Ty's Blessing Day...

Ty's blessing kind of snuck up on us. About Monday we realized that the following Sunday was fast Sunday...and that both of our sisters who live out of town were home. It was naturally the best time to do it. It also happened to be Easter Sunday- so it made it extra special.

It is always a neat experience to hear Cory bless our babies. I am so grateful for the priesthood in our family.

Ty was blessed with a heathy body and mental and spiritual strength. He was blessed to be found where service is needed, to be accompanied by the Spirit and recognize promptings. He was blessed to get along with his siblings and to bring peace into his home and be a peacemaker. He was encouraged to seek to be kind and soft-hearted. He was blessed to be able to serve a mission, get married in the temple and raise a family of his own.

Cory said that he felt very specifically prompted to bless him with the ability to recognize promptings and be accompanied by the Spirit. That was neat and something that I hope Ty will always strive to be worthy to realize that blessing.

We are so grateful for the addition of Ty to our family and are eternally grateful for the Savior and that because He lives and was resurrected- our family is able to be together forever.

Welcome to the Family Ty...

We are so excited to welcome Ty Cory Walker to our family.

March 9th, 2016

A whopping 8lb 8oz and 20 in long.

My actual due date was March 7th and the Friday before (March 4th) when I had a doctor's appointment and had my membranes stripped, the doctor was pretty sure that I would be having a baby that weekend...if not that very night. In fact, he called the hospital to warn them that I would most likely be coming in and that I would go fast since I was already dilated to 6-7.

And then we waited. And waited. And I had a few contractions but nothing very serious. Every time I stood up in the middle of the night (which between 3 kids and a constantly full bladder was quite often) I expected my water to break. Nothing. So we set an appointment for Wednesday morning at the hospital.

We checked in and the doctor came and broke my water. They told me to walk around to help things move along even more. Around 9:45 the contractions were really coming on strong. The anesthesiologist was scheduled to be in surgery until 10:30...and then I could have an epidural. But then we found out that the surgery was taking longer...he would be 30 minutes later. I was really hurting at this point and would just clutch the bed handles, close my eyes and count silently until the contraction passed. At one point Cory came over to me and rubbed my back and I had to tell him to stop. We laugh about it now:) The epidural seemed to be further and further out of reach and yet I wanted it more and more each moment. Then the baby's heart rate started to drop- one time it was below 50 for over two minutes. They put me on oxygen and had me keep switching sides to get a better reading. It wasn't helping though and so they had to put an internal heart rate monitor on his head. I remember when they were inserting the monitor I was so stiff from tensing up because of the pain that I could barely spread my legs to help the process along. I kind of lost track of the time at this point but at one moment I remember thinking that I should pray for strength but then decided that my prayer in the morning would have to suffice because I couldn't focus enough to think of what to say. At another point I actually had the thought that maybe they would have to do a C-section and then they would have to put me under and the pain would stop instantly. I can't believe I even thought that!!! I just really wanted the pain to stop. I had so much pain in my lower back and especially on my hips. It felt like someone was inside trying to dislocate them! Everything the nurses and Cory were saying and doing was pretty much a blur as I retreated inside my head to try and cope with the pain- but I distinctly remember the moment they said they were calling the doctor and that I wasn't going to get an epidural.

The doctor came in and asked how I was...which I didn't answer. He asked if I wanted something for the pain...which I did answer with a prompt yes! And he gave me a little bit of nubane (I think that's what it was called) in my IV. Then it was time to push. I am still not sure if it was the pain killer or the fact that it was time to actually get the baby out that changed things for me- but this part of my labor was much less excruciating. It still hurt. A lot. A ton. But I could handle it. In fact, about halfway through pushing the anesthesiologist came in and said he could give me a spinal right away to help. And I said no because I was already this far and I didn't want to lose any progress.

Progress. It was precious! I have had three babies before this and felt like I was not making any progress! I kept telling them that this wasn't working...which they assured me it was and that I was making progress but I was pretty convinced they were just lying to me. Every time I would push and then he would ask me to try one more time before the contraction ended and I would tell him I couldn't. He told me to push through the pain- but at that point it wasn't the pain I had to push through- I was so tired! I would almost fall asleep inbetween the contractions. Again, I don't know if it was from the medicine or just being so tired from labor but I was exhausted! In fact, several times it was almost an out of body experience. I remember one time almost being "brought back" when it was time to push again and it seemed like I was miles away from the people that surrounded me and yet I was right there in front of them. It was so surreal!

At another point someone behind the curtain leading to the hallway told us that my mom was there and did I want her to come in? I said I didn't care and they told me I had to make up my mind so I said sure and she came in. She made someone get a cool washcloth and wiped my face because she noticed I was so hot. That was helpful. Then she started to try and coach me. That was not. So I told her she just couldn't talk. Afterwards Cory told me I should probably apologize because I had been a little rude to her at that moment. :)

As badly as I thought I wanted the epidural, I think Cory may have surpassed me in that desire.

