One Month

Holy cow! I can't believe it's been a month already.

For Luke's one month birthday we had D's parents fly out so we could do a quick blessing while my parents were out here to pick the kids up. Can you believe I hardly took any pictures of the whole thing? And out of those, there aren't many good ones.

I forced Luke to where the same blessing outfit as Nate despite the fact that Nate was a chunky 2 month old and Luke is still the size of a newborn.It's all about tradition though, so who cares if the pants were up to his armpits.

We ended up blessing him on a Friday since my parents flew out early Sunday morning. I loved having it at our house because it made it very small and intimate. We were lucky to have a few friends (Ashtons, Christensens, Tylers and Krassows) still in town for the weekend who made it over too. I feel so grateful to have so many friends who feel like family!! After the blessing we fed everyone dinner and let the kids play int he backyard while my dad stood on lightening patrol. I just love having our house full of friends and family.

The rest of the weekend my kids were spoiled. Especially Luke who has reverted to insisting he be held for naps. Dustin's momSadie figured it best to suck up to the Grandpas. My dad

Luke had his one month appointment and he's up to 7 lbs, 14.5 oz. HOORAY and BOO at the same time. He's still not big enough that the Pediatrician feels comfortable enough taking him off the formula, so we're on high calorie formula for another month, but he's gaining weight so that's great.

He also received some fun new gifts for his one month birthday.
In case you're wondering why Luke is always wearing the same 4 outfits -- it's because they are premie size and the 0-3 month stuff drowns him. I keep thinking he'll outgrow them, so I refuse to buy any more. So just wait for the blog when we're finally too big for those!!

Made by Grandma Rogers
From Uncle Chris and Aunt Shauna who are less than 2 weeks away from meeting their new twins! (I think Sadie ran off with the matching onesie)

Everyone keeps asking what I am going to do with my time off. BIG PLANS!
1. Do less laundry, less dishes and clean the bathroom less
2. Hold my baby boy
3. Catch up on sleep
4. Make it to the gym to lose these last ten pounds
5. Re-do these cute girlies room This includes a big girl bed for Sadie. I hope she stays in it. After I gave the girls a mini-mani
6. Paint
7. Pack up all my baby girl clothes and maternity wear and send it off for my sister
8. Organize and de-junk
9. Finish up Ellie's back-to-school shopping since school starts the day after she gets back

What am I going to do next week??

What we did this week

When Luke came early, I thought summer would just drag until our families made it out for the 4th of July. Instead it has flown by! I can't believe it's the weekend already and I have a 3 week old. 3 weeks isn't too old to use the newborn excuses still -- right??

So what have we been up to?

* Shopping for the kids plane trip back East. If you don't know, my parents are taking the older 3 home with them for a little bit after their trip out here to meet Luke and the blessing.

* Playing at Brody and Sadie's

* Doctor's visit -- we're up to 6 lbs 11.5 oz. Next visit is July 6th.
* Luke's first night out on the town. We got a babysitter for the big kids and went out for dinner and dessert with Luke.

* Summer movies

* Swimming in the backyard
* Day Camp

Pirates and Princesses day

* Dance for Ellie

* Brady and Bailey over to play

* Amins over for dinner (don't worry, they brought it and cooked it here)
* Swimming at Rickie's. Luke slept the whole time, Nate and Ellie can swim and Sadie just followed the Haymond kids around so I was loving it.

* Sadie took a nap in a big girl bed. I'm hoping to get the girl's room all repainted, Sadie a big girl bed and move the crib into Nate's room while the kids are back East

And now to sit back, try and get some sleep and enjoy the weekend.

Two Weeks

I swear the first two weeks of newborndom are the worst, so I'm happy to report that ours are OVER!

On Thursday (the official two week mark) Luke was up to 6 lbs 5 oz. He still hasn't met his birth weight though, so we'll go in for another weight check on Monday and hopefully we'll be on our way to 7 pounds! If he reaches his birth weight, we won't have to go back in until our month appointment (MONDAY UPDATE: 6 lbs 11.5 oz HOORAY)! He will have to stay on the high calorie formula for at least a month, so I've given up all hopes of nursing. I cried a lot, but now that I've accepted it, I feel like my sanity has returned.

