Christmas Sunday

This was a very last minute shot (with BAD lighting...ugh) I took before heading out the door to church on Sunday. Since we'd just had Ella last week and didn't go to church, this was "Christmas Sunday" for us. :)

2 Weeks...

Our little Ella is 2 weeks old today...it's amazing how that last stretch of my pregnancy is already becoming a distant memory. She has been a really good baby thus far. She's starting to sleep 5-6 hours at night, which is GREAT for me! Now if we could just get Lauren back to sleeping through the night without wanting to climb into bed with us we'd be doing really well. :) I'll have to wait and report on her height/weight later, it was snowing like crazy this afternoon when I was supposed to be heading to her appointment, then cleared up after I'd already called and cancelled. Such is my life :) Garrett still asks to hold her every chance he gets, and Lauren pats her on the head and gives her kisses whenever she can. They both are her little babysitters, making sure I know she's crying or needs a diaper change or anything else she might do. One thing is for sure...she's one LOVED baby :)

Christmas!!!

I am so sad Christmas is over...I love this time of year and having Ella so close to Christmas just made it all go by so much quicker, but she's the best Christmas present ever! :) We did our usual back and forth thing this year, spending Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house with the Cole side, coming home that night and spending Christmas morning with Todd's family, then back to my mom's Christmas night for the Cox get together. It's a lot of driving, especially when the roads aren't that great, but my favorite part of any holiday is having the opportunity to be with our families. The kids really had a TON of fun opening their presents at their Grandma's house on Christmas morning. Garrett's favorite gift was definitely his Spiderman and "Spiderman house", his scooter runs a close second. Lauren ended up getting three dolls and all the accessories (stroller, bassinet, carseat, etc.) and plays with them way more than I even thought she would. We keep finding her in her room playing "mommy"...it's seriously TOO CUTE! Ella fell asleep in her carseat on the way to Todd's parent's house on Christmas morning and slept all the way through opening presents...I didn't think to get a picture of her at the time. :(

After every gift Garrett opened he'd say..."It's just what I wanted!"

Lauren opening her new Dora movie...we've seen it way too many times already!

Daddy and Garrett playing with "Spiderman's house".

Daddy pushing Lauren on Garrett's new scooter. She LOVED it!

1 Week Old

Wow! Ella is already a week old! In some ways I can't believe it's already been a week, and in other ways it seems like she's been with us forever. Lauren has warmed up to her considerably, and is constantly pointing at and naming her "eyes, nose, ears, etc." Garrett would like to hold her all day, every day if he could. Unfortunately, this weekend the kids came down with the stomach flu and had to stay as far away as possible. Let me tell you, it's not fun taking care of two puking kids along with a newborn! Thank goodness Todd was home and kept us up on laundry as well as sharing in the clean up duties!

I also had to share this picture, even thought the quality is terrible. I don't care what anyone says...this was a real smile, and she did it several times though this was the only shot I got. :)

Photo Tag

I was tagged by Brenda.

I was to post the 4th photo of my 4th folder in My Pictures.

This is Garrett with his demolished "Gingerbread house" at my grandma's house on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago. Kind of funny that it fits for this time of year!

I tag Heather A., Chelsea, and Cassie. :)

Our Pringles Girl

Lauren LOVES "ships". Every time I buy them and she's at the store with me she's trying to get the can of Pringles open before I can even get it in the cart. This afternoon she just would not go down for a nap even though she was sooo tired! I finally sat down at the computer and she came in a couple of minutes later. I heard her climb on the bed and grab the can of Pringles Todd had left on the dresser next to the bed and she was munching away. Next thing I hear sounds like the can tipping on it's side but I didn't think much of it.....here's what I saw when I finally turned around :)And guess what the first thing she did when she woke up was...

Here's a new and close up picture of Ella...just for you Chels :) I'll post more soon! I promise!

Meet Ella Rose....

Our little Ella Rose was born last night at 8:32 p.m. She weighed 7 lb 11 1/2 oz and is 19 inches long. She has some hair which is brown with a reddish tint like Lauren's.

