01/23/08: Daddy is home! He arrived last night around 10PM. He had a good time and he loved Chicago. Back to work today...
Our family just can't seem to get well. We have had this cold in the house now for over a month. I have it now with a pretty bad soar throat. Maddy, Landon, and Ava have horrible coughs and Emma has had a stuffy nose forever! Christian now has pink eye...when will this all end? The rest of us can deal with it, but poor little Ava with her cough and congestion makes me so sad. I want her to get better!
I put the names of each of the babies under the pictures on the picture page. It was fun to watch what you all thought. I guess it was a little harder than I imagined!
1/21/08: It's a rainy day. I love the rain when I get to stay home, but I don't like to be out in it. It's nice to have some winter weather though. It has been so cold here; I love it! (Well, cold for California- down into the low 40's...Wow!)
Christian landed safely in Chicago yesterday- shocked by the weather of 7 degrees! He is having a great time. His whole company went. They are working all day and being "wined and dined" at night. Christian LOVES fine dining, so this is right up his alley! May the Lord keep him safe while he is there and on his plane ride home too.
I got some great pictures of the 4 kids together yesterday. Finally!! I can't wait to put them all up. I am going to print a bunch for family and I am going to order one for my purse.Tina and I both have picture purses from
www.personalcreations.com
I absolutely love it!! Right now mine still has only the 3 kids. I finally got a good pic of all four so I can't wait to order a new one! Yippee! I'll post the pix later today, you can all vote on which one you think I should put on.
If you havn't already put in your guesses on my picuture page of the black and white studio pictures of the kids, take a guess and see if you can tell "Who's who??" A little hint, nobody has guessed all 4 right yet! Too funny....I thought it would be so easy!
1/18/08: A quick update- Christian leaves for Chicago early Sunday morning and he's there through Tuesday night. The kids and I don't have any big plans while he's gone. It's not that long of a business trip, we'll miss him, but it'll go by quickly. On Monday night I have a babysitter lined up so that I can go try on bridesmaid dresses with my sisters and my mom. It'll be a nice break for me to get out...after being home with the kids and no Daddy. I'll take Ava with me while we do dinner and our dress modeling. I'm looking forward to it!
The kids are all doing pretty good. The colds are starting to go away, but this cough is really lingering on! Ava still is coughing so much; sometimes it even makes her throw up. So sad! There's nothing the doctor can do for any of them. He says, "This too, shall pass." It's so frustrating when they have such horrible coughs and congestion and theres no antibiotics to cure them. Hopefully we'll finally be over it soon!
Only 1 week til the Garth Brooks concert! We are so excited!! This will be the first time we leave Ava (besides when she's in the building next to me at work). I have a good friend, Shannon, coming to the house to watch them. I know they'll do great!
Ava has had 3 bottles now. She doesn't like drinking from a bottle very much. She takes a few sips and then gags. They are the slow-flow nipples so I know it's not coming out too fast and they are the 0-3mo. infant size... I think it's just different than nursing and she's got to get used to it. I am going to be working 3 hours on Thursday nights in exchange for one of my mornings to alleviate some of the childcare cost. Christian will have the kids that night. Last night went well for them all. Ava took about 2 oz. from the bottle...yay!
PS. Thanks Jamie for my gorgeous front page. I LOVE it!
1/15/08: Ava slept through the night last night!!!!!!! She went down at 10:30 and didn't wake up until 7:30 this morning. Six weeks and one day old- she did it! I will miss the quiet and calm night time feedings, but I'm happy to have a full night's sleep too. Let's see if she does it again tonight. The other 3 kids, once they slept through, they all continued to do it every night with going to bed earlier and earlier every night.
Ava caught the cold and pink eye that the other kids had. It is so sad to see and hear her so congested. Her tiny little body coughing and all goopy eyed. Poor baby! She is still being a very good baby, but she had her moments yesterday. Poor thing just doesn't feel good. I hope it goes away soon.
Work went well yesterday. Alicia did great and Landon didn't even cry when I left. That's a good sign. I got really used to staying home every day with the little ones, it's tough to get us all ready and out the door in the mornings. We have been doing it fine since Ava was born, but I wasn't really getting myself ready til after we took Maddy to school. Now I have to be ready for work when we leave- that's a little harder. We'll manage.
