Random Pictures

Here's a few random pictures I wanted to share with you all in cyber world.

Here's a picture of Hailey's McDonald's drink on our trunk. We wanted to have a science experiment and see how far we could go without it falling off. We only lasted a few minutes. Mike turned and it flew off but he must of gone like 30 feet.Here's a picture of Mike giving Lily a kiss. But look at her face. She's trying to tell dad to shave. Their having a staring contest. Mike won that round but she challenged him for a rematch later.

She didn't want anyone to touch her baby doll.

Mason poking uncle Steve. We told him to but we didn't think he'd listen to his parents. What were we thinking?

It's Christmas!!!!!

Christmas was sure an exciting day. At 6am Lily was the first one up and wow she was excited. Mike and I tried to sleep in a little longer or at least until Mason and Hailey woke up but Lily kept crying and cooing and yelling. So at 630am I went into the kids room and woke them up. I never seen them two wake up and jump out of their beds so fast. It must of been like 10 seconds. (I need to remember that when school starts again)But we torn right into presents.Santa gave Hailey a baby alive that I wish Santa didn't bring since I'm the one that changes her wet diaper and feeds her. Mason got a skateboard. Lily got a cookie monster that Mike and I enjoy more than she does. But it doesn't stop there. Grandparents from both side got them gifts. Friends, cousins, aunts and uncles....pretty much everyone. Dolls, cars, clothes, movies, candy, games, money, etc. Thanks everyone.
But of all the things Mike got he liked his Nerf gun the most. It kept the kids in line all day. Angie's parents came over to our apt. for Christmas breakfast and played a little more. After stuffing our faces with every breakfast food imagined we headed to Mike's mom house. Here's uncle Steve giving Mason a head lock for trying to take his toy truck. (Just kidding)It was a lot of fun having pretty much all of Mike's family under one roof. A lot of laughing and joking and teasing. It was great fun. But we needed to end the joy soon since Mike needed to head to work. (It's double time pay at his job) But we had a great first Christmas.

PS. Mom's favorite gift was her Judy Garland book. I'm obsessed with Wizard of Oz and Judy. I know I have a problem.

X-mas Eve

Mike and I decided to start a new Christmas eve tradition. SLEDDING!!!!!

Since this is our first year together we have family traditions i.e. open one gift, make tamales, make Santa some cookies,etc. we each brought into the marriage but we also wanted to start our own. So today we took to the hills at Murray park and away we went.

Lily and I kept a safe distance and were the picture takers while Mike and the kids went down the steep hills. As a mom I admit I cringed a few times but when I could see the smiles on their faces it seemed to be worth it. Mason did really good with everything except wanting to start a snow ball fight at every chance he could. Hailey rode down with Mike most of the time. She did do it once by herself. She curled up in fetal position and rode down a small hill. She did great.
It was Mike that kept wiping out. Poor dad....But at the end of our adventure we all had a great time with tons of smiles and laughts and we all walked away without any injuries. YEAH!!!(See any comparison with Rudolph?)

1 month old

Today Lily is one month old. Time really did fly by. She is getting bigger. I'm not sure how much she weighs but your arm sure does get tired after a few minutes if your'e not used to her. But here's a few updates on her.

-She rolls over half way. She gets stuck on her shoulder but she keeps trying. Any day now...

-She still snorts when she is hungry. Not as much since she discovered crying gets her fed sooner but it's still adorable.

-She lifts her head up. She can only do it for a few seconds but she's doing it. she hasn't quite got the hang of turning her head yet. But she is always watching and looking at you. She's taking in the world. She might stare at the wall but to her it's interesting.

-She loves country music. Really any music but if she had her choice she'd go country. So needless to say we have one on our radio presets set to a station.

-She hates baths but loves warm showers. If she's having a crying session one of us will jump in with her and she calms right down. She can stay in there all day. Too bad our hot water heater doesn't allow it.

-She sleeps for about 5-7 hours straight at night now. I was determined to get her on a sleep schedule (mostly for my sanity) and now every night she'll fall asleep around 9 or 10 pm and sleeep until around 430am. That's fine by me.

-She LOVES to cuddle. She'll sit in her many seats (swing, bouncer chair,crib,couch, car seat,etc.) for only a few minutes before she wants to be held. So between all 4 of us she is always being held.
-She is a gold digging infant. I don't know where she learned it from since her momma is a pretty simple girl. She must of got it from her daddy. But she showed her baby blue eyes and see what someone gave her. $160 bucks. She needs to teach me that trick.

Hailey's Birthday

Yesterday was Hailey's 3rd birthday. After church (we have to admit we left alittle early) we started our fiesta! Mike and I decorated our apartment the night before with Dora decorations. Pink and Orange everywhere. When she ran thru the apt door all she could do was stop right in her tracks and gasp. It was adorable. Mike had brought this Dora dollhouse for her a while back and has been store it in our closet. Hailey and Mason played with it for hours. It was great for me.

