Creations From Everyday Life

Thanks Heidi!

A couple of days ago I got this cute hat along with a card from one of my scrappy friends Heidi Sonboul. It's the cutest! THANKS! I tried to get a good picture of her wearing it, but there was a lot of weeping, and wailing and gnashing of what would be teeth. And can you see the tears welled up in her eyes? Yes, this little babe of almost 3 weeks old can produce some major crocodile tears! And she has been able to since the minute she was born. She was already shedding some tears when the doctor was clamping her umbilical cord. Now that's what you call a developed newborn!

Speaking of umbilical cord. She finally lost the rest of hers yesterday. I was starting to worry about the thing, because they usually fall of by 14 days. But the area didn't look infected, so I wasn't too worried. Now she's only a few days from taking a full dip in the bath!

Here are some other pictures from the photo shoot I did the other day. My favorite is the one of her trying to eat the flower. Of course, it's not as "pretty" as the others. But it's humorous, and sometimes that is just as good!

I tried to take some feet pictures of her yesterday. But it didn't really work out, what with her making me want to put her up for adoption, and the batteries on my flash running low. That combination plus a tired mommy who wants cute pictures equals chaos! BUT... she ended up falling asleep and slept all afternoon, and evening... and then decided to wake up and play from about 2am until 5:30am. And when I say "play," I mean, she wanted to be held while she looked around the house wide eyed. If I sat her down, she would be fine for about 5 minutes (just enough time for me to fall asleep on the couch) and then would cry to be held again. Luckly Jared took a turn for a couple of hours so that I could get some rest.

Silly baby...

Baby for Sale.

Anyone want a 2 week old?

SCREAMS a lot...

Easter Weekend Review

I took lots of pictures over the weekend, but didn't have time to sit down and do individual posts. So here are a ton of pictures of the festivities!

Friday: Easter Egg Dying!

Calvin was the most into dying eggs this year. And he was all about using his hands! Which means, he was covered in dye by the time he was through. But amazingly enough, he came completely un-dyed in the bathtub! I thought for sure that he'd be green for at least a week!

Saturday: Egg Hunt & Party with friends.

A friend had us over for lunch and a huge Easter Egg hunt! All of the kids found a TON of eggs, including Calvin. This was nice, because I didn't have to go buy any plastic eggs to hide at my house. I just re-used the eggs that the kids brought home!

Sunday: Easter Morning.

Or I guess Easter Afternoon since we made the kids wait until after church to get their Easter baskets. Their "baskets" were actually pails from Robert's Arts & Crafts. And I think they're sweet! I got each of the kids a little bit of candy. You know, the kinds that you HAVE to get in your basket for Easter, like Peeps and Chocolate Bunnies. Then I added one toy. They all LOVE their toys, and have carried them around non-stop since getting them. After they got their baskets, they emptied them onto the kitchen table, and then went back outside for an egg hunt. Then they spent the rest of the day eating candy and not taking a nap. We were ready to kill them all by bedtime! But that's what you do during Easter right? Go to church and get spiritually fed... and then come home and eat enough candy to tide you over until next Easter!

Happy Easter From Tess...

...more images to come tomorrow ;)

Colbie Caillat

She's playing in St. George at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre on April 4th... and it's sold out...

Oh well, I didn't have anyone to go with anyway.

Neglected

...and left to his own devices.

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in my living room tending Teslyn. I looked up and into the kitchen to see Calvin in the middle of a mess... scrounging for his own food. He found a yogurt cup with leftovers that Jocelyn didn't finish. For some reason, I felt the need to grab my camera and document how his life is changing with a new baby in the house. He is learning to do more and more on his own, even if he doesn't like the change very much.

Not to say that he doesn't adore his new little sister. He's already a very protective older brother, and doesn't like people other than his dad or I to hold her. If she is crying, he becomes severely distressed until she is soothed. If I'm not immediately available, he attempts to do this himself.

What a great big brother he's shaping up to be!

Yesterday.

