Welcome, Baby Jake!

He's finally here! Jake Jason Yates was born Friday, August 6, 2010 at 7:04 am. He was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19 inches long. He is so sweet and little and I can't imagine our family without him.

This is on the way to the hospital. We had to be there at 5:15 am. I was so grateful that it was early so I didn't have to stress about it all morning.

 Jason's little white suit didn't exactly fit, but it gave me a good laugh, which I really needed at that moment. Everything went really well with the delivery. I have to admit I was terrified to have a planned c-section. I had a c-section with Abby, but it was a last minute thing and there was so much adrenaline pumping I didn't have any time to think about what was happening. But I've had about 9 months to think about it this time, and I got a little worked up. For nothing. Everything went great. It was my first time having a spinal block instead of an epidural and I have to say, the spinal is the way to go. It's just a shot, so they don't have to leave the big old needle in your back all day. It works within minutes and wears off after only a few hours and I didn't even feel it. All that worry and terror. And I didn't even feel it. What a relief! Then everything happened so fast. It seemed like about 2 minutes until I heard the first cries. There are no words to describe how it feels to hear your baby's first cries. I've experienced it four times now, and those have been the four most incredible moments of my life. Comparable only to seeing and holding the baby for the first time.

The worst part about a c-section is that you can't hold your baby right away. Jason held him down by me for a few minutes before they took him off to the nursery, though. Have you ever had a feeling of complete and total happiness? That's what it is. Every time.

 

 I loved having my kids and both Jason's and my parents there. My parents stayed at our house the night before and brought the kids to the hospital for us. I am so grateful for all the support and love our parents give us. My grandparents were older by the time I was born, so they weren't a part of things like this as I wish they could have been, so it means a lot to me that my kids get to know their own grandparents and get to share so many great experiences with them.

And here's the perfect little guy. He has been such a good baby so far. He eats well, he sleeps well, and the kids just LOVE him. I feel so blessed to have such a healthy, sweet baby.

Our whole little family. Jason hates this picture because he thinks he looks half asleep, but it's the best I can do. He probably was feeling a little out of it because he spent all three nights on that tiny couch while I was in the hospital. It did fold out into a "bed", but not a very big one. He was such a good sport. It was fun to spend time with just the two of us and the new baby. When will that happen again? It was like a little vacation. We had a big supply of movies to choose from and all I had to do was pick up the phone and room service would bring me/us whatever food I wanted. Jason called for breakfast one morning - "My wife would like french toast, a ham and cheese omelet, bacon, oatmeal, orange juice, milk - and what else did you want, honey? Oh yeah, and a fruit and yogurt parfait." He hung up the phone and said, "I think they might be on to me." You think? I know some people hate the hospital, but man, I love that place. Every time the nurses changed shifts I felt like I was losing my new best friend. Plus, with the pain meds they were pumping into me, I felt like I had been smoking peyote for three straight days. I don't remember a whole lot about it, but I'm sure it was great.

This is Jake with the quilt his Grandma Price made for him. She and my dad stayed with the kids while I was in the hospital and she stayed with us for the first five days we were home. It was so nice to not have to worry about all the little things, and just hold the baby and try to get back to normal. I miss her, but I must be strong. I will survive. I will.

And here is Jake with the quilt his Grandma Yates made for him. She does so much for our family. I don't know what we would do without her. Jake has two very talented grandmas who love him so much. He is a lucky boy. And we are so lucky to have him. His sweet little spirit has made such a difference in our home already. I'm so grateful for a healthy little baby and for all the love and support our family has received in the last few weeks.

The simple things

I always have such good intentions to get the kids to bed early during the summer. Then evening rolls around and suddenly the kids magically start getting along and the weather is beautiful, so we head outside and stay up way too late... again. But it is worth it. We have had so many nice evenings this summer just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Like a bottle of bubbles from the dollar store.

Okay, so the main reason I let the kids stay up late is because lately I am just too tired to put them to bed at the end of the day. Here's to baby #4 one week from today!!!

