Jane's journal

My Jane loves writing in her journal.  I love looking through it to see what she's written or drawn.  Today was a treat.  She lost her tooth yesterday, as you will find out.  This game of "hard and soft" that she talks about was a new one yesterday.  It has a lot of potential of going bad, but so far, it's just produced a tooth that seriously needed to come out, so we'll let it go for now!

The little elephant on her bed is what she kept her tooth in for the Tooth Fairy.  You may also notice the note and gold coin on her bed that the Tooth Fairy left for her.  It pretty much made her whole day.

Another one of my favorite drawings... her hospital bed is a little more ornate than mine was!  But, the comfort level of that bed seems fitting.  Not a fan of those beds. 

On a side note, I just found out how much money we saved by sleeping in that bed for only one night.  Seriously, I can't believe they charge so much for a horrible bed and people waking you up every two hours!

And just in case you were wondering... Jane DOES love baby Anne.  She is the best helper around.  I often wonder how I managed a newborn without her!

Anne LuRee Hillman

Our little girl finally made it!  Anne LuRee Hillman was born at 9:24am on May 20th.  7 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches long.  Today she is one week old, and although she was about a week late, I can still hardly believe she's here.

We've shared her birth story with many, but for those who are interested, here's a shorter version than if you actually talked to either Jeff or me.  We still can hardly believe it played out the way it did... not what we expected.  In retrospect, we wouldn't change a thing.

In an effort to not look as foolish as this story probably portrays me, let me just say that my three other deliveries were all long and slow.  No hurry during any part of them.

5:45 am - I woke to long-awaited contractions.  They weren't close together, so what's the hurry?

We made a big family breakfast, showered, tidied rooms, got the kids ready for church and told my mom to come up, but assured her there was no need to hurry.  Little did I know.

This picture was taken at 8:45am, once I wasn't able to talk (or stand) through contractions any more and realized we didn't have as much time as we thought we did.  We sent the kids to the neighbor's and were off.

This picture was taken at 9:30am (she was 6 minutes old) at our hospital that Google maps would tell you would take 34 minutes to get to from our home.

How did we do it?  Jeff was running red lights, driving double the speed limit, and passing slow Sunday morning drivers.  And as I told him I wanted to push, he just drove faster.  My hero.

I never had a desire for a natural birth, so when the nurse said, "you're complete", it took me a minute to come to terms with what was happening.  But 10 minutes later, there she was. It all happened so fast, it was actually really hard to process once she was in my arms.  I kept saying, "You're here!  You're real!".  It was love at first sight.

I wish I could say I was calm and collected through the whole thing, but honestly, if I hadn't been breathing through the strongest contractions of my life, I probably would have ripped the heads off of those calm nurses at the receptionists' desk when they asked me to sign paperwork.  All I could do was sign and breathe!  In their defense, they hopped into action as soon as they realized this was happening NOW.

So, our little Anne is here, and we are all madly in love with her.

My three girls and proud Daddy...

and big brother, Jack...

Anne's middle name is after my incredible Grandma Ottley whom Jeff and I both adore.  Grandma will brag about how she and Grandpa were an integral part of our courtship, and she is right.  We were lucky to have Grandma come over to meet our little Anne LuRee this week.  Love you, Grandma.

Percy JACKson

We've been counting down to a lot of things in our house, but Jack started counting down for his birthday LONG ago.  And even with all his reminders, I still don't think I could have pulled it off without a LOT of help!  Check out this cool banner my mom made... (which is now hanging in his room)

He chose a Percy Jackson theme, which seemed fitting since he's read all 5 books several times each. He can tell you more about Greek Gods than anyone I know.  This party was bound to be fun.  And, I'll just say it... crazy.

I was a little worried about the weather, and also the mix of kids.  We had kids from two different schools and a homeschooler, plus a mix of boys and girls.  I was so grateful this age is not "too cool" to play with whoever is available!  Jack assured me the girls were all "cool" girls and would have fun even if we were playing with swords, and he was right!  They were all awesome, and didn't hesitate to join in the fun.

So, Jack and his 11 closest friends (just realized one of the boys got cut off!) had a fantastic adventure at Copperton Park playing games, designing their own shields, eating yummy things, and completing a daring quest for Zeus' Bolt.

