Call Me SuperMommy

Skylar's Birth Story (Better Late Than Never!)

2011-03-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

I know, it took me forever to get Skylar's birth story posted, right? As always seems to happen, life has gotten busy and I never got it posted. So here it is--the exciting birth story of how my sweet Skylar Reese was born at home. By the way, this story tells it like it is and is probably TMI for some people. But, I know many people asked about her birth story. So, if you are interested, please read on:

On the night of December 8, 2009, I had a little bit of bloody show right as I was going to bed, so I warned Drew and my mom that the baby might be coming soon. We were a bit surprised since the baby wasn't due till December 24, but Carter was born 13 days early, so I wasn't totally surprised. I was awakened at 1:30 am on December 9 with contractions and more bloody show, but managed to sleep off and on till 2:30. I realized then that I wasn't going to get any more sleep, so I got up and started to get ready for the day. I figured I wanted to do it while I was feeling well and the contractions weren't too bad. I wasn't moving too fast and had to take breaks for contractions, so it took me till 3:30 to wash up, put on makeup and fix my hair. Yes, I put on makeup. But I wanted to look nice in the inevitable pictures; plus, getting ready was keeping me distracted from the contractions.

At 3:30, Drew got up with me and we went downstrairs, where we watched TV and played on the computer. My labor was progressing well with the contractions getting stronger and closer together, but nothing too bad. My mom got up at 6:00 and checked on us and we let her know the baby would be coming soon, so she got ready and came down to help. About 6:30, the contractions started to become a little stronger, so I spent more time on my knees laying over the ottoman with Drew or my mom rubbing my back. At 7:15, Drew called Jamin, our midwife, and let her know that I was in labor. Drew then went upstairs to our room to start filling the tub and getting the supplies ready while my mom continued to help me labor in the family room.

At 8:00 Drew called the midwife again and let her know that she should come over because the labor was progressing and I was getting closer to delivery. I was still having contractions about 6 minutes apart, but there was more pain between the contractions as well. Luckily, because of our Bradley training, I was nice and calm. But my knees finally started hurting from all the kneeling, so I was laying curled up on the floor while my mom rubbed my back. Our midwife and her backup arrived at 8:40. Because it was the holidays, our second midwife was on vacation; so we didn't know the backup midwife, but she was great as well. When Jamin arrived, she could tell my labor was really progressing, so she quickly went upstairs to our bedroom to set up her supplies. After 15 minutes, Jamin came down and told me she wanted me to come upstairs because she was worried that if I waited any longer I wouldn't be able to walk upstairs. My contractions at that point were still 5-6 minutes apart, but there was pretty much constant pain between the contractions as well. So Drew helped me head upstairs to the bedroom, stopping a few times to rest and breath.

When I got to our bedroom, the tub was only 3 inches filled, so I was going to curl up on the bed or floor instead. But I decided before I laid down that I should go to the bathroom since I was already up and didn't want to have to get up again soon. Before I started to sit down, I realized that there was a ton of pressure all of a sudden. I called into the bedroom to tell Drew that there was a lot of pressure, which I heard him relay to our midwife and my family. Instead of sitting down, I reached down and realized that I could feel the top of the baby's head! Whoa!! That was a huge surprise! No one had any idea that I was that close.

Well, once I discovered that the baby was crowning, all I wanted was to hold my baby. Plus, after being ready to push when I was in labor with Carter and not being able to because we were in car on the way to the birth center, I didn't want to not push now that it was time because I knew how hard that was. So I decided I was going to get this baby out, whether I had help or not. I walked a few feet into the main part of our bathroom, squatted down a little bit and gave a push. Then I heard Jamin, our midwife, come hurrying into the bathroom, saying, "Come on. Let's go over to the bed. We're not going to have this baby in the bathroom." At that point, she saw me squatting there with the baby's head half out and started saying, "This is fine. We can do this here. It'll be just fine." Drew and my mom made it into the room right then, which was good because they made it just in time for the birth. Jamin supported me a little and I gave one more push the Skylar's head came out. Then I reached down and, with one more push, caught my sweet little baby! My dad, Ryder and Carter came rushing in just as Skylar was born. After my dad being out of town for Carter's, birth, I love that everyone got to be there to witness Skylar's first moments.