For lunch we had pink toaster waffles per Hailey's request. After lunch Mike took the kids outside to make a snowman. (Look closely the snowman is hugging the kids) This is the first year that it's snowed on her birthday. I stood inside with Lily but watched from our apt. window. They kept running and throwing snow around.

Then we had CAKE!!! Yeah....

I don't know what a 3 year old wishes for but I hope it was a great birthday wish.

At the end of the day I think she had a great birthday.
Thank you Grandma Sue for the pants, hair ties and the doodle pad. She drew pictures of her castle on it and kept showing Lily it.
Thank you Grandma Felicia and Papa for the Dora body pillow and princess tea set. She slept with the pillow last night.
And we got her a Dora jacket that sings (I wish I had one at her age...gotta love technology), the dollhouse, Dora perfume, and Dora talking doll.
Happy Birthday baby girl....she's always my baby girl.

Much to our delay....

Sorry for not posting for so long. You know how it is. Time flies when your'e having fun. -Here's Lily at a week old. Her eyes are open and she's taking in everything. She turns her head and just stares at you. She on occasion rolls her eyes at you (especially Mike) when you so something dorkish in front of her.

- Here's a picture of Lily and Mike. See any similarities? Actually we compared baby pictures and she looks just like Mike when he was a baby except for her olive complexion which she gets from her momma.
(Here's Lily taking the spot light)

Temple Square

Tonight we went to Temple Square to look at the lights. Maybe since Mike and I are older but the exciting magic just wasn't there for us. Maybe we need a visit from the Xmas ghost but the kids loved it! Mason and Hailey ran around as much as possible however with TONS of people there they were close by our sides. They looked at all the trees and brushes with pink, orange,green, white lights. Hailey wanted so bad to touch the lights so when she did; she was so happy.

Lily of course was fast asleep thru the whole thing. When we were looking at some statues of lambs a random little girl asked me if Lily was baby Jesus? ....How cute huh? I said no that this is Lily. Her mom told her that baby Jesus was around here and being adorable the little girl thought that Lily was the Jesus statue. Mike and I had a good laugh.

3 kids+2 parents= 1 crazy week

It's been an interesting week and truley a new adventure with 3 kids. The day after Thanksgiving we all went to The After Thanksgiving Parade in West Valley to welcome Santa to town. It was alot of fun. And mom especially needed to get out of the house.

There was music and dancing and candy being passed out and of course when the jolly fat man came by in his horse drawn sled the kids had smiles from ear to ear. We didn't see Santa that day since the kids hadn't made their list yet. (we let them cut out toys from ad papers and glue them to paper so if they freeze up when they see Santa they can hand him their list)
But things at home are a little crazy. We're all still getting in the routine of things. Lily and her feedings every 2 & 1/2 hours. But thanks to my mom, Felicia, she has been a big help. Mostly with housework and meals and giving me some good tips on how to stay sane.
Mason and Hailey are doing ok. I say ok cuz Mason is trying to push his limits a little more to see what he can get away with. And of course that's not flying by Mike and I. And hailey she loves being a big sister. Still always wanting to know what's going on with Lily and how she can help. She gets mad at Mike and me for not spending as much time with her but she directs her anger towards us not Lily. So that's a good thing. We're trying to spread our time out so everyone gets some special time. (any suggestions would be great) but we'll get the hang of things soon enough.
However through all the chaos and crying moments like this with Lily and Hailey make it all worth wild.

At home at last

On Wednesday early morning Lily's and my doctor signed us out of the hospital with a good-enough-bill of health. She has to have a follow up on Friday for her jaundice level and I have to go back in 2 weeks for my follow up. So Mike packed up everything in our cramped room and away we went!!

We all got home around 11am. Mike helped settle Lily and I in then went to go get Mason and Hailey from their grandparents'. Hailey is doing much better with being a big sister ever since Mike stood the night with them on Monday. She wants to know everything that is happening to Lily. And since Lily and I aren't getting the nursing thing yet Hailey has hired herself bottle feeder. We don't mind it the extra set of hands.

Mason on the other hand thinks Lily is too small to handle. He just likes to look from a far. He's held her a few times but only for minutes.
But things on the home front. Lily fits right in with this family. The kids absolutely love her. Last night was the first night everyone was under one roof and I loved it. All my family was here and I really missed that. Being in the hospital for those 3 days made me crazy. But sleeping in my own bed, taking a shower without a chair in it, not having to call someone when I needed water, wow I missed my home.
But as today is Thanksgiving alot of things have been put into a new view. While we were at the hospital we got commented on our attitudes a few times. Especially since our ages it guess it's a rare thing to see. We don't need much and honestly don't have much but we do have a home filled with love, laughter, and great memories. We have 3 beautiful, smart, loving children that aren't being raised on the latest battery gadget. They love books, tickle wars, cuddling and spending time with their famliy and friends. Mike and I have a love that some may not have understood at first but have learned that we are perfect for one another. We learn from each other so much that it's a perfect fit. We are truely grateful and thankful for the life we were given.

