Baby Photo Shoot

My wonderful friend Lindsey and I tried our hands as photographers and had a baby photo shoot with the boys. I was pretty happy with the results and when I went through to pick my favorites I ended up with 70 pictures. Luckily for all of you, I won't post all 70 here, I narrowed it down to 15, which is still a lot I know, but they are such sweet boys I couldn't resist!!

I love this one because you can see his double dimples. I think they are adorable and can't wait until his smile is in full bloom!

The blanket in the background is one my mother made for Rex. It is beautiful. The next picture shows the front of it, which is equally as beautiful. I have such a talented mother!

Isn't it gorgeous??

I think this picture is so sweet. I like how wide open his eyes are.

Here are the BIG BROs.

They love and adore their brother.

I initially thought Rex was the spitting image of Abraham, but the older he gets the more I think he'll be a good mix.

He holds his head up so well. This picture just makes me smile.

We are SO lucky to have Grandma Red (my mother) here. She has been a lifesaver and I'm not thinking about the fact that she is going home soon.

I really could stare at my baby all day long...

I love the wrinkled skin on his back in this picture, it is such a cute little baby thing.

The next two pictures make me laugh because they represent Rex's current life. His brothers trying to "love" him while I do my best to keep him safe.

I'm a very lucky mother to have 3 wonderful sons. I can't wait to watch Abraham, Tyler, and Rex continue to grow and learn.

Thanks Lindsey for your camera and all your help! We had fun and are so happy with how our pictures captured our little newborn.

Brothers

Those brothers love their "cute little baby" as Abraham calls him. Tyler either says "Re" without the "x" sound or just roars like a dinosuar. They love to hold him and kiss him, sometimes a little too much! I'm sure the honeymoon will end, but right now I'm enoying watching my big brothers love on their little brother.

Introducing Rex Kale Carlile!

On August 11, 2011 at 9:34 PM we welcomed 8 lb 11 oz, 21 inches long Rex Kale Carlile into our family. He is beautiful and I must warn you there are a lot of pictures to follow. As much as I hate the "I just delivered a child and now you want to take my picture?" shot, I think it is kind of mandatory to include it.

I went into labor at 3:30 that afternoon while driving in my car. I pretty much knew it was the real thing immediately, even though it was 15 days before my due date. This picture is with our doctor, he has delivered all 3 of my boys now!

After dropping the boys off and making it to the hospital we got checked in and immediately prepped for the epidural. Oh how I love epidurals.

My labor and delivery was definitely my fastest and easiest. At one point I had to quit pushing to ensure the doctor got there in time to deliver. My nurse was pretty stressed that she was going to have to deliver him if the doctor didn't hurry!

We had a hard time deciding on a name for this little man. He was almost 24 hours old before he was officially named. We are really happy with our choice though and it suits him well. Abraham was pretty disappointed that we didn't go with his choice: Iron Man. He got over it after Ken told him that his nick name could be T Rex.

When the boys came to visit in the hospital they were slightly more enthralled with the toys that the baby brought for them then they were with their brother.

They loved on him once the new toy magic wore off.

There is nothing sweeter than a brand new baby and we are absolutely thrilled with our little boy. The instant love and belonging that comes with a newborn always amazes me.

He's got two little dimples and looks a lot like his brothers, especially Abraham.

I think his Daddy loves him too!

I had to include this last picture because I love the look on Tyler's face...it is so amazed.

We are at home now, getting used to life with a family of 5. My mom came in on Tuesday and has been a great help. We had some initial trouble with jaundice and weight loss, but after 4 days of doctor's visits and tests we are on the upswing and doing really well. Welcome to the world little Rex! We love you!

4th of July

We had a pretty relaxed 4th of July. We took the boys to go see Cars 2 (thanks Bryan for hooking us up with free tickets!!) and spent time together as a family. That evening we went to our friend's house for a BBQ and some fireworks.

Ken and I are explaining what a sparkler is and how to use it. (Oh and for those who have asked for a picture, that blue mini van is the one we recently purchased).

The kids weren't really into the sparklers. Abraham was very worried he was going to burn his fingers.

The kids started out interested in fireworks...

And ended up terrified. This is the adults doing our best to convince them that fireworks are fun and exciting.

We are so privileged to live in our free country. We are grateful to those who risk their lives and serve our country. Happy Independence Day!!!

Oh Where, Oh Where have my Tonsils Gone?

We've always struggled with Tyler's eating, sleeping, and talking...or should I say lack thereof? Almost 2 weeks ago he was finally diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and scheduled to have his tonsils and adenoids out and new tubes placed. Here is the poor little guy pre-surgery. He has no clue what is about to happen!Coming out of anesthesia was the worst. He was so mad and kept trying desperately to pull out his IV. After an hour and two morphenine doses in his IV he finally fell asleep. That is an hour of my life I never want to re-live!

Getting settled in our room. He was so unhappy about being hooked up to all his cords and things. Giving him his medicine isn't easy. He doesn't like it or want it, but won't eat or drink without it. So, we have to physically hold him down and force it in him...every 4 hours. I feel terrible doing it, but look at that smile when he actually feels decent and has medicine in him!Tyler loved taking wagon rides. We'd bribe him to take his medicine by offering a wagon ride. It didn't work, we still had to force it in him. Don't mind my drool covered shirt, it even hurt to swallow so the poor kid drooled all over me!

There was a huge saltwater fish tank that we'd go visit. It had several fish from one his favorite shows, Finding Nemo inside. He loved it!
This picture was just too cute not to post.
Tyler really has struggled to eat or drink anything. We were thrilled when he decided to down some vanilla ice cream! We were happy to finally be approved to go home (they were worried he wasn't hydrated enough and made us stay several extra hours in the hospital to make sure).
Since he slept in a big boy bed at the hospital, we figured we might as well go with the momentum and make the big move to bunk beds at home. He's up several times at night because of his tonsils, so we might as well let him get used to a new bed at the same time rather than be up several times a night again in a few weeks because he isn't used to his bed.

We are now on Day 4 of recovery and I think we turned a corner last night. He woke up at 10:00 last night in a lot of pain, so we forced the meds down him (yes, he is still terrible at taking them). He woke up at 2:00 and 4:00, but went right back to sleep both times. At 6:45 he was up for the day. Ken had already gone to church, so I made a deal with Tyler. If he'd eat and drink we'd skip the morning meds. It worked! He drank a whole cup of milk and then some juice and ate a big bowl of icecream, so jell-o and a popsicle. It doesn't sound like much, but it is most he's done since surgery.

He's continued to eat and drink much better today and has played and acted more like his normal self. Hooray! Hopefully this will help him with his troubles and we can get the little guy on track. Thanks to everyone who has helped us and served us these last few days. It has meant so much. Especially my sister Tami, who has kept Abraham for us. We've felt so loved.

Family Pictures

It's that time of year for us to update our family pictures. We went out with our friends the Bullocks and were able to get some great shots. Tyler was pretty grumpy the whole time, but nothing a little photoshop couldn't fix! We had a great time and I'm happy with our pictures. I love this picture because the while Abraham's choke hold on Tyler is completely unintentional, it is a good representation of their relationship. They love each other, but they fight like brothers.
Just a fun candid shot that I liked.
I really love this picture of Abe. What a smile, that dimple always gets me!

Somehow we are never able to get a formal shot of Tyler smiling. This one is pretty sweet anyway though!!
I don't like being pregnant. I don't like pictures of myself being taken while I am pregnant. However, it is part of us right now, so I figured it wouldn't kill me to have one good full body shot. So everyone who's asked a million times and wants a good preggo picture, here you go!

I guess now it is time to redo my blog header...