Family Letter - Christmas edition

Last week was a great week. It started on Monday with Ang and Hyrum flying into town and stopping by for a visit. That night, Tyler wanted to go to the Utah basketball game as a family, but first we stopped to eat at Gourmandise since it was the last day to use our Groupon there. Unfortunately, it was very crowded with people also using their Groupons. The service there isn't the best (read: slow) and they had run out of my top two choices, so needless to say, we missed the game. Too bad for Tyler since it was probably his last chance to see his team win this season. :)

Tuesday night we invited the siblings over to hang out (the parentals couldn't make it). Korrin made her famous caramel corn and I made Swedish ginger cookies. The girls had fun with their cousins and we had fun talking and watching basketball. After the Dicksons left and the girls went to bed, we played Spades with the Marstons and Hewitsons. The girls kicked some major butt!

On Wednesday night we hung out with our friends Rachel and Steele. We'd never seen their new house, so we went over there and enjoyed pizza & pumpkin roll and laughed a lot. We always have so much fun with them. Their sons Ashton and Jackson are the same ages as Ada and Kate, so the kids had fun playing too.

Thursday night was Kate's preschool Christmas program. She was lucky to have my parents, Tyler's dad, and Angie & Hyrum come watch. She was so adorable with her curly hair and red dress. When it came time to say her part, she thought for a minute and said that her favorite part of Christmas was ice cream. Typical Kate! Everyone had a good laugh over that. All the kids looked so cute doing actions to the songs they sang.

On Friday morning the girls and I went to my friend Amber's house for brunch. Kim and Shano were also there. We had fun catching up and seeing each others' kids (and some spouses). I don't get together enough with my friends! That night Tyler and I decided to stay up late to assemble Christmas gifts so we wouldn't have to do it on Christmas Eve. We were up past 1 a.m., but glad we got it done.

Christmas Eve was filled with baking and getting ready for all the Christmas festivities. I made two pumpkin rolls and a chocolate peppermint one. On the way to the Squires', we stopped by my grandma's house to say hi. She had fun presents for the girls. Unfortunately, Kate was a little too tired and decided she liked Ada's gift better, so she had a major meltdown. Good times! We enjoyed our traditional candlelight dinner at Tyler's parents' house and then the kids acted out the nativity. We played the dice game that Tyler's mom always puts together, but she changed it up a little this year and we all enjoyed the change. We also opened sibling and grandkid gifts. It was a fun night. Tyler and I really enjoyed playing Santa when we got home. We just couldn't wait for the girls to see their stuff!

Kate was so funny on Christmas morning. She had fallen asleep in the car the night before, so she wasn't really prepped for what was to come. She was the first one awake and just wanted to go downstairs and play Candy Land. Ada soon woke up and was anxious to go down. We made sure to continue our tradition of reading Luke 2 together before we go see what Santa brought. Ada and Kate were so excited to see their gifts. They love their Barbie house and Ada said it was just what she wanted. Kate preferred to play with that than see her other presents. Lyla got a swing, Tyler got a bike, and I got clothes. Tyler surprised me with an ice cream/sorbet/frozen yogurt maker and had stuff all ready to make sorbet. He then surprised all of us with an Xbox and Kinect! We were really spoiled this year. We then got ready for 11:00 church. It was nice to go to church on Christmas and enjoy musical numbers and testimonies. I played the piano for a flash choir performance (they invited anyone who wanted to come up and sing). After church we went back to the Squires' to open more presents and eat lots of food. Then it was off to the Dicksons' for our traditional Honey Baked Ham dinner. After we ate, my brother read from Luke 2 and we had a little program. The bigger girls each did a talent. Ada sang the months of the year in French accompanied by a dance and Kate sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' complete with actions. Ella sang and recited a poem and Grace sang. Grandma Dickson told a story and Grandma Bateman gave us all a good laugh by singing and dancing to a song from her Kindergarten-teaching days. We then opened presents. Kate's face was priceless when she opened her Olivia house/pirate ship from my parents. Everyone had a great time. We are so blessed to have everything we need plus a lot more and to have family to spend time with.

Family Letter

My sister started sending out weekly family letters updating us on their lives.  I decided to follow suit and post it to my blog.  It might bore everyone but it's a quick and easy way to keep track of stuff.  Here goes nothing...

