Hannah, I mean Princess, is 4

We celebrated Hannah's 4th birthday last weekend.  I tried to stunt her growth over the last year but it didn't seem to work.  She's such a big girl now.  Fortunately her voice is still the sweetest thing I've ever heard.  She talks big, but in a small voice and sometimes I just listen to her talk but don't pay attention to her words and then she gets really mad at me.  "Mama, did you hear what I said!?"  And her conversations with us are so advanced sometimes we forget she's three... oh wait, I mean four!

She's still funny.  We even considered starting a Twitter account where we could post all the funny things she says.  She likes to give me "Ugamunga kisses" (Eskimo kisses.)  I corrected her and she said, "No, I like Ugamunga better."  There was a fly in the house today and she was trying to figure out how she could kill it. Then she said, "Daddy has the best eyescopes ever! He will get that fly!"  Oh, Hanny.

Hanny loves princesses, pink, jewelry, dressing up (in princess outfits), painting her nails, makeup, and playing with her daddy.    Oh, and she loves Elsa and Anna from the movie 'Frozen.' - that's a pretty important part of her life right now!  And if I hear "Let it Go" one more time, I might... :)

Oh, but there's a dark side...  We have a sassy one on our hands, folks.  Look at her:

 
She looks 100% sweet, doesn't she?  Her blonde curly hair, blue eyes, sweet smile, and infectious laugh fool the masses.

The truth: Girlfriend pushes the limits ALL. THE. TIME.

It's not a totally bad thing: she is unique and independent and sure of herself.  She knows what she wants and pushes hard to get it.  She is smart, quick, decisive, and this little girl is a gift to me.

I love you Hannah Grace.  Happy 4th Birthday.

 

Update

Our baby boy is 4 months old.

We had his appointment last week with Dr. Miller.  He's a BIG boy :)

Weight: 15 pounds 6 ounces 50th percentile
Length: 25.5 inches 75th percentile
Head: 16.75 75th percentile

Severan is the sweetest, most lovable, happiest, most cuddly, amazing baby!  He is joy and laughter and goodness wrapped up in pure adorableness :)  And he is on track with everything developmentally

He is rolling over - back to front and front to back.
He is grabbing for toys and shaking them, quite violently I might add :)
He is laughing, a lot!  And of course still smiling a lot.
He listens to us and 'talks' back.
He is extremely vocal in the morning when he first wakes up.
He loves watching his brother and sister talk to him and do their thing.
He looks for us when we talk to him.
He is sleeping 8-9 hours at night and is on a pretty regular eat/sleep schedule during the day.
He loves his Mama :)

We have a good time together during the day.  I usually sit by him on the floor while I work on my computer and we both love the time together.  He talks and rolls over, talks and rolls over and makes me smile.  Love this little dude!

My big sweethearts are growing up too.  This is Blaine's last week of Kindergarten which we are all in denial about - even Blaine - because we love his teacher so much.  He gets teary eyed when he talks about leaving Mrs. Vogt and not having her as a teacher next year.  Sigh :(  What an amazing year our Mister has had though!  He has grown leaps and bounds and we're so proud of him.

Isn't he beautiful?  After an entire year of not missing a
day of school, poor guy had to miss two due to
a nasty virus he and his sister got. :(  Here he is sleeping
in the middle of the day!

Field Day 2014!

Dear Blaine's Future Wife: I'm doing my best to
raise him right.  Here he is cleaning!

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  I think we've found a winner people! :)

And then who do we have here?  The independent, fiesty, beautiful, funny one.

At swim lessons.

About to eat at Cracker Barrel.

Annie Oakley meets Beauty Queen.

Hannah has developed quite the attitude in the last 4 months.  I don't know where it came from but it has hit us like a freight train.  Girlfriend still loves pink, pink, dresses, and pink!

Severan's surgery is just about 5 weeks away.  I'm looking forward to getting on the other side of that surgery ASAP.

I can barely keep my eyes open (a common theme around here now) so I'd better get to bed.  G/night!

3 Months Old (Almost)

Oh, how much he has grown!

This amazing little dude will be 3 months old on Sunday and I just can't get enough of him!  This is what my little Mister is doing right now:

* laughing
* "talking" to us with the sweetest coos
* grabbing for toys
* sucking on his fingers (he also stared at his hand the other day for about a minute.  So funny!)
* Smiling at anyone that talks to him or at toys hanging above him (he's a happy baby.)
* Sleeping through the night and has been for almost a month now
* One long nap and two shorter naps during the day
* Making his Mama's heart explode with joy everyday!!

