Levi's Birth Story

I really like to document the birth of my children. I think bringing a baby into the world is one of the most amazing experiences ever and it is something I like to remember best I can. The birth of baby Levi started off with lots of days of contractions and false alarms. In fact I had been dilated to 4cm for a full week before I had him. The day before Levi was born I was having contractions so regularly that I called Andrew to tell him to come home early so we could go have a baby. Andrew takes the bus home but his boss was so nervous the bus would make him late and miss the delivery that he drove him the 40 minutes it takes to get home and then drove all the way back to work. I felt so bad because shortly after Andrew got home my contractions pretty much stopped. I was so frustrated to say the least. That night I woke up at 3:00 in the morning with contractions as close as 3 minutes apart. So I woke up Andrew and we left around 5:00 am to go to the hospital. They checked me in to triage, but shortly after we got to the hospital my body decided to play another trick on me and my contractions pretty much stopped. They checked me and I was still dilated to a 4. They didn't want to check me in until I had progressed more so we left and went home and ate breakfast but found ourselves back at the hospital and hour and a half later. This time I was dilated to 6cm and my cervix 90% thinned so they checked me in! Finally, this was actually happening!
I wanted to deliver him naturally again, it's funny how easily you forget how hard that really is. After a few hours I was ready to be done, but I pushed through. Because of the baby's position I was having a lot of back labor and Andrew was such a life saver by putting counter pressure on my back. So so grateful he was there and so helpful. I was also grateful for a tentative nurse and doctor who knew I had quick labors and stayed close by so that when I felt that undeniable urge to push around 10:45 am they were right there and ready for me. I pushed for close to 10 min. Which is longer than I have had to push for my last few babies. They kept telling me to keep pushing and I remember thinking he had to be out by now, but because of his position he wasn't coming out very easily. I am just so glad I was able to have him naturally and that he was head down. This baby was such a mover and was floating around all over the place the last few weeks of my pregnancy.

 Me in my super flattering hospital robe in triage hoping they will let me stay.

 In labor in between contractions

 Minutes after Levi was born

 Our 5 little boys. Are we crazy or what? Well, we may be crazy but we are also very blessed.

We are so in love with this beautiful baby boy and are so glad he has come to our family.

A Years Worth Of Birthdays!

 I thought this would be a good opportunity to do an update on each of us. I was looking through our blog a few weeks ago and was sad that I had stopped blogging more than a year ago. I really enjoy looking back at how much the kids have grown and all the things we have done together. So I am doing a mega catch up. I will start with each of our birthdays.

 Tristan recently turned 5. I love this boy so much, but in the past he has exasperated me to the point of madness. But in the last few months he has really been such a joy to our family. He is learning to read and write and loves telling us random but adorably cute stories. As long as you don't ever tell him he is adorable or cute. That is something I have to keep to myself unless I want a stern talking to from him telling me how he is not cute, only cool or awesome. He loves super heroes and actually has a bunch of imaginary super heroes that seem to have more authority than mom sometimes. His preschool teacher says he is very smart and he cracks her up with all the cute things he says.

 Carter turned 9 over the summer and was so excited to get to light his own candles on his birthday cake. Carter is such a caring boy. He loves his little brothers and is good about taking care of them. He is constantly asking about the baby in my tummy. Asking how big he is or asking if we can read information online about how he is developing. He loves to feel the baby move and is eagerly anticipating his arrival. He is doing very well in school. He is an amazing speller and loves math. He recently joined the school orchestra and is learning to play the viola. I can't wait to go to his first concert in November.

 I told the boys that they could have birthday parties when they turned 8 but since we had just moved into a new neighborhood and didn't know many people last year we decided to let Carter have a pool party this year. Here are some of the party goers. 

 Oh there is so much to say about our sweet little Asher. The above picture is him on his 2nd birthday more than 6 months ago. He loves balls more than any of our other boys and I think we will have to start him in sports earlier than we did with the other boys. He also loves to sing. I will often catch him singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Pat-a-cake or London Bridges, among many others. He is a quick learner, he knows how to count to 10 and can sing the alphabet and already knows some of the sounds that the letters make. He loves to play with with blocks and has a set of blocks that he always insists come to bed with him every night. But the thing that I cannot forget to mention about Asher is his hair. We are always getting comments about his crazy hair. I should probably insert a more recent picture of it as it seems to get crazier with each passing month. It sticks up like mad no matter how hard we try to smooth it down. I cannot even take him out of the house without someone commenting on his wild hair.

This picture was taken last year when Parker was turning 7 and he has grown so much since then. It amazes me how smart this kid is. We recently got the results of a reading test that his school did and he scored 98th percent nationally for his grade. That is amazing to me. He is in second grade and is reading on a 4th to 5th grade reading level. He loves to learn new things and in constantly recalling facts about things he has read or seen. He loves to play with friends and seriously dislikes doing chores around the house. He is a joy to have in our family.

 This is a picture of me on my 30th birthday. Sometimes I cant believe I am already in my thirties, then I remember that I am pregnant with my 5th kid and I think its ok to be 30.

Andrew was such a good sport to wear the big birthday hat while we sang to him. The kids couldn't get me to put it on, it's a good thing they have such a fun dad.

Baby Bump

If you had asked my 10 years ago how many kids I would have I would have said, maybe three, but here I am pregnant with our fifth child! And I never, ever in a million years thought I would have 5 boys. Its funny the way life turns out. We are very excited to have another boy join our family in November!

