Only the 1st Day of Winter???

So today is the first day of winter - officially! It seems like we have had a long enough winter already. So far we have had two snow days and one was this past Friday when I had surgery. Needless to say, we took all 3 girls to daycare that morning and it was quite a trek out into the country to the babysitters. Luckily, most of the roads to the hospital were pretty well cleared, so we made it to the hospital just fine! I think I went in for surgery around 11 a.m. and was done shortly after 11:30 a.m. I woke up and was crying, seems like anesthesia makes me cry, but things went well. Left and picked the girls up and have been home since. We were under blizzard conditions yesterday and all of today. School is already two hours late tomorrow. Guess we are sure to have a White Christmas. The pain in my nose isn't as bad as I had anticipated. I have splints in both nostrils that have to come out Tuesday. I am keeping up on my pain medicine until then and have saline spray and another spray to use, along with an antibiotic to use also. The doctor said the pain would be even less once the splints come out. I am not to do any lifting or bending now though, so my mom is coming up tomorrow to help with the girls and Terry's parents are coming up Tuesday to help. Then Terry is off with me until I go back to work in January.

Christmas Day will be spent at home in the morning opening presents and then we spend the rest of the day with Terry's family. The day after Christmas we will be having my family at our house. We also have Christmas with Mom and Rich and his family on January 3rd. Lots to do over break, so I am sure it will go very fast! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Surgery

Just wanted to post that I will be having surgery on Fri., Dec. 19th. I have a deviated septum (this is the cartilage and bone that divides your nose in half). It is supposed to be straight and my is crooked. The doctor thinks I probably broke my nose at some point when I was younger. This whole thing started with a sore in my nose that won't go away (it has probably been there since January or before). I finally decided while I was on maternity leave to go get it checked out. The antibiotics the doctor put me on helped a little, but it never went away. So I went to an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He is going to straighten my septum and biopsy the sore! Hopefully I won't be in too much pain over the Christmas holiday!!

First Snow Day

So today was the first snow day of the school year. First, the school delayed by 2 hours and then awhile later I got the phone call that school was cancelled. It was kind of nice because Madison didn't feel that great today. So we are doctoring her with medicine, chicken noodle soup, and a good long afternoon nap! Hopefully she will be better and ready to go to school tomorrow.

2 Month Stats

Olivia was 2 months old on Thanksgiving Day. She had her 2 month check-up today and she is doing well. She currently weighs 10 lbs. 8 oz. and is 23 inches long. She got 3 shots and one oral immunization also. Daddy held her during all of that because Mommy hates the shots! The doctor also said that Madison and Laci should get flu shots, but I don't know about that. Olivia got Tylenol when we got home, so we will see how the rest of the night goes.

Mommy's First Day Back to Work

So today was my first day back to work. The morning went well, but I organized many things last night to make the morning run smoothly. Tonight Madison had her elementary Christmas concert. Grandma Cheryll, Auntie, Grandpa Tom, and Grandma Gloria came up to watch, so the girls were up a little later than usual. Hopefully tomorrow morning won't be unbearable with two tired girls! Here are some pictures from the last few days.

Laci helping Mom feed Olivia. I missed these two little bugs today!

The Friday after Thanksgiving we were at my brother's most of the day. Here is Laci pushing Kendall in a cart that you are supposed to put building blocks in.

Auntie holding Olivia!
My Olivia - getting big so fast!

We got a little over 4 inches of snow Saturday night and into Sunday. Sunday after church we went outside to play and made a snowman!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Mark!

Just wanted to post that today is my brother Mark's birthday. His niece's love him very much and wanted to wish him Happy Birthday too!

Lots of Smiles

This is what we are seeing from Olivia a lot lately. She really responds to voices and smiles for just about anyone lately. I left her in her bouncy seat in the living room to get something from the kitchen and when I came back, she was smiling at the ceiling fan too! It is too cute to see her smile at just about everything right now. Can you see that big dimple on her left cheek?? She has one on the right cheek also, but it isn't as noticable!

Getting big cheeks - like mamma!A close-up! My mom is going to hate this picture because her head is cut off, but I love it! She looks so sweet and you can see her big blue eyes. (Her left eye is mattery all the time because she has a blocked tear duct, but hopefully it will open up on its own soon.)

Two Days After Her Birthday

So two days after Madison turned 6, she lost her first tooth. The dentist had warned me at her last appointment that the two bottom teeth in the front were getting loose. Here are some pictures of her with the missing tooth! What a grin! Sunday night we stopped by my brother's to drop off some pictures and she quietly asked me if I could come into the bathroom with her. When I asked her why, she wouldn't tell me and then she started crying. I think she thought she had done something wrong because the tooth was barely hanging on. She did settle down, but said it hurt a little.