Last Monday, Lyla had her 2 month check-up at the doctor's office.  She weighed in at 10 lb 6 oz (37th percentile).  She was not a happy girl after receiving a few shots.  Poor thing.  Tyler was able to meet us there and then we got lunch at Chick-Fil-A.  That is seriously one of my favorite places to eat.  I'd eat there at least once a week if one was close.  That night we delivered gifts to the neighbors and then, per Ada's request, drank hot chocolate around the Christmas tree.  I tried talked about the nativity story, but it didn't go so well as the girls couldn't sit still and then Kate spilled her drink o the floor.  Oh well. 

On Tuesday, Ada had her Christmas performance at her ballet class.  Mom and Dad were able to come as well as Tyler's mom, as well as, of course, Tyler, myself, Kate, and Lyla.  It was cute to watch.  Ada is about the tallest as well as most flexible girl in her class.  We got sundaes from McDonald's afterward and that night I got to take a break from the children and go to a Relief Society activity.  The Woods Cross High madrigals sang and we enjoyed a hot chocolate bar afterward.  I just ate the candy.

On Wednesday I got to go to Kate's preschool and spotlight her in front of the class.  I read them 'Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog' (one of her favorite books) and handed out M&M's, her favorite candy. 

I don't really remember Thursday.  I think Tyler was gone that night making visits.

Friday night we got to attend Tyler's work Christmas party.  We dropped all three girls off at Mom and Dad's and went to La Caille.  It was fun to see Tyler's co-workers and their spouses.  The food was pretty good.  We were probably the first ones to leave since we had to get back to feed the baby.  It was fun to get away for a bit.

I watched the Cougs lose a close one on Saturday and that night we went to a Christmas party for Tyler's dad's side of the family.  Tyler's mom made big plans for us to do a flash mob performance of The First Noel.  She was really serious about it and told us it would be our Christmas present to her (we did get her something else).  During dinner, we all stood up and sang a'cappella and then sat down as if nothing happened.  After the party and putting the kids to bed, Tyler and I watched 'The Help' since we both recently finished the book.  It had been a while since we'd seen a movie!

Sunday was our ward Christmas program.  Tyler sang with the ward choir and Ada got to sing two songs with the Primary.  Kate was sad that she didn't get to go up, but she will be a Sunbeam in January so that won't be a problem anymore.  She'll be jumping right in on the 1st: she was already asked to give the opening prayer (and Ada was asked to give the scripture).  It will be fun to be in there to watch on her very first day of Primary.

Other things of note: we found out that Tyler passed his PE exam, which is a very big deal and a huge relief.  I am so proud of him!  We also paid off our student loans.  Overall, it was a pretty good week!

Lyla's birth story

I've been MIA lately on the blog. Things have been crazy. Tyler has been super busy with work and such, and...oh yeah, I had a baby. She's 3 1/2 weeks old now, so I better get caught up a bit on here!