Lance's Wedding

I can always tell if it's been a good month by how many pictures I've taken that month. Most months I average around 200. My July 2010 folder has 826. Yikes. That is a good month and a lot of pictures, and a large portion of them were taken at Jason's brother's wedding a few weeks ago. It was so fun to get the kids all dressed up and to see Lance and Tess so happy.

They make a great couple.

Abby was so excited to see herself looking so bee-you-tiful!

Tess made such a beautiful bride. The little girls were in awe.

They were so cute peeking around the curtain trying to get a glimpse of her.

Dallin wasn't very impressed to get all dressed up, but I thought he looked very handsome.

This is classic Luke. Someone pointed out that he was in background of ALL the pictures the photographer was trying to take of the groups. Here she is trying to wave him away with EVERYONE staring. Awkward! I hope she can photoshop him out. Also, during the ceremony I looked around and noticed that Luke wasn't sitting by us anymore. Then I saw him running through the aisles and on the lawn chasing butterflies or something. I was tempted to run after him, but then I thought, what is more distracting, the four-year-old running around, or the pregnant lady chasing him? I just let him roam.

The whole family.

The kids loved dancing the night away.

Especially Abby.

Good luck, Lance and Tess!

Family Reunion in Burley

I LOVE summer in Burley. It is the most beautiful, peaceful place on earth. Other times of the year, maybe not so much. But summer time is amazing. Plus, it's just home, and sometimes I just need to be home.  So I was excited that my mom wanted to have our Price family reunion over the 4th of July weekend in Burley this year.  We pulled the trailer up so the kids could have at least one more "camping" experience this year. We're hoping for a few more, but as this baby approaches I'm getting less excited about sleeping anywhere except my very own bed with my very own 40 pillows propping me up on all sides and the ceiling fan running. However, the kids... the kids. They need some memories. So I packed my bottle of Tylenol PM and away we went, and it was fabulous.

My parents' home is the perfect place for kids. There are trees and sheds and tons of grass to run around on, plus there is a huge grassy hill with a hole on one side that we fill with water in the summer... it is endless entertainment. And the sky is so big there. It really is bigger than other places. I don't know how or why, that's just how it is.

The weather was surprisingly not very warm this year, but that didn't stop the kids from soaking up the sun every chance they got. Dallin and Katelyn spent a lot of time floating around the little pond and identifying the insects that floated around beside them.

Abby wasn't quite so sure about the cold, but she still had fun.

She loved hanging out with her Uncle Aaron at the top of the hill, watching all the action.

She looked so cute wearing her matching dress with Josie and Halli to church on Sunday.

I found these two little nuts out in the beet field behind my parents' house one afternoon, just chowing on beet leaves. Apparently the little neighbor girl told them that it was cabbage and they needed to eat it. So Luke and Josie obediently went out to the field and started munching. Can you imagine the bribes I would have to give to my kids to get them to eat cabbage OR beet greens? Raw? Yet, if the local little farmer girl says it, they do it. Maybe I should hire her to spend a week with me, brainwashing my kids to eat healthy food. You can't really tell from the picture, but Luke's mouth was lined in green. Hopefully he got a good dose of Vitamin A or B or C or something, along with the pesticide/fertilizer/whatever they spray on the beets that is sure to be toxic to some degree.

We had a fun little marshmallow roast before we headed to town to watch the fireworks on the 4th.

Luke was SO excited to see his Uncle Steve who came all the way from Kansas. We just wish Kristen could have come, too!!! 

*sniff sniff* 

There is nothing like a Burley sunset. Or a golf cart ride with Jason. Hold on, kids!! I think he only lost a few kids... a few times...

On Monday we all headed out to Steadman's in Raft River. They have some giant waterslides, a zip line, BBQ areas, and tons of room for the kids to run around. It was a huge hit with the little kids and the big kids. We are planning to make it a tradition!

The little kids were soooo impressed with the big kids on the zip line. I can't wait to try it next year!

I think the record was 14 people on one tube going down the water slide. Jason and Dallin are in there somewhere. They might have been a little bit squished.