Luke's skinniest day at 5 lbs 14 oz. Sadie loves to cuddle Luke or his diapers. She'll take either one. And I can't blame her because those newborn diapers are so soft!

Last week we pretty much spent most of our free time feeding Luke and running to the Doctor's. The kids got lots of play time in with friends -- I seriously am so grateful for my amazing friends. Especially when they take all three of my kids on top of all of their own kids. I did get our pool put up in the backyard so the kids have been out there a lot.

I think we've gotten days and nights straightened out and he's figured out how to sleep without being held. He's also started eating a little bit more and a little faster.

While everyone is celebrating Father's Day today, we celebrated a few weeks ago so it was a low key morning around here. Ellie decided to put on makeup and pretend she was a Rock Star. She is my ultimate helper and as much as I hate the fighting that sometimes happens, I love having her home with me. Even when she rolls her eyes at me or informs me that I can't be tired because I get "plenty of sleep." If only!

Sadie is our little songbird. Everything gets sung. Today when she saw Ellie was wearing her Easter dress, she had to get hers on too. She was singing, "I'm going to look like Ellie." And yesterday while she was helping me move the laundry from the washer to the dryer she was singing, "I'm so happy. I'm so happy." I wish laundry made me happy. I also wish I could get her to sit still. She is ALWAYS going. Always talking, always playing. . .always making a mess. She loves any sort of dolls right now -- Barbies, baby dolls, Polly Pockets, Little People, Doll house. . . even her food becomes a family. Still a vegetarian.

Nate has been perfecting his light saber skills. He is definitely growing up as trains have made way for Super Heroes, Transformers, Bakugan and Star Wars. I remember watching shows like Backyardigans, Little Einsteins or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse after the other kids were born. Now it's Phineas and Ferb and Spy Kids movies. What the heck?? When did Disney Channel and Noggin become baby channels?

THANK YOU!

Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes -- Luke gained weight! I just about threw a party right then and there. Not only did he gain weight, he smoked it: 3 ounces! Overnight!!

Say a little prayer

Well he's down to 5 lbs 14 oz. If he's not up tomorrow we'll be referred to a neonatologist and probably admitted to the hospital for a feeding tube.

I'm really struggling. Every time we go in, I'm so confident that he's gained weight and then the scale shows he's down. I spend a day crying and then the next day I'm sure what we're doing is going to work and I go in for the next weigh in so confident again. So today I've pretty much got myself worked up for the worst -- that way any news is better than that, right??

Wet n' Wild

It's been a wild ride over at the Rogers' house as we adjust to summer and a new baby.

Luke had proven to be a little food stinker. He doesn't like to eat. Each day his latch got a little worse and his suck a little weaker and his weight was dropping, so we started supplementing. Well now he seems to have an aversion to not only nursing, but also the bottle. There's nothing like force feeding your baby hoping he gains some weight. It can take me an hour to get an ounce down him. Anyone ever had a baby refuse to eat?? Tomorrow we go in for another weight check, so cross your fingers we're up instead of down again. Needless to say -- I've been a hormonal mess. Cannot wait to feel normal again! Luke being less than thrilled with going for a walk. Same reaction at feeding time.

Meanwhile the weather has been gorgeous for Arizona summertime. We've had swim lessons, been learning to ride bikes without training wheels, hanging out with neighbors and friends. . . in between my permanent residence at the Pediatricians.

Nate is doing great and swimming across the entire pool by himself and Ellie can now do the breast stoke and back stroke on top of everything else. We took lessons with my oldest friends' kids -- they're so cute together. All the kiddos
Lindsay, Ellie and Hayden
Nate, Caroline and Brynleigh

Friday night we BBQed with most of our favorite neighbors and Noah promised the kids a water balloon fight in the morning. They set up the pool and the kids played until everyone was ready. The girls Nate's team -- although they all turned on each other after about 2 minutes.

