Ellis Mae

   

    Well that pregnancy flew. It was by far my easiest and most enjoyed of the 4 pregnancies. I wanted it to slow down, I wanted to enjoy every movement I felt, and actually loved my round belly. With all of the others I was concerned over weight gain, stretch marks, and lack of mobility. With Ellis I appreciated my body and the miracle that was being created within me. This was bitter sweet pregnancy, knowing that this was my last.  It is hard to put into words my emotions.  Closing the chapter of our life where we are creating our family is a little surreal since we have been in baby making mode for 10 years (crazy,), but at the same time feeling complete and ready for new adventures in raising our family.
    We had the hardest time naming this sweet girl. Maybe because we didn't know we were having a girl until i was 32 weeks pregnant. She even frustrated the 3D ultra sound tech :) Knox was bummed but the day we found out for sure we said " its not a brother, but here is a new bike" and he was good with that. She has won him over though. She has such a gentle spirit. That doesn't mean she didn't move a ton, because she was super active, but with each child even in utero their distinct personalities were manifest. So think of this gentle girl we had several names that we liked but none that seemed to be right. Hadley, Finley, and Noa, we tried for weeks to call her by name but they didn't feel right. It wasn't until she was born that we named her Ellis Mae.

Birth Story

ugh! I didnt think I looked so swollen, but wow ! last pic pregnant :)

Surgery was set for 7:30 a.m. September 5, 2013. Bryan and I had to be at the hospital by 5:30. It went so smoothly. We showed up they were waiting for us, I went to my room put on my gown and they hooked up monitors and put in my IV. Bryan went to get himself breakfast so he wouldn't be so queasy while watching the surgery. Dr. Shull came in at 7:10 and was ready to rock and roll.  This is the first time I have had a Dr run ahead of schedule. It was fine with me we were ready to meet this sweet pea. Bryan had to stay in the hall while I received my spinal. This was the most uncomfortable spinal I have gotten. I'm blaming it on the fact that the anesthesiologist had students involved in its placement :/. Surgery started and I knew something wasn't right, in previous csections I know that I should feel a lot of pressure but no pain, in this one I felt the pressure and pain. Not super sharp pain, but pain that got worse as surgery progressed. 2 different times before Ellis was delivered they added pain meds to my IV. I heard her cry and Bry and I were in love with her. Then the Dr. Says she had two knots in her umbilical cord. One of which they call a true knot because it was tight. Then the rest is pretty blurry since the pain was so intense I started crying and my heart rate elevated they went ahead and knocked me out for the remainder of the surgery. Recovery went smoothly. We spent 4 days in the hospital. Ellis is perfect. Her pediatrician said we are so fortunate that she was a csection , ,with  the knot in the cord a vaginal birth could have killed her. I'm so very grateful she is with us and healthy. I guess only 1/800 births has a knot in the umbilical cord and it is even more rare for the cord to have 2 knots. It has been more than 10 years since my ob delivered a baby with 2 knots.
    Ellis was tongue tied and had to have her tongue clipped , not a big deal. It had hindered her nursing ability so her weight gain to get back to birth weight has been slow but steady in the right direction.  Her siblings love her! They love holding her and giving her kisses.  They are very protective and don't want others to hold her or touch her but I'm sure that will change :)

sweet Ellis

The true knot in her cord :/

Happy momma

Proud big bubba

Maryn was scared to hold her at first 

Pres was super excited and she was trying to hide her smile

Proud daddy with 4 bumble bees

Baby #4

Fallowfield baby #4 :) When I say it and call our family a family of 6 it seems a little overwhelming.  We are excited to have this baby join our family.  We had our first Dr. appointment yesterday and got our first view of this little one.  Bryan and I were both amazed and this little tiny baby with a beating heart. I feel really emotional this time around knowing this will be our last baby.  Im trying to take all of  it in and enjoy it.  We have been waiting to tell family and friends until after our first appointment.  We told the kids this morning and it was so fun. We told them yesterday we had a surprise for them in the morning.  We hung streamers with baby animals and blew up balloons. We left a card for each of them with their name on it on the table and let them open them this morning. Pres and Knox read theirs and Bryan read Maryn hers.  They were jumping up and down squealing :) Presley said she knew it...ha. Knox has been saying "Mom I think you have a baby in your belly since you don't feel good". They have all been anxious for a baby. Knox walked through the house the rest of the morning before school with his guitar singing "we are gonna have a baby, we are gonna have a baby, we are gonna have a baby boy or girl" and Presley was busy planning out a baby shower.  They were having a hard time containing their excitement as I dropped them off at school. They are precious.  Maryn is excited as well, however a little less so since I told her the baby might be born on her birthday :) " I not want a baby on my birthday, it will poot on me"...ha I love that kid. So Due Around the 12 of September with c-section date pending, Sept 5 at latest, Hopefully end of August :)

