Who's Who

Granted, I know everyone says new babies all look the same.  What do you think of my three?

Aria One Week old

So this is unfortunately all I was able to get today in the 7 minutes of shooting before she pooped on the set!  Hopefully we will have some more cute ones in a couple days after the umbilical cord thing falls out too.  She is happy and healthy and lets all knock on wood that my luck will hold out this time and I finally got me a mellow kid that just hangs out.  That would be an awesome gift! She has the cutest little pair of dimples just below the corners of her mouth.  Hopefully I can catch them on camera soon. 

Aria Olivia Graf

 The following account if almost straight out of my journal and therefore contains all the "gory"  details you may not want to know, but read on if you wish

We were beyond blessed to have our 4^th child (Aria Olivia Graf) come healthy and happy to be part of our family on June 15th. I was not actually due till the 19^th but we were planning on being induced on Friday the 15th. The previous Friday I had my doctors appointment and she checked to see that I was already dilated to a 4. I was absolutely sure that I was going to go into labor that weekend. This proved for a very different experience in the days proceeding labor. I had been in pain quite often throughout the last month of this pregnancy. I just could tell my body was not really liking being pregnant and weak. I know I sure didn't like it. Good nights sleep was impossible, picking anything up off the floor more than once was out of the question. I was exhausted and so ready to be done. So, I was sure we were going to have a baby early. So we just kind of sat around all weekend waiting. We had things to do, but in the back of my mind I was constantly thinking what I would do in each situation if I went into labor. Then Monday rolled around and Charles went off to work. I was tired of just sitting there so I tried to spend some time accomplishing something. Monday I cleaned my house. I picked up everything and got some things organized. It felt much better to actually have a clean house. However, that worked me into so much pain that I had to take a day off again on Tuesday. Not enough to send me into labor, just enough to make it so I could barely walk! Then Wednesday came around and I was tired of sitting so I tried to do a few things in Aria's room. I got her crib set up, sewed the bed skirt, ironed the bumper covers I had gotten and DI and put the whole room together. This also meant moving the full size bed out of the room and vacuuming (probably a little more than I should have attempted by myself being days away from delivering). I also got a few little decorative projects done to help tie it all together. I am pleased that it looks pretty put together and pretty cute for spending almost nothing extra. This however, once again overworked me and I spent most of Thursday sitting and resting again. At this point I had come to terms with the fact that nothing was going to happen before being induced. I was strangely a little disappointed. I think mostly for curiosity sake I was wondering what a normal labor for me might be like. Audrey and Ethan were both induced and I am not sure that Emily counts as normal because she came so early.  Although it was good that nothing happened early because I might have had to do it alone seeing as Charles carpools to work 40 miles away and the likely hood of me getting a hold of him at the dam and him making it back in time was slim.  I was glad I did not have to go through labor by myself.  

So this Friday morning arrived with a check in time of 8 am.  Ethan woke up to go to the bathroom at 5:30 and I just could not go back to sleep. So I just got up and showered to get started and ready. I had finished packing the bag the day before so didn't have that to do, but there were a few things that needed picking up and cleaning. However, at 6 am on the dot I was standing in my room after getting all dressed and sneezed, and my water broke! The next half and hour presented an experience that was NOT my favorite. I always hated having my water break in the hospital bed and having to kind of sit in it. That was gross, but at least it is contained. I couldn't believe how much water kept coming. I was trying to do things, and put on make up, and move around, but then this huge gush of water comes rushing out and you don't quite know what to do with yourself. My first real contraction came at about 6:30, thankfully my parents were already on their way planning to be here at 7 am anyway. So as soon as they pulled up we hopped in the car and off we went. 

