Jackson's Preschool Program & Visit with Santa

Jackson had his preschool program the week after Landon was born. He was so excited for Daddy to come and watch him sing all his songs. (I'll upload the movies later) Notice the cute little girl with the pink tights next to him. Her name is Belle. One day, Jackson came home and told me that Belle kisses him a lot. I was a little surprised and asked him why she kisses him. He told me that he didn't know why, but that she just liked to kiss him, and on the lips too. :) Wonderful! I asked him if she kisses any other boys, and he said she kisses his friend Gatlin too, even better! I'm kind of hoping this is just one of his fun stories he likes to tell. :)
Jackson was so excited to sing "There was a man with a long white beard, and SANTA was his name-o S-A-N-T-A & so on. He was also excited about being a reindeer.
I have to tell a story about Jackson that my friend shared with me. Hopefully I tell it right Analice. :) Analice had invited Jackson to come over and play with Makell and while they were playing somehow they started talking about dogs. They then had a conversation similar to this -
Analice: Jackson, do you think you will ever have a dog?
Jackson: Oh, we had a dog, but it bit me.
Analice: It did (knowing that we have never had a dog)
Jackson: Yeah, so my daddy & I took it in the backyard and killed it.
Analice: You did? How did you kill it?
Jackson: We took a sword and cut it in half.
Ha ha ha ha ha :) I have NO IDEA where this story came from. He has been FULL of stories lately and shares them often. One day (after he and Morgan had been locked in their room for time out) Brian was talking to them and Jackson explained to Brian with a serious face that Morgan had kicked him in the face, and then became 4 inches tall and crawled under the locked door and went into the bathroom, and that's why Jackson was in trouble. Another story. :) We are trying to teach our kids to not lie, but it is quite entertaining to hear the stories. :)

Jackson & the Santa Claus. When Santa walked in, Jackson looked at Brian and said like Buddy the Elf, "Daddy, it's Santa! Santa is here!" He is such a fun and entertaining kid.
Our little Landon is doing good. He is such a cute little guy. I think I would love him even more if he would let me sleep a little bit each night. He eats good, but wakes up for a whole hour at a time! Needless to say, I'm awake for a couple of hours each night. Long & tiring, but definatly worth it for this sweet little guy. We love him so much!

I believe there are ANGELS among us!

I don't think I realized or really thought that it would be difficult with 4, but this past week has been emotional, tiring, & difficult. On Monday my Mom was so sweet and came to help me get the kids ready for the day. I took Morgan to school while she stayed home with the other 3, and on the way home I asked myself how I was going to be able to do this with all 4 kids. Right when I pulled into the driveway, my neighbor saw me and said in answer to the question she didn't hear "Melissa, Congratulations! Can I take Morgan to school for you this week?" Somehow the emotional Melissa who has been here a lot this week, started crying and said with relief... YES!!! After talking to her, and explaining that no, there was nothing wrong with me, just emotional, I went inside. :) Right then my friend next door called to see if she could take Morgan, followed by another phone call from another friend. I have been so blessed to have good friends take & bring Morgan home from school, and they are my angels.
My Mom has been an amazing friend, angel, and help this week. She has helped me so much with the kids. She has taken them to her house so I could sleep, played with them, given them fun activities to do, (like Christmas cookies), made dinner for us, and been a friend I could talk to. I am so grateful for her love and help.
Brian has been so sweet this week. He brought home flowers on Monday, which has been so nice to look at every day. He has been so good with the kids and the house, and just lets me relax. I am so grateful for him. He truly is my best friend.
I know that there are angels that come to me daily. My friends, Brian, my Mom, and my kids, but I also know there are Heavenly angels that help me daily as well. The other night I was feeling kind of lonely & completly off routine. That night before I went to bed, I thought about how much I missed talking to my friends and being outside the house, and how much I missed the routine. I prayed that night, that my friends that I hadn't heard from, would know that I needed them to come to me, since I couldn't come to them. The next day my friend came over & brought a plate of brownies. Later that same day, another friend called and asked if she could come over the next day to visit & bring over dinner for the crock-pot. The Relief Society Presidency also came over to visit. I knew that Heavenly Father had heard my prayer. It also made me realize even more that he hears me every time I pray, and that he is aware of me & who I am. I am so grateful for the Heavenly angels that sustain me each day. I know I can't see them, but I can feel the strength & warmth of the angels with me. The other day I read a quote on my friends blog that I knew would need to be my motto this week, "I can do hard things! In fact, with Christ I can do all things!" As Brian left this morning, and asked if I was going to be okay today, I thought of this quote, and immediatly could feel the strength of the Savior helping me. Yes...With Christ I can do all things! :)

