Picture Day

Today was picture day for the Dance Depot. It is so fun to share these experiences with Harlee. So blessed to have this little girl! I love when I get an excuse to mascara those beautiful lashes of hers. What a babe she is! The pictures went great. She did great on her single picture. So funny when they did their group shot. By the end end they all had the forced smiles.. Can't wait to get those back!

Breakfast of Champions

Last night Joey brought home otter pops from the store. The kids were so sad that they could not eat them right away. So this morning they begged for otter pops for breakfast. I agreed they could have them after breakfast. Nothing beats an otter pop at 8:00am in the morning! You so have to pick your battles- especially when you have 5 kids!

Tag is 1 month old

Tag is already a month old! I cannot believe how quickly the time is going. Tag is seriously the best baby. He sleeps a lot which is making this five kid thing a little easier! We are just loving him and feel so blessed that he is in our family.

Tryathalon

Friday was the Traverse Mountain Elementary Tryathalon! The kids have three events that they get to participate in and everyone is a winner! They first get to jump rope, then ride the scoot board, and then run. Luke had his in the morning at 10am. I recruited Grandma to join us and we all went to watch Luke. Then Harlee's turn was at 2pm. Aunt Jenna was nice enough to come over and watch Nash and Gray. I was able to go with just Tag. They both did so well. It was fun to watch them "Try" their best at each of the events.

Weight Check and 3 weeks old

On Friday we took Tag in for a weight check. He had lost quite a bit of weight in the NICU and Dr. Stampfl wanted to make sure he was gaining weight. So I took him in and he is going great! Here are his new stats:

Weight: 7lbs 7oz
Height: 20 3/4 in

So Tag gained 9 ounces now weighing 1 ounce more than when he was born. He has also grown 1/4 inch. What a good boy! We are seriously in love with this little guy. He is kind of a dream baby. He hardly ever cries and is just such a blessing to have in our family. Everyone just loves him. It is hard to believe he is already 3 weeks old. Time sure flies when you are exhausted! The joy sure outweighs the tiredness. Talk about ending on a good note!

Moments

This week was Spring Break and to be honest, I was a bit nervous. Way to throw me into the mom of five kids role! Wednesday rolled around and it was a pretty good day. I went to Chilis and got dinner to go. It was kids eat free day so for $23.00 we all enjoyed a yummy dinner. After dinner we turned on music and the kids started dancing. It was so fun to watch them all have fun together. Then Joey and I pretended to slow dance. Harlee said it looked like we were getting married! See Joey, even Harlee knows you dance at weddings! Then Harlee climbed on Joey's feet to dance with him. Such a fun moment. I do not take these special moments for granted. They are blessings that remind me that through the craziness there is so much good. I am so grateful for my family. I could not love them more and thank my Heavenly Father often for all He has blessed me with.

Long Day

It was such a nice day and the kids played out back for a long time. Around 3pm Nash came back in and sat down by the ottoman to watch TV. I was sitting on the couch feeding Tag and noticed Nash was being very quiet. I looked over to find him asleep. This kid can fall asleep anywhere. The second we get in the car to go anywhere in the afternoon Nash is out. I so wish I had that sleeping talent!
PS- Love that he is always wearing his favorite hat!

Easter Egg Hunt

For Easter, the kids usually get to have two egg hunts. One at Mimi and GP's and the other at Grandma and Grandpa's. They really look forward to this. Due to the fact that Tag cannot be around a ton of people we opted to stay home and do our own hunt this year. We even put money in ten of the eggs. The kids had so much fun finding the eggs and seeing who got the most money! Nash was the financial winner- guess he really is like his Dad! Joey always wins in his family's egg hunt!

Here are a few more pics:

Easter Clothes

I knew that things might be a little crazy this Easter feeling that Tag would come early so I ordered their clothes at the beginning of March. Joey has tried to convince me that all the kids do not need to match. I am fine with them not all dressing the same but I love to color coordinate their outfits. I stayed home with Tag but Joey took the other four to church. How cute are they? So lucky that they are mine.

Easter Morning

Easter Morning was wonderful! The kids woke up anxious to go downstairs and see what the Easter Bunny had brought. This year he put their baskets in the front room. He really enjoyed the salad that was left for him! Each of the kids got a new shirt, a new movie and lots of treats. Tag got some new bottles, baby lotion, and two new binkies.

I am so grateful for the opportunity Easter gives me to reflect on my love for my Savior. As I look around our home at each of our children and my Joey, I am so eternally grateful for the opportunity His sacrifice gives me to live as a family forever. I will do all that I can to make sure I am worthy of this great blessing.

Tag's 2 week appointment

Yesterday I took Tag to see Dr. Stampfl for his two week appointment. Joey was off and it was so nice to be able to Tag and have a quiet appointment. Dr. D kept commenting on how quiet it was. He is use to me bringing the whole group for appointments. He checked Tag out and said he looked great. Here are his stats:

Weight: 6 lbs 14 oz - 20%
Height: 20 1/2 inches- 50%

He is by far our smallest baby. He is gaining weight though which is a relief. He has already gained 3 oz since leaving the NICU 3 days earlier. The poor guy had to have his circumcision. I always feel so bad but know that they will thank me later. It made for a little cranky Tag through the night but he has already returned to his mellow self. He is seriously our best baby. We feel so blessed! I am taking him for a weight check next Friday and just pray he will continue to grow.

