Happy 8th Birthday - Indy

My brother swore after this picture that he would grow up to start his own "New kids on the block" boy band...all he needs is a gold chain...whatever. I thought he was cute.

He asked for donuts for his birthday breakfast, cheeseburger for lunch and raviolis for dinner.

He still loves his blanket...and is never far from it.

For his Grandfather...He went and got himself completely dressed and wanted a picture...and came up with this pose on his own.

Indy is a great boy and totally obsessed with Cub Scouts (addiction assisted by his Grandfather). He loves clothes, shoes and baseball. (And his new baby sister-who wanted to come on his birthday but we said no :) Happy 8th Birthday bud...can't wait for your baptism :)

"Underbrella"

Is here.

Ella. Born yesterday around 3pm.

Due Date stats.

Fewer than 5% of births occur on the due date; 50% of births are within a week of the due date, and almost 90% within 2 weeks. It is much more useful, therefore, to consider a range of due dates, rather than one specific day...{wikipedia}

I'm trying to be good. I haven't allowed myself to waddle (maybe in the privacy of my own home...if only to evoke some sympathy from my husband.) I haven't complained and until today, I haven't been uncomfortable...but having said that. I'm done. To all the women who see their due dates come and go...I feel for you. AND NO, I will not do castor oil...just the thought sends me into convulsions, but I will be walking my hilly neighborhood today.

I thought for sure that my mom, with spicy mexican food in tow, would be the answer - the magic spark, but no. However, my kids are grateful for the distraction and love that she is providing, and I'm grateful for the sympathy ;)

My grandfather's birthday is tomorrow and my mother suggested that we name the baby after him (Russell) OR his mother "Mary Matilda Sophia Lindstrom Carlson Helquist Hansen" (I probably mispelled half of them - and have no idea why she had so many.)

Visualize {closer}

So last night Matt had a pow-wow with the kids at dinner (he had already called me and given me the same pow-wow). He wanted everyone to "visualize" holding the baby. You see, he thinks that my nonchalance with the whole labor thing is what is stalling the baby's delivery. I'm too chicken to think about it/her, therefore she won't come. So after explaining to the kids what it means to visualize something, he made them all do it at dinner. Frankly, I think he's been reading too many "The Secret/Answer" books and its starting to go to his head. However, I do find it interesting that yet again our personalities are totally portrayed in the correct light. I'm known as the "opener" the "starter" in our family. I get the job going and see it to about 98% completion. Matt is our "closer". When I've given up (on the chandelier, the crib, the house and now the baby) Matt jumps in and gets the job finished. Interesting. (We'll just have to give him credit for "trying" to finish this one, since ultimately all he can do is stand by and watch...it would be nice if he could finish for me.)

BIG League

These boys would probably give anything to quit their day jobs and just play baseball. I was secretly hoping to get a picture of a "not" winning score...so I could tell them to keep those day jobs...but they did a good job and won. Its the only game I've been able to go to since their games are always during YM/YW. Matt and Taylor eat this stuff up...softball season easily surpasses anything else in Matt's book.

Pay close attention to the many faces of "Matt-dog...the batter/runner extraordinaire"...

My favorite face is the last one...it reminds me of his Father...I don't think he was to happy with the play.

Shayner decided he didn't need to hit...just walk...and take care of other things...

(Okay it would've been a lot funnier if he hadn't been "posing" for the camera...now I know where his girls get it from.)

Year of Mother part 6

Okay...so last month I was kinda 2 for 3 and this month I'm kinda 2 for 3, but I'm trying :)

This month's "year of the mother" moment came when I opted to take both boys with Matt and I to capitalize on his free night stay at the Ritz. (Now renamed as the "Ritz-Bitz" by Indy...I know there's something seriously wrong when you're child nick-names one of the most famous hotel chains after a cracker.) Anyway, Matt serves on an accounting board and they have a yearly meeting where they put their members up the night before their meeting in the Ritz Carlton. I realize that I have become quite a hotel snob, and although the Ritz was very very nice...this was definitely a business hotel with pretty standard rooms and bathrooms (hit the Intercontinental :). They managed to eek out a pool on the second floor and I managed to play with my boy(s) (yes, Indy actually got in the water and stayed after freaking out about the water in his ears) in the pool...making up any game I could with plastic cups. Laina opted to stay in Prescott for her dance camp and so it was just me and the boys...and we all survived.








Serious water/ear issues...

All I wanted was a picture of the both of them...poor Rascal...tormented his whole life...someday Indy will look back and feel remorse...someday...until then...we'll just survive the daily morning ritual of screaming and teasing!