My due date was October 14. On the 10th I started contracting early in the morning and was sure the baby would come that day. I was wrong. The contractions tapered and I sort of waited around all day while trying to stay active to get them to come back. Just my luck (as with Kate), they started up strong that night and all I had to do was wait until I felt it was time to go to the hospital. We live about 20 minutes from the hospital and we had to drop Ada and Kate off at my parents' house on the way, so we didn't want to wait too long and have to give birth in the car! I opted to try a natural birth this time. We didn't have maternity insurance, so I wanted to save as much money as I could. I always wanted to try a natural birth and this was just the excuse I needed. I have a few friends who have had success with hypnobirthing so that is the method I chose. I borrowed a book and took a class and committed myself, though all I really cared about was giving birth sans medication. Anyway, we got to the hospital just after 3:o0 AM and I was dilated to a 5. I was wishing that I would have stayed home longer! The contractions were tough, but definitely manageable. I had great nurses who were very familiar with hypnobirthing. I got an IV but they didn't hook it up, so I was able to walk around as I pleased. I just had to be hooked up to monitors for 20 minutes out of every hour to make sure the baby's and my heart rates looked okay. We waited and waited. I sat on a birthing ball. I walked around. I got up to pee a lot. I listened to music and tried to relax. Tyler took a nap. After 2 hours I was dilated to a 6 and three hours later I was still a 6! I was sick of waiting. I went against all hypnobirthing philosophy and had the doctor break my water. There was meconium in the water (meaning the baby had pooped), so they were concerned about her ingesting some. They set up a station in the room to take care of her once she was born. Well, things certainly progressed quickly after that. I knew that things would pick up after that, so I started to get a little nervous (another hypnobirthing no-no). The contractions came hard and fast and I had a really hard time trying to relax. It pretty much didn't happen, although Tyler was a champ trying to get me to focus the whole time. It seemed like there was no break in between contractions. I soon felt the urge to push and the doctor was called back down. At this point I felt like I was going crazy, like I had no control of myself anymore. I was writhing in pain and just started pushing with all my might (yet another no-no). I got SO hot and was sweating like a pig. I started stripping off whatever I could. The nice nurse helped by wiping my face with a cool rag. I pushed and pushed and she wasn't coming out. Finally, her head came and the rest of her soon emerged. Poor Tyler missed it because he was in my face trying to get me to stay calm. I would have felt pretty good about everything, but this was not the end. With my first two births the baby was immediately placed on my chest. This time, because of the meconium, the nurses had to take her to suction her out and clean her off. They had her for a long time. I got to listen to them laugh about all her crazy red hair and her smashed nose while I tried to sneak a peek from across the room. This was tough because the placenta had to be delivered next. This was most unpleasant. The doctor was pushing hard on my tummy and I was again writhing in pain. It took quite a while to come out. Then, I had a 2nd degree tear that had to be sewn up. The doctor got a huge needle and poked me down there repeatedly to numb me up. It took a while to kick in and I was going crazy. The doctor kept telling me in a very serious voice that I needed to keep my bum down and stop moving around. I wanted to kick her across the room! All this was going on and I still didn't get to hold my baby. Finally, she wrapped things up and my sweet baby was brought to me. The nurses were sure right about her hair and her nose! I was so happy that she had finally arrived and the hard part (at least physically) was over. My first impression was that she looked like Kate as a newborn, but now I think she looks more like Ada did. My sister thinks her resemblance to Tyler is uncanny. We named her Lyla Jane. She was born on October 11 at 9:17 AM. She weighed 7 lb 1 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We decided (because of the lack of insurance) to try and get out of the hospital as quickly as possible. We stayed one night and left the next morning. While I'm glad I experienced a natural birth, I wouldn't do it again!

I just love her to bits. Newborns are the sweetest things. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to all the help we have received. We have received multiple meal offers, gifts, help with Ada and Kate, etc. We have received so much help. I can't believe I had three kids (let along three girls!), but things are going well. Thanks to all who have made this transition easier for us.


7 lb 1 oz


Little angel (with a poor little smashed nose)


I look like I've been through a lot!




Look at that hair!




They just love their sister!




Enjoying the doughnuts from Grandma


First bath


Playing with their new babies that Baby Lyla gave them




Morgan and Jordan


Grandpa Squire


Happy family of 5


Aunt Abby


Trying to catch up on sleep




So tiny in that carseat


Cousin Lauren, who shares the same birthday

Ada this year

I've been such a blogging slacker that I'm trying to come up with ways I can clump pictures together and make them all relative to a single post. This post is all about Ada.

Ada started taking ballet last year. She really wasn't the biggest fan. I had to force a screaming, kicking Ada into her ballet clothes every week. She got better as the year went on and they started preparing for their recital. They performed 'The Ice Queen' in May and Ada's class got to dress up as mice. She loved her sparkly costume and the fact that she got to wear makeup. It was so adorable to watch her up there. Afterward, she couldn't stop talking about the finale where all the dancers came onto the stage at once. That must have been her favorite part! Luckily, she decided she wants to do ballet again. She started about a month ago and has been much more willing to go each week.

I just can't get over those lashes


Practicing at the dress rehearsal


Ada with her cute friend Ellie


The cutest little mouse


Ada graduated from preschool in June. Her class performed 'The Three Little Pigs' and sang lots of songs. Her teachers decided to give presents to everyone based on what they think they'll be when they grow up. They decided Ada will be an artist and they gave her lots of art supplies. They really nailed that one on the head! She loves to draw and color and spends lots of time at the table every day doing so. It was a cute program and fun to see her with all her friends.

In her new dress, before we left for the program


Ada's class up on stage


Ada with her cute teacher Miss Missy (who is now Kate's teacher)


Ada turned five in July, but we'll do a separate birthday post.


