JC Penny Photo Shoot

Oh how sweet it is to be loved by these precious little ones and to Love them back!

I am glad I was able to capture them at 4 years old, almost 18 months and 8 weeks.

The photo shoot went ok.  My mom came and helped and Celia was not all that excited and Xander just wanted to make funny faces.  

Life is moving along.  Xander loves Computer games, especially Dragon Vale, that is a free App on the ipad.  It has become somewhat of a family obsession.  It has given Jeremy and Xander something to talk about which has been great.  Celia loves the ipad too.  "Pad" "Pad"  when she sees it.  She will go right to her Apps and I have experienced my first sibling wars over the ipad.  

Olivia is a gem.  Best Baby ever.  Love her.  Snuggle her.  Kiss on her.  She is always happy.

Celia still wakes up in the middle of the night.

Olivia sleeps through the night, most nights.

Best Baby Ever.

Playing in the Snow and building a Snow Bear

We were supposed to have a Blizzard March 9th 2013 but it really was not one.  The snow was good enough to make a Snow Bear though.  Xander, Jeremy and I had fun playing out in the snow.  I can't wait for more days like this, when we can play as a family.  Jeremy is getting closer and closer to being done with school.  This has been a fun chapter in our lives.  Living with my parents has helped so I can enjoy and get my babies here.  It has helped so that Jeremy can get a degree and hopefully give us the chance at a better future for our family.  Life is good and can only get better.

 

I am so thankful for the gift of my children and the opportunity to be a Mom! I love how Xander remembers things.  Like, after we were done playing in the snow and building a snowbear, we went to the backyard and Xander said, "Mom, Lets make paths in the snow and pretend we are animals like we did last year".  He is only four years old and we did that when he was three and we only did that one time.  I can't believe he can  remember some of the things he remembers!

The weather is getting warmer and I am excited to be outside a lot more with all three of my treasures.  I am so excited to not be pregnant this summer and just be able to enjoy the babies and have as much simple fun as we can.  

PS.  Xander is not crying in these pictures, he just makes funny faces.  HA HA!  One day, he will bless me with taking a good picture with his Mama!

Olivia the first month

Olivia is such a sweet baby.  She is very patient and sleeps well, which allows me to give more attention to Celia and play with Celia, because she needs the attention and love, to give her the security she needs to know that I love her just as much as the new baby.

Xander is a big helper with the baby, I am always asking him to get me stuff or feed Olivia her bottle in the back of the car.  I have decided to put the Medela pump to good use with Olivia and have mostly pumped and fed.  I get two 5oz bottles every time I pump, so I have been able to freeze a lot too.  I should be able to stop pumping at 4 months and have enough milk frozen to last another 4 months is the goal, but we will see for sure.  Can you say MOO!  I am very fortunate to have so much milk to feed this little one and pumping is not that big of a deal because I get so much and I am not always pumping. 

I am just thankful that the family can be more involved with the baby this time around.  Olivia is such a peaceful baby and I love to hug and snuggle her.  I am so glad to have her here and healthy!

Celia 16/17 months

Celia has adjusted fairly well to this new little sister of hers.  She loves to help feed the baby and hold the baby and gets excited and says "baby"  whenever she is in the room.  She has started saying all sorts of words, like "Mama" Daddy" "Purple" "Red" "Blue" "Yellow" and of course CANDY and COOKIE!  She is also very good at shaking her head NO!  

She is such a little Chipmunk too!  She loves to store food in her mouth and then spit it out when she no longer wants to store it in her mouth anymore.

She loves to dance with her brother and has gotten into watching Nick Jr.  Dora and Team Umi Zoomie are her favorites.  She also gets so excited when the Winx Fairy Commercial comes on and sings along!  

Celia is an outside bug! She gets mad when someone else goes somewhere and she can't go.  She does not really want to go anywhere, she just wants to be playing outside.

I love her cute little faces she makes with her big brown eyes.  Even though she is just barely 17 months, they let her come into Nursery at church and so far so good!  

Our little Chick-a-dee is growing up!  It is fun that Xander is getting a sibling to play with a little more.  We love our Celia!

Olivia's Birth Story

Three Children here and I am feeling complete.  Maybe.  There is always room for one more, but right now my heart is full.  I am thankful for my 3 precious children.  Olivia Rose Johnson arrived on a Tuesday afternoon Feb. 5th 2013, just before noon.  She weighed in at 7.9oz and was 21 some inches long.  She looks a lot like her brother and sister with a little more hair then Xander had and not as much as Lucelia had. 

