Hallie Marie and other new news

Sitting here at 1 am, waiting for Mickel to come home from work-again, I decided to update the blog a little. Okay- alot. Thank goodness I have a very talented sister who is willing to take beautiful pictures of my kids. Thanks Dianna!

First and most importantly, Hallie Marie joined our family on July 27, 2011 at 9:11 am. She weighed 7 lbs and was 18 3/4 inches. She is a beautiful, healthy, perfect little girl and we are all extremely delighted with her! So far we haven't had any jealousy problems. (Knock on wood.) The boys all love her so much. Kason especially. He will sit and hold her for 30 minutes, singing to her and stroking her face. I think he has a special bond with her. Afterall, he was the one who told us we were having a baby girl the week before I actually found out I was pregnant.

She's still a tiny little thing. She struggled with gaining weight in the beginning and is doing better, but is still pretty close to her birth weight. This picture shows how tiny her little hand is.

The c-section was well, major surgery. But overall it went well. I was worried that my dr would tell me that my scar tissue was too bad for him to feel comfortable with another pregnancy, but after getting a good look inside he decided that I'm actually in pretty good shape in there! :) Recovery went a little faster this time with less pain and I think that is due mostly to the massage therapy I had done for scar tissue before this pregnancy.

Kaleb has started 2nd grade and I'm still a little bit in denial. I can't believe he's so big and getting so close to being baptised. He is still at the top of his class and works hard everyday to improve himself. He is very hard on himself when he doesn't do everything perfectly the first time. I'm afraid that he inherited a bit of perfectionism from both of his parents! :) He's playing soccer again this year and it's very helpful to burn off a little bit of energy on something other than teasing his brothers!

Kason is doing preschool at home with me and we are both enjoying it. I hate the thought of sending my kids off into the world before I have to, so I've always done preschool at home for them. I enjoy watching him progress and having that one-on-one time. He's a sweet little boy who loves to snuggle.

Kaden is out little tornado! I can't keep up with him for the life of me! He does everything from putting shoes in the oven to taking off his clothes/diaper (sometimes dirty) and depositing the contents wherever suits him then runs around the house naked. He also somehow found a razor blade and was chasing his brothers with it!! He loves to make 'roads' up and down the hallway with entire rolls of paper towels or toilet paper and colors every surface imaginable. Lucky for him, we love him very much! :) But he really is a delightful little boy who brings lots of sunshine into our home, even if we have to survive the storm first!

Mickel is still plugging away at work. He's been working about 70 hours a week and has been since before Hallie was born. It has been a trial for us all, but we also know that the Lord is blessing us at a time when we are needing some extra money. He is also ward clerk, so that takes him away for hours on Sunday. So, needless to say, any time we can get with him is treasured! He did a wonderful job giving Hallie her blessing and it was a special day for all of us. My mom made her dress and shoes and they were absolutely beautiful! She is a such a talented woman and I'm trying to learn all I can from her.

I've been loving all of the pink and bows that come with having a girl. I love to make her headbands and bracelets to match every outfit. :) Thank goodness I have a husband who is very patient with all the pink and all of the shopping! The picture of her holding my thumb shows one of the many bracelets she has.

We love our little family and feel so blessed for all the Lord has given us and continues to give us everyday. Especially the peace and joy we feel in our little refuge from the world-our home.