Sweet Traeton

Just thought I would mention something cute Trae said yesterday. I picked him up from the bus stop and I told him we needed to go and get a few groceries before we would be going home. He climbed in and then said "Can you just drop me off at Tara's for a while." I think my boys have been spoiled by their Grandmas and Aunt Tara through this whole new baby time. They loved going out to eat, playing with their cousins, aunts/uncles and getting attention about their baby sister. Thanks Aunt Tara, both sets of Grandparents and others who made this transition easier for them and for me.

More of Baby Maleena

The last week has been full of emotion for our family. We welcomed Maleena home last week and she has been such a blessing. She brightens our home and brings peace to our family. It is amazing the impact such a small baby has. The boys can not get enough of her, but they are always sweet and gentle around her. I know, it's only been a week, but they really do love her and I love watching them with her. Both love to sing to her and hold her. Trae loves to just lay next to her, touching her hair or kissing her on the cheek. He has been a great help with Miguel these last few days. It is also impressive how much your older kids grow up when you bring a new baby home. Miguel is handling it quite well. He has moments when he doesn't want to do things on his own, but he is adjusting.

Even more enjoyable than watching the boys has been seeing Jeff with Maleena. He is back in Utah this week, but there were times last week when I would walk into the room and he would be holding her. I would ask if she was crying and he would say no, we're just bonding. It is hard to explain any difference between his love for the boys and his love for Maleena, but something is different with a daughter. It seems as though it has softened him a bit. I am trying to get through the rough stage of nursing and sleeping and diaper changing. Atleast I can say one week down. It does get easier with each passing day. Overall we are doing great, we count our blessings and thank our Heavenly Father that we have a healthy baby. After she was born it took a long time for her color to change from purple to pink. They even took her away from me to work on getting her blood to circulate, she just wasn't crying or changing color. It seemed like forever, but finally she started turning red. Given that scary moment and then later the Doctor telling me he heard a clicking noise in her heart which turned out to be okay, I am grateful for the miracle of child birth and for all my healthy children.

 

Trae loves his sister!

 

A few minutes later, Trae even fell asleep-I don't know if that will ever happen again, but it was nice to have them all asleep at the same time.

 

How adorable is she?

 

We were all loving the head band-it's about time I get to put a bow in my baby's hair.

Baby Maleena

I just have a minute, but I wanted to send out a few pictures of our beautiful baby GIRL!! The labor and delivery went well-we were all so surprised when they told us she weighed 8 lbs. 12 ounces. I thought she felt big coming out. She has been a joy so far, she does not like to sleep at night, but we are working on that. We are both feeling good and all of us are enjoying the softer side of girls. There are still times when I look at her and can not believe that she is here. We can't thank the Lord enough for her and our little family. I will give more details later.

 

 

 

 

Still waiting

So I am now officially full term. I have carried this baby for 40 weeks and I just can't do it any longer. I have had contractions off and on for the last two weeks and that is frustrating in itself because I keep hoping every time that this will be it, but so far they always taper off. Luckily, I won't have to wait too much longer because my Doctor has scheduled an induction for tomorrow. I have to call the hospital at 4 a.m. to see if they have a bed and as soon as they do then I will be off to have a baby. I am nervous and excited all at the same time. The boys keep asking when is the baby going to be here. It has been quite an emotional past couple of days. Jeff has been home from work for over a week and now he is just waiting for the baby to come so that he can get back to Utah. It has been nice to have the time with him, but we had hoped the baby would come last week since he was home for the week. I guess this baby needed all the time it could get. It has definitely been a test of my patience. With Trae I was induced 3 weeks early due to complications-pre eclampsia and then with Miguel he came 9 days early, so it has been hard to have to wait for this one. It has reminded me that I am about to be following someone else's schedule again. I think I have forgotten what it is like to feed the baby all the time and pack around an infant. Still, I can't wait to hold her in my arms.

We are praying that the baby will be healthy and the delivery will go smoothly. I will have to let you know how it goes.

Another snowy day

Jeff bought the boys this sled yesterday after we woke up to another snowy day. It was fun to watch them go down the slope of our yard. I was hoping that would be enough to keep them content regarding going sledding. I was wrong. It just made them want to hit the big hills. They have been asking non stop. We are going to try and go sledding today-our first time ever. Trae has gone with his Aunts and Uncles, but we have never done it as a family. It just seems like so much work-maybe I am just being lazy given that my due date is in less than a week. Who knows, maybe I will get on the sled and see if it will get things going for this delivery.

 

 

 

 

Fun Zone

As you can see-one of our favorite places to go is the Fun Zone. We don't go very often, but the boys love playing in the jungle gym and riding on the little rides. They are learning the art of arcade games. Even Jeff and I get in on that part of the fun. The best part was that a worker had been fixing one of the games and he played it a few times afterward to make sure that it worked-well he left all of the tickets sticking out of the machine once he was done. We pretty much had the place to ourselves because we went in the early afternoon and nobody else was around. I couldn't help myself, so I went over and ripped off the tickets. 109 tickets to be exact. I felt like it was my lucky day-I am guessing he meant for them to be used. What was he going to do with them-cash them in for a sucker. I hope that was okay that I took them. That's not stealing, is it?

