Two Years Ago...

this little lover entered our lives!

She lights up the room, even when she's scowling (because, really, even her scowl is adorable).

Man, check those lashes!

Kelly Anne loves:

• to hold and kiss babies (which is either great or not-so-great for Everett - we're not sure :) )

Can you tell which baby is real?

• to sing (oh my heart! her 'twinkle, twinkle, little star is so sweet - you can watch her sing it below)
• the colors pink and purple ("pink is my fav-uh-rite!")
• princesses
• pretty hair ("Oh! Don't mess up my hair!" and she'll sit so patiently while it's being done)
• her big brother, Max (she'll follow him anywhere and play swords and guns and bad guys/good guys as long as he wants)

*Max 'reading' the Book of Mormon Reader to Kelly*

• eating (she spends anywhere between 15-30 minutes at the table after everyone else is done eating...she takes it slow and thoroughly enjoys the experience)
• cameras! (she got her very own for her birthday...except it was a cheap digital camera and she holds it up to look through the viewfinder and says, "I can't see very well!")

Last night we celebrated her birthday since Ty has school tonight. We went to Costco to eat since the girl is a hot dog lover. She insisted all evening that her name was NOT Kelly - it was 'Kelly's Little Daddy' and we had to call her that every time we addressed her. (She reminds me of someone...not sure who...do you know, Mom? :) ) Kelly has a fabulous imagination; I love listening to her play. She also has a great memory. She loves to read books, call people "by myself", and laugh. Oh, the girl loves to laugh and loves making people laugh. Hardly a night goes by that Ty and I don't lie in bed and go over funny/cute things that she's said or done that day.

I let the kids decorate the excess cake, although more frosting ended up in their bellies than on the cake :)

Happy Birthday, little woman!

We are so blessed to have you in our home. You spice up our lives and we cannot imagine life without you. We love you SOOOO much!

Lessons from a Postpartum Bod

It was about 3:30 in the morning on January 29th. Just hours before, my sweet baby boy was born. I was lying in the hospital bed, going over what had just happened and all of the emotions of the experience. It was a sweet time filled with emotion and the Spirit. Tyler was sleeping on the pull-out couch and my little man was snoozing in the bassinet. I couldn't sleep because of the elation. And then, suddenly, I realized that I wouldn't be able to sleep because of the cRaZy post-delivery contractions. They were so intense...I was having to breathe through them. I thought, 'You've got to be kidding me! I just had the baby." I had been offered Ibuprofen or Percocet and I'd just taken the Ibuprofen...I hadn't needed anything stronger with the other two. But then hours went by and the contractions kept coming and they were becoming harder and harder to bear. I finally decided that I had JUST done natural childbirth - I had nothing to prove. GIVE ME THE PERCOCET! Luckily I only had to take one and then ibuprofen was sufficient. I was talking to the morning shift nurse about it and she told me, "Those after-birth contractions get harder with each baby; it's not in your head. It will be even worse with the next one." Say what?!

Last week I was on the phone with my mom, lamenting that my postpartum bod was bringing me distress. At this point with my other two I was a little further along with getting my shape back. I pointed out that I'm not getting any younger (I'm going to be 30 this year!) and that probably has something to do with it. She adds, "And, Dana, it is your third baby." So I guess since I have chosen to bring more little people into this world, I am going to have to work doubly hard to get rid of the bigger hips and thicker middle, huh? Ugh.

Shouldn't it be easier the more kids you have? I think so. However, I have decided that maybe there are lessons to be learned. One of the lessons (for me) is patience. I've got to be patient with this body of mine that has carried three tiny people. I've had three little humans inside of me! I'm going to try to love my shape because of what has come from it looking the way it does -three children who bring me more JOY than I knew existed. *Yesterday Max very proudly came in from playing outside with a fistful of uprooted weeds that were topped with some pretty white flowers - "I thought you would like these, Mom. Aren't they beautiful?" Those 'weeds' are now sitting in some water on the windowsill* And maybe if I learn that patience with my body it will help me to be a more patient mom. I do have three children to be patient with now. *Kelly just came up to me, holding out her finger with poop on it from her diaper. Awesome. Then Everett started screaming just as I was changing her diaper.* Maybe there is wisdom in - and lessons to be learned from - a chubby postpartum body after all.

I haven't come up with a good lesson from the painful after-birth contractions. Suggestions?

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This morning Max and I were talking to Everett about how glad we are that he came to our family. Then Max, in a high, sweet, talking-to-baby voice says to Everett, "The delivery was great! Mom's water broke and that's why you are here! Her water broke and now you're here in our family and I get to play with you and teach you things and show you things!" He never asked questions about how Everett would come out, just listened and observed as things were happening...and I guess that's what he got from it. He was there when my water broke, Dad came home from work, we ate dinner, I received a blessing, Mom and Dad headed to the hospital; the next morning he woke up and got to come see his baby brother at the hospital. He's heard me say several times that the delivery was great. That's all he knows about it. If only it had been that simple. :)

We like...

