The other day Leah said to me, "You are so your mother." I couldn't help but dwell on that statement for the rest of the night. I am my mother at times and there is no one I would rather be compared to!! Happy Mother's Day to the most selfless woman I know.

Birthday Party one week postpartum=CRAZY.....but life must go on.

Kamilah and Laila even came all the way from New York!
Thank goodness for Little Caesar's when feeding such a crew.
The jello jigglers were a hit...Mark even loved them with his pizza. SICK!
He got so shy when he had to be the center of attention for presents.
I promise he really did have fun...see....
Happy Birthday buddy!!

Grant's umbilical cord fell off in the middle of the night during a feeding/diaper change. I realized it in the morning, but couldn't find it anywhere. Mike had joked saying oh, that's what that was? I thought it was some dried fruit. Later that day I found it. My mom thought it would be hilarious to include it in dinner somehow.....so she did. Can you find it?

She made sure that one ended up on Mike's plate. It was so gross.

Yum, yum

I must admit...I was kind of freaked out to have number three. EVERYONE loved to tell me number three was their "breaking point". Can I just tell you how much I love these three?? It probably does help Grant is a champion sleeper and I'm not a sleep deprived crazy lady. Grant has been a pure joy in this household and everyone adores him.
I'm so lucky.

Don't even get me started on this boy.....he makes me laugh hysterically on a daily basis. He is every bit sassy as he is sweet and such a boy. His current obsessions are ANYTHING superhero, electronic or "weapons" as he calls them. (nerf guns, swords, rubberband guns, etc.) He can get just about anything he wants when he says, "I pwomise....my last one" and bats those long eyelashes at me. We sure love you Ethy-Beethy.

We had his favorite muffins for breakfast and opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Some new additions to his Batcave, something that gets played with daily around here.
That night we took the crew and headed to Pirate Island Pizza at Ethan's request. It was Grant's first outing. He'd only been home 4 days so he was asleep and covered the entire time.

We sure love you Ethan!!

Happy Birthday to Leah!

If you don't know her, you should.
She is the most hilarious girl you'll ever meet.
She is talented beyond talented.
She is the best prankster.
She is gorgeous and stylish.
She is thoughtful.
She is an awesome mama.
Did I mention she's hilarious??
Can you even get over how young we look??

It all started here...at BYU-Hawaii. And can you believe in honor of her bday we are going back?? (Well maybe a conference for Geoff is the real reason) It's been 14 years since I've been back. And I'm so lucky we get to go together with our hubbies and newborns.

Poor grant...slathered in Aquaphor already

Ready to Pop
My dr was willing to induce me the Wednesday the 19th before my due date but I was still feeling fine and really didn't want to be. My mom wasn't going to arrive until the next Thursday so I was not in any rush. My next appt was Monday (24th), one day past due date. I was still dilated to a one and 75% effaced so we made plans to induce Wednesday morning the 26th. Tuesday morning the contractions started. I have never "labored" at home, so this was new to me. I had mild contractions all day long about once an hour until about 10 when they started to get closer together and stronger. I tried to sleep, but finally at midnight I got up to shower and pack my bag( I'd been busy!!) I woke Mike up and told him it was time to go. Katie was living with us so I went down and woke her up and made her come get in our bed so she would be there when the kids got up. We made it to the hospital around 2:30am, got checked in and settled into my room.
Contractions were coming about every 5 minutes and were getting painful. I was at a 5 when the nurse checked me. I got my epidural in and the nurse told me she would be back in 30 min to put my catheter in after the epidural was well on it's way. Well.....30 min later I thought I peed my pants (really it was my water breaking) and told her to get in there as things were getting REALLY uncomfortable. She checked me again and I was at a 10. It all was so fast and I could see a mild panic on her face since my dr was still home in bed. I called Leah to hurry and come and the nurse called Dr. Nance and I just waited. It was about 4:3oam by this time. Let me just tell you how fun it is to keep a baby in you for 30 min when everything in you is telling it to get it OUT OF THERE!!! The only reason I didn't just let the doctor on call deliver was Leah. My mom was on a cruise and would be arriving the next day and I knew how hard it was for her not to be there. The pictures from Leah made it all worth the wait. (more on those priceless things later!)
Leah walked it, 2 minutes later the doctor and we were on our way. 2 pushes later and arrived...
Grant Thomas Dover
7 lbs 2 oz
20 inches long
I felt so good afterwards compared to my other two and they left me alone with him for over an hour. It was so special and he was so darling. He was just like Ethan...wanted nothing to do with nursing the whole hospital stay, just wanted to sleep. It was heavenly!
They finally took him for his bath and to get all his stuff done and got me into my room. I had literally been up all night and should have slept, but couldn't. Katie stopped by on her way to work after she had gotten the kids off to school.

Proud Dad
All ready to head home. I was so nervous. Everyone had been telling me number 3 was their breaking point, but I can gladly say it has been nothing but heavenly to have Grant in our home. He is sweet, happy, a good sleeper and mellow.

The gap between he and Ethan is 4 years. We felt like first time parents all over again. In the craziness we forgot to throw in the head supports for the car seat. Poor tiny thing was all over the place!
Me and my boy.