The birth was honestly so quick and unexpected that it was fairly overwhelming. Jamin had me back up and sit on the toilet so that she could help me get my pants off and make sure everything was fine. With the cord still attached, I walked over to the bed holding Skylar. It was a little tricky since her cord was really short so I had to hold her low on my stomach, but we made it to the bed fine. Skylar and I cuddled up in our own bed, tummy to tummy, all snuggled under a blanket. If it's any indication of how surprised everyone was with her appearance, we were so busy talking about her sudden birth that it was 10 minutes before we got around to checking whether she was a boy or a girl! Skylar was a champion nurser and nursed immediately after we got in bed. The kids climbed into the bed to see their new baby sister and cuddle. The midwives stayed for a few hours to make sure we were both fine, but at noon they left and we spent the rest of the day marveling at our sweet new girl.

I loved the relaxed, family, comfortable atmosphere of our home birth. I was a little disappointed that I still wasn't able to have a water birth since she came so quickly, but I loved getting to catch Skylar like I did Carter. That was such a wonderful experience and one I was happy to repeat. Drew and I knew ahead of time that we would enjoy having a home birth, but we ended up liking it even more than we thought we would. It was so comfortable, relaxing and personal. The home birth was less hassle, less worry, less fuss and less stress. It was so amazing not to have to rush to the birth center while in labor and not to be surrounded by all sorts of unknown and intrusive personnel. machines and surroundings. I loved being able to relax in my own bed, surrounded by our family in our home, knowing that we wouldn't have to be going anywhere. And I loved that the midwife left Skylar and I alone to bond and get to know each other without interference. It may have been a bit of a surprise, but it was a perfect birth. If we end up having another baby, Drew and I would definitely try to have a home birth again!

365 - Sept 10

2010-10-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Grandpa body surfing. After Ryder enjoyed body surfing in Newport so much, my parents got a board for him to use at our house. He still requires some help getting launched, but he likes to try to ride the surf. Plus, my dad and Drew love using the board when Ryder's done :)

365 - Sept 9

2010-10-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Ryder doing his morning work at school.

365 - Sept 8

2010-10-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter at the aquarium with Grandma Becca. Grandma really wanted to see the sea horse exhibit, so we took a quick trip to the aquarium to check them out.

365 - Sept 7

2010-10-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Carter riding bikes on our patio

365 - Sept 6

2010-10-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Could this get any cuter??

365 - Sept 5

2010-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Drew was excited to finally get to see a race at the Del Mar racetrack. And we went for family day, so there were lots of things for the kids to do as well.

365 - Sept 4

2010-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Skylar, Carter and Ryder with Grandpa Peter at the symphony. We went with Drew's parents to the last concert in the outdoor summer symphony series. The music was fabulous and ended with the 1812 overture with real cannons and fireworks. Combine that with a great picnic and it made for a wonderful evening.

365 - Sept 3

2010-10-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Skylar and Grandma Becca snuggling at dinner.

365 - Sept 2

2010-10-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Drew reading bedtime stories to Carter and Ryder. The kids miss Drew while he's gone on his frequent work trips, so he tries to make sure he's the one that reads to the kids on the nights he's home. They love reading with Daddy.

365 - September 1

2010-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Skylar hanging in the cart at one of our favorite places to shop--Target!

365 - August 31

2010-10-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

Carter and Ryder pretending to take a nap while they were playing

365 - August 30

2010-10-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Ryder holding Skylar. Ryder is quite pleased with being able to pick Skylar up now. Luckily, she enjoys him carrying her around.

365 - August 29

2010-10-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Carter on one of the kiddie water slides at Legoland. Carter isn't tall enough for the big water slides at Legoland, but she loves getting to ride down the little water slides. Our first trip, she only wanted to try the 4 person slide so that she could go with someone else, but today she tried the single rider slide and LOVED it!

365 - August 28

2010-10-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

The kids all set up to watch our Up at our local park. Our neighborhood puts on 2 movies in the park each summer. The kids love getting to watch movies outdoors and eat the treats they provide :)

365 - August 27

2010-10-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Carter playing dress-up with some of the girls from her preschool class. We had a few of the girls from Carter's preschool class over for a playdate so they could get to know each other better. They had a great time playing together.

