Nicole Elizabeth

Here she is!!!

Nicole Elizabeth

9 lbs. 2 oz.

19 inches long

Born on June 17, 2011 at 10:55 am

Here's a quick rundown of Friday morning....

We arrived at the hospital at 8:00 am where a family friend, Allison Neilson was sweet enough to come in and be my nurse for the delivery.  I got all hooked up then Greg and I just hung around and watched Nick Jr. (yep, that's right, we watched an episode of Bubble Guppies because we missed the other kids!).

Then it was time to head to the operating room and have a baby!!! After a relatively calm and easy delivery Nicole was brought out...at first glance we all said the same thing "WOW, she's HUGE!!"  Greg and the nurses then headed over with Nicole to be checked and weighed while I got put back together.

I was soon informed that I wasn't in fact crazy, and that she was just as big as we had thought...I was cramming 9 pounds and 2 ounces of baby inside!! When you see her, and then me, it really makes you wonder how on earth she could have come from inside my belly!!

Just look at all the baby...rolls and chub for miles!!!!

It was love at first sight...and right away we noticed she looks just like Freddie did as a newborn, but we think she definitely has a female look to her!!  And that hair...the first thing I heard them say when they got her head out was "look at all that hair!" and it's a beautiful dark brown!!!

Just another "first picture..." I will post more pictures of her in the coming days as we have more time.

 In the recovery room after the surgery one of the nurses made Nicole this cute bow for her basic hospital hat!! I LOVE it...such a great idea and we have been using it every chance we get!

Daddy and daughter...When you see them up close together she looks just like him (with a female edge!!).  What an amazing Daddy he is...he makes beautiful children and was so proud of our newest addition!

I love this picture of Nicole, look at that hair!!! I could stare at it and play in it all day!!!  Seeing her on me gives you an idea of just how large her head is!! She loves to snuggle and could not be more sweet, she sleeps just like Karyl and Freddie did in the hospital - which means we should be in for another wonderful newborn experience, just like the other kids!!

And Karyl, oh Karyl....she LOVES...seriously, absolutely ADORES Nicole.  She can't stop kissing and hugging her and just wants to have her all to herself.  She was a great helper with Freddie, but she is going to be a second mommy to Nicole.  They are going to have a special little friendship as they grow up.

And one of my favorite pictures...Nicole about 30 minutes after delivery with the ever amazing Dr. Cvar!! We have a picture of Freddie from his birthday with her too (February of 2009), go back and compare the two pictures - that will give you a good idea as to how much larger Nicole is!!

This whole experience has been amazing...the surgery could not have gone better, the nurses couldn't have been nicer, and Nicole couldn't have been more perfect.  We are blessed to have such a wonderful doctor who has done an amazing job on all 3 of my C-sections and has reassured me that everything looks great and that we are clear to have a fourth should we choose to!!  Greg did an amazing job being there for me and talking me through everything, and compared to the other 2 surgeries this one was probably the calmest and easiest one.

Now we start our new adventure as a family of 5! It amazes me the reactions we've been getting from other parents in the hospital when they find out this is our 3rd child...it makes us smile though because a lot of them are first time parents and you can see the slight panic in their eyes when they imagine having more than what they already have!!

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes...I am well on the road to recovery and definitely feel like I've been blessed again with a quick recovery.  We will post more pictures soon!!

The countdown is under way!!!

I know the counter on the right says 9 days, but that was done with my due date and I'm too lazy to try and fix it...the official countdown is actually....

4 DAYS!!!!!

That's right, almost exactly 4 days!!!

Friday morning at 10:00 am Nicole is scheduled to come out and meet us (whether she wants to or not!!) and I can't wait!! Of course I'm excited to meet her and see her in person, but I am definitely ready to have my body back and feel normal again!! I will post a picture before we go to the hospital of what I look like now, but believe me, I am ALL baby - this is the first pregnancy I've had that gave me a real pregnancy belly that's round, almost basketball like!! 

This pregnancy has been COMPLETELY different from the first two, and it really surprised me!! I have been healthier during this pregnancy than I was before I was pregnant!! My blood pressure has been lower than it has been ever in the past 6 years and I haven't had a lot of the side effects that I had with the other 2 kids and I'm convinced that it's because I was exercising up until I got pregnant and because I lost the 15 pounds before getting pregnant!! I have only gained 11 pounds during this pregnancy (which is the least amount someone my size can gain before they start worrying) which definitely took some work!! I have worked so hard to stay healthy and gain as little weight as possible.  It paid off though because as it stands now I will leave the hospital weighing less than I did before I was pregnant!! AWESOME!!!

