First days

This sweet girl has been wonderful from day one- she is a great sleeper and although things can change at any time, I sure appreciate it!

Nicole had an apple the other night and within an hour had pulled out two more teeth! I could not believe how fast she lost them! She was thrilled to lose a top one and her other lower middle tooth. The first thing I heard in the morning from her was cries of "money! money!"

Grandma arrived Saturday with Caleb and has been running nonstop ever since!

Nicole adores her sister.

Caleb is Michael's new best friend. He takes Caleb's hand and drags him around to the toys he wants to play with.

Nicole my sweet girl.

Michael with his gift from Diana- a stuffed doggy. They've been carrying their doggies around everywhere!

Michael loves to hold Diana and has slowly become accustomed to her cry. Now he tells me that she is hungry whenever he hears her cry.

Jake loves "baby a-nana" and likes to look at her. She is like a curious exhibit at a museum to him, he's still trying to figure out just what a baby is like.

A neighbor lent Michael this lawn mower and every single time he goes outside he mows the whole lawn. Looks like I know what chores to hand over to him when he gets bigger!

Diana Kay

Diana Kay joined our family on Friday, June 15th at 6:49pm. She weighed 6 lbs 15oz and is 20 inches long. Her name has special meaning to us. When I was 18, I went to Ecuador and volunteered at orphanages there. The main orphanage had 20-30 babies and toddlers that I took care of 24-7. Being with those loving, precious, beautiful children took the seed of desire for motherhood and nourished it to where I knew that one of my greatest desires was to be a mother and give my love and heart to such precious little ones. I was completely overwhelmed with their needs, but one of the greatest lessons I learned was that as I served these children and prayed for help, my heart and abilities expanded to give more and more. The Lord truly loves each of those children with an overwhelming love and I felt so blessed to be a part of showing that love. One of the first big experiences I had in Ecuador was the adoption of one of the little girls. She was our best walker and had big brown eyes and dark hair that curled just above her shoulders. Her stomach was big because of the poor nutrition provided and she had this beautiful and innocent sweetness to her. I can remember how overwhelmingly happy I felt when she was adopted- that she would have a family to love her with an individuality we couldn't provide for her. The memory of the Ecuadorian girl Diana and the other children reminds me of how loved we are by our Heavenly Father and how precious each child is in His sight. My own little Diana- whose name means 'divine, perfect or luminous'- is a sweet and beautiful daughter of God and we treasure her.  Her middle name, Kay, is shared by her sweet and loving great grandmother Marilyn Kay Davies. a woman of faith and service whose life is a blessing to all around her. I look forward to sharing with her my tender experiences and what a special heritage her name has.

Diana was induced and everything went just fine! Interestingly, I had Diana in the same L&D room as I had Michael and Jacob in. Crazy! It was a busy day at the hospital so we ended up having 7 nurses by the time we were done. I also had to be on antibiotics for 4 hrs before they'd start the induction since I have quick labors, so we didn't get started really until 2pm. Fortunately, everything progressed plenty fast. The doctor did barely get ready for when she was born, but hey, I'd warned him! :-) One push and voila- the amazing miracle of birth! Diana had the cord around her neck once, but the doctor took care of things quickly and she was totally fine. Seeing her for the first time after such a LONG wait was beyond words- such joy and love for the darling curious bundle in my arms.

The kids came to visit the next morning and it was quite the experience. As they walked in the door, Michael burst through asking me "Did it hatch mom? It hatched?" I was a little speechless at how to answer since I was trying to imagine how in the world he thought the hospital process worked (a room full of nests for expecting moms to sit on their eggs?). Jacob said 'baby baby' a few times and then went straight for buttons, emergency cords, etc. Nicole couldn't wait to hold Diana and although she was half terrified that Diana might cry (which is a full out girly scream- none of that little mewling cry), she rocked and patted Diana and told us to be quiet and then said "Mom, look I rocked her to sleep!" Her face was lighted with joy, it was really special to share that love for Diana with her. Although I had told the kids my tummy would slowly get smaller, Michael still asked the age old question asked by toddlers, "Are there more babies in there?" And Nicole, who wasn't quite sure what to think of the hospital nursing gown, told me she didn't think my dress was modest. Again I had to giggle thinking of her imagining me going to church in the billowing blue cloth. I assured her it was just for the hospital and not a Sunday dress. The kids have all kept asking to hold her and although they're still figuring out just what a baby is like, they've all been sweet and accepting. Although personality takes time to develop, there is a definite difference in Diana in her lung capacity. I have never heard a newborn with such volume or such girly crying and shrieking. The pediatrician says she is a fourth child that will certainly not be ignored :-) Welcome to the world our little angel Diana Kay!