Then in August, Ada started Kindergarten! What a crazy thing! Hard to believe she's that old. She absolutely loves school. She is in the French Immersion Program and I can't believe all the French she was learned already. She knows colors, shapes, months of the year, days of the week, how to count to 16, and lots of random words and phrases. She has already made lots of friends. We went to her school carnival last week and I couldn't believe how many people said 'hi' to her! She loves doing her homework every day but not necessarily being read to for 20 minutes. She walks to school every day with some neighbors and then Kate and I walk to pick her up when she's done. I'm so glad she enjoys school and is doing so well.

The big first day


Lining up ready to start. She wasn't nervous at all!


Here are some random pictures of our cute little Ada:

Weekly Quote 9/25/11

Oh, my poor, neglected blog! At least I remember this week to change the quote. "I am NOT a bigamist" is from the movie 'Mamma Mia'. Donna says it to Sam after he proposes. Great show, and even better when watched with sisters!

New quote up!

Pacific Northwest Vacay

Tyler was awesome enough to make day-by-day posts of our Seattle trip. You can read all about it here. Made it lots easier for me, though I'll include a few thoughts:

-Seattle is a cool city, but I wouldn't call it one of my favorites. Downtown was not fun to drive through. Luckily Tyler was the one driving.
-I also wasn't a fan of downtown Vancouver. We only walked down one street, but it was dirty and there were lots of crazy people. Maybe I would change my mind if we saw the rest of the city.
-I wish I would have gotten a picture of the girls on the airplane. It was Kate's first time flying and the first that Ada could remember. They were champs and I think had a good time.
-My favorite part was probably the tide pools. It was a gorgeous site and cool to see all the ocean creatures. Like Tyler, I would love to go back to that area and experience more of the natural beauty.
-I got sick the day we left. A sore throat turned into a horrible runny nose (you know, the kind where you blow your nose every 5 minutes but it still won't stop dripping? Good times.). It sort of wiped me out on the trip, and especially after we got home. Sucked.

When it rains, it pours

I've always considered myself a pretty lucky person. I've never had anything horrible happen to me or anyone close to me. I haven't had to suffer through many trials. Though nothing tragic has happened (with one exception), this year has been a tough one for my family and others close to me. Somehow, though, almost everything has ended well. I am truly blessed and still feel extremely lucky. Here is a list of what has been going down lately:

-In February, we had a miscarriage scare. Obviously, everything turned out well and we only have about two more months until our baby girl joins us. I have been extremely fortunate in the baby department. No problems conceiving, carrying, or birthing. I am extremely grateful for this.

-Also in February, my sweet baby niece was admitted to PCMC at only a few weeks old and it was discovered that she had bacterial meningitis, a brain abscess, and a staph infection. It was a scary time, but she was a trooper. No surgery or anything serious; just antibiotics through a PICC-line for eight weeks. She has since been a happy, healthy baby.

-My mom's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before she finished her treatments, they found cancer on her spine. She has been extremely positive through everything and apparently has a new outlook on life. She finished radiation yesterday and hopefully is now cancer-free!

-My dad's brother was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had to have an extremely long, complicated surgery which entailed removing parts of his tongue and the roof of his mouth and removing his whole lower jaw (which was replaced with bone from his leg, making him have difficulty walking) among other things. It has been a long road for him and he still can't really talk or eat well. I have learned a lot from him, though. He has always been a really funny, positive person and nothing has changed with this trial. He has learned a lot also. In fact, he was re-baptized into the LDS church after being away for decades. It was such a special experience to attend his baptism and confirmation. He has been such an amazing example to me.

-My best friend's mom was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. This was her second time with breast cancer. It was a hard time for the family but everyone had a lot of faith. Her chemo treatments went well and miraculously she was just discovered (to the doctors' amazement) to be cancer-free! What great examples they've all been. This was truly a miracle.

-A good friend's sister was killed while riding her bike in a hit-and-run accident. I hadn't kept in touch very well with my friend, but I went to the funeral and it was great to reunite with her and meet her baby girl. Her sister was only 24 and it was a huge shock to all. I was so amazed by her family's faith and ability to forgive. They handled everything extremely well and were so composed and positive. I'm grateful for their examples and the chance I had to see my friend again.

