Proof is in the picture

Amelia is, by far, our most serious baby. We get a few smiles here and there... However, we were able to catch a few of those elusive smiles on camera today and wanted to share them.

Wait for it...

Almost...


...there. We can't wait until next week when she does it again.

Getting So Big

Amelia is almost 6 weeks old and we are loving every minute of her. She is a super sleeper and a stingy smiler. She is getting bigger and bigger by the day...enjoy

Sweet baby Feet

This picture shows off her chubby little arms

Check out those cheeks!
We love to kiss them.

Happy Happy Birthday Masen Dear

Big 5!
Masen looked forward to being five for a while now. We hope it was all he hoped it would be. He got a new bike that he insists on riding every spare moment. He also had a little dinosaur party at the pool with a couple close friends and cousins.
(Again, the video is better than the pics, but I can't find my cord to transfer them to my computer, so we will have to wait for them.)

Riding his bike

Masen and Jackson


The Boys Swimming


Andrew, Kyle & Ben with thier Birthday hats and blowers

Tea for Three...Happy Birthday Mady!

Three little girls, three little dresses, fairy wands, princess music, a bouquet of flowers, heart shaped food, pink lemonade and presents.
That pretty much sums it up.

(Here are some pics, but just wait for the video.)

Twirling...

...more twirling...
...still twirling.
Presents are so much fun!
Do you think she is excited about this one?
Just wait to see what is inside! Thank you Ava!
You can't go wrong with dress up. Thank you Madeline, We will miss you!

Cousins Come to Play

We had another terrific weekend with cousins. Ben, Jen, Alex and Evin came to play. We didn't see the boys much.

(They locked us out of the room so they could play in peace.)

We went swimming in the ice cold pool
(When I say "we" I meant kiddos and Daddies)

Played light sabers


Played Dressed Up

Had a Tea Party

*Played Frisbee

*Went to Moe's (Yay, kids eat free!)

*Got Gelato...4 kids on a sugar high the perfect way to end the day.

Clearly Label Pictures

I have been having a difficult time labeling our newest pictures. I keep calling Amelia, Madylen in the pictures...can you blame me?

Excellence in Nursing Day 1

First Health is very good at a great many things. It's cardiac care Center and it's Cancer Center are well known. It's L and D seems to have been neglected in their search for excellence in other areas.
Let me just start off saying that I have never had a doctor deliver my babies. I have seen doctors with my other pregnancies, but not actually deliver the babies. So I knew it would be a little different than my other deliveries. Little did I know, just how different it would be. I will try to be brief, but if anyone would like the full story, I would be happy to share. I will also break it up into days, it is too much for one blog, even condenced.

*The IV- They assured me it was just for fluids...BUT WHILE YOU ALREADY HAVE IT, let's go ahead and give you antibiotics you don't need and oxytocin which you didn't want.

*Taking My Blood- You should have seen the look on the nurses face when I told her I didn't want to get off the ball for her to draw my blood. She looked petrified. She did fine with the first two viles, but slipped and went strait through the vein for the third.

*The Bed- Never have I labored in a bed for more than a cm. or two. They reluctantly blew up a ball, which I labored on for a few minutes than bullied me back into the bed where they strapped on monitors, a faulty blood pressure cuff and started me on oxygen. It was perfect for them. They didn't have to be in there with us, they could just sit at the nurses station and monitor everything they wanted to.

*The Absent Doctor- I met my doctor for the first time around 9 cm. for about 30 seconds.
Before my blessing, I had been bleeding large blood clots that the nurses said they could not tell me why I was having but they guessed tried to remind them that I have never had bleeding before, and that i was pretty sure that fist sized blood clots were more likely an it was from the changing Cervix. I'm no doctor, butIabruption. They again said there was no way for them to tell until I gave birth or unless I had a C-section.
Curious? I thought that is what the on-call doctor was for?

*Meeting my Doctor - I had finally made it to 10 cm. and my doctors and nurses decided to grace us with thier presence. Damion laughed at the sight of the doctor with a full mask on, a full gown, bright lights shining down, like he was gearing up for war. He made me laugh when he told me not to push between contractions. Has he ever delivered a baby by a woman not on drugs? There is NO option of wheather I push. The body has a mind of its own. She was out before he knew what to do.

*Conversations with my Doctor - This about sums it up
Emily - everything look okay
Doctor- yep
Emily - I guess I needed some stiches
Doctor - A few
-silence-

He had the personality of a lamp post.

*Recovery in the Delivery room
Supposed to be one hour... Try falling asleep with my baby in my arms and my back and behind on fire because they left me there by myself with the baby for almost 2 1/2 hours. I didn't get back to my room until 3 hours after giving birth, tired and starved.

*Back in My Room
The nurse asked if I was hungry and offered me the "late meal" options. I could really go for a salad and some juice. Here were my options:
-Cheeseburger
-French Fries
-Soda
-Grilled Cheese
Isn't this a hospital? Aren't you supposed to food that isn't going to make you sick?
Thank goodness for a wonderful husband who showed up with fresh watermelon and a salad and chocolate!

Then I thought it might be nice to take a shower, If I had towels.
An hour later I had them. That was the trick of that hospital. If you wanted anything, you just asked an hour before you needed it.

There is more...but you will have to wait until the next blog.