365 - August 26

2010-10-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Carter at school. Our family loves science and anything to do with the ocean, so Carter was excited to go examine the shells as soon as she arrived at school.

365 - August 25

2010-10-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

Skylar loves her bath time! She loves to splash in the tub and will spend as long in the tub as I will let her. I normally have to drag her out. The only problem is that she now likes to pull up constantly, even in the bathtub. So it's a struggle to keep her sitting down in the tub!

365 - August 24

2010-10-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

Carter on her way to her first day of preschool. She was really excited to start preschool. She couldn't wait for us to drop her off and had a wonderful time during her first day. She loved her teachers and was excited to go back to the next day.

365 - August 23

2010-10-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ryder with his teacher on the first day of school. Ryder was super-excited to start Kindergarten. He woke up extra early on the first day because he was so eager to go. He had a wonderful time during his first day and is looking forward to the rest of the year.

365 - August 22

2010-10-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Carter, Ryder and Grandma at our church's beach clean-up day. The kids were very diligent about picking up trash and handing out bottled water to people on the beach. Ryder was totally bummed when our stretch of beach was cleaned up!

365 - August 21

2010-10-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Enjoying all the shows at Sea World. Everyone had a great time during our first trip to SeaWorld--watching shows, seeing animals, enjoying the sunshine :)

365 - August 20

2010-09-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

My little swimming Skylar. I love watching her swim and enjoy the water! All of the kids love to swim, but Skylar is the most at home in the water. She gets so excited when we get to the pool that she can't wait to get in the water!

365 - August 19

2010-09-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Exploring the tide pools with Grandma and Grandpa. There is a great tide pool walk down by the aquarium that the kids love. This time, we found crabs, sea anemones, sea stars, chitons, mussels, barnacles, fish and many other animals. The kids loved holding the hermit crabs, but everyone's favorites were the sea stars.

365 - August 18

2010-09-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Drew and Skylar enjoying an afternoon at the beach. Drew was able to meet us at the beach after work for a little beach time. The kids love to spend an afternoon digging in the sand. And, if the water is warm enough, maybe even take a dip in the water!

365 - August 17

2010-09-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

I love those sweet little smiley kiddos :)

365 - August 16

2010-09-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Carter and Kerrie. Carter just adores my cousin Kerrie and all the kids love when she comes to visit. It's been working out perfect because Kerrie has been coming to play with the kids on her days off. The kids thrilled, Kerrie enjoys it and I get some extra work done--win, win win.

365 - August 15

2010-09-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ryder, Carter and Grandpa playing in the stream. There is a fabulous stream for hiking near our campsite with lots of fun pools and rapids. The kids get drenched while traversing the stream and ended up swimming in their clothes. But they couldn't have had a better time. This campsite wasn't the most perfect site, but the stream is so fabulous that I think we'll be back here camping again.

365 - August 14

2010-09-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ryder absolutely loved getting to make and tend the fire when we went camping! It was by far his favorite part and he talked about it for weeks afterward. He learned the names of the different kinds of wood needed, collected the wood, helped build the fire, tended the fire and put out the fire. In fact, we had a fire the next morning just so that Ryder could build another fire! He can't wait to go camping again.

365 - August 13

2010-09-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Carter claimed she was cold, so she insisted on playing in the water table while wearing her fleece and her rain coat. Silly girl!

365 - August 12

2010-09-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Drew and I at dinner on our 10th anniversary. It's hard to believe it's already been 10 years since we got married. But they certainly have been fabulous years! We went out to a wonderful dinner at the Palm to celebrate our marriage.

365 - August 11

2010-09-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Skylar swimming. This little girl just loves to swim! All the kids have taken to the water easily at a young age, but she is probably the most at home in the water so young. She will relax and lay her head back on her back and jump in herself.

365 - Aug 10

2010-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Skylar sucking her index finger. She still sucks her thumb sometimes, but she has started most often sucking the index finger of her left hand. What I find interesting is that she always rotates her wrist so that her palm is up when she sucks on her finger. It looks quite uncomfortable, but she seems to like it.