We arrived and I was in the bed by about 7:20. I was having contractions about every 5-7 minutes. This continued for about 45 minutes. It occurs to me now that I have lived through two experiences where I am silently thinking that the people around me are not behaving quite like I think they should, that maybe in the future I might need to be a little more pushy. Not that we are having more kids, but both with Emily and now with Aria, I have had lots of thoughts like, “Why are they not moving faster” I don't say anything because I don't want to be THAT person to people who have a job to do and have done it before. I think it was about quarter till though that she finally hooked me up to monitors and checked to see that I was dilated to a 7 already. She said, “now you did want an epidural right? I thought my voice conveyed enough urgency and eagerness to mean, yes right now please! She did go to the door and talk to someone out there about calling someone to see who wanted to do this, so I thought we were covered. So for the next half hour while the contractions were still manageable I didn't say anything. The next half an hour after that however, is a blur of motion, yet so precisely at the forefront of my mind that it is nightmarish. My contractions were manageable till about 8:15 and then I had three that were all of a sudden a lot stronger and I told Charles to go check where we were at with the epidural and what did the nurse do? She came in to check how far I was. Now at a 9 she told them to put in a 911 to my doctor. She left the room and a few minutes later I had that last contraction where you know somehow with every fiber of pain in your body that this baby is ready to come. Charles ran to get her and the next 10 minutes or so were complete chaos. There happened to be another OB on the floor passing by and they yelled out to him really quickly and there were now people everywhere I just remember seeing him looking quickly and then frantically trying to throw on a gown and gloves quick enough, and one nurse bringing things in, another nurse doing something else, and another nurse telling me to lift up (YEAH RIGHT) to put the pads under me before this baby came out. I vaguely remember something like a whimper escaping my lips about, “seriously there is nothing you can give me”? And the next 10 minutes equate the most awful pain and distress I have ever been through. I could feel my contraction put that baby's head right there all on it's own and they told me to push. I did so 4 excruciating times and felt every single detail of her little body make it out. I remember begging inside my head that my luck as of the past would hold out and this would go fast. I remember pleading in my head to, “get her out, get her out” And then when they said one last time, I took them seriously and did it, and felt immediate relief (for a minute or so) that I was no longer being torn apart.

There was some part of me that knew this was going to happen. I knew it, although of course I would never admit that even to myself that. Why on this good, green, modern planet would any woman want to do that without an epidural?!?! I have heard women say they think they heal faster with no drugs. That is a load of crock in my very humble opinion. When you have an epidural you also don't have to feel all the pain for a while AFTER giving birth that no one talks about. The pain of being sewn back up, the pain of them ramming their fists into your stomach to get all the blood out, and the pain of your uterus starting to contract (which FYI feels almost as bad). With Audrey and Ethan, I distinctly remember feeling that rush of – whew it's over- but with them I got to turn over and go to sleep while they took care of the baby and cleaned everything up. Not so when there are no drugs in you. I do remember them giving her to me to kind of hold while they toweled her off and she cried out. I smiled and talked to her little white and purple body and empathized about how I knew she didn't like that.

So far things are going pretty well.  She seems to be a fairly mellow little baby.  Although she does not like dealing with poop or gas pains.  So last night it felt like she was awake most of the night grunting and mad.  That was not fun.  But it is still early and we will figure things out.  What a testament of  a seasoned mother eh?  The fact that you can say, "it will be ok in a week or so"  I remember so distinctly with Audrey that if someone could not give me immediate answers and relief then I just was NOT going to make it through the next couple of hours!  Having other kids and distractions helps.  I think it is good that it is too hot outside to even want to open my blinds.  It forces me to be ok just sitting and not having real high expectations for the day.  I do have moments of restlessness, but for the most part I am trying to enjoy this sweet little girl.  And we are.

Audrey and Ethan are beyond infatuated with her.  They give her kisses about a million times a day and they both want to hold her all the time.  Audrey held her in her lap (with the boppy) for almost an hour yesterday.  It is just so cute.  I love it. 

It is finally done

The building brag's have been a little light as of late.  Not because there has been no projects, but because this was a MASSIVE project and I didn't want to put it up till it was DONE.

This is up in my kitchen at the moment and it looks pretty good as a buffet don't ya think?

But, I must say that it looks pretty dang good all put together.