Monday morning when she woke up, she had her tooth in her hand as she came out of her bedroom. This morning she was excited that the tooth fairy had replaced her tooth with money and she made the comment that the tooth fairy is MAGIC!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Madison!

My first born is 6 today! Hard to believe that she is growing up so fast. I was so excited to meet this child while I was pregnant with her and she has been a joy since. I was due on October 31, 2002 with Madison and she wasn't ready to leave her warm place inside, so I had to be induced.
(Madison's kindergarten teacher this year is pregnant and was due on October 31 also, but still hadn't had her baby as of Thursday. I told her it is those first babies who are due on Halloween that can be stubborn.)

When I was induced with Madison, I got to the hospital around 6 a.m., I believe, on that Friday. I was admitted and my doctor broke my water around 9 a.m. I was fully dilated around 3 p.m. and Madison was born around 3:30 p.m. I was so relieved to be done with labor that I finally looked at Terry to ask him what the baby was. I looked over and saw her and she was beautiful. She was a very easy baby, always happy, and sleeping through the night around 1 month old.

She still is very easy to deal with most of the time. She tends to be sensitive like her mom and cries very easily. Most days after school, there is some crying or whining at some point, I think mostly because she gets worn out from a full day of school. She loves school though and her teacher said that she really likes to help her classmates a lot. I can tell that she is really excited about going to school everyday and she is learning a lot. Hopefully the enthusiasm for learning will continue.

My hope for her 6th year is that she enjoys the rest of her kindergarten year, has fun this coming summer with Mom and her little sisters, and she continues to be a joy to Mom and Dad!

Be healthy, grow, and have fun, Madi!! Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Major Stress

So today Laci was beyond out-of-control! From lunchtime until bedtime, we struggled with this child constantly. Part of the problem being that today was Madison's birthday and she wanted to play with the Barbie Laptop that we got Madison for her birthday. Madison let her test it out a couple of times, but that wasn't enough for Laci. UGH!!! I don't know what to do with her. We put her in timeout, ignore, etc. Nothing seems to work. We finally said that she wouldn't get to go out to eat with us when we took Madison out for her birthday. She seemed bothered by that, but then when we left Olivia and Laci at Terry's parents, she seemed fine to stay. I am hoping that she grows out of this stage fast, but I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel yet!

So Busy!

The last several days have been very hectic around our place since Friday was Halloween and we had Olivia baptized on Sunday. Here are some pictures of what has been happening with the Even family. Although it is the end of October/beginning of November, we have had some really nice days. This was one of those days and Laci wanted to go outside to ride her bike and play in the leaves. It was cool enough for a heavy coat, a hat, and mittens, but sunny enough for the shades!

Our three beauties! Madison and Laci are fighting constantly about who gets to hold Olivia first and for how long.

Olivia wore this for Halloween - "So Cute It's Scary" is what it says - a gift from Great Aunt Penni. (Someone saw us in Denver and said she didn't know we had a little boy, she felt bad when I told her that it wasn't a boy - I needed a bow or something in Olivia's hair, but didn't have the ambition.)

It was warm enough that Madison got to wear her dress from Steve and Audrey's wedding and was a bride for Halloween. Laci wore the Grumpy Bear (Care Bear) costume to preschool for her Halloween party, but was Prilla, a Disney Fairy, for trick or treating that night.

My niece, Kendall, was a little black cat - Laci was this for Halloween when she was 1 year old.

Kendall again - this is at our church on Sunday for Olivia's baptism. Sometimes she is such a little ham for the camera and I think a lot of times when she does this she looks like her mommy except with big brown eyes.

Pastor Feldt, Olivia, Aunt Sherry (Terry's sister), Uncle Troy (Terry's brother), me and Terry - after church we took this picture to remember the baptism. After the church service, we celebrated with family by having brunch.

We also celebrated Madison's 6th birthday Sunday at the church - her birthday is this coming Saturday. Hard to believe that she is almost 6 already. Her cake was Hannah Montana and she got some great gifts from everyone.

She came home from school today and said she voted! They must have had a mock election today and she said she voted for Barack Obama. I asked her if she knew who the other candidate was and she very quickly replied by saying John McCain.

Last night before bed, Laci was holding Olivia and Terry let her feed her a little bit. She really is a good helper with her little sister!

