Porter's newborn photoshoot

One of my friends is starting a photography business so she offered to come take Porter's newborn pictures.  They turned out so good and I can't wait to get them hung up on my walls!

Enjoying the outdoors

It is finally starting to cool off, so we let the girls go outside and ride their bikes around for a bit.  They always ask to ride their bikes, but we always say no because it is just way to hot outside right now.  We had gotten some rain and so it had somewhat cooled off, but it was still super humid and it was at 8 o'clock in the morning. Needless to say, the girls were in heaven!  I can't wait until it cools off for real so we can play outside more often!

Porter - 1 month

I can't believe Porter is already a month old! Time needs to slow down so we can enjoy our little newborn boy!

Weight: 10 lbs 6 oz - 62%
Length: 22 1/4 in - 72%
Head: 39 1/2 cm - 76%

Porter's Blessing Day

Bo was able to give Porter such a sweet blessing.  Porter looked so handsome in his white shirt and tie! I am so grateful for all of our family and friends that were able to come share this special day with us.

Little P's birth

My pregnancy with Porter was pretty uneventful compared to my pregnancy with the twins.  About a month and a half before he was due I started having contractions so my doctor suggested I go to the hospital to be checked and monitored just to make sure I wasn't going into labor.  We were only at the hospital for about 2 hours when they sent me home.  I was still having contractions, but they weren't "labor contractions" and they weren't strong enough to do anything.  Then a couple weeks later I started having a lot of contractions again, so my doctor sent me to the hospital again to be monitored and it was the same thing.  The contractions were consistent but not strong enough to do anything.  I wouldn't have been so worried about the contractions, but I was having a c-section and didn't want to go into labor. 

I was really hoping I would make it to my scheduled c-section date because my friend, Kippy, that I grew up with was going to be working that day and was going to be my nurse.  My actual due date was August 10th, but since I was having a c-section they scheduled for me to deliver on August 3rd.

The night before I got everything ready.  I got the girls clothes laid out for the week, cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms and got everything cleaned up.  My mom came over to spend the night because we had to leave for the hospital early the next morning.  I was scheduled to deliver at 8:15 am and we had to check in at the hospital at 7:15.  Since we live in Laveen and takes about 30 minutes to get to the hospital, we had to leave by 6:30.  I had the hardest time sleeping that night.  My mind would not shut off and I was so excited to finally meet our little boy! 

Once we got to the hospital, we got checked in and then Kippy came and got us from the waiting area.  They started my IV and got me all ready.  It was about 7:45 when the phone rang and it was Dr.  Holmes saying we were going to have to push back my delivery until about 10:00 because he was at the other hospital about to delivery a baby.  I was really bummed, but at least it was only a 2 hour wait.  At about 9:30 Dr. Holmes called and said that he was on his way, so Kippy started giving me all of the anti-nausea medicine so I would be ready to be wheeled back as soon as he got there.  I have never been so excited to see Dr. Holmes walk through the door as I was then.  Just as they started to wheel me back a nurse came in and said that we needed to wait because they had a high-risk delivery that they needed to do and it was probably going to take longer than usual.  I was totally bummed, but Dr. Holmes stayed there with us and just chatted with us.  He sat there and told us pretty much the whole story of the 12 tribes of Israel.  He was pretty much putting me to sleep because I had only slept about an hour the night before.  The nurse finally came in and gave us the go-ahead to go back.  Bo got suited up in his surgical suit, hat and shoe covers.  They made Bo wait out in the hallway while they gave me my spinal and got me all ready.  Once I was on the table with the sheet up, they brought Bo in and they started the delivery at 11:01.  At 11:06 Porter was born and I heard him crying right away.  He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  The nurses said that he had taken a big swallow of amniotic fluid right before he came out so he was having a little harder time clearing his lungs.  They got him cleaned up and wrapped like a little burrito, and by that time he was doing better, but they said they were going to keep an eye on him and if he wasn't doing better they were going to take him upstairs to nursery.  Bo was able to hold him and rock him in the recovery room while he waited for them to finish my surgery.  Thankfully Porter was able to clear his lungs by himself and we were able to keep him with us.

It was so nice having a normal scheduled delivery and not have our baby taken away to the NICU like our girls were.  Unlike when I had the girls, I was able to hold him and nurse him while I was in the recovery room.  It was so nice to have that bonding time with him.

When I was finally able to start moving my legs, they got me all ready and wheeled me to my room. About an hour or so later Bo's mom and Mike came to see Porter.  They made a special trip from Prescott just see our sweet baby boy.  My mom and Don were finally able to come as well and they brought our girls to meet their new brother.  They were excited to see a baby, but lost interest pretty quick.

I was in the hospital recovering for a few days and we were finally able to take our sweet baby boy home on Monday, August 6th.

We have been in heaven with our little boy.  He is such a good baby and we just can't get enough of him.

Right before we left for the hospital

Kippy, Porter & I

 Shortly after he was born

 Getting dried off after getting bathed

 Nana holding Porter for the first time

 First picture of us as a family of 5

 Nana, Papa & Porter

 Finally getting to go home!

 Relaxing on Dad

It's a...

Looks like we can get rid of all of the girl clothes because we are having a boy!!



A Christmas surprise

PS - no drugs or fertility procedures were used!!

My sweet girls

My cousin, Stacey was kind enough to take my girls' 2 year pictures. They turned out so good, I seriously can't stop looking at them! We kept it easy and just let the girls run around on the temple grounds. The weather was absolutley perfect and the girls were so good and happy. I know I say it all the time, but my girls are growing up way too fast....I guess it is time to have some more! :)

Twins x2

One of my cousins had her twin girls last month and my girls were finally able to meet them. Our girls are exactly 23 months apart and I am so excited for them to grow up with eachother and become good friends! It was so fun to snuggle and kiss the babies, but I do have to admit that I don't miss that stage of my twins! Life is a lot easier now that they are older! :) My cousin is such a good mom and handles being a mom to twins so well! I am so happy for her and her husband! Having twin girls is the best!

Road trip

The girls and I took a little road trip to see my family in Pima, Safford & Thatcher. It was a pretty quick trip, but we had so much fun! My cousin, Michele has the best back yard ever! Her husband built an amazing play house for his girls and they have cows and chickens, which my girls loved. I had so much fun seeing my family that I haven't seen for awhile and it was so fun to watch all of our kids play. Thank you again Michele for letting us invade your house for a few days! Hopefully I will be able to visit again before to long.