It took me forever, and I learned more than a thing or two, but I am pretty proud of it.  Head over to my blog Dreaming for More Hours in a Day or to Ana White site in a couple days to see the sequence of the project as well as the entire plan so you can build a Pottery Barn copy cat for a 1/5 of the price. 


I of course built this to sell, so wish me luck that I will get some good money for it.  Or of course if you need an 8 ft entertainment center feel free to contact me!

Easter

Easter although subtle was a big hit this year.  Almost our whole family left out of town.  My parents are traveling the western states looking for tulips, Charles sister (who usually is left to head up the family gatherings) and her kids hi-tailed it out of town looking for snow in Utah.  I was a little sad in preparation for the holiday knowing some of our favorite people were not going to be there.  But ya know, when the weekend arrived we were just fine, we had plenty to do and I don't think we felt the lack.  Cassidy's family does a very fun Easter party in the park every year and we love to attend that.  Complete with tons of eggs, yummy food, and a thrilling water balloon fight we were grateful for a fantastic afternoon.  Charles needed some alone time for homework so I took the kids to the Natural History museum right after, and then even to a play place to get some more wiggles out if possible.  They would say the day was a complete hit!

Easter morning was of course one of the only morning Audrey has ever gone downstairs without me.  So she totally saw what the Easter bunny had brought her.  She was super excited and hard to convince to wait for the rest of us!  Sunday night was a celebration of Easter (I cooked my first ham all by myself) along with Jordan's birthday.  This was a fun night with family, yummy food, a movie outside on the projector, and a glow in the dark egg hunt.  Super fun!

Camping

I am not brave enough to try our hand at real camping yet with toddlers and kids that can run away and get lost, and the possibility of a very long night.  So this is our solution to letting the kids really get the experience but having fun too.  They still love it and have no idea the difference.  Ethan and I gave up at about 3 in the morning thought.  My pregnant midsection could not take the hardness of even the cot, and I think Ethan was a little cold. 

We have a huge 11 man tent that takes up the whole backyard, so we put the kids in their little play tent (which doesn't even have a real door) and Charles and I slept in the 5 man (yeah right) tent.  We bundled  them together with a rain cover to help them not be nervous and keep in some heat. 

Life at the Graf's for the last 6 months

What have we been up to lately - like all year?  I know I know, I have been terrible at this for a while now.  So here is a bunch of catch up pics!  Enjoy- Click the images to enlarge

February Cousins Camp at Oceanside Beach house

 The water was freezing of course but the house was the perfect set up for little kids.  We had a little grassy area and a little sandy area right on the beach but far enough from the actual waves (separated by big mound of rocks) that it was not really a threat. Pictures above are the crazy scum hats my dad bought.  Tara and Ethan were mesmerized by Blokus and must have put those little shapes on that board for hours the whole trip. We also played lots of awesome rounds of family jeopardy that our resident entertainer Nathan created with fun facts about people in the family.

 We went down to San Diego to the Mormon Battalion museum.  It was actually a really fun presentation.  I learned a lot about their influence in the West that I never knew.  And they had really fun things for the kids to do.  We took a picnic and played on the grass for a while too. 

 The trip down there was a nightmare.  An extra hour stuck in Barstow buying new tires, and traffic on the way meant we didn't get there till dark.  But you should have seen my kids looking out the big windows in the morning fascinated with how big and close the waves were. The upper left pic above is of them in the morning when they saw the waves.  They could NOT get enough of digging in the sand.  So fun, and awesome place, and a true success I think even with smallish quarters, one sick kid, a couple pregnant ladies, and us having to leave early.

 March 17th St. Patrick's Day bowling and buffet

 We have been bowling a couple times with Audrey and she loves it.  She has been playing on the Wii and does really well.  Needless to say- even with bumpers up- I think she was a little disappointed that she wasn't getting spares and strikes every time.  It was sure cute to see my kids get so excited though.  FYI -Charles bowled almost the entire last game for Audrey and Ethan and himself, so I wouldn't splurge on more than one game for a four and two year old!

 March 20th- 8 years!!!

