Somebody learned to smile

Hello everyone!

Happy 4th of July!

She's a Dancin' Machine

Ella had her very first dance recital. She was so cute!!! The Twinkle Stars performed Supercala fragilistic this year and it was adorable. Ella got right up there on stage in a high school. The pictures you are seeing are of the dress rehearsal. They don't allow blogs or Internet postings of the real thing I don't know why. The really great end to the day was that Dave performed a Daddy/ Daughter number with Ella to "Butterfly Kisses" There was not a dry eye in the house. It was a great day. Very full circle. That is one of my favorite childhood memories with my dad. Congratulations Ellie Blue! You were fantastic!

Announcing........Aidan Rainn Heard

Aidan Rainn Heard (Name ‘scrambled’ after her grandmothers, Aidan/Diana and Rainn/Marilynn),

7lbs. 14 oz 20.5in

12:58 am May 28th, 2010

This is me. I am so very tired. It was pouring rain (hmmm middle name anyone?) I mean really pouring rain. The day was actually very low key. I was given a partial epidural so that I could control how much pain management I wanted. For those that don't know, most babies are born at when a mother gets to 10 cm dilated. After, an awkward trial run 4o minutes earlier (they thought I was ready to go when I wasn't), Aidan decided to surprise us all . She came out all by herself just like her brother did. No time at all for the doctor to prep at all. Just catch. =)

Here she is! I think she was a little shocked herself that she just fell out like that. she does not like the cold at all.

Her first baby burp.

Much better now that she is warm.

She is the most behaved baby so far. She sleeps and eats well. She definitely cries loudly like Blue did, but only when she needs something.

Baby J LOVES to squish and kiss her. Imagine a Pee Wee Herman voice barreling into the room. He is a compact bundle of smiles that just can't wait to love her.

Of course Miss Blue has officially taken over as the person in charge. She loves to hold Aidan and help with anything. I teach her baby tricks everyday so that she can better help me.

We are all exhausted. D was able to take 2 weeks off of work but alas he has now gone back. Its weird that what was hard in taking care of a little baby is now the easy part. It the juggling that I am having to get used to. I am very, very, very, very lucky for grandparents.

My peace time has been in getting to know this little one. Especially at night I like the quiet moments just the two of us.

She looks uniquely her own so far. The other two came out bald with distinctive features. Aidan seems to be waiting for a little while to see who she wants to resemble.

So here we are and she is 4 weeks old today. I have finally gotten a moment to write this on the blog. I didn't want to wait any longer. I am very relieved that everybody is ok. We are officially a family of 5 now.

Hello world!

They fight with each other until they don't know you are looking. I think its very cute that they love each other.

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Baby J enjoying himself with his cousins at the Jelly Belly factory.

Ella Ballerina

Blue has just begun to dance Tap and Ballet. Today was her third day, Parents got to be inside the studio as a special treat so i was able to get better pictures. She LOVES it! The first lesson she was probably frozen for three quarters of it but after that she completely embraced it. It is very cute to see her so happy and feel special in her purple leotard and skirt. Blue is officially a Twinkle Star. In June not only will she have a recital, but she will also be performing a Daddy/ Daughter dance with D.

Eddie and John picking up chicks

Peace

The most relaxing picture in the world

Decorating the tree

Whoo-hoo KISS!!

What can happen when you don't restock the diaper bag.

John had an "incident" in child care at my work where he exploded out of his diaper. It was then that I realized How long its been since I have replenished supplies except for diapers and wipes. Poor baby J had to where a newborn pair of jammies (only snapped on the top half) and Blue's hot pink skirt. Clearly he was not pleased.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was such a great day. It started out at Blackhawk Plaza where radio Disney was broadcasting. then we went to Aunt Karen and Uncle Pat's for a big party. Quick nap then it was off to trick-or-treating. The was my favorite year so far, because it was so nice to see Blue really looking forward to dressing up. Lots of fun!

Blue loves her sparkly shoes!

Baby J Sucks!

I did it! I have lost 101 lbs!!!

Beginning middle

end! I cried when I stepped on the scale.The family filled the house with 101 balloons! So cool!

Haircuts and underwear

It was a very big weekend for the kids. Baby J got his first haircut. It wasn't easy to put it lightly, but we made it through. Now he looks like such a little boy.

Blue is now sporting her big girl underwear. She is so going to hate me someday for this picture, but its a huge moment in her life.

The Pacifier Fairy

Late in the night, on July 18th, Blue turned 4 and the Pacifier Fairy flew down to visit her. All week I had been prepping Blue that she was coming. I explained to her that a newborn needed her paci and that it only would hurt her teeth if she kept using it. The morning of her birthday she woke up to find a note. It said that the Pacifier Fairy had come to visit with the intention of collecting her paci. When the fairy checked the pacifier warehouse however, they were overstocked. All of the newborns would be taken care of. So the Pacifier Fairy made a decision. Blue could keep her paci if she put it inside something special. That way if she ever needed her paci it would be there just in a different way. The Fairy called ahead to Build-a-Bear to set up an appointment for that same day. Blue takes a stand by saying down with paci!

At Build-a-Bear

Blue picked out a monkey as her special stuffed animal. Here it is getting its stuffing.

One last look.

In it goes!

Next Blue picked out a heart and made a wish on it.

Then she heated it up so that it would be nice and warm for her monkey.

All finished.

Next they went to the tub to "wash" the monkey with air and a scrub brush.

Blue was very good at this part.

The final step was to name the monkey and print out a birth certificate. Blue chose Sarah as the monkey's name.

Happy and proud my little Blue did it! It took a lot of guts.

She knows now that paci is always there whenever she needs it. All she has to do is give Sarah a snuggle.