Extreme Hair Day

Today was "Extreme Hair Day" at Madison's school for Red Ribbon Week. They are doing "extreme" things all week to help kids say no to drugs. Last night after Madison got her pjs on, I started braiding her hair. I started shortly before 6:30 p.m. and finished right about 8:00 p.m. She did really well sitting still through it all, but she kept busy by coloring, watching tv, and eating her bedtime snack.

This is today after she got home from school. She said that they took a fieldtrip today to the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center at the University of Northern Iowa to watch a play/performance of some sort. I bet the people there wondered about the kids from Denver.

A close-up shot - last night I had to keep asking her if any of them hurt at all. She said they didn't, but she said it felt funny to sleep on it!

ONE Month Old!

Olivia was a month old yesterday. Can you believe it?? I can't! She is doing really well and sleeping for longer stretches at night now. I think this is partly due to the fact that she is awake more during the day and I am also letting her sleep on her tummy. I KNOW that they say they should sleep on their back, but she doesn't stay asleep that way at all! Plus, I know that I slept on my tummy as a baby and I let the other two girls sleep on their tummies during naps. And pretty soon when she can roll, she will sleep whatever way she wants. Mommy needs her sleep too and now she wakes only once per night!

Playing Dress Up??

So with the weather getting colder, I dug out the winter coats, hats, and mittens for the girls yesterday. After picking Madison up from school, she said she wanted to keep her hat and mittens out to play dress up. Madison and Laci playing dress up in their winter hats, mittens, and bathrobes. Silly girls!

Bath Time

Here is Olivia sleeping on the couch on Laci's pillow. Her outfit is from Grandma Cheryll and says "Mommy's Little Pumpkin".

Getting ready for her bath, Daddy was talking to her and she really listens to him and is bright-eyed.

She loves bath time. The other two girls always seemed to cry when they were this little, but Olivia just is quiet and looks around while getting a bath.

A Few Favorites

So I haven't posted in a week and I thought I needed to share some newer pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from the last couples of weeks: Daddy with his girls. I bought a picture frame for Terry for one of his first Father's Days and the picture in it is of him and Madison. It is time to update it, so I took this picture. I think I will hold off and take a picture of him with the girls once Olivia is a little bigger though!

All three of the girls slept like this as babies. I love when they are out and this relaxed!

Here Olivia is sleeping on Terry's dad's stomach/chest. Tom has started asking Laci where her baby brother is and calls her Oliver. I am sure Olivia will always be Oliver to her Grandpa Tom now!

Bright eyes! I love this picture - and the shirt she is wearing is from my aunt Penni - it says "Baby Girl" on it. That is what I always call Olivia, so it is perfect for her.

Just today - after getting Madison from school, Olivia was in her carseat and I took this picture. Her cheeks are getting chubby - so a real sign that she is growing fast already!

My First Day

So today was Terry's first day back at work, so my first day at home alone with the girls. Madison didn't have school, so all three girls were home. At least I didn't have to get the girls up and ready for school, so it wasn't a hectic morning.

Olivia did pretty well through the night. She went to bed somewhere around 11 p.m. and slept until 4:15 a.m. She got her pants changed, drank a bottle, and went right back to sleep. She slept until almost 7 a.m. Laci got up at about the same time. I let her watch tv in the living room and I went and laid in bed for awhile longer because Olivia went back to sleep again. Madison woke at around 8:00 a.m., so I decided to get up and face the day then also!

Madison and Laci went outside for while and played in the leaves and fought with each other also. The day went well though and besides Laci and Madison's occasion squabbles, I was impressed that they were so patient about things. It is busy having three kids, but going well so far. Hopefully tomorrow morning will go smoothly - I have to get both Madison and Laci to school - should be interesting!

Well, I am off to bed - should have gotten there sooner, but hoping to get a nap in tomorrow!

Belly Button Worries

So we were worried for nothing. The doctor thinks Olivia's belly button/umbilical cord area is fine. She thinks it will fall off in a day or two also. It is just bloody and kind of gross right now. I am kind of hoping that it falls off today, so I can give Olivia a bath and scrub the area good!

We also asked the doctor about Olivia's left eye. It seems mattery all the time. She told us to wipe it with a warm washcloth and that if it is still mattery next week that she could prescribe some drops for Olivia's eye. That could be fun!

She also got her weight checked yesterday while we were at the doctor's office. She is at 6 lbs. 14 oz. and so that means she has regained her birth weight plus a little more.

