Monday, May 12, 2014

Luke is 9!

 It's really hard to believe he's nine... which means... half way to his mission...which means half way to leaving me!
Luke is so helpful and caring.  He loves Isaac so much.  He just likes to be with him and hang out.  He's excited for when Isaac can go and do guy things with him and Ben.

Luke facts-
Loves to go on bike rides with Ben
Loves to play sports-especially baseball
Loves video games
Loves reading-we have to have "no reading" times.  Like before school, during dinner, while brushing teeth, before church.... he would never get anything done.  He told me he got in trouble in class because he was reading too much.
Loves his teacher- she is the best
Dislikes going to the store
Dislikes girl stuff
Wishes that he lived closer to his cousin, Fisher
Wishes to be the strongest man on earth

 He chose to have breakfast at Village Inn with his Grandparents and Blake this year for his party.



 We had a cake and ice cream on Sunday, at G &G Dawsons
We love  Luke so much. He is so fun, he is a joy to have in our family!

Monday, April 28, 2014

March 2014


Our March recap is pretty much just a bunch of pictures of Isaac :)  We're all still so in love with this little guy.  He's made our family whole and happy.




At least 20 times a day I hear from one of the kids, "will you take a picture of me holding Ike?"



They also take pictures of him when he's wearing something extra handsome.


He likes to sleep with his arms crossed. 



What?  I found a picture without Isaac?  Crazy.  Lee's was having a promotion that if you draw a pink elephant and bring it in, they give you a bag of animal cookies.  Of course the girls and I were all over that.


Luke LOVES Isaac. 
 I've never seen him be so patient and loving.  Luke also tells me on a regular basis how much work babies are, but it's ok because we love him.



Seriously, if I ever set Ike down, Luke is right next to him.



The girls think it's hilarious when he's in his diaper.  So of course we take a picture.


He has some crazy long ear hair


I found this picture... not sure where I was, but they weren't supposed to be holding him.



 I finally got one of all the kids. I forgot to do it in the hospital, and I'm sad about that.

2 weeks

Here's our little guy at 2 weeks old.  

He's a little fussy, so in most of his pictures he looks a bit concerned. 
 He's already grown up so much and also grown out of his hair, 
so I love looking back at these pictures already.





Thursday, March 27, 2014

Isaac's birthday

Our handsome little boy is here.
Isaac Jenkins Dawson
born March 2nd 2014
7 lbs. 20 in.

I've never shared a birth story on my blog before, but it's because they've all been wonderfully uneventful.  Isaac was a little different, so I thought I would write about it.
We decided to get started on Sunday, March 2nd.  I wasn't due until Thursday, but the rest of the week was hectic, we always worried that Ben might get stuck in traffic and not make it home in time if I were to go into labor, and my Dr. really likes to do it on Sundays (for some reason that I don't know).
The night before I started having regular contractions, far apart, but they were there.  Same thing when I woke up on Sunday.  They were getting closer together.  Ben went to a meeting Sunday morning and I was getting ready for church.  We weren't supposed to be to the hospital until 6:00 p.m.  The hospital called me at 8:00 a.m. and asked if we could be there at 9 a.m. instead.  I told the lady I would try my hardest, I text Ben to come home from his meeting and got the kids ready.
We dropped the kids off at my parents house and Ben and my Dad gave me a blessing.
We got up to the hospital and got hooked up to everything.  They checked me and said the baby's head was down and in perfect position.  A while later I got my epidural, and then they checked me again.  The nurse said that it didn't feel like his head anymore.  She said that either his head had gone squishy or it was a bum.  They did an ultrasound and saw that he'd flipped and he was now breech.  The nurse casually mentioned that I might have to have a C section.  Ben and I were both shocked when she said that, it never even entered my head that this birth would go any other way then easy.  All four previous births had been perfect.
My nurse had me do some moves, which proved slightly difficult with my numb lower half, to try and get the baby to turn.  A while later, my Dr. came in and pushed on my belly really hard and tried to get him to turn   (I was SUPER glad I was numb for that part)
He wouldn't budge, and his heart rate was going down. He didn't like being pushed on, and I didn't blame him.  
They told us that we could go home, hoping he would turn on his own, or we could do a c section.  They had taken me off pitocin to see how close I was contracting on my own.  They were getting close and strong, so the nurse recommended that we stay.  My Dr. had gone to church to teach his class while we discussing and hoping the baby would turn.  I kept praying that we would know what to do.  I didn't want a c section if we didn't have to have one. But I also didn't want to go home, knowing we'd be back to the hospital shortly.  Right then my water broke, all by itself. I was so happy, knowing the decision had been made for us.  The Dr. got back a few minutes later and they wheeled me to the operating room.

last day as a pregnant lady... Ever


Our sweet little Isaac. 
 I was slightly traumatized not being able to hold him the second he was born.  
I tried to be brave, but I wasn't.


Getting all cleaned up

I swear that they were dawdling, because it seemed like forever until they brought him back to me.

Finally, I get to love and hold him.







Ben is such a great Dad!  He did so much for Isaac and I when I wasn't up to moving much.
proud parents






Now our family is complete.
The kids have been so happy to have Isaac here, and they're so gentle and loving with him.  Everyone says that he looks just like his brother and he's got the longest fingers ever.  
Ben and I are constantly amazed at blessings in our life... mainly, our kids.  We're so blessed.
My recovery went really well and I have a new found sympathy for mothers that have c sections.  Definitely not as fun as a regular birth :)  
I'm also amazed with all of the love we have felt from family, friends, and neighbors.  I didn't have to worry about laundry, cleaning,  dinners,  my little girls, or carpooling for a couple of weeks.