Presley Ann

I cannot believe our sweet girl will be 8 in just a few months. She is beautiful. She is so kind and loves to help others.  She is really into her American Girl doll "Kate", She wants to take her everywhere.  She is a smarty pants and doing great in school.  She is excelling in every subject. She is reading on a 4th grade level and she is in the 2nd grade.  Her teacher loves her and she has won the award for responsibility every year she has been in school.  She is kind of over it, but she really is very responsible and dependable for only being 7.  Sometimes too much so, she likes to boss Knox and Maryn, well she tries :) They are both independent and don't like to take orders from their sister. Presley will come home from school and immediately sit down at the table and do her homework and make sure that I sign all appropriate paper work. Her self confidence is really blossoming. She is trying new things and interacting with new kids. She did great in gymnastics and I admire her tenacity for learning new things.  She is playing basketball on an all boy team, in an all boy league, which has stretched her socially and I am proud of the progress she has made.  Pres is quick witted and sassy. She is all girl, bows, nails, accesories...you name this girl loves it. Anything to do with fashion, especially earrings. She is still my best sleeper and passes out as soon as her head hits her pillow. She is patient with her siblings and her parents :) She is our first, so she is at a disadvantage while we set out to figure out this parenting thing. We love her so much and enjoy her bright personality. She is going to do great things in this world.

Knox Bryan

Our boy is in Kindergarten ! He is growing so fast. He has gotten so tall this year.  He is super strong for a 5 year old.  His wrestling coaches have taught him moves they haven't taught the other 5 year olds because knox has the strength to do things most kids his age can't. He is awesome. He has great coordination and balance. He is very focused and always works hard.  He has done great this wrestling season and we are proud of all of his hard work. You should see this kid do push ups :) He is reading so well. I am really proud of his progress and how eager he has been in learning to read. He is on his 3rd set of BOB books which puts him as a solid 1st grade level reader (or higher) He has gained confidence in his ability to read and learn. He loves Discovery Kids books about insects, pirate ships, the titanic, dinosaurs, and anything that teaches about facts and how things work.  He is a funny kid and always looking to make other laugh.  He has a best friend this year, Alan. They are a good balance for each other.  Knox gets himself dressed in the morning. He is very diligent in making sure his teeth are brushed. He says all the kids in his class have stinky breath so he makes sure that his is fresh :). He still says Daisy Martineau is his girlfriend. He is very well behaved and does great in school.  We are just now out growing freaking out when he gets frustrated (thank goodness ) phew !! He likes things to be just so and he takes very good care of his things. He is good at keeping his room clean.  He loves our dog Lucy and she now sleeps at the foot of his bed.  We love our handsome boy and we are so proud him.

Maryn Jane

So since it has been a while I wanted to do a post on each child and talk about how much they have grown and changed over the last months.  Maryn Jane is the sassiest, fiestiest, funnest, prettiest 3 year old I know.  She is quick witted and humurous.  You never have to wonder what she is thinking. She is in the 3 year old phase of making sure she notices and points out (not just to me :) The differences in people around her. Always loud enough for everyone to hear and it makes me cringe (and giggle). Examples: "Why is her black?" To a black cashier, "Her has a big butt" to a family memeber, How was Presleys basketball game "It was lame", about her friend at preK " I not like her because her hair isn't black like mine", "oh wait, I do like her just not her hair", To presley "I not your sister anymore", To Presley "not be in my business", To Knox, "I not talking to you"...I could go on and on. This little one is ready to face the world. I love her confidence and her sweetness. She is caring and gentle. Maryn loves Presley and Knox and is eager to do the things that they do.  Knox said he wants to play football and Maryn said "Ya, and I can yell Go Knox". She loves to dress herself just like Presley. She needs less sleep than her siblings :) She loves her cousins. She still talks about being at Papaws funeral and getting "lost", she had wondered up on the stage at church and it was really dark, we heard her crying but it obviously left an impression. She loves gymnastics and her teachers love her too.  She is very mature for her age, Im assuming this is from having older siblings.  She brightens our day. She is precious and we love her so much :)

Where to begin...