And the big kids are doing well too.  HG is only wearing dresses and skirts these days so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with her closet full of shirts and pants.

We went to Cabelas today and Blaine arrived at the fish tank just in time to feed them.  Score!

Last but not least, Big Papa arrived on Tuesday for a surprise visit (for the kids.) They were so excited when they saw him - Blaine's eyes even welled up with tears.  At school on Wednesday he wrote a story about Papa.  It's the sweetest story: "My Papa Came to Visit: Yesterday my Papa came from Michigan to Colorodoe.  First he watched me play Mario.  Then he wrestled with me.  Then he took a nap.  Then it was time for bed.  It was the best present ever.  The end!"

Here they are making fishing lures together.  Two peas in a pod, I say.

I'm going into my 6th week of P90X3 and clean eating plan (yay!) but plan to press pause on this workout so I can start Focus T25 in a new Challenge group.  It is going to kick. my. buns.  I'm hopeful it will kick my buns OFF! :)

Have a great weekend!

Give Me A Break...

We're rocking spring break!  Our mornings are filled with chores, a little TV and my workouts (which by the way totally kicked my buns yesterday!)  Then we venture out in the afternoon for fun activities.  Yesterday we painted pottery, today we went to the park and did some Easter crafts at home, and I have some secret fun planned for the next few days :)  Before I know it, school will be back in session and I'll need a vacation.

We had some fun taking some pictures today too:  Seriously, I have beautiful kids!

HG was making Handsome Boy laugh today.

Those eyes.  Sorry Ladies, he only has eyes
for a special girl in Austin.

Doesn't Sev looked shocked that I am letting HG hold him?  If you
haven't been around a three year old lately let me just sum it up by
saying she should be a wrestler.

Still shocked and such a pretty girl.

Blaine and HG are actually SMILING while touching one another.
\It's a miracle.

I'll cherish these forver.

Those are some BIG hands around a little dude.

I must end this post with a funny moment from HG.

Blaine was really upset in the car on the way home from the pool tonight.  As soon as he started getting upset HG says this little gem:

"Oh come on... Give me a break with the crying, BLAINE!"

She's 3.  And hilarious.

A Day Trip

This is a few weekends late but we had a fun day trip to Morrison, CO at the beginning of the month.  The weather is really warming up here so we are all getting anxious for summer and more outdoor exploration.

This is HG in the parking lot of the dino museum.  She was pouting
because David wasn't carrying her in.

Once inside, the pouting continued.

Silly David being eaten by T-Rex.

Pouting is over!  HG being eaten by T-Rex.

Mule deer at the park we found.

We had a lot of fun and this was only a short 30 minutes from our house.  Smiles all around ;)

Severan Joseph Arrives! (Birth Story)

My eviction notice eventually worked... though I am sure it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with Severan actually being ready to join our family.

If you don't enjoy the details of a birth story, you might want to scroll down to the pictures ;)

Around 10:30 am on Sunday morning, January 13th,  I began having contractions.  I knew we had to be getting close to "the day" since I was five days overdue but having had several false alarms in the previous weeks (when I was sure labor would be starting) I wasn't holding my breath.  Finally though, around 5:30 pm, I called my midwife to get her opinion.  She asked if my contractions had increased in intensity and duration over the last few hours and since my answer was 'no' she told me to eat dinner and go to bed at home but to "get organized and get ready to come to the hospital."  We did just that.  Both kids went to bed knowing that we might not be there in the morning, I alerted our superstar kid-watchers and eventually we headed to bed.  But, that didn't last long.  Around 10:00 pm that whole "intensity and duration" thing happened and David said he knew it was time to go because I began to sound different as I breathed through contractions that were lasting about a minute long and coming one after another, and sounded pretty much like a wounded wild animal!  We got the midwife on the phone and she said it was TIME! :)  Happy, happy, joy, joy!

David called Ali (night-time and morning kid-sitter extraordinaire) and Sarah (morning and day-time kid-sitter extraordinaire) and let them know we needed to go to the hospital.  As David packed up the vehicle and made me a snack I got myself in the car and prayed this labor and delivery would be short and sweet.  Ali arrived within minutes and we were off.

