Two Weeks...

Wow, I can't believe that Crew has been a part of our family for two weeks. We have had many different emotions these last two weeks. Crew has certainly enjoyed making us worry about him more than once. After a short spurt in the NICU and a lump forming on his head, we have said many prayers on his behalf. But, inspite of all the worry, we have loved having him around. Although I didn't exactly plan on having a four year gap between Cannon and the baby, I feel this age difference has really allowed me to be able to give Crew lots of love and attention. I have had the time to really enjoy him because Colton and Cannon are old enough to entertain themselves for the most part. I am so thankful Heavenly Father has given me the opportunity to be a mother to yet another boy. I love him so much and just after two weeks can't imagine life without him. He truly has been an amazing baby. Crew does not cry very much. He is content most of the time. He loves to be rocked to sleep. He loves to be held. He loves to have a bath. Hopefully Crew will stay this way. Sometimes babies can have personality shifts after a few weeks.



I really love this newborn stage except for the nights. I really don't want him to get any bigger. I wish I could freeze time for a little while longer.

Stressful Day...

Yesterday was a very stressful day. I woke up and was feeding Crew and found a lump on his head. I immediately called to get him a doctor's appointment. His doctor was uncertain about what the fluidy bump was. He then sent us to the hospital for an ultrasound. After all this hassle the radiologist wasn't sure what it could be either. So the conclusion is.....we will watch it for a week and then decide if he needs a catscan.



Amongst all the chaos he looked adorable for his doctors appointments!



Look at his darling shoes!

Forgotten Carols...

Greg and I escaped the 3 boys and went to the Forgotten Carols last night. We enjoyed the musical and the spirit of Christmas that was felt. Thanks Grandma for watching all the boys!

Thanksgiving 2007...

There are many many things I am thankful for. I love Thanksgiving and I love to reflect on the past year and all of my many blessings.

T-estimony. I am thankful for my testimony. It is so nice to have a foundation of the gospel in my life. I am thankful that I can teach my children about Jesus Christ and the difference between right and wrong. What a wonderful blessing to have the gospel, especially when times get rough and we need something to pull us through.

H-aving our sweet baby Crew. I can't believe how much we have enjoyed having Crew in our home. He is definitely a piece of heaven. He is such a good baby so far. He is sleeping well at night and is a joy to have around during the day. I am so thankful that we are blessed to have Crew join our family.

A-nother year. I am thankful for 2007. My family has been very blessed to have health and happiness in 2007. I am looking forward to a new year and new experiences. I hope for health, happiness, and growth in 2008.

N-eighbors. We have so many wonderful neighbors and friends. Our friends are the very best. They are always there for us and we have such a great time hanging out and spending time together.

K-ind Acts. These past few weeks we have had so many kind acts given to our family. We are thankful for meals, visits, and gifts given. Thank you so much for your love and support.

F-amily. What would we do without our family. I love Greg, Colton, Cannon, and Crew so much. They are my world. I love each day and each new adventure with them. I am also thankful for my Mom, Dad, and Siblings, and Greg's Mom, Dad, and Siblings. We have been very blessed to have all of their help and support these past few weeks since Crew has been born. They have also taken their fair share of tending kids this past year while Greg and I have had a couple of vacations. Thanks for all your love and support!

U-nderstanding Husband. I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He has been so great to pick up the slack these last 9 months during the pregnancy when I was tired or not feeling well. He picked up so much of the slack. I am also grateful for all the help since Crew has been born. He is an amazing husband and I am so glad we have a great marriage.

L-aughter. What would we do without laughter. I just love to hear Colton and Cannon laugh when they think something they say is funny. Laughter is also the perfect remedy to a bad day.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We headed down to Utah and enjoyed a few days of relaxation. Crew was held the whole time. Colton and Cannon played card games or nintendo the whole time. It was great!



Dad carving the Turkey



The Cooks



Colton and Cannon enjoying the rolls. That was all they would eat.



Crew snoozing on the kitchen counter while I chated and everyone else cooked



Crew in his cute outfit

No Time To Blog...

Having a newborn has really thrown me for a loop. I am truly enjoying having a newborn again. I have loved every second of it, but I don't have time to do anything else but take care of Crew. The last two nights Crew has done amazing with his sleeping. He has only woken up once each night. What an angel. I hope that we can keep that up from here on out.

