"School Days, School Days"

Lydia started preschool last week and couldn't be happier about it. Mommy is pretty happy, too! Lydia and Rhett have struggled a bit since the baby came. They're not used to me being occupied with other things and still expect me to be able to do things for them as soon as they ask. There's been more naughtiness, fighting, etc. Preschool has given these two kiddos some time apart, given Lydia some social interaction and a chance to get out of the house, and given Rhett some more one-on-one time with me. The preschool is just around the corner in our neighbor's basement, so it's super convenient to be able to walk over and not have to load all the kids up in the car. We're all settling into a pretty good routine. Everyone is a little happier at our house. :)

Lydia's 4th Birthday

Lydia really wanted to have an Orange Blossom birthday party this year. We did a Strawberry Shortcake-themed one last year, and for those of you who don't know, Orange Blossom is one of her friends. I knew I'd have a newborn by then, so I talked her into doing a pool party, an idea I got from a friend who has also had tiny babies close to her other kid's birthday. We invited a few friends and let them play in the pool and dig for "buried treasure" in the sandbox. We played a few games and had snacks and cupcakes. Very low key. I still couldn't have done it, though, without my mom being there to help. She was behind the scenes helping out with food prep and keeping an eye on the baby while the party was in full swing.

Shark cupcakes for the boys

Hula dancer cupcakes for the girls.

beach jello cups

We are so grateful that Lydia is in our family. She is a good girl that wants to do what is right. She is good to her little brothers (most of the time :) ) and loves having Rhett for a playmate. She is such a social little girl and jumps at any chance to play with friends. She still loves books and is starting to figure out how letters sound when put together. I bet she'll be reading soon. Lydia is a very curious little girl--her favorite question is "why?"

We love our Lydia.

Bringing Home Russ

On Tuesday, August 6, 2013 at 8:06 am, Russell Kyle Daniels was born, weighing in at 8 lb. 8 oz and measuring 20 inches long. The days surrounding his birth were quite busy at our house! The Saturday before he was born we headed up to Ogden to trade in our truck, upgrading to a 4-door. The entire process reminded us of how much we hate car dealerships. The kids were very patient the whole time we were there, so we decided to stop in at the Hill Aerospace Museum and let the kids run around a bit. Rhett really likes airplanes lately, so we thought he'd especially like it.

 

 The day before Russell was born we took a drive in our "new" truck up in the mountains for FHE. Grant even prepared a tithing lesson, including a short video on his phone. We followed a little hiking trail for a bit and found a small river that the kids threw rocks into.

 Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:30 am with contractions (Side note: I've never gone into labor on my own, always been induced overdue. I've never even had pre-labor contractions with my other pregnancies, so this was new for me). I'd been having contractions for a few weeks, so this didn't seem like anything unexpected, even though I was 3 days overdue. They were strong enough to wake me up and continued for about an hour, so I decided to start timing them. The contractions were 8-9 minutes apart, so I figured if it was real labor, I still had plenty of time. By this time Grant woke up because I turned on a lamp to read (since I couldn't sleep!), and he wanted to call his Mom to come. My mom was flying in that night, so his mom was on call in case I went into labor. I didn't want to call and wake her up if it was false labor, so I was hesitant. The contractions were much stronger than what I'd experienced in previous weeks, so I finally agreed--he called his mom and she was on her way. I took a shower, finished up the dishes, packed a few last minute things in the hospital bag, and continued timing contractions. By the time Cyndy got here they were about 6 minutes apart. We headed to the hospital, and contractions were about 4 minutes apart in the car. Grant wanted to use valet parking, but I said no, I'm fine, let's go park the car and walk in ourselves. I had to stop in the parking garage during a contraction, then we were on our way again. Now looking back, if I had known how fast it was all going to happen, I probably would have opted for the valet! We made it to the labor and delivery floor, and the lady at the desk checked us in super quick and got us a room. After Russ was born, she came back in with some more stuff for us to sign. Grant asked her why we didn't do this when we checked in, and she said she could tell we needed a room, and fast! I guess she's worked there long enough she can tell when it's getting close.

We got settled in our room around 7:30 am, the nurse checked and I was dilated 5 cm. I thought it would still be a few hours at least before the baby came. Boy was I wrong! Being induced is so different! After the got IVs in, fetal monitors connected, etc., they asked if I was ready for an epidural. I said yes! The anesthesiologist was in the next room, so he'd be with us shortly. All of a sudden contractions were coming on nonstop and much more intense. I was dilated to an 8 and they asked if I still wanted an epidural. I still said yes, starting to panic a bit. I hadn't prepared for a natural birth! I wasn't sure I could do it! The anesthesiologist came in and started to place the epidural. He got the initial dose in and was going to insert the catheter when all of a sudden I felt the baby coming! They told me not to push, but I couldn't stop it! The baby was coming, and I couldn't do anything about it! The anesthesiologist had to move aside so my doctor could deliver the baby! It seemed like only about two pushes later and he was here! Born at 8:06 am on 8/06, Russ practically delivered himself. About 20 minutes later I felt the epidural start to kick in. Big fat waste of money. Oh well. At least it was super fast, so the pain didn't last very long. Actually, if I could guarantee that every labor would be that short, I would go natural for all the rest of my pregnancies. It was a really nice recovery! And I would much rather experience that kind of pain again than the back pain I had last year. That was absolutely miserable. It was a very intense 30 minutes, but so worth it. Russ is such a good baby. So sweet and patient. He definitely lets you know when he's hungry, but will still wait if he can have a binky. He's got some handsome blue eyes and tons of blonde hair with a little bit of curl on top. We love him. And now for an overload of pictures, long overdue.

Going home

Within minutes of arriving home, the kids showered him with gifts. :)

Already a BYU fan! We start them young.

Summer Days

So cute, I'm glad I was watching to catch them give each other kisses. They are good friends.

August Equals Busy, Busy, Busy

August was filled with lots of firsts and eventful moments.

To start, Lydia got her first ever hair cut. That's right, scissors had never touched her hair before this day. She's never wanted to cut her hair, she always said she wanted to grow it as long as Rapunzel's! Then I chopped 13 inches off my hair in July, and she decided she wanted hers to look just like mine.

Another first: Rhett's stitches. He fell off a playhouse we had on the patio, head first into a pile of sharp rocks where the kids had built "nests" earlier that day. It pierced right through his forehead and scraped up his nose and upper lip pretty good. We called him our little Rudolph for the next week or so. Poor guy! He was super brave, though, and didn't cry at all while they stitched him up.

Oh yeah, we had a baby. ;) More on that in another post.

Grandma Brady came to help out with the new baby, and the kids LOVED having her here.

We sold our Provo house we'd been renting out since December 2012. We signed papers the day we came home from the hospital!

Lydia turned 4! She was one happy girl when she opened her present---Disney princess barbies!

Can you see the pure joy on her face?

My brother Shane and his family visited from Mexico. We don't see them nearly as often since they moved from Utah, so we met at a park with a splash pad and had pizza for dinner. Rhett was content to skirt around the edges of the water eating his pizza, but Lydia got right in there and had a blast running around with her cousin Sophie.

The cousins with Grandma.

Glued at the Hip

 Wherever Lydia is, you can be pretty sure Rhett isn't far behind. He is her little shadow, and is completely convinced he is big enough to do everything she does. Most of the time this works out great for me--they play together, keep each other entertained, and have a grand time. And then the fighting starts. But I love the days when they get along great and have fun adventures together.