The hospital we delivered at was pretty far from our house (considering Blaine and HG were delivered at a hospital that was under ten minutes away from our old house) so thank God we went in the middle of the night as there was no traffic.  We had my special baby music playing the whole time - music I had picked out and been playing for Sev and I for months prior to his arrival.  I am sure David and the L&D nurses get sick of hearing the same songs on repeat, but it is a wonderful meditative practice to me!  The song I listened to the most was by Hillsong United and is titled "Oceans."  Meditating on the lyrics and hearing the soothing music were a great comfort to me through the waves of intense contractions.  Here are the lyrics, which I absolutely love.

"You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior"

We arrived in our room around 1:00 am I suppose.  The team got to work preparing my antibiotic that needed to be administered because I was Group B Strep positive and they asked me tons of questions.  Finally they checked my cervix and I was a disappointing 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  After my antibiotic was done and baby was found to have a strong heartbeat they unhooked me from everything and I hopped into the jacuzzi tub for over an hour.  After that I went to the birthing ball, moved on to hang on David's shoulders and finally ended up on my side in the bed, where I spent most of my time and felt most comfortable.  In the middle of all these position changes we discovered that (like Blaine) Severan was presenting sunny-side up and the lip of my cervix was not coming over his head so I couldn't start pushing, though I knew it was time.  Misery began to set in for me as I began to remember how long we waited for these two things to come together when Blaine was born: forever!  As we approached the 5:00 am hour I had been in very painful back labor for almost 10 hours and knew that I needed some relief so I requested a pain reliever in my IV to take the edge off.  While the painful contractions didn't lessen I was able to rest in between contractions and this was HUGE for me in terms of being able to recover and prepare for the next wave of pain.  The medicine only lasted 30-45 minutes but it felt like an eternity to me because there was real rest.  My nurse also administered a bag of fluids for hydration and that allowed my contractions to space out a bit more which made them more manageable.  Don't get me wrong... I still cried and continued to complain that I was not going to make it but "Team Severan" wouldn't let me give in and David knew I didn't want an epidural, so he was my #1 fan and encourager!  At 6:00 am they checked me again and I was 7.5 cm dilated (YAY!) After a short celebration and high fives I continued to labor and at 7:30 am the nurse and midwife made a plan to get baby around my cervix so I could push.  They put me in the "Queen of Sheba" position (I'll spare you the details), my midwife went in and held my cervix while I 'gently' pushed his head past that last bit.  AND IT WORKED!  Amen!  And then the real work began.  It felt sooooo good to begin pushing.  Wow!  After about ten minutes of pushing I asked how much longer and I got the typical "you're almost there.  Not much longer." answer - which did NOT satisfy me.  I begged for a number and when I threw out there "6 more pushes?" they agreed!  It's funny now, I think. :)  She asked if I wanted to feel his head coming out and my answer was the same as it was for the other two kids when I was asked this: "NO!  Get him out and I'll feel his whole head!!!!" And I'm happy to report that he was out in just four more pushes.  :)

Arriving at 8:31 am on January 13th, 2014 was our third born, beautiful baby boy, Severan Joseph Lyon.  He weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds and 14 ounces (wow) and was 20.5 inches long.

I hope Severan always remembers that double
chin I developed and endured for him.

They let us do delayed cord clamping.  David is
clamping the cord after it had stopped pulsating.

So glad it's over and he is finally here!

He loved his first bath.

Brother and Sister meet Sev for the first time.

Mimi and her third grand-baby.

We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday morning and have been adjusting well at home.

A huge thank you to Ms.Ali and Aunt Sarah for:

A. Putting up with my "I think I'm in labor.  Oh wait, just kidding." texts.
B. Taking care of our kids and making them feel comfortable and loved while we were gone.
C. Being awesome women that made my going to the hospital so much easier!  

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you did for us!

And to my baby's daddy :) David - you were the best support person in that room for me.  Both the nurse and the midwife complemented on how awesome you were in there.  Your calm, your words of encouragement, your strength (which helped relieve my back labor), and your believe in me got me through those difficult 12+ hours of labor and delivery.  I love you so much.  Thank you.

Welcome to our family, Severan.  We're wild, we're crazy, we're fun and we LOVE you so much.