A month in 517 words! (and yes I did a wordcount) :)

I've noticed that the longer I wait to write a post, the harder it gets to do it. I think that's true about a lot of things in life including housework, organizing paperwork, keeping the car clean, and cleaning out the fridge, just to name a few... which is probably why I get so behind in some of those things... Well, I've vowed to turn over a new leaf. Eric and I listened to church conference this past weekend and heard the story about they guy who said he decided he would never miss a day of scripture study and though some days he only read a little bit, he still got it done and hasn't missed a day. Here it is in writing... Eric and I have decided to commit to do that too. Maybe my persistence will carry over to some of those other things that are so easy to put off. So, here it goes....

First, a few of my favorite sayings:

1) Ethan: "What the heck. That's a bad word. We don't say that?" (After we've told him again and again of course that we don't want him saying that).
2) Elia wanted to sleep on the floor last night. Ethan was in his bunk, but then I heard giggling. I asked from the other room... "Elia, is Ethan in bed?"

"No, he's laying by me."

"Is that ok?"

Elia-"Yeah, is that OK with you?"

"...(smiling to myself)... Yes... as long as you guys go to sleep."

WOW! My opinions actually matter to her?!?! WOW!

(Footnote: of course they didn't go to sleep and they eventually got put back in their own beds).

Now, here is the month in pictures:
Church 50's sock hop. Eric helped serve and I made Kara's poodle skirt in about 10 minutes... with no pattern might I add. (I lucked out and had purchased Elia's outfit from a garage sale for $1 last month (Thanks Birdie!))

That same day I also watched PJ as his mom was in the hospital delivering their second. Ethan and PJ are about the same age... I know you wouldn't be able to tell that by their height. Most of the time they get along just great. For some reason, sticking out your tongue at the camera was what I got when I told them to smile...

Kara... poor girl. I have good intentions of taking more pictures, but I haven't taken very many recently. She is just starting to smile a ton when you talk to her... yeah! I love that! This was her at six weeks. She's two months today and changing so fast!

Pig on a stick...

The benefits of being small. Elia wanted to try it after, but we told her she couldn't :(

Last Saturday Eric did his first official bike race... a 70 miler in Lufkin, TX. I'm so proud of him... he took a picture! He said they rode well and it was quite a change because, yes, folks, there were actually hills! What a shock!

Meanwhile, I stayed with the kids. We went to the airport open house. It was more impressive than I thought it would be. They had Apache helicopters, A-10's, lots of old planes the kids could sit in, Learjets, news helicopters, and gliders. Oh, and take note of Elia's skirt. I made it!

In honor of Grandpa:

Ethan couldn't quite get the thumbs up idea. He kept putting his pointer finger out too, but the guy sure got a kick out of him.

Here is one last picture. It is Ethan pretending to take a picture. I find him so cute... even if he does get into all of my stuff. We need more practice putting things away!

OK, what's new for us?
-My mom left Friday morning, but before she left I got some fun pictures of her with the kids...



-My mom was a great help... Among other things, she made this outfit for Elia (I've started making another skirt for Elia with the same pattern), folded laundry, shredded a bag of chicken so I would have some in reserve for future meals, helped with the kids while I took breaks, watched the kids so Eric and I could play volleyball together, played Settler's of Catan games with us, had fun shopping for some new clothes for Elia for school, and took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. She also contributed to helping us break the cycle of locking the kids bedroom door at night. See, we locked the door when we first put them to bed because Ethan would be in and out like a yo-yo, but now we don't have to. She did it once while we were out at their bedtimes and now they stay in for us too. Sometimes you just need another person to shake things up. Thanks mom!
-I had a two-year-old photo session and the girl would not smile... and I mean she was straight faced almost the whole time! I tried everything!... including my monkey imitation that I only use when I'm desparate!,
-The magazine issue is almost done! Hooray! I'm excited to start over for the next issue... I know I haven't finished this one yet, but I'm excited to improve my process and be more organized for the next one.
-I had fun watching Ethan play in the rain. Notice the multi-functionality of his rainboots... he was making me a birthday cake.

