11-11-11 at 11:11 a.m.

Since a numerical phenomenon such as this only happens once in a lifetime, we celebrated this moment with ice cream. Okay, we'll make up any excuse to eat ice cream! Kevin had to study and McKaila went on an outdoor survival trek today, so they missed out, but we saved them some ice cream. Kevin can eat his at 11:11 p.m!

Abigail Christena Love
November 4, 2011
3:53 a.m.
8 pounds, 14 ounces
20 1/2 inches

So Pink, So Sweet!

Pumpkin Carving Credits

Here is something McKaila and Hunter haven't given up for Halloween: Carving Pumpkins! McKaila and Emily carved the witch and Hunter carved the stars. There is a full moon on the front of the pumpkin with stars--just a big, ole' hole in the front. Kevin thought it looked too simple, so we displayed the side with stars, but I think it was an innovative idea--kinda like the candy costume! Who knew that Hunter, my logical boy, had such a creative flair!

Spiderman, Lady Bug, and Pirate, Oh My!

It seems like we only have three kids from the pictures I post. McKaila and Hunter aren't too excited about me taking pictures of them any more. In fact, I tried to take a picture of Hunter in his Halloween costume this year, but he dismantled before I could snap the shot. I almost made him re-create it just for the picture. He taped an "Airhead" to his head, "Nerds" to his white t-shirt, "Smarties" to his pants and "Butterfingers" to his fingers. Very creative! McKaila opted to stay home and pass out the candy ;).

Ultrasound Pics

So, a month later, I'm finally posting our ultrasound pictures. "It's a girl!" We broke our pattern--or started a new one! We are very excited, especially for little Elisabeth, who will now have a little friend, and they will be closer in age (by a whole year) than any of our other children. I'm happy to report that being pregnant with a toddler isn't as hard as I thought it would be. (I'm hopeful that I'll feel the same way once the baby is born.) Having older children to help makes a big difference, I'm sure, but I also know that life experience has taught me, "I can do more than I thought I could," and "Everything always works out in the end." So, here's to bringing another child into the world!

While most of you know this baby is a girl, most of you probably don't know that we've decided to have her at home, rather than at a hospital. This is something I never thought I would do, but it is the right choice for this pregnancy and I've been led to find a great midwife to support me in our home birth. I'm very excited for the experience. After having McKaila naturally and some promptings I felt during Elisabeth's birth, I know that it will be a beautiful experience.

Easter Traditions

Easter egg hunts, jelly beans and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. These are some of my children's favorite Easter traditions. We also have traditions that focus on the religious symbolism of the holiday. When McKaila and Hunter were younger, I found a list of scriptures that give a day by day account of what the Savior did on the week preceeding His resurrection. To make it fun for them, I wrote the scriptures on small pieces of paper and hid them inside colored, plastic Easter eggs. I have a small white basket that we use for these eggs each Easter and each morning we read the scriptures from the egg that is color-coded to that day of the week. We use pictures from the Gospel Art Kit to tell the story of the scriptures as we read. This helps keep the younger kids' attention. This is how we often reconcile scripture study with teenagers and babies!

More recently, we've begun to have a Passover-like dinner on the Thursday evening before Easter. We prepared our own dinner three years ago. I did a little research on-line to help me through it and it was a really great experience. For the past two years, we have attended a dinner hosted by our good friends, the Osbornes. Here is a picture of the Seder Plate from our dinner this year. There is always a lot of meaning in the symbols of both Easter and the Passover. It's nice to take the week before Easter and especially the evening commemorating Christ's Atonement to reflect on the symbols, both ancient and modern, of my favorite holiday of the year: Resurrection morning.

What a Mess!

This weekend I had an experience that I've been averting ever since I had my second child: two kids throwing up at the same time in the middle of the night. I don't know how I've managed to avoid it for so long, but my turn came on Friday night. At 11:40 p.m., after one hour of sleep, I was awakened to cries from the boys' room. Weston had thrown up. Cleaning up throw up is my least favorite part of being a mom, but McKaila was still up and graciously offered to help me. I appreciated that! I did my duty, including starting the load of laundry with a double rinse cycle, and went back to bed. I was called again at 1:40 a.m. Weston had thrown up--this time on the couch, where I'd lain him to finish his night's sleep. While I was bundling up his sheet and blanket to go in the washer the next morning, I heard coughing sounds in Elisabeth's room. I checked on her and she seemed fine, but just to be cautious, I moved her pillow pet out of her crib and it was lucky that I did because not 10 minutes later, I heard her throwing up, just I was finishing the final clean-up of Weston's second episode. So, I put her in the bathtub, which I had already done twice with Weston, and bundled up her sheets and pajamas, adding them to the pile on the washer. At this point, Kevin woke up and I asked him to give the kids blessings, which he did. I was hopeful that this would be the end of it, so I put clean sheets on Weston's bed and put them in bed together while I put new sheets on Elisabeth's bed. Several minutes later, Elisabeth threw up on Weston's bed, soiling another sheet, blanket and pair of pajamas. Fortunately, I was able to get to her and clean her hands and face before she needed a bath. Yet, it was another bundle of sheets on the washer, new sheets and blankets on both kids' beds, and finally, each kid in their own bed. Weston slept the rest of the night. Elisabeth proceeded to throw up four more times, about 10-15 minutes after I'd cleaned up from her last time. I kept thinking, "Her stomach must be empty by now." Finally, at 3:30 a.m., I was able to get a little snack (I'm pregnant and was feeling really nauseous at this point), drink a cup of herbal tea and go to bed. When I woke up in the morning, there was a small amount of throw up on Elisabeth's sheet, which she was eager to point out to me. Clearly, she was too tired to call it to my attention in the middle of the night. Again, I added another bundle of sheets to the washer and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on laundry--and sleep!