Sleep in Heavenly Peace

We had a moment on Christmas Eve when things lined up and Brian was able to catch these cute Christmas photos of Isaac. I was so excited for them! It's one of the perks of having a newborn at this time of year! I have loved all the cute hats and booties I get to dress him up in :)

Just a warning... there are lots of photos! He is such a cute baby, and as proud parents, we can't help but gush on him.

He's been a sweet baby. After dealing with Calvin's colic the last go-around, Isaac has been a very good newborn! Fingers are crossed it stays that way!

 We're so happy to have him in our home, especially at this time of year. Brian and I were both exhausted for Christmas morning though! Although we feel blessed to have him, the round-the-clock-work of parenting a little baby is physically draining in its own ways. We're hoping for a more rested Christmas next year and for all the years that follow!

Now it's the day after Christmas. Christmas morning looked like a toy store exploded in our house! The kids never changed out of there PJ's, we didn't go anywhere, toys were strewn all over the house as the kids went from playing with one toy to another. It was a great day. The best gift of all was one of Isaac's Christmas presents to Brian and I. He slept last night from 9 pm until 3 am! WOW! It was such a blessing to get caught up on sleep. We haven't felt that great in a long time! And then, he continued to bless us by sleeping from 3 am until 7am! It was amazing! I am hoping he continues this trend :) 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT! 

Isaac Quinn

 I have to say this little guy is worth the sleep deprivation and the comments from my kids like: "Is there another baby in your tummy?" (from Eli) "How come your tummy isn't shrinking?" (from Jackson- who also asked "How come you still look pregnant?"). Zoey is the only child who hasn't commented on my post-pregnancy figure, which immediately puts her on Santa's nice list! Love my kids…don't love the honesty sometimes though! ha ha.

 Isaac Quinn was born on December 12 at 12:53 am. He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long. His birth story is rather short (from the time my water broke to the time he was born was just about 90 minutes), but the story surrounding his birth is a bit longer.

We went to bed on Wednesday night after watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. It was an effort to make light of an emotionally draining day. We were scheduled to be induced that morning, but as luck would have it, Eli came into our room at 2am that same morning with croup. Calvin had been at instacare the night before and we hoped it was something we could keep under control and still keep our delivery plans, but with 2 sick with respiratory issues, I knew there was no way I could make that decision to bring a baby home into that environment. Wednesday passed with taking care of sick kids and dealing with bouts of tears as my anticipation for having a baby would be put in hold...

But our baby boy had plans of his own! At 11:15, after just dozing off, I awoke to  a popping sound and three gushes of water. The unexpected happened and I realized my water broke! I hopped in the shower (to get clean from sick kids' germs before holding a newborn) while Brian called the doctor and my mom to tell them the news. My contractions were coming strong and regular and we couldn't wait for my mom to show up before leaving for the hospital. By the time we got checked in at the hospital 30 minutes later, I was at a 7. I hadn't decided to do this birth natural, and with the fatigue and dealing with sick kids the days before and the emotional day it had been, I wasn't mentally prepared to go through with it. I asked for an epidural, which they told me I was too progressed for, but they gave me the option for a spinal (which I have later come to regret). It was nice to be pain free for a few minutes, but I have been dealing with headaches ever since. Anyway, within a couple of contractions, I was complete and he was born a few minutes later!

Just short of 24 hours after his birth, he began to decline. His breathing was fast, which usually indicates a sign of infection. He was hypoglycemic and dropping weight fast. he was down to 6 lbs 13 oz, which is smaller than Zoey was when she was born! The nurses immediately put him on an IV, antibiotics, did chest x-rays, blood cultures and all the precautionary measures. We had to stay at the hospital an extra 48 hours until he was cleared to go, but slowly things began to look normal again. His vitals were checking out OK, all except his breathing, which is still fast (called tachypnea) . He is slowly gaining weight and looking better. I felt so bad for his little hand that had the IV. It was so sad! Luckily we had great nurses. They were wonderful.

We finally got to bring Isaac home on Sunday. We were looking forward to moving on with our lives and letting things get back to a new normal. And then Zoey woke up with croup!! ugh! I hate the winter! My mom has Zoey and Eli this week (who are the sickest) to try and keep the kids separated. It's the most helpful thing I could ask for! Thanks goodness for grandmas who are willing to take sick kids! It's a lot to manage. They sure love her! The nurses said to watch for tachypnea patients, because they can get sick really quickly. I'm nervous to see how this winter goes and how much we have to survive. 

We love our Isaac though! We are excited to have in in our family. He is loved by all his siblings, and they beg for times to hold him. He's a cutie! I'm excited for Brian to take his newborn pictures!

25 Merry Days!

The Christmas season is upon us! I love chronicling what happens during the season with our young family. Everyday is always filled with something. Although there are always 25 days in December until Christmas, it feels like the season will be shorter this year since Thanksgiving was so late.  I make our daily journal entries in a handmade journal each year, but this will give a sneak peak at some of our holiday traditions and new holiday happenings...

