Asher Scott Boyce

Asher Scott Boyce made his debut August 21 weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz and was 20 inches long. 

Pretty soon after having Wyatt, I got the sense that we were not done having kids and that the next one didn't want to wait to long to come to our family. It was actually stressing me out a little bit because I don't enjoy being pregnant. My sickness and grouchiness affect everyone around me. but in August, right before Wyatt's 1st birthday, I got the strongest confirmation that one more baby was excitedly waiting to come to us. I looked at Aaron and he said, "We are having another baby, huh?" Yes, sir, we are. 

Ella that year for Christmas had asked Santa for a baby sister. I thought it kind of amazing that she would ask for a baby. I don't think that she had heard our discussions about having another one. And timing was great, since I already knew that we were pregnant. So Santa sent her a note letting her know that we were expecting, but that we didn't know if it was a girl or a boy.

                                         

Needless to say, she was not happy to find out we were having a boy.

So far, I have had all my babies on a Friday. I figured this baby would be no different. I went into labor around midnight on Friday August 21st. I had a new OB this time around and he told me to call him as soon as I thought I was in labor. I had been having a lot of braxton hicks with this pregnancy, but I had a feeling that these contractions were legit. I called the Dr. around 4 in the morning. He told me to go ahead and get down to the hospital. I was in labor, but hadn't really progressed in the allotted hour they give you. The Dr. was already at the hospital, so I got to stay. They got me all settled into my room and it was go time. 

 My last hospital experience with Wyatt was not the best, so I was little nervous that we would have a repeat of that, even though I changed Dr.s and hospitals. Thankfully everything went pretty smoothly. It took a little longer to start really dilating this time. I always end up getting pitocin so they started me on that. I was able to get an epidural before things started getting too painful. And my epidural was fantastic this time. 

At about 11:30 the nurse came in to check me and I was still at about 5. She left, and all of a sudden I started to feel a lot of pain/pressure. I called her back in and she gave me the epidural button to push that allows you an extra dose of medicine every 15 minutes. Everything was already pretty numb, so I am pretty sure that the epidural was working, but I still felt a lot of pain. And then I hit a big contraction and my water broke. I have never had my water break on its own before. The Dr.s have always done if for me. And then the pain/pressure got a lot worse. I called the nurse back in to let her know that my water had broken and that the pain was still there. She wasn't all the concerned about it. I asked when she planned to check me again, and she said she would be back around 1:30 to check. I also asked her when she planned to call the Dr. his office is about 20 minutes away, so she said we would try and time it just right and HOPEFULLY he would make it...umm...hopefully? 

So we are about an hour away from her coming back to check on me. As she was walking out the door, I got the strongest feeling that she needed to come right back and check me. I was feeling every contraction and even with the epidural they were intense. 

And as she walked out the door, it was like a heavenly light lit up the very spot where the Dr. had just walked in. It may have been the fact that I hadn't slept all night, but I promise you, he was wearing a halo. He walked right in, asked how I was doing, and upon hearing that I was feeling a lot of pressure, proceeded to check me. And would you know, it was at a 10! So in a matter of 45 min, I went from a 5 to a 10. After everything was set up, I pushed a few times and the baby was out. 12:58 pm was his official delivery time. And to think the nurse still had another 32 minutes before she was going to check me. 

We thought for sure this would be another big baby for us. His head and belly were measuring big, so the Dr. had me expecting another 9 lb baby. But my little pipsqueak came in a 7 lbs 14 oz. 

I really felt this baby's spirit so strong this time around. I knew that he was happy and joyful and so excited to be a part of our crazy family. So as I was researching names, I came across the name Asher. It means happy and blessed. I couldn't think of a better name for this one. He truly has been a blessing to us and he really is so happy. We are completely in love with this kid.

I also need to give a huge shout out to this amazing woman.

                                            
Kim and my dad flew in two days after I got home from the hospital. The night that Kim arrived, I started to have a fever and didn't feel very well. I always get UTI's after I have babies and knew this was what was going on. My Dr. called in a prescription and Kim ran to the store to pick it up. She did all my grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, all while I laid on the couch for 4 days trying to recuperate. This was by far my worst UTI. And then on top of that, I was having terrible migraines. One more medicine for that, and I was good. It is amazing how getting rid of a terrible headache can make you feel so much better. I seriously would not have survived those days without her! So thanks, Kim!!! My kids have the best grandmas!
                                   Not my baby, but that is my daughter. A picture of Aaron's mom who always comes and helps us a ton too!! I am so grateful to have such an amazing mother-in-law.

