Grace in the leaves & Mommy & Willow at the park...

We took the girls to the park yesterday, it felt so good to get out and get some fresh air! Grace looked so cute jumping in the leaves before we left.( I would have taken more, but my batteries were almost dead)

My little flower & my little tree...

My Mom has always called me her flower child, and I agree, I was definatly born in the wrong era- I should have been born in the 60's.
Here's my proof- another picture of my little flower- (Daisy) and my little tree- (Willow).

Willow is 3 weeks old!

I'm already wondering where the time went, Willow is already 3 weeks old today! My goodness! I wish there was something more exciting to post, something more glamourous to write about- but she's still sleeping most of the day, the kids are still loving her to death, she's still eating well (she's 8lbs 6 oz) and we are still thrilled to have her! Sometimes no news- is good news!

The 6 most commonly used words in our house...

"Mom, can I hold baby Willow?

My Mama...

I just wanted to say that I have the most incredible Mother in the entire world. When ever I am falling apart, feel incredibly small, lost or alone- she is the one I run to knowing that after 1 phone conversation, I will feel instantly better. Somehow she knows just what to say, helps me see my self worth and loves me all over again. I can feel her beautiful arms reach out and hold me even though we are hundreds of miles apart. She is magic like that, and I am forever grateful we are best friends. I love her, adore her and would be completely lost without her in my life. Thank you Mama for picking me up and making it better again. (Now just hurry up and get here- I miss you terribly!)

Grace with crazy hair, carrots & baby Willow...

Here are a few more random pictures...

Bath time, nap time & Halloween cookies...

I'm trying to remember to take pictures through out the day, so here are a few more. The girls have wanted to bake lately, so here they are making Halloween cookies. And today we had to wake Grace up from her nap, so I layed Willow next to her (she was crying)and that did the trick. Normally, if you wake any of the kids up before they are ready, they are SUPER grumpy/moody/no fun- but Grace woke up and started giving her kisses right away and was in a great mood, it was pretty cute. And then here is Willow's 2nd real bath.

Daisy & Willow

All I can say is Daisy is in love with her baby sister. She wants to hold her ALL the time, which is really adorable- so I had to grab a picture of the blissful event.

Back to real life...

Sadly, the terrible sound of our alarm clock woke us up at 4:45 AM this morning, which could only mean one thing- Travis had to return to work:(
First of all, having him home for 2 weeks was Heaven, we had so much family time together and it was great. Some days we just lounged around in our Pj's watching movies and other days we ran a thousand errands before Tristin came home from school. I was able to take a few baths by MYSELF while Trav watched the girls and I even got pretty spoiled running errands with just the baby. I'm sure Willow will go into withdraws without her Papa here to snuggle with her every 5 minutes, but hopefully, she and the rest of us will survive getting back to real life.We love you Daddy!

Fun at the park...

We took the girl's to the park the other day even though it was pretty cold. They had a great time anyway- running all over, playing and having fun. I thought they looked so cute!

Pictures of Willow...

Here's just a few pictures of Willow from the past few days.

Tristin & Daddy go roller skating...

On Saturday Trav and Tristin had their "date" together (but don't call it that in front of Tristin- those are just for Mom's & Dad's). They decided to go roller skating, the last time we went was back in Jan when Uncle Eli & Aunt Cindy came to visit. They had a great time together which wasn't a surprise. Trav had taken the girl's to the movie theatre a few days earlier for their date, so everyone had special time with their Papa.

An amazing husband, Sisters & cupcakes

All I can say is that it's been WONDERFUL having my husband home for the past 10 days!HE has taken the kids to the park, to the movies, read bed time stories, helped with bath time, played with the kids, helped with laundry, the dishes, changed diapers, fed the baby, made lunches, helped with home work, kept the neighbor kids away, & watched the kids so I could run errands ALONE!!! Talk about an AMAZING man! Trav is truely one of the best Daddy's in the world, which can be seen just by the way the kids look at him. They adore him and can't wait until he is home so they can have piggy back rides, candy, and fun on the trampoline with him. What melts my heart the most is when he's rocking Grace to sleep at nap/bed time and I can hear them both singing: Rock A By Baby, You Are My Sunshine & Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. There is nothing sweeter than my 2 year old saying: "Daddy, come rock a by me" and my strong, quiet husband scooping her up in his arms and holding her close while singing to her. I am very blessed to have him and my babies are so lucky to have him as their Daddy.
The past 9 days have gone by so fast!We are all doing really well- Willow is a great baby and pretty much just eats & sleeps right now, the kids are in love with and I just have to smile as she's passed down the line of eager sibilings, just bursting with excitement to hold her again. Our AMAZING friends have kept us well fed this past week and I've decided I should just keep having babies so they keep bringing us "real food" (Just kidding guys!) I actually slept 3 hours straight the other night!!!!!!! (which was a HUGE accomplishment for me) and I managed to get a shower this morning,(although it's super fun walking around smelling like breast milk!) I even hit a few yard sales yesterday with Angie.
And to my concerned family members: No, there has been no rest, and I'm sorry. I am incapable of resting, relaxing, or doing anything like it. I wish I could say I have layed in bed for days, letting my body heal- but no, I am indeed a crazy woman and have been out running errands,getting great deals, doctor app, etc.. on day # 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. All Mother's know there is no rest, and sadly, life doesn't stop just because you want it to. One day, I will rest, and one day I will be able to sleep through the night again, but until then, I need to enjoy every moment and every tiny person that makes that utterly impossible these days.

I just want to squeeze those cheecks!

Willow is now 6 days old and already loves to shop at Target & Albertsons, we've discovered! Everybody just absoultly adores her and there are daily arguments over who gets to hold her first, get the diaper out or put socks on her. She sleeps most of the day except for feedings and diaper changes, and usually wakes up around midnight, just as we are about to go to bed, but we really can't complain. My favorite moments with her are when she is wide awake and content and shes snuggled on my chest, or when one of her tiny, wrinkled, old lady hands grabs a hold of one of my fingers and doesn't let go. I love all of her little noises, dressing her in cute pink clothes and watching her drift off to sleep. She is perfect and I love her to pieces!

We're home!!!

(I think there's 4 or 5 pages of pictures, so make sure to scroll back to see all of them!)

More pictures...

Sorry I don't know how to flip pictures)

The kids meet their sister / G-ma & G-pa welcome their 17th grandchild

Willow has arrived!!!