New to the list this year is a baby countdown! I've always wondered what I'd do with my blue Christmas craft paper, but it sure came in handy this year as we are expecting a baby boy in just 10 days (give or take)! It has been a fun thing for the kids and I to see the chain get smaller each day and build anticipation of what's to come. I've been preparing for Christmas for a long time and have lightened my holiday calendar in hopes to make life easier and the holidays more enjoyable this season with a newborn. I'm excited.

 I usually hang the stocking over the fireplace, which is where I prefer them to be, but I was afraid of the heavy stocking holders falling and hurting someone...between Eli, Calvin and the new baby around. So....the stairs made for a good alternative and it makes the entry look festive!

Brian took the kids to hunt for their very own Christmas tree this year. He got a $5 tree permit from the National Forrest Service and headed down to Fillmore with Grandpa Beutler to find the perfect one. He came back with 3 trees! We gave one to our neighbors, the Manley's. We usually put up two (one for the kids and one for the entry), but we've all been sick and getting one tree up and decorated was enough this year! We will have to surprise someone with the third tree...

  Christmas PJ's 2013 edition :)

 Finally, 12 days of giving starts today! We've chosen a family who lost their wife/mother earlier this year and whom we've felt could use some additional love and support by anonymously letting them know they are thought of this season. We've coordinated 12 gifts to go along the the old classic song of "The 12 days of Christmas" and had fun thinking of and finding things that they would enjoy. We hope they enjoy the next 12 days with anticipation each night. I know our kids look forward to the drop-off!

Here's to a happy holiday season! 

Thanksgiving..and almost a baby!

 Thanksgiving has come and gone. I can't believe it! We had the Thanksgiving meal with the Beutler side of the family and it was our turn to host. I had spent the week before making pumpkin butter for each family to take home. It turned out so yummy! I also did the place settings and decorations. I made finger turkey puppets for all the kids (It helped make the kid table look festive, but also kept them entertained before and after the meal). It's a good thing I started a week in advance, because we ended up volunteering to take Liz and Scott's kids for a few days before Thanksgiving. We had 10 kids in the house on those busy days prior! 

As we do each year, our family did hand turkeys for an FHE night. I loved Jackson's boy and girl turkeys with a heart over their heads...so cute! I was grateful for nice weather, notice the short sleeves! Only 2 weeks left of pregnancy, I can't believe the weather has been so mild considering it is the end of November!

The day began with football and last minute Turkey-day prep. Danny volunteered to make his first turkey ever...he brined it and deep fried it and it turned out really good (it's not burned, as it may look in the photo, the skin was really really good)! I was impressed for a first-timer! Brian and I were in charge of the pies and sweet potatoes. He did the pies and they turned out beautiful and delicious as always. Sweet potatoes are becoming a new favorite of mine...they could almost rival traditional potatoes on Thanksgiving in my book. We had tons of good food and tons of company! Fourteen cousins and eleven adults made for a crowded house. With three babies under a year old, several under 5, and nearly half of us sick with some cold virus or another, it was a bit hectic. The weather was nice enough that after the meal kids could play outside on bikes and in the yard. It was an excellent day.

After guests had all gone home and the house was picked up, my poor body was exhausted and spent! My feet were so swollen I felt as if I were walking on gel packs of fluid. With hosting comes the responsibility of helping people find things: whether it's medicine for a sick child, or a bed to sleep in, or where to put the dishes, or whatever this or that that comes up. I rarely sat that day. With only 2 weeks left of pregnancy, and having had some extremely busy days with tending cousins and hosting Thanksgiving, there wasn't a part of my body that didn't ache! I was so excited for bed that night! Just as I was beginning to fall asleep, I started contracting. ugh! I blew them off as braxton hicks and tried to sleep, but they continued to get stronger and became a minute and a half apart! I was suddenly scared I was going into labor! Since my last Doctor visit, I knew I had already been dilating and it was possible, although much earlier than expected! Unfortunately I was so not ready for labor (contradictory to what I've been saying the last 2 weeks)! It couldn't have been the worst timing possible.

As it happens when lots of people get together, someone is bound to be sick-- and Brian and I and two of our kids had all come down with colds and coughs this weekend. I was not prepared to bring home a baby into a sick family, nor be sick (and exhausted) while trying to labor on my own! Brian had taken medicine so he could sleep that night, and my mom was out of town for Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, and I began to wonder how I was going to get to the hospital and who was going to take care of the kids!! For an hour and a half I contracted and they were painful enough I had to breath through it. I finally decided to call Liz and see if she could come over if we headed to the hospital. It was 12:30am. Of course she said yes, but then within minutes my contractions subsided and were over! I felt bad for getting all worked up over it, but was relieved it had ended there. I hate false labor but I was too sick and tired to deal with the real thing! YET. Give me a few days to feel better and rest up...and then I am all for it! I hope it comes quickly!!