If I went into labor I vowed to have the baby's middle name be "Ritz" (we were a week from my due date)...but alas...no labor and I'm left to endure the most painful week of pregnancy...the final week. Not physical pain...mental pain. Every time I go to call my mother I know she's thinking..."is this the labor call???" I just keep a smile plastered on my face and say I haven't had one hint of labor...and not one hint of a contraction :) If I knew when the baby was coming...I would shout it from the mountain tops :) (see how many smiley faces I've put down? :)

Woops!

I've been telling my friends that I walk around in an anxiety-ridden daze...worried that I'm always forgetting something. My poor brain just can't keep track of everything...if its not written down...chances are slim I'm going to remember. This was the case with Sheri's maternity session. I have no idea how long I would've had the images on my computer if she hadn't asked how they were! This is my cousin's wife who has had quite the roller-coaster preganancy and is due a few weeks after me. We're glad that the baby is still in her and that we were able to get a few images of her and her kids...it wasn't easy since we had 3 others running around wanting their pictures taken as well!

Nesting.

Is real.

It is not something that fat pregnant women made up. It can be all consuming. It has morphed from re-carpeting, painting, emptying entire rooms...to just obsessive wall washing and counter wipe-downs. (Everyone knows...I am so not a wall washer, or cleaner PERIOD.) My friend said that her husband told her that with each child they have, the nesting gets more expensive. This is the case for me...not sure how I can even pay for this baby since I've spent it all cleaning and overhauling my house! It feels good though :) And NOW I feel like the baby can come...not to mention I've loaded my ipod..the final item on my checklist - lets hope it gets me through. I've started to have crazy labor dreams (nightmares), but other than that I feel pretty good and sometimes wonder if I have the gestational period of an elephant and will go on forever in this state. We're on a week countdown here...I like to think of it as "enduring to the end" or "going the distance"...no shortcuts here...heavens no...that would be cheating (not that we don't all wish for cheating :) but I'm actually feeling good just plodding along. Its a lot easier for me to keep the baby in and keep running around trying to avoid labor!

Little League

The season is swift, but mighty. Only 1.5 months long, 2 games a week. We just picked different fast food joints to drive through on our way to the game...its the only way to survive the 5:30-7pm games. We lost our hat before the first game (another plea for the option to purchase additional accesories :). I'd also like to thank whoever thought "white" would be a good color for a team jersey that had to be worn twice a week and one that my son felt the need to slide in the red dirt with :) (Some times I'd look back as we were exiting the car and have to tell him to run and act like he just got it dirty...it was that bad).

We had a lot of little buddies on the team...so the games were spent chatting with friends.

Little Buddy Sam...

Hmm...strange..I could've sworn this was Matt's company...but what's it doing on another team??? I thought the Little League Treasurer had more pull?

Little Buddy Jack...

Little Buddy Carsten...

Big Mac

My 6-6-6 baby turned 3, and I have completely forgotten just how important the 3 year old birthday is. He's been waiting for this day for about 6 months. Anything that he has spotted in the last 6 months on tv or at the store, he'll turn to me and say, "I get this for my birthday."

He woke up and after browsing his brief (but adorable in a benjamin button sort-of-way) life in pictures:
(Is it sad that I remember my children based on the pictures I love of them??)

One of my all-time favorite images...it sits on my nightstand...

I love my kids in my bed in the morning light.

He immediately wanted to open presents. Good thing there was no real schedule for his birthday (a VERY good idea for a 3 year old :) and so we openend presents at 8am in the morning. He was overjoyed ripping through the paper--with such focus and determination. We had cake at lunch (he requested a spidey cake - beware of black icing...it stains) I need to interject that seeing the cake pictures and writing about it, reminded me that there was still 2 slices left...so even though I ate everyone's leftovers at lunch...YES I did walk in an eat another small piece for breakfast--how could I resist?? It was raspberry filled - MY favorite...thank you McLaren for letting me pick my favorite cake.

It was hard to get a picture of him with the cake because he kept jumping up and down on the chair.

Some balloons showed up later in hopes of extending the party as much as possible.



Happy birthday RASCAL!

It's Birthday Time!

Get ready for 4 birthday posts!! (In an "off-birthing" year I could do this and survive pretty nicely...this is a "birthing year" and its not looking so pretty)

We're sooooo glad that Gma Kathy always swings in to help save the day.

Miss Laina Dee - "sweet pea" is 6 years old.

I kinda made up this new tradition "on the spot". We start the morning off by looking at all their old baby pictures. They love it...and everyone sits around and laughs and Matt and I tell them stories about when they were born and the crazy things they did when they were little. Laina's favorite story is the one Matt tells of the night she was born. He said that her momma ate some spicy mexican food and then Laina decided to blast out! (she actually did blast out, but I think it was only because we finally agreed upon a name :) So Laina wants me to start eating some spicy mexican food now to "blast the baby out"!

We like to tell Laina that she was a frowner when she had all that brown hair, but the minute she turned blonde...she started smiling.