She's getting better

On early monday morning when we went on our regular visit to the NICU the doctor said that Lily has been maintaining her sugars and that he's going to wean her from the IV and see how she does. If she does ok she would be able to leave the NICU and come onto the maternity ward with us.

So all day Mike and I focused on her and her feedings. We would say little prayers for her that when the staff checked her sugar she was within normal range.

However today was not a good day for Mason and Hailey. Hailey being her sweet 2 year old self was not understanding why mom and dad were away. The baby is out so now we should be able to come home. So Mike did the hardest thing ever....he went home. I know I needed him at the hospital for support but the kids needed one of us there for them. So he took the road less traveled. Plus he had job orientation the following morning so I felt he needed to be in tip-top shape.

Later that evening though Lily was released from NICU. At around 9pm she was in my room with me. I was in somewhat of a panick since I was to keep her on the 3 hour feedings but was afraid I'd sleep thru one. But the staff that night was very helpful and reassuring.

Welcome Baby Lily

After the blog on Sunday Mike and I headed to the hospital. We got there and checked in. It took about an hour for papers to be signed, questioned asked, and for me to be prepped. Around 9:30am the doctors took me back to the O.R. and did a few gross things that if you really are interested you can google it. And a few minutes later Mike came in the room with his bunny outfit.

I had so many emotions all hit me at one time. Happy, sad, excited, freaked out, worried, nervous that all I could do was cry. Mike was sweet and sang me a song so I could relax. After a few minutes of the doctors doing there thing at 0939 Lily Ana was born.

9lbs 7 oz, 20.5 inches long, brown hair, blue tinted eyes. Here's Mike having his first daddy moment.

Anyways after being snitched up and Mike making the phone calls and text messages we all went onto the maternity ward. However its not a happy ending. Since I had gestational diabetes the nursery had to monitor Lily's blood sugars to make sure she was making her own insulin. But she wasn't. So she was put into N.I.C.U. It was the hardest thing to see. Our little girl we have waited for so long for was now attached to a monitor with an IV in her and tubes and wires.

Mike and I were only allowed in their for her feedings so every 3 hours on the dot we headed down to the NICU and feed her formula (since I didn't have milk at the time) and bonded with her as much as we could. However we both knew that Lily needed this or she would be in bad shape.

Today is the THE DAY!!!

Right now it's 6:27am and mike is packing the car with our bags, putting Lily's car seat in the car and finishing any last touches we might have missed last night. Why? you ask. It's due to the fact that in about 45 minutes we are heading to the hospital to have Lily.

We are having a planned c-section this morning. Since Lily's a big girl and with my too-late-to-manage diabetes the doctor advised us that this is the best bet for her and me. He assured Mike and I that this is a routine and safe procedure. However I still have some fears. My sister in law Julia and I were talking yesterday and she was informing me of the how-to's and what-not's of c-section. But I feel good.

We are feeling so freakin' excited that the day has finally come. This has truely been the longest month we have ever lived thru. I thought getting married was exciting but this has nothing on it. So now I leave you all until next time. We're off!!!

Mike's Surprise Birthday

On Saturday Mike had his birhtday. At first I don't think Mike thought I had anyhting special planned for him. I made him breakfast and gave him one gift. We agreed to wait until the kids came back from their visit with their other dad.

So we did some volunteer work at the local DI. While working I told Mike I didn't feel well and wanted to leave and come home. If he could just go get the kids while I stayed at home and relaxed and did a few things to get ready for his birthday.

While he left my mom and I decorated our apartment with blue and white streamer, blue and white balloons, cooked a few appretizers, baked his cake which later I decorated it with blue and white with a Detroit Lions set up on it. Alittle bit later Mike's family came. Sue, Steve and Julia and boopers, Daina and my mom were all here. And we just waited for Mike to show up.

Since Mike got the kids early he stopped off to visit a friend and went to the store to buy me some flowers. How sweet of him but he was late to his own party. Silly Mike!

But he was surprised when he came in. He just stood there for a few minutes and took it all in. It was super fun. We all ate, the kids played, everyone talked and laughed, Mike opened his presents, we sang him Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

At the end of the night he had a lot of fun and Thanked everyone for coming. He had a smile on his face the rest of the night. ( I got him that Detroit Lions hoodie that's in the picture above)

Lights, Camera, Action

Hailey had her dance recital tonight and she did great. We got to the high school and she had tons of fans waiting for her. Her biological dad was there, her 3 grandma's, Mason, and Mike and I.

During her first dance she did all her moves and we could all tell she was having a great time. All the kids had their eyes on the teacher so no one forgot their moves. Half way during the dance Hailey was clapping as part of the routine and yells out "Hi MOM" and waves to me. It was so cute. At the finale where all the kids did their leaps into the air Hailey did a great job. And then all the kids took a final bow. The recital lasted about 25 minutes. But that's something we'll never forget.
Afterwards Hailey had photo op for about 20 minutes. Everyone wanted a picture with the famous dancer in the family. Here's Mike and Hailey. Then Sue and Mason and Hailey. Then after that is my mom, Felicia, with the kids. And last but not least a picture of Mike being a goof ball of a dad.