First Day

On Heath's first day of pre-school it was raining and the rain was not winning any friends with my kid! On his way into the school building he said "It's s'posed to be SUNNY!" and continued pouting and saying "It's not s'posed to be raining when I go to school!" After a few questions from me and honest answers from him I soon realized that he had big dreams for the playground that day!

Overall he had a good first day aside from the fact that when his fellow students were packing up he decided that he didn't want to do it. His teacher, who had Bria and Lys before, said that he wouldn't be able to leave until he packed up! When I entered the room he had his stubborn face on so I thought...great what has he done now! and as soon as he saw me BIG tears rolled down his pinchable cheeks! He said "She not let me go home with you"! Mrs. C and I talked with him and were able to convince him that he was going to go home with me, but he had to do what she asked first.

Since then he has been doing much better!

This is the ONLY smile face I was able to get from him that morning.

The rest were all silly faces...his trademark! :)

Last year I was home alone during Heath's preschool time. This year I am back in my element with another kid! Laney is so fun! Heath loves having another sibling home...though I am sure he wishes she were old enough to play with him! :)

It was THAT kind of morning and Laney made do with jammies!

Laney-bug is drooling all over! Soaks through her clothing, bibs...you name it! We also love giving her kisses as much as she loves giving them herself...drool and all!

A Little Bit Laney

A request for a bit of Laney has been sent and I am sorry that I wasn't able to get this posted sooner, but it has been crazy busy! So this one is for you friend, you know who you are! :)

Laney-bug has been rolling since she was 3 months (she is now 4 mo.), pulls at the floor cause she wants to crawl, tries to sit up, loves standing on her feet while being held, loves laughing and eating, talking and exploring her fingers and toes!

Bug-bug (another name we call her) is great entertainment at times for all of us! She is a woman of many faces...enjoy them as we do!

...looking so serious these days!

...blowing raspberries!

...she LOVES the camera!

...I am cute and innocent, but scheming! :)

...her talking face!

...what we see most days!

...pinchable, kissable cheeks!

Heath has been spending a lot more time with her kissing and talking to her. He is the first one that got her to give a really good belly laugh! He was swatting a book in the air above her which made her laugh uncontrollably! Of course I made sure to mention that if that book got a bit too close then the laughing would stop and fast! Fortunately he just continued to make her laugh! I think my fears for their relationship in the beginning is OVER! What do you think?

...he tastes good what can I say? ;)

3 Months

Laney is 13 lbs. 7 oz. and 23 1/2 in. long

All things Laney:

*she is trying to roll

*she can touch things now and my face was the first thing she reached out for ;)
*holds her head up pretty well

*LOVES to talk to other kids
*squeals when happy
*and melts all our hearts with that gorgeous smile!

We all LOVE this kid! Despite all the chaos of new baby and an MBA program for Tys, I am grateful that Laney came when she did because she adds much more to the family. It's as if another piece of the family puzzle has been put in place and we are more complete! Like my blog header says "There ain't nothin' like Family!"

Her First White Dress

On June 7th, Laney was given a name and a blessing at church. She is such a sweet and special spirit! We are grateful for our new little one!
This is the same dress that all of my girls have worn! This is her first white dress. Made from my 3rd white dress, my wedding gown!

She really is such a smiley baby! I love that even her eyes light up and that you can't help but smile when you see hers!

Glad that she saved the major fussing for home! :) We all adore this little gal!

Wrapped Around Her Pinky

This girl LOVES to be talked to! Her oldest brother LOVES to talk to her and getting her to smile!
Laney was trying to reach for him and he eventually met her halfway! I saw this and said "Man! She has you wrapped around her pinky! She can get you to do ANYTHING she wants you to do!"

He laughed and said with a cheesy grin "Yeah...EXCEPT for criminal acts!" ha ha! That's my boy keepin' it real! :)

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

One Month

The blanket that Laney is swaddled in is the BEST swaddling blanket we have ever owned and they are adorable too! They are made out of muslin. You can get them at adenandanais.com

One month has seemed to just fly by! Laney is doing better and is 9 lbs. 7 oz. and 21 1/2 in. long. She now sleeps on average 5-6 hrs a night! Woo-Hoo! None of my other kids have done that at such a young age. This is awesome to us because we thought we were in for a long haul of every 2 hrs. for another month or two! Of course we have the swing to thank for that. That is one of her favorite things so far aside from mommy holding her. When she is awake she tries to coo and seems to enjoy herself more than she did a week or two ago! She is still eating every two hrs. throughout the day, but I am fine with that as long as she continues to sleep 5-6 hrs. at night! She is also getting that dreaded baby acne, but we think her cuteness still outshines it all! :)