I need to change my front page. It's adorable, but getting a liitle outdated. I don't have time to do it.... any BHP takers??
1/13/08: I go back to work tomorrow morning. I'm OK with going back because I only work 9-noon and I get to break to go and feed Ava at 10:30. We did find someone to fill in for Jen. Her name is Alicia and she came highly reccomended by my friend, Shannon. She is willing to come to the church to care for the kids. That makes me really happy. She is a Mom and a G
randma and she's wonderful! She speaks mostly Spanish, but that's fine with us...maybe Landon and Ava will pick up some Spanish. She's infant/child CPR and first aid trained and she's really sweet. Praise God for an answer to prayer! Back to work....
We registered Madeline and Emma for softball on Saturday. This will be Maddy's second year and Emma's first. It's cool that they will be in the same division and on the same team. Christian will be coaching again; the girls love that! The season starts in about 3 weeks. Busy, Busy, Busy! What fun!
1/11/08: I took Landon and Ava on a fun playdate to McDonalds to meet up with 5 of my friends from college. We all lived on the same college dorm hall at Pacific Christian College and now we all have a baby under 7 months. Two of the others have 2-year-olds, but I'm the only one with 4 kids...I win! LOL! We had a great time seeing eachother and the babies were all so cute! I hope we do it again in the future... Hopefully before they are all walking. Thanks ladies; it was a fun morning.
Last Saturday my mom and Tina met me in Sherman Oaks to meet up with the "Little Print Company" (
www.littleprintco.com
) It is one man who travels around So Cal doing hand and footprints of children. He is the BEST out there! We've had all the babies done at about 1-month-old, and last weekend it was Ava's turn. It was sad to be the last time, but I'm so happy that we did it with every baby! We had a nice lunch at Chesecake Factory and then headed home. Christian took the girls to see "Gameplan" while I was out; we all had a fun day!
Ava is really starting to smile! She is very happy and content, but she isn't a super smiley baby. We really have to work for it, but when we get one it sure is cute! Maybe she will become more smiley, we'll see. I'm trying to catch a smile on film, but I havn't gotten one yet. Soon, I'm sure.
I've run into a glitch with childcare for my working hours. My friend Jennifer that has taken care of them for the last 4 years has epilepsy, and it has progressively gotten worse over the last couple of months. We both don't feel comfortable with her watching them. She has doctors working on trying to figure out the right dose and kind of medication for her, so she is seizure free again. She was for years, but for some reason her medication has not been effective lately. Please pray for Jen and her family. Right now I'm not sure what we are going to do. I don't have child care to go back to work and I'm supposed to back from maternity leave on Monday. We're still seeking. It's in God's hands....
1/8/08: Christian is on the front page of the health section in the Orange County Register newpaper today!! The Register put out a question, "Is there a movie that inspired you to exercise?" Christian responded by writing an article for them and his was the one chosen. They came to the house and took pictures of him. Click on the link below to read his article:
1/7/08: The girls are both back to school today after a nice long Winter Break. It was nice to have them home to be able to spend a lot of family time together- Christian took a week off.
I took Landon in to the doctor today. He had a really bad cold and was showing signs of the beginning stages of pink eye. The doc said his cold will have to run it's course and he gave me drops for his eyes. Poor thing, he sounds awful when he's coughing and there's nothing we can do about it. Hopefully it will clear up soon. While I was at the doctor, I asked if they could weigh Ava, just cause I was curious. She weighs 10 lbs., 9 oz. She has gained exactly 3 pounds since she was born. She's growing too fast for me!
This is our 2007 Christmas letter. This year it didn't make it out until today... better late than never!
January 4, 2008
Dear Friends and Family~
Everyone enjoys receiving a Christmas card and letter (even if it is 2 weeks late!) The month of December was such a busy month with the birth of Ava, 4 children on Winter break, and Christmas. Christmas cards and this letter were put off until now... but here it is. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!