Finally, I could tell we were going to get somewhere and this baby would indeed come out! Hallelujah!

He was born at 12:41. Face up- which is the reason that my labor was so much more difficult than with my other children. He was 8 lbs 8 oz which was another reason it was more difficult! He was one pound bigger than (less for Jase) my other kids. 20 inches long. I had so many endorphins pulsing through me after I delivered him- it was definitely the hardest thing I had ever done. And I was proud too! I gave a little victory fist pump and cheer after I was done.

He had the chubbiest little cheeks, super blonde hair and it was love at first sight!  He cried and cried after he was born. As in, I couldn't console him very much at all for about 3 hours. He did latch right on and nursed like a champ though.

His brothers and sister came that afternoon to visit him along with the rest of his grandparents. Brig and Ellie were excited to see him and adored him right away. Jase, however, was heartbroken. He would stare at me but only when I wasn't looking at him- if I did look at him he hurried and looked away. He snuggled and clung to grandma and grandpa- especially Grandpa Walker. I knew he would warm up to the idea but it was pretty sad to watch! Later that evening Cory brought them back- it was just the six of us- and it was a perfect 20 minutes. They all were so enamored by him- even Jase this time. We knew this baby would be so loved!

On the way home from the hospital the three older kids were chanting TY! TY! TY! We pretty much felt compelled to name him Ty. It fits him so well. We (mostly me) agonized over his middle name and who to name him after. And finally after much deliberation we decided on Cory.

We are so happy that little Ty Cory Walker joined our family on that Spring day.

Numero 4...

I am a little behind on making this announcement on our blog...

but we are happily expecting Baby #4...

the middle of March 2016

I was certain I knew the gender of this baby- I was quite nauseous the first trimester and KNEW it was a girl...since I was sick with Ellie and not with my other boys. However- I was wrong and our little guy made it very clear.  It is a boy and although we thought that a sister would be good to dethrone our little princess- she says she likes brothers and we are all excited to have another little fella running around.

I think he and Jase and going to be quite a pair!

 

I had a bit of a scare at about 16 weeks where I had some bleeding. After an ultrasound though- everything looked fine. I had a small sub chorionic hemorrhage but it didn't appear to be anything to worry about. We did see that he was measuring about a week small though.

 

 

^^22 weeks. Jase is still such a baby to me! ^^

 

 

^^25 weeks. And although I feel like the pictures are quite flattering- I am actually pretty big! He may be measuring small but I certainly am not! I had several people tell me around this point that I had really "blossomed" (that's a kind way of saying "wow, you are huge all of a sudden." And I really cringe when I tell people that I am not due until March! I got quite large with Brig and it looks like this boy is going to be similar.^^

 

 

A few random facts:

-The first trimester I really craved sour things. especially lemons, limes and grapefruit. And sour candy did the job pretty well too!

- I threw up one time the first trimester but was queasy pretty much all the time. SOOO grateful for the second trimester.

-My sciatic nerve just barely started to hurt during the third trimester.

-I have only gone to the doctor twice (and I am now 28 1/2 weeks)...my doctor has been in New Zealand for the past year and so I didn't have as many appointments with his fill in as I maybe should have. But he moves often and there hasn't been anything to make me concerned (since the bleeding- which I did go right in after)

- I feel so much peace with this pregnancy. That sounds silly- but with my third I was so anxious and worried that something was going to go wrong and I just feel complete peace this time.

- I think I get more excited to actually have the new baby here with each pregnancy- I cannot wait for this little guy to join our family.

- I often get looked at or told how crazy I am for having so many kids. I try to subtly tell them that this probably won't be the last...I feel so blessed to be about to have children and find so much joy and fulfillment in having a family. I don't love being pregnant and children can be such a challenge- but I want to fill our home with the sound of happy little people and help them grow into thriving adults who can in turn have their own families.

BaBa...

Our little Jaser-Roo isn't so little anymore! He will be 18 months in just a few days. This is such a fun age...with its fair share of challenges...teething to be specific! But one thing is for sure...he LOVES his baba. He doesn't seem too interested in trying to say very many words, but he has mastered this one. I shouldn't give it to him as often as I do...but then he asks and wants to cuddle as he drinks...and I cave. Maybe he is like his dad in more ways than just looks- he prefers drinking to eating any day!

 

 

 

Jase is 1...

Our Jaser-Roo turned 1! I can't believe that it has already been a year since this blessing of a boy came into our life! He is such a fun kid...

We kicked off his birthday with our traditional birthday pancakes. Other than that it was pretty mellow- which fits this mild-mannered boy perfectly!