Today was totally exhausting. It took me from 8-11:30 trying to get ready to leave the house. I can't believe one little person can throw my schedule off so much. We had to take Crew to the doctor to make sure his weight was stable. He came home from the hospital weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz. Today he weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. I guess he is getting enough to eat! I also worked on laundry all day trying to get ready to go to Utah for Thanksgiving. I also ran to Target to get diapers for Crew. (I forgot how much it costs just to have a little one in diapers) and then Greg (bless his heart) was totally losing patients with Colton and Cannon this afternoon, so I offered to take them to the library. Greg has done so much, including nights with Crew that I wanted to let him have some quiet time. But, the library was not the greatest idea. After leaning over getting books, holding a pile of books in a long line, and walking a pile of books to the car, I felt I had been hit by a truck. Then, I had to come home and pack 3 kids and myself to go to Utah tomorrow. Now you can see why I am totally exhausted. It makes me exhausted just typing this.

Anyways that is the happenings of our family the last couple days. Hope everybody has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. I am truly grateful for all my many blessings!



I thought I would just close this post with a picture of Crew's foot. Ever since we first saw them, we laugh that he has ski's for feet. They are so long. We love it!

Crew's 1st

Crew's 1st Night Home

What a nightmare! Crew was awake screaming from 11:00-5:00 last night. He wouldn't even calm down when we would hold him. I don't know what was wrong with him. Hopefully tonight will go better.



But, of course, he has slept all day!



Crew's 1st Bath

Besides pooping once and peeing once during his bath, he actually did pretty good!



Crew's 1st time wearing this cute outfit!

Even though last night was the pits, it has been so fun having a brand new baby in the house again. I can't get enough of Crew. I want to hold him, smell him, and kiss him constantly. I love him so much.

The Birth

The belly...Just before the C-Section



Greg thinks he is as smart as the doctors!



The C-section was quite an experience. It was quite different from what I remembered from the last one. I could not really feel any pain when they put the spinal block in. Immediately my legs and stomach were numb and the procedure begun. Dr. Leavitt went quite slow at first removing the old c-section scar and the anticipation of hearing the baby cry was nerve racking. Dr. Leavitt started pulling the baby out and his hand wanted to come out first. After putting his hand back into my stomach, the pulling began. I about died when the 200 lb. assistant pushed on my belly for what seemed hours but was probably only 5 minutes, helping to get the baby out. Finally the baby is out and everybody had bets on how big he was. The doctor kept saying how huge he was when he was trying to pull the baby out. After just minutes the nurses shouted into the surgical area 8 lbs. 2 oz. 21 1/2 inches long. Wow, what a baby. I really can't believe he was shoved inside my belly. Oh yeah, I guess I can because I felt like crap the last few weeks.

Now that Crew was out, I finally felt like we made it through. But, after having Crew in the c-section room for only minutes, they took him away because his breathing didn't sound good. After many tests and one hour later, the doctors surrounded my bed in post-op and told me that Crew was going to have to be admitted to the NICU for 48 hours because his sugar levels were too low and not functioning properly. I was very sad knowing that I wouldn't have my sweet little baby in the room with me, but happy that we had such competent hospital staff watching out for him.

Crew in his incubator in the NICU



Greg taking care of Crew while I was in post-op



Crew with all his cords and wires hooked up to him



Crew being moved into an open bassinette in NICU



After being in the NICU for 48 hours, all of Crew's test came back looking good and they released him and he got to come into my room. YEAH! (Breath a sigh of Relief) Although everything turned out just fine, I have a whole new appreciation for families who have babies in the NICU for long periods of time. Just 48 hours was terribly hard, exhausting, and emotionally draining. We are just happy that today we came home from the hospital with our healthy baby boy Crew. We love him so much. He will be so fun to have around.

Colton and Cannon are so happy to be able to see and hold their brother



Cannon breaking out Crew



Yeah...We are bringing Crew home



As for me, I am recovering really well from the C-section. The first several hours after I had the c-section were pretty rough. After many hours of throwing up, I started feeling better and was able to finally go see and hold Crew. But, each day, I started feeling less sore and I feel like this recovery is going really well!

