I got a REAL bedroom door with a lock

Yesterday was a wonderful day with a most wonderful ending.  Stan and I went on a date and it was so fun to spend time together.  While we were out we bought a bedroom door.  Since October this door is the one on my bedroom.  Notice Macy waving through the glass.  She would sit there and watch whatever was going on in my bedroom.  I would have to be sneaky if I wanted any privacy.  We didn't have a lock either.

This is at the end of the day!  No windows and a beautiful door knob with a lock.  Happy day for a mama.

The awesome installers

Spencer at 4 months

Isn't Spencer so cute? This is what we get most of the time from him now. He's a happy kid and has learned to roll from tummy to back. I don't put him on the floor much. I need to keep an eye on him if I do, so he doesn't roll away and down our unsafe stairs.

Happy New Year

Spencer is now 4 months old.  Time is passing quickly.  He is so much more content these days and interacting with him is so much fun.  He is 15 pounds and closer to the 50th percentile.  I think they have changed the growth charts since my other kids were babies.  However, he is my smallest at this age.  Crazy!  He is still healthy and chubby, which is great.  As a gift to us, he has slept 9 hours the last two nights.  I hope he is on to something.  After weeks of waking up every 3 hours instead of 6-8, we welcome the 9 hours with much enthusiasm.  I just might make it with some decent sleep.  We forget to take pictures of him, partly because my camera batteries died and partly because I just don't think about it. I need to do better.
We are happy it's a new year and that we've had a very mild winter to this point.  We enjoyed having my parents here for Christmas and the week after.  Stan had a few days off and that was great.  We have set some new goals and really look forward to having a fresh, new start that comes with the new year.

We have survived!

Brynn has talent. She's playing "Jingle Bells" while holding Spencer.

The kids built some forts and wanted Spencer to have the king chair.

We (Spencer and I) have both survived the first 3 months! Recently Spencer is really interactive. He loves to talk and make noises with his mouth, especially when you put him on his change table. Brynn loves to change his diaper now, just for the conversation. The fussiness is decreasing, or I'm finally getting smart enough to know what is wrong. This last week he's figured out how to squeal and scream. Doesn't work so well at Church, but it's kind of fun. Sometimes he likes to be rocked to sleep and sometimes he just wants to be put in bed. We swaddle him up tight and he likes that, and he likes his soother. What would we do without it?
We sure are enjoying him. He is healthy and big and so adorable!

Good reads

I really like to read non-fiction books.  I recently read two that I'd like to recommend.  The first one is called Why Gender Matters, by Leonard Sax.  Those like myself, who believe that we are created by God and each given a divine role, as men or women, already know that gender does matter.  In this book, I felt that the author also believes this but he gives some scientific reasons how and why boys and girls are different.  This really helped me as a parent in the discipline and interaction with my boys and girls.  Great book.  I got it from the library.
The other book I read was called Miserly Moms, by Jonni McCoy.  She was a career woman who felt the need to be a stay-at-home mom and raise her own children.  She and her husband had the courage to do so and her book is all about making your dollars stretch.  She offered lots of great tips to make things cheap, from scratch is always cheaper and healthier, making double and freezing it for another meal, etc.  My favorite is buying homo milk (ie, the kind that has the most fat) and diluting it with water, thus getting two jugs of milk for the price of one.  I have done this and it is awesome.  It tastes somewhere in between 1% and 2%.  I love learning ways to spend less money on things that we have to have, food, clothing, and shelter, thus allowing us to have a little more fun with our money like: vacations, skiing, an occasional dinner out, etc.  We pay A LOT to taxes and living expenses and it feels like we never have enough left to do what we enjoy.  The principles and tips in this book motivate me to be more miserly so we can have fun!

2 months old!

Look at this handsome dude! Spencer is growing and developing just as he should. He had his first shots today. Sad... He weighs 12 pounds, 11 oz. and is about 23+ inches long. He is almost 75th percentile for his weight and height. He must be getting enough to eat. It's nice to have chubby babies and then we don't have to worry about them.

Brynn and her friend made dinner for us one night. It was awesome. Look at their plate of healthy stuff. So beautifully arranged.

