Our little chatterbox

I love baby chatter. This guy has me wrapped around his little finger!

Dancing Queen

Avrie did the Meridian High School dance clinic this week and LOVED it! They did 2 days of classes and then performed at a basketball half time. She really is such a GIRL and I can't wait until we can put her in real dance classes!

Here she is with her friends. Bella, Tayzlee, Avrie, and Avery!

And making her big debut for your viewing pleasure:

Beck

My friend Sherrie was super awesome and took some newborn pictures of Beck when he was less than a week old. The first day we tried he just did not want to sleep! You know how newborns are with their pterodactyl hands going all crazy if they're not bundled up. (Yes, I googled how to spell pterodactyl. Who knew it had a silent P!?) Anyway, she was SO nice to come back a second day since the first attempt was a bust. He's already grown so much and I'm glad we captured that newborn look before it passed!

 We had to take a BYU one for Klay's office. I'm thinking I should order a mini Utah State helmet just to even things out here!

Thanks so much Sherrie!

Beck Barton Johnson

Beck Barton Johnson

October 4, 2012

7 lbs 4 oz

20 1/2 in

I've broken this post up in to parts so you can read only the things you care about. Some people want to read about the delivery part and some couldn't care less. Some want current updates and some just come for pictures, in which case you probably didn't even read this far. But I want to record everything for my own memories. :)
 
THE MUSHY (BUT TRUE) STUFF
I seriously can't get enough of this little guy. I have never soaked up the newborn stage like I have this time around and I'm sad Beck is growing so fast! Can I just stop time and cuddle him forever? There is such a special spirit that comes with having a baby that makes me love and appreciate Klay and my other kids even more than I did before.

I was way more nervous for Beck to come than either of my other babies. We have no family here. I am super grumpy when I don't get enough sleep. I've heard people really struggle with either kid number two or number three and two really wasn't bad for me at all. I thought  my other two deliveries were so easy that something had to go wrong this time. I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

And I must say... things are going GREAT.

THE DELIVERY
I had been having tons of braxton hicks contractions for months and 3 weeks before my due date I started having regular contractions which I had only had once I was in active labor with my other kids. Avrie was 13 days early and Boston was 9 days early so I thought for sure this baby would be even earlier with all the contractions! One day, 2 weeks before my due date, I had 9 contractions in an hour and a half and I thought for sure it was the day. And then they quit! It was a hard decision to be induced since I had never had to make the choice before but I was pretty miserable thinking that every time I had a contraction it might be the time and then it never was. I went in for my appointment on Wednesday, October 3rd and was already dilated to a 4 so the doctor told me I could be induced Thursday or Friday if I wanted. I decided to be induced on Thursday for a number of reasons, one of them being that is our nephew, Kaulin's, birthday (who is on a mission) and he thought it would be so cool if we had the baby on his birthday. :)  Plus being induced meant my mom could come Wednesday night and we could have a plan instead of having our friends on call in case I went in to labor in the middle of the night.

I went in at 7:30 am, started on pitocin at 9, got my epidural at noon, had my water broken at 1, and delivered a healthy baby boy at 2:47 pm after two pushes. My contractions really weren't that strong when I got the epidural but I knew the doc was coming to break my water around noon and they would get much worse after that. After I delivered the nurse told me if I would have waited until after they broke my water to get the epidural I probably wouldn't have had time to get it so I'm SO glad I decided to get it when I did!

It sort of felt like a party when I was pushing... the delivery nurse had a nursing student with her all day, the doc had a residency student checking on me and she actually delivered the baby with the doc standing behind her, and the NP I had seen for most of my appointments came for the little man's big debut, and of course Klay was there. So between my 2 pushes I actually started laughing because there were SO many people just staring and waiting for the baby to come out! So Beck came out to quite a crowd! I stayed in the hospital for 24 hours and headed home. To my relief it was just as easy as the other two deliveries!

My mom stayed for 4 days after I had Beck and then took Aves and Boston home for 5 days. (Thank you SO MUCH mom!) In that time I didn't do a single thing except sit and hold him and just stare at him. It was like having my first baby again! It was so wonderful to have that alone time with him. By about the 3rd or 4th day the kids were gone I really started missing them and the quiet was kinda getting to me (although I knew that after about 6 hours of them being home I would probably be ready to send them back to my parent's house!). So we met my mom in Twin Falls and we picked up the kids to began the madness of life with 3 kids!

LIFE WITH 3 KIDS
For the most part, having 3 kids is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm still waiting for reality to hit though because Beck still sleeps a lot during the day and I know that won't last forever. And we haven't really had to leave the house too much or go do anything mandatory so life has been pretty slow.

Avrie and Boston absolutely adore Beck! People kept asking if I was worried about Boston with a new baby but I knew he would do great. He LOVES babies and has always been very sweet with them. A few hours after the kids came to the hospital to meet Beck they were coloring and Boston started getting a little grumpy and irritated. He was standing by Beck and me and said with his teeth gritted together and holding a blue crayon, "I'll poke the baby in the head with my crayon!!!" We had a little talk about how we treat the baby and all got a little chuckle out of it. He's shown nothing but love since then. (Sometimes too much love! Every time Bos holds Beck I think he's going to squeeze his head off with his hugs but we're working on being soft.)

Avrie is such a good sister and helper. She happily does whatever I need for the baby and constantly wants to hold him and give him kisses. She really has turned into my little buddy and is such a little mom!

(BEWARE: REALLY MUSHY STUFF AHEAD)
Then there's Klay. How did I get so lucky? He is such an amazing father and husband. He has been going in to work late since I had Beck so I can sleep in a little longer. I love his work schedule when it's not tax season!:) I feel like I spend so much time feeding and taking care of Beck that sometimes the other kids end up watching a lot of tv and hanging out on their own during the day. When the kids hear the garage open at the end of the day they run as fast as they can and scream for daddy when he walks in the door. Klay will jump on the trampoline, chase them around, wrestle with them, give them treats and popcicles before dinner, and basically do what he can to wear them out before bed time. And somehow between all that he finds time to help make dinner, do dishes, and make me feel like I'm not a hermit stuck with a bunch of little people all day! He is such a good example to me and helps me realize the kind of parent I want to be.

He is also very willing to get up with Beck and feed him. I feel guilty letting him take a shift knowing he has to get up for work in the morning but he always reminds me that he's more than happy to do it and that he requires much less sleep than I do. So for the last few days the 3 or 4 am feeding has been his shift and it's made a world of difference in how I feel. Then he gets up with Boston at 6 or 7 and never complains about doing it or about being tired. I don't know what I would do without him!

Heading home from the hospital

OK, BACK TO BECK
So far Beck has been a great baby! He is really content for the most part and only cries when he is hungry or somehow wiggled out of his little swaddle cocoon. He eats about every 3 hours and will sometimes go 4 at night. Lately he's decided he likes to be awake from about 10 pm to 2 am but at least he's not fussy during that time, just doesn't want to go to sleep. Once he is asleep, he can sleep through anything! My friend came over the other day and commented on how he is definitely the 3rd child. The kids were being totally crazy in the same room, I was vacuuming like 5 feet away from him, and he was snoozing right through it! Right after we brought him home, Bos dropped a ball on Beck's head on accident and he made one little peep and then got over it. I'm hoping his good nature sticks with him with such a rambunctious older brother around!

I used to think I didn't really like the newborn stage but I have completely changed my mind. Beck's cheeks and thighs are already staring to get a little chunkier and he is changing so fast! Can I please stop time and hold him a little longer? I read a thought on a blog the other day that completely summed up how I feel in a way I couldn't express, "This is happening right now and I already miss it."

I never want to forget the way he lays on my chest and sleeps with his legs bent up like a frog, the way his little neck looks when he tries to stretch and lift up his head, the 'elephant skin' as we call all the excess skin rolls on his skinny little legs, all his little grunts, sneezes, squeaks, and noises, his tiny little cry when he's hungry, the way his arms look when he stretches them above his head, the peaceful look in his eyes when it's just the two of us hanging out at 1:00 in the morning, the random smiles when he's sleeping, the new baby smell, the way he sticks out his tongue and gets a wrinkled look of disgust when I try to give him his binki and he doesn't want it, and the way his hair is so crazy and fuzzy after I give him a bath.

First picture and last 2 pics taken by my friend Keely. Thanks a ton!!!

But since he has already grown and changed a TON since any of these pictures were taken I guess I'll just have to soak it all up and enjoy it while it lasts. We love this little guy so much!

Kids say it best

I decided to let the kids make this announcement.

October 2012 will change our family forever and we can't wait!

I just got worked by my 4 year old

The other day I was helping Avrie clean her room. She said she had to go potty and went to the bathroom. I kept cleaning and then realized she had been gone for a while and I was almost done. I purposely left a few things on the floor for Aves to pick up and went to check on her. I peeked my head in the bathroom door.
"Are you almost done?"
"Are YOU almost done?" Was her response.
My 4 year old had gotten out of cleaning her room by sitting on the toilet the whole time! I was sure glad I had at least left a few things for her to finish up!

Avrie had been carrying around a baby shower invitation for a few days. One day she was going potty in the half bath downstairs holding the invitation. (I just realized both stories involve Aves sitting on the toilet!)
"Dad!"
"What Aves?"
"No dad, I need you to come in here."
Klay walks in the bathroom. "What do you need?"
Making a fanning motion with the invitation, "Will you do this to me while I go potty?"
I think maybe she was royalty in her former life expecting someone to fan her while she peed!

It was such a nice, hot day outside the kids were running through the sprinklers. I was only planning on posting a pic of Aves with this post but that picture of Bos was so cute I had to attach it!

I really don't hate my kids

Every time I got on the internet my blog pops up. Well, I started to get sick of looking at me complaining about my kids. So here are a few pictures and a post where I'm NOT complaining! (A miracle, I know.)

I looked out the back door this afternoon to find this:

I love when they get along so well and entertain each other.

Who knew all you need is a nice afternoon, some sidewalk chalk, and some wood scraps? They've been playing with this junk all afternoon.

Avrie took swimming lessons in February with her buddies Stockton and Zach.

Who loves swimming lessons?! She's in swimming lessons again this month but doesn't know anyone in her class and (gasp!) they're all boys. Her teacher isn't quite as much fun so I don't think she likes it quite as much as last time but she's still excited to go.

I'm sure you'll get sick of seeing everyone's Easter festivities, but here are some of ours:
Coloring eggs the Sunday before Easter

The neighborhood Easter egg hunt at the park the Saturday before Easter:

I don't know why these are sideways. I've tried a few things to fix it and it's not working. Just tilt your head I guess. When Bos picked up that egg it had some dirt on it and he said very matter-of-factly, "It's too dirty." And threw it back down. I made him put it back in his backpack. I think he got about 5 eggs and I probably put half in his bag. He just walked around and enjoyed observing all the madness.

We had a little picnic in our backyard for lunch on Easter. The kids loved wearing their new sunglasses.

Peace!