It was so very nice outside. I picked Jocelyn up from school and after we had a little lunch, we headed outside to play. I decided to take my camera out, since it had been awhile since I had taken pictures of my kids just playing. Katelyn decided that she wanted to wear a new shirt that I had bought her. Got it for a buck at The Children's Place. I she didn't take any of the tags off of it before she put it on, so I was hurrying to get a funny picture. But by the time I had grabbed my camera, she had pulled it off! But, she did make a bracelet out of the 4T sticker that was on the shirt!

Calvin has this thing with wanting to play peek-a-boo with my camera. That, and he says "cheese" a lot. I've been trying to take advantage of his attraction to the camera. I know it won't be long before he is running the other way telling me to STOP taking his picture!

My mom bought this push toy for Calvin for his 1st birthday. A year later, he still loves it. He pushes it all over. It's funny because he has shown no interest in riding trikes like the girls do. He is 100% happy pushing this thing around. And he can keep up with the girls on trikes/bikes pretty well!

Jocelyn and Calvin made a game or ramming each other. I think Calvin got the biggest kick out of this. Luckily I was able to catch a snapshot in mid ram! Pure joy!

It's not often that I'm able to get all three kids in one frame... which was the reason for me snapping this photo really quick!

Katelyn was being especially friendly with the camera.

...then I left the kids out front, while I went to the backyard to document the bees. When we were eating lunch, Jocelyn was looking out the window and suddenly yelled to me, "MOM! The bees are pollinating our tree!!!!!" I found this hilarious. So, here is a picture of a bee pollinating our tree... (pretty blue sky, huh?... Polarized filter.... non-edited even...)

Then I heard Jared pulling in the driveway coming to eat lunch. But on my way back through the house I snapped a picture of Tess who was still in her car seat from us picking Jocelyn up 45 minutes earlier. I just figured... why wake her when she's sleeping so soundly!

Then I annoyed Jared by taking pictures of him getting out of the car. He kept asking me what the heck I was taking pictures of him for!

...and then soon thereafter, he was attacked by a little boy with hugs.

After Jared ate and left, I took the kids to the park for an hour. We walked there because I need to get rid of some of this baby flubber. Yuck! Jocelyn and Katelyn rode their bikes, and I pushed Tess and Calvin in the stroller. After we got home, it was definitely nap time. Only I didn't get one, because Tess was wide awake by that time! But I just chilled with her on the couch for awhile.

Last night I bought a bunch of stuff to dye and decorate Easter Eggs. The plan was to dye eggs today. But a nap is sounding real good about now. So maybe tomorrow!

I took Calvin and Tess to the doctor today. It was Teslyn's 2 week check-up, and Calvin's 2 year check-up. Tess is 8lbs 10 ounces now. The nurse that measured her said she was 21 inches long, but I don't think it's quite accurate, seeing as I could see Tess shift on the paper when they were doing the marking. I really don't think she could have grown an inch and a half in 2 weeks! She was 19.5 inches when she was born. Of course that measurement could be off too. I didn't see them measure her in the hospital because I was busy getting stitches with anesthesia that didn't take. Ouch! Calvin weighs 28 pounds now. He was supposed to get immunizations to make up for the shots that he didn't get at his 18 month check-up (because they were out of stock). But they were still out of stock... so he escaped the needle yet again! I told the nurse that we'd try again in May when Kate went in for her check-up, LOL!

Maybe I'll be back tomorrow with Easter Egg pictures...

Back to Tess...

This morning we had some lovely sunshine flowing through our living room window. So I laid Tess out on a blanket on the floor with nothing but a diaper. I positioned her so that her head wasn't in the sunlight, but her body was. She loved every minute of it! She is the only newborn that I know that LOVES to be naked! She stretched and stretched... and seriously... how do babies hold their arms and legs extended off of the ground for that long??? I'd be feeling some major burn.

I've had quite a few people ask me about my black and white conversions in my photographs.... wanting to know my secrets. It's quite simple. 95% of the time, if you see a picture posted in black and white, it's because I actually took it in black and white. Thus, no conversion. If your camera has a setting for black and white, you will get better B&W images by actually shooting in B&W because the tones are different. In the more professional DSLR's you can change to B&W shooting by going into your menu and changing the parameters. Because I like my pictures a little more contrasty, my contrast is custom set to 1 in the B&W parameter.