I haven't posted since February !!! And with 3 kids we have had a lot go on ! Ugh, so I am going to try and do an abreviated update mostly with just pics and a few memories from the events. I hate that I have missed posting a lot of the funny things they have said and that I have forgotten who said what but I will do my best to do a catch up. I blog mostly as a journal for them. I hope all is well and I look forward to rejoining the blogging world :)

4th Place...

Knox wrestled in his 2nd real tournament of his wrestling season. We don't wrestle every weekend because 1. He is 4 ( therefore winning is a stretch) 2. The tournaments last FOREVER and 3. We like to do things on the weekends :). He wrestled in the Tot 2006/2007 , 45 lb weight class. He actually only weighs 41 lbs so he was on the low end of his weight class and the younger end as well since he is a 2007. He wrestled his first match and WON 11-5 ! I was so nervous and excited I was shaking for a while after the match...Oh how I dread it when he is older :). He lost his next 3 matches but did so good. Just by winning the first match he placed 4th. Not sure how that bracket was set up, but I don't care, he placed. Knox always asks when he is going to get his medal. One of the reasons he likes to wrestle is for the hope of a trophy. So when he heard that he was going to get a medal our boy was so excited. So they call his name and they gave him a yellow ribbon. Really ?! He turned to me and asked "what is this?" "Where is my medal?" He was heartbroken and not the least bit thrilled about placing anymore. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd got medals. Luckily I know the guy running the tournament and and quickly ask him if there are any extra could knox have a Medal instead of a ribbon and he quickly took Knox over and put the Medal over his head :) I think the pictures speak for themselves...taken only 1 minute a part :)

Date night...

Since the kids have started school this year it seems as though we don't get to spend much time with them, especially individual time. By the time I have picked up Presley and Knox in the afternoon it is almost 4pm by the time we get home. Then we have snack, homework, sometimes ball practice, dinner, bath, and reading all to get done before 7. So we started doing date nights with them on Friday night. We don't tell them what the activity is going to be and we let them choose where they would like to eat. It started I take Pres, the next week Bry takes Knox, then we would switch to opposite parent, Bry take Pres, the next week I take Knox. Okay so Maryn hasn't moved into the rotation yet. She gets time with me all day so when she starts Pre-K she will move into the rotation. Here is a run down of our dates so far and pictures to follow :)

Week 1: Presley and I went to mellowmushroom for pizza, Ben and Jerrys for Ice cream and then to see Dolphin Tale. We had so much fun

Week 2: Bryan took Knox to dinner at Checkers and then to the Race track to watch some loud cars. Knox was a little anxious due to the noise but ended up loving it !

Week 3: Bryan took Presley to a Hibachi grill and then to a gooney golf place. She loved playing mini putt it was her first time and loved the time she spent with her daddy.

Week 4: I took Knox to chuckecheese for dinner and games. I got him 50 tokens and he had a hard time using them all :) He just wanted to go pick a prize. We went to chik fil a for ice cream after and he fell asleep on the way home.

Week 5: I took Presley to dinner at Chik-fil-a. Then we headed to River city pottery where we painted a soup cup and a bowl. They are being fired and we will pick them up this Friday. Then we headed over to Brusters and got a dinosaur cookie sundae :)

Halloween 2011

HAPPY HALLOWEEN From- SNOW WHITE, OPTIMUS PRIME,and THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER :)

Kiddos and cute Callie :)

Blessed...

I want to post an update on our sweet Presley's hair :). We just met with a new dermatologist (our 5th since Presley was diagnosed with monilethrix) By far she is the best we have ever dealt with. I love it when we get a Dr. that makes all the rest look like idiots. She looked at Presley's hair again and said she is text book monilethrix and that we are so fortunate to have as much hair as we do. Presley is so tickled to be able to reach her mouth with her hair, have it hang while wet, blow in the wind. Things most girls take for granted. So I took a picture to show her hair growth.

Smart Boy !

Our sweet Knox is the smartest boy in his Pre-K. (GLOAT) And I say that with so much pride :) He is testing as an above average kindergartener :) Our boy loves to learn. He loves to watch the letter factory and is eager to practice the things that he has learned. We sure do love this boy :)

A House divided

I love football season !! I love college football ! I we are teaching our kids early to get excited about big games as well. Knox dressed himself and just happened to put on a UT vols shirt given from his cousin, and it just happened to be the day of the UT vs. UGA game. Enjoy our sweet babies...

Funny Baby

Maryn, while looking at a motorcycle.

"Bike, Bike, Bike, Bike"...Yes maryn I see the bike.

