Family In Town

Family. 

Isn't it about: Time. 

No really, that's what we kept asking ourselves for those two weeks in between Addie coming early and the arrival of my in-laws. Every day the boys asked, "Isn't it about time for them to be here yet??" 

It's hard to think that they've already been here a week, my father-in-law just left back home yesterday and we only have six more days with our Grandma Lori; why is it the time you want to go slow has to fly by while the time you WANT to go FAST drags on... and ON... and ON (like the time before Adeline begins to sleep through the night) (Remember last post when I said, "I don't want to get ahead of myself..." and that she was sleeping? Well now she isn't really again, other than this ONE gorgeous night that she let me sleep a 5 HOUR STRETCH! This was a big night for me:) 

This week with the Grandparents has been lots of fun. Grandma has gone to work sewing up a gorgeous pink storm of crib bedding, Christmas bags, and anything else you can think of; it's incredible how cute everything is turning out. And in the evenings she makes us delicious dinners.

The boys have loved their walks to the Goose pond with Grandpa, football in the front, games of catch, chess, and wrestling, and reading books with Grandpa at night. 

We look forward to the next six days with Grandma... and I especially am trying to collect myself mentally that in six days I have to be prepared to take back over everything: Cleaning, cooking, shopping, driving the kids around, taking care of them in general, homework, etc. Guys, I'm scared! Grandma? Can you just stay awhile more? Christmas is right around the corner! ;) 

Travis

He has enjoyed being on Ped's this month So much! We're going to miss this rotation. 

He's also enjoyed having the car to drive so he hasn't had to walk in the cold.

Loves having time to hang out with his parents. 

Took the boys out front to play ball. 

LOVES having his mom cooking again... I'm going to have to step up my game.

Lacey

Same ol' Same ol': 

Little sleep

Behind on homework

Trying to spend more time with the boys

Ample baby time

Maddix

Enjoyed his week out of school and having family here. 

And today for the first time ever he got to ride the bus!! It's something he's wanted to do for a long time, but I've not wanted him to. We made a deal that the boys could start riding the bus once the baby came so today as I choked back tears and worry that he was okay, Aaron and I walked over to the bus stop and waiting for our Buddy to show up. It was a surreal feeling watching him come running off the bus, but to see how much he loves it, and to hear that he rides with several of his friends made me happy for him and how much he's growing. 

Aaron
Oh. My. Heavens.
My sweet angel seen the past week on vacation, which meant lots of sugar, late bedtimes, and no routine... and now we're paying for it. He is giving so much attitude that he seems like a whole new boy; fingers crossed it's just the lack of sleep and not a new stage!

Adeline
I almost forgot to write about her!
She has been cooing just a little.
She had a mini photo shoot.
She is gaining weight like a champ and has a double chin.
Sleeping is still hit or miss.
Loves hanging out with her brothers.
Melts all our hearts.

Starved for attention, the both of them.

Puppet show

"We'll need audience participation please."

Grandma and Grandpa made it all of 2hrs into their
journey before being snowed in in Wyoming and
having to wait 6hrs before the roads opened
and they faced 200miles of blizzard
just to get out to us! 

Me: Are you excited Gma and Gpa are on their way?
Aaron: (No words. Just this face)

She wasn't loving tummy time so her "tummy time support team"
came to cheer her on!

 Happy Thanksgiving!
Best part: Everyone else cooked and we got the grandparents all to ourselves this year:)

All this bedding was made by my m.i.l!
The sheet, blanket, quilt, bumpers...
you name it, she made it. 

My best friend, Mackenzie Nelson commissioned
this painting for Addie's room and it's
absolutely perfect;
Everyone should own a piece of art by Mackenzie

Hanging with Grandma and learning to cook!

The boys think she's the coolest now that she knows
how to blow bubbles! 

3 1/2 weeks old

One week of Life & One week PostPartum down

Let's not lie, 

Postpartum is hard. 

and

 if it weren't for all the kindness we've received from our community 

it would be catastrophic! 