I have also lost weight during this pregnancy in my face and arms...clothes I was wearing are starting to get looser everywhere else but the belly area, and even that has stayed pretty in control...I have definitely been growing out to the front, but not to the side which is a first!! From directly in front or back you wouldn't know I was pregnant, and that's an accomplishment considering this baby isn't 6 pounds!!

So, 4 more days and we get to meet her....anyone want to place a guess as to her weight?? We're pretty sure she'll be over 9 pounds and Greg keep joking that she'll come out even larger...he's joking about 10 pounds, but I don't think there's enough room in there for 10 pounds of baby....we'll see!!!  I will have Internet access in the hospital, so I will be putting up a blog post either Friday night or Saturday morning depending on when I have a chance so that everyone can see pictures and the stats!!

Until then.....

Do you see what I see??

Well, Greg did it...all the rooms now have mirrored closet doors!! We did Karyl's new room and the office first...then he did Freddie's room Saturday...and today he had to bring in the big guns to help do our room...

In comes Uncle David...

I obviously couldn't be any help since I can't really work while on a ladder or lift large heavy objects (which is REALLY frustrating!!) so he called Uncle David and offered him a home cooked meal if he'd help...he was more than willing for some chicken enchiladas and Mississippi Mud Pie!!  These are the before and after pictures they took...as you can see we had the plain old wood sliding doors from the 70s before.  And, to give you some perspective, the doors are 96 inches (8 feet) tall, and the opening to the closet is almost 8 feet as well (I think it's 91 inches), which is why Greg needed the help, those doors are HUGE!!!

So, you can see how closed off and just white our room looks with the solid doors...and then with the mirrors...TAH DAH!!!

Granted you can see some of the mess in the room, those mirrors totally opened up the room and made it seem twice as large!!! It's so much nicer looking at the TV and not just seeing solid wall next to it! Now we just have to paint our room, we have a really pretty blue color for that, it'll get done eventually (Greg's going to put up crown moulding too!!).

So, now that Greg's finished his major project on his to-do list before Nicole comes he can relax!! He has been working hard this weekend to help me get the house clean since I'm a little slow and I have to stop and sit a lot...my doctor had warned me that I would have more contractions simply because Nicole is so large, and she was right!! Yesterday and Saturday night I actually had a few real contractions, the kind that hurt!! But they were small and random....so there's no worry about labor anytime soon, I just have to be careful and do a lot of sitting and water drinking!!

The house is coming together and we are so close to being ready for Nicole.  I think we got all the absolute necessities out of the way yesterday so that if Nicole were to come today we would be ready.  Which includes a HUGE thank you to Greg's mom and sisters for helping me sort through the sea of pink baby clothes yesterday!! I knew we had lots of clothes from Karyl, but I really thought I might have been over-imagining the amount...I wasn't at all!!! I swear, Nicole won't have to wear anything more than once!! I have to admit it was fun to remember all those outfits and the times Karyl wore them...it will be weird to see another baby in them, but I'm glad we saved them and that they are all in mint condition (Karyl grew so fast she was only in each size for maybe 3 weeks!!). 

Now to figure out what to take to the hospital for Nicole to wear home!!

Ka-CHOW!!!!

Well, the transformation is complete...we did it!!! I found a Lightning McQueen race car bed on Craig's list (for like 1/4 the price of a new one) and last night we drove out to Beverly Hills to get it!! That was an interesting experience all in itself.  Nothing beats going to a swanky apartment building and having the owner's own personal mover/handyman help you carry out a giant plastic car bed!!  Note to the rich...make your parking garages larger...our truck barely fit in there enpty, only Greg could have possibly gotten that truck back out with the bed sticking off the back!!!

Anyways, we got it and made it home!! Here are David and Greg putting the bed together the next day...you think Freddie's just a little excited about it??

Honestly, I tihnk Greg (and David) were just as excited...and a little bummed they didn't get to sleep in it (it's a twin size bed, so it's large enough for an adult to sleep in!!)  We got it all set up with the mattress and got Freddie switched from the crib with NO ISSUES at all!! This means that so far we are 2 for 2 with switching from the crib to big kid beds!!  We put on the Cars bedding Freddie got for his birthday and his room looks amazing!!

Thanks to Uncle David for coming over to help...there was no way I was going to be able to help Greg carry that thing inside!!