Dad's have all the fun:

Today Jared and his friend Merril went snowmobiling in the mountains.

I got kids dressed, and took kids to school, and took kids to a church activity and to the park. Ran errands to Walmart & to get lunch. Fed the kids. Put 2 of the kids down for a nap 100 million times because they wouldn't STAY IN BED! I cleaned the kitchen, and Calvin's room... and made a start on the living room. I spent a million hours sitting on the couch trying to get a baby girl to nurse. Only she thinks milk should magically flow into her mouth without any effort on her part... so any attempt ended in both of us screaming at each other. Then I have other things that I'd like to vent about... but I won't because I'm trying to better my mood by being on here.

...And don't get me wrong. I'm not mad that he went to have fun with his friend. He works hard, and when he's home he does a lot to help me out. Especially when I'm frustrated with Tess.

I'm just jealous that I don't ever get to take a day off to do something cool like that. And I'm jealous that I won't be able to for many, many, many years.

But at least he took some pretty pictures for me to post on my blog...

Flowers in Color.

This is a Striped Squill. I fell in love with these when we lived in Cedar City. In the spring, as the snow melted... I would notice these everywhere. They grew in neighbors yards along with the grass, and cover lawns. I loved it! I had no clue what they were called (or even that they grew from bulbs in the ground). I searched numerous books listing perennials until I found a picture of them.  I found a few bulbs 2 years ago at a local home improvement store and bought them. This is the second year they have bloomed in one of my flower beds. However, there are less this year than last because they don't thrive here like they do in Cedar City. I just think they really like cold winters... something we don't have here. But at least I have a few to enjoy still!

Here is a really cool close-up of the flowers on my pear tree. I love the pink coloring in the center and on the stamen... and I love the water droplets because it had just finished raining...

These are blossoms on one of my pea vines. I love to see these, because they mean that yummy fresh peas will be growing soon!

And here is a cool splash of color! Grape Hyacinths again... they are such a lovely shade! I actually planted these for my husband. Every year he talks about how cool they are. Of course he probably hates me now for broadcasting that out on the WWW. But... these are his favorites. Other than lilacs. But we don't have any of those...

Need a break from baby pictures?

Inspired by my friend's black and white pictures of her flowers... I thought I'd do the same!

Pear Tree

Spring Snowflake

Cluster of Grape Hyacinths

Lone Grape Hyacinth

Close-up of Delft Blue Hyacinth

Tete-a-Tete Daffodil

1st Bath at Home.

Teslyn hadn't had a bath since we were in the hospital. It's not like you need to bathe newborns a lot... unless of course they poop everywhere (which they do on occasion) or throw up everywhere (which they also do on occasion). But she started to have that greasy baby smell instead of that fresh new baby smell, so I decided it was time.

She was less than thrilled.

Of course she looks content in the picture, because I kept sticking the plug in her mouth. Otherwise, there were screams galore. And that girl can scream!

I really enjoy giving babies baths after their umbilical cords fall off, but not before! Afterward, I just bring them in the shower with me. It's great bonding time! Sponge baths just aren't my thing...

This one's for you Beka!

Yesterday I was telling Beka about all of the photo ideas I had. Then I told her that I was too lazy to do any of them. She then reprimanded me... and basically told me to get off my lazy duff and take those darn pictures.

Today I took my first step by taking these pictures... a total 100% lift of a photo I saw taken by Audrey Woulard:

...more Tess?

My friend Beka came over today to do a little visiting. She brought her AWESOME camera... and we talked cameras like we always do when we're together. *note: we have the exact same camera, and a similar L Series lens. She snapped a few of Tess who was happily laying on the floor during the visit. As I was doing my evening blog hopping routine, I found this picture:

You can find her post here: http://bekabracken.blogspot.com/2008/03/favorite.html

One Week.

In just a few hours, she will officially be 1 week old.

Time flies.....

This Morning.

Day 5...

