He's here!

Even though this post is dated "May 11", (that's when I intended to finish it) it's now December 2010 and our newest little guy (which is what we call him most of the time) is 8 months old. Baby "B" was born at 6:03 pm on Easter Sunday, weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces, and was 21.5 inches - my third biggest baby. Out of seven births this is the first time my water broke. I knew we had to go to the hospital but there were a lot of things to be done first! Unlike my husband, I was not in a big rush to get to the hospital. I knew all too well what I had to do. And... since it was Easter, I wanted to do the basket and egg hunt with the kids, I wanted to shower, and the kitchen needed to be cleaned. We managed to do it all and then got to the hospital at noon. Labor went extremely well - and surprisingly, it took the seventh one for me to realize what a good coach my husband is. Always in the past I preferred to be left alone to go through labor. This was the first time I didn't have an intrathecal or epidural and I give S a lot of the credit for coaching me through it. We made a good team. I felt like we worked together to bring B into the world.

You can see that all the other kids were more than thrilled that he was finally here. They came to the hospital to see him only an hour after he was born. He was quite alert. He seemed to be aware of everything and was trying to take it all in.

Proud (and tired) mom. B at one day old, just before we went home. One night at the hospital was enough for me.

And proud dad, with the one he always knew was waiting to come to our family, excited to meet him, finally.

Halloween!

October 2009. I love Halloween! I always have, since I was a kid. Those of you who know me can't imagine it, but I was extremely shy, and dressing up for Halloween was a way to come out of my shell a little bit. I could be someone, or something, other than myself and I could blame any out-of-the-ordinary behavior on the character I was dressed as. Now I get to do costumes for a bunch of people every year! Fortunately for me, my kids are good sports and they let me dress them up. These are from the ward Halloween party at the church. Four of them were costumes that I already had (50's sock-hopper, cowboy/sherriff/bandit, witch, and angel). D's was a pre-made pirate costume that I bought, and Ni's fortune teller outfit was a result of thrift shop finds. I had a lot of fun putting them together.

I got double use out of the pirate costume. S and I got to dress up for a party at a friend's house. It was quite an accomplishment to get S to dress up as anything other than himself. In all the years that we've been married, when asked what he will be for Halloween he says, "I'm going as myself." So I made sure to get a picture of him as proof that it can be done. The question is, will he ever do it again? Hmmmm...

Here's our 2009 trick-or-treating group - all of my kids, with a few extras. We used to leave our house and go to other neighborhoods for trick-or-treating because the houses around here are pretty far apart. We thought that a "regular" neighborhood would be easier and they would get to go to a lot more houses. As it turns out, we tried our area a few years ago and loved it. It seems like more of an adventure to walk up and down long driveways, sometimes with very little light, and a lot of trees. We only have to go around our block, which is about a mile, and their buckets are full, and the kids are tired. It's perfect. The people around here give lots of candy because there aren't many kids out. The other bonus is that the group is never very far from home. We've created a new tradition.

Fall preschool fieldtrips

One of the advantages of preschool is that someone else plans the outings for my child. This has never been one of my strengths. I tend to spend a lot of time, and usually enjoy, just staying home. So preschool has forced me over the years to get out of the house and see things and do things with my child. Even though I've done all these fieldtrips 6 times now, I still loved watching K experience all of them for herself. The first fieldtrip of the year was at the end of September. We went to the apple farm and learned all about apples and how to make cider. We got to pick an apple to eat, play in the yard, and see some fun farm animals.

Then we went inside for donuts and cider. (That's always been my favorite part!) The donuts were so good, I ended up buying a bunch of them to take home. I just couldn't stop myself!

In October, on the second fieldtrip of the year, we went to the nature center and checked out different kinds of trees. K really loved learning about the trees. She talked about it for weeks afterwards. She was excited to know that the trees had names and she went around telling everyone what they were and what they looked like. Here she is with a Beech tree, an Oak tree, and (I think) an Ash tree. I would've only taken one picture of her with one tree, but she insisted on being in a picture with each one. It's as if she made three new friends. There was one problem with this trip - it was freezing outside and we were not dressed for it. When will I learn that the weather around here is unpredictable and that winter temperatures sometimes show up in the fall.