 

 

 

 

Birthday Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a party-

 

 

 

 

Here are a bunch of pictures from Miguel's birthday party. His birthday was the 28th, but we had the party yesterday. It turned out to be so much fun. Miguel was actually able to understand that he turned a year older. The highlight was the pinata. It was also fun to see the finished cake. The boys helped decorate it and it turned out pretty cute.

Happy Birthday!!

 

 

Just wanted to announce that Miguel is now 3 yrs. old. He has been so excited about this birthday. When I told him it was his birthday this morning he said, "SUPER". He is so cute! Just thought I would share that with you.

Be careful what you say

So I told Trae about my goals for the new year and though he is a great support, I am starting to wonder if I should have given him so much information. Though he is only 5 yrs. old he is smart beyond his years. All I hear at the end of the day is Mom we need to read, you said you wanted to. Or I hear, come on Mom let's go for a walk or come and play with me. I do love that I have been blessed these last two weeks to get to spend more time with my boys. I was able to rock Miguel to sleep yesterday, for the first time in forever. Traeton then wanted to lay down by me. I was exhausted and just wanted to get in a nap of my own when Trae said, "Mom can we just talk?" I wouldn't change that moment for anything in the world.

Goals for 2009

It seemed like every year while I was growing up my mom would do a family home evening some time in January and we would write down our goals or resolutions for the new year. Though I hate the thought of having to set goals every January, I find myself thinking about what I would like to work on this year. Of course fitness and exercise always comes in at the top. It seems like life got crazy about this time last year and I really gave up on exercising with any regularity. I am going to work on that this year. Actually there are a few things I want to work on and I hope that by putting it out there for others to read it will motivate me to stick with it.

Goals for 2009

*Exercise atleast 4 times a week for atleast an hour.
*Eat more fruits and vegetables
*Read scriptures daily
*Meaningful daily prayer
*Support husband's passions
*Relax more-Be more patient
*Play with my kids
*Read bedtime stories nightly
*Lose baby weight by Oct.
Before Aug. Fix up house, Sell and move to Utah

Insight and Clarity?

I am starting to freak about this new baby coming. When you start the nine months you think it is going to be forever before you have the baby and then you get to 4 wks. to go and it seems like it is all happening too fast. I am anxious and excited and scared all at the same time. I just keep thinking about how I am going to get through each day with a newborn again. Fortunately, I have taken some time off work and that has helped. If things work out then I won't have to go back and I will be able to focus on being at home.

I keep telling myself that lots of other women have three or more kids and they seem to be doing just fine. I don't know why I stress so much, it is just my nature I guess. With Jeff's new schedule of working 3 weeks and home for 1 week, he is supposed to be home Feb. 2-7. I am due the 16th. I am praying that this baby cooperates and comes when we need her to. HaHa I know that at the end of the day, the things I am stressing about are not that major.

I realize that my life could be so much harder. I truly am blessed by all that I have. As scared as I am to do this whole baby thing all over again, I told Jeff how amazing it is that I am able to. That God gave me a body capable of bringing life in to this world. I am so thankful for that blessing. I have to remind myself of that sometimes, especially when I start getting down on myself for the toils of pregnancy and motherhood. So this year I am trying to gain some insight into myself and what I really want. What do I want for myself, my boys, my husband, my family? What is it that I can do to make my life better? I know I need to enrich my life spiritually, but there are tangible things I need to do that go with that. I want overall Happiness-emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. That's not too much to ask right?

5 weeks to go!!!

I can't believe the big day is getting so close. It really didn't seem real until I attended the shower on Friday night and I received so many adorable things that I felt like I might actually be having a girl. I have been in denial this whole time, not wanting to get my hopes up-for fear that the ultrasound was wrong. I am starting to get excited and a lot nervous for this baby. The shower was so nice. My sister Sharen went to a lot of work and so did my mom and other sisters who helped with food and games for the night. I was happy to see some friends that I haven't seen in a while and be able to catch up with them. I was surprised by how many people were there-not a ton, but the perfect amount for a great party. I really had a good night and need to say Thanks to those that helped pull it off. Thanks Sharen, Mom, Tara, Sam, Emmy, and Maggie. And Thanks for the gifts and those that came. Baby Maleena will be so cute!

 

 

 

Jeff worked hard on Saturday to put the crib together. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had put the whole thing together. He put the sheet on, the bumper pad on and laid the blanket out. Bows tied and everything. I am starting to think he really is excited about this baby. Jeff was home for a few days and it was a great weekend with the shower and Tara's wedding. Congrats Tara-the night was beautiful and we are happy for you.

Christmas

Sorry that it has taken me such a long time to get to the updates lately. It feels like the last few weeks have just gone by so quickly. We did have a great Christmas and New Year's. Trae was out of school for two weeks and it was nice to have that break. It almost felt like too long though, because he sure had a hard time getting back into the swing of things. We have been so blessed these last few months and with the New Year I have been thinking a lot about 2008 and all that it brought us. We definitely had some challenges, but we also had the most amazing moments. I am proud of my little family. Proud that when Trae broke his arm he gained a profound respect for the priesthood and the power of a blessing from his Dad. I am thankful for the lessons Jeff and I have learned about our faith and the strength of our love for each other. Grateful for Miguel and how much he has grown-it is fun to see him finding his place. We really have had a good year, despite how hard it has seemed. I am excited about this new year and all the surprises 2009 will bring.