Luke's Field Trip to Clark Planetarium

Yesterday Luke got to go on his class field trip to the Clark Planetarium in downtown Salt Lake. I was a little nervous for him to drive all that way on a bus, especially on a snowy day. But I loosened the apron strings a bit, packed him a lunch, and he was on his way. He had such a good time. He said that his favorite part was this place you could walk through that was like Mars. There were moon rocks and real lava rocks from Mars! I love to listened to Luke talk about everything he is learning. Luke has been blessed with the gift of retention. If someone tells him something he easily remembers it. Before he left in the morning he was telling us all about black holes and other things dealing with astronomy. He is such a smart boy. I am so thankful that he takes after his dad in that department. So grateful that Luke goes to such a good school where he gets to learn so much and experience all these wonderful things.

Tag's First Bath (at home)

I had anticipated having Joey home all week to help adjust to five kids but he had to work on Wednesday and Thursday. Balancing the kids is quite overwhelming and I look forward to all of this becoming our new normal. Harlee is just in love with Tag and started begging me from the moment we got up to give Tag a bath. She was so excited to get him in a new outfit. So around 11am I gave in. We woke up the little guy and gave him his first bath at home. I LOVE the smell of a clean baby. He fussed a little but he was good once we were done. He is just such a mellow guy. Seriously love him!

Our Family is Complete

Today was the best day! We got the news that our little Tag could come home. Feels so good to have our family complete. He is such a beautiful little guy and we are just loving him. So many prayers have been answered. He is doing great. It is so nice to know that our whole family is under one roof. The kids are loving him and begging him to wake up every minute. I know that it is going to be crazy and busy but I know that so many blessings will come. So grateful for the divine push to have one more child. I honestly do not know how we ever felt complete without Tag.

Gray LOVES Buzz

Gray is probably the most willing of all our kids to independently play. His toy of choice these days is Buzz Lightyear. Luke always loved Buzz and we saved all the many toy story toys we had bought and Gray loves them. A few weeks ago Joey bought Gray some Toy Story PJ's. He would wear these day and night if we would let him. Yesterday Joey had taken all the kids except Gray to Luke's soccer game. I was trying to get a little laundry done and the next load was to include Gray's favorite jammies. So he pulled his buzz shirt out of the pile and he was no where to be found. I went around the house calling his name and finally found him sitting on the stairs clutching his favorite shirt. I finally talked him into putting it in the washing machine but after he stood at the washer and cried, regretting his decision. He is such a funny kid and I am loving all the little quirks that make him our Gray!

The beat of his own drum

Nash has become quite independent. Thank goodness since we have another little one who needs our attention. Nash loves to wake up and get dressed. He will go find a diaper, jeans and one of his favorite short sleeve t-shirts. He has so many nice shirts but there are about 5 shirts he loves to rotate through and it is impossible to sway his choices! Lately he has been insisting on wearing one white and one black sock. Love his Independence, love his originality!

Tongue Tied

First Harlee



Then Gray



Now Tag



have all been tongue tied. We are not sure where this issue comes from but it definitely runs in the family. Harlee did not get clipped until she was four. This I feel has been the cause of some of her speech difficulties. I have always wondered if Gray was because when he sticks his tongue out it forks. He also does not talk very much. When I took him to the dentist a few months ago the dentist confirmed it. Because he might need to be sedated for the process, the dentist wants to wait to have it done in June when he is two. I hope that goes well! Tag's tongue tie issue was found early and I know this is a blessing. The doctor said that the younger they are the easier. His was clipped last night and it is so nice to have that done. I cannot wait until Gray's procedure is done and this little issue will be a memory. So grateful for insurance!

Tag is Here!

What a crazy week it has been. I have been meaning to write down the story of our little Tag's birth and finally found a few minutes to do it. Let me just say Tag is our little miracle!

It was early Thursday morning, March 22ND, around 3am when I started having contractions. They were pretty hard and regular. I got the kids ready for school and breakfast done, trying to ignore the pains that were coming every 4-5 minutes. I called Joey around 9am and told him that the contractions were pretty regular. Since I had been in the hospital over and over again, I really hesitated to go to the hospital with fear of being sent home. So my neighbor Lacie came in checked me. She said that I was dilated to a 3-4 but the baby's head was really low. The contractions were really strong so I humbled myself and asked Joey to come home while his mom drove up to watch the kids.

We got to the hospital around 12:30pm and the contractions were coming. The nurse checked me and said that I was a 4 1/2 and 60% efface. She said she was going to watch me for another hour and check me again. She came back in an hour and said that I was still a 4 1/2 but the baby's position had changed. She talked to the doctor and they decided to watch me another 2 hours. The contractions were coming but not as strong and I was so afraid that they might send me home. I worried that the next time I would not make it back to the hospital to have this little guy. So after 2 hours I had changed to a 5 and they said I needed to stay.