The year 2007 was a great year for the Torresluna family. We took a family vacation during Madeline's Spring break. We went to Northern California for a week. We visited the Jones' families in Tulare and Sebastopol and then saw the Pologeorgis' and the Tamplins in Petaluma. We took a day trip down the coast of Bodega Bay to John Muir National Forest. That was a gorgeous drive! Norm and Sylvia Jones took a day trip to Grass Valley back to the camp "Wolf Mountain" where Christian worked during college summers. We rode horses and visited old friends while we were there. It was fun to see the kids on horseback! To end our vacation we spent the day in San Francisco sightseeing and going to the Bay
Christian is still working at First American Equipment Financing. He has had a fabulous year there- exceeding all his sales goals. He is working hard for our family and it's nice to see his hard work paying off! His job has taken him to New York three times and to Chicago later this month, and later in the year, he will travel to Texas and Louisiana. He really enjoys his work and it shows. He had the priveledge of coaching Madeline's softball team lat year and he will do it again this year. This year he will coach the team again and Emma is old enough to play too.
Madeline is 6-years-old and in the first grade. She adores anything that has to do with Hannah Montana or High School Musical. Although those things seem to be for older girls, Maddy still loves to play Barbies, Polly Pockets, and make-believe "house" with her baby dolls. She has an incredible imagination and dreams of being a pediatrician when she grows up. She is reading like the wind- loving picture books and chapter books too. Madleline is taking piano lessons with Christian's cousin, Robert. We all enjoy listening to her play.
Emma is 4-years-old and in her first year of preschool. She loves going to school and being a "big kid". She is reading and putting together 3 letter words. She wants to be able to read like her big sister- she's well on her way. Emma loves Dora the Explorer and High School Musical too. She is quite the singer. Hand her a microphone and she's in heaven. She is all girl! Emma loves make-up, nail polish, and shoes, shoes, shoes! She loves to play pretend with her baby dolls and she'll talk for hours on her toy phone. She is a hoot to watch and listen to while she plays!
Landon is 2-years-old and all boy! His loves right now are Lightning McQueen, Thomas the Train, and Superman. When he plays, he uses all kinds of sound affects, it's so cute! He almost always has a car in his hand no matter where we are. He loves his toys!! Landon is talking up a storm! He talks in complete sentences that are pretty clear for most people to understand. It's really fun to sit down and talk with him. He actually is quite the thinker!
Ava is1-month-old.. She has been the easiest baby! She hardly ever cries and is already smiling. Most people say that she resembles Emma the most...time will tell. Ava is our last baby. It has been hard to think about it that this was the last time to be pregnant, the last time to go into the delivery room, the last baby to wake up with in the middle of the night, the last one to nurse...the last baby. But, we're sure. God has blessed us with 4 wonderful healthy children, and we're thrilled with that! It's fun to have the sounds and smells of an infant in the house again. We'll treasure this time most knowing she's our last.
I love being Christian's wife and a mother of four! This is the life I dreamed of! Being a Mommy is the best job in the world! I am also still the Director of Children's Ministry at our church- going on 4 years now. I am in the office 3 mornings a week while childcare is provided by a good friend at the church. My work hours work well with the girls' school schedules and I still have plenty of time for our family. I couldn't ask for a better situation. I am doing my scrapbooking (I've actually already started Ava's album!) and I update our family website a couple of times a week with recent pictures and stories of our daily lives.
www.babyhomepages.net/thetorreslunafamily
You can check in on us via our website any time.
May the Lord bless your family this year. Have a Happy 2008!
1/4/08: Happy New Year! We rang in the New Year going to the see the floats from the Rose Parade with my Mom and Dad. It was extremely crowded, but lots of fun! We met them for lunch and then headed to Pasadena Community College to take a tram to see the floats. It was a total spur of the moment decision to even go. We had the parade on TV in the morning and Christian and I were talking and we just decided, "let's go!". We called up my parents to see if they wanted to meet us there and we were on the road within a 1/2 hour. The ultimate highlight of the day was the "Celebration of the Dodgers 50th Year". We are all big Dodger fans, so it was pretty cool that there was a float to represent them this year. They are all made with nothing but flowers, seeds, and shrubery. Everything smelled so good and they were so colorful. It was a day to remember!