I love watching Ethan at "work". He is so creative. I included a video demonstrating a typical scene in our house.

He is always cooking something, going to work or carrying something in a bag. He is famous for saying "look at me" whenever he talks to us because he's figured out that we are paying more attention to him when we have to look at him, he also loves saying, "Closeyoureyes!" and then a half a second later, "Openthem"... "I have a present!" He says the first two so quickly that you might think they were one word.

Once Eric did this to Ethan and Ethan did it back. He was kind enough to repeat it for the video camera!

I like these types of blogs that share a little more about everyday life because I know it is the cute little things that the kids do that I'm going to want to remember. Thanks for checking in!Hope everyone has a great week!

Momnesia!... Happy Birthday Elia!

As I'm going through the week things happens... the kids do something or I have a thought that I think would be great to share on the blog... then Sunday comes and I don't have anything fun that I can think of to write about! I really think at times I've lost my mind altogether. Eric thinks that talking about being crazy makes me that way, but I did a little research about whether being pregnant and having a baby makes you more forgetful or not and it seems that official studies confirm that "momnesia" (not an official name mind you) is really real! Yeah! I feel somewhat justified.

My favorite story (that I can remember) goes as follows...

Eric was out in the garage and came in the door. He said, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." I replied.

"You look like you've been doing something... You look guilty," he said.

"I haven't been doing anything," I said.

"What were you doing in the closet?" he asked.

"I wasn't in the closet."

"I heard the door close," he said.

"I promise! I wasn't in the closet. I was just standing here waiting for you to come in."

"I heard the door close," he insisted.

Once again I insisted I hadn't been in there, but then an image came into my mind of a box of food that we have as part of our food storage in the closet... Oh yeah, I remember that box. I was in the closet! ...

"Oh, I do remember opening the closet," I tell Eric... "Now what was I doing in there?"...

After a minute more of thought, I remember...

"Oh, yeah!" I tell him. "I put the mop away."

Keep in mind that I'd had the mop in my hand just three minutes previously! Incidences like these, which are very annoying, are frighteningly frequent around here. One expert I read gave me hope though and said that we (new or expecting moms) aren't getting dumber, but our brain is getting a workout... like a sleep-deprived medical resident. "You are learning a lot," she said. "Once your mommy brain gets readjusted, you get more efficient, and you become smarter and learn things faster, but it won't happen all at once."

Isn't that hopeful? I love the prospect of being more efficient and be able to learn things faster after the haze lifts... if only I can make it through my current state a while longer without totally putting my life in a mess. If anyone wants to read one of the articles I read you can find it at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-03-momnesia_N.htm.

Still, even if I have an excuse to be forgetful, I can't afford to be forgetful with the photography, magazine editing deadlines, preschool, playdates, and all of the other things I have and want to do. I have become addicted to my phone as a reminder and my day planner for planning (though I don't always remember to look at it). I put everything into the calendar on my phone and set an alarm including when I have to take my vitamins, when I have to go places, when I have photography work, when I need to do budgeting, etc. As I was writing this, I had the idea to put an alarm in my phone to check my day planner! Genius!

Anyway, enough about my deficient brain and this whirl of a week. A week ago Saturday, Eric and I went to the temple and Elia went to a birthday party. My mom came Sunday night (driving all the way from Yuma, AZ) to see the new baby and spend some time with us. It was such a blessing that she came when she did because Eric went out of town Monday morning through Wednesday night, we decided to sign Elia up for an official preschool and Sept. 1st was her first class, she had ballet on Friday morning and her birthday party on Saturday morning (more about these things later). My mom's timing couldn't have been better! Having my mom here for all of this transitioning (and party planning) has been super. She's always willing to stay with one or more of the kids while I go do something or even just take a break. I went to five stores one afternoon during the kids' naps to get supplies for the party and errands done. How nice that was to not have to pack the kids in and out of the car! I went to Sam's club and bought a berry shake and just enjoyed it all to myself! She leaves Friday and it will sure be hard.

