on Wednesday, but I was luckily feeling pretty patient. While I didn't want to go a week overdue, I really wanted this baby to come on her own. I felt comfortable with setting an induction date for Friday, November 7th.

  As the week went on I felt a few different pressures or feelings here or there, but nothing consistent or anything that felt like a contraction. One day I got ready for Zumba, but felt pretty sick so I decided it was better to stay home and rest. My mom said she thought I was getting closer to labor. On Thursday we took the boys to get a treat as our last celebration as a family of four. We got home and put them to bed and then I showered and packed a few things. I wanted to blow dry and straighten my hair but I was just so tired that I decided I would do it in the morning before we went to the hospital.

  After Tim and I went to bed I did the usual get up to use the bathroom scene a couple of times. Tim was fast asleep at this point. After using the bathroom I laid back in bed when I felt something a little wet. I thought, "That's strange," and got up and ran to the toilet. As soon as I sat down the flood came and I started yelling to my precious, sleeping husband, "Tim! Tim! I think my water broke! Love, wake up!" Of course he just snoozed away, so when I found it appropriate I got up, ran to him, hit his feet a couple of times and told him my water broke, then ran back to the toilet. He called my mom and while on the phone I said, "But I don't know how to get up! It just keeps coming!" My mom said it was going to be messy no matter what and brought us some towels. We threw more things together, I had crazy partially dry hair, and loaded up and headed to the hospital.

  At this point we're laughing and excited but I was also worried about laboring through the night. I felt a few contractions on the way to the hospital but realized the fact that I was so happy meant I must not be very far along. It was midnight when we got to the hospital. We were in triage forever where they told me I was only 2.5 cm dialated. Ahhh! With Kyle I was 4 cm when I got to the hospital and with Nolan I was induced, so this was going to be a long time laboring at the hospital for me. My sweet mom followed us to the hospital and stayed the whole night.

  When we finally got into labor and delivery room, they did my IV which is one of the worst parts for me. They can never get it in the first time! The nurse also started my antibiotic for the Strep B. She told me the goal was to get two bags in me, so the baby could come anytime after 6 am. A few hours later I felt ready for my epidural. The epidural is the most nerve-wrecking part for me so I had to mentally prepare myself for it. Tim sat in front of me and I squeezed his hands so tight as they put it in. That seemed to take forever too. After the epidural, at 4 am, they checked me. I was a 4.

  The worst part of this labor was all of the shaking I did. I shook non-stop! My mom tried putting pressure on me to help me stay still and the nurse told me to try and relax, but nothing helped. It was so tiring.

  After the epidural my nurse said I would probably progress a cm an hour, which would put us around 10 am for delivery. My mom contemplated going home to help get the boys ready for school, but I told her I thought she should stay. As the time went on I felt the contractions more frequent and harder.

  At 6 all of my antibiotic was in me and the nurse checked me. I was complete and ready to push! Our little angel was a good listener and waited until 6 am. I felt like it was a blessing I was ready to go because I was so hungry, had a bad headache from shaking so much and was so tired of shaking! The doctor was called and we got ready. One of the stirrups was broken so my mom held my dead-weight leg. It's just better if Tim doesn't get that close to the scene. He almost passed out during Kyle's birth. He stayed by me.

  Dr. Beck came in and we were all set. Of course at this time I didn't feel a contraction coming for what seemed like forever. Finally I said, "Ok here it comes!" And with one contraction and four pushes my little Hayley was born at 6:25 am. They told me to open my eyes and look down and I saw the most beautiful little girl be born. My first comment was, "She's so pretty!" Usually newborns look alienish and a little beat up but she was just so tiny with petite features and the prettiest skin coloring. She was born wide eyed and so alert. They put her on my chest and Tim cut the cord. This was the first baby I was able to do skin-to-skin with right away. I loved it except I was STILL shaking, so I ended up passing her back after a little bit because she kept landing in my neck from the shakes.

   It was immediate love! Honestly, my entire pregnancy I was worried about having a baby girl. I just didn't feel connected to the baby in me like I did with the boys. As soon as I saw Hayley, however, I knew she was meant for me and was the perfect addition to our family. Such a sweet gift from my Heavenly Father. She is the best!! 

  When they asked what her name was I answered right away, "Hayley Diane Ray." Tim and I had a hard time deciding/agreeing on her first name, but we knew for a long time her middle name would be Diane. Tim thinks this is our last kid, so he had told me early on that if I wanted to give her a middle name, I should pick a family name from my side so that one of our kids had a name from my side. Of course it had to be after her amazing miracle of a Grandma. Tim and I agreed on it without hesitation. (And as an added bonus, now both of my parents' names are in her name :)). We couldn't decide how to spell Hayley, but then my dad posted an Instagram with her name spelled H-a-y-l-e-y so we said, "Ok that works!" I love my little girl!

6 lb 14 oz, a full pound smaller than the boys

I love, love labor and delivery. It is my very favorite part of having a baby. Pregnancy is hard for me but I love the miracle of delivering a baby and it puts me on such a high afterward. I'm so grateful I had an easy labor and delivery and that our healthy, beautiful girl is here.

Kyle Plays Soccer!

Kyle plays soccer at recess almost every day, so he decided he wanted to try soccer this year. I was a little sad at first because I thought that meant we would miss baseball season, but soccer ended right in time. And guess what-- watching Kyle play soccer is fun! The league's recreational divison was a little (ok a lot) unorganized, but once the games actually got started it was fun. Kyle reminds me of my brother Taylor in that they're both usually one of the best at whatever they are attempting. He did awesome in soccer!