Saturday night we went swimming with friends. Recognize the hippo?? By "we" I meant the kids while Luke and I hung out in the shade. Did you know you can't go swimming for 4-6 weeks after having a baby? Not that I want to be in a swimsuit at the moment, but still a bummer. Luckily we've got some time till the beach house.

Oh, and Nate managed a haircut in there too.

Well, it's been a week!

Last Wednesday I ended up sick as a dog: fever, chills and body aches. I told my sister, "Today's the first day I've absolutely wanted this kid out of me." Lesson learned: Be careful what you wish for ;D

WARNING: BORING LABOR STORY! Skip to the pictures if you don't care

Sure enough Wednesday night (11:15 pm) I woke up to my water breaking and proceeded to run around the house trying to pack a hospital bag (after being overly prepared for Sadie, I had become superstitious about getting ready for the hospital too early -- my theory is the grosser you look and the less prepared you are, the more likely you are to go into labor). I did a great packing job -- like pajama pants, but no top and a tooth brush but no tooth paste. At least we got the camera this time around.

Meanwhile Dustin called our awesome neighbor Jill who was sweet enough to come spend the night with our kids while we jetted off to the hospital. I wasn't having a lot of contractions, but after Sadie's 1.5 hour labor, I wanted to get there in time for an epidural and I knew they couldn't turn me away if my water had broken.

Well apparently they take their sweet time if you walk in smiling. After an hour and a half, we were finally off to the room and my beloved epidural. The whole time I'm asking, "How long before the IV empties and I can get the drugs?" Luckily, I wasn't having regular contractions, so it wasn't even that miserable. In fact, even once I got the epidural the contractions hadn't kicked in, so they put me on some pitocin and 5 or 6 contractions later, I was ready to push that kid out. One push later and Luke arrived at 2:24 am.

The next day we were headed home and Luke quickly learned that being a 4th kid means getting touched. . . a lot.


He also decided that since there were so many of us, someone should be holding him at all times while he sleeps.


I'm pretty sure I am never going to sleep again but Dustin keeps reassuring me that it's always like this and eventually he'll figure out that night is for sleeping and sleeping involves something other than my arms. I know he's right, but I'm too tired to actually remember anything other than the last time I fed the baby. Heck, I can barely remember his name sometimes. The other day I looked at Ellie after calling him both Nate and Sadie and said, "What did we name him?"

I just have to remember that the poor little guy is even more confused than I am.


And a special thanks to my AMAZING friends/family/neighbors who have taken my kids, brought me food, called to see how I was doing, left sweet blog comments. . . your love and friendship is overwhelming. I'm so grateful to have you all in my life.

Luke...I am your Father!

Ok seriously this is the only time all day that I have quoted that line. So please don't confuse me with a massive Star Wars Geek.

Here are the official stats:
Luke Thomas Rogers
Wt: 6 lb 8 oz
Ht: 19 in

Enjoy the pictures below but for more and for continuous updates check out: http://babylukerogers.shutterfly.com/

Let's talk about Nate

I know -- FINALLY! My sister told me to just send her the pictures and she would blog for me, but that would mean downloading the pictures. We're running around like crazy trying to get everything in these last few weeks -- lots of swimming and BBQs, too much shopping and eating out, lots of girlfriend time but the main focus has to be Nate's big week.

Nate finally went on his first Fathers and Sons Camp out. Now this probably isn't a big deal for some, but seeing as my husband had to go purchase a tent, two sleeping bags and 2 camping chairs (yes, we didn't even own adult camping chairs) for this experience -- it was a big deal. I feel like we are somehow committed to camp now. And by "we" I mean Dustin and the kids.

The girls whined and cried about how they couldn't go camping and Nate spent the entire day following Dustin around making sure he wasn't going to leave without him. Every other question was, "Where's Dad?" or "Are we going camping now?" Finally about 3 they headed off in Noah's truck with Brody and Brady to keep him company on the drive. The only picture Dustin took of the entire trip:I guess it rained pretty much the whole time but Nate had a great time. I asked him what his favorite part was and he said, "Watching Spiderman in the tent with my dad."

