November Happenings

Brandon got two weeks off for paternity leave (paid leave, i.e., they gave him 80 billable hours), so it was awesome to have him home, and I hope he got a good break from work.  While he was home, he completed a "to-do list" for me, worked on some wood projects, and helped a ton with all the kids.  He also took Andrew and Rachel each on one-on-one "dates".  Rachel had been working all month to earn her date with dad (sticker chart ~ complete her daily chores).  She got to go to Skateland (similar to Classic Skating in Orem) and have pizza, soda, ice cream, etc.  I think skating was harder work than she anticipated, but daddy made the night a lot of fun.

When we asked Andrew what he wanted to do on a date with dad, he kept talking about a bus so we decided to have them ride the city bus to the mall.  There they played at the playground, ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A, and rode around on these motorized animal carts.  They had a great time, until they got on the wrong bus trying to get home!  Brandon figured the route would loop back to the mall, but the bus driver needed to take a 30 minute break at his last stop, so Brandon and Andrew needed to be rescued!  Us girls jumped in the car and went and picked them up.  Andrew thoroughly enjoyed the "long" bus ride and date with dad.  And Rachel and I enjoyed laughing at them for getting on the wrong bus.

The second weekend in November, my parents came to visit.  Initially, it was just going to be my mom but apparently my dad was chomping at the bit to come down too and see the kids, so my mom cancelled her flights and they drove down together.  And according to my dad, mom was driving like Mario Andretti (I guess grandkids are a good incentive to get from Orem to Mesa fast!).

I'm so glad my dad was able to come - he was so sweet with Kendall and so complimentary as always. My mom kept Andrew and Rachel completely entertained and they followed her wherever she went.  They all went to the zoo, and got spoiled rotten there (train, carousel & camel rides).  And I enjoyed an afternoon of peace and quiet with Kendall!

On Saturday morning, mom and dad wanted to take the kids to Golden Corral for breakfast and wanted to know if Brandon and I wanted to come.  We politely declined, and sent them on their way - laughing under our breath knowing full well what a disaster that would be with Rachel and Andrew - no way we wanted to go!  Sure enough, they came home both exhausted and I don't think either of them got to eat an entire meal since they were so busy with the kids.  Brandon and I avoid taking the children out to eat at all costs - particularly a buffet!  My dad said that it was as if Andrew had a "food-cannon" and that food was flying everywhere.  The whole situation sounded like a nightmare, and I'm so glad we missed it!  ha ha ha  Thanks to my mom and dad for being so sweet to them.

That same weekend, Brandon got the kids all ready to go to Stake Conference and packed an outstanding church bag with all sorts of goodies in it (Stake Conference is tough with two little ones).  I selfishly was looking forward to some alone time at home with Kendall (Am I the only one that loves to be home alone?!  Even better if the house is clean and I'm alone in it!).  Anyway, they got in the car and the garage door wouldn't open.  The spring had broke, and we have an old wood door so there was no way to lift it and both our cars were inside the garage.  We were stuck and everyone hauled back in the house.  We had someone come out to look at it, and apparently for all the work that needed to be done on our old garage door, it was going to be around $400.  When I inquired about a brand new garage door, the standard ones were only $650 (great deal!) - so we opted for that route.  They couldn't come until the next day, so we planned for Brandon to walk to the bus stop and take an express bus to downtown, then catch the train up to his work.  He headed out the door, but then showed up back at the house 25 minutes later.  The buses weren't running due to Veterans Day!!  Oh no!  He had no way to get to work, so I started scrambling to think of people who might be headed to Phoenix.  Meanwhile, Brandon started taking off the garage door.  I was super nervous about him taking down those huge, heavy panels by himself, but he was a man on a mission, and pulled down the top two panels which was enough for the two of us to lift it up to get the cars out.  The kids and I stuck around since we had a large garage door window with the top two panels off until they were able to install a new one.

Andrew's date with dad to the mall

Andrew & Rachel riding a camel at the zoo

Dad was given the job to wake her up.  I think it's going well. 

Kendall with dad, 2.5 weeks

They've been playing so well together!

Kendall, 4 weeks old

Cute sisters!

3 weeks with 3

3 weeks in and we're still doing great!  I've technically only been by myself last week and Kendall is still very sleepy, so I can still get "lots" done (as much as you can get done with a cute newborn around to cuddle).  And she sleeps well at night, so I don't feel overly tired (yet!) and she is just an all around good baby.

Last week went great, and since Rachel's preschool teacher cancelled classes to attend a wedding out of state, we didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time other than a couple doctor visits.  Kendall had her 2 week visit (already 8 pounds!) and both Andrew and Rachel randomly had strep - thankfully, I caught it early and we got them on meds.  The big kids are playing well together and being helpful and patient (especially for countless feedings) and very sweet to Kendall.  My least favorite times of the day are 1. Andrew's 6am wakeup time which is usually right after or during Kendall's feeding and 2. Meals - seriously, why can Andrew & Rachel not stay at the table and feed themselves?  I feel like I am constantly badgering them or hand feeding them to get them to finish their food.

