Halloween 2011

Halloween is my favorite holiday!  Aleecia wanted to be a vampire again, Mia was a puppy, Eva was a kitty, and Sadie was a hunting dog.  The weather was perfect for trick-or-treating!  At most houses Mia had to get down on all fours and act like a puppy.  Of course Aleecia had to pee in the middle of trick-or-treating.  Thankfully we have nice neighbors that let her use their bathroom.  The kids scored some good candy and will be having candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a few days.

Daisy

Our beloved bird Daisy passed away this past weekend.  We had just returned from Lagoon and all the kids were in bed asleep.  David called me into the kitchen.  Poor Daisy was lying dead in the bottom of her cage.  All I could think about was how were we going to tell the girls.  We found a little box and put her little body inside of it.  The next morning we sat Aleecia down and told her that Daisy had died  She was sad but didn't cry.  We asked her if she wanted to see her or not. She wanted to see her.  She was fine after she looked at her and then once she held the little box she started to cry. Her crying made me cry too.  We decided to bury her in the front flower beds (mostly so Sadie wouldn't dig her up).  We said a few words and covered her up.  Aleecia is sad and misses Daisy a lot.  She visits her grave often.  Just yesterday she said there is a black hole in her heart for Daisy.  Daisy was a sweetie and will be missed.

Frightmares

David thought it would be fun to take the girls to Frightmares at Lagoon.  We found some tickets and went. I decided that October is the best time to go to Lagoon.  Not hot, not many people there, and fun entertainment.  I think the witches were Mia's favorite.  They were walking around the park handing out candy.  She went up to them as many times possible to get candy.  Aleecia experienced her first haunted house.  She took the lead at one of the haunted houses but got a little freaked at another.  Mia wanted to go into the haunted house with us.  Once she took one step in she bolted out to David.  Eva went on her first Carousal ride. She pretty much slept most of the time.  The highlight of the night was watching the chainsaw dancers.



Favorite Toys

My kids are easily entertained by the weirdest things.  Recently we went to Wal-mart.  Aleecia and Mia found these ugly rubber toys.  Ever since they have been playing with them non stop.  Even sleeping with them.  As you can tell from the pictures they have been through a lot.  Mia's bat used to be black with a red mouth but, she wore all the paint off of it.  Whatever makes them happy, I guess.



Duck Hunting

Its Duck season.

Eva got her ears pierced

Eva got her ears pierced. At 2 months we like to get the girls ears pierced.  The worst part of getting her ears pierced was drawing the stupid dots.  She screamed longer and harder when they were trying to place the marks then the actual piercing.   Now she looks super cute with her new bling!

First Hair Cut

This week was filled with first for Mia.  She had her first hair cut.  I noticed it was getting longer this summer and figured it was about time for a hair cut. 

Dentist

Mia went to the dentist for the first time.  She did really good.  First we watched Aleecia get her teeth cleaned and then Mia got to ride on the chair, get tickled by the tickler, and spit into Mr. Thirsty.  I couldn't believe that she let them polish her teeth.  She didn't like the light and and the gritty feeling of the polish but she did great!

Mia's Addiction

Mia has an addiction to my cell phone!  She can navigate herself around better then most adults can.  We always catch her with my cell phone in her hand.  She has taken some interesting photos and videos.

Labor Day Weekend

This year I didn't want to be boring for the Labor day weekend so I called up my parents.  We originally had plans to go camping but we kept running into problems so we decided to take their boat to the lake.  My brother came into town for the weekend since he didn't have to work.  We stayed the night Friday and Saturday we went to Willard Bay.  It was a nice day and there wasn't that many people.  We got a nice spot on the beach.  We did some knee boarding, wake boarding, and tubing.  We had lunch on the beach and the girls played in the sand.  Then it was back on the boat.  Mia loved riding the tube and was fearless.  At the end of the ride her face looked like a windshield with bugs splatted all over it.  Aleecia decided to try the knee board.  She got up her first try but tried to go one handed to put the strap on and fell off.  David and I were so impressed with how well she did.  After boating we went back to my parents for a BBQ.  We hadn't been boating this year because of Eva so this was a nice treat for us and we had a lot of fun.

(Jacqueline, David, Clayton, and Aleecia on the tube)

(Mia making sand castles)

(Grandma, Mom, Mia, and Aleecia on the tube)

(Clayton on the wake board and me on the knee board)

(Mia's face with a bunch of bugs smashed all over it)

(Aleecia on the knee board)

(Eva enjoying her nap on the boat)

Aleecia turns 8!

Yesterday was Aleecia's Birthday!  According to Aleecia you can do anything you want on your birthday.  So, after school we went to Chuck E Cheese.  We ate pizza and fries and played games.  The girls had a ton of fun.  After we went to the store to find Aleecia a new backpack for school.  We didn't find any that she liked so we went and got some ice cream.  Aleecia loves powdered donuts so for her cake we made her a powdered donut cake!  I can't believe Aleecia has been apart of our family for eight years.  We love you Aleecia.

First day of 3rd grade

Aleecia has started the 3rd grade.  I seriously can't believe she is already in 3rd grade.  Aleecia has always been happy to go to school so there is never any tears shed.  After school when I asked her how her day went she said not good and that she didn't want to talk about it.  That had me worried and then I found out that the reason she didn't have that great of a day was because the recesses were too short!  She seems to like her teacher and knows a few kids in her class.