 

He loved his brownie cake and ate a ton of it...like almost half a pan of brownies by himself...although he was sweet enough to share with everyone else!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few Jase tidbits:

He can say hi, hot and all done.

He isn't walking...although he did take his first steps just a few days after his birthday.  He's just not really interested because he crawls so fast...he looks like a little bear.

He is such a tease...he likes to make people laugh and knows when he is being silly.

He adores his brother and sister...he particularly loves wrestling with Brig.

He DOES NOT however, like when they are hugging me or sitting on my lap. That's kind of a no-no to him and he will come right over and do his best to remove them.

He will all of a sudden feel super lovey and just plant a huge kiss on your mouth. Open mouthed.  Then he is in the mood and will pass kisses out to the whole family. It's the BEST!

He loves balls. He has right from the start. 

He is not a super great sleeper...like he consistently would wake up 2-3 times a night and I would nurse him back to sleep...although the night of his birthday I did make him cry it out and he is doing so much better! There is hope!!

He makes the silliest scrunchy faces.

He has slightly strawberry blonde hair.

 

There are many reasons why we love this boy but the one that I will finish with today is because he is so sweet. He will let other people hold him and has a special sweet spirit that he brings to our home. We sure love him!

 

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday Jase!

Third Time is Still a Charm...

This may sound silly, but it kind of amazes me that even though Jase is number 3 and it's all been done before...the smiling, the cooing, the crawling, the discovering...I still am completely charmed by this sweet boy!

 

 

So when Jase discovered how very helpful he can be with doing the dishes it really made me flashback to Brig being this age and how he too would crawl right over as soon as I opened the dishwasher.

And I realized once again that despite how very similar they each are, they are all so unique and have such individual and personal spots in my heart.

 

 

(Jase is 8 1/2 months in the pictures above and Brig is 10 1/2 months in the picture below)

Stones and Light...

So parenting can be hard.  Like really hard. Don't get me wrong- I love it with all of my heart.  It is always what I have wanted to do and there is nothing I would rather be than a full time mother and wife. Oh- I love it. But I have mentioned before how three kids has been tricky for me. 

I feel like I have a lot less patience than usual and I get grouchy so much easier. Well this sweet picture of these three adorable kiddos was taken on one of those days.  The kind where bedtime can't come soon enough but is hours away and I have already had to repent so many times for yelling at one or two of them and I was feeling a bit frazzled. One of those days.

We had to go somewhere that evening and I just wanted to take a picture of them because I knew that even though things were hectic and we weren't really on our A-game- I loved this. I chose this. Well it made me start to think...

Something had to give.  I knew this was fairly normal to have chaos with three kids and be impatient and messy and have occasional fights (or frequent fights) between siblings...but I didn't think it had to be that way. So, I wanted to change something. And I turned to my scriptures. I read the story of the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon.

To summarize: He has built boats for his people to cross the sea and go to a promised land, but they had a problem- they needed light. So, the brother of Jared is instructed to come up with a plan. He finds 16 stones and asks the Lord to touch them and be filled with light that when they are crossing the ocean, they don't have to be in darkness when they are being tossed around by the waves. Read it... it is way better in real life:)

I knew this story is true and that Heavenly Father could indeed touch something and fill it with light. And I knew that we needed light in our family...so I prepared my proverbial 16 stones. I came up with a plan and then I asked Heavenly Father to bless that plan that we would not have as much contention and more peace in our home.  Here were my "stones:"

-We have always done Family Home Evening but we had started to get a little too relaxed about it...I knew that there are so many promises from the Lord if we will be obedient to this counsel and so I wanted to have a renewed effort. We would pray, read the scriptures, testify and of course have treats:)

-I would wake up 30 minutes early each weekday and exercise.

- I would buy more underwear for Ellie (I know this seems silly but her accidents were a huge trigger to frustration for me)

- I would be more consistent about immediately disciplining the kids for fighting...as soon as they start to fight- I try to take away the object of contention and they sit in  a time out where I can see them.

-I have also tried to increase my personal study and worship time. I try to listen to a talk from General Conference when I exercise and read my scriptures earlier than right before I fall asleep so I can be more alert.

-We also had a family meeting where we each set goals that we would work on to try and be happier in our family...Mom and Dad would not yell, Brig would listen and not whine, and Ellie would try to not have accidents.

 

 

Our family is no where near perfect! But I can testify that Heavenly Father has blessed our family with light! We are doing so much better and I know that if we let the Savior be a part of our parenting...he will touch our families- and whatever he touches- lives!

Our Three Kid Groove...

