And Graham Makes Four!

It has been awhile and I am not sure how i am going to keep up with this blog these days. So, if there are a lot of long pauses on the blog, now you know why. We welcomed baby Graham Creed Williams to our family on Dec 15th, 2011 at 1:07 pm. He was a big baby! 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. (Although I think they measured him wrong, because at two separate doctors appts they measured him closer to 20 1/2 inches.) His original due date was Dec 23/24th, but since I was having a c-section, we bumped it up a week.You might be wondering about the name Creed. It is a family name. It is my grandfather's name. I wanted to name him Creed originally (I love that name), but Chris wasn't into that so much, so we compromised and used it as his middle name.

He was born via c-section. And a good thing because he had a knot in his umbilical cord and if he had been born normally there could have been some major complications. He also was born with an irregular heartbeat, but after several tests and doctors appointments, we have determined it is very normal and he is perfectly fine.

A few things I have noticed in these last couple of weeks. His hands are out of control. They are like octopus hands. Always in the way and flaying everywhere. He definitely needs to be swaddled. It calms him down (mostly because it calms his hands down).

He likes my voice. He responds to it with calmness and interest. It was like that since the first time they put him on my chest. That is something that makes a mommy feel good. To know you connect with your child and they know you!

He is not going to know the term "peace and quiet". With three other kiddos in the house, there is constant noise. But so far he is dealing with it very well and sleeping through it quite well. Let's hope that continues as he gets older.

He loves to be patted on the back. It almost instantly puts him to sleep. I just have to put him on my chest and pat or hold him in my arms and pat and wa-laa.... he is in his happy place.

He has been such a good baby and a joy to have during this holiday season. The girls always talk about how he reminds them of Baby Jesus! What could be better right! He is our gift to us this year and it is the best gift ever!

Our late Christmas Card

I was actually able to get most of my Christmas cards out before i had the baby. But I forgot to post it on my blog. So, here is this year's Christmas card. A little something fun. Oh, and yes i have to state (hopefully the obvious) I am 7 months pregnant in this picture. I love that I sent this out to everyone looking nice and full in the face. But a girls got to do, what a girls got to do.

You will probably have to click on the picture to get it large enough to read.

Elementary Teacher Christmas Gift

This year I found the cutest idea on Pinterest about doing a 12 days of Christmas for a teacher. So, that is what Hannah gave her teacher this year. I would have posted it before Christmas, but I didn't know if her teacher would be on my blog, so I had to wait. So hopefully you can tuck it away and use it next year.

I wrapped each day up with the following tag. And we presented her with a gift the last 12 days of school before Christmas. Here is what she got each day and the poem that went with it.

For the 1st day Christmas,
something for you to use,
I’m giving you this clipboard,
so your papers you won’t lose!

For the 2nd day of Christmas,
Your students are busy, little bees…
You can correct their papers
with these 2 red sharpies!

For the 3rd day of Christmas,
I give 3 binder clips,
I’m sure it could be tempting
to use them on my lips!

For the 4th day of Christmas
Dry-eraser markers come in four…
As my 2rd grade teacher,
You really help me soar!

For the 5th day of Christmas,
Some popcorn for a snack,
Sorry, that‘s all the food
I could fit in my backpack!

For the 6th day of Christmas,
cold hands, face, and toes,
Warm up with these 6 packs
of cocoa with marshmallows.

For the 7th day of Christmas,
I’ve brought you chewing gum,
It feels like Christmas break
is never going to come!

For the 8th day of Christmas,
here are 8 paperclips multiplied by 10,
Hope you’re enjoying this
’cause tomorrow I’ll do it again!

For the 9th day of Christmas,
9 canes of red and white…
Guess who my favorite teacher is…
if you guessed YOU, you’re right!

For the 10th day of Christmas,
10 magnets I bring to you,
You surprise me every day
with all the fun stuff we do!

For the 11th day of Christmas,
Some pencils I hope you’ll need,
(school name) is so lucky to have you, indeed!