I woke up Monday morning with Contractions.  They were about 5 min apart and lasting about 30sec.  I had Jeremy stay home from his Monday morning work meeting but sent him off to school because the contractions died off.  Only coming every 10 to 20 min.  We hired my niece Megan to be our Nanny for a few weeks and she showed up about 10:30am.  We waited for Xander to get home from Preschool and then we drove around and I showed her all the different places that she would have to take him.  I kept having contractions.....but nothing consistent.  Jeremy kept calling and asking if I was going into Labor.  "No sweetie"  Come home if you want but I don't think this is it.  Nothing consistent.  He came home.

We had yummy steak sandwiches for dinner and then Jeremy and I decided to go walk around the mall.  The contractions came stronger if I walked around.  We went to go buy a baby wrap, and they did not have them.  I saw a kiosk in the mall that was doing eyebrow plucks with thread and it was only 12 dollars so I figured what the heck.  I kept on having contractions and they were stronger and closer, and my eyebrows looked wonderful.

We decided to go to another store in Westminster to get the wrap, they had them.  Contractions were coming stronger.  Some workers asked if I was in Labor as I made pain faces as we were walking around.  Jeremy enthusiastically replied yes.  We made everyone happy.  There is something about new babies and women in Labor, that makes people happy.  I am glad they were happy.  I was in pain.

We came home and I told Jeremy, I would call the doctor if the contractions kept coming until 8:30pm.  They kept coming.  I stood up to call and I felt a trickle down my leg.  The Doctor said to go to the hospital for a Labor check and fluid check.

When we arrived at the hospital and they put me on the monitor, my contractions stopped.  Nothing.  I told the nurse that they were stronger, if I walked around.  She told me to get up and walk around for an hour.  So Jeremy and I walked around for an hour and the contractions came back.

I was at a 4 and since I tested positive for Group B strep and wanted to put me on Antibiotics, they kept me!  I thought for sure that they would put me on PIT to keep the contractions steady, like they did for my last two babies, but they didn't and the contractions kept coming.  My body was doing its job, all on its own!   My goal was to make it to a 6 or a 7 before I took the epidural and I did it.  It was painful and I really did not have husband support as he was asleep on the couch and a little grumpy, but he tried.

I kept getting different nurses.  One came in about 5 in the morning and checked me and said I was at an 8 and that I would for sure be having this baby in the next hour.  I was so excited and proud of my little body, but my little body stalled.  My contractions slowed down and I didn't see another nurse until like 7am.  Jeremy and I started to get frustrated with every text from family members asking if I had had this little bundle yet.

I began to go into c-section mode and negative thoughts once again began to enter my mind.  I was not progressing.  On a positive note, the baby Olivia was doing GREAT!  Her heart rate was wonderful the whole labor which was a problem with both Celia and Xander.

The Doctor came in and said they were going to put me on PIT to pick up the contractions and see what happens.  So we waited and waited and they came back about 10:30am and increased my PIT again.  The nurse told me to buzz her, if I felt pressure.  About 11:20am, I thought I felt pressure, I did have an epidural afterall and was not exactly sure what pressure felt like.

The nurses came in and I was at a 10 and +1!  I was ready to push!  The nurse called the doctor and said we are going to start pushing.  Well I pushed one time and had the baby most of the way out.  So she hurried and called the doctor back and said, we need you now! 

I had to wait for 2 contractions before the doctor arrived and one more push and my beautiful baby girl was on my stomach and not in it anymore.  It was the  most spiritual experience this time around.  Jeremy and I both cried.  I did not cry for the other two.  I think maybe knowing that this was probably the last time I was going to experience this as a mortal brought tears to my eyes.

I am so thankful to be able to be a mother.  It makes me wonder if the birth experience is the same in Heaven, or will it be more Heavenly? 

So many wonderful things to look forward to, with this little princess.  She is a gem.  Good eater, sleeper, pooper, farter.  Her body works and it keeps her happy, which means, I get enough sleep and feel happy to enjoy my other kids.

I have also been blessed to have Megan Downs be with us for the last 3 weeks and entertain and drive the other two jewels around.  I have been able to enjoy this little new one to the fullest! 

I love my family!  God is great!  Jesus is my Savior and I owe all to him.