Thankfully Landon has been sleeping so well that past few nights & it is wonderful. He is the sweetest little baby and is so calm and peaceful. I just want to hold him & stare at him all day. He is a miracle!

First Impressions

The kids didn't come to the hospital because of the weather, so Brian went and took our camera to them so they could see what their new baby brother Landon looked like. They were so excited on Thursday when they came home. Brian put Landon in the carseat in the closet and put a baby doll in the crib for the kids to come and find. They looked at the baby doll and then started looking around the room. They soon found Landon and couldn't wait to hold him. We love our new little baby and he has been smothered with love.
I love the look on their faces at first seeing Landon. What little sweethearts.
Hallie was the first one to meet Landon and she was so gentle with him. Brian and I think they had a special connection in the life before this. She treated him like she knew him. Brian had taken the other kids to school and brought Hallie home to spend some one on one time with us. I can't believe how much she grew up overnight. Her feet that I used to think were so little, now seem huge compared to Landons. She seems like a toddler instead of my little baby. She has been so sweet & is so much fun!

First Impressions continued

Jackson was so excited about his new baby brother. He kept saying while he was holding him... "My baby brother is so cute!" "I love my little baby brother!" "Can I hold my baby brother?" "I like my baby brother's hat." "I like my baby brother's hands, where are his toes?"
Jackson has been so sweet with Landon. He loves him so much & loves to be around him.
Morgan was so excited to hold her new little brother. She had told all of her kindergarten class about him and even got to tell the first grade class with her teacher since my neighbor/friend was subsituting the 1st graders that day. Brian let both Morgan & Jackson take pictures of Landon to show to their classes at school. They couldn't wait to get home and actually see him.
One more picture of my sweethearts. I love them so much!

Going Home

We left on Wednesday night at 6:00. We stopped at Target to get some things & Kid to Kid for some other things for Landon. I wanted to stop then so I wouldn't have to go out anywhere for a while. My parents were so sweet and kept the kids again so we could sleep that night. It helped a ton!
Landon wasn't too excited about getting dressed, but he looked so cute!

Ready to go!

My Sweet Brian

Brian stayed by my side the entire time, other then going to get some chips and zingers. They smelled so good, and he quickly got me some when I could eat again. :)
He was so sweet to be with me and was such a huge support. I am so grateful for him & his love for me and our little family. It was so nice & relaxing being in the hospital with him. They brought in a cot so he could stay with my at nights. He didn't get much sleep, but was so good with Landon and I. I love him so much!


The proud new Daddy.