Some Firsts

Alyssa has FINALLY, at age 8, learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels! YAY! She caught on fairly quickly and wants to ride her bike every sunny moment! I think it is such a sweet moment between a father and his child. My father taught me and I remember that day very well. He took me out in the morning and after a couple of hours he gave up, but I didn't! I didn't go inside ALL day until I had conquered it! No bathroom break (which is amazing for a 6 yr. old) and no eating breaks! I remember I finally got it right as the sun was going down, I was proud of myself! And I think my little Lys is VERY proud of herself too! She wants to ride her bike every day now! Way to go, LYS!!!

Another first was Laney's bath without umbilical chord! Bath time is so much easier without that thing...I think! :)

All the kids enjoyed the moment for maybe a few seconds. In the end the only kid that still thought it was cool, was Little Mama...Alyssa. She will even still change diapers and it is usually without being asked (every mom's dream)!

3 Times a Charm

I am on my 3rd round of antibiotics since having Laney. Basically I have been on them since the day I got home from the hospital. Now I am on a HORSE PILL of Penicillin and on day 4. I still sound a little off, but am feeling MUCH better.

I was sick with some cold flu thing before I went in to have Laney-bug. I was over it for the most part when I was in labor, but ended up with Bronchitis, a sinus and ear infection in the process and my body has had a hard time fighting it off. I even got mastitis 2 times while on antibiotics. The second time was this past weekend and I had no idea I was getting it until it was so bad that I had to go into the doctor. Let's just say that heating pads and the pump have become my new best friend. I don't think I have nursed Laney so much. Of course she didn't mind considering the fact that I am still used as a pacifier, but I can't complain when it is needed! :)

She has been getting into more of a routine and happier when she is awake for longer periods of time. She even coos a bit more and her little eyes do the Siamese cat trick and cross when they try to focus on the things around her! She also does a good job at holding her head up and has been trying that since the first night in the hospital.
Well I have to get a shower in since Laney is down for a nap. So, I will have to play blog catchup over the next few days or so. A lot has been going on since Laney-bug's big debut and I would like to journal them here. For now I am off to get clean and feel good. I have a HOT date tonight with none other than HUGH JACKMAN a.k.a WOLVERINE!!!!! Ha ha! You thought I was going to say my DEAR hubby...well that too! :) LOVE YOU TYS! He really is my HOT date, but I love to tease him cause he knows I LOVE Wolverine and am excited for the movie! It'll be Laney's fist date too! :)

Oh and excuse the blog for awhile...it is under a bit of construction. I am trying to learn how to do a few things and trying to figure out the exact look I am going for! Also be sure to keep an eye on my monthly quotes I just changed it and hope you enjoy the new header!

More Laney

My friend, Shannon gave me the gift of photos for little Laney and we had the photo shoot a couple nights ago. Laney did pretty well, but she definately has a patience problem. ;) She was good for the first little while and then decided that she wanted mommy...ok really her pacifier. She slept GREAT that night...5 hrs.!!! Then the next night I was lucky to get a whole 3 hrs. of sleep. Dear hubby is gone to school for 4 days. Maybe tonight will look a little brighter!

You can check the photos out here.

More Pics

Amy put more pics up of our little Laney-bug! Click here to see them! Thanks Amy! I am glad that despite her GREAT fussiness there were some great shots of her! :)

One Week

It is hard to believe that one week has already flown by! In some ways I am glad cause that means not much longer and the nursing bit will get better. Little miss is like clock work. She nurses every 2 hrs...will be glad when that is more like 3-4 hrs! She can get a bit fussy when she doesn't want to be awake and for some reason confuses me with the pacifier. We will definatley have to work on that one! ;)

She has plenty of ready and willing hands to hold her. The kids all ask for her daily. Even Heath has warmed up to her and now gets excited to see her when he first wakes up in the morning. Chad is a great big brother and loves to hold her. After we got back from the hospital he was begging that we watch a movie together while he and the other kids took turns holding Laney.

Heath is so excited to show people his baby that if I am nursing he has no qualms about lifting the nursing cover to show his baby! We have been having talks about not showing Laney's bottles to others! :) So far it is getting better and he is respecting mine and Laney's privacy.

Alyssa has been trying her hand at changing the diapers without complaint. She asks to do it! Why can't they all be like that!?! :)

Bria loves to rock and sing to her and to help pick out what she is going to wear.