Before my mom came Eric and I went to do some shopping with the kids. He had asked me a couple of days before if I was ever going to go shopping by myself (i.e. during the week while he was at work with the three kids). After we went shopping all together I think he understood why I wasn't jumping to go to the store by myself with the three kids!

So about our new schedule...

We signed Elia up mainly because she sometimes has a hard time leaving me or Ethan. Since Mom was here and could stay with the kids, I went one day to observe the class and see what she was doing in class so I could talk to her about it. It's a Lutheran preschool and they have a little devotional each day. She volunteered to say the prayer which I thought was great. I think in just the week she's been going she feels more comfortable with things. She didn't have much of a hard time going to school that first day. I stayed a little bit at first, but when I said goodbye, she was fine with it. It was nice that I didn't have the other two kids with me which would have made it crazier.

Ballet was on Friday. We started out the day by delivering 10 meals to some housebound local seniors with the Meals on Wheels program. We deliver meals every first and third Friday and this was my second time doing it and the first time on my own. Again... nice to have my mom. She put in the addresses in the GPS as I was delivering the meals. Elia decided after the first house to toss her cookies and lost her breakfast all over the backseat (thank goodness for leather!). I took her carseat out and hosed it off at a water spicket at one of the apartments. She seemed to be doing fine, so we took her to ballet (which she loved). Ethan peed in his shorts on the way home, so then I had the van to clean up and Ethan's car seat cover to wash! What a morning! Eric texted me at 10 and asked me to call him when I could. I called him at 1 because that was the first chance I had!

Friday afternoon we did all the preparations for Elia's party. Then on Saturday we had 12 little girls over all dressed in dresses. We painted jewelry boxes, made necklaces, played kiss the frog prince...ate mini-sandwhiches cut with cookie cutters, played on the playset between activities...took pictures in front of the castle mural (the art creation by my mom, Eric and I that took about 45 minutes to create ...... and 5 minutes to destroy...opened presents and had cake...and ice cream. The cake I have to say was a joint effort between Eric and I. On Friday night I frosted the dress and he put the frosting on the doll's top. It looks pretty cool, but Eric and I think it looks like it didn't take as much time as it did. It seems like it would be pretty simple. This Belle doll is Elia's first Barbie-type doll.

Everyone had a great time and though our house was pretty much a disaster, we were exhausted, and we realized why people only let their kids have parties with friends every other year (something that was a new idea to us, but that lots of people here seem to do), we had a great time planning and hosting the party. Our little baby is five now!
To top off the week, we blessed Kara in church today. It was fun to bless her on Elia's birthday. It seems every time I have a baby I have a renewed sense of urgency in regards to teaching the kids and raising them so they will know they are children of God. One of the guys today mentioned in his testimony the phrase, "God is my friend." I loved that because I think if we realized how true that really is, our lives would be so much easier because we would realize the eternal perspective of everything. Going back to Elia praying at school, it's nice to know that she's comfortable enough talking to God that she would pray in a new situation.

So I have four more days to get my mom's help with stuff before she goes back home. I feel so great today... probably because Kara didn't wake up to eat last night. Let's hope that continues! Have a great week!