Landon's Birth Story

On Sunday night (the 6th) at about 11:00 I started having some light contractions in my back. I figured they were just Braxton hicks since I have had some the last month. I went to sleep until 3:00 and then they were strong enough that I couldn't really sleep. They weren't really painful, just felt kind of uncomfortable. I was awake from 3:00-5:30 and then Hallie & Brian woke up. Brian got ready to go to work and I told him I felt we should call the doctor just to make sure. The doctor said they were contractions and to come in if they got any closer than 10 minutes apart and to come into the hospital to be checked. I had always had contractions in my stomach, not my back, so this was all new to me. We packed the kids up to stay at my parents, waited for Morgan to get out of school, and then ran some errands. We dropped the kids off at my parents around 11:30 and got to the hospital around 12:00. We checked in like it was a hotel & they soon strapped me to the bed to monitor me & check me. I was only a 1 and only 70% effaced so my chances of staying didn't look too good unless I moved quickly along within the next hour. We stayed for a little while and then after checking me again, the nurse called the doctor who said I could go home. I was honestly fine with it either way. I had a lot of things to get done & keep me occupied for the week, and Brian had a lot to do at work as well as get overtime hours before the baby was born. We also planned on going to In 'n' Out for lunch. The nurse came back in after I was dressed and said, "The baby's heart rate dropped a little bit and the doctor wants to see it before we send you home, so just wait and eat some cookies & juice while you wait." She left for about 1/2 hour and came back and said, " You're staying!" The baby's heart beat was fine, but the doctor didn't want to put the baby in any stress and felt that it would be safer to go ahead and induce me and monitor the baby. They soon induced me & we waited and waited and waited for my body to do something. They gave me an epidural when I was a 2. I looked at the guy giving me the epidural (I can't spell what their called) like he was my best friend. He was here to relieve me of any pain I would feel the rest of the time. I didn't know he would soon turn into my enemy (just kidding) :) He gave me the epidural which hurt of course because of the big needle, but somehow he managed to get it in a blood vessel causing my left leg to feel as though it had been electrocuted 3 times throughout my leg. The epidural was in wrong and so he had to break the news to me that he needed to do it again, only this time he forgot to mention that a needle would be going in my back or that I would feel a poke. It completly caught me off guard, and hurt so bad! I think due to the lack of sleep & food and the pain I started to cry. He said, "oh, did I make you cry?" Poor Brian just had to hold my hands and watch as the guy tried to make things better. Once again the electric pain shot through only this time in my right leg and twice. I was definatly done with this doctor! (Sorry about so much detail, but hey, this is for Landon's sake) :) I felt much better after the doctor was done and I could relax and the epidural worked wonderful! Finally after being at a 2-3 all afternoon I got to a 5 around 12:00. Brian had fallen asleep from exhaustion and looked so comfortable on the couch with his head on the armrest and his long legs hanging over the edge, but I was glad he was able to sleep some. I told the nurses that once I got to 5 I would quickly get to a 10. Sure enough by 12:30 - 12:45 I was at a 10. I pushed for 14 minutes & Landon came out. The delivering doctor is wonderful!!!!! He is the same one that delivered Hallie is Brian and I both really like him. Landon was born at 1:03 weighing 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 21 inches long. He was our smallest, but longest baby. He is so much like Brian! He has his eyes, body, hands, & feet, and I love it! I am so grateful that all went well and that he is so healthy. He is such a sweet little guy and has a sweet peaceful personality, much like his Daddy. I am so glad he is here.

Oh Christmas Tree...

For FHE on Monday night we decorated the Christmas Tree. The kids were so excited, and kept pulling things out of the boxes and putting them on the tree. The finished product is beautiful! There is no order as to where the ornaments were placed, and there are no ornaments on the top of the tree, and to Brian and I, it's perfect! The kids had so much fun decorating the tree.
Hallie loved the lights and kept dancing around the tree while pulling off all the ornaments. She would go and stand by the tree and look at me with this huge grin.
Jackson loved putting all the white balls on the tree and loved standing on his tippy-toes to show us how high he could put the ornament. He was in charge of the white balls, Morgan was in charge of the red balls, so on the right side of the tree is all white thanks to Jackson, and on the left side, there are clusters of red balls thanks to Morgan's expertise. :)
Morgan did great at placing the berries & red balls on the tree. She loved being organized, and even made some patterns using the red balls.

My Christmas Finds

While I was shopping with the girls I found these cute hats and mittens at Old Navy. The kids were so excited to wear them, and can't wait for the snow!