A little home decorating....kid style...

Well, here they are....after weeks of painting and patience, the kids rooms are decorated and pretty much ready to go.  Now we just have to change the toys and bedding and we'll have Freddie in a big-boy bed, Karyl on the trundle bed, and the crib all empty and ready for Nicole in 4 weeks!!

Here is the "Girl" room....

Here is the "Boy" room - which Freddie will have all to himself until the next baby if it's a boy...if it's a girl then he'll get to have it all to himself for a LONG time!!

The paint is the same, there was just more light in one shot than another. 

For any of you thinking that a border is an easy way to add pizzaz to a room, learn from us...apparently the borders ARE NOT self adhesive.  They have to be moistened and then attached...which didn't work since the walls in thise house have funky texture.  So, the men did what they had to...they went and bought spray adhesive.....it worked....

Now, Greg just wants to find a "stop light" lamp for Freddie's room and some other racing things...we also have self-adhesive (we checked) stickers that match the borders for the walls once we get the furniture in it's final place.

For the girl room we just need to put the stickers on the wall and get a railing for the trundle bed.  Other than that, her room is all done.

Greg has done an awesome job.  Now he is going to start working on our room (we already have the paint, it's a medium blue). We want crown moulding in ours, so that's the only additional purchase we have to make...and paint it white (the ceiling will be white too).  We still haven't decided on what color the bathroom will be, but we're in no hurry.  We needed to get the kids' rooms done first so we could switch them before the baby...our room can be done at a more leisurely pace!!

It's that time of year again

The rain has stopped, the warmer weather is creeping in and it's that time of year again....when Uncle David and Greg start working on the house again.  Today the chosen project was laying the drain pipe for the other side of the house (the non-RV parking side).  This morning, they got up, headed out to Home Depot with Freddie and attempted to rent something called a "Ditch Witch" - otherwise known as a trench digger.  Well, turns out that if you call and ask the Home Depot rental geniuses if they have a tool or not, they don't bother to check and see if it's working.  They drove out there, only to find out that the ones they had weren't working...neither were the ones a few miles away...
So, they came back slightly ticked off and set out digging their trench by hand....over 100 feet later and they are only about 6 feet from the fence line now - rather impressive!!

Here are some pictures of our beautifully green and luscious front lawn torn apart - literally - there are long chunks of grass and dirt sitting alongside the trench so they can be planted back when they're done laying the pipe.  Apparently, one up side to doing it all by hand was that they didn't break any sprinkler pipes...and they came across like 5 or 6 of them while digging that would have been torn up by the automatic digger.

So, here's our front lawn -

At least I have plenty of men around to do all the manual labor...right???

Daddy's little helper

These past few weeks Greg has been doing a lot of work on the inside of the house to get the kids' rooms ready for them to switch and to get ready for Nicole.  One of the big projects was putting mirrored closet doors in the rooms instead of the big wooden eye sores we've had for the past 2-1/2 years.  So, this past weekend Greg was putting up the mirrors in Freddie's current room and was using a screwdriver to raise the wheels on the bottom before putting them on....and Freddie had been watching for a minute, disappeared, then returned with his own screwdriver!! A friend of Greg's from work just gave us a cute "tool bench" for him to play with and even though he'd only had it for like a day, he recognized what Daddy was doing and brought his own tools to help!!

So, Greg got the wheels raised and then let Freddie give it a shot with his screwdriver.  It was cute to see him try to imitate Daddy!!

Oh the cuteness overlaod we experience in our home...

Guess all those Home Depot and Lowe's Kid's Clinics are paying off....

Easter

I know, I know...you're thinking "Diana, you used to be so good at blogging and keeping everyone updated"

I'm sorry...I've just been so busy with the kids and working and the pregnancy and life in general.  I guess it's part because I made a pact with myself to spend more time with the kids and do more around the house...and of all the things that got cut back in the process, blogging was put at the bottom of the list.

But fear not...I am trying to find the balance for everything, and I have huge dreams that someday I will be able to do it all, kinda like Supermom but without the spandex outfit and knee-high boots.

Easter was wonderful around here....we spent time with our families over the weekend and then got Easter at home.  I had to be at church early to direct the choir, but Greg did a great job getting the kids ready for church in their new Easter outfits and even taking some spectacular photos which I will share below.