...to sleep with a sleeping baby on our chests. Life's simplest pleasure, we're sure of it....to put on capes and swords in their sheaths and pretend to be any number of Book of Mormon heroes (or villains) - favorites are Ammon, Helaman, stripling warriors, Antipus, Ammoron, Nephi, Laban, Lehi. *This is mostly Max, but he enlists the little sister often*

...to pretend we're Biathlon Olympians. Please note the skis (Tyler's shoes) and the gun (a toy sword) and the gun "backpack" contraption thing (Tyler's old tie). Good thing for our imaginative Max that he has an equally imaginative Dad who helps him to come up with ways to make his Biathlon dreams come true.

...the Bink (or Binkyfier as we like to call it). Lovin' that he's lovin' it. Max and Kell have both learned the art of gently placing the bink in Everett's mouth, much to the delight of this momma who can delegate this task whilst making a meal or getting the house cleaned. Sometimes, though, I have to advocate for a content baby boy who would rather not have a binky shoved in his mouth at the moment, thank you!...to take all of the towels (a.k.a. snow) out of the cabinet and throw them on the ground so that we can fit in the cabinet and play on top the "snow" mountain. And when I say "we" I mean the little people around here. I love that they did it because it kept them entertained for the better part of an hour while I finished the reading for my Book of Mormon class next to my sleeping baby boy....this little dude. A lot. Hard to believe he's been with us just shy of three weeks - seems more like three months or so.
A little update on the little man: 8lbs 9oz at his appt. last Thursday - that's more than a pound in thirteen days, folks; has a strong neck that gets stronger every day; already has a good sleeping/eating/awake routine and gives me 4-6 hours between night feedings; efficient eater - I only nurse for about 15 minutes at the most, but obviously he's getting enough to eat; cord finally fell off - I love looking at his little belly button; has the cutest smiles - we can't wait until they're in response to our dazzling humor and happy faces.

Flying Solo(ish)

My mother-in-law left today and I shed many a tear. I know (Janet), I've been totally spoiled. I had my mom for a week and my mother-in-law for 6 days. I've only had a few days since Everett was born that I've had to get up with my kids in the morning. I hardly know what's in my fridge because meals have been taken care of. Kelly got a yeast infection just before Everett was born and every once in a while I would remember to ask my mom how it was looking because I wasn't changing the little lady's diaper. I haven't done laundry or cleaned a bathroom in two weeks...yet the laundry is done and the bathrooms are shiny. I even have clean sheets to crawl between tonight. Tonight Ty saw that the movie Brother Bear was recorded on the DVR and he asked me if it was a good movie. Ummm...you think I've associated much with our two other kids these past few weeks? My mom recorded and watched it with them. I must have been sleeping or taking a really long shower or something. I can't remember. But rest assured it was relaxing/rejuvenating...whatever it was. THANK YOU to Margaret for so much help and for being so fun to hang out with. She spent hours on the floor with Max going through his big bin of army guys and having battles. She brought some very cool costumes for the kids and read to them in the wee hours of the morning so I could sleep. I never worried about meals or entertainment for the kids. It was a perfect visit and I am so, so grateful that she came! We miss her like crazy. I am so, so lucky to have such a wonderful mother-in-law.

Now I get Ty home for a while! He usually takes off of work right after the baby is born and then the moms come. However, since Everett delayed his appearance and plane tickets were already bought, he's taking the time off now. It's going to be SO nice to have time as our little family and to have Ty to ourselves for a while. We need it. Here are some shots of my boys "watching" the superbowl together...I love these men and kind of like that Kelly and I are outnumbered.

Everett gets bigger every day. Really, like I wake up each morning and feel like he's grown overnight. His cheeks are filling out, his eyes are getting more round, his eyelashes are already looking luscious. I am anxious to see at his appt. today how much he weighs. He is our best baby yet. Not that we've had a difficult baby, but he is the easiest of the three. That could change, the boy will be just two weeks tomorrow, but for now we're feeling grateful that our third is so chill. And cute. Boy do we think he's cute. I don't think I mentioned before, but he has HUGE hands and feet. We might get a tall one after all. Ty tells me that I'm bringing down the average (height) for the fam...but Everett may just prove him wrong. He is named after his Papa Mick who is 6'5"; maybe that had something to do with it? That is, if he does turn out to be a tall one. Time will tell.

Max and Kelly LOVE to kiss and hold our little babe. Although there have been some meltdowns, we've had a really good and easy adjustment, I think. We are working on them refraining from kissing Everett a million times while he's asleep on the couch since it wakes the little dude up. Still, too many kisses is better than the alternative.

Photo by Kelly

So I guess I'm not really flying solo since Ty is going to be home...but we're flying solo as a family. No more motherly help. I'm the only momma in the house now. But I think I'm going to rock this three kid business. :) I'll report on that in a few weeks.

Okay, okay...

I guess you want to know about - and see - my new, beautiful, sweet-smelling, handsome baby boy! (Or at least my sisters do; they both called today for that specific reason.) But, I have to warn you that many tears will be shed on my computer keyboard while I type about this beautiful experience. Not like you'll be affected by them or even know they're there, but I hope my computer doesn't short out as a result.