First Day of School

Parker started 2nd grade, Carter started 4th grade and we decided to hold off on Tristan staring Kindergarten until next year because his birthday is borderline, so he started preschool. So far they all seem to enjoy school. They are such smart boys and they make me proud to be their mom.

 This is Tristan bringing cupcakes to his preschool class on his birthday. The sun was so bright that there was no way he could possibly open his eyes even for a second so his mom could take a picture of him. Silly boy.

 Carter with Mrs Vasquez

Parker with Ms Martin

Utah Trip Summer 2013

I so so so look forward to our Utah trip every summer. I enjoy going at Christmas time too, but nothing beats Utah in the summer. I always wish I had taken more pictures while we were there but here are a few we did manage to take.

 Andrew was able to take the boys fishing at Tibble Fork with my dad, grandpa and brother-in-law John and his kids. I am glad they got to go because the kids LOVE fishing with my dad.

 My dad, Carter and Kiyden chillin.

 Parker catching a fish with Great Grandpa Gunderson. It warms my heart that they are able to build relationships with their great grandparents because it is not something that many kids get.

 I seriously love Utah mountains.

 One of the activities we did with the Hatch's was going to the little pioneer museum in Pleasant Grove. We also went up American Fork canyon and roasted hot dogs. Then we did the annual candy launch at Ammon and Abby's house, but I didn't get any pictures of any of those activities.

 My parents rented a bouncy house with a slide and a pool and the kids had a blast and played in it pretty much all day.

This is the first girl born on the Gunderson side of the family. Congrats to Amy and John! She is beautiful! I don't think it would be much of a stretch to say she may be the only girl grandchild. Maybe Jennifer and David will pull through and have some girls.

Carter

 

We had a big birthday in our family last month. Carter turned 8!! He made the choice to be baptized, and we decided to do it in Utah when we made our July visit so all the family wouldn't have to make the trip to AZ in the middle of summer. Carter was so focused on trying to feel the spirit on his baptism day that he forgot to smile for his pictures. ;) 

 I must admit, I love the face he is making in this picture. What a goof. 

Although Tristan had a huge meltdown right before/during the ordinance which was stressful and distracting, Carter's baptism was an amazingly spiritual experience. I did not expect to feel the spirit so strong. It made me realize what an important decision this was for Carter. I got the feeling that God has big things in store for this special guy. I was also very touched by all the family that came to support him. It meant a lot to Andrew and I, and am sure it did to Carter as well. A big thanks to all that came!

 This was the day Carter turned 8. We tried really hard to make it a special day for him. Hopefully we succeeded!

Practicality

 A few months ago my Grandparents came down from Utah for a visit. While taking a tour around our house my Grandma said to me, "This house could sure use some decorating." I groaned internally and thought, "Did my Grandma just tell me my house had no style?" She was right, of course. Love you Grandma! I have never been one to spend money on non essentials. I must admit that 95% of the decorative things that we own have either been given to us or we have gotten them for free. I even have fake plants in my house. I know they are out of date and tacky, but I like the look of green leafy things in the house and for the life of me I cannot keep a live plant without killing it thoroughly. So the fake plants stay.
But if Grandma thought my house needed help, I would give it some sort of effort. So I set out to make my home more stylish. While perusing the isle of the home decor section of a near by department store, a beautiful vase caught my eye so I checked the price tag. What?! You want me to pay how much for that? That could feed my family for a week! It better do something spectacular, like grow it's own flowers spontaneously according to the season.  I did not buy the vase, nor did I buy anything else.
 I know that there are ways to get around spending lots of money on things like vases or picture frames or artwork. Things like checking my local goodwill, or making my own. I am realizing that is probably the route I am going to have to take, but my motivation for spending countless hours doing those things sounds exhausting. So for now if you come to my house, come expecting the plain and simple. I'm okay with it.

Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

I thoroughly enjoyed General Conference this weekend. It was so spiritually uplifting, a great testimony builder, and helped me intensify my love of the Savior. Oh, there is so much more to say about what I love about General Conference, my Savior and my church, but I will save that for another time. I will just say, it's truth! The last song of the Sunday morning session was Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I LOVE this song! If you do not get chills while listening to it, then listen to it again and you will! :)

The New House

Yep, it's true. We bought a house. It is very nice to finally have a home that we can call ours. We really like the house and it was in great condition when we moved in. I find myself going crazy trying to keep it in good condition with 4 boys running around the house all day. I'm sure the boys will soon learn that shoes do not belong on the carpet and that the walls and the curtains are not their napkin, but probably not.

Living room view #1

Living room view #2

Staircase (in case it wasn't obvious)

Loft view #1

Hallway into the bedrooms

Loft view #2

View from front door

Front door

I am giddy with excitement when I think about all the fun ways I want to decorate it. Then I remember we spent all our money buying the house. Oh well, someday!
Also, I just realized I didn't take a picture of the front of the house. I'll get on that, but meanwhile you can enjoy all the other pictures you have been dying to see. Okay, so most of you probably don't even care, but I know my mom does. :)

Snow......or close to it

We had a pleasant surprise today. We had a hail storm. It was quite the storm too! It came down like crazy! The boys thought it was the coolest thing ever. Then afterwards they had fun playing in the "snow". Since we have moved from Southern California to Arizona our boys really have hardly any experience playing in cold weather. They thought it was great!

I had to throw in this picture of Asher because he is just so stinkin cute!