-My grandpa died last month. This is the first grandparent I've lost. Everyone thought he was going to die around Memorial Day and we all went to say our last goodbyes, but he stuck around until July (Kate's birthday, actually). It was hard for me, even though he was almost 92 and had Alzheimer's. He was ready to go and I know he's in a happier place. He's had a lot of health problems over the years, but he's always been a happy, funny person. I've never seen him angry or upset. I know it's hard for my poor grandma (who is only 80), but she has been great through everything. The funeral was good and I was able to sing a song with my sisters and cousins that my grandma wrote. Although it was a hard time, my sisters came into town and it was nice to have my entire family together.

-My dad just went in for surgery to remove melanoma from his arm. It was a scary few days, but it was discovered that the cancer hadn't spread to his lymph nodes. They removed the cancer from his arm and he has a gaping wound that will take a while to heal, but we're so glad that everything is well! It makes me that much more conscious about being out in the sun.

It's crazy how all this stuff has happened so close together, but I feel really lucky that things have worked out the way they have. I have learned a lot and I think I'm much more prepared for future trials. I'm grateful for my faith and how it has helped everyone get through everything. I'm grateful for prayer and the Priesthood. Gosh, it's only August, so let's hope that the rest of the year turns out to be very uneventful!

Weekly Quote 8/15/11

"You're burning the chow!" This is from Disney's 'Robin Hood'. Good job, Shanny! New quote up!

Weekly Quote 8/8/11

"Tomorrow? But I wanna go home now!" is from 'The Wizard of Oz'. Life has been crazy lately, so there has been a lack of posting. Hopefully I can get around to some stuff this week.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 7/24/11

"You're gonna die, clown!" This is from Happy Gilmore. I'm not so much into that type of show like I used to be, but I have to laugh thinking about all the great quotes from it. Sorry I've been a slacker with the blog lately; we've had major computer issues and life has been crazy lately.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 6/27/11

"These mashed potatoes are so creamy." is from While You Were Sleeping. Great show. I think my favorite part is when they show the paper boy tossing newspapers and suddenly his bike tips over. Completely random. New quote up!

Potty

Kate has been officially potty trained for quite a while now. She still wears Pull-Ups at night, but she never gets them wet. It's been quite nice to have no kids in diapers. Unfortunately, we now see a lot of this:

(Those shorts are size 12 months, btw)

There was one week at the beginning where she had several accidents, but that (luckily) didn't last long. The next week, however, just when I thought we were done cleaning up pee, we experienced another accident at our house. Tyler and I had just turned off the light to go to bed when Tyler heard a noise. He waited a minute and then got up to see what was going on. He went in the family room and turned on the light, only to discover a bare-bottomed Ada sitting on the couch in a puddle of pee. She continued sitting there, wide-eyed, until we moved her and got her cleaned up (thank goodness for microfiber). It was obvious that she was oblivious to the whole thing. She must have thought she was sitting on the toilet the whole time! The next morning when I told her what happened, she denied everything. I probably would have been mad at having to clean up another accident if it just wasn't so darn funny!

Weekly Quote 6/20/11

"How'd you like to hang a stocking on a great, big coconut tree?" is from the song 'Christmas Island'. Yes, my girls still listen to Christmas CD's when they fall asleep at night. This particular song is sung by Ariel and is always in my head. Ugh.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 6/13/11

"This is the best. day. EVER!" This is from Tangled. Every time Ada plays on the swing set, she twists around on the swings and yells this at the top of her lungs. I love it!

New quote up!

Easter trip

We took a trip to the Bryce Canyon area over Easter weekend. I have to note that I originally thought I had plans this weekend, but Tyler wanted to go badly enough that he was going to take the girls by himself! Brave soul! I'm glad I was able to go after all!

We went to Bryce Canyon N.P., Kodachrome Basin State Park, Petrified Forest State Park, Anasazi State Park, and Capitol Reef N.P. It was COLD (and snowed the second day we were at Bryce), but it was lots of fun. The Easter Bunny even paid a visit to the girls while we were on a hike! It was a fun trip and good to get away for a few days. We live in such a beautiful state.

(Stupid Blogger got some of the pictures out of order, but I'm too lazy to fix them. Also, the camera got a smudge on it, so the pictures don't look that great. Oh well.)