Weekend fun

We were finally able to make it down south so baby girl could meet Nana and Grandpa, Great Grandma and Granddad and some more of the family.  It was a busy but very fun weekend!
We came back to quite a gloomy day here today.  I think the rest of the day will be made up of unpacking, organizing and taking it easy :)
I do want to wish my parents a very happy (belated) 40th anniversary!!

baby girl's middle name is
named after this special lady

first Sunday at church

Aunt L's dress she got for
baby girl.....love it!!!

Saturday fun

We headed to a local park on Saturday and spent the afternoon outdoors.  I came home burnt!!!!  It was a beautiful 85 degree day.  Here are some pics of the kids having fun up in the trees :)

Today

Here's a picture from today...she is 5 weeks old.

'THE' question

After having our fifth child we were finally asked THE question.

"Are they all yours?????"

I laughed and gave a big grin.  "Yes they are!"
But then came.......

"You're not pregnant again are you?"

Well, lets just say when we finally reached the van, hubby could not stop laughing.  Not at the fact that a lady would suggest I still have a huge tummy....but the fact she had the gall to ask if I was pregnant!

I kindly answered that I just delivered recently (while trying to suck in my stomach *grin*)

This lady left the impression with our children that having a lot of kids was a drudgery and too much work.  When we got in the van, we explained what a blessing each one of them was to us, and how God delights in children and big families.

I guess it's time to start exercising......

What's new

Not alot going on here.  We have 3 down with a cold right now (had to cancel our trip South....boohoo) so we wait until it passes through the rest of the family before going to visit Nana and Grandpa :)

School is going okay.  We are managing to get work done although I'm still struggling with a routine at the moment.  In the next month or so, I'm sure it will work itself out better.  

The bird feeder is busy place lately!  I absolutely love how the kids find such pleasure in it!!  They are learning to appreciate God's creation and find the beauty in His handiwork.  I encourage all mom's and dad's to get a bird feeder for their kids.  It is such a great learning tool as well.  Our 2 year old will run to me saying  "Car-nal...Car-nal!!"  Our oldest has spotted a few hummingbirds but I have yet to see them.  All the kids can identify most of the birds that come to the feeder. Right now our list includes:   Cardinal, Titmouse, Wren, Brown headed cowbird, Indigo Bunting, Woodpecker, Gold and Purple finches and Robins(although we haven't seen any of either of these lately), Chickadees, and most recently a Bluejay. 

We've been going for our evening walks now as a family again.  I received a MOBY wrap as a gift and am getting good use of it!  I tuck our little girl in there so comfy and she sleeps the entire walk.  

Other than that, we wish all the mommies out there a very Blessed Mother's Day!

Pictures and updates

Here are a few updates.  We have another new addition to the family *smile*  We traded in our Kia van for a Prius for hubby to drive to and from work in.  Our Kia needed a great deal of work on it, and he really wanted a vehicle that was going to give him good gas mileage.  I drove it home from the dealership (which was 2 hours away) and was getting 55 miles to the gallon.  Not bad huh!!!  It is also a hybrid vehicle so it took a little getting used to.  No key is needed to start it, the engine can turn off and just run on battery, it has a video screen for backing up (how cool!).....it is really neat!  So now we have our 10 passenger van and our Prius :)
I've also posted some updated pics of our girl.  I am pleased to say that we have been strictly nursing for 4 straight days now.  It takes a little more effort than normal, but we are getting it worked out.  Thank you for the prayers concerning this!

Indigo bunting??

 

I'm thinking this is an indigo bunting bird???  Isn't it beautiful!!!  The kids have been telling me of a beautiful bird that keeps coming to the feeder and I finally saw what they were talking about.  There were 2 of them on the feeder at one point but couldn't get a photo of them.....hopefully they will keep coming to the feeder!

