So grateful for...

My boys.

Fall leaves.

Yummy food. And Cade, who was more than ready to say the prayer and the get the party started.

My mom.

My dad and their coming to celebrate Thanksgiving with us (sorry for the blurry pic Dad!)

My girl.

And most especially, my girl's surgery going well and her fast recovery this week. Delaney has had some issues with one of her kidneys. Meaning that one of her kidneys is basically not working. I am beyond grateful for the fasting and prayers on Delaney's behalf this week as she underwent surgery to relieve the pressure on her kidney. I am so grateful for a good doctor and for those prayers being answered as the surgery went off without a hitch and Delaney has recovered beautifully.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Visitors, Part II

A few weeks ago we blessed this little sweetness at church and because of it our house was full of people who love her and her brothers (and I think Evan and I fall in there somewhere too).

My mom had been saving the dress I was blessed in for years on the off chance I had a girl of my own. When it came time to actually find the dress for Delaney to use, it was nowhere to be found. My mom tore her house upside down but no dice. Lucky for me, this is my mom's first granddaughter and the woman had herself some fun getting the outfit together. After seeing the dress Evan told me he was a little confused if Delaney was getting blessed or married. Obviously, the man doesn't appreciate the girlier things of life. Of course, when Evan saw her all dressed up, he melted into a puddle like we knew he would.



Our little family, though the belle of the ball was pretty much done with pictures at this point.


And to make this weekend even better, Chanel showed up for a quick visit from Colorado! It was so great to have her here, get to chat and laugh like old times, and just soak up time with her and two of her cute kiddos. We didn't get any pictures together but she did take this one of me and my sweet girl. I owe her big for all the times she's documented little moments for me and this is no exception.

Lucky for us, tomorrow brings round three of visitors, starting with Evan's sis, Carolynn.

Halloween Recap

This year for Halloween we deviated from our usual course and lived it up like it was going out of style. Here's the rundown...
We kicked off the festivities by watching Cade parade around with the other preschoolers in his grasshopper costume. The boy had a dream and was lucky enough to have his Oma make him a costume that he was beyond excited to wear. Because as Cade told us, "Grasshoppers are scary." Not so sure about that buddy, but you looked darn cute anyhow.

Next came some pumpkin carving.

Then our annual spooky dinner. New on the menu this year: Bug Punch and Bloody Toes.

Then some trick or treating (with Megatron making his debut, not to mention Miss Delaney in her pumpkin onesie).

Showing off the loot. And obviously the boys were a little transfixed by it.

Sneaking in some candy before bed. Throw in an elementary school carnival, me helping in Colt's classroom for his school party, and a church trunk-or-treat and suffice it to say that I was one tired mama with one messy house. Good thing I had my boys' candy to reward myself with.

On a side note, here's the conversation between Colt and me the morning of his class party...

Me: "Are you so excited to have me come to your class today?"
Colt: "Are you so excited to come to my class and see how pretty Samika is?"

Apparently, Colt couldn't wait for me to check out the girl he's crushing on. Does it really start this young?

Visitors, Part I

We've had a slew of visitors lately and first up was my sister Ashley, who came without her bucket of love, Gavin. We missed him something fierce, but I loved having Ash to hang with for the weekend. Evan was gone for a boy scout leadership training (he works with the scouts in our church) and so it was some serious girl bonding all weekend long. We talked and ate and laughed and ate some more. Poor Ash too, the girl didn't get much of a break since between the three kids, it seemed she was always wiping somebody's bottom (though not Colton's, thankfully, he's mastered that skill). Ashley also had her handy dandy iPhone around at all times which meant that not only did she capture this...

But this...

And even this...

Thanks to Ashley for capturing Delaney's cute smile on camera. And thanks to Ashley for making me laugh, showing me all the desserts I've been missing, and being okay with staying in pajamas for a couple days straight. Ps - I heard Delaney giggle (for real) for the first time today. Suffice it to say I might have melted into an absolute puddle. More visitor updates to come.