Having three kids was a huge adjustment for me.  It was difficult.  Emotionally and just plain busy! I knew that people had said 3 kids was rough...and I had tried to prepare myself...but it still gave me quite a run for my money.  Early in my pregnancy with Jase I had read an article that stated that moms with three kids are more stressed out than moms with four or even five kids.  I also had several friends that were "concerned" for me since they remember their third kid was difficult for them.

I thought that I would be ready. But that little bundle of joy was born and the whirlwind began!!!

 

I felt like things could go from calm to chaos in a moment.  It was nuts! I was grouchier than I had ever been with my kids, particularly Brig and was so tired.  Jase had acid reflux and so he was a pretty fussy newborn until we got some medicine for him- but until then it made things ultra hard. He also wanted to eat every two hours...that is not very conducive to having two other busy toddlers running around the house. 

 

In my journal I wrote:

"Sometimes it feels like I'm drowning in diapers and dirty dishes, legos and laundry and that I'm constantly feeding someone and then picking up mess after mess.  I literally shower twice a week and get ready and dressed maybe four times a week."

 

I think I may have even had a little post partum from the stress.  Then one day I was pretty thrashed from lack of sleep and the whole parenting gig and we were having some people come over for family home evening (and they were bringing us dinner- so that was nice) and my mom had stopped by for a little while.  She noticed that not only was I not ready for the day (at 4:00 pm) but that my house was pretty messy...I was not ready for guests at all! So she quietly took the kids in their room and cleaned up their room and then took them downstairs and cleaned that up and helped me pull myself together (ok that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but that is what it felt like on the inside!) That was my turning point.  I started to get the hang of things...

 

I still feel like I am much crabbier than I usually am...but I think that will start to improve as Jase sleeps better.  And our house still gets super messy super quickly.  I still don't really get very many showers and most of the time it is after lunch but before dinner that I get ready. And it still goes from calm to chaos in a moment...

BUT

I have realized a lot of good can happen in a moment. 

The moment when the house is quiet except for the hum of the dishwasher and Cory is reading the older kids a bedtime story and I am holding Jase as he sleeps. Good moment.

Or when we are eating dinner and everyone is laughing hysterically as Ellie and Brig crack "jokes." Good moment.

When all three of the kids are getting along and talking and cooing at each other. Good moment.

When we have nice weather and we go for a walk and everyone is just content.  Good moment.

So- all in all. Yes, three kids is crazy. But I love it. I love being a mom and despite all of the chaos there are moments that completely outweigh it all. And Elder Neal A. Maxwell said,

"Moments are the molecules that make up eternity."

 

We are finding our three kid groove one moment at a time!

 

Jase is 3 Months...

My! Oh, My! Jase is already 3 months.  I remember thinking that seemed so far away when he was born. Now I look back and wonder where the time has gone!

A little bit about Jase...

He is our biggest baby yet- he is kind of a chubby little guy. And boy is he hungry! I breastfeed him but I occasionally have to supplement him with formula because he is just so hungry!

He has a smile that will melt anyone's heart.

He is one drooly fella!

He has acid reflux and has to have medicine but as long as he has his medicine...he is quite content.

He is so strong. He is really stiff and can support his head very well- and has been able to since he was born.

 

 

He is soooo loved by his brother and sister.  They think he is the greatest thing ever...especially Brig.

He loves his swing and has spent countless hours during the day and even quite a few hours at night just swaying back and forth.

 

 

I know that I am completely bias...but I think he is such a beautiful baby.  Ok, who am I kidding. I pretty much think all my kids are gorgeous.

I know...like I said, I'm partial.

 

Jase's Blessing...

This sweet boy was given a name and a blessing on Sunday, February 2, 2014.

The name: Jase Henry Walker

The priesthood holders that helped: His dad, Grandpa Madsen, Grandpa Walker, Uncle Ross and his Great Grandpa Walker.

 

 

The blessing:

He was blessed to be strong and healthy,

 

a friend to his brother and sister,

 

 

a calm and leveling influence to his family,

 

 

a support to his mother,

 

 

 to be a righteous father and husband and to have a strong testimony.

 

 

Jase is such a blessing to each of us! He already brings so much happiness to our family.  I am so grateful for the joy that each additional member brings to our family and I am ever so grateful for the priesthood and how Cory honors it and blesses our lives through it.

 

Jase's Newborn Photos...

I didn't get pictures of sweet baby Jase until he was 1 day shy of being 3 weeks old.  Mommy fail. Since he was so old he didn't have the same newborn curl and so we didn't get as many taken. Oh well...he was still quite adorable, fresh and new!

 

 

Jase has the most defined expressions- he has quite the scrunchy  mad face!

 

Cookie Cutters...

You know those family's that every single one of their kids look the same...

I think that is us.

 

 

Ellie: Top Right

Brig: Bottom Right

Jase: Left

Three Perfect Littles...

I absolutely love these three and all of their perfect cuteness!!!!