I LOVE little Addie; we all do. 

I cry over her perfection. 

I cry because I'm tired. 

I cry because the Christmas commercials are starting up and they're so touching. 

I cry because I feel like I can't handle it all. 

Then I cry because someone shows up and brings us food, cleans my house, drives my kids everywhere, runs my errands, takes the dog to exercise, babysits, and everything in between. 

It usually takes me 6 weeks to get back to myself so while I marked the one week of Addie being here with pictures and loves, I also marked one week down- 5 to go until I become ME again!

Travis:

He's on Pediatrics this month and the Doctor's he is working with are so kind and send him home for an hour here or an hour there. He's been getting over being sick still (much better now) and each night the view I find is Addie asleep on a passed out Travis's chest. 

Lacey:

Essentially, read above, that's all that's new with me :) 

Maddix: 

He has been doing so well adjusting into class. He had a rough few weeks at the beginning of October and finally has settled in... but now the baby is here, and we are facing a lot of the natural behaviors of feeling ignored, dealing with short-tempered parents, and being shipped to other's homes each day as I focus on the baby. 

He's such a good boy. He tries so hard. He wants to be so good. And we expect too much from such a small boy because he often carries himself as such a Man. 

We love you Maddix, and you are so wonderful. 

Aaron:

He is in raptures with "Baby Adeline." 

He sings to her, watches her, wants her near him always. 

He can't get enough of her... AT. ALL. 

And I love watching him love all over her

Adeline: 

She eats, sleeps, and poops. 

I don't want to get ahead of myself but the past two nights she slept very well 

(if ONLY her brother had slept through the night; I would've benefited)

Her brother's love when she sticks her tongue out. 

She eats like a champ. 

She is starting to stay up more during the day so woohoo to hopefully reverse cycling her!

"The Reverse Cycling ends tonight!!"

1st Bath!

L to R: Maddix, Aaron, Adeline

T to B: Maddix, Aaron, Adeline

~My Wonderful three blessings~

Family Gaming has its newest member ;)

Family Friday Movie night!
Dad's choice: Cars 3

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Way to go to my in-laws on their Disney 10k! 

my view each night by 9pm! 