We are still getting used to having a little one around here. Last night no one really slept really great. Teslyn now has the privilege of experiencing a mature milk supply, and her tummy isn't dealing especially well. Don't worry... it's nothing out of the ordinary. All of my kids have gone through this. Basically, she has a hard time with the air she swallows when nursing. And then has a upset stomach until it comes out of the other end (nice I know...). So, this being... she didn't sleep well last night. Meaning I didn't sleep well either. Jared even took a turn at 5am.

After Jared went to work, I stuck Teslyn in bed with me on her stomach. Yes, I'm aware that this is kind of a no no. But since I was sleeping next to her I was fine with it. The pressure on her stomach feels good, and she can sleep. Jocelyn actually had a MAJOR problem with this when she was newborn. She wouldn't burp EVER! So she slept on her stomach ALL the time.

When Jocelyn got up this morning, she climbed in bed with us to give Teslyn some loves. I decided to get my camera out and take a few pictures. I actually think I took around 50. But that's the beauty of digital SLR's!

I've noticed that Jocelyn really enjoys holding Teslyn's hand. She thinks that Teslyn is responding to her I guess. I didn't dare tell her that it was a reflex. At any given time during the day, you can find Jocelyn and Teslyn holding hands somewhere. Even if Tess is asleep.

And this is Tess trying to figure out what the heck I was doing this morning disturbing her slumber. I figured that if she was going to keep me up all night, that I'd keep her up all morning with a super bright flash.

Happy Birthday Calvin!

The bad thing about getting a new little sister so close to your birthday, is that you don't get much of a celebration. You turned 2 years old today! And we aren't having any special dinners, or people over, or even presents and cake. I do plan to do those things however... just not today. Mommies lack a little energy just 4 days after giving birth. I know you don't understand. But at the same time... you don't even understand that today is your birthday. I'm trying not to beat myself up over this, so I felt like I could redeem myself by taking some special pictures of just you today. By doing this, I can always remember what you looked like on the day you turned two. And it was almost like you knew exactly what I was doing, because you were VERY cooperative. Something you are usually not when I try to take pictures of you.

So, happy birthday little dude. I promise we will have cake and ice cream and presents soon!

 

Meet Teslyn

When I was pregnant, this was always her most active time of the day. So, now as I sit here with her wide awake after birth... I thought I'd take the time to post some pictures from yesterday and today. Now keep in mind that I had GREAT photographic plans for this baby in the hospital! But... those all fell apart. All I did was sit around in bed, sleep, and eat yummy turkey sandwiches. However, I did remember to take a few real quick to send to my family! Although they aren't going to win any prizes... I think I like them anyway!

WE got to the hospital around 8:30pm last night so that they could check to see if labor was progressing. Up to that point, I had been contracting for 24 hours, and hadn't slept in over 37 hours! When we got there, my contractions were irregular... but they watched me for awhile anyway. After about 30-40 minutes of being hooked up, they checked me and found I was 6cm dilated and 100% effaced with a "bulging bag of water." So they admitted me and started my antibiotic drip.

I was excited about this -

After a few hours... I had a full bag of antibiotic in me and fully dilated. My doctor came in, and broke my water. I was already having pushing contractions, but the water just wouldn't break on it's own. After a few minutes our little girlie was born! They wiped her down, and stuck her on the scale while the doctor attended to me.

After an hour went by, they said that I could have my IV removed IF I went potty first. If I couldn't go, they they were going to put another bag in me. So I flew into the bathroom and did my business. While I did that... the nurse and grandma bathed Tess while daddy took pictures (by my instruction of course).

After that, we went to a recovery room. They brought us sandwiches, and Jared a cot to sleep on!  Then they left us alone until 5:30am so that we could rest. After that... they had to take our stats and all that jazz.

This morning I took these before we left the hospital around 12:00pm:

After we got home, a few friends came to visit. Then in the evening some family came to visit. My sister in law brought her baby (that was born 2 weeks ago). I took this picture of grandma giving Tess some love while holding both babies. Tess is actually bigger according to weight.

She always makes this face. It's like she's constantly searching for something to eat. (I foresee some sore body parts from constant feeding).