CREW HEALY DEVRIES

Crew Healy DeVries

8 lbs. 2 oz.

21 1/2 inches long

November 14, 2007 @ 7:19 a.m.

2 a.m. and Awake (Grrrr)

It is suppose to be my last night of sleep without having to get up with a newborn and here I am blogging at 2 a.m. I just can't sleep. The anticipation of the day is driving me crazy.

Monday night we took the boys to Jakers for dinner. After we had finished eating and were waiting for our check, Cannon decided to climb on the bench behind Colton and started pulling on his neck/back. In no time they had both completely flipped out of the bench onto the floor and isle of the restaurant. They are both crying/screaming loudly. Colton said he banged his head pretty badly and Cannon said his bum hurt. Greg and I were completely horrified and embarrassed. All we could do was look at each other and laugh and say, "What are we going to do when there are 3 of them?"

Yesterday seemed like I was in the twilight zone. It all felt very strange thinking this is the last time I will do this with 2 kids or alone because Cannon was in preschool yesterday and I had 2 1/2 hours completely to myself.

-Woke up and watched T.V. for a while

-Took a nice long bath

-Cannon kissed my belly and said this was the last time he would kiss the baby in my belly. (Very Sweet) He was also very inquisitive yesterday about the baby. He wasn't quite sure if the baby was for sure still a boy. I had to answer many very serious 4 year old questions.

-Went to lunch. I was very touchy with Cannon. I kept rubbing his back and snuggling with him thinking, You won't be my baby tomorrow.

-Did some shopping without any children. Target (I love this store)

-Did laundry

-Was very picky about what I would eat for dinner because I couldn't take any heart burn medicine last night. Greg ended up picking up Geraldine's sandwich and soup. Very elaborate wouldn't you say!

-Walked around the house aimlessly wondering what to do.

-Watched Dancing with the Stars Result Show and Biggest Loser

-Finally got around to taking a shower thinking I don't want to have to get up any earlier than necessary. But, since I am awake now, I have plenty of time to shower before I have to be to the hospital at 5 a.m.

-Lastly I finally did pack for the hospital.

-Just typing this out, makes me exhausted. How am I going to feel with a newborn.

-Then it was a pure joke trying to get the kids in bed, or should I say Grandma trying to put the kids to bed. I think we all have some butterflies we are dealing with.

-Cannon kept coming up giving me kisses good night. I think he might feel threatened a little. Colton just pretends nothing is happening. I guess he is a little like his father. What you don't acknowledge, doesn't happen (Right?)

Well, at least this sleepless night allowed me to journal my last couple days before the baby came. I am nervous for the c-section that is going to happen in 4 1/2 hours. I will be glad when I am in recovery, knowing we are done with that. Then I can look forward to a sore stomach and breat feeding for the next three days in the hospital. But, I am truly excited to see the baby and hold him. I am looking forward to that.

So everybody pray for me. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with this new change that will be happening in my life. I don't even think I felt this unsure when I was having Cannon. I had a 2 year old and a baby. Why didn't I feel this nervous then. I guess because I was already busy and crazy taking care of a two year old. I didn't quite have time to think about it too much.

Colton's Basketball Game

This is Colton's 2nd basketball game. He has become very aggressive. He really likes basketball. He spends hours in the garage just dribbling the basketball. He only scored 2 pts. today, but he played great defense. As you can see in the big picture, he had tough physical play. The defensive players would come down and hold Colton's arm and he would hit their arm away. At one point, I thought my little boy was going to get into a fight when he took a swing and hit him in the back. I know Cannon will play this way, but Colton surprised me today. Colton's competitive nature is starting to show through.

Baby Celebration Gift...

Thursday night, some friends put together a dinner baby celebration for me. We went to Garcia's for dinner and it was a blast. This is the gift they gave me. This darling diaper bag and it was stuffed with lots of fun things. An outfit, (darling homemade) burp rags, blankets, P.J.'s, binkis, diapers, wipes, baby toys, etc. You name it, it was in the bag. Thank you so much to all my friends who put the effort into organizing it and buying all the goodies. Thank you to all the great friends I have who attended the dinner and donated to the gift. I hope you all know how much your friendship really does mean to me!!!

Happy 30th Birthday Megan...