So...I spent the next day taking down Thanksgiving and putting up Christmas. The halls are decorated. We are set and ready to go. We'll keep you posted! Countdown to baby is 12 days!

We have a birthday-- shout Hurray!

 Zoey is 5 today! I'm so glad to have her in our family. If we are blessed to only have one girl, I'm glad she's it. I love soaking up her age right now of playing with dolls, dress-up, and imagination. Once that's gone and she's grown out of it, it will be gone! I'm kinda sad to see her grow up!

She loves to have her nails painted but her hair undone. She loves to wash dishes. She loves daddy-daughter dates and loves, loves picnics. The only thing she asked for for her birthday was a picnic blanket. I started in September and spent every Friday morning at my mom's to sew one together for her. It was my first and I learned a lot along the way!

The back is a patchwork of old denim and outdoor quality paisley swirl print. The interior batting is a waterproof sheeting.  The front is a patchwork of fun printed and colored flannels. Very soft and fun and girlie. I had an industrial machine stitch added with hearts and swirls as a final touch. She was so excited!

Her cake is a mountain picnic scene with her dad, sitting on her very own picnic blanket! We'll see if she eats any of it tonight, she is sick with pink eye and a viral form of strep. She's even requested soup as her birthday meal. I feel so bad for her! Although, today is better than yesterday when she was running a fever of 101 most of the day and completely miserable!  

 I had made her a matching apron to go with her blanket. It's reversible, the other side is pink with turquoise and flowered ruffles. She also received an apron from Aunt Carissa that matches one she gave me for my birthday. She was pretty excited about us having matching aprons! (She is wearing it in the top picture). Now she has one to share when friends come to play!

We love her and are so glad she's our Zoey!

13 Days of Halloween 2013

 Warning- lots of pictures :)

When we set up our Halloween decorations this year Eli asked, "Can we get out the Christmas decorations too?!" I'd have to admit that setting up for Halloween actually gets me excited to decorate for Christmas too, knowing it's right around the corner. In fact, tomorrow is Halloween and we just got our Christmas toy books in the mail today! The market must feel the same as me :)

 Although Brian would prefer to skip over the Halloween Holiday and head straight into Thanksgiving, this is what we did this year to celebrate the season I love with the kids:

#1: Halloween decorations-- Rarely does anything stay put where I like it too, Thanks to this cute little guy. oh well. I strategically plan to put non breakable things at his level, so I'm totally OK with it :)

#2: Monster game-- roll the dice to create your monster, very fun combinations!!

 #3: Ghosts-- one version of this or another seems to come back each year!

 #4: Decorate Halloween cookies-- a seasonal favorite. Of course more gets eaten then decorated! This year we enjoyed making them in St. George!

 #5: Movie Night-- We watched Disney's Monsters Inc. and ate popcorn

 #6: Pumpkin faces and Dress-up witch: Fun paper and sticker craft with the kids

#7: Neighborhood Boo-- neighborhood fun, leave treats with cute poem secretly on a doorstep. My kids love to doorbell ditch!

#8: Dress-up day-- The kids got out the box of Halloween costumes and had fun playing with them. Why not?! I love to let them use their costumes while they can instead of just the one night..

 #9: Haunted house-- Jackson and Zoey came up with this all on their own! Decorations, music and confetti to top it all off!

#10: Playing in the leaves-- we've had some beautiful fall weather, hope it sticks!

#11: Dress like a bug day at school! "I'd rather eat bugs than do drugs" is the theme at school, we made this bug costume for Jackson which he was proud of! The wings were painted blue like his bug eyes..

#12: Pumpkin Carving--

#12 1/2: Gray Halloween Party- we had the traditional Halloween dinner, went to Monsters University with all the cousins, went for a treat bag hunt in the woods, and costume parade (Grandpa and Grandma passed out stuffed monster characters from the movie). It was a fun-filled day!

#13: Trick-or-treating! The best way to top off the season. The kids want to get as much candy as possible this year. If the weather cooperates, we'll try to accommodate their wishes! It all goes to the dentist the next day in exchange for cash so they can get a toy with all their hard earned money :) The day is usually so busy I don't have time to snag a picture of them, but we got plenty of them in costumes already. But here are the kids at their school programs...

Happy Halloween!  

Update: 11.1.13

So Halloween was a blast! Grandma Gray came over in the afternoon and stayed with the kids so I could go to Jackson's Halloween parade. Afterwords we took teh kids to PG park for a trunk or treat. I made chili in a pumpkin and cornbread for dinner. once we had a good meal, we headed out for neighborhood trick-or-treating! After fininshing our neighborhood, Jackson wanted to keep going, so I dropped off the kids at home with Grandpa and Brian while the two of us set out again for the neighborhood behind our house. He loaded up with candy- which will be turned into money from the dentist! he kept saying "I love spending time with you mom! Thanks for taking me!" That was worth the extra effort! he was cute all by himself saying trick-or-treat and Happy Halloween at each door! Our little boy is growing up fast though!