We all went to Rachel's soccer game on Friday night (it was 72 degrees here, so I felt like Kendall could go).  I should first say that I don't think that soccer is Rachel's cup of tea (she's really quite awful), but she has fun and gives us lots of thumbs up and it's good exercise.  I was glad I was able to go to Friday's game in particular, because Rachel actually scored a goal!!  Technically, she was basically just in the right place at the right time and it bounced off her leg.  After the game, she said she was a little nervous because she couldn't remember if that was her goal or the other team's.  Typical.  But I don't care, we'll take it!  Coach Chip was so excited and it was fun to see Rachel's reaction once she figured out she kicked it in the right goal.


I realize I've been hoarding pictures!!  I've taken a ton, but wanted to save the good ones for Christmas card and birth announcement, and I haven't decided which ones I'll use yet so I've been holding off.

Home from the hospital on Day 2 - mom is loving to snuggle the little newborn on her chest!

Day 3 - seriously bad hair day - or I should say bad hair week!  She suffered from "grandpa hair" (none on top - plenty on the sides and back) and so she got her first haircut from mom on Day 5.

Mini photo shoot - 1 week old

Still suffering from "grandpa hair" but it's much better!

sneak peak!

Eyes awake more often - 1.5 weeks old

3 weeks old - loves her swing (and she better because she's a third child!)

Bliss

Life has really slowed down in these parts.  I LOVE the newborn stage!  And Kendall is a very good baby so far.  She is an absolute sweetheart.  She is patient, even tempered, and sleepy.  At nighttime she  goes 4 hours between feedings and sleeps in between.  During the day, I often have to wake her to keep her on a 3-4 hour feeding schedule.  I love the way her skinny, long legs tuck up to her tummy tight (think frog legs), and I just love how tiny she is.

We've stayed close to home and the kids have enjoyed having daddy home to play with them.  He bought nerf guns him and the big kids.  Right now they are running around the house screaming and running away from daddy who is shooting them with darts.  Kendall has been my shield and protection.   As an added bonus, the weather has been fantastic and our winter grass is in, so the kids have been playing outside nonstop.

"Spooky Halloween"

At our house, Andrew says "Spooooky Halloween!" which is something we say to explain any creepy decorations (witches, bats, jack-o-lanterns, skulls, etc.).  We try to keep it fun and not make things out to be too scary.  We kept things low key this year for Halloween.  Grandma Nancy brought a little Halloween party with her and lego sets for the kids, we made the yummiest caramel apples, carved pumpkins, ate way too much candy (me and Brandon - not so much the kids), we took our annual Halloween pictures on Jim's bridge (lives across the street), and the kids went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood (Kendall and I were in charge of passing out candy).

I initially got Andrew a Superman costume, but he has not wanted to wear any costumes ALL month, so I didn't know if we'd get him into it.  He surprised us all by wanting to wear his Spiderman costume (without the mask) for most of Halloween day!  He pulled through just in the knick of time, and I was just thrilled he had a costume on.

Kendall - 3 days old - our little pumpkin!

Dad gets the credit - this momma hates carving pumpkins!

Pumpkin Patch

After making all sorts of attempts to go into labor and failing, we headed to Schnepf Farm with the kids on Saturday (the day before I went into labor, which in retrospect may have done the trick).  There were rides for the kids, and Rachel went on the rollercoaster with dad and Andrew rode the planes all by himself.  Their "trick-or-treating" they offered was a little weak, so I took Rachel to another ward's Trunk or Treat that night to get some more loot (our ward was having a fall festival in November and not offering a trunk or treat, so I crashed the Red Mountain ward party - plus I was personally invited by Mandy).  It was a fun day with my two big kids!

Kendall's Labor Story

Labor Story - short version
- went into labor on the day of scheduled induction
- contractions began at 3:45am
- arrived at the hospital at 6am, dilated 5-6cm
- contractions far apart and things were progressing slowly, between 9-10a they started me on petocin, I got my epidural and the doctor broke my water; contractions finally picked up
- Started pushing at 11:06am and she was born posterior at 11:08am
- BEST ONE YET!

Labor Story - long version

I was disappointed that stripping my membranes hadn't worked as well as I had hoped, but I was good with the new induction plan.  I got things with the house ready on Saturday night and left a few things in the morning for me to get done to help pass the time.  [I make note of this because I look terrible in all the hospital pictures because I was going to get ready in the morning and look all pretty, but that didn't happen.  Oh well!]