365 - Aug 9

2010-09-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

My sweet, bright-eyed boy

365 - August 8

2010-09-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter at Lego Star Wars Days. The kids absolutely LOVED seeing all the Star Wars characters. We spent the day taking pictures with character after character. Every time we saw a character, they would ask to take a picture with them. It made me laugh every time they asked to take a picture with a different clone character--I just kept thinking "But they're clones!"

365 - August 7

2010-09-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

With Tinkerbell at Disneyworld. Carter and Ryder were so excited to see the fairies at Disney! We got to meet Silvermist and Tinkerbell, both of whom were very good in their role. I can tell we'll be going back to visit the fairies again. :)

365 - August 6

2010-09-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today, Ryder and Grandpa went fishing. They caught quite a few small fish and had a great time. Ryder was learning how to cast and doing a good job. Mom, the girls and I walked around the lake while the guys fished. After our walks, Carter fed the ducks, which made her amazingly happy. That girls loves to tear up the bread and throw it to the ducks!

365 - August 5

2010-09-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ryder reading with my Aunt Diana. We are so lucky that my aunt who lives in San Diego is a first grade teacher with specialty training in reading. She has taught my mom and me how to teach Ryder to read and lent us the proper materials to work with him. It's been amazing seeing his reading improve over the summer. Today, she came to evaluate Ryder's reading and found he was actually several levels above where we thought he was. I'm so proud of him!

365 - August 4

2010-09-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Carter and Grandma at art time at the botanical gardens. The botanical gardens near our house are beautiful and have lots of fun activities for the kids. Today we went for art time, including painting and play-dough. Carter loves free-form art and Ryder follows the instructions exactly. It's so interesting to watch their personalities at work in their art.

365 - Aug 3

2010-09-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter in front of Carter's "garden." My dad and Ryder were cutting the purple flowers that were dead and Carter was taking them and "planting" them into the other plants. She was so excited by her work.

365 - Aug 2

2010-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Me and Skylar at my birthday dinner. After being in Indy for my birthday and coming back to some sickness, we finally found a time to celebrate my birthday with a nice dinner. Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. We went to The Melting Pot, which everyone always enjoys. The big kids were thrilled, but unfortunately Skylar was not. She did fine through the appetizers, but as soon as the main course arrived, Skylar started screaming. And she would not be calmed down no matter what I tried. Finally the adults had to take turns holding her outside and ever out there I couldn't get her calmed down well. we finally abandoned dinner before dessert and headed home to eat chocolate fondue at home. Strangely enough, as soon as we got home, she was fine. I have no idea what her problem was, but I'm glad she was fine. Dinner could have gone better, but at least we finally got a chance to celebrate.

365 - August 1

2010-09-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Skylar pulling up. Skylar has just started pulling up and is so proud of herself. When she gets to her feet, she gets a huge grin on her face :) The only problem is now she is trying to pull up on everything, including stuff that she can tip over. It's caused a few falls, but she's loving being able to pull herself up!

365 - July 31

2010-09-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Skylar. The big kids love sitting down to play with Skylar and she loves all the attention!

365 - July 30

2010-09-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

The kids doing a science experiment with Grandpa. Ryder loves science and was thrilled that my parents got him a science kit for his birthday. The kids were fascinated by watching the carbon dioxide blow up the balloon. I loved seeing the look of wonder and excitement on their faces.

365 - July 29

2010-09-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Carter in her fabulous princess dress-up outfit. She put together this lovely outfit together , including all kinds of jewelry. The sash says "Princess" but she's wearing it backwards so it says it across her back :) Carter is into princesses, particularly with our trips to Disneyland. I love seeing her dress up and play pretend.

365 - July 28

2010-08-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Skylar with one of her favorite toys--the spoon. Give her a spoon and she will sit happily through dinner or while we get frozen yogurt. She feels so important getting one of the spoons we're using. Always wants to be a big girl!

365 - July 27

2010-08-25T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ryder reading. He is so thrilled about being able to read and I love listening to him. What a special joy to see your child read.

365 - July 25

2010-08-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Skylar and Tobi just hanging out. I am so glad that Skylar and Tobi are such good buddies. They will seek each other out so that they can lay together or play together. Tobi loves the attention and Skylar is fascinated by him. I just love watching them together.