"vrooooooooooommmmmm"

so funny, defenitely gets her love of motorcylce gene from her daddy :)

9/11

Reliving 9/11 is painful. It hurts my heart so much to think of those who lost their lives. Especially when given a glimpse into individual lives. Children who lost parents, parents who lost children, wives who lost husbands, husbands who lost wives. So painful to think of not knowing for a period of time whether your loved one was ok or not. Bry and I had only been married for 3 months when 9/11 occured. we were living in Utah and I was going to school at BYU. My sister had actually called and told us to turn on the news. We turned it on, only one tower had been hit and I was on my way out the door to go to class. I walked so Bry could stay and watch the news. By the time I got to campus the other tower had been hit and I walked into my class and my professor told us that class was cancelled. I was starting to get anxious. I called Bry and I went and found a bench on campus to have a seat and while on the phone the 1st tower hit had just fallen. I noticed how quiet the sky was. Provo has a lot of air traffic that lands in SLC. It was so eerie. I was getting a little frantic and hurried home. It was devastating. And still is. It is painful for me to see pictures. Painful to hear stories of loved ones lost. Causes even a little anxiety to relive it. It changed our world. Im grateful for the many servicemen who lost their lives trying to save the people in the building and my heartbreaks that they never made it out.

Maryn Jane

Maryn Jane is 2 ! Our sweet baby girl is 2! Maryn is such a joy, she is such a social butterfly and loves to gives hugs and kisses. She is such a fun baby. She is up for anything and loves to play with Presley and Knox. She is really starting to talk well. She loves her cousin Callie she calls her coco. We did a minnie mouse theme because that is the only character she seems to have an association with since we went to Disney world. She calls her momo. She is always full of surprises and lots of expression on her little face. We sure do love you Maryn Jane.

Brotherly love...

I often wonder what types of relationships our children will have with each other. We really try to teach them to love one another and to be kind, but sadly this isn't always how they treat each other. We do however get glimpses of love for their siblings in some of the weirdest moments. Like the one I am going to post about. I love Knox he is such a sweet, kind, giving boy. This is not always the case with his interaction with Presley :) They tend to knock heads ALOT :). This morning though Bryan had this conversation with him...

Knox: I don't like sissy's fake hair.

Bry: It's real hair it is just made from other peoples hair for sissy to wear.

Knox: I don't like it, it stinks. I don't like the smell of it. Its made from lots of peoples hair and it stinks. Why does sissy have that hair. I like her normal hair. She is beautiful. That hair stinks and I don't like it.

Love our boy :) and he loves his sissy !

Student of the Month !

I can't begin to tell you how proud we are of our sweet girl. Presley was awarded student of the month for the whole kindergarten (8 kindergarten classes) at her school. The character trait of the month was "self discipline". I asked her what she had to do to earn that award and she told me "I just do a good job of keeping my hands to myself"...lol. We sure do love this peanut and she is growing up too fast.

Knox's new hair cut...

Knox's hair was getting rather wild so I decided I would try and trim it up. Not such a good idea, but I stopped before it would be really bad and we would have to shave it. So friday I was home with all the kids and my car had a flat tire so I called a good friend to see if she would take Knox to get his hair cut at the barber that her husband goes to. I wanted it fixed before church on sunday. He came back looking so handsome, though looking like a mini me of my friends husband with the same haircut...lol. So funny. So yesterday knox went to the bathroom and took a little longer than usual. I wasn't concerned until I went in to have a shower and saw hair on the floor. After I got out he came in and had "added" to his hair cut...lol. He had climbed up and gotten Bry's beard trimmer and hacked away. Love that kid :)

The handsome before :)

And the addition...

Snow Storm 2011 !

We had out first snow fall of 2011. It was actually a significant snow fall for the south. We got about 8 inches ! Everyone was excited about the snow and we did lots of sledding and 4 wheeling. Presley was out of school for the whole week...which was fun but hard to find things to entertain her. We did lots of reading stuff for school :). Maryn really enjoyed the snow. She was tiny last winter in Utah so this is the first one that she has been able to enjoy.

Presley did this all by herself...

Our snow angel...haha

Aunt Stacy's house

Happy New Year !

Well we didn't do much this new years eve. We wanted to do something with the kids so we stayed in. We had gotten some party things for them and let them stay up as late as they wanted. They lasted until 10:30 :). Its okay though since we went to a New Years party at the Creative Discovery Museum with them at noon to have an early party with a bunch of other kids. It was too packed so we left early and went and had lunch at the Mellow mushroom, ice cream from coldstone, and played on a play ground by the river. They had lots of fun and so did we :)

The Craziness at the Creative Discovery Museum...