Here is another:

And now I think she may finally be asleep for awhile. Which means I'm running crazy fast to my bed to attempt to grab some sleep myself!

It's A Girl!

Teslyn (aka Tess) was born last night at 11:48pm. 8lbs, 4ozs. Dark hair that will turn blonde (seeing as her eyelashes and eyebrows are pretty much transparent. I've only heard her cry 3 times, and none of those times involved being naked, or a diaper change. She seems like she will be a super sleeper, and nurser.

We just walked in the door about 10 minutes ago. I changed into something a little more comfy, and decided to check e-mail. Tess is still in her car seat, but she's fast asleep so I'm just enjoying a few seconds of quiet time before the rest of the kids come barging in!

I do have pictures... but they will not be coming until much later.

For now, I'm off to rest and nap.

I'll post more details about the labor and delivery later!

Still Here!

...enough said!

Imminent Labor Notice:

I'm really trying not to toot my horn too soon, so don't take this post that way. And, no... I don't have my hopes up. If anything, I'm a little nervous about the whole situation. I actually really want to document everything as it is happening so that I will remember it later. Which means, I will be adding to this post throughout the day most likely.

Those of you who have had children (non-induced) before will probably understand what I'm describing. This morning before I took Jocelyn to school I noticed some light bleeding. Then as the day has progressed, I've noticed a up-kick in that bleeding, accompanied by that everything feels like it's going to fall out feeling.

This is something that has happened to me with every pregnancy prior to labor. And if "tradition" holds true, real labor will start in a 24 hour window...

My feelings on this? I don't like it! Tonight I'm supposed to go to a dinner at the church that I was looking forward to. It's even scheduled in my phone (and I never use my phone's calendar if that tells you anything). Then tomorrow morning, Jocelyn is having a thing at school called "Moms and Muffins." So I've been planning on going with her to school in the morning, eating muffins, and reading books with her. I've been prepping her for a week for the fact that I may not be able to go. "That's okay," she always adds. "My grandma can go with me." So, although it won't be detrimental to her... I really do wish I could go. Then tomorrow evening I've been forbidden to go into labor because it's my sister-in-law's baby shower (Nikki who had her baby 2 weeks ago). She didn't have a shower prior to birth because she didn't know what she was having. THEN after the shower it's "girls night."

I'm thinking Friday sounds like a good day? Think I can hold off until then?!

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4:20pm: No change. No contractions (other than a handful here and there). Looks like I will at least get to go to the church dinner!

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8:05pm: Made it to dinner! Although I have had more contractions of the pushing down variety, and more yucky stuff coming from certain places (TMI I know). I'm fully expecting to be able to make it to "Moms and Muffins" tomorrow, and that makes me happy. I'm planning on just taking it easy tonight and doing a little reading!

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3:46am (March 6th): I'm bummed out. I haven't slept at all tonight. I've been having contractions 8-10 minutes apart for a couple of hours now. I actually started having them way earlier in the evening, but they were super far apart. But now they are pretty consistent (although not close enough that I want to go to the hospital). However, they are intense enough that I want to go! I would not be able to talk while having them if I were having a face to face conversation. And my back hurts really bad, so I'm almost worried that I have a posterior little person in there.  I'm bummed because I'm super tired, and wish I could just fall asleep. I'm jealous that Jared is in bed snoring away. Yes, he is literally snoring. I'm also bummed that it looks as though I will miss going to school with Jocelyn in the morning. We have both been looking forward to it. And I'm even more worried that her grandma, or aunt won't make it to school with her in the morning to take my place. I know she will be crushed if that happens. But what can I do? Since I can't sleep, I already packed her backpack with some fun books. That way, whoever does make it to school with her will have something to read. Now... as I expect my next contraction to hit in the next minute or two... I should probably attempt to go back to bed. At least if I'm not sleeping, I will be getting rest of some sort. (Yep, here it comes). I'll try to post before I go to the hospital IF I go to the hospital tonight. And if you don't hear from me by about 9:30am (Utah time)... it's probably because I left to go to the hospital in a hurry and didn't have time to get on here!

Random Tuesday

Doctors visit today. And I'm sure all of you are on the edge of your seats wondering if Friday's activities caused any progressing.