Ava is now one month old. The time is passing so fast! She is out of newborn diapers and into size 1, the 0-3 month clothes are fitting her now, she smiled for the first time on her 1-month birthday, she's starting to coo a little bit, she holds up her head when she's up on our shoulder, and she's still a very pleasent baby! She is sleeping from 10:30PM til 4AM pretty consistently. She easily and quietly goes back down to sleep until about 7:30AM. Not bad; I can handle that! Part of me actually enjoys the middle of the night feeding because it's so quiet and I get her all to myself. I will miss it when she sleeps all the way through. I'm sure that's going to be within the next few weeks. She hasn't been weighed or measured lately. She doesn't have an apt. until her 2-month well-baby check-up. I'd guess she is around 10 pounds though. She's a delight!
12/31/07: The Going Away party for the Wards has been post-poned. Arlee has a drs. apt. that she needs to be at on Thurs. I will let you all know the new date as we arrange for another day. Stay tuned...
Happy New Year's Eve! We have the same plans as always. The guys drink and play video games while the ladies scrapbook. We all love it! We get babysitters and ring in the New Year with the Ross' and the Aguilars. It gets harder and harder every year to find childcare because we now have 10 kids between the 3 couples. When we started this tradition 8 years ago, none of us had any. Fun, fun, fun!
12/28/07: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! We had a wonderful Christmas! On the 23rd the kids had their Christmas musical at church. The girls did great, but Landon wouldn't go on stage. As soon as he came in, he saw Christian in the front row with the camera and the video camera and he wouldn't go any further. The teachers tried to pull him up the steps, but he just statrted screaming, "I want my Daddy!". So, they let him go. Oh well...maybe he'll do it next year. It was fun to see the girls singing and Maddy had a speaking part- they both did fabulous!
On the 24th we went to the Christmas Eve service and then to Christian's parents' house. They had a traditional Mexican pinata for Jesus' birthday. The girls loved it! Landon came down with a fever shortly after we got there. I don't know what it was from, but he's fine now. Tylenol brought it down and he was fine when it came time for presents. They all had a blast opening presents from the family... they were spoiled as usual! We had a very nice dinner; we were there until about 11PM! We jammied up the kids there cause we knew they would fall asleep in the car on the way home- and they did.
Christmas morning came early with Maddy coming into our room at 3AM to tell us what Santa brought them. We let Emma and Maddy look at their gifts from Santa and then sent them back to bed. All the kids were up at 6:30 ready to open presents. From Santa they got: Maddy- a Hannah Montana MP3 player. Emma- Dora the Explorer Vanity. Landon- Thomas the Train table and tracks. Ava- A gift basket of Baby shampoo, lotion, and washcloths. The 3 girls got a doll house with a note from Santa that they had to share it nicely. They also opened many presents from Mommy and Daddy too. They all got more than they needed! It was so much fun!
We stayed home in til the afternoon and then headed out to my Mom and Dad's house for Christmas dinner. We all opened many more presents there. The kids never get tired of that. Spoiled rotten- once again! Where are we going to put all these new things?!? The kids are not concerned about that! We spent the afternoon surrounded by lots of family there. Christmas night Madeline and Emma spent the night at Gramma and Papa's. Christian, Landon, Ava, and I spent the night at Tina's place.
Christian had the 26th off so we stayed and hung out with the Ekman's for the morning and then went to see the new house that Luis just moved into and will be the new house for him and Amanda once they are married. It is beautiful and the location is perfect! There is even a community park and community pool on their block. Congratulations Amanda and Luis!
We all have some time off before school and work resume after the New Year. We don't have any big plans, just hangin' out with family and relaxing in the New Year. Happy New Year to you all!
12/22/07: Jamie Ward and her "Love of 7" are moving from California to Mississippi in just a few short weeks. We want to share one more "Southern California BHP Playdate" with her family before they go. Everyone is welcome to join in! Bring your kiddos and come to Hullabaloos to let your kids "bounce around" while the Mommies can visit! E-mail me or Tina W. for the location and directions. Hope you can make it! ~Julie
12/18/07: Wow is it difficult to find time to sit down at the computer and add pix and stories lately?!? Ava is not a difficult baby at all, it's just so time consuming to have feedings, diaper changes, meals and snacks for the other kids, laundry, house keeping, dishes....and so on and so on.... Where does the time go?? Anyway, here I am.
