Trouble

I feel like I need to say a little bit about Rylee. Maybe just so I don't forget her and how funny/crazy she is. First of all she still sleeps in her crib. Yes she can get in and out very easily but when we put her to bed at nap time or bedtime she goes to sleep very willingly. But before she goes to sleep she always has to give everyone a kiss. Then she has every "baby" she owns plus blankets (we have to hide them from her) in her crib with her. Sometimes she wakes up early so Jody has taken the initiative to put a child lock inside her door. (We've since had to duct tape them all because she has figured out how to rip them all of the doors.) So when she does get up in the mornings we first will hear light knocking on the door and then a soft call for daddy. Once he goes in her room we usually find her naked and saying, "Daddy I pooped." But really she just peed a lot in her diaper during the night. Then it's breakfast and a bath. Yes she takes a bath in the morning because she loves to drink her milk out of her cereal bowl and then it gets in her hair. Speaking of her hair.... everyday I fix her hair and everyday she pulls it out. Seriously she looks so cute when it's fixed and then she just rips it out and looks like a little rag muffin.

Throughout the day I'm saying:

Rylee get out of the fridge. Get off the counter! Leave the baby alone he's sleeping. Put your clothes back on. Get back inside it's raining. Get out of the bathroom! Unlock the bathroom door so that I can help you get out! Give me those markers, you aren't suppose to have markers because you write on walls, carpets and couches (not to mention your clothes and body)!

Seriously the list could go on and on. I know that years from now Rylee's stories will keep us rolling but right now I just feel like I'm always mean and always yelling at her! I mean she is two. Two year olds are suppose to get into trouble and get into things but I'm telling you've never met one like her!

But she is very loving and very sweet. She says, "I love you mommy" all the time. Wants to snuggle and cuddle with us and loves her brothers. She just gets bored VERY quickly. As of late she has started calling me Mimi. Who knows something between momma and mommy I guess. It's kind of funny.

Ammon has ALWAYS been our dress up/make believe boy. In the picture above he was trying to be Wolverine from X-Men and the one below he is a yellow tiger. I've never seen a kid with more of an imagination than Ammon. He can entertain himself for hours with a box, tape and scissors.

Some other random things:

Jody and I saw Couples Retreat last weekend. It could have been really good and was hilarious at times but seriously pretty raunchy and disgusting a lot of the time. I was disappointed.

I am going to San Diego tomorrow!!! Just me and Tate. We are meeting my parents and sister Alex there to go to the BYU football game (my brother in law is the kicker). I am anxious to get away and spend time with my family.

Tate is still a wonderful baby. Last night he only woke up once. Slept from 10-3 nursed and then didn't get up again until almost 8 this morning! I can already see and feel him growing and it makes me so sad. I just want to freeze him right now. When I nurse him I can already feel him getting stronger and sturdier. So sad.

I'm debating to unleash a crazy story about my middle two kids. I just don't want anyone to call CPS on me! Okay stay tuned, now I've got to tell you.

Rylee and Tate

Drama Queen. Nough said.

Sweetest baby ever. Though I think I said the same thing about Rylee...

But she does have her moments and she is hilarious. When Ammon and Cohen are mad at each other they often call each other a baby. For some reason this particulary bugs Ammon. So the last few days when I've gotten after Rylee for something she looks at me and calls me a baby!

And she does love her baby brother. If her and I make it through this year it will be a miracle, seriously a MIRACLE!