Nuttall Girls Day Nov.28th

I told Karen for Christmas, that all I really wanted was for all of us girls to have a girls day without any kids. We had such a fun time!!! We first met at Brittany's house and went and met Janelle at Pottery Barn in Salt Lake. We browsed the store for a while & then went and looked at Pottery Barn kids and the rest of Trolley Square. We then had a yummy lunch at the Bistro ( I think that's what it was called). While we were sitting waiting, the waitress walked up to us and asked Brittany & Janelle if she could see their ID's. We all looked at her like she was crazy and Brittany said, "But I'm over 21!" I immediatly started thinking "Am I older than 21?" Right then Brittany said, "I'm 27!" I then remembered that I too was 27. :) I guess I didn't get asked because I'm pregnant & obviously Karen and I looked like the responsible adults. :) We were laughing about it, and I don't think the waitress thought we were too funny- we did though.
We moved on and stopped at Old Navy and got some great deals on items for Christmas. We then moved on to Target where we had way too much fun. I think we were in there for over 2 hours. We found some great gifts there as well, and Janelle treated us all to a Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks. It was yummy and perfect on a cool day.
We then tried on hats to see which fit the best. I think Janelle and Brittany were going for the "Russian" look while Karen & I were sporting a more "Swiss" look. :)

We then got a little carried away when Brittany found these cozy adorable sleepers. Obviously we had to try them on to make sure they were warm. We just laughed and laughed as we dressed, especially me as I tried to fit my pregnant body into one. It actually fit, although I would NEVER wear one because of how hot they were. We were hoping they had big enough sizes to get all the guys some for Christmas, but unfortunatly they didn't. They did have some really cool boy ones though that lit up in the dark. I wish Brian could wear a size 14 in Boys. He would have loved that Christmas present along with the kids on Christmas Eve. ;)

Season of Peace

I had so many things to do this past week before the baby came. Wash the baby clothes, finish last minute details on Christmas gifts, organize the kids rooms, make Christmas candy, baby shower for a friend, ward Christmas party, update my blog for the past 2 weeks, and so on and so on. Needless to say I was trying to keep myself busy so the week would go by fast. We had planned for me to me induced (if the baby hadn't come yet) on December 15th (my actual due date) However, that was obviously not in the plans of Heavenly Father or Landon. :) I'll blog more later & do a catch up of all the pictures from his birth as well as the previous weeks, but for now I wanted to express my feelings at this time of year, especially with the birth of a sweet new baby boy.
I've told Brian I just want to relax & enjoy the season with our family. I do have a lot to finish, and I've been trying to decide which has the highest priority, & how to place "resting for myself" as a priority. Today I was sweetly reminded as I read one of my friends blogs about what this season is really about. As I read her blog, I thought about our Savior Jesus Christ, but especially about his Mother Mary. How blessed am I to be able to have a baby boy in a hospital, where it is warm and there are warm blankets & beds and a little bed to lay my baby in. How blessed am I to be able to go to a clean hospital where they welcome me and give me a place to stay, food to eat, & even a bed for Brian, until the baby and I are ready to go. How blessed am I to be able to drive to the hospital instead of riding on a donkey in the cold. I feel so blessed. I see my own love for my sweet new son, and I can only imagine the love that Mary felt for her child... The Son of God! I think every Mother wonders what their child will face in life, their joys & laugther, as well as pain and sorrow. As I recieved the epidural the 2nd time (yes that's right... I'll explain later) I prayed that none of my children would ever have to feel such physical pain. I think of Mary, and how she must have prayed for her own sweet Son that he wouldn't have to experience pain, but knowing who He was, she must of had a glimpse of the life he would live & the joy, as well as the pain he would endure. I admire her even more for the pure woman that she was & the strength that she had. I am sure that on that sacred night so long ago, that even though there may have been discomfort and pain, there was also joy, strength, and sweet peace.
I have felt such sweet peace these last couple of days that Landon has been home with us. He is such a good and sweet little baby & fills our home with so much love. He has been such a gentle reminder of what the season is all about, our Savior... the Prince of Peace.

Here are the pictures of the "glowing mother" that didn't make it on to the first post. Just a rookie mistake.