Soccer Girl

At the beginning of February a flyer came home about spring soccer starting soon.  Carson was just finishing up Basketball and getting ready to start his robotics club.  Alaina was feeling a bit left out that she didn't have an activity for her to do.  She announced that she wanted to try soccer.  Tony and I were a bit hesitant at first because Alaina can be a bit dramatic and we were concerned about the rough and tumble aspect of sports.  But Alaina was adamant, so we agreed.  To our pleasant surprise Alaina showed a natural talent.  By the end of the season she was the only girl on her team to have scored any goals.  She really liked playing and I think that with some real coaching and some practice she could be a great soccer player.  

Lincoln's Birth

So men have their "war stories" and women have their "birth stories".  I guess for both men and women these are the times that make the biggest impression on our lives.  I think its because we are pushed to our limits, going through something extremely difficult and come out on the other side with something to show for it.  In my case, a sweet little baby.

My official due date was Friday, February 27th.  All of my other babies had been early, and as with every women who is 9 months pregnant, I was hoping this baby would be too.  I had my membranes scrapped on Friday the 20th to put me into labor.  After all that's all it took with Alaina and Charlie.  I had contractions off and on all weekend.  But nothing consistent or very hard.  Monday I saw my midwife again.  She suggested an induction.  If we had been under different circumstances I probably wouldn't have considered induction.  But such as it was we headed to the hospital Monday evening to have a baby.

I wanted to try and avoid Pitocin if I could, so they started me off with a medication put in my cervix.  It worked...as long as I didn't sit or lay down.  Come 11:00 p.m. I was exhausted.  Tony suggested I lay down and get some sleep.  So I slept as much as I could in between vital checks, sparatic contractions and super comfy hospital bed (please note my sarcasm).  By 7:00 a.m. there hadn't been any change since the night before.  4 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  So by 8:00 a.m. they started me on Pitocin.  Now the contractions were starting to be consistent and a bit stronger.  At 9:00 a.m. my midwife broke my water.  At this point Tony and I warned her that once my water goes the baby comes fast.  And so he did.  I was fully dilated, effaced, and ready to push within 30 minutes.  Lincoln was born at 9:37 a.m.

So I'd say that in reality I was in and out of labor the entire weekend, but once I was in established full blown labor it was only 2 1/2 hours.  I've managed to have all my babies without pain medication.  The hospital staff seem to think of me as some super women.  I wouldn't think of myself as one.  I honestly felt like i didn't need it and I don't feel any ill will to any women who chooses to use pain medication.

We named our baby Lincoln Anthony Foster.  Lincoln was 8 lbs and 1 oz and 20 inches long.  About the same size as Carson and Alaina.  I was thrilled to not have another Charlie size baby.  Lincoln had a bit of a low blood sugar when he was born, but it continued to rise after each nursing and by afternoon he was fine.

Lincoln is a really good baby and is a great nurser.  He rarely spits up which is a nice change.  He likes his binkie, and he loves to be cuddled.  Which is good because there are plenty of family members happy to cuddle and love on him.  We are all still adjusting to having a baby in the house again.  Last week was especially hard on Charlie and Alaina, but this week seems to be better now that we are getting into a routine again.  I'm trying to get used to being constantly sleep deprived.  Naps are hard to come by when you've got four kids and a home to take care of.  So I try to go to bed early and keep Lincoln in bed with Tony and I so I don't have to get up so much in the middle of the night.  I'm thoroughly enjoying food again and am feeling more like myself each day.

So all in all Lincoln arrival went well and we are all excited he's finally here!        

Tony and Lincoln shortly after his birth.

8 lbs 1 oz

Sweet baby feet

Warming up under the heater.

I know all my babies look alike.  That's ok though.  That way we all know who they belong to.

Charlie loves Lincoln and refers to him as "My baby".

Carson has always loved babies and has already proved to be a big help with Lincoln.

Alaina loving on the baby.  I don't think she minds so much anymore that he's a boy.

Ready to go home.

Look at that sweet baby...not at the very tired mommy.  Honestly I don't know how they expect you to get any rest at all in the hospital when the nurses (as nice as they were) are coming in every few hours to check on you and the baby.  The bed is less than desirable and the baby next door is crying all night.  Of course my baby didn't cry hardly at all.  My baby is an angel.  ;)

Lincoln Anthony

Born Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 9:37 a.m.

8 lbs 1 oz 20 in long

*details regarding labor, delivery, and our first week as a family of six to follow. 

Pinewood Derby 2015

So last night was the much anticipated Pinewood Derby.  Carson was excited and I was super stressed.  Since I'm the Cubmaster in our ward I felt a great responsibility to plan and make a fun night for the boys.  I would say that I had a lot of anxiety about the event.  But with the help of the other leaders and from Tony the night went pretty well with just one hiccup, that was ironed out pretty well.  Carson told me that it was so much fun.  He didn't place this year, but it didn't seem to bother him.

Carson after all the races showing off his car.  It may not have been super fast, but it looked cool!

Christmas 2014

This year we spent Christmas in Boise.  It was 10 days filled with large family gatherings, Christmas shopping, a date for Tony and my upcoming 12th anniversary, and various other activities.  We enjoyed our time there but I was certainly glad when we made it home with our own space and beds.  All the merry making and constant running around can really take it out of you, especially if you're 8 months pregnant!  I have to say I'm a bit sad at the limited number of pictures we have to document our time, but it is what it is.  So I'll share what we've got.

Tony's mom waited until we came into town to get their tree so my kids could experience the whole "picking out a tree" and "decorating the tree" thing.  We had kind of a hard time finding a tree lot and then when we did all that was left were the big ones.  But we were able to get a discount so a normally $70 tree was $40 made it worth the trouble.

Carson

Alaina

Charlie

I'm rearranging the kids decorations and trying to reach the top without toppling over myself.

The kids also made ginger bread houses with their cousins.  I have to admit this isn't usually something we do around the holidays but the kids had fun for the short amount of time their houses actually stayed up.

Carson

Alaina

Charlie

  And yes even I joined in to make a house.  The kids quickly devoured their houses, especially Charlie.

So come Christmas morning I got some videos of the kids opening presents and such.  But totally spaced getting pictures on Christmas Eve of the kids acting out the nativity or wearing their Christmas p.j.s.  I also never got pictures of the kids with all their gifts like I usually do.  I'll blame it on pregnancy brain combined with the ciaos of Christmas morning.

But all in all we had a good Christmas and the kids were thrilled with all their gifts.  I have to admit that I always look forward to Christmas but I'm glad when it's all said and done.  Now that all the festivities are almost over I can start concentrating on getting ready for the baby.  He'll be here in about 8 weeks, so we'd better get busy!

Carson's Ode to me ;)

The following is a "paper" my son wrote for school.  I find it sort of amusing and I guess I must be doing something right.

Do you have someone who talks to you, spends time with you, and takes you shopping?  Well, I do, and she loves me very much.  She talks to me even when I am having a bad day, like a few weeks ago. I was having a really bad evening. She said it was time to get off Netflix, but, I didn’t want to.  So I kicked my shoe and got grounded for a week, then I slammed my door and got grounded for two weeks.  Even though my Mom holds me responsible for my actions, I still love her. 

She spends time with me when we go to Surf ‘n’ Slide.  We go on the slides together and we also go on the lazy river together. I like spending time with my Mom. 

She takes me shopping for food and clothes.  She also takes me shopping for Christmas gifts.  And that’s what my Mom does with me.  She takes me shopping, spends time with me, and talks to me. I love my Mom.

Brian & Collette's Pictures

Just a sample of some pictures I took over Thanksgiving of my brother's family.