It's a.....

Whatever will this house of pink do???

:o)

Just a little about our ultrasound appointment...I didn't get to see anything for the first half of it.  There was only one screen and the girl doing the first part (I'm pretty sure that she had newly finished with her training) had the screen turned completely away from me.  I'm all for people doing their job, but I'm not just an incubator.  I'm a mother.  I would like to see that baby moving and all his little parts.  Thanks. 

Another tech took over to get some of the more difficult shots.  Baby boy wasn't making things easy.  He was all but hugging the placenta.  In fact the second tech felt awful that they couldn't even get any nice "fridge" shots for me because he had found a little nook and tucked his little head into it and wouldn't turn around at all.  No amount of nudging, poking, shoving, and me coughing would get the kid to move.  

So different from my girls who were little hams in the womb.  He pulled the classic boy move and refused to take a good picture.  ***sigh*** And so it begins.  

The tech did tell me to come back when I had my next OB appointment and she would try and fit me in and get some better shots.  Very nice of her really.  I am thinking that I might just wait and pay for one of those fancy ones though since (with any luck) this will be our last.  Might as well splurge a bit right?  

Anyway, it went well and baby looked good!

Now to switch some gears and think blue. 

Happy Birthday to Cadence!

We had Cady's party at the Amazing Pizza Machine this year.  It's like Chuck E. Cheese only better.  It's like the Pistol Pete's of my childhood, with the mini roller coaster, bumper cars, go carts, mini bowling, miniature golf, and of course ALL the games/arcade you can imagine. This place is HUGE.  We choose and awesome package (many thanks to Grandpa Mike for the surprise of picking up the tab) and had a bunch of her friends come enjoy their all you can eat buffet (not that awesome, but not awful) and play, play, PLAY! 

Probably the best part of this place is instead of a million tokens you have to keep track of as well as all the tickets your kids win you get a card that you swipe instead.  You load credits onto the card and then swipe till they are gone.  Then you feed your tickets into the ticket eaters and when you get a full count you swipe that card again and the winnings are now on your card!!!  You can redeem them that day or hold onto your card and keep adding tickets each visit to save up for a big prize!  So much better than that drawer full of tickets my brother and I had as a kid! 

They all had so much fun!  And many thanks to all the parents that drove out there for the party!  Best 6th birthday party ever!  :o)

Six years ago...

Six years ago today I had my first baby.

I remember the long night of labor where I tried my best to rest, but I was to excited to sleep.  I remember Brady having to wear a blue mask because he had the flu.  I remember two very awesome nurses, who during my 4 hours of pushing, kept telling me I was doing just fine and that I was very close!  lol

And I remember when Cadence was born and they had to wisk her away for a moment to suction her lungs.  I wasn't scared.  I trusted the Drs and nurses.  I remember that Cadence didn't cry.  She just had those HUGE blue eyes wide open taking in the world around her.

Holding her for the first time was one of the best experiences of my life.

And that little baby has continued to be one of the best experiences of my life.  She never ceases to amaze me.  She is so smart and compassionate.  She is very responsible and loves helping.  She is the best big sister.  We are so proud of how well she does in school.  How easily she makes friends.  She is truly a blessing in our home.

We love you Cadence.  So very much.  I hope that we show you how much every day. 

These girls of mine

January has been rough for us.  Especially me.  I have been sick for most of it and Beckah has joined me for most of it.  

Despite that we have been having a good time here in the Lantz home.  

Rory has a great pout. 

And this girl is a nut.  She has the most expressive face and we are constantly laughing at her antics. 

Cadence...dressed for school. She chopped all her hair off (not herself! At a salon) the beginning of the month.  We love it short since she can take car of it herself!  :o) 

These two.  Always together. 

And this one isn't far behind them. 

Happy January to everyone!

Hello 2012

This past year has been full of ups and downs for us.  It is pretty sad that when I look back on 2011 I mostly feel tired.  It was a long year full of illness for us.  But it was also full of so many good things.  


Beckah was born in March. Her birth was one of best experiences of my life.  She brought a feeling of completion to our family that I had never felt before.  Her personality really started to blossom in December 2011.  She is very vocal and super busy.  And she finally fell in love with her daddy.  That had to be one of the sweetest things I have ever watched.    


Cadence started school.  Holy cow.  She is so grown up.  She always has been to grown up for her age, but her starting school was really a shock to my system.  It's crazy that something you have known is coming for years could be a shock.  She is excelling in school.  Loves her friends and can read now.  She is so brilliant and wonderful and makes my job as her mother so easy.  I feel extremely lucky to have her.  She is an awesome big sister and is probably the most excited about the new baby. 


Dear Rory.  Rory turned three and entered my least favorite year in the process of growing up (so far anyway).  She is stubborn and difficult (wonder where she gets that from?).  But she is so witty, loving, and very defensive of her family.  She has so much personality packed into her little tiny frame.  We have slowly been able to get her allergy/sensitivities under control and despite being perfectly capable of using the potty, she more often chooses not to.  I have a feeling that Rory and I are the most alike and will be bumping heads more often than not.  She will help me learn and grow as a mother in ways that I know my other children will not.  


Probably the biggest surprise of 2011 was finding out about our 4th baby.  It was a huge shock and I was very surprised by my reaction.  I am slowly starting to get excited for another baby.  Part of me is super sad that I won't have the time with Beckah that I had with my other girls.  I will probably always feel this way.  Deep down, though, I know that I wouldn't be pregnant right now if the Lord didn't think this child needed to be here now at this time in our family.  So far my pregnancy has been crazy and everything has been upside down and inside out compared to my other pregnancies.  I am hoping that things calm down soon so that I can just  enjoy this time.  This will be our last baby and I want to enjoy every moment that I can.  I don't want to look back and wish I would have done things differently.  


Brady.  He is my rock.  He really is.  He is so steady and reliable.  He is such a good dad, always stepping up without complaint when I am exhausted or at my wits end.  He is excelling at his job.  I am loving that he enjoys the work he is doing.  I am so glad that I look forward to him coming home everyday, and not just for the break from the kids, but because I want to see him and tell him how my day went and here all about what he did today even if half the time I have only a vague idea of what he is talking about.  I still love to hear him tell me about it.  


So on to 2012.  I was going to set myself some goals.  I had a few in mind but in the end I decided that my goal for this year is to improve.  Improve myself, my family, my photography, my motherhood, my relationships, my ability to serve, my relationship with God...you get the picture.  I don't want to over do it, but I need to start doing little things that make me feel better about me and help me to grow into a better me.  


Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that 2012 is our best year yet!

Uh-Oh!

She crawls around the house saying this most of the day.  She's so cute! And today she is 10 months old.  

What happens when things are too quiet at my house...