Stroller giveaway

Here's a giveaway for a neat stroller!!  Enter at the links below:

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Zooper {http://www.zooper.com/Zooper/index.html}


Zooper is also sponsoring a giveaway for the Summer Lovin' Event in June & encourage your readers & blog friends to sign up for the event!!
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Some pics

Updates have been slow in coming!!  I'm still trying to get acclimated to our new days.  Nursing is not going well :(  I'm having to pump alot.....so frustrating!  Latching is good but she just wants to sleep instead of eat, but stick a bottle in her mouth and she gobbles it down -wide eyed and alert.
Here are a few pictures since coming home.

Update

Thought I would give a quick update since delivery :) Our girl is starting to grow and I think she's finally putting some weight on. At her one week check up she had not gained any weight since leaving the hospital. I felt she wasn't doing well during our nursing sessions so I started pumping (moan!) I've been giving her my pumped milk all week and she just gobbles it down!! Now that she is more alert and the jaundice is mostly gone, I'm hoping to try to go back to nursing her without having to pump (we'll see how she does). I think she just likes using me more as a pacifier than anything. I'm praying we can get this nursing thing down together!!

 I had a rough first week and a half. I started getting severe pain and had a fever after 7 days. We went to the doctor and I think things are finally getting back to normal :) I will go for a CAT scan on my abdomen in July to check on my distasis recti. It gets a little worse with each pregnancy, but the doctor did not feel any hernia developing.

 We have actually started back into our new school year. Crazy I know after less than 2 weeks, but the kids are excited about it. We will start slow (doing maybe 1/2 days) and work our way up to a full day. Our 9 year old (who should be entering grade 4) will only need a few months to finish grade 4 completely before starting into 5th grade. Our 6 yr old is starting grade 2, and our 4 yr old will be learning more phonics and developing his reading skills.

 Other than that, we are adjusting to our new days, our new schedule. I can already see that I need to become MORE organized in order to accomplish feedings, chores, school, etc. I can see some charts in my future!!!

Cousin pic

We had some cousins visit for the weekend to meet their newest cousin, so we couldn't let the visit go by without trying to get a picture!!

Updated pics

We go for our first appointment tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting our new doctor. She is still somewhat jaundice and lethargic. I find the first couple weeks so hard trying to wake them up for feedings etc..... Hopefully we'll have a good report for her weight. She is still in preemie outfits (size 5lbs). It's hard getting pics with her eyes open because her wakeful period is during the night :) She sleeps ALL day!

Baby debute

Here are some photos of our newest member :)

She's here!

We as so thankful for the safe arrival of Kayzia Anneliese! Born, Thursday the 12th at 8:25pm weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 in.
As soon as we are home, I'll be sure to post some pictures :)
Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf!!

The plan

Our plan is to go into the hospital tomorrow morning for an induction at 6am. They may need to start off with Cervidal (which is a 12 hr process) before giving the pitocin to bring on contractions. So we could have baby girl Thursday evening or Friday morning. I know one person who is routing for Friday morning!! Please pray for me as I have come down with a cold :( Hubby had it last week and last night it hit me. I'm hoping this won't complicate the delivery in any way. Right now it is very mild so hopefully it will stay that way.

Early birthday present

So hubby was thinking really hard.....what to get me for my birthday :) I think he went all out this year don't you!!
No really.....God enabled us to get a 'family' sized van just in time for baby #5's arrival. We have been praying for an opportunity to get a bigger van that will fit the kids better than our white 'sardine' version we currently have. A couple weeks back we tried fitting all the car seats in our smaller vehicle and it was really, REALLY cramped!! God brought this vehicle to our attention just in time!! We are so thankful to this answer to prayer and have enjoyed the spacious ride today. Here are a few pics of the inside. I love it!

The 'Beast' - 10 passenger bucket seating

front seats

3 bucket seats behind driver/passenger

2 bucket seats in the middle

3 more bucket seats along the back

I think I can....

Eight more days to go.....oh boy! (I mean girl!) These last - hopefully few- days left are sure wearing me out. I am so ready for her to be here :) Praying that she comes sooner than later.

bird name

I found the name of this bird! It is a brown headed cowbird. I like to try and identify new birds we see and learn a little about them. He (or another one) came back to the feeder today and the kids thought it was so pretty. Now we know!!