365 - July 25

2010-08-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Ryder having a little fun on the trampoline. This little exercise trampoline has been around since I was a kid. I remember playing on it when I was little and now the kids love jumping on it. It's the perfect way to burn off some energy.

365 - July 24

2010-08-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter feeding the ducks. We took the kids for a walk around the lake and brought along some bread to feed the ducks. Luckily, we took an entire loaf of bread with us because the kids couldn't get enough of feeding those ducks! And I can't seem to get Carter to tear the bread into small pieces. She will rip a piece of bread into 6 large pieces and toss them all into the water in 10 seconds. Good thing we bought super cheap white bread special for the occasion.

365 - July 23

2010-08-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Drew dancing with Skylar. Drew took advantage of some music to dance Skylar around the living room, which she was thrilled about :)

365 - July 22

2010-08-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

My sleepy little baby. She was so tired that she started to fall asleep sitting up while we were doing a photo shoot. She closed her eyes, started sucking her finger and almost started to tip over because she was so sleepy. It was funny because she went from acting fine to dropping off to sleep in an instant. Needless to say, this was our last picture of the photo shoot.

365 - July 21

2010-08-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

Ryder at his first day on VBS. Ryder had such a great time at VBS. He was sick the first day, but I saw happy he still got to go the rest of the week because he loved it. He kept telling me hoe fun it was and that he wished it was longer. When he left the last day, he told everyone, "I'll see you next year!"

365 - July 20

2010-08-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Skylar's first time sitting up in a shopping cart. She was so proud of herself and so thrilled to be able to interact with everyone we passed. Everyone kept commenting on how she was all smiles.

365 - July 19

2010-08-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

I love these 3 little sweeties! And I love when I'm able to get a good picture of all 3 of them :)

365 - July 18

2010-08-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Ryder hanging at the pool. It's been so cold this summer that we haven't gotten many chance to hit the pool. So we took advantage of the warm day to go swimming.

365 - July 17

2010-08-04T22:11:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time on our second visit to Disney's California Adventure. This time, we went with Drew's mom and dad. We were able to do a bunch of rides that we missed the first time. One of the neatest ones was Mickey's Fun Wheel, a ferris wheel with cars that slide as the wheel turns--it's such a unique ride. The kids loved the Bug Life area, especially the show which was full of cool special effects. And Drew and I rode Tower of Terror for the first time--awesome! Plus, we got a second chance to ride Toy Story and Monsters Inc, which were great again. And the day was complete when we got a chance to see Mickey!

365 - July 15

2010-08-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great time with the new sprinkler Carter got for her birthday. Luckily, we had a warm enough day to play with it. It's been so chilly here this summer that we haven't gotten much water time. I hope it finally warms up for real soon!

365 - July 15

2010-08-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Carter's birthday with the family. We had planned to go swimming for her birthday, but it started to rain so we went out for dinner at a Mexican place instead. After dinner, we came home to open presents and have cake. Carter wanted a pink cake, with pink frosting, topped with pink marshmallows, so that's just what we had. :) Carter is always so sweet when she opens presents and makes fabulous comments like, "Oh, this is going to be just perfect!"

365 - July 14

2010-08-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Carter and Skylar cuddling with Daddy. The kids love to hang out with Daddy when he gets home from work. :)

365 - July 13

2010-08-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Skylar, Carter and Ryder with Aunt Jillian and Uncle Jeff at Legoland. We completed our amusement park tour with a day at Legoland. The kids were excited to show all their favorite rides to Aunt Jillian and Uncle Jeff, though we were all missing the adult rides and rides Skylar could ride on that they had at Disney. But we love Legoland and had a great day, especially since it was warm enough to go on the water rides that we often have to skip due to the cool weather.

365 - July 12

2010-08-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

Ryder body surfing with Uncle Jeff's help. The kids had some great overnights at Grandma Becca and Grandpa Peter's apartment while Aunt Jillian and Uncle Jeff were in town. On their beach day, the kids went to the beach twice with Grandma, Aunt Jillian and Uncle Jeff. Uncle Jeff proved a great beach buddy for the kids. He helped them build a giant sand castle and work on their body surfing.