Now that we have the most important info out of the way...here is how it happened. I woke up yesterday morning at 4:30 having contractions, they were really inconsistent as far as strength and timing so I knew it wasn't real labor, but was hoping it would at least turn into that. At about 8:00, right when they were getting to be about 5 minutes apart, they stopped. I was scheduled at my doctor's office for a non-stress test (where they monitor the baby for a while to make sure everything is OK) at 10:30. I had to see another doctor since Dr. Nye had the day off. She came in and told me everything was looking great and asked if Dr. Nye had talked about induction. I told her we hadn't really talked about it at that point. She asked if I'd be open to the idea since she had just spoken to the hospital and they were asking if she had any patients wanting to be induced since they were really slow. She told me she'd try to contact Dr. Nye and have him call me to let me know what to do. On the way home I stopped for a few things at Walmart and there was Dr. Nye! I caught up to him and told him what Dr. Thompson had said so he got on the phone to call the hospital. He couldn't get through to anyone, but it sounded like he didn't really want to do it that day anyway. As I was leaving Walmart he called me and told me he'd gotten through to the hospital and they couldn't induce me until Thursday. I was heartbroken to say the least. I cried the whole way home. Part of me thought that Dr. Nye just didn't want to do it that day (and I'm pretty sure I was right). I found out later that they had gotten really busy after they'd talked to Dr. Thompson and they really couldn't schedule it that day.

That afternoon at about 3:00 I started having contractions again, only this time they were every ten minutes and definitely stronger than before. The only problem was, three hours later they were still ten minutes apart. They finally got to seven minutes apart and Todd talked me into heading to the hospital (after I called them to find out if that was in fact what we should do). We dropped the kids off at his parent's house and headed over. By the time we got to Labor and Delivery it was 7:45. They checked me and I was at 8 cm and almost fully effaced!!! I've never been past a 4 once I got to the hospital so I was shocked. Then they asked me if I had planned on having an epidural and LAUGHED when I said yes! There was no time and THANK GOODNESS for that because I was freaking out knowing I was going to have to push this baby out with NO PAIN MEDS! Dr. Nye arrived quickly and broke my water, then I started pushing and Ella Rose was born at 8:32. I am still in shock over how quickly it all went once we got to the hospital and how great I already feel. My mom was able to make it just before I started pushing and I was so glad to have her there. I just have to tease her though. As the doctor was finishing up with me after the baby was born, Mom was standing at the bed side and said she was about to pass out. Dr. Nye started yelling for someone to help her to the floor. They sat her on the floor with some pillows and after a few minutes she was fine. I'm so glad she didn't go down before someone could get to her!

We headed home late this afternoon and stopped to pick up the kids and introduce them and Grandma and Grandpa to Ella. Garrett was so excited, but Lauren was a little apprehensive (she'd just woken up from a nap) at first. They have both been watching her every move since we got home and I can already tell I'm going to have to keep a close eye on them. :)

BABY it's COLD outside!

So here we are...40 minutes from now I'll be officially 5 days overdue. Seriously, I don't know why I even let myself think I was going to go on or near my due date...I guess I was hoping this one would be different. I was 3 days over with Garrett and 5 with Lauren. Hopefully we'll stay within a week this time around too. I really can't blame the kid, I wouldn't want to be born when it's 9 degrees outside either! I'm a summer girl myself! I think the hardest part for me hasn't been physical, although my hips feel like they want to give out on me half the time. The most difficult part has been my emotional state the last couple of weeks. One minute I'll be fine, and the next I'll be freaking out because I want the house clean before I go into labor, therefore crossing my fingers I'll come home to a clean house (wishful thinking?). My kids have taken it all in stride, as has Todd. I know it must take every ounce of energy he has to keep from making "she's hormonal" comments! He did mention yesterday that he noticed this pregnancy has been "a lot harder" on me than my others. As grouchy as I've been with him lately, I really appreciate his tactfullness...is that a word? Gotta love him :)

I have been having contractions, although they are not very consistent. I guess I'm just thankful that's a sign of something happening. I have a non-stress test tomorrow just to make sure the baby is still doing fine, but won't actually be seeing my doctor until THURSDAY! He really thought he'd see me go into labor last weekend, then expected to see me that night after my last appointment. Can you tell he's a little more hopeful than I am?! I am truly praying (as I'm sure my husband is) that she will come soon, but more importantly that everything goes well and she is healthy! Wish me luck!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy ToDd!