Megan is a great sister. She is so fun to be around, but one of my favorite things about her is how much she loves Colton and Cannon. I love to go to Utah when she is visitng, because I know I will have the whole weekend off. She does everything for them. She puts them to bed, plays with them, feeds them, etc. Colton and Cannon love their Aunt Megan!

M-egan is a great sister. I am so glad that she is my sister. Even though we didn't like each other much in high school, we have become very close. I am thankful that I can call her anytime to chat. I am glad to know that we have a close relationship. I love you!

E-nergetic. Even when she comes to Utah and is drop dead tired and only gets to stay for 24-48 hours, she will stay awake for the long haul. She will always stay awake to visit, play games, etc.

G-enuine. She is a very geniune person. She always is very kind and would do anything for anybody.

A-unt. As I said before she is the greatest aunt ever!

N- ever gives up. She is currently doing her residency in General Surgery in LA. She only has 3 years left. She has never given up even when things were hard. I am very proud of her dedication to achieving her dream.

Tagged-7 Random Things About Me...

1. When Greg and I started dating, he said, "I will not marry anyone who doesn't know how to slalom water ski." What a nice guy (HUH) This was a lot of pressure for a 19 year old girl. I had to impress my Greg and learn to slalom ski without making a fool out of myself. So, after many afternoons on the lake, I learned how to slalom ski. It would be interesting to see if I could still get up. I have missed a few water skiing seasons due to pregnancy. But, thanks for the promptings Greg, I am glad I can say I know how to water ski. I love you!

2. I can't for the life of me stay awake when I am traveling in a car. Never ask me to drive anywhere farther than 30 minutes away, because my eyes will start to droop and I will quickly fall asleep. Good thing Greg likes to drive and I like to snooze.

3. Believe it or not, I was a member of the fast food chain for a period of time. When I turned 16, I worked at Chick-fil-a for 2 months of the summer. But, I can still say I will eat there.

4. Cannon and I are a lot alike when it comes to our sleeping habits. Ever since I was little, I would take a nap everyday even through my junior high and high school years. I would come home from school everyday and take at least an hour nap. I still need a lot of sleep. I probably take a nap at least 3 times a week (this is when I am not pregnant.) But, the last 9 months, I probably have taken a nap almost everyday. Sad to say that I pretty much sleep my life away.

5. I love to go out to eat. I could eat out every meal, morning, noon, and night, and I don't think I would ever get sick of it.

6. I can go very stir crazy if I am in my house too long without doing anything. I get this way especially in the winter. Greg can't stand it because he will walk in the door from work and I want to go somewhere. I am willing to do anything when I get to this point, go on a drive, go to dinner, go to the mall, go to target, go visit friends. Whatever it is, I am adamant that we have to leave the house immediately.

7. I am definitely a TV junkie. I have my tivo stacked full of shows that tape each week. In fact, last year, we had to get a second tivo just because of all my recording conflicts. Sadly to say, I spend way to much time watching TV. I wish I could spend all those hours cleaning. I would have the cleanest house in America.

Flu Shots...

Getting her annual flu shot...

I forgot to blog about our experience getting our flu shots this year. Last week, the whole family went into the doctor's office to recieve our flu shots. We told the kids that if they wanted to hold the baby, they had to get a flu shot. Colton cried all the way to the doctor's office. Cannon just kind of yelled at us and told us he was not going to get one. Once we got into the office and filled out the paper work, the kids were growing more anxious. Finally it was time. Mom went first, then Dad, then Colton (who didn't cry because the nurse promised him 2 extra surprises if he didn't cry), and then Cannon. He said Ouch when they put the needle in his arm and his eyes started to well up with tears. I said, "Cannon don't cry, so you can get the extra surprises." He immedietly wiped his eyes and picked out his toys. The moment we got into the car the tirad started. Cannon cried and yelled at us for one hour. He said "I hate you Dad, you paid that lady to give me shot." He continued this for quite some time. Then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, because the nurse told Greg that he had to take us to dinner for getting our shots. Cannon was still crying when we got into the restaurant. We had only been seated for a few minutes when Cannon looked up into a booth across the way and said, "I hate that lady, she gave me my flu shot."
He thought the nurse was at the restaurant. Finally everything calmed down. Whew...what an experience.

