Thomas

He's Here!

Thomas Spencer Atwater was born at 4:34 PM on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. He weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair, chubby cheeks, and opened his eyes almost immediately after he was born. It was a somewhat difficult delivery, compared to previous ones I've experienced. I did have an epidural, but for some reason, they turned it down when it came time to push. What were they thinking!? His hand was up beside his head, so it took a long time for him to be born--about 45 minutes, which is long for my babies. I've realized that I'm definitely older and more worn out this time around. However, it is all worth it in the end. Pictures of Thomas will be posted as soon as I take some.

Five More Days...

My doctor called me this morning to figure out a game plan for getting this baby here. We decided on Tuesday, the 9th. I'll show up early in the morning at the hospital and I'll get an epidural before they start pitocin, so I won't have to feel anything. Nice! It looks like our 9th will be born on the 9th. This is the only baby that will have a single digit birth date. The kids are excited for the big event. We've decided to let them stay home instead of being farmed out. That way, they can be available to come and visit and shouldn't really have to be on their own too long anyway. I told them that Dad usually stays with me during labor and delivery, and then spends a little time with the new baby before coming home. He'll likely be home that evening and available for them on subsequent days that week. If it should happen to take longer than we anticipate, we have people who could come get or stay with kids. Given my history, though, it probably won't take even all day. At least now we know when D-Day is, so we can have something to plan on.

Negative Numbers!?

It's pretty bad when there are negative days left until my due date! I had a non-stress test at the hospital yesterday. Then they made me come back an hour and a half later for another ultrasound, just to check fluid. The radiologist said that unless there was a rupture, there would be adequate fluid on anyone. I don't really get the point. Oh well. I have another NST on Friday at noon and the doctor will see me at the hospital instead of in her office then. I asked the nurse if I should come prepared and have my husband take the day off, and she said she didn't know. That figures. I wish I could just know when this was all going down, but I guess I'll just have to suffer. We will definitely be letting you all know when the blessed event finally happens, so stay tuned...

My Baby's Not A Baby Anymore

Ethan is almost three, and even before that, he will become a big brother. He is such an enjoyable kid to have around. He entertains us all with the stuff he comes up with and is currently everyone's favorite pet. He's just beginning to experiment with potty training, which is always an adventure. His favorite thing to watch is a sing-along DVD of the 2007 Primary songs. He watches it at least once a week. He also sometimes watches "The Upside-Down Show," which features two Australian guys that have an imaginary remote that they hand to the viewer to press certain buttons that make them do things. When Ethan is playing around, he often tells me that he will press the temple song button and then I will have to sing the temple song (I Love to See the Temple). Now he's at the point where he'll sing it himself and it's pretty cute. Yesterday I caught him trying to play "The Temple Song" on Laura's recorder while wearing Adam's Taz hat. This is what I was able to capture.

Jessica's First Dance

Jessica went to her first dance tonight. She got her hair cut this past week and we even bought some makeup, which she was reluctant to agree to. After I helped her put it on, though, I think she was pleased with the outcome. These are some pictures I snapped just before she went out the door. She was riding down with Uncle Bob and Dillon.

Time Out For Women

The five of us had a great time at Time Out For Women in Springfield, Massachusetts, back in September. These are some pictures that Kristal got of us while there. Unfortunately, none are very flattering of me since I am in my last trimester of pregnancy. Oh well. Here they are anyway--

This is all of us in front of the sign displaying the theme for the year, which was "A Joyful Life."

Here we are with Kim Nelson, a marriage and family counselor, who spoke to us on Friday night and was excellent. He sang a couple of songs with Michael McLean accompanying him. He had a wonderful voice, although he said he was an amateur and had no self-confidence. He is currently serving as a bishop. I told him he should join his ward choir. He said he doesn't read music, but I said any choir director would be happy to have him anyway.

This, of course, is Michael McLean. He was great, as always. We also got to meet Kenneth Cope, who was equally impressive. It is so great to have these programs available. I'm glad we got to attend this time. They will not be coming back to New England until 2010, so Mum can count on coming with us next time.

The first picture is of my cupcakes. I tried to get them to look like the ones in the magazine, but there were a few ingredients we had to do without. The rest of these are each of the kids beside their own creations. It was lots of fun, even though it was late on a Friday evening and I was tired. Ethan had already eaten his cupcakes when I got the camera out. I also noticed that most of these guys really needed haircuts at that time. They have since had them :) I'm just not a fan of this sickening 70s shaggy look that boys try to sport these days. We have had to do some pretty tough convincing to get our older boys to agree to haircuts. It has been worth it!

Halloween: A Month Late

Computer Glitch

I really do have an excuse for not posting for a while on here. Our computer is such that I just take my memory card from the camera and stick it in the corresponding drive on the computer to upload photos. However, recently it hasn't been working. It always says there's an error with the drive. I don't know what's up. I decided that maybe (if I can find the cord) I can try to use the method I use for uploading video, through a cord plugged into a different drive. We'll see. I have some pictures of some Halloween cupcakes the kids decorated back near the beginning of October, but it may be too late to post them since we're definitely past that season and into another. Now, where's that cord...?