Stan is away on a business trip, halfway across the world. He left Saturday. 3 days down...
Brynn and Joel are being helpful when they are home and I'm really glad for that.
Life is good, even though it's challenging.
I thought I was tired when I was pregnant. Amazing how this newborn phase makes you realize that you really weren't tired before. This phase will be past before I know it and I'm not sure what parts I'll miss. Maybe the baby sleeping lots. Who knows, I'm trying to enjoy what I can while it's here.

7 weeks and Las Vegas, Halloween too

I believe Joel carved the left one, Macy's in the middle, and Brynn on the right. They were moldy by Halloween. No candles. We ended up trick or treating with friends in a different neighborhood so we weren't even home. It's fun to carve and display anyway.

I just had to show the big belly on the little man. My sister-in-law said it reminds her of a frog and the way babies have their legs spread way out. He's adorable anyway

This pic is of Stan and Spencer at the Las Vegas airport. We saw a few of these creations and had to take a picture to show the kids.

Stan and me in front of the LV Temple. Beautiful place.

The happy couple. My brother, Reed, and my new sister-in-law, Jana.

My sis, Niki, and me on Temple grounds.

Us in front of the Venetian Hotel.

I love these two kids' seat for the movie. They even had "seat belt" for safety in that suitcase.
Vegas was a lot of fun. So nice to have a break and to spend some time with Stan and my family. The wedding was more than the hi-light of the trip. It was awesome. I'm so happy for my brother. His new wife is awesome. It was so great to be in the Temple. Our temple has been closed since July and doesn't reopen until December. I have missed it.

As for baby, I forgot how hard the newborn phase is. Tricky to go back after being so independent. It's a challenge to have very little me time and free time. I'm trying to enjoy it but my house is a mess an so unorganized from the move. I need to get a few things done, not to mention keeping up with the older kids. I'm really grateful Brynn and Joel are at school but it's hard to keep up with what's going on in their lives. I probably should just sit on the couch, hold the baby, and read all day. Anyone want to do my dishes since I don't have a dishwasher? Actually I have 3 but we all work a little slow.
Despite the house mess, our neighbors are awesome and have made live great since the move. The kids are so happy have someone to play with everyday and I love having someone next door to share help in many ways.

6 weeks

I'll post pictures next week after we get back from Vegas!
6 weeks have flown by as we have watched our little man grow. He and I both had our 6 week check up yesterday. He is 11 pounds 6 oz and doing well. I won't say how much I weigh but I'm certainly not going to worry about the last 20 pounds for a little bit. I lost the first 30 within 2 weeks of delivery but I knew the last chunk would take some effort and some time. Spencer finally caught the cold that we have all had for awhile. He is handling it well and it doesn't seem to be affecting his sleep. He is much more content as the time goes by. I learned yesterday that babies generally have gas troubles that escalate until around 6 weeks and then their little systems figure out how to work properly. All three older kids are a big help. They like to hold Spencer and cuddle him and now that he is more alert, "play" with him. I have a feeling that the more he grows, the more they will throw him around. I caught Brynn tossing him in the air the other day. What do you do? Gentle reminders... They just love him so much and want to play and make him happy. Until next week... Hopefully he'll enjoy the airplane ride so it isn't unpleasant for the other passengers.

Preparing for Halloween

The kids had a lot of fun carving pumpkins to put on our front step. Each did their own designing and a little bit of the carving. Dad and Mom helped with the sharp knife cutting so nobody got hurt.

5 weeks already

It's unbelievable that 5 weeks have already gone by since this little guy came to our family.

He smiled at me for the first time on Saturday. It's so fun when they start to smile. I just about caught him here.(above)

This was so cute. Joel loves to hold his little brother. This night, Spencer immediately fell asleep on his shoulder. I love how his little leg is wrapped around Joel's side. Too precious.

Princess Macy takes her turn often holding the little baby. She likes him especially when he is calm. She's getting good at "babysitting" while I shower or do other things that I need my hands for.