Primary Program

The boys did such a good job in their primary program this year. I was so proud of both them. The primary program is my favorite Sacrament meeting of the year. I love hearing all of the primary songs I grew up singing and seeing Ammon sing each one of them from memory makes me tear up. He had two different parts this year and got up to the microphone and said both of them perfectly! When Cohen got up with his class he looked at me and blew me a kiss. The congregation loved it. Then after he said his part he gave me a thumbs up! These sweet boys are growing up too quickly.

three weeks

So far pretty good. We are doing pretty good. A little tired, but not too bad. Jody has been an amazing help since my mom left. Seriously I think he could take care of all four of them by himself. It's crazy how far we've come. When we had Ammon as a newborn we were both a wreck. Exhausted and feeling like having a baby was so hard. Now with four we are doing better than we did with one! Jody took all four kids to Ammon's soccer game last week. I thought he was only taking the older three but when I came downstairs Tate was gone too! He's watched the kids a number of times in the evening while I've gone out to run errands. He's let me go sleep in a different bed while he took care of Tate a few nights, he helps feed the kids, put them to bed, cleans the house and he's given up some time at the gym or mountain biking to be home more often. All of this effort on his part has made me so grateful to have married such a wonderful man! I learned that having 4 kids is so much easier when it's a team effort.

Tate is proving to be a very good baby. He wakes up twice at night and sleeps a lot during the day. Rylee is more and more interested in him. She loves to give him kisses and hugs and now asks to hold him. She is still trying my patience.

Ammon has been playing soccer and is getting more aggressive with each game. He is really enjoying it. Cohen loves preschool and the days he doesn't go he and Rylee run around and play together.

I love fall. I love this time of year. I think I say that every year. But it's true. It is such a fun time and I love the cool breeze in the air and being able to cook and bundle up again. October is a wonderful month!

L & D

The story of Tate's birth: brace yourself it's lengthy.

Friday afternoon I went couponing with my friend Amber. We were in Target rushing to get our things to make it back to Windsor in time to pick our kids up from preschool. After feeling a little uncomfortable and a few random contractions I told her that I thought I might have him that night. Once we got in her car I was timing contractions that were 8 to 10 minutes apart. This started at noon. Two hours later they were getting closer to 6 to 7 minutes apart. So I called my mom who had just finished her work week and she decided to drive down, just to be safe. Unfortunately I tested positive for the Strep B test this time. So when I called my doctor to let her know what was happening she wanted me to get into the hospital right away. If you don't this, testing positive isn't a big deal but if you don't get to the hospital in time to have 2 rounds of antibiotics then the baby has to stay for 48 hours and has to go through some blood work. Each round of antibiotics has to given 4 hours from the last. So my doctor thinking I was going to have the baby quickly wanted me to get to the hospital as soon as things started happening. I was really hesitant about this because I was not uncomfortable or in any pain and I just had a feeling we were going to be there a long time and possibly sent home. So we went anyway. We took our time though. Jody stopped and saw one more doctor and then when we got to the hospital we walked outside for about twenty minutes. I just felt kind of dumb. When we finally got there the nurse said they had been waiting for us and my doctor had already called three times. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon by this time. I guess she really thought I was going to have him quickly! So I was checked, and was 4 cm., had a very stretchy cervix which I was told at least a dozen more times before I had him and was having contractions about every 6-7 minutes apart. So we walked and walked and walked the hospital. Which I knew would happen and I just really wanted to be home. They started the antibiotics and my doctor called and was surprised I wasn't in more active labor. My doctor was suppose to come in at 8 and then 9 and finally got there at 10 that night. Meanwhile Jody and I walked the hospital, timed contractions, and watched tv. My mom ended up coming to the hospital but by ten realized there wasn't going to be any action and went back to our house to stay with the kids. My doctor was going to break my water at ten but when she got there the nurses said they had too many patients in labor and not enough nurses and they didn't want her to break my water. So we opted to just stay the night. I would have liked to have been home this WHOLE time but my doctor didn't feel comfortable with that. So we stayed the night and got horrible night of sleep.