Well, it didn't.

LOL.

I'm still dilated to a 2. And I still weigh the same, if not a few ounces lighter (which is 164 lbs by the way). Blood pressure is still great, and blood sugar is still low. When he measured me he said, "You're big enough." And that's something that only a doctor could get away with saying!

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It's "reading week" at Jocelyn's school. The school secretary (who we also go to church with) made "Seuss Hats," which resemble the red and white striped Cat in the Hat, hats. The school is selling them for $5 each to raise money for buying more books for the school. Today I sent Jocelyn with $10 so that she could get herself and her sister a hat. I should get the camera out and take a couple of pictures, as they are both playing outside with the hats on... but being 39 weeks pregnant sucks all of the life out of you! And all I can REALLY think about right now is putting the kids down for a nap so that I can take one myself! Maybe I'll take a picture later because I DO want to document this.

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Yesterday I had planned on painting at least one wall in my house. I still had 5 walls to go, and thought I'd take it a little at a time instead of trying to conquer it all at once. I picked a wall in my living room. I spent the morning washing the wall and removing blinds. Then by the time afternoon came, I was exhausted from just that. So I took a 3-4 hour nap while the kids napped and watched PBS. After I woke up, I taped off some things (the door, ceiling, etc...) and filled in some holes. And then I was exhausted again! So I sat down with my book (Eat, Pray, Love), and tried to get a few pages in. I failed in that... because frankly, I'm in a section that kind of bores me, and I'm having a hard time concentrating. (I actually pushed past this today in the doctors waiting room... so I think I'm good)! After Jared got home from work, he did the coolest thing. He grabbed the kids and whisked them away for pizza and some time at grandma's house so that I would be able to get some painting time in! And I got that wall painted, and another wall painted! Now only 3 to go!!! So THANK YOU JARED!!!!!

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I've been thinking about Easter. It's coming early this year... so I thought I'd begin contemplating what I wanted to do earlier. The girls had pretty effectively destroyed their Easter baskets from last year, so I threw them away. I've seen a lot of galvanized pails around lately, and was contemplating using those instead of "baskets" this year! And I want to fill them with some fun things like books and note pads, and maybe some other little non candy items. And of course I'd include some Peeps and Cadbury eggs, because what's Easter without those???

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Can you believe that the time changes on Sunday already! I hate it when that happens because it messes with everything! Really, I think my priorities are a bit messed up. I'm thinking about Easter when Calvin's birthday is on Monday. He will be 2. And I haven't planned ANYTHING for him. I haven't even thought of a gift! I don't even know what I want to do for a cake, other than I want it to be something simple. Really, what will he care? He's 2! He won't remember any of it! Jocelyn doesn't remember her 2nd birthday, and she has a super memory. I don't even remember Jocelyn's second birthday!!! Plus, I might be in the hospital (as it is also my due date)... so really. It wouldn't be practical for me to plan anything.

And this is me signing off for  now, because Calvin is showing the telling signs of wanting to go to nap land. He's laying on the couch behind me with his blanket rubbing his ear (all things he does to tell me, "Mom, I would like you to put me in bed now.")

Cross your fingers that I'll get a nap too...

39 Weeks!

One week left to go!

The pictures I promised because I'm not in the hospital...

Maybe you can tell who my favorite kid is? Just kidding. But I do have A LOT more pictures of Calvin than any other. for some reason lately... it is HE that runs to the camera saying cheese and hams it up. And both of the girls just run away or make silly faces.

First... here are my favorites:

Can you hear me now?
Calvin discovered the joys of echos... So I caught a picture of him yelling, just to hear himself yell back! He was VERY fascinated by this as a matter of fact!

How do you like his shirt?

Here are some pictures of Calvin making goofy faces for me yesterday morning while Jocelyn was at school:

And here are some more of him at Jared's work BBQ:

AND... here are the flowers currently blooming in my yard... and also some shots of my veggie garden:

AND.... Here are some more from hiking that do NOT involve Calvin:

*don't you love that temperature!

And here are a couple of random pictures for good measure: