New Best Friend

Seriously the best $12 ever spent! This little gem bought me 20 minutes of Ella not screaming and sleeping without being held. And yes I did spend that 20 minutes checking my email and blogging because I was about to lose my mind and the thought of cleaning house right now makes me want to cry!
She did manage to muster up this little smile yesterday while looking at her mobile in her crib.

Mother's Day

The two reasons I love being a Mom:


We were in Idaho for Mother's Day so I missed blogging about it but wanted to be sure to tell our Mommies Happy Mother's Day. We are blessed with two amazing Mothers and we are so thankful for all they do for us!

We spent the day in Pocatello at my grandma's house having a BBQ. Jack enjoyed swinging on the horse walker (thanks Shawnae for walking in circles with him!) and he absolutely loved playing in the boat. I'm thinking about investing in one for the backyard because it kept him busy for hours! Okay i'm posting tons of pics because it takes too long to write about what went on with one hand!! Thanks Ella!

Photo Shoot

Today my sister and her kids came over to have me take their pictures so I thought we would join in on the fun too. Well I wouldn't quite call it fun trying to photograph our hurricane Jack but we did end up with a couple decent ones!

This first one is a prime example of what I am talking about when I say it's not easy to get a good picture!





Jack absolutely refuses to hold his little sister. No amount of bribing was going to make him hold her for even a mere second so we could snap a picture. I guess I am going to have to just settle for single pictures of them hanging on the wall instead of them together!

New Hat

AKA Ella's Mini Skirt!


Seriously there is NEVER a dull moment when this kid is around! And yes, he did come up with this one all on his own!

In the Doghouse

Perhaps this is why Jack and Rylee were filthy after their playdate yesterday?




They are actually trying to hug although it kind of looks like they are having a fist fight!


Lynly, you may never ask me to babysit again after seeing these but they literally spent a good hour playing in the dog kennel. And no I didn't lock them in there although it sure was tempting!

Farm Fun

4 kids under 2 terrorizing the farm + 2 very pregnant women chasing them + 1 sleep deprived cranky Mom = A fun filled day in the sun with the kids!

Today was my first playdate outing as a mother of 2 kids! Things went pretty good but once Mistie and Lynly have their babies we are in trouble. No more playdates will be possible unless we tie all the rugrats together!



Don't be confused by this innocent picture, this isn't how she enjoyed her trip to the farm. She wanted to be held the whole time until we were ready to leave and then she decided to take her 2 hour nap which she is still enjoying!
No matter how much Mistie and I jumped up and down and yelled "cheese" neither one of them was cracking a smile. Sorry we missed Rylee in all of our pictures but I can't imagine trying to get all 3 of them to sit still!

Dinner with Duane

Nothing healthier for dinner than half a container of cool whip! Thanks Duane!

EATING MY WORDS

So today I eat my words. Life with two children under 2 is rough - enjoy your last few days of life Mistie and Lynly because you are soon going down with me! All I can say is thank goodness it's Friday!
Don't be fooled by their sweet and innocent faces, there are little terrors inside both of them!

3 Weeks Old??

Where has the time gone? I can't believe that she is already more than three weeks old.

Even though these last few weeks have been crazy and very busy we have survived and I think I can actually say that it has been easier than I expected. We are learning how to handle life with 2 little ones but we are surviving and it does get easier every day!

Since this is the only journal I keep I just want to write really quick about Ella's birthday so I don't forget any of the details.

I was scheduled for induction on March 23rd at 7am. Ryan and I left Jack home sleeping with Grandma Rosie and Ryan insisted we swing by McDonalds on the way to the hospital. They had told me I could eat breakfast before I came to the hospital but I was so nervous I only managed to eat half a nutri-grain bar. I would later come to regret not stuffing my face because after 12 hours of labor and therefore 12 hours of no food- I was starving! We arrived at the hospital and after getting all settled in we were started on the pitocin around 8am. Around 11am the doctor came and broke my water which promptly had me asking if I could have my epidural already. I am all for not feeling any pain during labor. After suffering through the epidural process and the first needle not going in right I finally was feeling great and ready for Ella to arrive. Unfortunately she wasn't ready to come out yet. I was making hardly any progress even though the pitocin was turned up full blast and I started getting really upset because I just knew I was going to end up having a c-section. Around 6pm the nurse that had been with us all day checked me again before she left and I was still only dialated to a 6. When the tears started coming out of my eyes she promptly replied "okay maybe a 6 plus." I said "you are only saying that to make me feel better" which she chuckled in agreement. I insisted that my Mom and Ryan go get something to eat because I was upset and wanted to wallow in my own misery but they declined and stayed with me to cheer me up. Around 6:45 my Mom was preparing to watch her favorite show Dancing with the Stars and she jokingly said that I couldn't have the baby while it was on. I said don't worry we are going to be here much longer than that but as I was saying that I started to feel something funny. I mentioned it and Ry told me to call the nurse but I figured it was probably nothing. Pretty soon I was feeling it again and I was just about to call the nurse when she came through the door. She said that they had saw the baby's heartbeat dropping on the monitor and that usually happens when they are ready to be born. She checked me again and stated "you're complete." What???? Are you serious??? She started pulling the room apart to get ready to have the baby and I am thinking inside "girl, you've got a couple more hours to prepare before this thing is making its way out." I had to push more than 2 hours with Jack so to my complete shock after my first push my Mom starts gushing about how cute she is. So to my surprise she was born at 7:12 after just a few minutes of pushing and my Mom only missed a few minutes of her show! The best news of all though was that I managed to have her in time to still catch dinner being served. I then enjoyed the best tasting mystery meat that I have ever had. Still don't know what I ate and any other day I would have never even considered tasting it but at that moment it was delicious!

The night before we went to the hospital.Terrible picture but I love Ryan's look of disgust on his face. At least he didn't pass out!
There's nothing like the first time you see the little alien that has been growing inside you for nine months! It really is amazing to finally see the face of the little person you have been growing!