~Adeline's Arrival! 11/2/17~

The Lord truly inspires....
Adeline's room had been covered in boxes and was a complete wreck until I had a dream one night that we needed to get it done, along with a few other things on our to do list. The very next morning we set out to Target and Hobby lobby, and by the end of the night we had a beautiful room to welcome Sister home into. The next day nesting hit full swing and I got the house cleaned from top to bottom, closets organized, groceries shopped, and other odds and ends accomplished within 48hrs of my prompting.
That very next late night/ early morning, as Travis ended his night shifts and prepared to transition to back to day shifts, my body began preparing for its own transition. At 2:30am Thurs the 2nd, I woke up with contractions; by 4:40am they were every 5-7mins apart, but I was determined not to wake Travis up, and that I wanted to get Maddix to school, so I hopped up to take a shower at which point the contractions slowed and became pretty irregular.
After dropping Maddix to school we went home to watch a morning of cartoons since I was tired and not feeling well, but Travis messaged that he'd forgotten his pager and badge and asked if we could bring it. As he saw me wince through a contraction as we were grabbing Aaron a treat from the hospital cafeteria he decided he wanted me to take Aaron to a friends and come back to be checked.
I was originally checked by a nurse and brand new intern who both felt like I was completely closed, but Travis was not happy with that diagnosis and called over to my Doctor, who happened to be having his call day (which meant if I was in labor he'd get to deliver me!). I was ordered to walk the halls for an hour and then he would personally come check me.
Walking the short hallway alone was super boring, so I began messaging my sister-in-law, who suggested lunging the halls or sneaking off to a stairwell, so I did. I ran stairs for 25 mins, found a private bathroom where I did lunges, squat jumps, and a silly "labor dance" that Trav had jokingly shared with me, then it was back to my room to let the contractions do their thing. By the time Dr. Thorn came he found I was dilated to a 4 and 60% effaced; Ha! And then I was scolded for doing stairs; I'd been caught by Travis and the nurses.
I had to do 4hrs of i.v. antibiotics before they could break my water, so at 6pm Dr. Thorn came in with my "support team," Travis was there at this point, and we got the ball rolling. Once my water broke... it BROKE! Travis said there was close to 3 gallons of fluid that just kept coming. It was quickly after this that the real contractions began:
Time for the epidural. The lady was terrible! She had to stick me so many times that Travis excused himself from the room because it was frustrating him. Not only did she repeatedly poke me, but I had to have an extra i.v. in my other arm so they could pump extra fluid into my body in case my blood pressure tanked again from the epidural. The nurse and trainee couldn't find my vain and said I had "tough skin" they repeatedly poked me as well. They administered the epidural slowly as a precaution to my past experiences and I don't feel like it fully worked all the way. I could always lift my left leg...
Numbed up and completely effaced, I felt it was time to start pushing. I had one nurse holding my leg, Travis holding the other, another nurse counting, Dr. Renfer was helping the baby down, and Dr. Thorn was even there the whole hour and a half I pushed.... So much for hoping she'd be out in 3 pushes like Mr. Aaron! Her head was up and back, with her chin to the sky... and my stupid tailbone was once again in the way!! With every contraction I pushed I was able to stay positive and keep joking, but once we heard that "crack" of my tailbone break and the pain set in, I seriously didn't know that I was going to be able to finish. Remember how I said I didn't feel like the epidural worked all the way? I think I felt too much of the pain from the tailbone break for it to have been done fully (not to mention I could get up and hobble right after she was born, with no numbness in my legs).
The hardest part was as she was coming I'd get stuck in between a contraction and she was just sitting there on my broken tailbone and I was so close to passing out that I just didn't know that I could keep pushing. But I did. And she came.
At 10:52pm my sweet baby girl was pushed free and placed on my chest and it wasn't until that moment that I really felt like I had a baby that was all mine.

I enjoyed my stay, all the nurses were so nice, the staff took such good care of us, and because everyone there LOVES Travis, we were given special treatment (like ignoring the hospital's new "baby friendly" rules in order to let me sleep! Ask me, I'll tell you how much I despise these new regulations hospitals are moving towards).
The first night Travis stayed with Adeline and I, sleeping/not sleeping on the little couch. In the morning he showered, walked out our room door, walked across the hall and was literally at work; shortest commute ever ;) ha ha. That next night he went home after work, brought the boys back, and then passed out on the little couch while the boys met their sister and watched cartoons all snuggled on my bed. And after a month of giving it everything he had, and finishing it off by staying up all night to have a baby with me, Travis's body has completely given out. He is SO sick.
Adeline and I came home Saturday afternoon to find the house I'd meticulously cleaned was now a giant disaster zone. And Travis spent the whole weekend in this terrible state of not awake/not asleep existence. He felt horrible that he couldn't take care of things, help me, or hold his new little girl. I am married to the world's greatest man.
We are so blessed with wonderful people in our lives who have gone above and beyond to help us since we're away from family. From generous neighbors and friends who took the boys, brought me stuff in the hospital, and are feeding us, to Doctor's and staff who've covered for Travis here and there  so he could be around at pivotal moments. Our ward is amazing! They've given so much service from getting me to Adeline's follow-up apt., coming to clean my house, and everything else in between.
I have a heart full of gratitude and deep testimony of service. I'm so grateful for the "support teams" the Lord has blessed me with through the stages of my life. And then as a giant blessing... I slept some last night!! My baby is a champ! Such a tender mercy, and I love her so much.

her come home outfit; complete w/ beanie and booties
made by Gma Lori

Welp.. Guess we're doing this...

How can you love someone so much that you've
only known for a few days?