Officially Outnumbered

How time flies! It's been a whirlwind since Kara has been born... mostly because I've been trying to get projects done while I've still had help around... but alas, the help is gone (besides Eric who really has been wonderful). Ken and Nancy left early Saturday morning, but during the course of their stay they helped out a ton with the kids which gave me a break and allowed me to get some great organizing and catching up done. Ken did a lot of my "projects" including yard work (uncovering a 10'x20' piece of yard that was hidden under bushes), mowing the lawn, fixing our lawn mower (the pull string came untied and I'm certain it was probably working its way out during all the times we've moved previously, but which happened to come undone while he was using it), putting up a shelf and numerous pictures, cooking several delicious meals and helping me hang up my thermal curtain panels. Nancy was great with the kids and would take them swimming and to the playground while I got stuff done around the house. They also took the kids to the beach one day, which the kids really loved. So with tomorrow (my first day on my own and my first day officially outnumbered) right around the corner I feel like a kid getting ready to start school -- I'm excited to get back into a routine and try out this new phase of life, but am not sure how it will go. Fortunately, several ward members have volunteered to bring meals over this week, so that will really be nice in the transition.
I love Sunday afternoons. Eric, Kara and Ethan take naps and Elia and I get to do this:

Have a great week everyone!

A Rose By Any Other Name...

We've read a children's book by Kevin Henkes many times. In the book a little mouse is named Chrysanthemum by her parents. Here is an excerpt from the book:
"'Her name must be everything she is,' said her mother.
'Her name must be absolutely perfect,' said her father.
And it was."

After much deliberation, we've finally chosen a perfect name for our perfect little girl:

Kara Lisette

Kara means: pure; sweet melodie; dear one

and

Lisette means: God's promise; devoted to God

We're so excited to have officially chosen a name (though we've called her "baby" for so long that I still have a tendency to call her "baby"... maybe that will be her nickname :))

As of right now (12:50 p.m. Monday) she is five days old, but it seems like she's been a part of our family forever.

She sleeps beautifully during the day and pretty good at night... that is, after I moved her to her own room. I lasted exactly two nights at home with her in the pack-n-play beside our bed. I would feed her then lay her down. She'd be quiet for about five minutes then start squeaking, then start fussing. Now that she's in her own bedroom I can feed her in there without disturbing Eric (man our Love Sac (a huge beanbag) is so comfortable in the middle of the night), lay her down and she goes right back to sleep. Last night, which was her first all-nighter in her own bed she woke up twice to eat... which is expected.

Yesterday I took some pictures of her, though I had a lot of help from the kids, so our "session" didn't last very long. Here's my favorite:

Some have commented that she's looking more like Elia... I really can't tell, but Elia sure loves her. Eric commented yesterday that Elia has held Kara more than he has! Getting the three of them together was tricky. They aren't the greatest pictures, (there is something about jostling a baby that wakes her out of her quiet slumber) but at least in these two pics Ethan isn't leaning away from Kara!Ethan has been very interesting. He's sort of indifferent about her, though he likes watching her, when you ask him if he wants to kiss or hold her he says, "no". I'm trying really hard to give both he and Elia extra attention so we can avoid any feelings of being left out.
I gave Kara a bath on Saturday and love how curly her hair gets when it's wet, so I thought I would document it for the future:

I clicked right at the right moment to get this sweet little smile during a dream. I sure wish I could read her dreams. Some people hypothesize that babies dream about nursing, but I like to think that they still have a glimpse (or sense) of what heaven was like and maybe they dream about heaven. I sure think about what heaven is like when I look at her.

Ken and Nancy leave on Saturday night. I have to say I'm sort of dreading doing this by myself and I know other people have it much worse and don't get any help, but it sure is nice to have extra hands. Ken trimmed our bushes today and as they were leaving with Elia to visit some people they know here (while Ethan, Kara and I nap), Nancy said, "I'm looking forward to folding laundry when I get back." It's times like these that I sure miss being near family.

I feel like at the end of this week I'll have to really get back to the real world! AAAAHHHH! Sunday, while the others were at church, I couldn't sleep and basically made a plan and goals for the next little while... things I wanted to do to improve myself, things to make our family and home function better, and ideas on how to manage my time and life better. Eric was a little speechless when he saw the "plan", but I told him not to worry... I'm better at planning than implementing:). That is really quite true, but if I can even do half of what's on my list I think things will be more smooth.

It's A...