For the 12th day of Christmas,
12 apples you’ll find in here,
I wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year!!
(I included two cans of condensed milk and instructions to make caramel to go with the apples.)

Here are the links to the tags for this gift for you to download and use.

Sheet One

Sheet Two

Keep an eye out for:

the 4th day, there is a blank spot for the gradeand day 11, there is a blank spot for the name of the school.

By the way, I got the poems and idea from this creative woman.

Pregnancy Thoughts

I saw these questions and answers on another blog and thought I would use them to capture my thoughts about my pregnancy. So, here we go. Warning: it might not be all merry and bright. This was a very hard pregnancy.

How far along? 37 weeks

Total weight gain? I am not going to tell you, but it was a lot.

Maternity clothes? Whatever I have had from the last three pregnancies. No need buying new one for my last go around.

Stretch marks? I have been pretty good not to have too many. But I did notice 3 on my waist, but that isn't too bad if you ask me.

Sleep: horrible. Hips hurt and I keep flipping from side to side. I wake up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and I feel like my body will break in half each time i have I get out of bed. Then when I land on my feet, my hip almost gives out and I almost fall every time.

Best moment this week: Having my 4 year old always ask to feel the baby kick. She loves to sit and touch my belly and feel him kick. She even pretends with my 2 year old that she has a baby in her belly and he should sit and feel it.

Miss anything: Too many things that I can't name them all. But mostly, being able to move and do things. My life drastically changes when I am pregnant.

Baby Movement: All the time. Especially when I am on my back. He always has to re-adjust to get comfortable.

Food cravings: anything cold, crushed ice.. I drink/chew it so much, it is probably what keeps me up all night.

Anything make you queasy or sick: the first half of my pregnancy....everything. Now, I am back to normal.

Gender: boy

Labor signs: Braxton Hicks like crazy and they hurt. I have had them since 30 weeks.

Symptoms: you name it, i have had it or have it. Heartburn, swelling, insomnia, other things that are TMI.... and the pain... my body is too old to do this. I am in constant pain.

Belly button in or out? almost disappeared entirely

Wedding rings on or off? Has been off for since month one. I knew it wouldn't fit once I got pregnant, so I just took it off.

Happy or moody most of the time? Better than in past pregnancies, but I am definitely not the beaming, glowing pregnant woman people talk about. Impatience gets the best of me.

Looking forward to: Not being pregnant. Getting my body back and having our family completed! I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Disneyland Holiday Trip 2011

The kids annual passes were about to expire, so we decided we better get them to Disneyland one more time. But with me being 9 months pregnant and barely unable to get around Target, I decided that I better not go. So, Chris took the kids to Disneyland for the weekend. I have to admit I was terrible sad and missed them a lot. But at the same time it as nice to have the whole weekend to myself and I didn't have to do anything.... no dishes, no meals, no laundry, nothing I didn't want to do.

I went and saw Twilight with some friends, I had lunch with another friend, did a little Christmas shopping and some projects while i watched TV and hung out on the couch.

But the kids had a blast (and why wouldn't they) with their dad and their aunt and uncle who joined up with them! They got to enjoy the holiday decorations and the fun holidays rides (the Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World). When they got home Jake told me all about "it's a Small World", I think it was his favorite ride (mine too).

Fall Pictures

Our fall starts sometime around Thanksgiving. The leaves don't really start falling until around this time, so they other day, our peach orchard (near our house) was full of vibrant fall colors with beautiful leaves on the trees and blanketing the ground. So, I told the girls we are going to get some pictures taken.

They loved it. They loved playing in the leaves and running around the orchard. I should have let them play longer, but I was tired and couldn't stand around that long, so we had a little fun and i got a few pictures that I just love!

The next day I took Jake back and got one picture that worked. Being 2 1/2 makes it a lot harder to get a good picture. But thanks heavens I did it. Because after that we had rain everyday and a huge wind storm and now the orchard is bare and brown. Perfect timing! I am so glad, because I wasn't able to get my annual blossom pictures this year, so the fall pictures were a good alternative!