Happy Birthday honey! I don't even know how to begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate you. You do so much for us as a husband, daddy, and provider. Every time I see you playing with the kids it just reminds me what an amazing father you are. The most exciting time of the day for them is when you walk through that door. Mine too :) Garrett is so proud to have you as his dad...I'm sure the firefighting gives that pride an extra boost! We love you so much and hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Playing catch up....no baby yet!

Just to get that out of the way...no we haven't met the newest member of our family just yet. I am seeing the signs of things starting to happen though, so I'm still hoping to have this baby before Christmas, at least!

This week has been quite busy...I thought that being released from Young Women's would help slow things down a bit, but that hasn't been the case. Nothing like preparing for a baby to keep you busy!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner last week with Todd's family. All of the grandkids had a GREAT time seeing eachother and Garrett keeps telling me that he wants to go on an airplane to see Brynlee and Kam...soon! We got pictures of all the kids with Great Grandpa Al and Great Grandma PJ, but mine didn't turn out very well. I did get a good one of all the kids with Velvet.

Last night we had our ward Christmas party. I'm glad we went...although the program went a little long for the kids...they just didn't want to sit there anymore! The primary did a quick rendition of the nativity scene. Garrett went up there for a bit and was standing by the angels, but didn't have a halo like the rest of them so I'm not quite sure where/what he was supposed to be doing...they were on the end of the stage and Garrett kept creeping closer and closer to the side until he was out of sight. Someone must have talked him into going back out there, but that only lasted for a second and he was gone again. Next thing I know he was running back to our seats and in Todd's lap. Maybe someday he'll surprise us and come out of his shell a little. I figured it couldn't be any worse than the boy who was standing next to him acting like 007 or something. He kept jumping from behind the curtain with "guns drawn". It was quite entertaining for those who could see him. The highlight of the night was of course Santa Claus! Garrett was so excited and sat on Santa's lap with no hesitation...Lauren was a different story. Oh well....there's always next year!

Well that's the major stuff that's gone on this week in our little world...hopefully my next post will contain some BIG NEWS! :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

My baby girl's growing up!

Last night was Lauren's first night in her "big girl" bed. It was so cute. She did, however, want to spend a little time in the crib before settling in. I think she just wanted to jump. She also kept trying to get out of bed for a while and that got old....fast. She finally went down for the night and I snapped a few pictures. I just can't believe how fast she is growing up! A quick thanks to Ashley and Josh for giving us the bed!!!! It's perfect!

Released

Sunday I was released from my calling as ward Young Women's President. It was definitely a bittersweet thing for me. I was so nervous about trying to keep up with everything along with another baby, although I was put in just a few months before I had Lauren and everything worked out well. I will miss those girls terribly though. I also had the best presidency a girl could ask for and I am sad to lose that association with them. It was funny, I was teaching the lesson that day and it just happened to be about dealing with change. I think I needed it as much if not more than the girls did! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in that calling and for the wonderful people I worked with. I'm also grateful for the chance I had to get to know those amazing young women. I think about when I was called and how nervous I was to work with them. I was so worried over absolutely nothing. They are great girls and I'm going to miss seeing them so often.

What a week!

Wow! What a week this has been. I can't believe how unbelievably fast time is flying...even with my swollen feet and big ole belly.

Last Thursday some amazing friends of mine threw me a baby shower. It was sooo much fun, and I feel quite a bit more prepared for this little one to join us. I got lots of cute outfits and blankets and LOOK at all those diapers! I think we're set for at least little while. Thank you so much Ashley, Kreanna, Denise, and everyone else who helped! Leslie also made an adorable cake but I didn't get a picture of it myself.
(Aren't these scrapbook pages adorable! LOVE having a head start on those! Thanks Kre!)