Olivia also did better sleeping last night. We went to bed at 10 p.m. and she woke up at 10:30 p.m., but was back to sleep by 11 p.m. Then she slept until 3:30-3:45 a.m. Terry changed her pants and I fed her. She went right back to sleep. Then she woke up again at 6:15 a.m. She stayed awake until the girls left at 7:50 a.m. for school and is sleeping again now. Hopefully Terry and I can eat breakfast and I can shower before she wakes up again!

So Peaceful...

Olivia sleeping on a blanket on the living room floor a couple of evenings ago. She had one arm covering her eyes like the lamp that was on in the room was too bright!

I am waiting now for the doctor's office to call me back because I think her belly button/umbilical cord may be infected. Poor baby - I am worried about it, but it may be fine and an easy fix too! Will have to see what the doc says.

Here's Olivia today in her crib. Wished she slept so peacefully in it at night. We have tried waking her up during the day and Laci is loud enough to keep anyone up, but Olivia sleeps through it all.

Laci today playing between our chair and ottoman in the living room. Terry had helped her get her blankets all spread out, so she had her own mini fort.

And Mommy has a new do! I went Monday to get it cut and like it a lot. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is much shorter in back than the front and is layered on the side and back quite a bit! A change and something fun for awhile.

We have a Night Owl

So the last several nights have been interesting. Olivia was up until after 2:00 a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Terry stayed up with her (I am taking advantage and having him help while he is still off work). Then Sunday night/Monday morning, she was up until after 1:30 a.m. It was my turn to take care of her.

Last night, Terry and I went to bed shortly after 10 p.m. Around 12:30 a.m., I had to tell Terry to get up with Olivia since it was his night. He said she was up off and on until 2:30 a.m. She did sleep until 6:45 a.m. and I woke up with her then. Then at 7:00 a.m., I got Madison and Laci up to get them ready for school. Olivia went back to sleep and is still sleeping now. Terry is also still sleeping now.

Little bug better get her days and nights figured out soon!!

1st Doctor's Visit

After having both Madison and Laci, they went to the doctor at 2 weeks for their first doctor's appointment. At the hospital after having Olivia, they said she should be seen by her doctor in her first week of life. Things always change in such a short period of time when it comes to babies. So today we took Olivia to see her doctor. She currently weighs 6 lbs. 8 oz. (down a little over 4 oz. since birth). Things are good otherwise. We are taking her back next Friday again just to get her weight checked by the nurse. Olivia after her first bath at home. She didn't seem to mind too much, but was also glad to be done. It doesn't take too long to bathe her right now since she doesn't get too dirty from one day to the next. Plus, it is nice to only have to bathe her every other day. Mom gets tired of giving baths every night because Madison and Laci usually need them.
Big Sister Laci holding Olivia - she likes to hold her a lot.
Madison, Laci, and Olivia - my three "beauties".

Big Sister Madison holding Olivia - she really likes to hold her for longer periods of time now. I think maybe because she is at school all day, she really likes to give Olivia some attention when she gets home!

Last Night Was Awesome!!

So I don't want to jinx anything, but Olivia was asleep last night by 10 p.m. She slept until 4:45 a.m. and so I got up changed her pants and fed her. Terry put her back in her crib and she was quiet, but then a little while later she fussed and needed to be changed again. Then it was about 5:30 a.m. and I put her back in her crib and she slept until 10 a.m. YEAH!!! What a good baby! Hope this is the trend! She must know that Mommy needs her sleep too!

The First Couple Nights

So Monday night was the first night home. Olivia woke up from a snooze around 9:30 p.m. I thought that would be good so that she would be awake for awhile, eat, and get her pants changed and back to sleep by 11 p.m or so. Well, turns out that she decided to be awake and fussy until almost 1 a.m. YIKES!!

Well, last night was much better. She did stay up until midnight or a little after, but then she slept until a little after 5 a.m. At that point, she got her pants changed and ate a little and then went back to sleep. She is still sleeping right now at 9 a.m. I am sure she will get up shortly! Mommy feels much better rested after a night like that!

A Few Pictures of Our New Bundle of Joy

Here is Laci and Olivia laying close to Mommy on the hospital bed. Laci has a "Big Sister" shirt on that she got from Mommy's friend, Jenny. Olivia is wearing a witch's hat that Grandma Cheryll and Auntie Cathy found for her.

Here is Madison in her "Big Sister" shirt from Jenny also. She kept busy at the hospital by coloring and doing puzzles. Here she is having Rich help.

My three girls - Madi and Laci decided to lay on the bed and put Olivia between them.
Olivia Rae

Mommy and her three girls

From Left to Right: Amanda (my sister's step-daughter), Madison, my sister Cathy holding her daughter Kendall, Laci, Mommy holding Olivia.