Jack says his favorite part was the quest.  I think it was my favorite to plan and carry out as well.  They started out finding their swords (that Jeff made just for them), then they had to search all over the park for puzzle pieces to piece together the next clue.  This was the one hiccup in the quest... there was one clue we didn't find until the end.  So, I did have to help them a bit with this step.

It says, "Once you've made these pieces one, do not stop, your quest's not done,

Look to the table for some gold, each must make payment young and old,

to the one who rules below,

in His cauldron, your payment throw."

They were awesome at figuring out each clue.  They grabbed the gold and looked all over for Hades' cauldron.  Jeff was a good Hades, and they all earned their next clue.  Jeff's disguise was made from black balloons.  Can't say he's not resourceful!

Overall, it was just a lot of craziness to me, but the kids had a blast and that's really all that mattered!  

Every time I am with Jack and his friends, I am so grateful for good friends.  I can only hope Jack will always choose good kids like this group!

And tonight, for his real birthday, he requested Lemon Fried Chicken, sausage, apples, and eggnog.  Who could have guessed?  We continued with the Camp Half-blood theme and did S'mores over the fire pit instead of cake.  It was a hit!  Happy 9th, JACK!

So, let the countdown to an even bigger event begin... our baby girl.  Pregnancy is going great.  Actually feeling better this week than I was a few weeks ago, so I'm grateful I can enjoy this fun time in our lives.  Although, I'd be lying if I didn't admit my arms are aching to hold her!

In case I haven't seen you in a while, here's a picture of what I look like almost 9 months pregnant.  Jane had to draw an "ig" picture.  She chose "BIG", meaning my BIG BELLY.  At least she specified that it was because I am having a baby!  And I thought she was a little reserved with my proportions.  I'm a lot, shall I say, rounder?  And the way my legs are just stumps... not too far off.  I used to call them feet.  Now they are full of water, ugh.  But, if that is what it takes to get my baby girl here, bring it on.  Someday, I will be able to see my ankle bones again, right?

Wish us luck!

Christmas in a Nutshell

I love Christmas. Especially Christmas Eve.

Here's our holiday week in a nutshell.

Gingerbread house building with more eating than building.

A new tradition... so yum. I love Alice's face.

Nativity with an animal this year. A first for us.

Annual Pajama pictures...

And being a little silly...

Christmas morning anticipation...

Santa brought us a new member of our family, that Jack has named Comet. (Santa left Jack a note asking him to rename her since the elves were all calling her "Princess Flower Pants". We thought Comet was more fitting.) We are all madly in love with her. This picture pretty much encompasses what we did all day Christmas.

Not only did we add Comet, but we also found out Christmas afternoon that our baby will be another girl! We are thrilled! (Although, Jack is feeling pretty outnumbered)

First ice skating experience for the kids at our annual Rich gathering at Noah's. It was short and sweet, until Jack feel hard and hit his head. He's learned how to recover fast. Years of practice!

And we said a "see you later" to Elder Alaguretnam (top left), who's on his way to North Carolina! We couldn't be more excited for him and his family!

Hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

Some Holiday Firsts...

Christmas time is nuts because everything around Christmas time is fun, right? Ok, Walmart on a Saturday in December is the exception, but when is that NOT horrible?

This year, the kids did their first Christmas Suzuki Concert with their new violin teacher. Up until this summer, I had been the sole teacher for both of them, and it's been heaven to pass off some of that responsibility to a friend/fellow violinist who we all adore. Ms. Ruth has held a Christmas program for the last 15 years, and Jack and Jane were lucky to be a part of it this year.

This really was one of Jane's first performing experiences, so we learned we need to work on her performance etiquette a bit. Thank goodness she was the youngest, and smallest, so it was a little more laughable than it will be in a few years when she may still be biting her nails and coming in 2 notes later than everybody else!

Really, the kids worked extra hard to prepare for the performances, especially Jack who played almost all the pieces the big kids played. They did GREAT, and were really excited about playing. They were especially grateful for the support of loved ones who braved downtown on a very busy weekend!

This performance was in the downtown library auditorium, a fantastic venue. Their afternoon one was at the Joseph Smith Memorial building, and since Jeff was doing the single dad thing from 2pm on, there were few pictures. Understandable, Super Dad.