From this point on things started moving quickly. They started pitocin to speed up the contractions, broke my water, and gave me my epidural. They kept checking me and they were concerned about the baby. They said that they could feel his head but it was not the top of his head. They called in Dr. Wolsley and he said what he could feel was Tag's forehead. He was coming down the birth canal with his head tilted back. They said that sometimes when they invert a breech baby, which they had done the week before, they present this way. He said that I could try pushing the baby out but I needed to know that I might need to have a c-section. I had hoped to deliver vaginally but I wanted to do what was best for little Tag.

Around 11pm I was complete and ready to go. When they had checked me only 30 minutes before I was a 7! Talk about progress! I was a little shocked and nervous but excited to meet our little guy. So I started pushing. With each of the other kids I only pushed a couple of times and they were here. This was not quite the same. I pushed for 45 minutes. I was so tired and wondered if I could keep trying. I looked over at my sweet Joey and he had tears in his eyes. He knew that this was so hard for me-love him. The doctor said that the pushing was bringing him down but whenever I stopped pushing he would go back up in the canal. Since his heart rate was dipping a little they decided I should have a c-section. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect. But Joey and I trusted the doctor and knew he would lead us in the best interest of our baby. I was prepped and moved to the operating table within minutes. I was nervous but felt such peace to have Joey by my side. I just kept my eyes on him and he told me that this was going to be so easy! I just got to lay there and the doctor would do all the work! Within minutes I could smell the burning flesh- kind of gross, but all that disappeared when I heard Tag's little cry. Such relief! I told Joey to go and be with Tag while the finished up. I felt good and knew that Tag needed him more than me.

I thought it would just be a few minutes to close me up but that few minutes turned into an hour. I was so nauseous and threw up continually. I felt so bad for the anesthesiologist who had to clean up that mess. He was so nice. So after a few minutes I heard the doctor yell "Where is her husband? I need consent." In my barely coherent state I still knew this did not sound good. Consent to close me up? So then the nurse said that he was with Tag so the doctor asked me if I was awake. He told me that he found a tumor on my ovary and felt that my whole ovary would need to be removed. What? So scary but I gave him my permission. After what felt like an eternity I was wheeled by the NICU to see Tag. He was doing good but just struggling a little to breathe. Then they took me back to my room. Joey was there and he told me that he had talked to the doctor. The doctor had told Joey that my uterus had torn on both sides. He repaired that also while I was in the OR. He said that if I had continued to push I could have bled out. So so scary. He said that if they had not tied my tubes he would have told us that we could not have anymore children.

At that moment, I just knew that everything was going to be OK. Whatever the next few days or weeks would bring, I knew the outcome would be good. I knew that Heavenly Father was watching out for our family. I had felt from the beginning that he was breech for a reason. I felt that due to that position he was able to stay in me longer. Then when they inverted him it led to a c-section. This was such a blessing. The doctor told me the next day that had they not done the c-section, they would never have found the tumor. He felt that it would be benign but could have grown into something very serious. Also the uterus tearing could have had a much scarier outcome. Also, with the doctor telling us that it would be too dangerous to have another, confirms our decision to have the tubal. Tag is our little miracle that truly saved my life. I know my Heavenly Father loves me. He is watching over our family. I know that our faith to have one more child helped bring about all these blessings and the greatest blessing is our little Tag.

Tag Canyon Childs weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was born on March 23 and 12:05am. He has been in the NICU for 9 days so far but we hope he will be home soon. He was on the CPAP breathing machine for 4 days. When they would take him off he would retract and really struggle. On Monday morning they had an ENT look at him. Dr. Robins scoped him and felt that everything looked good except for some extra tissue around his voice box. He said that if he could not get off the cpap we might need to send him to Primary Children's for a laryngoscopy. (This is what they had thought Gray might need done when he got his tonsils out.) I was nervous but it was nice to have a plan. On Tuesday morning, my favorite nurse Vicki called and said that he was looking and acting so much stronger. Dr Cheetum decided to try to take him off the CPAP and he has not gone back on since. We are just trying to get him to eat and then he can come home. He is doing well but seems to struggle to eat and it tires him out. Yesterday they called and suggested that he might be tongue-tied. I did not doubt it with the family history. The only doctor that clips baby's tongues just happened to be on that night. Within 3 minutes the procedure was done and Tag did great. When I called to check on him in the middle of the night he had taken a whole bottle! What a miracle this all has been. I know that Tag is in the right place and really feel that he will be home soon. I do not want to get my hopes up but all the doctors feel it will be sometime next week.

I cannot wait to have our complete family home together. I know that it will be crazy but I also know that the blessings will come. I am so so grateful for this little guy and already wonder how I ever felt complete without him. Love you Tag!

*This picture is a few days after he was born. Figuring this was not the real labor time, we did not grab the camera. Joey took lots of video on the IPAD but no pics. Doesn't he look just like Nash!