Annemarie

So, this is pretty much old news, but I wanted make sure I posted about Annemarie's birth. Since the boys were all 10-15 days early and big...we started really anticipating her arrival 2 weeks before her due date. She wasn't ready yet. So, 3 days before my due date at my dr's appt he offered to induce me the next day. I immediately took him up on his offer! So, we picked my mom up from the airport at 4:30, went home and put the boys to bed, and waited for the hospital to call. They called around 7:30, we got there around 8 and they broke my water about 9:30. I was still having no contractions at that point. About 10:00 the contractions started and I got my epidural at 10:45. They checked me at 11:30 and I was dilated to a 6 and fully effaced. An hour later the epidural felt like it was wearing off on my right side (which has happened to me before) and so they turned me on that side. I felt pressure and so the nurse checked me and Annemarie was right there! She quickly called the dr, told me not to push and got everything ready for delivery. The dr arrived and I pushed through one contraction when they realized the umbilical cord was around her neck. After safely cutting it away, she was born on the next contraction. I immediately realized she wasn't crying. The nurses took her to the warming station and began trying to get her to breathe. They called in the trauma team and started prepping oxygen. Just as the trauma nurse arrived, the most beautiful cry I'd ever heard finally came out. They said that they worry about repercussions if the baby goes over a minute before breathing, but she was only 51 seconds (the longest 51 seconds ever!!)
She weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long. Grandma Red immediately noticed Annemarie's red hair!

 Dr. March delivered all 4 of my children.

 She came through the birth canal so fast she bruised her cheeks and broke blood vessels in both eyes. You can really notice the cheek bruising in this picture. She kind of looks fake.

 My mom crocheted her a couple of awesome hats to wear in the hospital. The nurses loved them!

 See those Krispy Kreme's in the background? Annemarie was born on national talk like a pirate day. Ken and my  mom dressed up with the boys and scored us 5 free dozen doughnuts.

 The boys were so happy to come visit us and meet Annemarie. Rex wanted to stay with me.

 The brothers were so happy and thrilled to meet their new little sister.

 People tell me all the time that I must have my hands full. Yes, happily, my hands are very full.

 This picture represents Annemarie's life pretty much. The boys loving on her, not so gently, until she finally protests.

 This was her first time at church, at 3 days old. She looks jaundiced and bruised. Poor baby.

 Ken's office sent us this flower arrangement. At first I thought it was so cute and clever...then it started creeping me out.

We couldn't be happier to welcome sweet Annemarie into our home. We love her so much. 

Oh...and for those who don't know, her name is a 3 person combo. My mom's name is LeAnn, so the 'Ann' comes from that. Ken's middle name is just the letter 'E' and my middle name is 'Marie'. When you put them all together you get Annemarie. 

Happy Birthday Rex!

It is hard to believe our little man is 2 years old! 

 Since his birthday was on a Sunday and Ken gets up at the crack of dawn to get to his church meetings, we  had to wait all day to open his presents. Since he is 2 and doesn't really know what is going on, Rex didn't mind. It about drove Abraham and Tyler bananas though, having to wait!

 It is no surprise to anyone who knows Rex that he had very super hero-centric presents. He loved them all. 

 His brothers did too...

 My Mom made him this awesome Thor hat and hammer. They were perfect. 

 Rex wanted a Hulk cake, so we made him a green cake with purple frosting. He was happy, so we were happy. He invited his friend Troy over to share cake and ice cream. He loves to play with Troy in nursery and we were so glad he could share Rex's birthday with us. 

 Grandma and Grandpa Carlile sent some birthday money which Rex promptly used to buy this Wolverine costume from Costco. Is it not the cutest thing you've ever seen??? My mom also made him the Wolverine doll, which he loves and carries around like a baby doll. So adorable. 

We are so happy Rex is a part of our family and can't imagine life without him. He brings us such joy. Happy Birthday to our little Super Hero!

4th of July

We had a very mellow 4th of July around here. Ken had been volunteering at Girl's Camp for our church all week and just got home that day. We did go out and set off a few very basic (think sparklers) fireworks. The kids enjoyed it and that night the fireworks didn't even wake them up!

 The kids were very interested in the matches and the fire. Much more interested in that than the snakes.

 Rex tripped and fell and was so sad. Sometimes I think his sad face is just so darn cute. 

 The sparklers were a big hit for Abraham and Rex, but Tyler wanted nothing to do with it. 

 He has those little exploding snaps in his hand. That is really all he wanted to do with any of it. Funny little boy. 

Tyler is 4!

Tyler turned 4 at the end of May. He really wanted a Rescue Bot Birthday (it is a Transformers cartoon on Netflix) so I worked hard to make it happen. There are 6 Rescue Bots. He already had two and each set of Grandparents bought him one. We bought him the 5th and after much searching realized the 6th was rare and hard to find. It cost $30 or more to buy it on ebay or Amazon and I just wasn't willing to go that far. So, he was just going to have to live with having 5 of the 6. His birthday was on a Saturday, so we celebrated and he opened all his presents. We didn't have his cake and ice cream until the next day, on Sunday. Saturday night I headed out to Wal-Mart to get some supplies I needed for his cake. They sell sets of very small Rescue Bots for $5 and I thought that I would buy one of those and put it on his cake instead of worrying how else to make a Rescue Bot cake. As I walked down the toy aisle, I was overjoyed to see, sitting randomly on a shelf, the elusive Blades...for $11!! I couldn't believe it and threw it into my cart like it was 5:00 AM on Black Friday. I was just as excited as he was to bring out a cake topped with Blades. I love these pictures that capture his excitement too! Happy Birthday Tyler!

 And...pretty much the cutest baby ever!!!

We're Back!

After a 7 month hiatus with no computer, we finally bought a new one for our anniversary! So, hooray I can blog again! I'm not going to attempt to catch everyone up on the last 7 months, but here are some of our favorite pictures.  Here's to blogging once again!!