Alice enjoyed her first dance recital and did great. We had to bribe her to get her costume on ("Alice, want a cookie?", and I quickly turn her into a mouse. Voila!), but she loved the dancing! We've loved our little neighborhood dance group, and it's been a GREAT introduction for the really little ones, like Alice.

In the Green Room, Alice loved the attention from the older girls. They were all dancing to selections from the Nutcracker. Fun!

I'm a street musician lover. During my long days/evenings downtown last week, I had a short break and ran to do a bit of shopping. I ran into these guys busting out their brass. Not a huge brass fan, but honestly, it goes GREAT with the season. I was so happy to see a little variety downtown. Love the bagpipers, but really... one on EACH side of temple square? Enough already!

Any favorite firsts this season? Or, favorite street musicians you've seen? I remember seeing a girl belting it out with a mandolin when I was about 13 at Pike's Market in Seattle, and I've never forgotten it. Awesome.

Halloween... seriously.

Found fun pictures I didn't want to forget...

The annual Pumpkin patch trip is always a highlight for us. The mud this year added an interesting aspect.

I think every kid likes getting one "just my size".

Trip to "Little Spooks" at This is the Place. Very fun, and even with cousins and Mimi this year!

Carving those pumpkins was fun and messy. I did my usual copying of a pattern from a book I bought 7 years ago (so creative), Jack (and Jeff) gave his a nose like Voldemort, and our 3rd was done by our special guest. His FIRST pumpkin carving experience ever!

Crazy cousin time at Mimi and Papa's.

Cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's who have apparently been all "fun"ed out. Maybe we should have done pictures FIRST?

And, the kids on "the big night". No trunk-or-treats this year, so we did it the old fashioned way, and I loved it. Nice weather, walking around, seeing friends and neighbors, FUN! Alice went MUCH further than expected, and Jane got too tired of asking at every house "do they have a dog?" and ran home to pass out candy with Daddy.

The girls pretty much changed their costumes THAT day, so thank goodness for good dress ups! Jane decided she wasn't ONLY a princess (until this dress was hand-me-downed to her by a dear neighbor friend, she was going to be a witch), she had to be a short-haired Rapunzel. Frying pan and all. Jack wasn't great with his timing, but the expression would have been about right.

Alice fell in love when our neighbor opened the door in THIS. I felt like we were in Disneyland! It was a challenge to get her off the porch!

Having kids has made Halloween one of my favorite holidays ever. And next year... we'll have ONE more kid to enjoy it! Baby is coming in MAY!

Pinewood Derby

As far as I can tell, the Pinewood Derby is the height of the Scouting calendar. It did NOT disappoint!

Jack and Jeff worked on his car for several evenings spanning the weeks prior, and Jack was beside himself.

This picture was after a couple of races. He wasn't all smiles as he watched his car though, which made me wonder if he realized that he was winning each heat. He told me later he knew he was winning, but didn't dare hope to actually WIN.

We think Jane was his lucky charm. She quietly went to the kid's corner and made this sign for him. She's the best sister ever.

When WE realized that Jack might actually take the cake, we realized we'd only prepared him to be a good loser, not a gracious winner. (We'd heard too many stories of disappointment and tears!). Jeff ran over to brief him, and he was fine. I guess we need to have a little more faith next time. We knew he'd spent a lot of time and effort, but you just never know! There were some REALLY fast cars!

Jack was glowing all evening, and we were so happy that all his afternoons of sanding had paid off!

Jane is 6

Or, turned six in September. It's been a while, but I didn't want it to go undocumented...

Here's Jane with her poster from her Kindergarten class. She LOVED this. They obviously asked her great questions because everything they wrote down was absolutely accurate!

The morning of her birthday, I don't know what she liked more: her treasure hunt with presents in obscure places, or the actual presents!

She'd been begging for a Rapunzel cake. This was the best I could do. It was fun, but stressful to decide how to do it. I ended up copying it almost exactly off of a blog I found. Someday she'll realize I am not creative... what will I do then?

Jeff took a half day and we went to the city pool, one of Jane's favorite activities. We swam for hours. It was a fun and tiring afternoon. Jane was in heaven!

The week after her birthday, our big 6 year old performed in her first violin recital with her new teacher. Jack had a small accident with some scissors while making a birthday present for Jane that didn't allow him to participate, so she was the big star of the night. She did GREAT!

We only got these two pictures, because we videoed the actual performance. Wish we could do both at once!