And we got a dog, Ella earns a scholarship, Ty starts Kindergarten, and Wyatt is crazy!

Aaron and I have always talked about how someday, we would get a dog. We just didn't realize that someday meant when I was 4 months pregnant with baby #4. I have a pretty solid relationship with my Dad's wife Kim. I had let her know that we were thinking about trying to get pregnant. So when my dad brought up the idea of breeding their dog, Gypsy, so we could have one of her puppies, Kim mentioned that it might not be the right timing for us since I might soon be pregnant. My dad's response, "But Ty needs a dog." So...we got a puppy.

 

Luna has been such a good dog. She potty trained really fast and is super affectionate. And she is so great with the kids, especially Wyatt. We have had friends watch her for us when we travel and they never want to give her back. I take that as a good sign that we got a keeper. 

Ella earned a dance scholarship last year from her dance studio. I absolutely love watching her dance. Even though she is only 7, she is so graceful.  This video is of her spring recital. She had a couple of solos in this one. We are so proud of her.

She is still dancing and she loves it. Her teachers are fantastic and she has some serious talent. 

She was also entered into a western art show. Only 600 or so kids were entered out of 50,000. Our little artist in the making.

She is always an amazing big sister. Wyatt adores her. He always want her to tuck him in to bed and if Aaron and I don't give him what he wants, he turns directly to Ella and asks for it. 

Ty started kindergarten this year and is doing great. He got the same teacher Ella had and we love her. He is so smart. Apparently he got my dad and brother's photographic memory. So once he learns something, it just sticks. He loves figuring out how things work, taking apart flashlights to see how you put them back together. Ty also loves playing with Asher. He has so much fun with little babies and is super sweet with them. 

And then there is Wyatt! I feel like you have to spend a couple days with Wyatt to truly appreciate his range of emotions. He can make you want to scream and pull your hair out one minute and make you laugh hysterically the next. He has certainly tried my patience more than the other kids, but he is our comedic relief and I wouldn't have him any other way, (okay, maybe a little less stubborn would be nice.) He is certainly the life of the party. When he is upset, he melts into the floor. He just slowly sinks down till he is laying flat on the floor like a lifeless fish. He talks all the time, and we understand him most of it. He loves to laugh at himself and loves playing basketball. Our family would not be complete with out him. 

This Christmas, at Kim's family party, they had an ugly sweater contest. And Wyatt thought that he was a part of it. This is a video of him standing at the front showing off his sweater...

                                 

Unexpected Miracles

This is my theme for last year. I know that I have been horrible at updating my blog. With the birth of a new baby, I figured it was time to write again.

This past Christmas I got a charm bracelet from my dad's amazing wife, Kim. This is what the charm means:

I love how it states, "sometimes the biggest blessings come from the smallest packages." This has been my life for the past year.

Right before Christmas of last year, I lost a very close and dear aunt to childbirth. It was completely unexpected and still doesn't feel real. My Aunt Jan was more like an older sister to me. We are only 9 years apart and she was the closest link I had to my mom's family. We would talk often and I would constantly go to her for advice, especially when I was pregnant with Ella. We had babies just a few months apart. I had called her on her birthday this last year and she didn't answer. She promptly texted me back to let me know that she was in labor and would call me when things settled down. I was calling to let her know that I was pregnant. I never got to have that conversation with her.

I had a rough start to this pregnancy. Emotions were high with the loss of Jan and I was so miserably sick. At this point, the small blessings began to come . I remember lying in bed one day, just in tears, because it was another day that Ty and Wyatt would spend watching TV. I just couldn't get out of bed or entertain them. As I was feeling sorry for this sweet Ty boy and how lame his day was going to be, I got a text from a friend inviting him over to play. She knew I was pregnant and wasn't feeling well. That small gesture was a huge answer to my prayers--that my sickness would not hinder my children. This happened a lot through out my pregnancy, where people would step in to take my kids, or drop off random dinners. The kindness and thoughtfulness of others astounds me.

