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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Reaching For The Stars!

 
Leah and Kailyn's very first dance performance! They did a Jazz and ballet routine! Leah went from not being the most graceful girl, to a really good dancer. She really nailed it. It's been so much fun to watch her grow! Kailyn's mom did their hair and make up. The girls look so grown up. I almost cried backstage with the girls. Their dance teacher who's a member at our church is quitting. Leah will join the Westside Ballet studio and dance in their big show in June. I'm not sure, if we will do this again next year. Right now, the girls were dancing as part of a special deal their teacher offered for "Friends and Church Members". It was a discounted program. I'm a little bit worried to see what the cost is to join the dance troop at Westside Ballet. Leah's teacher did a wonderful! I couldn't be happier for her!
 

Sunday, December 14, 2014

From Baby to Big Girl!

 
Eight years ago, I attempted to make my very first baby blessing gown with the help with my sister Jenny and my friend Eunice. Now, fast forward...Leah's big day is coming up. She's getting baptized. She can't wait to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I'm so proud of her. Next time, we will take a picture of her getting married with all three dresses. I couldn't be prouder of her.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Eight is Great!



 
My little girl isn't so little anymore...where did all of the time go? She's growing up fast. This is a major birthday! She's going to be baptized in a couple of weeks in my parents ward in Tennessee. I still have to start working on her baptism dress for the big day. She's super excited about it.
 
Her party is tomorrow night. We're going to have a ballerina themed party. She made her birthday sign on her own. She wrote down all of the party games that she wants to do. I'm really proud of her. I decided to step back and let her plan it on her own with my help. She's getting older which means she can take on more responsibilities. She's done a great job taking care of her pet rabbit. This is what life is about. Mom stepping back and guiding her daughter towards independence and helping her can confidence.
 
I'm really sad that her little girl days are almost over but I'm confident that she will grow and mature into a beautiful Daughter of God!
 
Life is Good!
 
Happy 8th Birthday!
 
P.S. my photographer skills are getting pretty good. I'm really happy with the way the pictures turned out. It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day

Weight Loss Jounery
 
The best gift I can give my kids is to take care of myself. So, I can be able to take care of them in return. In less, than a week. I dropped 5 pounds...that's right! FIVE POUNDS. Nope, I'm not starving myself either. I just cut out all sugar and carbs. Look at the difference...
144lbs
139lbs


I have lost 37 pounds!
 

Do you see, what I see? Yup, my wedding ring finally fits. It's a little bit snug but at this rate. It will hopefully be too loose by the end of the month.
 
 
Everything that I do is for my kids. Trying to keep up with the kids is hard enough. We went to Silver Dollar City yesterday, I must of walked over 3 miles. Thanks, for my FitBit. Loosing weight couldn't be easier.
 
I only have about 7 more pounds to go before reaching my last weight loss goal. I'm almost there.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

update weight loss pictures

I did it.
 
I have lost 34 pounds!
 
The pictures on the bottom are from 20 days ago.
 
The difference is amazing.
 
I'm now, down to 142 pounds.
 
I need to lose two more pounds to be considered a healthy BMI.
 
I'm hoping to lose ten more pounds. I want to get to my pre-pregnancy weight from Leilani which was 132lbs.
 
Plus, all of you...who told me not to worry about losing the weight. I'm glad I didn't listen to all that negative talk. Talking care of myself, means I can take better care of my family.
 
I'm hoping to lose ten more pounds before my birthday which is May 30th.
 
Five years ago, I lost a ton of weight and it was right before my birthday. I remember how shocked my family was when they saw me. I'm hoping to do it again.
 




Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Weight Loss Photos...

 Just delivered...176lbs.

 
 
6 weeks P.P...149lbs.
 
Total weight loss: 27 pounds
 
My weight loss goal: 132 lbs.
 
I still have 17 more pounds to go!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Ten on Tuesday

1. First things first, it's been a long time since writing up a Ten on Tuesday list. Sorry, I feel really bad about this but I have been so busy with the new baby.

