George McFly

Can we say George McFly?
He learned how to smile this week, so of course we had to take some photos.

New Sedative...

It works wonders...

I don't know if you all remember watching 'The Wild Kingdom'....

Samantha's choice of movie's from the library this week was a hit.

The girls (and their cousins) watched four different sections about the African wild.

Nothing will induce slumber like watching the great cats feasting on their prey.

Seems like this was something we watched after taking a bath on Saturday night??

Help me if I'm way off.

I was grateful for it this afternoon when all three girls passed out at the same time.

Too bad George wasn't in the mood to join them so that I could too =)

Maybe they do have a bit of Ball blood in them????

3 weeks with George

Lizzy loves her new little brother...
and we are finally starting to get it....
for today at least.
We'll see what tomorrow (or 10 minutes) brings...

Since photos @ 1025...Lizzy pooped and peed in her potty, while I was nursing. And we got her cleaned up and re-diapered, while still nursing. Then while getting earned potty treat, George hurled likely all milk that was just taken. Anything else more fulfilling??

George @ 2 weeks

Six days old

George Carter

Okay so we have had some time to breathe.
Here are the details:
October 26th, 2009
9:41 am
8lbs. 9 oz.
20 1/4 inches long.

Mom and son did great, labored for about an hour before he poked his head into this world.

Everybody is home now and doing great. Sisters are delighted to have a brother!

He is here!

Baby #4 @ 36 weeks

It has officially hit me that soon our family will grow and I will have another little soul to love...as if we don't already.

This poor child is going to be spoiled rotten. No question. Girl or Boy. These three girls are beyond excited to have their new little one arrive. Tonight Rachel and Lizzy prayed that baby will get here safely.

I wanted to get photos of Lizzy's most frequent position when I am around. She seems to think that my parasite protrusion was made simply for her own convenience. As soon as I pick her up, her legs surround my belly and she holds on tight. It would seem I have the need to have babies when my little ones are this size for a reason....this is right where a 2 year belongs. It is a perfect fit.

SEATTLE

Amazing.

I just now took the time to really read the posts that Mike made in the past week or so...and was struck with just how blessed I am to have him. Not to mention that the care and comfort he gives me is most often very much NOT deserved. He is amazing. Not perfect. But pretty dang close. He just finished his 4 day lonely stint, and I'm just starting mine...I'm sure the house looked way better this morning than it will when he gets home Wednesday night. =)

The Artist

So today was like most other days, Sam was drawing in a notebook instead of unloading the dishwasher like I had asked her to do. It started out innocently but it got bad, real bad. She said she was drawing a pirate for Rachel, I said that was fine and that she could still draw the picture for Rachel after the dishwasher was empty. So instead of doing the dishwasher right away or finishing the pirate she drew two more pictures for me and handed them to me. I was impressed, although I do not think I have a uni-brow nor could I get my eyebrows that crossed. I am very proud that instead of throwing a fit she just drew out her emotions then did what was asked of her.

A weekend in Pasco

So last weekend we (the girls and I) went to Pasco WA, to hang out with cousins while Ann 2 sisters and mom went to Seattle for "Wicked".

It was a fun weekend for us, I mean what do two dads do when they have 7 kids to watch (oldest being 6 and youngest being 10 months).

Well we take them golfing, because a driving range is the perfect place to go if you don't want chaos with that many kids. We watched movies, played outside and Lizzy had fun taking a bath like baby cousin Liza.

Princesses

If Snow White would have taken more time with the apple before taking a bite, would things have turned out differently?








What every dad needs!

Rachels first day of Preschool 2009

Our sweet Rachel headed off to Preschool with a smile and a skip this year.

Due to when her birthday falls in the year she was too young to move on to kindergarten. She learned a lot last year at preschool and was excited to go back this year.

The first day of 1st grade

Samantha had a great first day. When I picked her up the first thing she said was " Guess what, we have three recesses!" She was excited.

Here is a snap shot of some of the fun the girls had one day this summer.
The catch-up begins.

On the first day of first grade.....

We'll find out what tomorrow brings. Samantha starts school tomorrow....crazy how time flies. We have had a busy summer filled with many miles logged on the ol' mini-van. Not to mention the rear-ends in said van. Couple dad hosted tours and one mom only trip. All in all, another great summer. Someday I will play catch-up like so many others, but for tonight....all is well that ends well. Three asleep and one in the oven (womb...not Whirlpool). Not bad if it weren't for all the chores that have been put off to have one more night of fun. Nothing like swimming in a hotel pool and continental breakfast for excitement--guess actual cartoons (not on DVD/VHS) was the other highlight. Gotta love kids. Especially your own.

Baby #4

When I last posted I didn't expect it to be a month before I made it back....but here we are.

Our move went very well, thanks to the help of many friends in both packing and moving. We are still trying to find a home for everything, and have rotated other things around a couple times. My favorite thing about moving is trying to keep up with the laundry and dishes and still get a few things put away, not to mention the ever present projects.

Our trip to Vegas was great. I'm glad I was delirious for the eleven hour drive down... made much nicer minus the kids (Thanks Grandpa & Grandma Zeke!). It was very tiring working on the house while trying to catch up with as many people as possible (priorities =)). We are so grateful to have everything work out. The house was in good shape and we were able to have renters presented to us, there was no finding involved (Thanks Jen). The kids had a great time at Grandpa & Grandma Ball's house--Kadee survived it as well (thanks to many hours a day on the trampoline). And we were able to have a great visit with Aunt Dinah and more Grandparents for her shower (BABY BOY COUSIN!!). We are just a touch excited for them...

I guess I'll get to the point. #4 is growing (fast) and very healthy. No defects were visible on ultrasound. And I was able to stick to my decision (and keep Mike from peeking) not to find out what this little one's sex is... for now. It was so cute that it was very hard. (have I ever mentioned how I hate calling babies 'it')

We have a very healthy baby that appears to have Rachel's nose. As soon as the tech saw the profile, she pointed to Rachel and said "It looks like this baby has your nose." She smiled pretty big at that one.


The girls were all clamoring to sit on the bed with me so that they could be closer to the monitor. The tech made it very clear that she didn't want any noise--they can stay as long as they are quiet. All because Lizzy had just squashed two fingers between chairs in the waiting room and was still crying a bit. The tech warmed up (just a touch) and offered to take some (more) 3D pictures earlier than scheduled when she found out that I work at the hospital....guess there are some perks.

All in all--we have much to be grateful for and much to look forward to. Most of all--the many people in our life, big and small.

Change

What is it that makes things happen in threes?

Three recent happenings that could greatly impact our lives:

One: our renters in Vegas have found a home of their own.
Two: our friend/slum-lord has gotten a job closer to his home, hence we need to move to a new home.
Three: baby #4 is en route.

It's not that these things are really all that difficult to figure out how to manage, just ironic that all were discovered in the same week. Baby on Monday, moving on Saturday, and finding new renters on Sunday--love how Heavenly Father keeps life interesting. Not to mention juggling all of the already in place responsibilities while re-adjusting.

All is well. We have a place to rent. The baby is so far doing well (photos in one month). I've been able to monkey my schedule to accompany Mike to Vegas to visit/fix/fill our home there. All is well where current chaos dwells. We are just grateful to have the guidance and peace that comes with the Spirit.

This too we will learn from.....

Elizabeths Haircut

Samanthas haircut