Who doesn't love a giveaway?!!

TipJunkie is hosting a mom-preneur Shop-A-Thon Giveaway!!! She is giving away 2 items every day for 12 days. Go check it out and maybe we can win something! I've been meaning to post this for a few days now so I could enter, all these giveaways are too fun! Good luck!

Ewwwww!

So...um...yeah....guess where I caught Lauren dunking MY toothbrush while I was in the shower? Guess I'll be buying a new one this morning! I guess I should be grateful I saw it and didn't use it???!!!

One month to go...although I'm HOPING for less!

See that little widget over there?!!! It says I have 30 days! I seriously can't believe it. However, with as tired as I have been the last couple of weeks, I have a feeling this month is going to DRAG on forever! I really can't complain too much...the heartburn has subsided for the most part, and when I sleep, I generally sleep pretty well. I just have NO energy...not one ounce. The house is a mess and I begged Todd to help me with dinner tonight because I knew I just didn't have it in me to do it by myself. Sad, very sad. It doesn't help that I'm coming down with a cold, and Todd's getting over what we're pretty sure is the flu. I'm SOOOOO glad I had my flu shot and am praying that I don't get what he had. It didn't look like much fun. We're hoping he will feel well tomorrow and be able to go back to work.

Our open house went very well on Saturday and a big THANK YOU to all of those who were able to attend. We had a great time doing it and yet we're SO glad it's over...time for a break!

Nothing really exciting going on around here lately. Just trying to keep up with the kids and the house AND stay sane! Hopefully I'll have some energy this week to start getting ready for this baby!

Kre-A-Shans

I've been a little busy lately...and here's why. My friend Kreanna and I have teamed up to share our love of scrapbooking/papercrafting with others and created a business called Kre-A-Shans. We've been working on several projects and are excited to tell you about a Holiday Open House at the Best Western here in town tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be several other businesses there including At Home America, Mary Kay, Cookie Lee, Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Avon, Tupperware, and Stampin' Up! So much holiday shopping in one stop! We hope you'll be able to join us....there will be door prize drawings every half hour, plus enter for chance at a grand prize basket worth about $300 filled with goodies from each business!


Here's a sampling of what Kreanna and I have been working on:

Christmas planners...


Coaster calendar kits...

Advent Calendar kits...

Tooth Fairy boxes...(these also have a really cute poem on the back)
If you can't make it, but see something you might be interested in...let me know!

Happy Birthday Dad/Papa!

So sorry we're a day late but we wanted to wish Todd's dad a Happy Birthday!!! I decided to ask Garrett what his favorite things about "Papa" were, here are his responses:

I LIKE Papa.
I like when he plays with me.
I like to help him fix the car.
I like to sing with him.
I LIKE his magic throat spray! (This is Kool-Aid in a spray bottle for those who don't know) :)
I like to go to his house.
I want him to go draw with me and go fishing with me.
I like to give him hugs.

I thought that was pretty dang cute. :)
We are so grateful to have you in our lives and hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday!
Love, Todd, Shana, Garrett, and Lauren

Our hunter and his bear

In my effort to stay caught up I'm finally getting around to posting about Halloween :) It was a CRAZY day, but the kids had a lot of fun. We decided to go trick or treating at all the businesses downtown before heading to the Trunk or Treat and carnival at the church. It was fun to see tons of people we knew, and to visit a few businesses I generally don't have the ambition to take my kids into. Then we rushed home to grab some pizza (eaten in the car on the way) and headed to the church. I had to get there a little early since the young women were in charge of a couple of carnival booths. Garrett got SO much candy, and Lauren looked in awe as everyone kept adding candy to her bucket. It was pretty cute. At the carnival they had a blast at the fishing pond, pumpkin bowling, and Lauren's personal favorite was the apple on a string booth. She ATTACKED that apple, I seriously wish I had that on tape. SO funny! She never did get a bite in while the apple was hanging on the string, but she had fun watching the other kids and trying. We came home and let them raid their stash for a bit before popping in a movie for them to watch and then finally off to bed. I was exhausted, and really felt it the next day too. Lauren and I took a LONG nap on Saturday while Todd and Garrett cleaned the garage and made a workout area in there. Then I got up and finally canned another batch of pie filling (only 7 quarts this time). It was my first time doing ANY canning by myself (OK, Todd helped with the apple peeler/corer/slicer part) and I was soooo nervous waiting for those things to seal...I even called my mom to ask her if she thought I processed them long enough. I had to leave so I couldn't check on them until later and was really anxious to see. They ALL sealed though, I'm so excited to finally have accomplished that task all by myself. I never thought I'd say this....but I'm so grateful to my mom for teaching me this skill. From the time I was very little I remember going out to the orchards for apples, pears, or peaches and then having the very daunting chore of helping can them all. I'm sure I complained every year too. I bet my mom's just waiting for the moment when she gets to hear my kids complain to me about having to help can...what goes around comes around, right?!