2. Let's see, as of this morning. I have lost over 26 pounds. I'm using my fitbit plus counting calories but I have discovered that I'm very sensitive to carbs. I discovered, I had a problem with my last and final pregnancy. I was borderline GD. I'm using a low carb diet with lots of healthy protein and fats. The fat is melting right off my body. I'm not even exercising. I'm just walking and chasing after the kids. I'm hoping to lose close to 45 pounds total. I have about 19 more pounds to go. I'm hoping to lose most of the weight before summer break.

3. Lindsey isn't the easiest baby but it turns out she was just gassy which was making her very upset and fussy. She's gaining weight like crazy. Leroy thinks I'm overfeeding her but I don't think that's possible with a breastfeed baby. She's already up to 11 pounds and outgrowing her 0-3 months clothes.

4. Leah keeps crying over every little thing. It's so annoying. I'm not ready for this emotional stage. She's so overly dramatic, what happened to our tomboy?

5. Leilani is super crazy about her little sister. She loves to hug her and give her tons of kisses. She's a little bit too friendly with her sometimes. She's all about smothering her with love. It's super cute.

6. We went to Silver Dollar City with my best friend. We managed to survive the whole trip with 9 kids. We had a really good time until it started to rain:( We had so much fun, that I decided to go ahead and buy season tickets. We're not going on vacation this year. So, we will be spending a lot of time up in Branson. It's about a two hour drive.

7. Landon just started baseball. They lost their first game but Landon was a good sport about it. He usually doesn't like to lose. The baseball schedule is insane. He has three games a week plus practices. Also, most of his games start at 8:00pm. He didn't make it home last night until 10:30pm. It's going to be a long season.

8. Leroy surprised me with a car. It's nothing practical but it has to do with our "love/engagement" story. It's a '78 Spite Fire Triumph. He will be restoring it back to it's original condition. I just need to decided on what color I want my car to be painted? Any ideas?

9. Leah just started Tennis lessons. She will go two times a week for the next six weeks. She had her first lesson on Monday, she did a really good job. I really want her to stay active. She doesn't have anyone to play with after school. So, I decided that tennis would be a good fit for her.

10. Logan isn't doing anything at the moment. He's kinda of loner and likes to do his own thing. He's just in scouts at the moment and likes to spend his free time playing Minecraft which should be called "minecrack".

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Pretty as A Princess!





My latest creation. The prefect Spring dress. It's girly and magical all at the same time. She's in love with her new dress. She wants a whole closet full of these type of dresses. Isn't it beautiful? 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

20 Months Old




 
Our little baby girl is no longer the baby in the family. The new baby arrived a couple of days late which means she came on the day that Leilani turned 20 months old. Now, I'm a little bit late writing up this post but Leilani no longer seems like the baby anymore. It's strange, how over night everything can completely change for the rest of your life. Ms. Leilani is a "mini big sister". I was worried that she would be jealous of the new baby but that's not the case at all. She loves being the big sister. She can't get enough of Lindsey. I foresee them being the best of friends.
 
Leilani is now talking in very short sentences. Here's some of her favorite phrases.
 
This is what she started to call the new baby..."hi, you". Now, two weeks later, she calls the baby "hi, Baby".
 
Also, when she wants to pick up the baby which she isn't allowed to do. She will say "Help, me!"...I usually find her hovering over the baby trying her darnest to pick her up.
 
She's only regressed a little bit but overall, she's just growing up fast.
 
Leilani is no longer, sharing a room with Leah. She moved into the boys old bedroom. She will be eventually sharing a room with the new baby.
 

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Baby #5

Lindsey Grace
 
2/17/14
8lbs 14oz
20 inches long
40+4 weeks
 
 

 
Our Valentine's Day baby decided to show up three days later...lol. I was not mentally prepared to go over my due date. Last time, I was pregnant with Leilani she came three days before my due date. I figured that this baby would come a couple days early or right on my due date. The baby had other plans. She was taking her sweet time coming into the world. I really don't recommend having a February baby. The last couple of weeks the weather was horrible (snow and ice storms) plus everyone was sick except for me. I'm not going to lie...the last couple of weeks was really hard. The stress and worry. I should of stressed less but it's hard to do.
 