365 - July 11

2010-08-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

With Minnie at California Adventure. We spent our second Disney day at California Adventure, Disneyland's sister park. California Adventure was really well designed and had some great rides, including some of the newer rides. Some of the highlights were the Toy Story Midway Mania (which everyone agreed was the best ride of the 2 days and totally worth the long line we waited in), Monsters Inc, and a show where you could interact with Crush the Sea Turtle. Ryder got to talk to Crush quite a bit during the show, which made it even neater. We saw many more characters at California Adventure, which the kids were thrilled about. Overall, our first Disney weekend was a huge hit and the kids were happy to learn it wouldn't be our last!

365 - July 10

2010-08-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

At Disneyland with Drew's family. This was our first Disney trip with the kids and everyone had a fabulous time. Drew's sister, Jillian, and her husband came down to visit Disney with us. The kids had an awesome time--as did all the adults :) We all enjoyed some of the classic Disney rides and were able to take in a bunch of rides because it wasn't horribly crowded. I was surprised we didn't see more characters out walking around, but we also didn't seek too many out. We were too busy getting in as many rides as we could! Favorites were Finding Nemo, Peter Pan, and Buzz Lightyear. Skylar loved getting to go on the rides, which she doesn't get to do at Legoland. She was fascinated the whole time!

365 - July 9

2010-07-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Carter playing dress-up. I love our re-designed dress-up area. My parents made an awesome bar and shelf to hold the dress-up clothes while Drew and I were in France. Now, there's room to hang the clothes and store all the stuff nicely sorted. Plus, now the dress-up stuff gets used a lot more because the kids can get to it easily.

365 - July 8

2010-07-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

The girls snuggling in the bed. Carter loves to cuddle with Skylar in bed in the morning and Skylar is thrilled to have the attention, so it works out perfect :)

365 - July 7

2010-07-31T17:35:00.000-07:00

Skylar working on that hands and knees thing. She is now rocking back and forth like a maniac!

365 - July 6

2010-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

My little buddy. I was working on the computer after the big kids went to bed and Skylar was just hanging out in the chair next to me. She fell asleep sitting there with the sweetest little smile on her face. Guess she liked just getting to hang with her mommy :)

365 - July 5

2010-07-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

We love being able to stretch the 4th of July into 2 days with Carmelfest.We spent most the day on the 5th at Carmelfest watching shows, eating food and listening to music. We found a great spot by the kids stage to camp out and the kids loved watching the acts while we relaxed. It was really hot, so we took a break mid-afternoon to head to a movie before returning to Carmelfest for more shows. The highlight of the day was the great fireworks display at the end of the night.

365 - July 4

2010-07-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Carter, Ryder and Drew at the concert on the canal. To celebrate the 4th of July, we went down to the canal downtown. We started at the Eiteljorg museum, where they had some family friendly activities. Then we walked over to the canal, where we listened to the concert and had a pizza picnic. Afterward, we walked back to my parents house, where we watched the fireworks from the rooftop while we made s'mores. With a clear sky, the weather was great for fireworks this year. Skylar did great with her first fireworks. She didn't get upset once. Instead, she sat there entranced for the first half, then fell asleep for the second half. And the big kids were thrilled to see the fireworks. OK, not just the kids. We all love watching the fireworks :)

365 - July 3

2010-07-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Skylar pushing up onto her hands and knees. Skylar just learned how to get up fully onto her hands and knees and is starting to rock back and forth once she gets up. Won't be long now till she's crawling!

365 - July 2

2010-07-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

The kids roasting marshmallows on the roof at my parents' house. One of our favorite activities at my parents' townhouse is making s'mores up on their rooftop deck. And the kids love to roast the marshmallows! But the funny part is that neither of them likes to eat roasted marshmallows. Ryder only eats regular marshmallows, but loves to roast them for other people--and he does a pretty good job too. Carter will roast marshmallows for herself and other people, but she will only leave them over the fire for half a second 2 feet up in the air, then insist they are done because "I don't like burned marshmallows." Pretty much, the kids just like to eat to pieces to the s'mores. Occasionally, Ryder insists that he ONLY wants melted chocolate, not either of the other 2 pieces and tries to devise some way to melt chocolate over the fire by itself; he has yet to be successful on that one. But it's funny to see him try!

