Thursday, February 19, 2009

Baby Pictures









Does he look a little nervous to you?





Grandpa Smith gave Baby Blake his first puppy.


11 days old already! I can't believe how fast time is going. It seemed to stand still the last week that I was pregnant. Here are just some more pictures of our new little guy. Things are still going really well. I am still so amazed at what a good sleeper he is. The kids keep asking me "when does he wake up?" I said "about 2:00 in the morning." :)

Love of Reading







I am a big reader. Although these days, I am lucky to get to read my email let alone a good book. But some of my fondest memories as a child was when my mom would read to me. There was just something about her voice that was so comforting. Being away for a couple of days and sometimes being so tired at night, it seemed like forever since I read to my kids. (Although it had only been a few days.) So one night last week, I decided to read a couple of stories to the kids. It turned into almost two hours of reading! Zach and Ethan wanted to read a "boy" book, so Ethan read a couple of stories to Zach. Even though it was really late, I didn't want to stop reading. They get so captivated and it is nice to hold them without a big basketball in the way!

Valentine's Day at School



The first graders had a fun Valentine's party planned, and it was also love of reading week. The Principal decided that Friday would be storybook character day, where the kids could dress up as their favorite storybook character. Ethan's class, however requested that for their "friendship social" that the kids dress up in their best party clothes. So here is what we came up with. Ethan wore his tie and vest that he wore for Cody and Eloise's wedding. It was great that it happened to be RED! And Katelyn was a princess of course. So much fun for them! They haven't gotten ready that fast for school in a really long time!

Daddy Daughter Dance











I keep forgetting to fix the red eyes on my pictures. I guess I am just happy that I remember to take pictures!!!

Alyssa looking more like Cinderella... (wearing her FAVORITE SHOES no less...)


With my original induction date, I was worried about how I would be able to deliver a baby and get a 5 year old ready for her first daddy daughter dance. I was so grateful for how things turned out! The boys and Alyssa and I had a fun night with pizza and a movie. I am so torn between wanting to pause time, and wanting to see what happens next. They are getting so old so fast, it is just so sad and so exciting at the same time! Katelyn was so excited to go to the dance. Dan made the night really special for her. He ordered her a corsage and everything. I wish I would have taken an after picture. She came home with her hair and her bow all out of place and she had even torn a small part on her dress. I said, "what happened?" Dan said, "a lot of crazy dancing!" They stayed for the whole dance and then went out for ice cream. What a fun memory for both of them.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Lawlor--Party of 7!


BLAKE THOMAS

FEBRUARY 8, 2009

8LBS 15 OZ, 21 1/2 INCHES
He opened his eyes the first night, and had the most confused look on his face... I said "I know, I am not quite sure what happened either..."
We are going to need a bigger boat...





I made the kids Big brother big sister tee shirts. You can't see Blake's, but his says Baby brother... They are fun to make and the nurses all love them. I will post better picts of the tshirts when I get them :)



They are like an At&t commercial... more bars in more places...




Well, it has already been a week, and what a week! I went to church on the 8th, and came home not feeling very well. By the time Dan came home from Stake Choir practice, I said, "you better call my parents." We finally left for the hospital a little before 10pm (I was contracting pretty hard by this time, but had to get all the kids clothes set out for the next day, and straighten up the kitchen.... who wants to come home to dirty dishes...) :) We got to the hospital and by this time I am in tears because it was hurting so bad. So we check in, and they send me to triage. I told her I was at a 4 1/2 on Thursday, but she still sent me for a "labor check". So I get back there, change into a way too small hospital gown, climb into the oh so uncomfortable bed. The nurse calmly comes in to hook me up to monitors, after several more painful contractions, she says, "let's check you." Ohhhh you are at an 8! I need to call your Dr! She tries to put an iv in my hand, and misses, ouch! We ditch our bags in the hallway, she and Dan run me to a delivery room, I ask (nicely!!!) for drugs, and they say "no, there is no time" I said, Tylenol? anything? They thought it was funny, I wasn't joking.... The dr comes in, I push, decide against pushing for a minute, because it hurt... then as I was laying there I thought, "I have two choices, sit here in agony or end this" So I pushed again, and out he came. Then they give me a Percocet, and a Motrin. Haha. So all in all, from the time we checked into the hospital to the time he was born was 37 minutes. I just kept saying "I did it"! I never, ever, ever thought I could do that without any meds. But I was so grateful for how things turned out. I wish I could describe to you what an amazing experience it was. There are really no words. I received a blessing earlier in the day, and I have to say that I was helped all the way through that wonderfully painful experience.

Dan was a huge comfort to me, and I had awesome nurses. I have to say it was just the best experience, I could not have planned it better. It was kind of funny because he came so fast, Dan and I were completely in shock. Dan was worried about me, so he stayed by my side to make sure I was ok. They had taken Blake to clean him up, (and weigh him, the nurses didn't believe he was only 8 lbs 15 oz, so they brought in another scale) :) finally I snapped out of it, and said, "Dan, we just had a baby! Go take his picture!!!" (We weren't expecting him until Friday...I was scheduled to be induced that day, but thank goodness he came on the 8th, I didn't want a Friday the 13th baby!)

I kept saying all along, I had the best pregnancy, and then the best delivery. So I couldn't have a good baby too, that is just not how things work. Well... he is a great baby. He rarely cries, and at night he cries to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I asked Dan if we should be worried or just really grateful that he doesn't cry. He brings such a sweet spirit to our home.

I feel really good, although I think the adrenaline is wearing off. I am exhausted. But I am recovering really fast. When I had Ethan, my dr told me that I was made to have babies. I guess she was right. I just feel so blessed. I watched Dan play soccer with the kids tonight while I was holding Blake. Really, there are no words to express how I feel about my little (haha) family. It is amazing to me how blessed we are. And even with reality sinking in, and the piles of laundry, dishes to be done, lunches to be made, etc, etc, etc... I have never been so grateful for all that I have to do.

For me, this is definitely no ordinary miracle!!!!