Everyone is doing well. We are back in the girnd of being as busy as usual. We had 2 Christmas parties and a birthday party this past weekend. We managed to get a babysitter to go Christmas shopping and we made a visit to see Santa Clause. The kids are sooo excited for Christmas to come. They all still believe in Santa Clause. Christmas is so much fun when you have kids! I loved it before, but now- Wow!! It's so hard not to go crazy on presents for th kids. They want everything, and we want them to have a good Christmas. But, we've got to draw the line somewhere. After all, isn't Christmas really about a baby in a manger? Our children certainly know that Christmas is the day to celebrate the birth of Christ, but they get wrapped into the whole presents thing too. We just pray that we instill in them the love of Jesus and real reason to celebrate. But, I guess we can all use that reminder this hectic time of year.
Last night we went to see Santa at the mall. We have always brought our own camera to take pictures along with the photographer. This year, we couldn't have the camera out at all, not even the video camera! I was soooo upset! I wouldn't have gone to that mall if I knew that was the policy! Landon was so darn cute; I really wish we could have gotten him on video! Right when it was our turn, Landon marched right up to Santa and climbed in his lap- all smiles. He told him that he wanted a Thomas the train choo choo and that we would leave him cookies and milk. The girls each brought a list to read to Santa of what they want for Christmas. When it came time to take "the picture" Landon wan't as excited anymore and it was difficult to get Ava in the right position. The picture turned out fine- nobody was crying, but we would have gotten great pictures and video at the beginning when Landon was so happy to see Santa. Oh well, I guess it will remain in my memory forever and that will have to be it. The kids had a blast and that's what we were there for, not for fabulous pictures. I have to remind myself of that every once in awhile...lol!
12/14/07: Ava has a nick-name already. We call her "Squeaker". She makes these squeaky little sounds like a little mouse when she's awake or asleep. She sounds so cute! She is starting to have more and more awake time every day. After she eats she has been staying bright eyed and awake for about 15- 20 minutes. When she was born she slept all the time, so it's nice to see her awake some. She is such a good baby!! She hardly ever cries!
Madeline's piano recital was difficult. Maddy did great, but the other kids were hard to keep quiet. Little Miss Squeaker was ever so squeaky and Landon was talking up a storm! I took them out of the recital and waited outside the doors for almost the entire recital. Of course Emma wanted to play outside the doors too. I did see Madeline play her piece, but I didn't get to hear any of the other pieces. We left shortly after Madeline played; I think next year we'll get a babysitter. Christian suggested it for this year- and I said, "Oh, they'll be fine." I should have taken his advice!
12/12/07: Truckin' along here. The lack of sleep hasn't been too bad. It's wierd how on any other day living on 5 hours of sleep would be awful, but when you have a new baby- it's do-able! I am handling the sleep deprivation pretty well. I can doze in and out while I'm feeding her at night, so I guess I can count a few minutes extra throughout the feeding. All in all, we are doing great! I guess I'm still on an adrenaline high from the birth. I love my babies!!
The morning routine is going great! I have been feeding Ava when she wakes up around 4 or 5AM for a feeding and then I wake her up to feed her at 7:30 again. That way she is full and happy for the morning drop offs. The girls are doing really well at getting up and getting themselves ready for school. The three kids eat breakfast while I feed Ava. We have been out the door by 8AM every day so far. It's actually not as hard as I thought it was going to be.
Madeline has her piano recital tonight. She will be playing "Silent Night". She does a beautiful job with it. We will be sure to post a video of her playing. I forgot to mention... there was a drawing at Christian's work his first day back at work after Ava was born. The prize was a digital video camera. only the sales guys that were "on goal" were entered into the drawing. Guess what?!?!?... He won! What perfect timing! A new video camera with a new baby. Now we have all the photo/ media stuff we could ever ask for (well...in my opinion... Christian would say we still need an iMac and a flat panel TV, but I'm happy with what we've got! LOL!!). We're set!! Isn't that sooo cool!!??