Yes, that's right, we do in fact have the cutest kids you've ever seen...it's true.  Oh, and I put Karyl's hair in curlers that morning with a little water to try and curl her hair, but with it being as straight as it is, by the time they got to church (about 30 minutes later) it was totally straight again...I guess I need to invest in some hairspray for my straight haired offspring.

Seriously...Freddie looks like a little man and Karyl looks so stinking cute!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures and I will really try to update more and go back into our picture stash for cuteness overload.  With the baby coming in like 7-1/2 weeks I am slowly running out of time and we have been super busy with getting the house ready.  We painted Karyl's current room (going to be Freddie's room soon) and will be painting the other room soon too so we can get them decorated and switch the kids.  Freddie will be in a regular bed so this should be interesting!! Wish us luck!!!

The Discovery Science Center

The Discovery Science Center...every little kid's dream playground!!! We decided to go so that the kids could see it again and while we had extended family in town.  It was CROWDED, but the kids had a blast touching everything and playing around.  The theme at the time was the body, with Sesame Street and Elmo as the hosts.  The kids got to play with lots of machines that made noise and showed what different body parts do...

This organ looking machine talked about different parts of the body...

This wheel turned a mixer of sorts above that had green balls in it and was to show how digestion worked...

This was the door and steps to the Sesame Street set...the kids recognized it and of course wanted to check it out!!

They had these neat toys that allowed the kids to pedal or row or even roll a wheelchair in a race to the finish line on a screen above them.  The only problem was that other parents weren't watching their little monsters and they kept hitting the reset button so that none of these poor kids could make it to the end to see the lights go off.  At least they had fun trying!!

They also had a replica of "Elmo's World" and Freddie loved it...he loved the kid size bean bags and looking at all the stuff!!

And of course, Karyl wanted a chance in front of the Sesame Street door too!!! Such a cutie!! 

The kids had fun, but it was almost too crowded to really let them enjoy it.  The worst part was the so many parents don't watch their kids or teach them any manners, so our kids would be playing with one toy and another kid would just walk up and literally push them out of the way....and the parents wouldn't do anything.  I would definitely try and go another time when it's quiet and school is in session so we eliminate the unruly children from the equation.  Our kids were so good, they waited their turns and were so patient, but it was hard when they noticed what all the other kids were doing and then wondered why they had to wait.  Sometimes you just want to knock some sense into other parents, but let's face it, it wouldn't do much good!!

San Diego Zoo

This week was filled with fun outings for the kids, and they did great!!! The day before this Karyl went to Disneyland with Greg's family and she was ready and willing to spend the day at the zoo!! She LOVED seeing all the animals, but I think her favorite part was finding the face painter...she loves getting her face painted!!



Then Freddie saw Karyl and of course wanted to do the same thing...I was skeptical and didn't think he'd sit there, but he did and let the lady draw a dolphin on his face!! It looked so stinking cute, especially with his blue eyes.  He sat perfectly still and let her draw the whole thing!!

Then, after the face painting we had gone to collect our stroller (we had just finished the bus ride around the zoo) and we saw this feathered friend wandering.  The kids thought it was the coolest thing EVER.  After a few minutes, the peacock fanned its tail and we got to see that in all it's glory.  The kids LOVED it!!

Did you know that you have to wait in line to see the Pandas?? Well, it's true...so while in line Karyl and Daddy took advantage of the surroundings and got a little silly in the bamboo!!

The kids had a blast, and surprisingly I made it through the whole day without passing out or having to slow down.  That's not to say I wasn't limping by the time we walked to the car...being 8 months pregnant doesn't exactly make roaming around the zoo an easy task, but I was really proud of myself that I did it and I didn't hold anyone back!! Of course that night I couldn't sleep in bed I was so sore, but it was gone the next day and we have some great memories from the zoo with the kids and family!!! Thanks again to Greg's family for agreeing to share this experience with the kids....they loved it!!

Who doesn't love cupcakes??

So who doesn't love a good cupcake with TONS of frosting?? I make these for Jaxson's 2nd birthday party and I still love looking at the pictures!! I also made Cake Pops, but those don't look as pretty in pictures!! A huge thanks to Claire and Sterling for inviting and and for letting me have some fun with frosting...making the cupcakes was a lot of fun!! The party was awesome, even with the cold weather and slight drizzle the sun came out right at the perfect time and the kids had a blast playing at the park all together!

Happy Birthday Jaxson!!! We had a blast!!!



Happy 2nd Birthday Freddie!!!

