amusing pics

Since I'm not firing on all cylinders (or is it pistons), I only have the brain power to post pics with little descriptions. Any serious thoughts on motherhood and life right now just ain't happening. 

Here's a bunch of Angus pics since he's changing daily...

One eyed Jack =) He did this all the time the first couple of weeks. Cute. 

He really does look like his dad =)

We have like 10 firetruck articles of clothing, of course.

This little piggy.

Addie is learning how to accessorize...

This is what we wore to the neighborhood BBQ. You gotta pick your battles. Winter is going to be that mom that wears lipstick and high heels to the park with her kids.

Doing her absolute fav thing in the world, riding a horsie. 

We have never worked harder for anything in our lives than we did for this shirt. Mya, Dan and I somehow got a bit behind on our kindergarten reading and quiz taking so we busted some serious tail this last month reading 3 books and taking 3 quizzes each day and 4 on the last day to complete her 50 books required to get this AR shirt. So much of how well your kid does in Kindergarten is really up to the parents. So unfair to the kids.

Firefighter pancake breakfast. 

Gymnastics buddies. They aren't allowed to do this around Addie. She climbs up there and tries to do it too. 

enjoy today

As a mom, the ratio of good days and bad days changes drastically from the ratio one experiences before kids. It was easy to enjoy most days when I was free to design what each day looked like from a morning run to lunch with friends to dinner with Dan. Rarely was my patience pushed to the max, my energy drained and my sleep interrupted. As you get older, life becomes harder, even if you don't have kids. A lot of the time it seems like many of us are just surviving the rough season we're in. 

Before Angus was born, I was already thinking we were going to have to survive the next year by just doing our best and getting through it. It sounds sad but Dan and I both know it isn't going to be easiy having 4 kids, 5 and under. We are going to be stressed and exhausted most of the time. But then I had a thought. These are precious years with my kids. 

Angus is going to change quickly, especially those first 6 months. I have no idea what he's going to look like or what his personality will become. Adelyn is so cute right now. She's a HANDFUL for sure but she is so fun. I've never seen a 1 year old with so much personality and emotion. Winter is four and learning so much about the world around her. She says and does the funniest things and has the craziest imagination. Mya is growing up fast. She's so smart. Every day she comes home with questions about things she learned at school that day. She is always pushing herself to do more or master a new skill. It is such an amazing thing to watch these little people grow and learn things about the world around them. 

God gave me these kids to teach and love but also to ENJOY. 
If I'm simply surviving today, I miss out on the fun stuff. This isn't an easy mindset to have. That's why I've written it down on my dry erase board on the fridge. ENJOY today. That way I'm reminded every time I get something out of the fridge which is like a bazillion times a day.

As a christian it's easy to have the mindset that we are simply putting up with this awful world before Jesus returns. That's not exactly helping anyone. 

Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God."

This isn't based on our circumstances. This is a mindset. No matter what is happening, we are supposed to be thankful for the blessings and enjoy the good stuff. And there is plenty of good stuff to enjoy.

meet angus

Mom is here helping with the kids, making it possible for me to get a few minutes to post these pics and a quick summary of the birth. I'm so spoiled. I have no idea what it's like to have 4 kids yet.

I was worried that the 4th delivery would be fast and painful and prayed I would make it to the hospital in time to deliver. An epidural would be a bonus in my mind. But since little man took his time, we decided to induce four days after his due date came and went. 

What a great idea. We woke up at 5AM, grabbed some coffee and a bagel and went to the hospital to check in. How relaxing and different than the first 3. We had a full nights sleep and were ready to go. I've always gone into labor at 10:00 at night so we never got that last night of sleep before the big event. We laughed at how laid back and refreshed we were walking into have a baby. 

Around 7:00AM they started the pitocin on a low dose since I was already dilated to 4 centimeters and I warned them it would be fast. I insisted on the epidural right away so Dr. Chan, epidural extraordinaire came in and hooked it up around 7:50. He's done all my epidurals so I was happy it was him. After a weird reaction to the epidural, dizziness low blood pressure and high blood pressure, I was stable and the doctor upped the pitocin and broke my water. I puked shortly after that like I tend to do while in labor. No biggie. I quickly dilated to a 10 and was ready to push. Three pushes and little A was out! He had the cord wrapped around his neck twice with his hand in there too. He was a bit blue but pinked up quick. 

He is by far the longest, skinniest baby we've had measuring 21.5 inches and weighing 7.13 lbs. Lots of hair like the girls too. He's really mellow and rarely cries. I like him a lot. He's not as aggressive an eater as Winter and Addie but he's catching on and doing great. I'm doing well too. I'm dealing with the usual soreness from breastfeeding and cloudiness from no sleep but I know that this first month will be over in a blink and he will change drastically and quickly so I'm just trying to soak up every day with my new little bundle. 

The girls are super excited about him and want to hold him every second of the day. Addie brings him his blanky and gets upset when he cries. Other than that, her world doesn't really seem to be affected much. Grandma is here giving her tons of attention too. 

Well, that's the gist! Here we are, fam of 6!

big feet!