12/9/07: Happy one-week birthday Ava! This week has gone by really fast! She is doing great! She was eating every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, but last night she went 4 1/2 hours straight! It was awesome to get that much sleep in a row! She is still eating often 2 1/2- 3 hrs. during the day, but at night, we'll let her go up to 5 hrs if she will... maybe she'll do it again tonight.
We started off the day with taking the whole family to church. We were'nt sure if we were going to go today, but we were all up and able to get out the door for church by 9AM, so we went for it. It was fun to show off Ava and hear all the oohs and awes of how gorgeous she is! It's so funny how many people say the exact same words, "You forget how little they were".. Christian and I just giggle inside every time we hear that cause it comes up soooo often! Too funny!
The transition of 3-4 children has actually been easier than the transition of 2-3. I'm not sure why, but I think it has to do with how independent and helpful the girls are. Also, I am used to the fighting that happens when I'm nursing, whereas when Landon was born, I wan't prepared for that. (Maddy and Emma can really go at it when I'm tied down to the sofa nursing). But, I guess I'm just used to it and can settle it without having to get up now.
I'm on my own for the first time tomorrow. I've had my mom or Christian with me so far, but tomorrow starts day 1 solo. I have morning carpool, and I've got to get Emma to and from school. We'll have to be out of the house by 8AM, aye yai, yai!!Wish me luck!
I'm loving having a baby in the house again! Ava is a delight!! We are all crazy about her!
12/6/07: Here we are on day 4 and still in absolute wonder at God's miracle of life! All of us are thrilled to have Ava at home with us. The kids don't seem to be jealous at all. They all want to be helpers and fully involved in everything for Ava- especially holding her.
My mom came out on Tuesday night and she's going home tomorrow afternoon. She has been such a big help; doing dishes, being up with Ava at night, picking up the house, driving to and from school... This morning when she was preparing and serving breakfast while I was finishing up the girls' hair; I was starting to imagine what mornings are going to look like after she goes home. The "before school routine" is all mine- kinda scary! I'm sure once we get into a routine it will become second nature, but "routine" doesn't mean much to Ava right now.
The nights have been pretty good, I guess. Ava was up every 2-3 hours. The first night home I stayed up to do a feeding at midnight and then Christian took her half awake and half sleeping on his chest til about 3:30 AM. Then I took the next shift til Landon was up at 5:45 AM. The girls were up by 6:15 and we were on our way to a new day. The next night was pretty much the same with the exception of Christian going back to work and my mom taking over part of the night. Ava loves to sleep on us or be held- uh-oh!! She doesn't do as well in her Moses basket, but she's getting the hang of it. Last night my milk "came in" all of a sudden around 10PM. I fed Ava around 11PM and she drained me (Thank God!!) and then went to sleep soundly until 3 AM. It was a very nice stretch of time to sleep. Her few feedings after that have been great; She's enjoying the feeling of a full tummy finally. The collostrum was good, but a full belly is better!
She had her 72hr. well baby check yesterday. The doctor says she looks perfect and doing great. She dropped to 6lbs. , 15 oz. But, that is to be expected for a breastfed baby. She won't have another appointment unless I feel one is necessary until her 2 month immunization appointment. She has the same pediatirition as Madleine, Emma, and Landon. I really like him!
Wasn't that a great update that Christian did?? His feelings are the same as mine- He's just a much better writer! We are both thrilled to have our four children, but sad at the same time for all of these "lasts" that keep happening every day. God has certainly blessed us in every way possible. I love my husband and my kids so very very much!!
Thank you to all of you for your kind words of encouragemnet to our family. It has been so much fun to come to the guesbook every day for the last couple of weeks and have numerous messages from all of our friends and family. Thank you for visiting. I can't wait to get back to visiting all of my friends' sites again. It's been a few days! (Thanks Jamie for making me my beautiful front page... I love it!)
I'll try to update often. I have hundreds of pictures to post, but it's hard to find a free moment right now. I'll post a few as soon as I have time. Love to you all, Julie (Proud Mommy of 4!)
Ava's Daddy here...I am so happy to have my new daughter home with us. She is so beautiful, I cannot wait to see her grow and come into her own character. Each of our children have such wonderful personalities. In fact in the last 3 errand runs I have done with Landon (grocery store, hardware store, barber, etc.) I was stopped several times and complimented on how good looking he is and how charming he was. (takes after me).