I thought all the little kids were so cute running around in their white reunion shirts. The shirts weren't so white by the end of the day, but that's just proof of a good time, right?

And then of course the whole group. It was such a fun weekend. It will be a while until we are all together again, so times like this mean so much. Totally worth the Tylenol PM involved. I love my family!

Summa Time

In some ways I secretly dread the coming of summer, thinking it will so hard to be out of our routines and wonder how am I going to keep the kids entertained when school ends, and all that. But then summer gets here and it is so nice and pleasant to have warm weather and have time to just have fun. We've had a great summer so far. Let's just say I have spent a lot of time sitting on the deck eating popsicles with the kids. In other news, this summer both boys are playing baseball.

Dallin is doing coach pitch. He loves it.

Luke is doing tee ball. He hates it.

Lehi Roundup days were great, as usual. The kids love the parade and rodeo.

Abby got all dressed up for the rodeo, but then I send her with my in-laws after the parade so we could enjoy the night. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed hanging out with her grandma and grandpa more than she would have liked the rodeo.

The boys LOVED the rodeo, of course. You can see from my expanding belly that my due date is approaching. I am scheduled to have this little guy on Friday, August 6. Holy cow, that is four weeks from today. Yikes! What am I going to do with four kids? I'll think about it tomorrow.

We've had one round of swimming lessons at the American Fork pool and are scheduled to begin another one the last two weeks of July. We have been doing evening lessons and they are great. No sunscreen required! Why do I hate putting sunscreen on my kids so much? I swear, I would rather do yard work.

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Dallin's big accomplishment of the summer has been learning to ride a bike. Yeah, he's a little old. But he has always refused to try without training wheels and this summer I haven't really felt like huffing down the street with him in the hot sun, so he has stayed on a four-year-old biking level for about seven years now. Then one night my sisters Teresa and Shayna were here and I asked them to help him learn. About 10 minutes later he was riding all over the neighborhood by himself. Thanks, girlies.  I owe you one. 

We had a fun little fishing trip up to Clear Lake where the boys caught 12 fish. Jason even helped Abby catch her first fish ever. She was thrilled.

And then there's this strange creature. Abby has officially adopted the fake owl from our yard as her new best friend. One day she came running into the house with a huge smile on her face, lugging the giant bird, saying, "She's name Who-Who! She's name Who-Who!!" So Who-Who is now the latest member of our family and sleeps beside Abby in her crib, and usually next to her in the car. Whatever floats your boat, my child. Just take a little nap. I need to go put my feet up for a while...

Timp Archery Range

On Monday night we had a fun little adventure up to the Timp Archery Range in Provo Canyon. We cooked hot dogs and shot bows and enjoyed the beautiful night. It was funny because the wind was so strong down in the valley, and there were thunderclouds rolling in. I thought we were crazy for even attempting to go up there. But once we were there, the storms all headed east and there was no wind. It was calm and perfect and we had so much fun.

Dallin is a little pro. He puts us all to shame.

Abby found a little pair of butterfly wings at the picnic area and wore them upside down most of the night. She and her little cousin Taylor had fun running around and keeping their moms busy chasing them.

My beautiful sisters, Shayna and Teresa, with Taylor. They were both expert shooters with my bow. They will be moving in with me for a few weeks between semesters and I can't wait!!

Even Abby had to shoot a few times. Jason got so excited about her shooting that he went home and ordered a tiny bow just for her. Oh dear. It begins.

Dallin, my brother Ryan's little Katelyn, and Luke. Katelyn loves shooting and running around with the boys. She is so fun to have around.

My brother Ryan and cute little Taylor. I didn't get any pictures of his wife, Christa. She was listening for their little one-month-old baby Andrew most of the time so she didn't get to go traipsing around in the woods. She's a good sport.

Me with my sweet little Abby. I only shot once that night and the string hit my left elbow and I swore I would never shoot again. But I've said that before. I'm still waiting for an impressive bruise to develop.

And there's Luke, with the storm in the background. The rain started as we drove down the hill after 9 pm. Such luck!