She already has two nicknames. The Lanester...dubbed by Chad and Laney-bug, something Aunt Chel helped think of!

The dog knows her as baby and every time you say "Come see baby" or "Where's the baby?" his tail starts wagging and one time he went to the swing to try and find her, but she was in her bassinet. He was a little disappointed.

We also had Laney's first photo session with my friend, Amy. You can get a sneak peek here. More to come soon!

Welcome Home BABY!!!

Some anonymous person left this in our front yard for us and it was very sweet! We have never had this done for us before, so a BIG "Thanks" goes out to you whoever you are...it put a smile on our faces and made this moment even more special!

I went in to be induced Tuesday morning & had them hold off on breaking my water (I was hoping that the PIT would help the contractions I had been having on my own be more real, but it wasn't working out that way) and the labor wasn't progressing as quickly as we would've liked so eventually they broke the water and 3 hrs later we had our baby! It turns out that Laney had a bowel movement in the womb and after her head came out I had to stop pushing so that they could suction her and then after she came out I couldn't hold her until the NICU nurses had looked her over and I am grateful that she didn't inhale it and that she is healthy and happy! I went through transition and pushing her out in about 25 minutes! If you count the labor from when my contractions were regular with the PIT then it was abt. 7 hrs. of labor, but if you count from the water being broken considering I was still really only a 4 then it was 3 hrs.

My personal labor and delivery entourage! 2 on the left were GREAT nurses and the awesome lady on the right is my personal friend and hired doula!

The most important part of my Labor & Delivery entourage and best friend that puts a little bit of the cuteness in our kiddos :)...Tyson!

The morning of having Laney before the kids went to school we all gave our hugs and had a family prayer for me and the baby. All the kids were cheerful and excited at the thought that they would soon see their baby sister! Chad said "Now I have bragging rights at school cause we are FINALLY having Laney today!" Alyssa and Bria rubbed my tummy for the last time and Heath gave kisses and hugs (probably not really understanding what was going on) and then we were off!

It has been great to watch all the kids enjoy their new sister, though Heath wanted NOTHING to do with her at first and insisted that Bria hold her and he do his own thing. He came back the next day and we were able to convince him that it was alright to hold her and he did and enjoyed it! Thank goodness! I hope he starts to be more into her when we are back home.

Chad kept saying that she was the cutest thing ever, so pretty and perfect and wanted to hog her all to himself, earlier in the week he said he would think she was alright, but I informed him that he would be wrapped around her pinky in no time, and boy is that already true! :)

Alyssa has the mothering down really well and is quickly becoming a pro at holding her. She also sang while rocking her and is just a natural!

Bria wanted her ALL for herself and was sad that she had to share. She even cried when it was time for her to leave because she wanted another turn. They all were not happy about having to go home without us and baby Laney!

Needless to say I am HAPPY that she is out and healthy! It truly is a miracle and we feel GREATLY blessed to have another beautiful child of God in our home!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Happy Earth Day!

We have officially participated in overpopulating the earth!

Elayna "Laney" Margaret was born April 21 at 5:24 p.m. weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long! More to come about our little beauty tomorrow after we are home from the hospital.

6 Months

Everyone says they feel great in their 2nd trimester, but I don't start feeling great until my 3rd!!! I have kicked the morning sickness and extreme fatigue good-bye and have now hit the nesting phase! I just finished painting my boys room, going through all their toys, and rearranged their furniture. Then I started re-painting my foyer with my good friend, Karen....I owe her a life debt for that! It is soooo much better than the orange my painter messed up with (that'll be another post in itsself)! I still have a huge list of things to do, but feel great and am up to the task!

My belly has finally passed up the boobs! It sticks out about 1/4 of an inch more, so I am counting down to the final days of being able to see my feet! I am already having complications bending over without turning red faced in the process. My kids say "Wow! The baby is getting BIG!" So there you go folks, from the mouth of babes there is truth! I am getting BIG!

Only about 13 weeks left! YAY! We have FINALLY decided...ok I have to say the truth behind it all, my hubby has FINALLY decided that he is ok with the name the kids and I LOVE for this little gal! It will be Elayna Margaret and we will call her Laney. It's so cute to hear all the kids say her name as they talk about her and pat my ever growing belly. Heath says it with a "W" instead of an "L"...it's so cute!

The problem we are having is figuring out how to spell L-a-n-e-y. My husband likes the way I have just spelled it and I like L-a-y-n-e-y because it goes more with the spelling of her actual name, but I want to see what most people think when they look at the spellings, so go let your voice be heard on our little poll on the top right of the page!