Colton's First Shiner

According to Evan, it's the first of many. Hopefully not that many. Colt and Cade were playing in the backyard yesterday afternoon and when Colt came in for a water break, I saw this.


What's so funny is he had absolutely NO idea he had a black eye! How do you get hit hard enough in the face to get a black eye and have no recollection of how it happened?! Oh and the best part...tomorrow is picture day.

Pumpkin Time

Last Saturday we woke up to nothing but sunshine. If there's anything we've learned since living here, it's not to press our luck as far as sunshine is concerned. So we decided to hit up the awesome pumpkin patch from last year and your eyes do not deceive you. The weather ended up being so warm, we were kicking it in shorts and flip flops. For a second, I could almost convince myself I was in Texas again.
This is how Delaney spent her first pumpkin outing, nice and cozy and completely conked out in the Baby Bjorn.

Colton showing some brotherly love to a random stranger. He cracks me up.
Evan was convinced that we had to hike it out to the middle of nowhere to find the biggest pumpkin this patch could produce. Especially since they had a maximum of 12 bucks per pumpkin and if there is one thing this man loves, it's getting the absolute most for your money. A million miles later of wandering all over that patch in the hot sun, trying my best not to sprain an ankle on all those vines, I've decided I'm all for pre-picked pumpkins. I've also decided that Colt can strike a serious pose. I love these kids and these family moments. Can't wait til next year.

Another first day

This time the first day was for this little guy. Lucky for me, Cade wasn't messing around when he decided to ditch the diapers so come the first day of preschool, we were ready to go.
So excited to be wearing a backpack like his older bro.

And this mom is excited to run some errands with this little lady sans the energy (to put it nicely) of my sweet boys.

Delaney on her first day of church

An update

On this little bucket of sweetness. Oh how I love this little girl to pieces. She has been so sweet and if I do say so myself, she loves her mama. And it makes me want to eat her all up. I also have to say I had no idea that it would be this fun to dress her up. It's funny how it changes everything. She blew out her diaper? Great! Back to the closet to pick out another outfit.

Part of the above mentioned fun...

I'm not the only one smitten. Colt cannot get enough. Almost to the point of driving me a little crazy. He's in her face loving on her all the time, no matter what. He even got upset at me this morning when she fell asleep while I was feeding her. Colton wanted her awake so he could love on her and couldn't believe I had the audacity to let her fall asleep. Cade, on the other hand, is not so impressed. Colt told me the other day that Delaney is the cutest baby in the world. Cade took one look at her and said decidedly, "No... she's not." Niiiiiice Cade.
Some doting grandparents.
I think it's safe to say that she's officially got her daddy wrapped around her little finger.
As for this little guy (picture taken after his last day of swim lessons this summer), he decided yesterday that he didn't want to wear diapers anymore. I'd say his timing is less than convenient so here's hoping he means it!

The first day

So it happened. Colt started kindergarten and not just any ole' kindergarten but full day kindergarten. This boy is gone from 9 am to 3:30 pm and for someone who has become quite accustomed to him being by my side since he was born, this has been an adjustment. For his part, Colton is loving it and can barely be bothered to give his mama a hug when he leaves. To be honest, I teared up when he first walked into the school. He seemed so small and tentative at first and with my hormones going strong and all, I probably would have cried if it weren't for the crowd of people standing around dropping their own kids off. I'm not one for public emotion. One downside to full day kindergarten is Colt comes home wired. And I do mean off the wall, can't sit still, I'm going to lose my mind if he keeps this up wired. Whatever happened to Colton being so exhausted after a long day of school, that he comes home and curls up to sleep?

Here are the traditional first day of school cookies.

Which a certain little brother was happy to help eat.

And in keeping this blog real, here's how a mom of a two week old baby makes "homemade" cookies.

She's Here!