365 - July 1

2010-07-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

Jenn and I with our kiddos. While we were in Indy, Jenn drove through town with her kids. Ryder and Carter were excited to see Gavin and Layla and it was nice for them all to be able to meet Skylar. They were only able to stay for a few hours, but it was good to catch up.

365 - June 30

2010-07-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Skylar is getting better at sitting up. She still can only sit for a few seconds, but she gets so excited when she is sitting up!

365 - June 29

2010-07-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

4 generations of my mom's family--my grandma with her daughter, her granddaughter and her great grandkids. When we were in WI, we got to hang out at my uncle and aunt's house quite a bit and visit with my mom's side of the family. The neatest part was getting to meet my cousins' kids and seeing the kids get to play together.

365 - July 28

2010-07-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

With my Uncle John at Summerfest. I am so glad that I finally got to introduce the kids to the fabulousness of Summerfest.We had an awesome day eating some great food, playing in the kids area and listening to some good music. Plus, we went with my uncle, aunt, 2 cousins and my cousin's husband and kids. Nothing says classic Milwaukee like a day at Summerfest :)

365 - June 27

2010-07-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter hanging with Uncle Justin. It was really nice that Justin could come over and spend the day with us while we were in WI. The kids always love getting to see him and so do I.

365 - June 26

2010-07-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

My dad with his brother and one of his sisters. It was great to be able to spend an evening with my aunt and 2 uncles from my dad's side of the family when we went up to Wisconsin. After driving all day, it was nice to just spend dinner relaxing and visiting.

365 - June 25

2010-07-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ryder working on his Star Wars book. Ryder got a really neat book set for his birthday. He wrote a Star Wars story and is working hard at transcribing it into his book and illustrating it. I love how diligent he is and how he loves to do a project--so much like his mom!

365 - June 24

2010-07-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ryder swimming in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's. My mom had the great idea to get a kiddie pool to put on the porch of their town house while we were in Indy. The kids loved getting to splash around in the pool and it was perfect for cooling off in the hot Indy weather.

365 - June 23

2010-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our playdate with Anabela and her girls. We had a picnic at Cool Creek park and the kids spent a few hours running around and playing on the climbers. I loved getting to sit and talk to Anabela while the kids played. I just wish they had been in town longer while we were there so we could have gotten together again.

365 - June 22

2010-07-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Me with my little sister. I just wish she lived closer so we could see each other more!

365 - June 21

2010-07-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

The kids at the Indians game with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Niki. I was happy to be able to make it to an Indians game while we were in Indy. I love getting to sit out in the outfield and enjoy the evening--plus it was dollar night, which is my favorite!

365 - June 20

2010-07-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

Drew celebrating Father's Day with his little sweeties :) We had such a nice Father's Day celebration. My sister and brother were in Indy to celebrate with us, so my dad and Drew both had all their kids with them for Father's Day. We went out to a fabulous brunch at a local tapas restaurant before coming home to open presents. Brunch was AWESOME and it was so nice to be able to enjoy the morning together before my sister and brother had to head back home.

365 - June 19

2010-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

Helping Carter celebrate at her 3rd birthday party. Since most of Carter's friends are in Indy, we decided to have her party when we went back to Indy. Plus, the birthday party was the perfect chance to see all our friends! Carter picked an animal themed party this year. We had her party at Dillon spray park, one of our favorite spray park and playgrounds. We had a breakfast party complete with all sorts of breakfast goodies, including pink donuts with sprinkles--which were Carter's special request. The kids had a fabulous time playing in the spray park and on the playground and enjoying breakfast--and cake, of course!!

365 - June 18

2010-07-28T21:41:00.000-07:00

With Carter's birthday party the next day, we didn't get much of a chance to celebrate my birthday. (We're going to celebrate soon once we're all back on our feet!) But this is me at 32 :)

365 - June 17

2010-07-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Carter and Aunt Niki hanging out at the concert on the canal. We love getting to listen to the free concerts on the canal in Indy. Our first day in Indy, we had a picnic on the canal while we listened to the concert. Niki came into town just in time and was able to meet us for the end of the concert. Skylar was rolling all over the blanket during the concert. She managed to get a cracker in her mouth and grab a fistful of chicken, but we were able to get both of them away from her before she ate anything. She sure does have fast little hands!