 Mom and dad actually invited us out for our anniversary.  I think that was OK with us, mostly because we have both been married long enough now that neither of us cares too much, and because they take pity on us being so poor that we probably wouldn't have done much more than like Panda!  They had some coupons and took us to Lawry's Prime Rib!  I have never been there.  It was phenomenal and WAY too much food.  I think when it comes to meat (if you are a meat lover) you should look at how much you would like to eat and then cut that amount in half - just as a general rule.  I will admit though, that I am way more of a steak kind of girl than a prime rib kind of girl.  I guess I thought, "when in Rome...."  but I might have enjoyed the ribeye a little more.

March 23rd impromptu California Trip

We hit up the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena while there.  It was a smaller place than I expected but they had different things than we have experiences at other kids museums.  Very fun.  Audrey already wants to go back again some time.  We also made a nostalgic stop at the old Pharmacy Soda Shop in South Pasadena where Charles grew up.  Just as a side note.  We got into this museum for free because we have a year pass to the History museum here.  They are linked with a whole set of museums all across the country.  So if you travel and have kids, a family pass is worth it!

So funny story.  We were at the beach house earlier as mentioned, and in Oceanside, and as of a month before that trip we were planning on going to Lego Land.  Then as time drew nearer we just felt like it was too much to spend right now.  I was so bummed because I had gotten Audrey all hyped up about it and had even showed her the website and everything.  I was nervous to tell her we weren't going.  So I broke the news carefully and followed closely with, but we will find something super fun to do.  You can pick, we can go to a museum, or a zoo....  and she and her little 4 year old voice popped up and said, "or we could go to a play place"!  Aw the wonderfulness of a young mind where these two destinations are synonymous!



So a few weeks after coming back from cousins camp at the beach house, my dad called and said that they had gotten free tickets to Lego Land!!!  from some friends.  WHAT?  AWESOME, of course we will make it work and go again!

We even had enough tickets to invite some of Dad's friends, and my sister in law and her family of 8!  The kids had a total blast and I will never forget their faces the first time they went on something fast and totally LOVED it.  It was better than anything we have done probably.  I was a little disappointed because I think we ran into some spring breakers so it was actually really busy.  I was exhausted and tired and I wish Ethan had been able to do more.  But I was thrilled that he could do anything at all and we did not pay for the tickets so how much can I really complain?  Although it definitely solidified my determination to NEVER go to Disneyland (or probably any other amusement park) unless it is on a Tuesday in the fall, or raining!

In other news:  Ethan is potty trained at just under 2 and half (earlier than Audrey)  And almost completely of his own fruition.  What a blessing because.....

We are also pregnant and expecting a baby girl in June a couple days before my birthday!  Just thought I would let yall know!

Summer Events

Stepping Stones

Yesterday Audrey got to actually spend her own money for the first time. Last weekend we had gone to get all the stuff for our 72 hour kits and we got watches for the kids too. Audrey loved it and wanted to wear it all the time and I kept telling her no because they needed to stay in the backpacks. She would ask me almost every day. So one day I told her that if she wanted to use her money to buy her own then she could. She was worried that she wouldn't have enough, so we sat down and counted. She had more than enough and so I let her put all her little coins into a little wallet and we went to pick one out. It was all very exciting. I stressed all the normal things of course that she would have to take care of it and keep it in a special spot. I let her hand the checker her money and everything. I thought it was interesting however another lesson learned more important than all those things. Audrey said something a long the lines of going home to put her money back in her bank. And I had to explain how money works. I think that was the most valuable lesson in teaching her about money. She had it, and earned it, but never got to see what it was good for.

And an extra cute little boy on the side

Sweatiest week of my life

I have a party I am hosting this weekend, and I wanted to get this project done before. It took a lot of work and isn't perfect yet. Still need to actually lay the pavers and fill the planters and add some eye popping comfy pillows of course. But I am so excited that this is done. I have been wanting to build this since I moved into my house. I didn't think I would ever be able to afford it. Now I have planting space and seating space incorporated into one space.