Everett Daniel Foster took his first breath at 1:26 a.m. on Friday, January 29th. He weighed in at 7lb 6oz and was 20.4 inches long. He is, of course, a perfect little man. So handsome, so tiny, so fun to kiss and snuggle and stare at. We are smitten.

Birth Story

I last posted when we were headed to the hospital. We got there and by the time they got us in a room I was having very regular, strong contractions. However, they hooked me up to monitors and had me lie down while they got me all checked in and everything stopped. Ugh. So as soon as we could, we started walking the halls. I would get things going again just to have it all stop. My back and legs were hurting, I was tired, and (above all) FRUSTRATED. Tyler and I went back to our room where he encouraged me to relax and let my body do its thing. I had him say a prayer and then we both decided to lie down and get some sleep while we could. Ty had been up super late the night before and was just getting over being sick so I knew he needed to sleep. I let my body totally relax and was almost out myself when the first contraction came...3 minutes later, another...3 minutes later, another. Hooray! They just kept coming. This was at about 10:30 p.m. I let Tyler sleep for almost an hour before I needed him by my side. He had to be on my right side and could touch me and talk to me in between contractions, but not during. I needed quiet in the room. I get very quiet myself when I'm in labor. I spent the next two and half hours standing next to my bed, hand on the rail, rocking back and forth.

The doctor came in at about midnight and gave me a side hug and then hung out until he was needed. My mom got there about the same time. She's never witnessed a birth aside from her own 5 children and I thought it would be cool for her to be there just as I was pushing my little man out. I really didn't notice anyone in the room aside from Tyler whose thumb I had to squish against the railing during those last contractions. My mom said that everyone was very respectful of what was happening; everyone who came in and out was very quiet. I was getting close - dilated to about a 7 or 8 - when the nurse and doctor started to be concerned about the baby. They were pretty sure that there was a problem with his cord. I was mostly unaware of their concern, aside from them having me change positions 3 times to see if Everett's heart rate would react better. The natural birth process is pretty amazing and so very personal; I was in a different place mentally and so focused on what I needed to do. By this time I barely had time to move in between contractions and couldn't believe they wanted me to lie down and be on my hands and knees. I just wanted to stand. Pretty soon I was at a 10, but there was a little bit of cervix left which the doctor kept trying to massage away because they really wanted him to deliver soon due to his heart variables. I wanted to push, but was encouraged to wait because of that last bit of cervix, so I refrained the best I could. Finally they told me to push. It was more work than with Kelly, but only took 5 or 6 pushes. I broke a blood vessel in my eye from the pushing, actually. No tearing, though!

They knew that there would be a cord around his neck because of his heart variables during the contractions, but what they weren't counting on was it being wrapped 4 times around his little neck! Every professional in the room was amazed; none of them had ever seen that in the delivery room before...only in a cesarean situation. I heard the nurse ask the doctor a while later if the cord was unusually long (which would explain how it could be wrapped so many times but still allow him to descend) and he said, "No, I looked, but it's a normal length." It wasn't until the doctor came to check on us the following day that I realized how worried he had been during the delivery. He told me that because I was so close to delivery by the time he got there, because I'd had two other children, and because I was so in control he decided to allow me to try and deliver normally. He also said that if it had been my first baby there would have been no question - he would have done a cesarean. He indicated that it was somewhat risky for him to let me keep going. I attribute that little miracle to the priesthood blessing I received before delivery and the many prayers that I offered throughout my pregnancy concerning the delivery. He also said that my labor "was a pleasure to watch." What a great doctor. And I had a wonderful nurse who was perfect for me. I feel very blessed! Because of the cord situation, it took a few minutes longer than normal for them to put him on my chest...but oh! I don't think a mother ever forgets that moment with any of her children. I was overcome...still am. Elation and very little sleep followed.

The kids have adjusted quite well. Kelly hasn't really been phased, but Max has been a little emotional. That seems to be leveling out now, though. Today Everett started to cry and Max began running around the room, searching for his pacifier, "Hurry, Mom! Everett's crying. I need his binky! Where is it?!" I think he's going to fit in around here perfectly. We are SO glad to have him here and are not taking for granted a single second...we know how fast time goes.

My mom left today and I cried quite a bit. Those visits with my mom are so very, very special to me. She is amazing with my kids, cooks up a storm, makes sure I sleep and drink water and take care of myself. This morning she woke up early and cleaned my entire house before she left. Oh, I miss her already. My kids were always fed and dressed with their hair done when I woke up. They sang songs and played games and baked all day. Every time she came downstairs with them, she would sit down and they would slide down the stairs on her lap...even while she was on the phone one time!

She put the bubble machine we have on the side of the tub for bath time, which was a hit with Kelly especially.She's a tough act to follow; I hope I don't bore my kids to death now. :) 'Thank you' doesn't cut it, Momma!At his first Dr. appointment (4 days old) he had already gained weight - 7lb 11oz. The doc was very impressed. I produce cream, I tell ya.

So there you have it...a whole lotta information, peppered with several cute pictures. What more can you ask for in a single post?!