Boating in September

We have a friend with a boat that kept offering to take us out on the lake. This was supposed to be our last hoorah for the summer, but it just never seemed to fit into our "busy" summer schedule. So, to make it up to my kids, and keep my promises, we picked a day that looked like it would be sunny, I took them out of school a bit early and we went boating. Mid-September wasn't all that warm anymore, so fortunately for us the tube kept them high enough out of the water that they didn't get very wet. We all had a blast.

I have a bunch of silly kids! There was some posing going on while we were moving. K was even brave enough to get out there - as long as she was with one of her big brothers, that is.

The lake was pretty empty, so the kids all got a turn driving the boat. They loved it. It was good practice for when we get our own boat... some day... maybe... we'll see... a person can dream, right?

Four schools this year!

September 8, 2009. Here are all the kids on their first day of school. This was the year I have been anticipating since K was born. I knew it was coming. This is the year that I would have 6 kids in 4 different schools. Hectic? I'd say so! The day starts with D getting up before anyone (5:30 am) to be picked up for seminary around 6 am, then he's off to high school from there. I can't believe I have a high-schooler! Am I old enough to have a child in high school? Anyway, next out the door... Na and J. They catch the bus at 6:50 am. Na's last and J's first year of middle school. Finally, Ni and E get up and get ready for the 8 am bus ride to elementary school.

On September 9, 2009 K started preschool. She was very excited. She is my sixth child to go to the same preschool. We love it there and the teachers are amazing. It has been the perfect introduction to school for all my kids. Of course, I had to get a picture of her outside the school. I've done this with each one of them and it still surprises me how small they look.

Here she is just outside the door ready to go in.

All I had to do was put her next to her teacher and she was happy to let me leave. She almost didn't look up from her game to wave goodbye to me. She was very ready to start preschool and I knew she would do great.

As a side note, and adding the new baby into the mix, I figured out how things will go for the next 5 years of schooling. I'll have 6 kids in 3 schools for the next three years, with a baby at home. And as if that isn't busy enough, it gets even better. For the 2013-14 school year, I'm back to 4 schools again (college, high school, middle school, and elementary). Are you ready?! The 2014-15 school year is going to knock my socks off. I will have one child on a mission, one in college, two in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school, and one in preschool. I've been saying this a lot lately, but I feel it applies here so I'll say it again...

"What Am I Going To Do!!!?"

7 and still sweet!

Last September, about a week before school started, E turned 7 years old. Where has the time gone. I remember, like it was yesterday, the day she was born. It happened to be labor day that year - how appropriate. The first thing I noticed about her when I saw her for the first time was that she looked a lot like me when I was a baby. Finally! Up until then none of my babies looked much like me. I was thrilled. Before I had her I used to say that we needed to keep having kids until I got one that looked like me. (Well that, and we always said we were going to have 6!) She is and has always been a very sweet girl. She was a good baby and fun to have around. Her sweetness was most noticable when I had K. From the time K was a newborn, one of E's goals has been to make K happy. Every time K, as a baby, would do something like hit her with a toy or pull her hair, she never got mad and would only reply, "Oh, K___." She is very sensitive to the feelings of others. When we announced that we would be having another baby (number 7), she was so excited that she couldn't stop smiling, clapping, and bouncing up and down on the couch. She told me that she would help me - and she has. She also finds every opportunity to hug and kiss me. I sure have loved having her as a daughter. She's a good one!

A day at the spa

(Last August)

I walked into the computer room to find this... There's nothing like a grown man wearing pink sunglasses and having his hair done by three little girls. K had two of her friends over for a play date. They really wanted to do someone's hair and S agreed to let them. What a good sport. He actually looks happy to be there. At the end of it he had water dripping down his face and shirt. Good times!