Emily Pics...

Happy Birthday Logan!!

Today we celebrate Logan's 2nd Birthday!!! Logan is our VERY active 2nd child. He is so full of boy energy and keeps us on our toes. Have you ever heard the quote, "A mother works from son up, until son down"? That's how it is in our house. Logan is usually the first one awake followed by myself so that I can keep him quiet/entertained so that everyone else can continue to sleep. He loves ANYTHING to do with cars, trucks, tractors, trains, planes, motorcycles, construction, etc. His favorite movies to watch over and over and over again are CARS and Thomas the Tank Engine. Logan loves to be outdoors riding his scooter, playing on the swingset, exploring in the garden, or just running around. He is a hard wired boy through and through. We love our Logan and enjoy each new adventure he brings into our lives! Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!!

It's a good thing she's so CUTE!

Here's a picture of Emily from today. Last Thursday at 4AM, Emily decided she was going to go on a nursing strike. It took me 2 hours to get her latched on for only 5 minutes of eating. OUCH! The strike lasted almost 2 days until I was able to get in touch with a local La Leche League leader who talked me through a few tips on how to get her nursing again. IT WORKED!! In the mean time, I pumped milk and cried the whole time Aaron fed her the bottle. (I WASN'T ready to give up nursing after only 6 days!!) I paid $30 to visit a lactation consultant from the hospital who informed me that I was doing everything right and that Emily was just being stubborn. (Money well spent there.) At least she's back to being a good eater. Unfortunately, she's already gotten the her first cold thanks to the kids. So much for trying to keep everyone healthy. At least it hasn't affected her ability or desire to nurse. Now if I can just figure how to NOT have sore nipples. You would think that by my 3rd child, my boobs would be used to being chomped on but sadly no....

Fun at the Gateway

On Saturday, we took the kids to the Gateway Shopping Center in Salt Lake to get some of the wiggles out and do something fun & FREE. You'd never guess by looking at these pictures that BOTH of the kids have nasty colds and little did we know Logan's right arm was dislocated at the elbow. OUCH! (We did get that taken care of on the way home by the way.)

Three Kids???!!!!

It's only been a few days but it's still hard to believe that I have THREE beautiful children!! Kaya & Logan have been great with Emily and it's been neat to see them together. I have been blessed to have good pregnancies, deliveries (even though they are long), and have healthy children. It can be chaos some days in our home but it's OUR home that has been created out of LOVE!! Kaya is already insisting that she's going to have another brother. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Here's the most current picture of our family of FIVE:

Finally Home!

We finally made it home. With Emily being born just after midnight, we had an "extra" night in the hospital. I could have come home on Saturday but decided to stay the extra day for some so called rest & recuperation. (Who goes to a hospital to get rest?) My parents are here watching Kaya & Logan, which has been a huge blessing for us. The kids are excited for their new baby sister and want to love, hug, kiss, and hold her. Emily has such a sweet disposition and has been my best eater so far. Thank Goodness! Thank you for all the nice posts and emails! Here are a few more pictures to share:

Please welcome Emily Marie to the family!

(Aaron posting) Just a quick update on baby's arrival........

Emily Marie joined our family on 8-8-08 at 0049 hours (or 12:49 AM for those who don't do the military time thing) this morning. Making her appearance on 8-8-08 was NOT planned, for those who are curious about that. We checked into the hospital on 8-7-08 at 0800 hours, had Heather induced at 0900 hours, and patiently waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Did I mention that we waited? Oh yeah, we waited some more, too.

Emily finally decided to make her appearance just as Heather's folks arrived at the hospital after flying in from Southern California. Heather's Mom, Jill, was able to take part in the birth.

Heather and Emily are resting and doing well! Dad's running off of 2 hours of sleep, but somehow functioning. Wonder how long those 2 hours will last me.

Here are some photos from last night's joyous event!

This is IT!!!

We're on our way to the hospital to have a baby! Stay Tuned! I'll make sure Aaron gets some pictures on here ASAP!

A Boy and His Dog

Today, a chapter in my book of life came to an end. It's been a great chapter, and one that I hate to close. My dog, a German-Shepherd-mix I named "Dascha", was put to sleep this evening. I wasn't there to say goodbye to my faithful friend of 15+ years, and that causes my heart to ache. How does one sum up all of the memories we've shared? I can't list them all, but I need and want to say goodbye to my old friend. I owe her that much.

Dascha was a present to me from my Mom on my 20th birthday in 1993. My Mom found her at the Animal Shelter and rescued her. She was tiny - the runt of a litter of pups that had been dumped off at the Shelter. I think Dascha knew she had been spared, and gave us all unconditional love for the lifetime she spent with us. After I moved out of my folks place, I didn't get to see Dascha as often as I would've liked to, but she was always there to greet me whenever I came over with her one-of-a-kind bark/howl. Dascha was always up for a game of tug-o-war, fetch, and ALWAYS loved her walks with my Mom and Dad. Heck, anyone who'd take her for a walk was good in her book. She loved her dog biscuits, too. We taught her how to balance them on her snout and hold still until we told her to "Get it!"

Over the past year or so, age has been catching up to Dascha. I don't think it was the age quite as much as it was the mileage on her body. Dascha was always active and playful, and so, so smart. Recently, her hind legs weren't cooperating when she wanted to get outside, go on a walk, or to do her "business" in the backyard. Over the past few days, she was dragging her hind legs around, which rubbed away her nails and paw pads, causing open wounds. Her spirit was strong, but her body was weakening. Mom told me the other day what was transpiring with Dascha, and I knew that her remaining time was short. The inevitable could not be staved off much longer.

Tonight hasn't been easy for me. My emotions are running high, and the tears come easily. Part of me wanted to be there to hold Dascha and say goodbye, but part of me didn't. That's not how I wanted to remember Dascha. My Mom and sister, Wendy, drove Dascha down to the vet's office and made the decision that I knew had to be made. Thank you, Mom and Wendy, for being there for Dascha this evening. I know it wasn't an easy choice to drive away and know that our beloved girl wasn't coming home with you. I'm just glad to know that Dascha isn't suffering anymore, and that she'll be my dog on the other side when it's my turn to go.

So, Dascha - Thank you, girl. Thank you for 15+ years of unconditional love, and countless fond memories. I'll miss your unique bark, your "handshakes", and the warm comfort of your companionship. Goodbye, my old friend. I love you, girl. Always have - always will. I miss you.

What do you think??

Logan has expressed some interest recently in potty training. He'll be 2 at the end of this month. (August) I'm not so sure he's exactly ready. (Maybe I'm the one who's not ready yet.) We bought Logan some big boy underwear and broke out the potty chair. I think at this point just sitting on the potty chair and pretending to wipe is a novelty and well, as you can see from the picture below - this is what he thinks should be done with the underwear: