Brave Boys

We had to take the boys in to the Lab to get their blood drawn for some tests that the Dr. ordered. I 'm telling you it was quite the drama. Jared had done this before so he kind of remembered what he was in for and was really brave. Dallin being ever so dramatic like always made it a huge production but in the end was brave, with lots of bribery of ice cream :o). Shane didn't know what he was signing up for but he was super brave and jumped into the chair saying my turn my turn. When they poked him he said that hurts but stayed really still. I am grateful for the very patient nurses who helped my boys and in the end we all had some really good ice cream.

Here they are with their little Band-Aids. For the rest of the day Dallin kept reminding us that his elbow was busted and to be careful of it.

I am glad we don't have to do that very often. :o)

Christmas 2008

Christmas was very enjoyable this year. We took it real easy and just enjoyed the day. Christmas eve the boys opened their new PJ's and went to bed. Then Christmas morning we wake up to Dallin telling us that the blocks are for them. We had been working on these building blocks for a couple weeks and there just was no way to keep them a total secret, so we just told the boys that we were making them for some children that deserved them. He was pleasantly surprised. 

Soo Cute! 

Shanes favorite part about the blocks is that he can build a big tower and then knock them down. Just be sure not to be standing too close, they don't fall softly. 

Shane flying his Geo Tracks airplane. 

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. It has been quite a holiday season for us. I think our goal for next year is going to be to keep the stress levels at a minimum. That means not doing anything life changing for a while. Perhaps just finish up a few projects and enjoy our 4 boys. 

Here is the story

I need to apologize that this has taken me so long to get to but life has been a little crazy. 

So here is the story of Liam. 

I have very big babies so my Dr. agreed to induce me a week early. That would have been Monday November 24th. That morning we had aranged child care for the other 3 boys and a very dear friend was going to come to our house at 5:30 in the morning and stay until the boys woke up and then take them to her house. As Aaron and I were getting ready to go the phone rang and it was the hospital. They said that there was no room for me a the moment and they would call later that day if a bed opened. So we called our friend and canceled and waited. Monday was the longest day ever. And at 6:00 that night we called the hospital for the last time and they said they would put me first on the list for Tuesday. So we again had to arrange child care with a different set of friends. (Have I mentioned that I feel so blessed to be here where my friends take such great care of me? We would have been in huge trouble if not for a handful of wonderful friends. ) So Tuesday morning came and all morning I was afraid the hospital would call and say not to come but they didn't. We arrive at the hospital at 6:00 am and the nurses got us settled into our room and start me on pitocin. Just like the one before him Liam was in no hurry to get here, I don't think he was happy that we were evicting him. And we didn't have a name set yet. So it took all day for my body to decide to go into labor. The hospital did have the wireless monitors which was a step up from last time I was there. It comes to a point where if they attach one more wire or tube to you it is just too much. So around 7:00 or 8:00 that evening I start to feel the contractions really good. I got my first interthecal (sp?)at 9:00pm and it took the edge off for a couple hours and let me rest. I made a little progress after the Dr. broke my water and then got another interthecal at 11:00. I was able to rest some more and to help move things along they had me stand up for a while. As we waited for the anesthesiologist to come ( he was helping someone else at the time) He gave me my last shot at 12:00 and I was able to sleep for an hour. When the pain woke me up again the nurse checked me and the baby was already at a +1 so it was time to start pushing. It took a while to wake up Aaron but when everything was set I started pushing. Aaron was able to dress in a gown and gloves and practically deliver the baby.

 It was really neat. It took less than 20 minutes to actually deliver him at that point and then it was all worth it. He was born Wednesday morning at 1:08 am. He weighed 7 lb. and 15 oz. and was 21 inches long. He is long and skinny just like Jared was, with a lot of dark hair. The boys came to visit later that day and they were all very happy to see him. 

On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) we were invited to a friend's house for dinner so I wanted to go. I could have stayed in the hospital another day but I really did not want to spend the holiday in the hospital. So when we finally decided on Liam for a name we went home. We never had such a hard time choosing a name, but I think we got it right. I really wanted to have his middle name Lawrence, after my great grandfather Lester Lawrence Sibley. And Aaron really liked the name Liam. My Mom thinks it is funny but we actually called the family and asked them what they thought there was a poll taken at my Mom's house while the family was having Thanksgiving Dinner. It was between Emmit and Liam. There was a lot of very good feedback and we decided that we would go with Liam. 

So after a name was settled upon and we had dinner at the Patterson's house we are loading into the car for the first time with all 4 boys. Liam is a little upset and crying a little. We set his seat into the car next to Shane and tell Shane that he is lucky because he gets to sit next to the new baby. Shane didn't think it was such an honor because he tells me 'Mom, please put baby back into your tummy.' I just laughed. 

 

Now we are home and adjusting to things here. Aaron has been playing Mr. Mom while I recover and it has been quite a long recovery. I like to think I am super woman and I push myself too much some days and pay for it the next. I am learning, I think. :o) Aaron has been great. Although he does get overwhelmed every now and then. That is to be expected being both a Mom and a Dad is a difficult task. 

These are pictures taken of Liam at one week old. 

 

I love this one. 

Photo Tag

This is my Shane on his 1st Birthday, May 10, 2007. We went to the Folsom Zoo and walked around. Here we are looking at the bear exhibit.  He has grown so much, no longer 'Baby Shane' as everyone called him. He doesn't even have his baby fat anymore. I can not believe how big he has become. He talks so well and loves to help. And on Monday he will be a big brother. 

Now it is everyones turn that reads this post. Make a post about your fourth picture in your fouth folder and tell us about it. Thanks Lisa for the great idea. 

Everything and Anything - A Picker Family Update

Shane was trying to fit Aaron's shoes. The scary thing is that someday he might actually grow out of Aaron's shoes. 

This is a fun time of year when all the toy catalogs come in the mail. Shane had a great time looking at all the pictures and pointing out all the fun toys. We think Santa is going to bring a GeoTracks set. :o) 

The month of November starts the craziness in our home. It is the start of many many birthdays and holidays in our family. 

Dallin is the first to have a birthday, his is on Nov 11. Veterans Day. He gets to have a parade every year and will never have to go to school on his Birthday. He just thinks it is wonderful to be able to go to a parade. 

This year (mostly because I am so pregnant) we decided that he could take out one friend on his birthday celebration. He chose his best friend Scott. And he wanted to go to the Fish Hatchery. Now is a good time of the year for that because the Salmon are running right now. Those fish are as big as Dallin. The record they said is 68lbs. That is one huge fish. The boys loved to watch the Salmon jump up the fish ladder and would yell and run up to the next level to see it jump again. Then we were able to go and feed the baby fish, the boys loved that. We had some good timing too because while we were there a park ranger came and filled up our cups to the top with fish food. Yum! (Shane actually tried a little Eww) Dallin got his cup filled twice, how lucky for him to have things work out so well on his birthday. As we were leaving we were able to pet a horse that was unloading to take a walk on the trails too. He was a very sweet horse and the boys loved that when you pet him dust would fly off. Boys are so weird sometimes. 

 

After the Fish Hatchery we went to Red Robin and had hamburgers and milkshakes. And opened presents. Dallin got 3 Transformers and a drawing book and erasable colored pencils and a book with over 2000 stickers in it. He is a great little artist and is so excited to have his own little book to draw in. Then at home we had an ice-cream cake and watched a movie. It was a nice day doing what Dallin wanted. Everyone deserves a day to do just what they want every now and then.   

As most of you know in October Aaron and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. We wanted to mark the date with something special so we decided to get an anniversary band made for my ring. (this is a picture of it, the bottom is the wedding band, the middle the engagement ring and the top is the anniversary band that was made. ) It turned out beautiful. And it hasn't been this clean for years. 

I just wanted to show off. :o) 

We had the band made at Jared's Jewelry and when we went to pick up the ring we noticed that Jared had his own parking space. How nice of them to reserve  a place just for him. :o) 

Pumpkin Carving fun

The pumpkin creations that we made. The small pumpkin on the left actually grew in our garden. Dallin's pumpkin is the next on with the ghost face, Aaron and I have the big one with the stem as the nose. Shane's was the cat and Jared carved his own on the very right, I think it is just supposed to be scary. 

Aaron getting into the spirit of things. 

Squishy Gooey Fun

If you think about it, this is a really wasteful tradition. The only comfort that I have is that they will all go into the compost pile and be recycled into next years pumpkins. 

Trunk or Treat

Saturday night was our ward's Trunk or Treat. The boys had a great time. And amazingly enough they did not bring home more candy than I took to give out (which is usually the case) I love this quick and easy way of doing things. No walking for miles and I feel secure enough to let my 8 year old go off on his own. That is why I only have one picture of him. Knowing that there are a lot of people that know and love my boys there helped too. 

So this year we were comic book hero's, Jared was Batman and Dallin was Spiderman and Shane was Super Raccoon (because he wanted to be a hero like his brothers). 

Shane was so much fun this year. He loves to point at all the gross halloween decorations and tell me that they are scary. 

This is Dallin with his best buddy Scott, They were so cute in their muscly Spiderman costumes that matched. They go to the same Kindergarten class and have been talking about their costumes for the past 2 weeks. They hung out together most of the night. 

Here is my Jared in his Batman costume I had to catch him quick before he was off. Just a foreshadowing of what is to come in the years ahead I fear. 

All in all we had a good night. I am glad that we were able to do something fun for them that was safe and wholesome. Halloween is not Aaron and I's favorite holiday in the least.