Terry and my brother-in-law, Doug, are surrounded by BEAUTIFUL women!

It's A Baby...

GIRL!! On Saturday, September 27, 2008, we welcomed our third daughter, Olivia Rae, into the world. She arrived at 10:21 a.m., weighed 6 lbs. 12.2 oz., and was 20 inches long.

I started having contractions Saturday morning at 3:00 a.m. every 5 minutes and at 4:00 a.m. called the hospital. They told me to come in to be checked and when I got there around 5:30 a.m., I was dilated to 7 cm. This had changed from the 2 cm I was dilated to at my doctor's appointment Friday at 3:40 p.m. I got moved to a room and soon got my epidural.

She has lots of dark hair, blue eyes, and seems to have a dimple on her left cheek. I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home from the hospital, but all is well!

Another Doctor's Appointment

So today I had to leave school at 2:00 p.m. to go to my 38-week appointment. I have one student who asks me daily if I am having the baby yet. I want to respond to that by saying that I am still at school so probably not. DUH - why does he have to ask EVERY day?? Anyway, the high school principal came in and covered about 15 minutes of the class I was in and then another teacher covered my last class of the day. When I was leaving, one boy asked me where I was going and I just told the class that I had a doctor's appointment and that I wasn't leaving to have the baby.

When I got to the doctor's office, I was told that the doctor had just left to go deliver a baby at the hospital. It wasn't long before he was back. He checked me and I am 1-2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. I am thinking that it won't be too long before this little one makes his or her debut! I have been having contractions more frequently, but nothing regular and close together.

Part of me would really like to be done with this pregnancy and meet this new child. Another part of me would like to hold out a bit, my sub can't start for two more weeks, so they would have to have a sub for the sub! Craziness! I guess babies don't wait for anyone when they are ready to be here though, so I will keep you all posted!

37 Week Appointment

So right after school today, I head to the doctor's office for my 37 week appointment. A week ago when I was there, nothing was happening, so I expected more of the same. Today, he said my cervix is softening, but I haven't really dilated yet. He said they would see me again in a week and he thought by then that more would be happening. I told him that this baby couldn't come yet since they don't have a long-term sub lined up at school for me yet. Hopefully, that will happen this next week because I don't think this baby is waiting much longer. I told the high school principal that I was getting nervous and stressing out and he said that would make things happen faster. I am saying a prayer before bed nightly right now!

4 Weeks and Counting!

So today I went to the doctor for my 36-week appointment. All is well in babyland, I guess. I somehow lost a pound (I didn't think this was so bad since two weeks ago the doc said I gained 7 pounds in two weeks). The baby's heartbeat was around 130. The doctor checked me and nothing is happening yet. Bummer, I thought sure something would be happening soon. So maybe I will make it to my due date or pretty close. Anyway, I start going to the doctor weekly now, so that should make it feel like this baby will be here soon!!! Can't wait to meet him or her!

The First Day of Preschool

Today was finally Laci Jo's first day of preschool. She has been anxiously awaiting this day since Madison started kindergarten almost 2 weeks ago. Since I didn't have to drive out to the babysitter's house this morning, I was able to let the girls sleep a little longer. When they woke up, Laci was out of bed like a shot and screamed that she got to go to school today. Here's Laci all dressed and ready for school. Her new preschool shirt is a size small for big kids, so it is almost like a dress or nightgown on her. I used a ponytail holder to cinch it up in the back. She also has her name tag on for the first day. A few minutes after she had her name tag on, she switched it from the left side (where you see it in this picture - faint yellow) to the right side. I told her to leave it stay put so it would stick!

Her big sister, Madison, took this picture of her on the front steps. Her backpack, which is High School Musical (of course), is almost as big as she is.

Another picture of my "Punky" (Mommy's nickname for her) on her first day of preschool.

And finally, a picture of my two big girls who are off to school. We dropped Madison off at school and she walks a little bit, from the street where I drop her off to where they line up outside, all by herself. Laci saw Madi do this this morning, so she thought she was going to walk to her school by herself. I told her that while she is in preschool, Mommy has to walk her in, but when she gets to kindergarten, she can walk in by herself like Madison. Laci was pretty quiet when she got to school because her teacher, Mrs. Forde, started talking to her, but at least she wasn't clingy or didn't cry when I left. She has always been more shy than Madison, so I have worried that she might not go to school without fussing, but she did great! I also think I got more out of her tonight about school than I did from Madison. I must admit I did get a little teary-eyed when I left her there this morning. She isn't so little anymore!