Lauren and baby Roger downtown...

Garrett with his stash. LOVING those ears :)
Do you see all that candy on the floor around her?! She was just taste testing everything.
Cheesin' it up!

Even the baby dressed up this year :) Don't mind the stain on my shirt...apparently I have forgotten how to drink out of a cup!

Happy Birthday Mom!

(I love this picture of Lauren and my mom!)

My mother had the the joy of being born on Halloween! So my fear is that she tends to get overlooked because we all get so busy with our kids and all the Halloween happenings. We are taking her out to dinner on Monday though. I can't wait to see everyone. I want to take a minute and thank her for all she does.

***She's always there when we need her.
***She puts up with phone calls from my kids at any given time of day because they want to "talk" on the phone, then they don't say much at all, if anything.
***She goes up and down our stairs every time Garrett wants to show her something in his room, which isn't easy for her to do (no matter how many times I tell her not to worry about it).
***She will do anything for her children and grandchildren....or anyone!
***She's had a very rough life, and yet she plows ahead and makes the best of what she's been dealt with. I am now older than she was when she had her car accident, and when I think of trying to do what she has done for the last 20+ years, it's overwhelming.
***She attends the temple almost weekly and spends the whole day there. Not to mention the time she spends at the Family History Center or working on stuff for her calling as Stake Relief Society Secretary.
***She is one of most selfless people I know, as you can see by everything else I've just said.

The list could go on and on...we love you Mom, hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday!

Why is it...

that I just keep putting off posting until I have a million things to catch up on and can't remember half of what I've been wanting to say? Maybe someday I'll get better about just keeping up with it all. WARNING: THIS POST IS VERY VERY LONG!

Let's see....a couple of weeks ago we got a call that Todd's grandpa had passed away. We felt really bad because we hadn't seen him in over three years. We were able to witness the burial (he had requested no services) and spend a little time with some of Todd's family so it was nice to be able to see all of them. Afterward, we didn't want to head straight home so early in the day so we took the kids to Cabela's...

Needless to say they had a good time! Now Garrett's decided he's going to be a hunter for Halloween...easy enough for me!

Last Friday my mom came over and this is what we did:

53 quarts of apple pie filling! It took ALL day, but I know we'll be loving it this winter. It wasn't just for my little family, Mom took most of them, because she uses it a LOT more than I do.

Also last Friday, Todd's sister Chelsea had a baby boy! He is such a little cutie and Garrett and Lauren couldn't wait to meet him (Aunt Shana was a little antsy too :) We finally got to see him yesterday and I was able to get a pic of Garrett holding the little man. I keep saying it's a good thing I'm pregnant, because these newborns make me baby hungry!

Yesterday a friend of mine had a Halloween party at her house. Actually, a CARNIVAL is more like it. The kids had a blast in her decked out back yard. She had TONS of cute games for them to play and each one had prizes and/or candy. Plus, we had LOTS of yummy food for our potluck.

This morning, I got ambitious. My friend Kreanna has been doing so many cute little hairdo's on her little girl and I finally decided I'd try doing something other than Lauren's regular pigtails today. Doesn't she look SO enthused!

It's not perfect, but I thought it wasn't too bad for our first try at something different!