When they came home the kids still wanted to use the sleeping bags, so they had a sleep over in them. All except poor Sadie who was stuck in the crib. She insisted that she go camping too and Dustin got her down Ellie's old Strawberry Shortcake sleeping bag. The big sleeping bags have been put away, but Sadie STILL goes "camping" every night.

In other big Nate news -- he has finally seen Star Wars! I cannot believe how engrossed he was watching it. It only took us an entire week to get through the original 3 and I guess I never really watched them before because I had no idea what happened at the end. BIG SPOILER: Darth Vader saves Luke?? Didn't see that one coming. The other memory from watching the movies would have to be the constant, "Is he a bad guy or a good guy?"

And last but not least -- Preschool Graduation! Can you really graduate if you have another year before Kindergarten? Becky did the cutest job and Nate sang all the songs and narrated the DVD for everyone. ;p

And now off to enjoy the weekend -- it's going to be another fun one! Today Ellie has her 1st grade presentation and then we're taking her to lunch, then shopping (when I finally got around to getting the baby clothes out I realized Nate was born in the fall so all he wore was footed PJs the first months of his life) and out dinner with friends for me and Saturday is a going to be another fun dinner a bunch of our favorite people. I just can't believe how fast summer is coming and all that comes with it: end of school, people moving, babies, vacation. . . got to squeeze it all in now!

And a quick picture of Sadie who is still crazy. How long can you leave a child at the table when they refuse to eat dinner without it being considered child abuse? And how many days in a row? She has decided to become a fruitarian and boycotts dinner EVERY NIGHT!

The end is near!

I can't believe summer is almost here! Every year we go through multiple signs that it's just around the corner and here are some of this year's:

1. The heat. I can't believe it's been in the 100s for weeks now. I am DYING! Luckily for me the kids love swimming. Of course I got burnt our first time out and am still paying for it.

I love my neighbors! I'm just sick that half of them are moving this summer.

2. School craziness. After I finally got through Teacher Appreciation, including another fun scavenger hunt, I thought I'd be done, but there's still plenty of school stuff on the calendar. Only 12 more days!! I can't wait to sleep in! Of course we start swim lessons the very next day. Our door -- each kid did their own flip flop. Notice the 3-D coconuts, sand castle and bucket. It was fun coming up with stuff.

3. Mother's Day. As always my husband and kids are amazing and spoil me like crazy. All my favorite foods including baked french toast and fresh baked cookies, fun gifts from school and a shopping trip with Daddy, and I got another Mother's Ring -- Nate's birthstones this time. I even asked the kids not to fight and can you believe they DID IT?? They were on their best behavior (minus church, man I should have stayed home for that one) and did everything I asked them to happily. I even got a bubble bath out of the deal.

My favorite part of any holiday is the cards the kids pick out for me. You never know what you're going to end up with. Like Sadie's Duck card from my "baby boy." I was trying to con my gifts out of the kids when they came home from the store so I kept asking Sadie what she got me. Mainly she said, "stuff," but finally one day I got, "I got you a card! Yeah, a DUCK CARD!" Only Ellie is known for her excellent secret keeping ability.

Ellie's school gift included this little letter:
Dear Mom,
We go together like a nice mom and a 7 year old daughter. Mother we go together like brown yummy chocolat and cold white milk. Mommy we go together like a toddler and a baby. You are the best mom ever. Love, Ellie.

The only thing that could have made the holiday better were if our moms were here to have over for dinner.

4. My ever expanding belly. Can this just be over? And why do people feel the need to say, "You look like you're going to pop?" I SWEAR I will never say those words in my entire life.

Dustin and I went out last Saturday night and in our 4 hour date I peed 6 times. Sometimes I can't believe we're having another baby so soon, but most of the time it feels like I'm going to be pregnant forever. I had to stop running and now even when I'm walking on the treadmill, my right leg has started going numb. SO FUN!