And then Aaron started going through some personal and work trials. We were doing okay, but Aaron's goals and his work were not lining up. He was getting frustrated with how things were playing out and it really humbled him and brought him to his knees. A lot of soul searching took place. But I never questioned what our future would hold. I knew that we were bringing this amazing, joyful spirit into our home and that everything would be okay once that baby got here. It always seems to work out that way for us. And through out the whole experience, blessings poured down on us. It took awhile for things to turn around at work, but they did. Our relationship was strengthened  leaps and bounds.

As my pregnancy progressed, I started to feel a little better. It ended up being my best pregnancy (one where I wasn't nauseous every minute of the day, only half). And I know that I had some heavenly angels on the other side, pleading with our Heavenly Father to cut me some slack this time around. And He did. Those two women whom I call mom and sister/aunt were with me the entire time.

Then the baby came. What a blessing Asher has been to our family. I will write more about his birth story in another post. But blessings abound in that story too. Every day I see a prayer answered and feel the spirit testify to me that I am loved. That my family is loved. That there is so much more than just life on earth. I wish those on the other side were here with me on earth, but I know that they are still there. They watch over us and protect us. Heavenly Father allows hard things happen in our lives. But not once have I ever felt that He stopped loving me. So for those of you out there who need to hear it, know that you are loved. Unexpected miracles happen all the time!

Is 7 months too long?

Is 7 months too long of a time in between posts? I have been so bad at keeping the blog updated. So I am now going to bombard you will pictures! Things have been different adjusting to baby number three. There is a 3 1/2 year gap between Ty and Wyatt and it was difficult getting back into baby mode. It was so nice to not have to worry about nap times or making sure my bag was packed with all the necessities to make it three hours. Diapers, wipes, toys, snacks, burp cloths, extra change of clothes (possibly for both mom and baby), pacifiers.... the list just goes on and on. I also felt like I dealt with the baby blues a little bit more this time. I think a big part had to do with Wyatt not sleeping very well until he was about 6 months old. I was just so exhausted all the time. A few melt downs and some awesome help from dad, I was able to feel a little more normal. I am so grateful for this beautiful baby and I am so grateful for a good nights sleep.

Wyatt has been such a good baby, minus the sleeping habits. He is a hungry mungry and still eats all the time. One of the best parts of this baby his his infectious smile. It really does light up a room. I can be upset, frustrated, and/or exhausted and then that little baby looks up at me and gives me the biggest grin and it all melts away.

   
Ty is so in love with his little brother. Nobody can get Wyatt to laugh like Ty can. I do have to remind Ty that he is significantly bigger than his little brother and cannot sit on him. But for the most part, Ty remains our gentle giant. He recently had his 4 year old check up. I talked to him about how he would be getting shots and that if he was big and brave we could get a treat afterwards. I explained that the Dr. would be looking at his ears, listening to his heart and making sure that he was growing the way he was suppose to be growing. I thought I had him okay to see the Dr. and then he would say "but the Dr. will give me shots? I don't want to go." Ty did so awesome at the visit. When it was time for his shots, he was a rock star, didn't even cry. He was so proud of himself. He got to tell sister all about it when she got home from school. Right now, he goes to preschool twice a week and loves it.

Ella still loves kindergarten. And she absolutely loves her teacher. She had her kindergarten program a few weeks ago and was selected to read her paper she wrote about the things that she learned in Kindergarten. She was the very first speaker and she was amazing. She really got into all the dance moves and singing. She is growing up so fast and turning into such a little lady. She loves helping take care of Wyatt and she and Ty are great playmates.

Wyatt Osborne Boyce

We would like to welcome to the world baby Wyatt Osborne Boyce!

8 lbs. 14 oz. 20 1/2 in.

It has been a crazy few days. I have not gone into labor this early with my other babies, so I didn't think that I would be delivering him 'til next week. But I guess Wyatt had other plans in mind. I had been having pretty regular braxton hicks the last couple of weeks, but nothing to throw a party about. Tuesday night, I woke up because I was having more regular contractions. They were coming about every 3-5 minutes and this lasted for an hour and a half. They then died down, and I was able to go back to sleep. I continued to have contractions the next day, but nothing too exciting.