I couldn't sleep that night (just nerves, I guess) and I remember being "mad" at Brandon for being able to sleep so soundly.  I got a little sleep here and there, but was very uncomfortable and finally stayed awake starting at 3:45a with what I thought might be contractions.  At 4:30a Brandon and I started timing the contractions.  They varied between 5-7 minutes apart and the pain level was low, but I was bleeding with every contraction (TMI) and wanted to go in soon to make sure everything was ok. (Note to self:  after having my membranes stripped, I bled more than I anticipated on that first and second day, but it calmed down on the third.)

It was so nice to have Nancy there so that we could just leave when we needed to.  We arrived to the hospital at 6am and the couple that was registering before us gave us some comedic relief that I desperately needed.  As we sat in the lobby (my pain level was still ok) we could hear out of the registration office what sounded like very passionate, intimate noises coming from a woman who was clearly in labor, but the sounds told us otherwise.  Brandon and I were laughing and after a few more of her contractions/noises, they were shown into triage and Brandon informed me that the husband had a very nice bowl cut.  More laughter ensued.

We registered and headed back to triage where we could hear the nurse saying on the phone, "She needs an epidural asap!" (referring to the noisy lady).  It reminded me of Andrew's delivery where my nurse told the anesthesiologist, "She needed an epidural yesterday!"  However, I was strangely calm all morning and I also wasn't in anywhere near as much pain as I had been in when I got to triage with Andrew.  It was also helpful that I was familiar with our triage nurse, Christa (who is a friend of Kasey's ~ later Christa told Kasey that Brandon looked just like Superman, funny!).  In triage I was dilated between 5-6cm and contracting every 7 minutes.  She reassured me about the bleeding and then we headed back to labor and delivery.

I was relieved that I didn't need to be induced especially since I later found out that because they were so busy, they would have had to push me back, which would have been a huge bummer!  In L&D we were just hanging out and waiting - things were progressing slowly.  I was surprised by this since Andrew's had gone so fast.  While Brandon was out of the room for a minute, apparently bowl cut husband stepped out of his room and said to one of the nurses, "Ummm, my wife would like some hot chocolate."  During labor?  Or maybe she had just delivered?  Regardless, it was funny.

Between 9-10a, they started me on the lowest level of pitocin, got me an epidural and the doctor broke my water (dilated 7cm).  With the pitocin, the contractions picked up to every couple minutes.  My pain level never really got bad, because I timed my epidural so I got it before I knew it would get bad (I have felt going 7-9cm without meds and never want to do that again - I am a huge wimp).  By 10:45a I was 9.5cm, so they called Dr. Huish and I began to get very nervous and started shaking anticipating the big moment.  Brandon was great to reassure me and tell me that everything would go great.

Let me explain something about the whole pushing part of labor.  I hate it.  I dread it.  I feel like it's terrifying.  After having pushed for 40+ minutes with Rachel (9 lb, 2 oz) and an hour with Andrew (8 lb 1 oz), I was convinced I was a bad pusher and was anticipating the worst.  And it has never helped me to hear about all the women who "just pushed once or twice".  Frankly, I always felt like punching them in the face (in my nice voice).  That being said, a miracle occurred and it only took me four pushes to get little Kendall out (7 lb, 1 oz)!!  I started pushing at 11:06am and she was born at 11:08am.  I should also make note that she came out posterior, which means she was face up.  So now I'm officially convinced that a pound truly makes a huge difference - that plus the fact it was the third time around - it was SO MUCH BETTER than I could have ever anticipated (too bad I did all that worrying  beforehand).  It was the easiest labor and delivery yet.  And now feel free to punch me in the face if you want.

Kendall Olive Hale

We are so happy that Kendall Olive Hale arrived to our family!  We are counting our blessings and think that she's absolutely perfect.

Born Sunday, October 28th
11:08am
7 lb 1 oz
20 inches (measured 21 in at the pediatrician office on day 3, so it's up for debate)

One of the first things I noticed was how small she was - could she be ours?  Her nose looked the same to me as the other kids', but her eyes are more closely set together and her features are just SO much smaller.  She does have long, skinny arms and legs (dad) and a long tongue and long fingers and toes (mom).  I have to make mention of her grandpa hair (dark black hair around the sides while bald on top) - I'll post a picture of it later, but there is a distinct line around the back of her head from ear to ear and where below the line it's super long and on top there's just fuzz.  She will need a haircut very soon.  She is the sweetest little peanut ever!

So far Andrew and Rachel have done great!  They are very sweet to Kendall and think she's a good addition to our family.  Andrew really understood the whole concept better than I thought he would and is learning to be "soft".  Rachel is going to be a big helper, and loves her new sister!  They have also been completely distracted by the fact that Grandma is here!  So they've been too busy to notice her too much - I'm sure we'll run into some bumps once we get back to normal life, but for now it's been just bliss.

Thank you nurse Missy for making a cute hat for me!