Girl!!!
Baby Girl Petty is Finally Here! No, we still haven't decided on a name, but we know what gender it is, so that's a start. Our top five girl names now (in alphabetical order) are: Ava/Eva (We like the name, but if we spell it Eva people will say it wrong and we'll sort of be stuck with E's), Hannah, Kara, Lisette and Zoe/Zoey. No guarantees that we'll listen, but feel free to cast your vote (see poll to the right). This is the first time Eric and I have been at an impass with names. Usually we are in-sync, but not this time. We have until Monday to decide.
Labor and delivery went well. Here's about how it went:
1:30 Couldn't sleep because of contractions
2:15 Woke Eric up to time contractions, wrote blog post, took showers
3:00 Went to hospital
6:00 Got epidural (which slowed contractions down)
9:00 Doctor broke water
12:15 Felt like the baby was going to come, checked with nurses who confirmed that I was ready.
12:20 Nurses called doctor, Eric called his mom to bring Elia.
12:30 Doctor came
12:35 Elia came running in from the parking lot
12:40 Pushed 2.5 times
12:45 Baby came
We decided earlier in the day that Elia (who had requested to watch) could come watch. She sat right on the bed next to my shoulder and held my hand (we told her that was her job). She saw the baby after it came out and saw the umbilical cord get cut and then she and Eric watched the nurse clean off the baby while I got two stitches then cleaned up. She really was just so interested and curious in the baby, asking so many questions. I am really glad we included her.

Ethan likes to be near the baby, especially if Elia is, but is generally less interested and more of a roamer in the hospital room. Nancy told me that on the way out of the hospital the first time Ethan said, "I don't want this baby. Let's put this white baby back. I want a brown baby." (It's a good thing Ethan didn't get his wish.)

It's been so nice to have Nana and Grandpa around. Eric's been able to stay with me the whole time in the hospital, the kids have come to visit several times, but have been able to leave before they get too crazy and Ken made a delicious chicken enchilada dinner for our homecoming today.

I saw someone do this on their blog and liked the idea. I'm including a picture of Elia and Ethan (in no particular order) on their birth days. Can you tell which picture is Ethan and which is Elia? Who do you think the baby looks most like?

So, we're home now (out of the Garden of Eden of the hospital). Eric thinks the hospital is like that for new parents and then you have to go back into the real world when you check out. We'll tell you how the real world is with three kids. Wish us luck!

Baby, Oh, Baby!

Well, there really is nothing to do at 2 a.m. when you can't sleep because of contractions (which you are trying to figure out if they are the real thing or not) and everything is ready to go for the trip to the hospital. I guess our preparations yesterday worked! Yeah!
Yesterday we did just about everything known to man to naturally induce labor. We did the more common ones (some of which aren't mentionable on a blog) and the uncommon ones including a motorcycle ride, running up the stairs, and applying pressure to several different acupressure points (while my father-in-law laughed on).
I told Eric on Friday that I thought I would go into labor on Tuesday (yesterday)... I'm not sure if that was a hope or a feeling, but when yesterday came and went I thought... "Great! I'm going to go late!" I even scheduled another doctor's appointment for Friday.
However, yesterday I put up the pack-and-play bassinet in our room, charged all my camera batteries, packed our hospital bag (which I didn't do with Ethan until I had to take breaks from getting stuff ready because of the uncomfortableness), adjusted the straps on the car seat from one-year-old Ethan size to new baby size, taught the kids how to swaddle a baby and buckle it in the car seat (and learned from Elia in the process that it wasn't good to step on the baby), expanded our potential baby name list from 3 to 10, and pulled out some newborn diapers.
The power of suggestion! I guess baby listened.
It's now 2:30. My toenails are freshly painted (thanks to my dear husband, who, though he thought it was a little silly that I wanted nice looking toes during labor, still painted them), Eric is taking a shower, and then we'll be on our way. We'll update you all after he/she comes! (And lets hope that this really is the real thing and I don't delete this post in a couple of hours when I come home from the hospital after finding out that it wasn't the real thing)!