On Monday, I woke up and somehow felt like the baby was going to come sometime during the day. The Cox guys were coming over to set up our internet. So, it was a good excuse for Leroy to work from home while we waited for the Cox guys to come to the house to install the internet. I really didn't feel comfortable with Leroy being away. He works all the way in Rogers. Leilani's birth was super fast (1 hr 20minutes). So, we just told my folks that he was staying home because he wanted to be here for the Cox's guys but that really wasn't the full truth. I felt something with up and I was right.
 
After lunch, I started to have some really mild contractions but nothing too crazy. They started to come more consistently and regular. I was just playing it cool. I wasn't sure if it was the real thing or not.
 
I was sitting outside watching the kids play outside with my swollen feet and hands. Sitting there miserable and wondering to myself if this baby will ever come. When a friend of mine from church dropped by the house to drop off a huge Route 44 Oreo shake. It really made my day...lol. It was really thoughtful of her.
 
The contractions kept on coming. It wasn't too much longer when the Cox's guy showed up to install the internet. My dad kept telling the guys how I was overdue. It really wasn't helping.
 
Anyways, after they left. We all sat down to eat dinner. I really started to think to myself that this baby might be coming. The contractions were coming closer together plus getting more painful.
 
I finally decided to pull Leroy aside and told him that I thought we should head to the hospital.
 
The drive down to the hospital was uneventful, I was really worried that they would send me back home but they didn't. The nurse checked me and said that I was at a 5/6 cm. She said that they would keep me because my cervix was very stretchy plus I was already overdue.
 
Now, my L&D nurse really didn't like me. I decided this is baby number 5 and I'm calling all of the shots. I pretty much told her "no" to everything she wanted to do. She wanted me to have an iv, she wanted me to lay down in the bed, and etc... She tried her scared tactics but it didn't. I wanted to have a completely natural birth. I wasn't trying to be difficult but we weren't the best match.
 
My nurse told me that my doctor wasn't available. I would have to go with the on-call doctor. I really wasn't happy about it. I made it very clear to her that I wasn't happy about it all. Well, an hour later. She came back into my room and told that after reviewing my file. She found a note in my file stating that if I went into labor that my doctor would come in and deliver my baby. I couldn't be more happy. I wasn't stuck with the on call doctor.
 
The nurse finally was able to locate their birthing ball. They also decided to hook me up to wireless monitoring system. The nurses didn't even know how to use it. I'm assuming a majority of laboring moms get epidurals. I was really throwing my nurses for a loop. They had to bring out a cheat sheet because they didn't know how to put it on my tummy. Once, they had it hooked up. I was free to do what ever I wanted. I spent the majority of the time bouncing on the birthing ball.
 
This is the crazy part. I felt really no hard labor or pain at all. Another doctor came in to break my water. When, the other doctor came in. She commented about how calm and relaxed that I was while in labor. She couldn't believe it. Even the nurses were like is this normal. They couldn't believe it. The doctor checked me and I found out that I was already at 8cm. She went to break my water and nothing came out. She was confused. I either had a high leak or the water was up behind the baby. She told my nurse to call my doctor and to hurry up because this baby would be coming very soon.
 
I was back bouncing on my birthing ball, it was only a few minutes later and my doctor was in suite. It was almost time to start pushing. It was happening really fast. The contractions were coming even closer together but I was holding up just fine. I was really focusing on relaxing myself body and not fighting the contractions. It was really empowering.
 
Once again, the nurse wanted to move me over to the bed. I told her that I would move to the bed when it was time for me to start pushing. So, she went out of the room and told the doctor that I was waiting for him before I started to push. He came in and I got on the bed to start pushing.
 