The only thing I'm proud of: I can still wear all my rings. Although, I'm sure not for long. Notice my new Mother's ring! I tried to take a serious photo and felt like a dork, so this is what you get.

So there you go! What we've been up to as the end of school/3 kid-dom approaches!

HELP ME!

I actually have a blog all typed up and just waiting for me to upload the pictures. It's been waiting for almost a week.

But in the mean time, I need some HELP!

We're doing Father's Day in 2 weeks -- since we wanted to make sure Dustin got some good spoiling before we had a newborn in the house -- and I am at a loss. I'm a horrible cook, but I always give him the day off cooking. Usually that means he gets scrambled eggs for breakfast and spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. This year I thought I'd try something new.

Soooo, share with me your best EASY breakfast and dinner recipes.

Breakfast requirements:

• Dustin like savory more than sweet, so something yummy with eggs is always good
• That's it -- savory good
  

Dinner requirements:

• If it involves a crockpot -- MAJOR bonus
• I don't like to touch raw chicken, steak or pork so those are a no go unless they go in the crock pot
• I *do* touch ground turkey
• I don't grill or fry either
• The easier the better, especially since we don't get out of Church until close to dinner time

So e-mail me, post them here, whatever! I'll have to come up with something super awesome for whoever's recipes get used.

Mother's Day Tea for Me

I know -- twice in one week. Try not to be so shocked, but my sister is demanding videos and pictures.

Today I was spoiled by Nate at Preschool. I attempted to take a photo of us together, but since most of them turned out like this:


We settled for this:
When I walked in Nate took me over to the table to pick out food. I think he picked out more food for himself than for me -- but we did eat the largest strawberries I have ever seen. Lots of yummy fruit and muffins too. After that we got our "awards" while she read a little survey each kid completed. Mine:

My mom likes it when I. . . clean up my room
I like it when my mom. . . plays with me
My mom doesn't like it when I . . .be naughty
I don't like it when my mom. . . "Her don't do anything"
My mom's favorite food is. . .meatball soup (shocker, Nate's favorite food)
My mom's favorite color is. . .blue (hmmmmm, another Nate favorite)
How old is your mom. . .16
I love my mom because she. . .turns on the TV for me
My mom loves me because. . .I clean up my room

Lots of cleaning so I won:

After that the kids sang for us. Nate sang almost every word to every song. I was so impressed!


An just when I thought the fun was over, we got little gift bags. Each kid decorated their own bag and Nate drew a picture of ME!!! I just loved it as he explained to me that he drew me with my really big belly. So thoughtful!

Inside was his little hand print and the handsomest picture of him. Thanks Becky! I really loved it and feel so spoiled with all my treasures. And thanks Nate! I love you too! Even when you don't clean your room.

Stylin' Sadie

Besides just a total lack of blogging mojo, I spent last week running around like crazy. If I wasn't running some kid somewhere or working on a teacher appreciation/student teacher good bye/art masterpiece project, I was running after Sadie with a fresh diaper or the throw up bucket and we won't even start on Nate's naughty spell last week. Just when I thought she was better, her little stomach bug returned full force. Of course not until after I had taken her out and about to spread her disease. So far no one else has been infected, but with swine flu fears running rampant I feared being austricized. I also feel like the fates are against any potty training I may have considered attempting.

When she wasn't be sick, Sadie was wowing the world with her newest obsession: sunglasses. She has to wear these EVERYWHERE. To church, the gym, her bath, dinner. . . it takes quite the compromise to convince her she doesn't need to wear them to bed. The only mistake in choosing them: they're tinted light pink, so everyone always asks if they're real. Oops!

Now that she is feeling better her appetite has really picked up. I spent the first few days giving her anything she asked for because I was so anxious to get some meat back on her little body. One day she asked for crackers right after I had already gotten up and down a few times to get her some food. Finally I said, "In a minute Sadie." Then Sadie says, "Knock Knock." Who's there? "Crackers." Crackers who? "Go get me some crackers."