Thursday I woke up feeling pretty good. As most of you know, I get pretty bad morning sickness all nine months of pregnant, but Thursday I was feeling pretty good. Ty went to preschool that morning, and I relaxed and worked on some projects that didn't involve much more than me sitting on the couch and occupying my hands. Then around 4 pm, my contractions picked up a lot. I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes and they didn't stop. After my experience Tuesday night, I wanted to make sure that these were legit, so I drank a lot of water, laid down, took a warm shower. They just wouldn't stop. Aaron was downtown at a dinner meeting for work. So he was about an hour away and I can't always get a hold of him, as he is talking with other clients and doesn't have access to his phone.

I labored at home for about 4 hours before I decided to call the triage nurse at the hospital to see if I should come in. She gave me the go ahead and Ms. Dawn came to stay with the kids and Ms. Joy took me to the hospital. At this point, Aaron was done with his meeting and was able to take off to meet us at the hospital. I was delivering at a new hospital so it was interesting to see how things happened at this place. At my old hospital, as soon as you were dilated to a 4 you were admitted to the hospital. Here you have to wait another hour to make sure that you are in active labor. I was at a 4 when we got there and I thankfully  progressed in that hour. Unfortunately, the computer system was down, so it took another hour before I was set up in Labor and Delivery.

Please note, my last two deliveries lasted 6-7 hours from checking in to delivery. I have been very lucky in that regard. So I, of course, had the same expectations this time around. I got my IV (which is always awful, but more so this time.) The nurse had a hard time collecting samples and really dug my IV around. And my epidural was painful. It worked though, so it was worth it. :-) At this point it was about midnight and I was thinking "this is great, 3 more hours and I will get to meet my son." By about 4am, I still had not progressed past 6 centimeters. So they started me on Pitocin. The baby's heart starting showing some signs of distress. Not anything big, but his heart beat would drop every now and then. They kept having me turn from side to side, eventually having me get on my hands and knees, because the baby decided to come down head facing up instead of down.

At about 6 am the nurse started talking about c-sections. Because I was having a big baby, they didn't think that he would have the room he would need to successfully come down that way.  She let me know that the doctor was on his way and that most likely he would agree that I needed a c-section. I know that many a person has had an emergency c-section and it wasn't in their plans, but I was devastated. She continued to walk me through what would happen if the Dr. decided that was the course of action to take. She didn't ever present me with any other options for trying to get him to turn around. So here I am, having been awake all night, being told that I am having a c-section.

Well, yay for 7 o'clock, because there was a shift change and I got two new nurses. And can I say, they were seriously heaven-sent. There is no doubt about it. The doctor was already on his way. The new nurses decided to put me in a weird potion with me on my side and my opposite leg up in a stirrup. With in minutes, I felt the pressure of the baby moving down. The doctor got there about 7:35ish and checked me. He told me that I was complete and could start pushing. He never even mentioned a c-section. He left the room to check on something else and the nurses had me start pushing. I pushed once and they told me to stop and to get the doctor right back in there. About 5 minutes later, the doctor arrived and three pushes later, Wyatt was here. I will forever be grateful for those two nurses who were willing to give me a chance to get this baby out the way I wanted.

I tried to come home a day early since they no longer take take the babies to the nursery at night, but when they were running the final labs on Wyatt, they found that his biliruben count was high. So we didn't get to go home. He had to spend the night under the UV lights and I was only allowed to take him out every 3 hours to feed, and then for only 30 minutes. It was hard not being able to cuddle and comfort him, but he did a really good job for the most part.

We are now happily at home and his biliruben count is normal. The kids are so excited to see him all the time now. They are constantly checking on him and Ella wants to hold him every chance she gets. Hopefully we can get back to a routine soon and the kids can feel normal again. Aaron had been super dad and an amazing help.

First Day of School

We have officially entered the world of public school. Ella had her first day of Kindergarten last week. She was so excited and She even asked to ride the bus home, which I was a little nervous about. Aaron and I were able to drop her off at least. Ty was not happy that Ella got to ride the bus and he didn't. It was a good thing that his preschool started the next day. Both kids love their teachers. Ella came home so hyped up last week from school. This week she has been a lot more tired when she gets home. Ty is still trying to understand that he only gets to go to school twice a week. Ty also gives us a lot more details about school than Ella does. I would have thought it would be the opposite, but Ty has become quite the chatter box.

