Maisy - Newborn Pictures

So I'm a bit behind.....  Maisy was a month old yesterday.  She has changed so much from when these newborn pictures that were taken when she was just a few days old. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clara the Pony

Mara has been wanting to ride a horse for a long time.  We just haven't really had a good opportunity for her to do this.  Last year there were supposed to be horse rides at a fall party we went to, but it ended up storming.  We've had the opportunity to let her ride on the ponies that just walk around in a circle, but I was not about to pay for her to do that.  If she was going to ride a horse, I thought it needed to be a real ride.  I guess I said that a few too many times......



 Because Grandma got her grandkids a real pony!  Meet Clara.

Clara came from a home with lots of kiddos, so she just does whatever the kids want her to do.  She'll walk, trot and follow slowly behind someone leading her.  They love her.  I'm looking forward to many memories with Clara and the kids.  Thanks Grandma J!

Preschooler

A couple weeks ago, we all went to Mara's open house at preschool.  She was super pumped!  She got to meet her teachers, check out her room and drop off her school supplies.

 

Micah also enjoyed the open house and is still pretty bummed he doesn't get to go every week.

She enjoyed her first day and was upset when she had to leave.  Some kids were crying when they got dropped off and she was crying when she had to go home.  I tried not to take offense to that!  She is making new friends and loves the independence.  I love to hear all about her afternoon when we pick her up. 

Maisy Marie

My parents decided to bring their camper down to our house and camp in our driveway for a night or two.  Our kids LOVE camping.  Their evening was complete with glow sticks and sleeping in the bunk beds in the camper.   

 This was 9 days before my due date, but at 3:30 AM I started having contractions.  I had been having very light contractions everyday for about a month, but I knew these were the real thing.  About 7:30 AM, my mom texted me and asked if I could believe the kids were both still sleeping in the camper.  I texted her back and said I'd believe it as long as she would believe I was in labor!  The contractions got harder and closer together throughout the morning, but we couldn't head to the hospital without a camping breakfast of pancakes and bacon cooked right in our driveway!  I was making my dad a bit nervous, so we finally headed to the hospital around 9:00 AM.  I told Lance if I wasn't dilated more than 6 cm, I was going to get en epidural.  The nurse informed me I was dilated to a 6 or 7.  Really?  That didn't make my decision easy.  I explained to the nurse that I had preferred the no epidural birthing experience with Micah, but I'm definitely a wimp!  She asked if I wanted her to say I didn't have a choice, so I said yes.  There were only a few seconds I highly regretted that decision!  But if I had the choice again, I'd choose no epidural.  Those two moments (physically pushing out my babies without pain medication) made me feel like Super Woman.  Seriously. 

 Our perfect little girl arrived at 11:42 AM.  This is her first photograph.  She was completely purple.  Neither of our other two were.  Lance got to cut the umbilical cord from me for the first time.  With the other two, the doctor cut it and Lance got to trim it from the baby later. 

 The nurse informed us that her head was bruised.  Probably from the quick exit!  She said it was nothing to worry about and the purple color should go away in a couple days.  It was actually much better a few hours later, but you can see the color difference in this picture.

 This is bad, but the first thing I noticed in this picture wasn't the baby.  It was the bald spot on Lance's head!  And he thinks he's too old to have another baby.... 

 This girly came out ready to eat!  She was sucking on anything she could get her mouth on!

Big Sis and Big Bro came after naps.  Micah wasn't too interested at first, but Mara couldn't get enough of her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 The brave nurse told the kids to put their gloves on and they could help with Maisy's first bath!

 

See...she really couldn't get enough of her, toes and all!

We decided to stay the full two days this birth.  We left a day early with Micah and ended up in the ER the next night.  Plus, it's pretty nice to be waited on at all hours of the day and night and not have to make any meals!  So we took full advantage of it. 

And then we strapped her in and headed home...hoping we were prepared for the chaos that was about to begin...and continue for quite a few years! 

 

 

 

 

Before the Baby

I guess I can't totally blame our new addition on my lack of blogging because I had several pictures in a folder ready to blog about before she arrived.  Here are a few.

 

My latest nephew, Zephen, arrived a bit before Maisy.  My sister-in-law ended up back in the hospital for a couple days, so two of the cousins got to come spend the day with us.  The girls enjoyed some popcorn while playing Candyland. 

 The boys aren't used to coming up with their own fun, so they kept trying to play with the girls.  But the girls didn't want anything to do with them.  The boys finally figured out how to play together without someone older telling them what to do :)  I found them reading books on the steps of the bunk beds.  Too cute.  We're so thankful to live so close to our cousins.  Now if only we could find some time to get together a little more frequently.  It's a bit tough with preschool and school schedules not to mention two newborns. 

 How do you get 6 kids 6 and under to all sit and eat at the same time?

 I really have no idea!  But it happened!  Here's proof!  We had a fun evening with cousins and friends.

These two finally got to their first theatre movie, Rio 2.  We hadn't seen Rio 1, but I thought 2 was a bit slow moving.  Micah got a bit restless halfway through, and Mara asked if we could leave about 15 minutes before it was over.  We made it to the end, and they enjoyed it.  Just a bit too long for these two to sit still. 

Bunk Beds

I am really proud of my non-woodworker husband.  Really, really proud!  He did an amazing job building bunk beds.  I found a basic plan online for a single loft bed with platform stairs, but he had to modify it a bit to create a double bunk bed with stairs to fit into the small bedroom space. 

 

 He  spent a lot of time sanding and staining.  But it was worth it because it fits perfectly and the kids love it.  They played in it for several hours the first week. 

 The kids enjoyed helping out.

 He put it together in pieces, so Mara slept on the bottom bunk for a week or so until the rest of the pieces were finished and attached.  The final pieces to go on were the rails on the stairs. He was a bit worn out after all that sanding and staining, so they didn't get put on for awhile.  He finally got them secured the morning I went into labor.  I had to laugh through a couple contractions as I paced through the house listening to the drill.

After he got it finished, we decided the top rail wasn't tall enough for our safety standards, so he added an extra rail to make it a bit safer. 

And here's the finished project!  It even holds Daddy on the top!  And if you're wondering about ordering a bunk bed from my talented husband, you're out of luck.  He'll never, ever think about building one again! 

I'm back!

Yikes, it's been almost a month since my last post!  I guess I have a good reason.  Being a mommy to 3 M's is beyond exhausting.  Especially with a newborn nursing every 2 hours and not sleeping the best at night.  This week has been a lot better so far, nursing every 2-3 hours and going 3 hours between feedings during the night.  BLINK.  And then we'll be celebrating Miss Maisy's first birthday.  My goal is to get back into blogging regularly.  I have a few posts to catch up on, and then I can share all about our crazy life as a family of 5.