4 weeks

Family photo after the baby blessing. Too bad you can't see the baby too well. =)
Look at those blue eyes!
My brother-in-law was here and discovered thrush in the baby's mouth. He has blue lips for Gentian violet, used to treat thrush.
My talented aunt made this adorable tuxedo for Spencer, out of some pieces of my wedding dress. He looks so handsome.
4 weeks have passed since this little man arrived. He is losing his hair on top, much to our dismay. He is a good baby. I am just trying to adjust to life with a newborn. Sleepiness is the main issue and he's actually a good sleeper. I don't get a lot done but I'm OK with it for now. Little bits here and there add up to enough. We have just moved into our "new" home. It's quite the process to get settled in a fixer-upper. So far, my sister-in-law painted lots of the main floor walls. Huge improvement. Stan and his dad installed a garage door opener. Beauty! Little roof fixes, gutter clean out, furnace cleaning. I also got my piano tuned. It sounds so good! I can't believe it's been 5 years since the last time I did it. The tuner makes it sound amazing.

Thanksgiving

Although life is utter chaos right now with a new baby, moving, and blessing the baby this weekend; I'm extremely grateful for many angels in our life. I've been making a list so I don't forget to thank and pray for all the amazing people we are blessed to know. Over the past year we were really hoping to move closer to family but this summer proved that it wasn't the right thing for our family right now. Our ward has been amazing in so many ways in helping with meals and cleaning and friendshipping. Family has been so awesome to come help us move and be here for the blessing of our little boy, tomorrow. The Lord really knows our needs and how to inspire others to help fill those needs. Sometimes we have to ask for help but lots of times people just call or show up with what we need. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father loves me and cares so much about me to bless me with amazing friends, family, and acquaintances! Happy Thanksgiving all you Canadians!

3 weeks

He hasn't lost his hair yet. I'm crossing my fingers.
His first trip to Joel's school. Grandma Wright went home...
I love this belly shot. He's growing. I don't usually take them every week to get weighed. I just check their tummy and their legs and watch them get chubby!

Spencer is 3 weeks old and as a gift to us, specifically me, he slept a huge chunk of the night. I felt so rested that after I fed him and got him settled back in his bed, I couldn't return to sleep. Why do things like that happen?
He has been more awake and alert this past week. I love his expressions. He has a really strong neck and if you don't watch out, sometimes you can get bonked by his bopping head.
My mom went home two days ago. She extended her stay twice and was so much help! We are surviving without her, even though we didn't think we would. There must be people praying for us. I really miss having extra trusting hands to hold the baby when I need a break. The kids like to hold him but their attention span doesn't last as long as my needs.
We are in the middle of moving. I'm feeling a little bit nuts. We took the first loads tonight and my awesome ward helped clean the place a bit so we could start moving things in. Baby blessing this weekend.

From the birth

Here's a few pictures from the birth. My face really shows exactly how I felt.

Brynn's first day of school picture. She's so grown up.

Feeling much relieved to be done with that whole process and holding our little man.

He didn't cry right at birth. They plopped him on my tummy and he just hung out. After a few minutes, the nurses took him to weigh him and do all their stuff, then he let them have it. This picture is mid-scream. He's got lungs.

After his bath at the hospital later that first night, finally clean. Now we could see his real hair color. So pretty.

A week flown by

Spencer is growing! In two weeks since birth, he's gained his birth weight back, plus some. He now weighs 9 lb 8 oz and is 22 inches long. Despite feeding issues, he is getting enough to keep him happy and help him grow. He really likes to sleep on his tummy. I know that it is a no-no in the medical world. It's hard to not, he's been sleeping 5 hour stretches at night when we do and he does better during the day. What would you do if you were his mom? I was paranoid about it but he's never alone while sleeping.

Spencer has great hair. We really hope he doesn't go bald. It's light and so nice with some red hi-lights. He's got a nice amount in the back and I want it to stay.

Macy loves to dress up. This particular day, she and Brynn were playing together and they had a little photo shoot.

I had to take a picture because we got him dressed. It's been beautiful and warm and we always have him covered up so he usually hangs out in a onesie, night and day. So adorable.