As happy as I am to welcome Ava, I am also well aware of a sadness I feel. I am overcome with saddness in that this will be the last time I get to watch my beautiful wife deliver one of our children. To watch with bewilderment at how this woman can love me so much that she would go through so much to give birth to one of our children. It will be the last time I hear the cries of labor and tears of joy coming from Julie. The last time that I watch her mom coach her with such love through delivery. The last time that I watch her sister lovingly tend to Julie's needs, thinking of each detail that I would never have thought of. The last time that I will hear my baby's first cry. The last time that I will smell my newborn child. The last time that I will get to reach for that child and pull her from the womb and place her on my wife's chest. The last time that I will get to bring my baby home and dance with her to "our song." The last time that I will hold my child so small on my chest in the middle of the night and listen to them breath. The last time that a newborn's cries will echo in the walls of our home. The last time that my child's tiny newborn hand will wrap tightly around my finger. The last time that I will with awe and wonder at how precious and small that little nose and mouth are. This is our last time. My last time to hold my new gift from God and feel the awe and wonder of God's creation wrapped up in the tiny frame of a small baby. All my children are precious. But holds the special place in my heart as the youngest and last child. I am happy to have four children and do not want more but I am sad also know that I will never experience this again. Perhaps there will be a new and special sweetness to experiencing this as a grandparent. For the moment I will savor every moment of these days and will forever remember them with great fondness. I had no idea that I would feel this way.
12/03/07, 9PM. We are home! Jen Landers was wonderful at taking care of Madeline, Emma and Landon! I had no doubt that they would be well taken care of and happy to be home with Jen. She got here in record time. She had just arrived home form Disneyland (10 minutes from my house) before she had to turn around and drive back to Orange County from Ventura for us. Thanks Jen, We love you!!!
We arrived home tonight at about 5 PM. Christian only gets 2 days off of work- today being one of them. He spent the night and the morning with me and Ava at the hospital and then came home to spend the day with Landon and to pick up the girls from school. They came back to the hospital around 4PM. It's nice to be home. I missed my babies!!! I was also concerned about how Landon was going to react to a new baby and me being gone for so long. He's adjusting well and so are the girls. They are all crazy about Ava; dying to be the next one to hold her!
It's sad for me knowing that this is our last baby. Christian is planning on getting a vasectomy in the next couple of months. I've been preparing myself that this is the last for the last 9 months. I have treated every thing with the knowledge of "we'll never do this again". After Ava was born Christian was all teared up saying, "Do you realize that this will be our last time in the delivery room?" Tonight he was holding Ava and he sadly said, "Wow, this is the last time we're going to have a first night home with a new baby!!" It shocked me how emotional and sad he is that Ava is our last baby. He keeps saying, "I can't believe this is the last..." I thought it was only me feeling this way. We are not changing our mind or anything; it's just surprising to me that it is hitting him too. Our family is truly complete...wow!
Ava is doing wonderfully. She is eating and sleeping well. She doesn't cry much. As Tina noted, she had an exceptional night last night sleeping from 1:30- 7:30AM, but, I certainly don't think we'll see a night like that again for at least a month. It sure was nice though! We have had all 3 of the kids so far sleeping a good 8-10 hours by 6 weeks old. We hope that Ava will follow suit.
I love being a wife and a mom. It was my dream as a child to have a big family and now I've got it. I have a wonderful husband and 4 precious children. I love my life!
PS. Thank you Jen and Tina for updating my site. It looks beautiful!!
December 03, 2007 2:59pm ~ I talked to Julie this morning and she was telling me that her day went so well yesterday and that she was looking forward to the kids meeting their new little sister. They kids came by after their nap to meet Ava; when they arrived Ava had just been taken to the heating lamps because her temp had gone down. The nurses said that they would bring her back when her temp had reached 37c. So when an hour had passed they brought Ava back into the room. Julie said, she was so touched when all the children were together. You know there's just that extra somethin' in your heart as a mom when you see all your babies together....