Delaney Anne Jones made it safe and sound last Tuesday, August 9th at 11:11 am, weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches long. Remember when I said there seemed to be quite a bit of baby inside of me? I wasn't kidding. We absolutely love her to pieces and are so glad she's here.

We decided to go ahead and induce her three days early since the doctors were estimating that if I went full term I'd have to deliver a 9 lb baby. Since I was all sorts of opposed to trying to push out a baby that big, I was thrilled at the thought of getting this baby here sooner than later. My wonderful mom stayed with Colt and Cade the morning of the induction and we headed to the hospital. After the IVs were in and my water was broken, Evan and I hung out waiting for the contractions to start, joking about how this almost felt like a date (except for the hospital gown and all) seeing as how we were chatting it up without any interruptions. That all changed when I started feeling the contractions. Here's how the morning played out:

8:30 am - Felt my 1st contraction

9:15 am - Asking for the epidural (pretty much begging for it because OW those contractions hurt)

10 am - Finally got the epidural

10:45 am - No one has checked me to tell me if I've made any progress since the contractions started, but I'm definitely feeling some serious pressure and maybe I'm ready to push?

11 am - Nurse arrives and confirms that I'm ready to go but I need to hold on till the doctor gets there (easy for her to say right?)

11:11 am - Delaney is here! And thank goodness for the epidural because I have never felt that kind of pressure before or had to push so hard.

The first thing Evan and I said when she got here is, "She's so big!" And she surprised us all weighing in at over 10 lbs. Let's just say I'm grateful we decided to take her sooner than later. Poor baby girl had all sorts of bruising and swelling from her fast delivery, but I was instantly in love and so glad this sweet girl was here. We've had some tears and heartache in trying to get a third baby here and I just feel beyond blessed to have Delaney join our family. And I'm not the only one excited to have her here...

The Wedding

Last weekend my littlest sis Heather got married. It was also known as the weekend where Baby Girl stayed put and didn't make her mama give birth on the plane. Or worse, have to have Dr. Logan deliver me. Talk about what would have been a truly awkward moment. Yay for small blessings. We flew in about an hour before the rest of my fam so Evan took the boys to watch the planes land so I could put up my already swelling feet. I have to apologize in advance because all of these pics are from Evan's phone. I know you're shocked, but really, is there any other kind for our family?

See palm trees! We really are back in Cali.

After some much needed El Pollo Loco, a trip to the nail salon, and me falling asleep by 10 pm, the big wedding day was here. I had to post this picture. Ashley, wins "Sister of the Year" award for not making me bend down and buckle my own shoes. You rock, Ashley! And what was I thinking with those shoes?!? After about an hour of pure torture, I'd ditched them for flip flops.
Waiting for the blushing bride and groom to make their debut outside of the temple as husband and wife. Nothing like an airplane for an Uncle (especially one who is 6'5").
Colt greeting Aunt Heather with some love.
Gavin, the happiest, most smiley kid on the planet, was not having anything to do with the pictures. So, since it was a wedding and you only take like a picture or two, we pretty much tortured the kid all day.
Me, documenting the baby bump! And trying to smile about it since I pretty much loathe taking pictures by myself. About a month away from delivery here and I'm HUGE! We went in for a 36 week ultrasound and she's already measuring 7 lbs 2 oz! With a head that's not so dainty either. Bless my heart on this delivery. As well as a few other of my extremities.
The family, pretty in pink. Oh and obviously, that cardigan I'm wearing, wasn't maternity.
We hit up the Santa Monica Pier right before our plane left the next day and apparently we'd exhausted Colt so much that it was all I could do to hold that boy up for a picture.
Our version of child labor. No rest for the weary I guess, sorry Colt!
It was a beautiful wedding and we're glad to be home and staying put until this baby gets here (due date in only three weeks, wahoo!) I had real, live contractions last night which motivated me to get off the couch today and wash an outfit or two. We can't wait to meet this little girl!