Well we thought everything had been forgotten about the dreaded flu shots until yesterday when we were asking Cannon if he was excited to hold the baby. He replies, "I am going to pick the baby up all the time." With wide eyes, Greg calmly says, "Cannon you can't pick up the baby, you are too little." He looks directly at Greg, and very seriously yells, "Yes, I can...I got my Ching Shot." He meant flu shot and Greg and I couldn't stop laughing.

ONE Week to Go...

ONE Week to Go!!!
Can you believe that I am finally down to my one week mark. I seriously can't believe it. I am so excited, nervous, anxious, scared, etc. for November 14th. I haven't had a baby in the house for 4 years. But, with all the emotions we are feeling, the one we are feeling the most is excitement. We are so excited to have the baby arrive.

My Top One emotions...

One wish for the baby...

I wish for a happy healthy baby

One uneasiness for the baby to arrive...

Sleepless nights

One excitement for the baby to arrive...

We can't wait to see who the baby looks like. Cannon wants him to look like him. Colton wants him to look like him. It will be fun to see.

One dread for the baby to arrive...

Breast Feeding

One fear for the baby to arrive...

How are we going to make it through the holidays? (travel, sickness, Christmas Shopping)

One anticipation for the baby to arrive...

I can't wait to hold the baby for the first time. I also can't wait to see Greg, Colton, and Cannon to hold the baby. What a sweet moment that will be.

Wow-What A Weekend...

This weekend was a weekend of fun and surprises. Greg's brother who lives in town was having a blessing and a baptism this weekend. We had many family members come into town for this occasion. Friday, Greg's Mom and Dad arrived and we walked outside and Greg's brother from North Carolina climbed out of the car. No one had any idea he was even coming. Then, Sweet Grandma Healy climbed out of the car. This is Greg's 95 year old Grandma.



Greg's brother from Portland came and Greg's sister from Wyoming came. The whole family was together!

After a wonderful dinner of chicken and Potatoes at Mike and Jeni's, the whole family went swimming at Ameritel.




Then Saturday came and it was a great blessing and baptizim. But, the kids just wanted to play together and enjoy their cousins.



So after two really late late nights, Sunday is here and we are all exhausted and ready to spend the day napping after church.

Here are some cute additional pictures from the weekend...





Greg, Mike, and Ron



Colton was so excited. He changed his clothes after the blessing and walked out of the bathroom and he was in the same shirt as his Uncle Steve. He was so excited!



Sugar, Sugar, and more Sugar. That sums up the kids diet this weekend.

Greg and Colton...

Greg was so proud of his costume. Just thought I would upload a big picture...

Happy Halloween 2007...

Halloween...What a fun holiday for the whole family. Colton and Cannon were so excited about every aspect of the day. Class Parties, Trick-or Treating, Answering the Door, etc. It is so fun to be able to watch the excitement of a holiday through children's eyes.

A couple days before Halloween Colton decided to change his costume from a rodeo clown to a nerd. He rounded up everything for his costume all by himself. It turned out great.

Halloween started for us bright and early getting Colton dressed and ready for school. After we sent him out the door, Cannon wanted to put his costume on. A tradition in my family is to always have soup on Halloween. So, the soup making began. After that, it was time for the parties. I dropped Cannon off at school and went to Colton's school for all the festivities. I watched the parade and Colton was so adorable. He waved and smiled and seemed so excited to have me there. Then I helped with his class party. Colton loved every aspect of it. He made a mummy, bracelet, played games, and had witches brew and cupcakes. We raced from Colton's school to go pick up Cannon and he was just as excited about his preschool party. We then tried to go trick-or-treating with the rest of Idaho down at Taylor Crossing, but decided that we didn't want to stand in line for hours for candy. Greg was so excited about Halloween this year. He sure was into dressing up. From cheerleader to nerd. We came home ate dinner, and were off to trick-or-treat. Colton and Cannon loved this. They ran from house to house so excited to see what people gave them. Greg also loved going with them to see what people said about his costume. It was actually warm this year. This kids didn't even wear coats. They did get cold and tired after a few hours and came home and were happy to answer the door and sort through their candy. The most unique thing that was in Colton's bag was a can of Green Beans. We all got a good laugh about that. Thankfully for me they came home when they did. I could hardly get my big body off the couch each time the doorbell rang.