This was the hard part. It turns out that I wasn't completed effaced. I couldn't get the hang of pushing. It was so hard. Something wasn't right. I will spear you some of the details here but the doctor checked me and I still had a part of my cervix. I was pushing against it. Hello, no wonder I wasn't making any progress. The doctor just gave me this look and said he was sorry. I think they were rushing me to push and I wasn't quite ready. The doctor did his thing and I was ready to start pushing again.
 
The pushing continued forever. I even yelled out at one point that "I can't do this". Well, at this point, I figured this baby most be big. Last time, I delivered a baby. The baby came right out with just a few pushes. I think at this point, the doctor realized that this baby must be big because he told me that if the baby weighed over 9 pounds. He said that dinner would be on him. The doctor decided that the position that I was pushing in which was sitting up was all wrong. He had him lay down on my back and push that way. Hello, it worked. I finally started to push her down. It wasn't so much painful but a ton of pressure. They had me wait for each contraction to build up and then I started to push. I almost had her head out but I had to take a break. So, I went at it again and push will all of my strength. She came right out. Now, remember when the doctor broke my water and nothing came out. Well, after I push out the baby. My water came flying out. The doctor literally jumped up and out of the way. Leroy said my water when spraying right out, all over the place. Even got some on his legs...lol. So, the water was up behind the baby.
 
The baby started to almost instantly cried. They placed her right on me. She was so beautiful and she reminded me a lot of her big sister Leah. They weighed her and she came in at 8lbs and 14oz. She was a big baby but not big enough to win the bet...lol. I'm glad that I didn't realize she would be such a big baby or I might of freaked out. She's not my biggest baby. My oldest daughter weighed in at 9lbs and 4oz.
 
So, the time we made it to the hospital and delivered the baby it was less than four hours. It wasn't my easiest delivery. Leilani's birth was super fast and prefect. Lindsey's birth was really easy expect for the pushing part but I feel like it was the nurses fault. They had me pushing too early and in the wrong position but overall I couldn't be happier.
 
It's a little bit sad, to think that this will be our last baby. I'm done. The doctor was joking afterwards that we need to try for baby number 6, to try to even up the numbers but I'm done. I think five kids is a good number to stop at.
 
The kids are already in love with their new sibling. They literally fight over who gets to hold her first. She completes our family. I feel extremely blessed to have her in our family. Leilani and Lindsey will be the best of friends and sisters.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

19 Months Old

Dec. 17th-Jan. 17th
19 months old
 


 
Milestones:
  • A bundle of joy! She brings so much happiness to our family. She's still a big time daddy's girl. She could care less for her mommy. It must have something to do with being pregnant. I just can't baby her like her daddy does and she knows it.
  • The new baby will be here in less than four weeks. She will not be the baby for much longer. Where did all the time go. I can't believe that I will be starting all over with a new baby. The adjustment will not be easy. Leilani is very possesses of her stuff plus her daddy. She's the jealous type.
  • She loves to help with house hold chores. She loves to put away laundry.
  • If she wants inside a room. She will knock on the door.
  • She loves to play with her baby doll. She will take her wipes and try to clean her baby's bottom.
  • She knows where to put her dirty diapers.
  • She can follow simple commands.
  • She loves watching baby cartoons.
  • She loves to climb up onto daddy's computer desk and turn off and on his laptop.
  • Your new thing is to sing. You will take Leah's singing Barbie doll and sing along with it. You're very musical.
  • Your hair is so long that I can pull it up into a ponytail.
  • You're turning into a night owl. Your new thing is to stay up until ten o'clock at night.
  • You don't like eating in your highchair. You want to sit with the family.
  • You're talking up a storm. Talking like crazy!
  • Your favorite new food is corndogs. You take off all of the batter. Pull out the stick and just eat the hotdog. It might be cheaper just to buy you plain hotdogs...lol.
  • You can take off your clothes.
  • You love playing at jumpzone!