Happy 6th Birthday Coach

Somebody in the house turned a year older. Coach is not one to let us forget about his birthday. I am pretty sure he talked about his birthday all year, especially when he started school and he saw that you celebrate your birthday at school as well.

 Coach with all his loot.

 Coaches Despicable Me cake. You ask for it and dad can create it. The cake turned out so cute!

 Lego's make the best presents. Thank you Grandma Honnie and all the grandparents for all the great gifts!

We had a family party and then a friend party where Coach invited two friends from the ward to go to Chuck E Cheeses with. Good times were had by all.

Dad took Coach on his special father son date to Universal Studio. They walked around the park, but Coach wasn't into it he needed Ash to be there with him. All he could talk about is how Ash would be jealous and that he needed to buy something from a store to make Ash even more jealous. Obviously  Ash and Coach spend a lot of time together and we need to separate them a little more so they can create their own identities.

Six things I love about Coach.

1. Coach is a creative soul. He is always asking if we can do a craft. I need to get better at providing him material so he can.

2. Coach LOVES to dance. Turn on music and his body just starts to move. He has some real good moves too. I really need to sign him up for some dance classes.

3. Coach is my cuddler. If Nate or I sit on the couch Coach is instantly on our lap. He also asks for us to cuddle with him at night when he goes to bed. I need to take this opportunity more often.

4. Coach is an awesome playmate. He plays well with his brothers (most of the time). I do have to say he plays better with Ash than B, but we are working on this. He also loves Mr. X a lot. Of all my boys he plays with the baby the most.

5. Coach is a good student. He loves learning, he loves his teacher Ms. Mealey and his classmates. He is always telling me about what Ms. Mealey has taught and what him and his friends did that day.

6. Coach is my best sleeper. When he goes to bed he falls asleep almost instantly. He seems to need sleep more than his brothers. He may go to sleep earlier than the others but he is my earliest riser. He is usually the first one up at 6:30 and pulls the rest of us out of bed. His favorite way to get dad out of bed is to wrestle him.

Glama Tuzie Visit

Because our plans changed and we were no longer heading out to Utah to have Lex we had the pleasure of Glama Tuzie coming to us.

Glama Tuzie visit means.....

Field trips into LA

Mommy and daughter time

 Sugar cookie making while wearing St. Patrick's mustaches

 No one was exempt from wearing a stache

 And I mean no one!

 Lots of snuggle time

 and reading time.

Along with all the fun we had Glama Tuzie took care of the cleaning, the laundry, the dishes, homework, and making dinner. We were so spoiled to have our glama with us.

Thank you and we love you Glama! Come again SOON! Next time bring Bampa with you.

On the day you were born

On my 35 week visit to the midwives they noticed that I was itching my body quit a lot. The midwife at that point asked me if I always itched. Baffled I looked at her and said yes I do, I have Cholestasis of pregnancy, it is in my charts. The midwife was shocked as if this is the first she heard of me having it. Too be fair I never saw the same midwife twice so it was the first she heard, but if she would have read my charts she would have seen I had it. To make a long story short the midwife freaked out sent me in for blood work and non-stress tests and scheduled me for delivery at 37 weeks. This meant my plans for delivering in Utah had to be cancelled and we had to arrange for Glama Tuzie to come out to be with the boys.

March 4 was eviction day, but I didn't actually deliver until March 5 as my labor was 16 hours long. By far my longest labor. The midwife and my delivery nurse gave me pitocin to induce labor and every hour or so they would increase my pitocin levels. I told the midwife several times that I usually deliver within 3 hours of my water being popped. She didn't want to risk it as breaking waters may cause infection if the labor is too long. Finally after 13 hrs of labor and my body not really progressing my dear sweet nurse convinced the midwife to pop my water. The midwife obliged and baby Lex arrived three hours later. His labor may have been my longest, but his delivery and my recovery was my best.

The second my baby was born he/she was handed over to Nate who pried open the babies legs to see if we were adding another boy to our brood or a lone female. A BOY! So we became a family of 4 boys. I was thrilled so was Nate!

After gender was determined I was able to hold my baby and nobody took him away from me for at least an hour or two. The first bath was given right in my room, so I actually got to see it. It was the first bath of my baby that I actually got to see.

I fell in love with my sweet Lex at first sight. I am one lucky mom to be blessed with 4 boys!

