Halloween 2012

This year we had Zorro, a "dead cowboy", a butterfly and a snow princess.  Mason searched for a costume for hours and just couldn't find anything that he was happy with so I convinced him to wear the skeleton costume again.  He decided to add some cowboy accessories and this is what he came up with.  However he did not wear the mask so I'm not sure why he has it on for the pictures.

We took the kids trick-or-treating to uptown which is fun because it is in the late afternoon and so you can see all of the costumes.  However this year it was so crowded it was a little much for me.  Don took the kids around after dinner and he said the kids ran the whole time.  Towards the end Ryker got tired and sat on Don's shoulders. 

Piper - 4 months

4 mo stats

13 lbs 12 oz (50%)
25" (75th)

I sure love this sweet little girl. She is such a happy baby and is so easy to take care of. She really doesn't complain about anything, oh, except tummy time, she doesn't really like that. She only lasts a few minutes before she rolls onto her back. I love the cute little rolls she has on her arms and legs. You know the ones....her arms look like there are rubber-bands wrapped tightly in about 4 spots on each arm. She is unfortunately loosing her hair and may need a buzz here pretty soon. (she still has plenty of hair on the lower portion of her head)

Piper has had the runs for about 4 weeks now. The worst part is that she also started spitting up. Having a baby that never spits up is THE BEST. She didn't spit up until she was 3 months old and that is also when she got the runs. She is not lactose intolerant but it might be that she is sensitive to a protein found in dairy. I have cut dairy out of my diet for a week now but I have unintentionally had it a few times. Just yesterday we started seeing a difference. So I will run my little experiment for a couple more weeks and then try to add back in a little dairy and see what happens. Thankfully none of this is bothering her, just bothering me. :) I hadn't realized how much dairy was in my diet, too much actually.

Ryker

Toddlers are so fun. I love to sit around with my family and have the kids entertain Don and I. I love when something (cute, funny, annoying, etc.) happens and Don and I can look at each other with that knowing look. It's so great to connect in that way with your children's father. No one else in the world can feel that same exact joy/fear/excitement/love for your children except you and your husband. And surely no one else will think this get-up is as great as we do. (The light saber was made by Mason)

Our kids LOVE to dress up. Ryker will go from pirate to cowboy to space ranger to storm trooper to lion within a 15 minute span.

Piper's Newborn Pictures

These photo's were taken when Piper was 4 days old. It's strange how it seems like so long ago because I can't imagine our life without her, but also strange how fast time goes. I already miss holding that little 8 lb. ball of deliciousness. Snuggling with a "curled up" newborn is the best.

Piper's Blessing

Today was Piper's Blessing. Don gave her a beautiful blessing and then we enjoyed a very spiritual Sacrament meeting. Today was the first time I have been to church since she was born and it was so nice to be there. I'm so grateful for my membership in the church.

This dress was made in 1950 by my Grandma Deane. She made it from the left over fabric from her wedding dress. I think it is beautiful.

(uh...wish I would have been early to church so that we could have had photos before Sacrament meeting instead of after...if ya know what i mean)

Look at all of those pleats, aren't they gorgeous?!

My sweet SIL made this hair thing for Piper. I love it.

The high and lows of coming home...

It seems to be such an emotional roller coaster those first few weeks at home. I know that pregnancy hormones play a factor in that, but knowing still doesn't make it any easier.

Here we all are with Piper just a couple hours old
(Our new family of SIX. It makes me laugh to think that we ARE INDEED a family of SIX!) (My kids always look like ragamuffins in hospital pictures...don't feel bad Mom, I'm glad they are happy and taken care of.:))

So here are some of our Highs and Lows of the first few weeks...

High: This was my BEST labor and delivery. I really didn't want an epidural or any drugs. I did it and it felt so good. My contractions were 15 minutes apart all morning, we went in to the doctor at 2:00 to have her check me and I was at a 7. (We didn't go to the hospital first because I thought they would send me home since they were so far apart.) My contractions stayed 15 minutes apart until about 3:30, then 10 minutes apart for a couple. Then my water broke and I was ready to push. I "tried" not to push while waiting for my midwife. My midwife got there and since she was already crowning I gave one push and she was born at 4:00. It was all crazy wonderful.

Low: This is my forth time having stitches. I REALLY hate stiches.

High: Piper easily fell into a 2 1/2 - 3 hour eating schedule and has at least a 5 hour stretch each night and often a 7-8 hour stretch.

Low: Piper thinks its okay to poop like 30 times a day. This bad habit led to an ugly diaper rash for a day, but we have it under control now.

High: Snuggling a cute little person. (Don't you just love when you pick them up and they arch their back and curl their legs up...that really is the best)

Low: Our house feels VERY small now and our other 3 children seem to have much more energy than before which I didn't know was possible.

High: Having so many great friends that fed us for over a week followed by my sister who flew in from California and took care of us for 3 1/3 days AND filled my freezer with meals.

Low: LAUNDRY

High: Having a wonderful husband who has a flexible job and was able to take time off work to help and be with us for a couple of weeks.

(Maybe I should have put a bow on her head if I was going to take a picture of her in her brothers clothes. But who has time for that...remember...we are a family of SIX now.)

Meet the newest member of our family....

Piper Jane
11/1/11
8 lbs 1 oz