Everything falls apart...

Or when it rains, it pours. Things were going so well since the baby came home. Then we got about 14in. of snow in a short time causing my husband to have to work long, long hours and the kids got bored of their new Christmas gifts already, the baby got fussy, Andrew got hurt again and again, and now all six of us are sick! Not fun, and because Erick has been working a lot I have been having to deal w/ most of this on my own.

We all have bad colds which is par for the course in winter, but w/ a newborn I just hope that it doesn't become something worse for her. She has been gassy and refluxy about 2 or 3 nights a week I guess. It's not horrible, but it makes it hard to get anything done in the evenings. Bedtime is the worst. She's crying, I'm screaming, and the kids are running around! I need to come up w/ some way of getting 4 kids ready and into bed that works. Poor Andrew burned his finger on the stove one day, and banged his head really hard from falling off the table the next day. All while he is not feeling well either. :( The boys have been fighting pretty badly the past couple of days because the "newness" of their Christmas gifts has already worn off. Geez! Well, here's hoping things start to get easier for us in the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

We had a very nice Christmas, despite having blizzard-like weather outside. The kids and I have been shut-up in the house since Tuesday afternoon, so I've been trying to keep them busy with crafts, games, toys, and movies. We also baked Christmas cookies! Unfortunatly, Erick has had to plow a bunch but luckily he did get to spend a bunch of time w/ us today! I made a french toast casserole for breakfast and he made us a turkey for supper, and we just snacked the rest of the day.

The kids had a lot of fun playing with their new toys all day too! The big boys got dual action lightsabers, remote control cars, StarWars bedsheets and comforters, a 100 piece floor puzzle, a board game, a computer game, and a movie. Andrew got these magnetic building pieces that are safe for toddlers (Magnetos), Clippos building blocks, a toy car, some new bath toys, and a whole bunch of wooden puzzles. The baby got a play mat, a baby toy, a rattle, a new onsie shirt, and a comb and brush set. All in all in was a very fun day! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

We took the kids to see Santa on Sunday afternoon at the mall. There was a really long line, probably since it was the last day Santa would be there. We walked around a little and looked at books and things and then the kids all got to sit w/ Santa and have their picture taken. They all told Santa they wanted remote control cars for Christmas this year.
Then we came home and I got some cute pictures of Katy in her Christmas dress, so that I could make up birth announcements to send out. Then I put the younger two down for a nap and Daddy took the two big boys to see a movie! We don't often go to see movies in the theater so I think it was a nice treat for them. They saw the Avatar movie. I don't really know much about it but they seemed to like it. They were gone for a really long time (its a long movie) but they did great, and they brought home supper when they came back! It was a nice day for everyone!

2 Week Check-ups

Today Katy and I both had our 2 week check-ups! :) She now weighs 7lbs.5oz. and is 21in. long, so she's grown! She looks good and is a healthy baby! My c-section scar is looking good and I'm feeling pretty good too. Yesterday was the first time we really 'went out' since she's been born and it wore me out a little, but other than being tired I'm doing good. Kathryn sleeps really quite well at night, but she's been stuffed up so I'm not sleeping as well as she is because I'm constantly checking to make sure she's okay and sucking out her nose as needed.

We went to MOPS yesterday for our Christmas party and I put her in a little Christmas outfit, with a white hair bow, and little socks that look like black Maryjanes shoes. They are too cute! Then we had to run Ryan to school, and later pick the boys up. We got some packages in the mail so the boys opened up some of their gifts early and totally trashed the living room in the process. I haven't yet had the energy to clean it up!

One week old today!

Katy is one week old today... its already going so fast! I'm starting to get a little sad that she's my last baby. She started smiling today! It's soo cute. I finally got a chance to go through the baby outfits that people gave to me so she can wear some of them.
My mom came last week and stayed with the boys while I was at the hospital. She had to go home and so my step-mom came and is staying with us now. They are both huge helps with the boys and doing all of my cooking and cleaning! I am so thankful that I get this time to just rest and focus on the baby. Tomarrow night my Dad, brother and SIL are comming out for the weekend so we can celebrate Christmas with them all. Normally we go home for Christmas and visit all of our families, but this year I decided it would be too difficult w/ the new baby and everything so they are going to come out here. We are all looking forward to it! The next week things will go back to normal - or the new normal rather - and I'll be on my own w/ all four kids. I hope it goes okay!

Pictures of baby Katy

Here are a few pictures of the new baby and her big brothers!

It's a girl!

Kathryn Mae was born by repeat c-section on Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 7:54am. She was 6lbs.13oz. and 19in. long. We were all very surprised! I think my first words were "no way" and "are you sure?" LOL. Her brothers are in love as are we! Pictures comming soon.