Dr. Weinert came in the next morning around 8 to break my water but then found out that another patient at a different hospital was 7 cm and I was only 5. She didn't want to make it so she would miss one of the deliveries so she decided to start me on pitocin and wait to break my water. I knew that if she would just break it I would have him quickly. That's how the last two deliveries had gone. Tate's head had not dropped enough and was still sitting a little high. I was petrified to have them start pitocin because I had a terrible experience with it when Ammon was born. But they started it slowly and it actually helped to get my contractions closer together and stronger. So we walked and walked so more. I have to admit I was pretty depressed. I wanted to just go home. I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep in my own bed and see my mom and kids. Finally at around eleven the nurse told me the anesthesiologist was next door and if I wanted to get an epidural I could. I wasn't in pain but didn't want to wait until I was so I said yes. By 12:00 and two attempts with lots of pushing the epidural was in. The doctor had a hard time getting it in. Jody sat and watched the first time and almost fainted because the doctor was using so much force with obviously such a big needle. Luckily it didn't cause me very much pain or discomfort. I was just worried I wouldn't be able to get one!


At 12:30 my doctor finally broke my water and the girl at the other hospital stilled hadn't had her baby. The nurse checked me an hour later and I was 7 cm. Then at about 2 o'clock I started feeling the contractions a little more and felt the urge to pee. That urge turned into a pushing urge. The nurse checked me and I was complete. My doctor had been just hanging around outside. She came right in and got ready. By then I was going through transition. Which always causes me to shake like crazy and the contractions were very uncomfortable. I definitely felt Tate come out and felt like I was going die when I was pushing out his shoulders but lucky for me my kids come out quickly and it was over very fast. I pushed for about 10 minutes, but it didn't even feel that long. I will never understand how people can push for hours. That would kill me. Like the other boys Tate came out with his umbilical chord around his neck but was fine and started crying right away.


It was such an amazing experience. There is nothing, nothing like holding your new baby for the first time. Having a baby is truly a miracle.

two weeks

Back to life, back to reality (remember that song?) That's what's been running through my head all day because my mom went back home today. With a heavy heart and lots of tears I said goodbye and realized that all of the hoopla is over. It's back to reality for me. A new reality.

My mom took care of our every need over the last two weeks. She washed clothes like a mad woman, cooked meals, bathed and fed the kids, took Cohen to school, stocked our cupboards with food from her coupon deals, made dinner, babysat so we could go on a date, took the older three to a book fair, and much much more. It was just so nice to have a friend around to talk, shop and hang out with.

Tate is two weeks old today. That flew by. I am starting to feel more and more like myself every day. The exhaustion is wearing off and I'm getting use to night time feedings again. Tate only wakes up twice at night and last night he slept from 10 until 4 in the morning! It was amazing to get 6 straight hours of sleep. Then he went back to sleep until 7:30. Not bad for a newborn!

The other kids are doing great. They love Tate. The boys kiss and hug him and love to hold him. Rylee actually likes him to but really doesn't pay much attention to him. I think he looks like a different baby in all three of these pictures. But depending on the angle I look at him I think he looks different. When he is awake looking straight on he looks like Cohen. At a side angle more like Ammon because he has his jaw/cheek structure. And then sometimes he looks like Rylee did too. But she had more olive skin. Who knows maybe he'll be the one who ties them all together because they sure don't look alike!

Miss you mom!

Couponing!

The best deal ever. Twenty three dollars worth of food for -.02 cents back! Seriously the lady gave my mom two pennies for all of this food. The checker couldn't believe it and was telling the other checkers about it. My mom was rockstar at Safeway today!

1 fruit by foot

1 box of fruit roll ups

1 pack of yoplait yogurt

2 packs of hot dogs

2 granola oat clusters

All of this for $12!

4 boxes of fruit by the foot
2 boxes of rollups
2 boxes of chex mix turtle bars
5 granola nut clusters
3 four packs of yoplait yogurt
6 packs of Oscar Meyer hot dogs
3 boxes of Trix cereal
1 box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

And 1 coupon for a box of free capri suns!

Whew some good deals! My mom has become a coupon maniac and I am reaping all of the benefits of it! Seriously she's been couponing for her and I this whole week and my cupboards are stocked. There are some amazing deals out there and this is a great way to stock up, start food storage and most importantly save money.

Anyone can do this! Go to http://www.beingfrugalisfabulous.com/ to get yourself started by watching the video tutorials.

