Ruby's Birth Story

On July 30th, I woke up at midnight having contractions and with in a few hours was having a contraction every four minutes.  Guy and I loaded up the kids, dropped them off at Kim's house, and made the drive down to Loma Linda.  Unfortunately we made the drive for nothing, because I was only dilated to two centimeters and was sent home after contractions stopped.

The next night, July 31st, I woke up to use the restroom just after midnight and my water broke.  This time Grandma came over and stayed with the kids and again, Guy and I headed down to Loma Linda.  We arrived about 3:30am, and were admitted right away.  At 4:30 the nurse offered me an epidural, however my contractions were still not regular so I refused.  I knew that the epidural had stalled my labor previously and I didn't want that to happen again.  Pitocin was started and what felt like immediately I was having contractions every 3 minutes.  After a couple hours I was checked and had progressed to 5 centimeters.  YAY!  At that point I said bring on the epidural.  The epidural worked fabulously...for a few hours.  Then slowly I started feeling the contractions and eventually I could feel my right side, leg, and all of the contractions.  The nurse called the anesthesiologist, but of course they were busy.  I waited and waited, while the contractions became more intense.  The nurse eventually turned town the pitocin and offered to give me some pain medication through my IV.  When that didn't help she checked me and realized that the baby was down and I was ready to push!  I couldn't believe it!! Of course that is when the real water works started because of the fear of pushing with out an epidural.  The doctor came in, and twenty minutes of pushing later she was here...Ruby Lynn Thomas.

Guy and my Mom were both in the room.  When the doctor said it was a girl we were all so excited and the tears were flowing.  They put her directly on me for skin to skin contact.  I felt like she was having some trouble breathing and needed to be looked at so the nurses took her to check her out and Guy went along.  Everything was great, she just had a little trouble with the transition.  Overall, she was perfect. 

We are so excited to finally have her here!  I am excited to see the relationships grow between the kids and looking forward to seeing what our new routine and family dynamic will be.  With every baby my heart grows and right now I feel the love overflowing.  I am so lucky!

It's a GIRL!

After a long wait to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl, Miss Ruby has finally arrived!  She is tiny and perfect and we are so excited to have her.  Ella and Jack have been doing surprisingly well, both wanting to constantly hold her and touch her.  This labor and delivery was the easiest of all three.  (birth story to come)  It would be great if that also made her the easiest baby of all three, but I'm not to sure that is going to be the case. 

Quick Beach Trip

In an effort to spend some time with the kids before baby #3 makes and appearance, and get out of the scorching hot desert, we headed down to Huntington Beach for a fun day in the sun. Unfortunately, the sun was no where to be found. I was a little chilly but Guy and the kids didn't seem to mind at all! They jumped the waves for hours, built sand castles, and most importantly just enjoyed each others company.

Baby Belly

Baby number three is on the way, and I was really excited to capture this moment in time, when my baby belly is really out there, before the little girl or guy makes their arrival!  I'm not sure if this will be our last baby, chances are it will.  I have loved being pregnant, my favorite part by far feeling the baby wiggle around and definitely what I will miss the most about the whole experience.  Susan Whitney took these great pictures and we are so happy with how they turned out!

Messy Fun

A friend of mine posted on her blog, which is always full of fun ideas for the kiddos, fabulous pictures of her kids playing with shaving cream. I thought it was a super fun, and really inexpensive idea and decided to try it with Ella and Jack. I bought two cans of shaving cream and gave them to the kids. In an odd turn of events, Ella LOVED it and Jack...not so much! In just a few minutes Ella was covered head to toe in shaving cream. Jack, who wouldn't hesitate to jump in a mud puddle every chance he got, wanted nothing to do with it. Guy took Jack's can and sprayed it around getting a little bit on him and you would have thought he was being punished. Afterwards I snapped a few pictures we turned on the sprinkler and let the kids run through and rinse off. Despite Jack's initial reaction, it is definitely a fun activity we will try again! Thanks Shelly!

4th of July

The evening was spent swimming, BBQ'ing with family, and watching fireworks.  The kids both really enjoyed the fireworks this year which was a fun change.  I love this holiday more every year. It's full of fun and traditions with out all the hype and presents. I am already looking forward to next year!

Annual Fourth of July Parade

For the past three years on the morning of 4th of July we kick off the holiday with a small patriotic parade and brunch hosted by our good friends the Everett's. The kids decorate their bikes with flags and streamers and we walk the neighborhood waving like celebrities. It is always a great time and this year was no different. Such a fun memory for the kids and our family!