I have to tell you something real great. Julie and Christian have their children on a sleeping schedule as soon as they come out of the womb. Let me briefly tell you how it works. You feed them every 3 hours during the day. Then when you are getting ready to go to bed; you give your infant a last feeding and then put them down to sleep and see how long they can sleep through the night. It's teaching them to sleep through the night. I had 2 babies at home when she had Madeline, so I wasn't totally sold on it. But with all the children they have done so well. Well you are not going to believe this one.... Julie fed Ava ( she latched on like 5 minutes after she gave birth to her) and then every 3 hours after. Then gave her her last feeding at 1:30am. Well guess how long Ava slept? 6 hours! Isn't that amazing. Julie and Christian slept 6 hours her first night. Now do you believe me when I tell you that Julie is an amazing mom!?!
Julie also said that she was going home at noon today. But I talked to her again at 1:50pm and she said that Christian would come and pick her up at about 4pm.
Julie wants to thank you for all your comments and congratulation.
December 03, 2007 ~ Tina here: Just wanted to let you all know Julie did a wonderful job in pushing Ava Claire into the world yesterday. 1 push and we could see her head crowning, 2nd push she was OUT! Beautiful! Christian got to be right there to help deliver his baby girl. That was amazing. It's not the first time he was able to help deliver one of his children. It wasn't any less exciting or amazing either. Ava is so adorable. She is just perfect. Her skin nice and pink and just beautiful. What can I say, except I am a proud Auntie. I can't wait for Julie or Christian to get those pix up. I took over 200 by the way. I just have to say one more time, Julie was amazing. She hadn't slept since her nap on Saturday afternoon. She said it was a good nap. But what's 2 hours. I haven't yet spoke to Julie yet. I am sure she is still sleeping.
Dec.2nd: 3:15 AM. I have been having contractions for about an hour. I called my mom and Jen Landers to come to the house. They will be driving from over an hour away, so hopefully I can wait that long before Christian and I leave for the hospital. I have a couple other people "on call" to come and watch the kids. I had some contractions while we were watching a movie last night, but they were around 8-10 min. apart. We went to bed (well tried to anyway)They started up again harder and more regular around 2:30 AM. My contractions now are 4-5 minutes apart. They are a little painful, but not bad. Christian called labor and delivery and they said to come on in as soon as we are ready. Tina will be updating as the morning goes on.... Love to you all, Julie
6:00am. Tina here, I just talked to my mom and they are all at the hospital. They are in the room now and the nurses checked Julie and she is dialated at a 6. Let's keep Julie in our prayers. She hasn't had any sleep. Went to bed but never slept. Let's hope she can get some zzzz's in before she has to push.
9:42 am This is Jennifer (bhp/wilsonj94) ... Tina decided to go to the hospital to be with Julie. Julie is still at a 6 (almost 7) and is next in line for her epidural. Julie is doing really good!! Tina is sending pics from her phone so keep checking back for a picture of Ava!!
9:50 Julie is getting her epideral!! Yah!!!
10:26 Julie has gotten the epideral and it is working great... She is "transitioning" into hard labor right now and the nurse is going to break her water...
11:21 Julie getting some rest... Epiderals are wonderful!!
12:38 IT'S TIME TO PUSH!!! AVA IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!
12/1/07: Here we are, December 1st and still waiting for our little princess! I have my appointment on Monday with my OB. We'll see what she says. I think we will set an induction date that day, but give Ava a few days to come on her own. After all, all our kids came by 2 days past their due date. So, maybe we'll set the date for Wed. or Thursday to give her a chance to make her debut without our help.
12/1/07: Christian here... A dream 15 years in the waiting. I am going to go see Garth Brooks. He is back in L.A. and the last time I saw him was in 1992 with my cousin Robert just days after the Rodney King Riots in South Central LA. Imagine 25 thousand cowboys showing up at the Great Western Forum. Julie and I are very excited to go. Although, I think I am more excited. This guy's music has greatly influenced my life. I cannot wait to see him again. The only thing better would be to meet him in person. But then I would probably cry and faint like a Japanese school girl at a Michael Jackson concert!
The tickets went on sale at 9AM. We got 4 of them at 9:01 and they were sold out by 9:05!
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