365 - June 16

2010-07-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Drew at Ryder's Father's Day celebration at school. On Ryder's last day of school, they had their Father's Day celebration. All the dads came in, did projects with the kids, ate snack and opened the adorable Father's Day presents the kids made. I thought it was a bit strange that they held the Father's Day celebration on the last day of school, but it worked out fine I guess. Drew and Ryder both had a great time and I love Ryder getting to see his dad participating at his school.

365 - June 15

2010-07-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Ryder with 2 of his teachers at his preschool graduation ceremony. Ryder's school had a lovely graduation ceremony for all the preschool students. All the graduating classes sang a song together. As each child got called up on stage to receive a lei, the teachers read what the kids wanted to be when they grew up. In the past, Ryder's answer has been that he wants to be a daddy and to work in an office. Because of his love of oceanography, Drew and I thought he also might pick some sort of ocean science career. But he said that when he grows up he wants to own a spaceship store. He doesn't just want to build spaceships or to work for NASA. He actually wants to have like a car dealership, but for spaceships. Who knows, but the time he grows up, maybe they will! It was really nice that Drew's mom was able to come to Ryder's graduation with us. After the ceremony, we took Ryder out for a sushi dinner. That kid would eat sushi every night!

365 - June 14

2010-07-27T22:37:00.001-07:00

Ryder listening to his teacher read a story at school

365 - June 13

2010-07-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

Ryder and Carter with a hawk from the bird show at the San Diego County Fair. San Diego county is so big and so packed with people that the San Diego County Fair was almost as big as the Indiana State Fair. The fair started just before we left for Indy and was going to finish before we returned, so we took advantage of our only chance to see the fair. We had a great time walking around, seeing some shows, eating fair food and introducing the kids to the ever popular pig racing. I couldn't decide whether my favorite part of the fair was the fact that the pork chops on a stick stand was right next to the pig racing track or that Carter kept insisting that the bone in our turkey leg was a dinosaur bone!

365 - June 12

2010-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

At the San Diego Padres' game with our friends. They have 2 little boys in between our kids' ages so it was a perfect match for hanging out on the lawn seats, eating snacks and taking in a little baseball. The kids had a blast with the usher who kept playing all sorts of games with them.

365 - June 11

2010-07-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Carter playing with the new obsession--Zhu Zhu pets. We were a little late coming to the Zhu Zhu pet thing at our house, but it took off like wild fire!

365 - June 10

2010-07-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

It just warms my heart my much they love each other. It's a mother's dream!

365 - June 9

2010-07-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Happy 6th birthday to my sweet Ryder! We had a great evening celebrating Ryder's birthday with the family. Ryder LOVES sushi, so we went out for a sushi dinner, then came home for the important birthday items--presents and cake! A blue heart cake, per Ryder's request. Ryder is so sweet and is always excited and so thankful about each present he opens. He always wants to play with each gift before he moves onto the next one. He's been like that since he was little and it's so sweet every time.

365 - June 8

2010-07-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Skylar with her puppy. Tobi is the sweetest dog and has always loved the kids. He especially loves babies. He is constantly following Skylar around and laying right up next to her on the floor, absolutely as close as he can get. When I took her outside this afternoon, he came and stood next to her swing the whole time we were outside. I'm so glad Skylar has such a sweet buddy!

365 - June 7

2010-07-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ryder celebrating his birthday at school. Ryder's class was having their end of school party on his actual birthday, so we celebrated his birthday at school a few days early. He took mini banana chocolate chip muffins for snack, he had a special crown and the class sang to him at circle time. He really enjoyed his special day!

365 - June 6

2010-07-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

We decided to enjoy the beginning of summer a little early with a family trip to the Wild Animal Park. I think I like the zoo better, but the Wild Animal Park is neat too. This time, we checked out the second half of the Wild Animal Park and got a neat chance to see condors take off.

365 - June 5

2010-07-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

Carter on her brand-new 2 wheeler! Carter absolutely fell in love with this Barbie bike and Grandma Becca was so sweet to get it for her. She had a blast riding her new bike for the first time. She's still learning how to only pedal forwards, but is loving practicing!

365 - June 4

2010-07-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun with Grandma Becca at Legoland. It had been too long since we'd made it for Legoland Friday, so the kids were excited.