Another Tag

I'm pretty sure I've posted similar pictures to this one already, but this is the 6th picture in the 6th folder in my picture file on my computer. I'm glad it's not one of me! It's funny how no one is smiling in this picture. I guess they were all too hungry waiting for breakfast to cook to think about smiling.

My Tag

This is all Justin's fault!



Okay, 7 random facts about me:

1. I have given birth to eight children so far, most of them with pretty hefty birth weights, and have never needed an episiotomy. (Aren't you glad you know that?)

2. I have never dyed my hair at all in my whole life (not even highlights)! Now I'm starting to see some gray strands here and there.

3. In high school, I was considered "preppy."

4. When I was in middle school, my dream was to become a dentist. In high school, I changed my major idea to music education. I finally settled on accounting, which suits me just fine.

5. Two foods I have never been able to stand are raw tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Yuck!

6. I am a control freak. It's hard for me to delegate anything, especially when it comes to kids and chores. I definitely believe in kids working, but it is a major stress to me to not see everything done right the first time :)

7. The Wizard of Oz movie still scares me.

Now for some others of you who should have to do this...
I tag:

1. MariLou
2. Kristal
3. Jarom
4. Kimara
5. Sarah
6. Sabrina
7. Sharyn

An American Carol

How many of you are planning to see this movie? It comes out on our anniversary. Sadly, Dade has to work until too late that night, so with that weekend being Conference, we probably won't see it until Oct. 11th. That's okay. It looks like a good one. It's about time Hollywood portrayed the liberals as idiots. (Click the post title to see the trailer.)

Off to a Good Start

So far, so good! We are in the middle of our third day of homeschool, and it's going well. The kids are actually learning things and staying on track. I'm discovering improvements I want to make for the second week already, like schedule adjustments, etc. We have a snack and recess for 15 minutes in the middle of school, which helps to break it up. Chores are getting done in the morning before we start, which is really nice because then we have a relatively clean house when we're done. Showers and bedtime are happening, another plus! The kids have a personal accomplishment chart where they have to complete certain things every day and earn star stickers for each item. At the end of the week, if they haven't missed more than two stars, they get a reward. This whole system is helping me be much more organized in life, too, which is something I've needed.

Adam's Birthday

It's been a while since we celebrated Adam's birthday, but I'm just getting around to publishing pictures from this summer. Adam decided to have a birthday breakfast this year, since Dad isn't around in the evenings. He just couldn't wait until the weekend, so we got up early and had cinnamon rolls, eggs, and juice. It was fun! It's hard to believe that Adam now has one last year in Primary, and then he will become a deacon like his brothers.

Peaks-Kenny Camping Trip

We had a great time camping this summer. We got a couple days of the best weather we've had so far. The setting was perfect. I remember camping there as a kid several times, and it was always enjoyable. From a parent's perspective, though, it was almost better. It was fun to watch the kids enjoy themselves and do things that we don't get to do at home, like set up tents and build fires. They also got some swimming in, and even hiked one of the trails with Dad the second day. These pictures are of everyone waiting for breakfast to be ready. Sausages were Dad's domain, and I cooked the pancakes afterwards--yum!

Jessica's Birthday

Luckily we were able to have Jessica's birthday meal outside after having seemingly nonstop rain for the past few weeks. We celebrated on Sunday, the 10th, because she was going to be at girls' camp on the actual day.
Gram and the Elders joined us for the celebration. Jessica chose tacos for the meal with cherry cheesecake (the genuine baked kind) for dessert. Elder Kempton and Elder Kelsey thoroughly enjoyed themselves--they both LOVE Mexican food and get excited when we serve it. Elder Kelsey told us that he always has cheesecake on his birthday, and it's his favorite dessert. When he started eating it, he said, "Is anyone else in heaven like I am right now?"

Our oldest child is now eligible to go to dances! That is a scary thought. She gets to have her Aunt Chelle for a YW President, so she has a ball at all the various activities they have. She has some really good friends among the YW in our branch, which is nice. Now that she's homeschooling, she will depend on them more than ever. I'm excited for her to make some new friends throughout the stake as well.

Picture Tag

Okay, it's my turn. If you haven't done this yet on your own blog, just google each of these with your own info and choose your favorite option on the first page of images. Here goes:

my age

my favorite color

my favorite vacation spot (just a few miles from home)

where I live

where I grew up

where I'd like to travel (the Netherlands)

my favorite food (nothing beats a Philly Cheesesteak!)

my favorite treat

my favorite animal

a past love

my first name

my middle name

my last name

a bad habit

my first job (a convenience store)

college degree

what I'm doing right now