5 days

Tate has been wonderful. I am just soaking up all of his tiny, sweet babiness. He had one rough night, after getting circumcised. Other then that he's been great. Last night he woke up twice, nursed and went right back to sleep. When we got home from the hospital he broke out in baby acne all over his body. It looked like he'd been bitten by a million mosquito's. Now they have almost all disappeared. My milk came in Tuesday night and I'm dealing with major engorgement. I sat in the house all day yesterday and decided I needed to get out today. So we went to Target and after an hour there I was beat and ready for a nap. I can't wait to start feeling like myself again.

My mom is heaven sent. Seriously. I would be a wreck without her. She cleans, cooks and tends to the other kids so that I can sleep in and take care of myself and Tate. I know she's going to go home exhausted especially from Rylee (check out her latest blog post). I DO NOT look forward to the day she gets home. So I'm trying not to think about it.

22 hours old

Introducing

Tate Lawrence Edmondson

September 12, 2:13 p.m.

7 lbs 12 oz.

21 1/2 inches long

Yes he is here and he is perfect. We are all in love. His middle name is Lawrence after his Great-Grandfather and Grandfather (Jody's Grandad and Dad). We think he's a mix of the two boys but are anxious to get home and look at pictures. He has a cleft chin and we can't figure out where that came from! But besides that he definitely looks like our other babies. So far he's very mellow. Eats, sleeps, poops, pees around the clock. We sent him to the nursery last night to get some rest and I heard a baby crying all night. I was praying it wasn't him. NOPE! Phew. He did great. Came back to nurse every two or three hours and went back to sleep. Let's hope that lasts.

Cohen is IN LOVE with his baby brother. He was already talking to him, kissing him and wanting to hold him. One of the most precious things about having a new baby is seeing their siblings with them.

We were able to get a babysitter to come yesterday afternoon so that my mom could see him be born. I'm so glad she was able to be in the room again! Rylee likes Tate but only gave him a few seconds of her time.

Another VERY proud brother. These boys are going to treat Tate good. Ammon went to Six Flags with a friend yesterday and was able to come by and see Tate on his way home.

Want to see Tate?

Me too! But this will have to do.

His hand is above his head. Foot in front of his lips.

This was hilarious. He opened his mouth and licked his foot!

Ah that was tasty.

Cute little nose and lips!

I'm still hanging in here. Just waiting for him to arrive. Yesterday I went to a chiropractor appointment and saw my friend who works at Prenatal Peaks walking in to work. I went over to say hello and she asked me if I wanted to see him. I was so excited! He looked very chubby and so cute. I've never seen any of my babies in 3D this late in my pregnancy. I'm even more anxious to see him in person. I'm still 3 centimeters but my doctor said she could stretch me to 4 and that my cervix is very soft. I'm betting on this weekend. Take a guess!

Silly Kids

I bought these funny teeth for the boys at Walmart yesterday. They've had so much fun with them.

Rylee loves her pancakes, especially the syrup! She licks her plate clean and last time this was the result. The boys especially thought it was hilarious.

Funny kids.

38 weeks

Almost there. Just two weeks, maybe, hopefully less. I went to the doctor today and found out that I'm 3 centimeters dilated. Doesn't mean I'm going to have this baby tonight. I was almost five centimeters before I went into labor with Rylee. But it does mean that things are starting to happen. I'm tired, tired and uncomfortable. It does not help that the last few days have been in the 90's. Was I this big when I was pregnant with Rylee, Cohen or Ammon? Don't think so. I have so many mixed emotions right now. Excited to see him, see the kids with him, hold him and have my body back. Oh but the sleepless nights, a two year old and newborn (again), nursing, fun stuff that comes after the birth and just the unknown. I'm feeling some anxiety and some excitement. But it goes so quickly and I hope to enjoy it because before I know it I'll be posting about his first birthday. Wish me/us luck!

Freakily Thing

Ammon was late for school the other day because we all got a little sidetracked by the praying mantis that was walking across the carpet. Cohen said, "Mom it looks kind of freakily!" We kept it for a day and then let it go. I love how excited my kids get over the "tiniest" things.