See...I told you I'd be back.  I'll have to work on catching up, but as for current events Freddie celebrated his 2nd Birthday on Sunday...and in turn, so did we...here is his 2nd Birthday, in pictures!!!

It started out with a bath, because EVERYONE needs to be clean on their birthday...we even let them draw with the bath crayons and they both had a blast!!! And surprisingly, cleaning up wasn't as bad as I had imagined!

We gave Freddie this neat "pop up" Cars tent for his birthday and he and Karyl quickly found spots right in front, grabbed a few snacks, and sat down to watch...wait for it...CARS....

Amazingly, this year Freddie picked up on the idea of anything wrapped was his to tear open...unfortunately for him, his 4-year-old sister already knew this all too well and just assumed he needed her help with every single present.  Needless to say, the presents were opened in half the time because she was opening them too....

Freddie's dreams came true...he got lots and lots of cars...he was in HEAVEN!!!!

Then, when all the presents were open we let Freddie and his buddy Jaxson play with the bubble gun....why is it that kids LOVE chasing bubbles??

Here's Freddie and Jaxson...they are only 6 weeks apart and had such a fun time playing together!! A huge thanks to Claire and Sterling for coming by and "partying" with us.

This was Freddie's cake...it was my first time trying to make a cake from a shaped pan and it worked pretty well.  I've learned for the next time though, so I can't wait to try again with another shaped pan!!

And here's our happy little family....Freddie already had frosting on his face from sticking his finger in the cake.  He'd been bugging me to eat the cake since seeing me decorating it the night before.  I'm only posting this picture because we don't get many "family" pictures...but I didn't bother to think about the fact that I was standing sideways, which of course makes me and my 6 month baby belly look like two people...ugh....

Freddie LOVED eating his cake...luckily he wanted a spoon to eat it with, for some reason he wasn't into digging his hands in...thank you!!!

Greg got Freddie these balloons...he was SOOO excited when he saw them....the big one is in his room and whenever he sees it he gets all excited, says "Ka-Chow!!" and then starts naming off all the characters "May-May (Mater), Shally (Sally)" we giggle every time.

Of course, it's like he KNOWS his mom is deathly afraid of balloons...he tried to jump on that thing more times than I could count.  Luckily it never popped....

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY FREDRICK!!!!

I can't believe 2 years ago this was you...all tiny and quiet....

And now we have this big boy....from almost 8 pounds to over 35 pounds in 2 years...you toughed your way through your skull surgery and even have an awesome scar to show for it!!!  Look at you now..beautiful blue eyes, gorgeous blond hair...and a face that melts even your mom's worst moods.  What would we do without you?

Just in the past few weeks he has really done some growing up...he recognizes almost all of the capital letters and gets REALLY excited when he sees them...he talks in sentences (although sometimes I'm the only one who can understand them)...he tells me "poo-poo out"....he LOVES any toy with wheels....he loves to mimic Karyl and whatever she does (which isn't always helpful)...he gives me a big hug every morning when I get him out of his crib, and then he asks where his cars are....he finally can count to 10 (we worked and worked!!)...

But most importantly, he is healthy, almost always smiling, and growing faster than we can keep track of.  We wouldn't have him any other way!!!

Sorry, we're still here!!!

Well, for those who haven't figured it out yet we are still alive and here...I just honestly have not had the time or energy to update the blog.  I guess I just needed a break.

However, that does not mean that I don't have months and months of pictures and witty comments and general obnoxiousness to share!! Heck, we had that roadtrip in November that needs to be documented, and Karyl's 4th birthday party...and the holidays....and everything else up until now.

I am finally at a point where I feel like I can spare the time to do it, so be on the lookout for backdated posts (after October 15th) of our life.  I will try and remember to post a new post with links to each of the back-dated posts to make it easier to see the ones you want (if any!!). 

Just in case you can't wait, I will say that our roadtrip in November was AWESOME!! We took a week and travelled from here to the Grand Canyon, to Four Corners, to Utah and back down through Vegas.  That's right....the 4.25 of us, in a minivan, for about 1500 miles....I'm not going to lie, it was cold and it was before I had discovered the wonder of Zofran for my morning sickness, but we survived.  And more importantly, we can't wait to do it again.  Although, by the time that happens we will need a carrier for the top of the van because we're gonna need that third row seat for that other car seat!!

Alrighty...I'll be back to post...until then leave me a comment to let me know that at least 1 person cares about the past 4 months of our lives.  If you don't I might cry...and then I'll post a picture of that...and nobody wants to see that....