First Day of School Pictures

We are pretty much ready for the baby. I am officially 37 weeks, so the baby is welcome any time now, but I am sure he won't make an appearance till closer to my due date. The Dr. expects him to be 8+ lbs. I am so scared of having a 10 lb. baby. So I may take the Dr. up on getting induced a week early. I am still feeling sick and am physically and emotionally ready for this baby to come. I was able to complete all the projects I had for the baby.

Here is a pic of the blessing outfit that I made for the baby, as well as a blanket to match.

We had a wonderful vacation in Utah and California this summer. We headed up to Utah the end of June to attend Mackenzie and Kyle's wedding (my step-sister and her husband). It was so much fun to be there for that. Aaron then left for Houston, since he has a something important to do. I think he called it a job. :-)  The kids and I stuck it our for a few more weeks in Utah. While it is hard to be away from home and especially Aaron for so long, it was nice to be in a place that has a basement and cools down at night. It has been pretty miserable being pregnant in Texas for the summer.

This is the kids and me getting ready to watch the Fourth of July fireworks.

Here is the handsome Ty boy at Kenzie's wedding. I absolutely love him in his bow tie. 

This is probably the best belly picture you will get from me. I am not a fan of documenting how big I am getting. The photographer was getting a picture of all the nieces and nephews from our side. They didn't want to leave out the baby, so I am standing awkwardly close to Kenzie so the photographer could get the belly in the picture while cropping me out later. 

 Aaron then flew back up near the end of July and we drove out to San Diego with Aaron's sister Courtney for Aaron's family reunion.We rented out a beach house and had almost 30 people hanging out together. It was loud and crazy and fun! We went to the beach a couple of times and I have to say the water is just too cold to enjoy for me. Ella said she had fun at the beach, but she didn't like the water or the sand.... hmmm... I am not sure what she liked about the beach then. But she loved playing with her cousins.

I hung out with this little guy a lot during the reunion. He is the newest addition to the Boyce family. We got along well. He wanted to be held, I needed a constant reminder of why I was pregnant. It was a mutually beneficial relationship. And who can't help but love on such a cute baby. 

 We are all doing well getting back to the daily races. Hopefully this early morning wake up time will become less painful as we go. I am sure the next time I update this, I will be in the hospital, staring at a brand new baby and no longer feeling sick.

Bed Knobs and Broomsticks

Since I finished the dresser, I have been wanting to replace our bedspread. The green and brown bedspread was no longer matching with the rest of the furniture. But since I am on a budget, I was trying to come up with some creative solutions that I could do now, rather than wait and be annoyed every time I walked in my room. I already owned a down comforter, but haven't used it in a while, seeing as we live in Houston and all. I began my research on Pinterest for some DIY ideas when it came to duvet covers. One site had mentioned just using flat sheets, measuring, and sewing together to make a duvet cover. I figured I was capable of sewing a few straight lines. Luck would have it, when I went to Ross a few days later, I was able to find a double set of sheets for a good price. I got two flat sheets that were color coordinated, two fitted sheets, and four pillow cases.  And here is the end result. I still have a few finishing details to do, but all in all, I pretty pleased with the results. 

Aaron is still a little hesitant about the floral pattern. But I absolutely love it! He wanted more blue...

Here is another project I started before we moved. I wanted to get Ella a twin sized bed, so I needed to get twin sized bedding. Once again, trying to be thrifty, I took an old duvet cover we had, that we were no longer going to use. I cut it down to size, then added the tulle flowers and strips. I had to hand stitch all the flowers on. Ella wanted them all over the bed, but that was a little more work than I was willing to put in. Eventually, this will turn into a ballerina themed room with some tulle window coverings and art work. But this is a good start. 

  

 I totally forgot to post Halloween costumes on here. Ella has acquired some princess dress-ups so I decided to let her choose which princess she wanted to go as. She choose Cinderella. I think she makes a fabulous princess don't you?

And then there is Ty. I was too lazy this year to think of something to make, and too cheap to buy my two year old a costume. And since I am a Pinterest addict, this is what he got stuck with. Luckily, most people thought it was hilarious. Everything we already owned, plus a make-up beard and card board sign and we were good to go. While were trick-or-treating, Ty got really scared of going up to people's houses. So he spent most of the night, NOT working for candy, but sitting in the stroller. He is certainly a lazy bum. :-)

 These are pictures of Ella taking pictures of herself. I thought they were cute and wanted to share my child's cuteness with you all!