 If only you could see his calf muscles through those socks. They are rocks! I'm glad he didn't inherit my non-defining calf muscles.

One special aspect of soccer was that Tim helped coach. When we realized how unorganized the league was, our friend helped coach at practices and Tim stepped in at the games. The boys loved it. This allowed for high-fives on the field for Kyle!

Happy boy after a good move. Kyle was great at being aware of his teammates on the field. He had a lot of goals AND a lot of assists. I was proud of him for not being a ball hog.

Bear did his best to survive the games by eating sooo many snacks. I'm a mean mom and won't give him electronics. I think it's good for  him to cheer his brother on!

Needing a hair cut but still my cute Bear:

 And of course, GG came and supported Kyle at his games too. We are lucky to have her near us. The boys love when she can come!

Kyle decided he wanted to do a pattern. Soccer, baseball, soccer, baseball. So we have now moved onto baseball! He did ask Tim why he was better at soccer than baseball, so we'll see how long this pattern lasts :).

Nolan Plays Soccer!

In January I signed Bear up for a short little soccer class held once a week. The coach started off the class doing drills and then had a small scrimmage at the end of each class. It was basically hilarious. Nolan loved going, I'm sure, even though if you ask him if he likes soccer he'll probably tell you, "No, because it makes me hungry." Nolan told Kyle he knew the rules of soccer, "No fighting and no whining."

Stretching. I dressed him in jeans bc the grass was so itchy at the park and stuck all over his other pants!

He usually always has his hands up in the air when he is kicking the ball. It's like he doesn't quite know what to do with them yet.

One of the reasons we signed Nolan up was to make sure he really could be active. When we go to the zoo I can barely force him out of the stroller. It was so fun to actually see him run!

Practicing the header.

 They all just run around with smiles during the scrimmage. It's so cute.

 He's on your team Bear! But great job being aggressive.

 I loved him just standing there smiling.

 Nolan was probably starting to get hungry here. Typical three year olds playing soccer. The ball was rolling right behind him and he had no clue.

Another great thing about this class was that I got three other families to sign up with us! Andrew, his best friend, Lily, from church, and Easton, a friend we met through Kyle's pre-school. This meant I got to see my friends once a week too :). And of course GG was Nolan's faithful fan. He invited her to his soccer class one day and she has graciously come every time after to cheer him on.
 
  The coach did a great job with the kids! He related things to their level and spoke really clearly for them to understand. I was really impressed with his patience. I signed Nolan up again and unfortunately I'm not as impressed with the  program this time. We miss Coach Ryan! It's ok because this will be our last and then we will move onto swimming lessons!

  I have enjoyed having an activity just for Nolan.  I feel like we spend a lot of time driving to and from places for Kyle, so I was happy Bear had something that made him feel included too. My boys are growing up too fast!

Sixth Birthday Party

This year Kyle had a combined birthday party with his cousin, Logan. They are just a couple of weeks apart and in the same Kindergarten class this year. Since we would be inviting the same cousins and the same class, Laurie and I just did it together!

  It was a reptile/Duck Dynasty/camo party. Yah, so we really didn't have a set theme but it was cute nonetheless. I called my mom to make sure she was ok with us having the party at the house because it wasn't our usual list of guests (aka snakes). I was nervous since I didn't know most of the kids and a lot were coming, but except for a few I would say that Kyle has a great class! Bless his teacher. I think there are 20 boys and 6 girls in his class.

 Rich the reptile man came. He does an hour presentation that is entertaining for both kids and adults. Unfortunately I'd say about half of the kids were terrified, but I guess they will always remember the party? I love the smiles in this pic!

 A captivated audience:

 Kyle a little unsure:

See that weird mark? I need to get my camera cleaned. Anyone know how I do that?

 Rich kept his reptiles in tupperware and in the big coolers the boys were sitting on. There was a lot of screaming (and laughing) during the presentation, and at this point the kids were wondering what was coming next.

It was Tebow the rhinoceros iguana! Nolan loved this part and talks about it because Tebow would not stay on his diaper!

 Oh the drama...

 Oh my sweet Bear... I love that he his peeking with one eye.

The boys didn't want to stand like a tree, so Aunt Laurie stepped up to the plate. I would have been willing to but he didn't ask for any other volunteers. Oh darn ;). 

 Ok this is so creepy!!

I was proud of Kyle for walking around with this snake. I could tell he was nervous he was going to drop it.

At one point Rich did let whoever wanted to come and have a snake around their neck. I didn't get very many pics of this because all of a sudden there was a long line of Kindergartners who needed to use the bathroom. Wow his teacher must have a lot of patience.

 Oh yes, also proud of him for doing this. This python eats a pig once a month. It takes it 3 weeks to digest the bones and everything.

 Happy 6th birthday son. Let's think of something terrifying to celebrate!!

 The kids did like petting the reptiles.

Even Bear perked up and got brave. It's so fun to see them overcome their fear!

Side note: Rich ended up doing a presentation at Kyle's school a couple of days later. I'm so glad we had the party first or we would have been old news!

Cake time:

The handsome duo with their cake. It cracked me up that they chose this over Star Wars:

Logan is looking for more candles... Good thing Kyle didn't notice. 

We had a great time! My ears hurt from all of the screaming but overall it was a big success. I love you Kyle. You are my handsome Kyle Boy. You are so smart and thoughtful. You make me feel loved and have taught me so much. Happy 6th Birthday!!