Morning at the lake

Bri & I took the kiddos to the lake near our house this past Saturday.

It's nice because it's a smaller lake with no public beach - therefore it doesn't get insanely crowded - AND a huge plus, it's seriously just a 15 minute drive from our house. And typically nothing is just a 15 minute drive from our house. The downside of living in the boonies.

But anyway, there's a resort with a nice private beach and for a small fee you get access to their beach, picnic tables, bbq's, showers, etc.

The kids had a great time playing in the sand and Little Man loved jumping off the dock - that kid has seriously never had any fear. He will look like he's drowning sometimes but still have a huge smile on his face.

It was a really nice, relaxing morning. I packed a lunch and laid on the blanket with Peanut and watched Brian and the 2 rugrats play.

Like an idiot I accidentally left my camera at home, but took the above pics with my camera phone. Sorry about the quality.

Side note, look at Brian with his shirt off. Yum Yum.

Do you want to see it again?



Mmmmm.....

The Four Rugrats

I took all 4 of the kiddos for pictures last Wednesday on Peanut's 3 week birthday.

It was "slightly" chaotic. The pictures were done and over with fairly quickly but then for whatever reason it took them an additional hour and half to get my order taken.

THAT was fun. Right.

Baby Sis terrorized the 2 other children there with their parents, throwing blocks and screaming. And a little girl waiting with her parents pointed to Little Man and said to her mom "I'm afraid that bad boy is going to get me".

*sigh*

Let's just say my kids are not mellow.

This little angel sure is fun. By fun I mean cute & easy. She likes to imitate Popeye when she's not sleeping, eating or pooping. She's perfected the one-eyed scowl of his. We are absolutely in love with her.

I will post more pics off of my own camera as soon as I feel like uploading them.





Here are the rest of the rugrats looking charming and pleasant...

My new sweet pea, an ER experience, a birthday party, and a wedding...

My newest little peanut was born on Wed. June 24th at 1:17am (10 days overdue). She weighed 9lbs, 5oz.

I went into labor naturally, but had I not, they were going to induce me the next morning.

She is a beautiful, sweet little babe, and the whole family adores her. She looks a lot like Baby Sis did when she was an infant, but fairer as far as I can tell right now.

The labor went really quickly. By 9pm on Tues night I was suspicious that I might be in early labor. By 10pm I KNEW I was in labor. We got to the hospital at 10:45 and when I was checked and admitted at 11pm I was only dilated to a 4, but I had her just over 2 hours later. The labor went so quickly that the epidural couldn't keep up on the pain. It actually was a very easy delivery for me other than some brief intense pain... But it was all worth it.

Take a look.....
She wasn't too thrilled about coming out of her comfy hiding place...



Her brother and sisters adore her.....





We all adore her...





The Gardner boys adore their newest girl...




Getting ready to go home...



But before we left she had lots of family come to visit her...





I felt great after having her, like I said, it was a very easy birth.

Unfortunately, however, I got very, very sick a few days after coming home from the hospital and spent 6 hours in the Emergency Room a few nights ago. They determined that I had Endometritis, which is an infection of the uterus. The doctor told me that back in the old days before antibiotics came along, that is what would kill one in three new mothers. I am feeling much better now thanks to some heavy duty antibiotics and pain killers. I actually feel a sort of a connection now with those poor women who had to die a horribly painful death and leave their children motherless so many years ago. I can't even imagine.

On a lighter note, Little Man turned 4 on Sunday. (Which means he and Peanut's birthdays are only 4 days apart!) We had his birthday party at a local pizza parlor/play area. I thought he might literally burst from excitement.
I was still in a decent amount of pain so my lovely mother, sister in laws, and cousins handled most of the party affairs for me. Thank you!!




Now going back in time about a little over a week - a few days before Peanut was born we all went to the wedding of someone who coaches football with Brian. It was a beautiful event and we all had a great time.

Babies on the Brain

Ok - I don't want to dwell on the fact that I am still pregnant (4 days overdue now....) but I AM dwelling on babies!

I have babies on the brain. Actually - to clarify - I have MY babies on the brain.

As the end of my pregnancy draws near (it is drawing near, right?!!?) I am becoming a bit more emotional. A bit more sentimental.

Little Man turns 4 in 10 days. Didn't I just give birth to this child? I came across these pics of him the other day, taken when he was about 6 months old.


They are still some of my favorite pictures taken of him. My wonderfully talented friend Latona took these at her house. I still remember the day. I remember how in love I was with my first born. My only son.



Wasn't he beautiful? These pictures almost make me cry. I was in love with him instantaneously. I thought he was the most beautiful child I'd ever seen.

And then there's my first daughter.....


I was so scared to have a girl...

I was a boy mom. I didn't know how to be a girl mom, for Heaven's sake. I was a tomboy growing up. I have brothers. I always felt more comfortable with boys and never really understood girl games, and girl intricacies. I was scared to death.

But - she stole my heart. I love this little girl.



I love her in such a different way than I love my son. She makes me laugh. I adore her huge brown eyes and endless eyelashes. I love her funny little personality. I love how much she loves me - is that weird?

Why didn't I enjoy those crazy times more? Those insanely crazy times that come with having 2 kids under 2-years old...... I don't ever want to take those (these) moments for granted again. I'm already far too aware of how fast it's going.

They're not going to stay babies forever. But they'll always be my babies.

I love thinking about what my next little girl might be like, look like. Will she look like Little Man, Baby Sis, neither, both?