Nate and I have both always liked the name Alexander with the nickname of Lex, so that is where his first name came from. Joseph is after my grandpa, my great grandpa, and my great, great grandpa.

Me at 37 weeks 16 hours before delivery

First cuddles with my little guy

Saying hi to dad

7lbs 15oz not bad for being 3 weeks early

First bath

Meeting Glama Tuzie

Meeting big brothers

More snuggles with dad

Mom and her 4 boys

What?! It has been a year already.

Goodbye Utah!

I can't believe it has been a year since we moved from Utah to California. This year has gone by very fast but very slow at the same time, with a lot of ups and some downs. We are happy here in California, but we do miss having our family close by.

Ash is in the first grade, he loves his teacher Mr. Barnes and is doing really well. Coach is in kindergarten, he adores his teacher Mrs. Mealley and is doing really well too. With the boys in school B and I spend our days together at home. I love this one on one time with my little guy.

Life is good!

31 fabulous weeks!

That is right I am into the single digits of this pregnancy. Let the countdown begin.

I haven't ever written this down before and have regretted it. My Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) kicked in around 31 weeks this pregnancy. The itching isn't horrible quit yet, thank heavens. I am hoping with a the combinations of strict diet of no fats and sugars,  keeping my body (i.e. blood cool) and working out everyday I can keep my itching bearable. I also hope I don't break out in hives like I did with Lil' B. Now that was terrible because the hives lasted a few weeks after the pregnancy when the ICP leaves as soon as the baby is born.

The plan at this point is to drive to Utah to deliver this baby. I love my OBGYN. He knows me and my deliveries and it is so hard to trust anyone else. It is also easier to have the baby in Utah as we can get more help from family. Finally, our insurance works in Utah just as well as it does in California so why the heck not.

This baby couldn't have it's due date at a better time as the boys go on a two week school break starting March 14. The plan is to drive to Utah on the 14, visit my doctor on Monday, March 18, and hopefully the doctor decides to induce labor either the 19 or 20th. A girl can plan and dream how she wants her delivery to go, but we all know the baby comes when it is ready. I just hope this little one is on board with our plan. BTW the baby is due March 24 and we are waiting to find out the gender.

I am still riding my bike to the boys school at least twice a week and love the exercise. The bike riding isn't hard on my body at all. I am also doing some Zumba, weight lifting, and yoga during the week. I learned with Coaches pregnancy and delivery that exercising during pregnancy makes me feel awesome and the delivery goes so much more smoother.

Little B and his "car"

B got this very cool "car" from Glama Tuzie and Grandpa Jim. He absolutely loves his "car" he races around the house all day on it. When it is nap time or bed time and we have to go upstairs he begs us to bring it up with him. Best of all he can take his "car" outside and ride around with his brothers. The only thing missing is saddle bags that could carry all of B's favorite toys of the day. I might have to commission cousin Abi to come up with something that will work to carry a few toys in.

Long Beach Aquarium

Dad had a business trip in Long Beach last week and since the boys were not back in school yet we decided to tag along.

We spent one day exploring the Long Beach Aquarium which was really cool. Ash was excited that his family finally got to see the aquarium so he acted as tour guide. He went last year for his field trip.

The boys got to touch many different sea creatures including: sea anemone, jelly fish, star fish, sea cucumbers, stingrays, and the most exciting of all SHARKS! The older boys could have spent the day petting the sharks. Another fun thing they got to do was feed some beautiful birds of paradise. Ash and Coach loved holding the birds. Poor little B couldn't get a bird to land on him. The birds must know that little people can be dangerous.

Mom's favorites include: spending the day with her boys watching them explore and learn. I also loved the sea lions, seals, and sea otters. I did pet all the sea creatures, but I wasn't a big fan.

The next day dad finished work early and we headed out to Disneyland. It was a cold day so we virtually had the park to ourselves. Lol when I say to ourselves we only had 10 to 20 minute waits in line vs. 30 to 40 minute waits. I think it was one of the best days spent at Disneyland. Everyone got to ride the rides they wanted to.

 

Ash on his favorite ride California Screaming. Ash loves this ride so much he doesn't even mind that he has to ride it alone. He is such a big brave boy.

Poor Ash has to ride lots of rides alone as he is the only one who is 7 and can. Although sometimes this works to his advantage because we can shove him in the single rider line where the wait is very minimal.

 Ka-cho!

 Lil' B is finally big enough to ride the bumper cars. He was so excited!

Look who we ran into!