Mia is a big sister

I pumped just a small amount of milk and instead of wasting it I let Mia feed it to Eva.  Mia has done really well being a big sister.  I was afraid that she would be jealous of the new baby but, she loves her.  The biggest problem I have is Mia always wants to hold her.  I am so excited to see these two grow up together and be the best of friends!

Erica's Wedding

Our beautiful niece got married on the thirteenth of August.  Aleecia was one of her flower girls.  They had a nice ceremony, dinner, and reception.  Mia and Aleecia love to dance (unlike their dad).  They had a fun time dancing at the reception.  I even got some dancing in before they started getting tired and it was time to go home.  We are so happy to have Crosby apart of our family.  Congratulations to Erica and Crosby Styles.

 Mia loves Crosby

 Flower girl and ring bearer

 The Happy Couple

The boys

(Wedo, Michael, Bobby, and David)

Eva's Newborn Pictures

Announcing Eva Hernandez

We made it to the Hospital!

I was having some major anxiety about having this baby somewhere other then the hospital and my doctor was nervous about it as well. So, at my 37 week appointment we had an amino done to check for the babies lung maturity. My doctor said that if the lungs were mature that we could induce and I could have the baby at the hospital. We did the test (which hurt more then what I expected). My doctor said she would call me the next morning with the results and then we would either induce me or wait until the week after. The next day I waited for that phone call. My patience was tested and I hope I never have to wait for a phone call like that again. Finally she called me back with the good news that the lungs were good. I was scheduled to be induced at seven the next morning. My mom came the night before to watch Aleecia and Mia so we wouldn't have to wake them up so early. I didn't sleep that night to say the least. On our way to the hospital we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. My doctor said I could have liquids and toast so I got a smoothie. As soon as I was registered they made me throw my smoothie away. Once I was in my hospital gown, monitors placed on my belly, and IV was placed and started they had the anesthesiologist come in to start my epidural. The last time I had an epidural my blood pressure dropped so they started it off slow. Sure enough my blood pressure dropped and I felt sick and up went my smoothie. Yep, that's why they don't want you to have anything to eat or drink before you are induced. They increased my fluids and I felt better for a little bit then it happened again and they gave me medication. Later my mom showed up with the girls and they were ready for their baby sister to be born. Aleecia had a ton of questions about all the equipment. Every once in a while the babies heart beat monitor would have a hard time picking up the heart rate and Aleecia would become very worried. Since I was positive for the groupie B strep they had me on antibiotics. After I got all my antibiotics my doctor came in and broke my water. Aleecia was excited she thought it meant the baby was coming. I had never had my water broken before it usually just broke on its own so it was a new experience for me. It just gushed out and kept going. I was surprised that there was that much fluid. After an hour or so we were talking about what would happen if I became full dilated and I didn't know it cause the epidural. Just then I felt all this pressure and I knew it was time to push. David called the nurse and sure enough I was fully dilated and it was time. My doctor was in another room finishing another delivery and the on call doctor was also delivering another baby. I had to breathe through several contractions before my doctor got there. When my doctor gave the go ahead I think I pushed twice and out came her little head. Once the head was out the rest just slipped right out and the doctor placed her on my stomach and I was over come with joy. Once I heard her little cry I over come with emotion. Aleecia was confused that I was crying and we had to explain to her that it was because I was so happy. The doctor offered the scissors to Aleecia to cut the cord but she was to scared so David cut the cord. The baby nurse took the baby to examine her and she was perfect. She weighed 5lb. 14oz. and was 17 1/2" long. They gave us an hour to bond with her before taking her to the nursery for vaccinations. Aleecia and Mia held her. Mia was unsure of what to think . I got to breastfeed her and was impressed at how well she did. Aleecia admitted that her legs where all shaky when she was being born. From what I saw (which wasn't much) she would hide behind David and then watch for a minute. David said Mia was mesmerized by the whole experience. David went with the baby to the nursery. I got all cleaned up and they had to wheel me to a new room. One of my legs was still numb from the epidural so I was unable to walk. Once in the new room I got to rest and my mom took the girls to watch the nurse give the baby her first bath through the window. According to David the baby loved the bath. Once she was all clean David brought her back to the room. We named her Eva (pronounced eh-vah). No middle name this time cause she was born in the hospital. Our family is finally complete and we couldn't be more happy.

Epidural doing its job!

Bath time

Baby Birds

A while ago Aleecia noticed a nest in the neighbors tree. At the time there was nothing inside. Just the other day Aleecia noticed that the nest had these tiny little birds in it. We never even saw the eggs. They are ugly little creatures but at the same time they are so cute. Aleecia is really careful not to touch them and she never comes around when the mom is near. Hopefully they live long enough to leave the nest.

Home Depot "Kids Workshop"

In February for Activity Days we went to the free Home Depot "Kids Workshop". It was so much fun that we decided to go as a family every month. For the month of June the girls built a "valet caddy". Mia has become so independent that she has to glue and hammer all her self. She hasn't quite mastered to glue part but she sure can handle a hammer.