Little bit of everything. Climbing, charts, tongues, graduation, turkeys and hawk!

Jake is growing up fast and wants to do everything his siblings can. He loves climbing all the way to the top and I've given up trying to stop him since he does a great job climbing up and knows how to drop down just fine every time.

Michael wanted to smile for you too :-) He loves to talk and make you laugh and enjoys playing with Nicole and their little people. You can see Jake hanging in the background.

For fun dinnertime conversation I made a jar that has a ton of conversation starters on everything from questions about favorites to the Church to insightful questions... and it's helped us get all of the kids talking about subjects we wouldn't have thought to bring up otherwise.

For FHE we had another obedience lesson, and at the end they got "I Can Obey" badges. I made a chart for Nicole to start using so she'll "be ready when kindergarten starts" and she has been pretty good about getting herself ready. Michael kind of tags along and I made the first step for him, hoping that he'll get out of pullups soon. The real reason, though, is that I would prefer them to come downstairs dressed and ready for the day since it makes life a lot easier for me and helps them grow up. Plus, with the baby coming, I'd rather not have the kids in pajamas all day since I doubt I'll be bounding up the stairs to help them every morning!

Michael is a man of many talents. We were having ice cream cones and he got a dab on his nose. When I pointed it out, he just used his tongue to lick it off!

Reminds me of a giraffe, I don't know how he does it. We were all sitting at the table trying, but nobody could touch their nose with their tongue like Michael. Dinner is quite fun here I guess :-)

I had a dr appointment during Nicole's preschool graduation, so Jim took all the kids. When I arrived after my appointment to do the tradeoff so Jim could get to work, this is what I saw. I also saw the sign that said "no splashing or playing in water."

Nicole and her friend Anna were in the same class. Anna also goes to our church and it was a great experience for these two girls to be in preschool together this year. Anna got the kindness award I think and is a really sweet friend.

Tis the season! Here's another one of Jim's catches this week. One of the morning he went out it was the perfect setup- it had rained the night before, the temperature was a little cool, he got there just as the sun was rising and the still lake water was calling...but when Jim arrived he realized he had forgotten his kayak paddle! He still made a good catch that day, but came home soon after. All that open lake that he couldn't get to was just too much :-) At the fair last week we saw a guy with a shirt that said "Good things come to those who bait."

Jim got some pics of the kids playing at the park right before the graduation. This park is at a shopping center next to a Whole Foods and is really nice.

I love unique playgrounds that have fun climbing toys!

Michael was determined to go all the way across and he figured it out pretty quickly and repeated the process again and again!

Animal crackers kept the kids on the beach towel while the awards were presented.

Nicole got the best reader award and the teacher shared how she reads to the kids in class during center time. I can say I taught her to read, but her love of books and ability is a talent all her own. She is so cute and reads with inflection in her voice like a storyteller.

Michael and Nicole went with Jim to fish at a friend's pond but the kids were soon distracted- Nicole by a slip n slide the kids were playing on, and Michael by the baby turkeys. Jim said he just couldn't get Michael to leave these guys alone!

Michael chased them everywhere- even into their cage- and eventually had one by the tail and was petting its back while it squawked like crazy.

I glanced out the window during a light rain shower today and saw this hawk!

He stood there very stately while we took pictures, and after a few minutes took off to check out another viewpoint. We think he's after the rabbits that live somewhere in the back lawn area shared with our neighbors. Sometimes you don't realize how incredible these birds are until you see them up close. He was a magnificent bird, so beautiful and perfect.