Milking...

Remember about 2 1/2 years ago...we did this?

Mocha, the milk cow, has grown a little!

She had a little bull calf last week & Aaron's dad has been milking her daily & getting 1-1.5 gallons/day. He is super excited! We got to see 'Buck' this weekend and he's a little cutie!

Aaron was so excited - he skimmed the cream off of the top of the milk & made butter. Unfortunately, he forgot to stick it in our cooler when we left, so he didn't get to try it. Maybe next time!

1 month

UPDATE: You are 9lbs 5oz (52%) & 21.5 inches long (64%). Head Circumference is 36.75cm (45%).

1 month old today, baby girl! You are such a sweet little addition to our family. You are a pretty content baby, even when your brothers & sister are in your face.

You like to be swaddled at night. You eat about every 2 hours, like clockwork, but sometimes stretch it out to 3 hours.

You have outgrown most of your newborn clothes & are wearing 0-3 months now. Size newborn diapers are about too tight...we'll be moving up to size 1 as soon as we finish the package!

Your 1 month appointment is tomorrow. We are anxious to see how big you are! We love you Sophie Maxine!!!

For those that want to see what Zoe looked like at 1 month...click here.

According to my kitchen scale...

Miss Sophie weighs 9lbs 5oz! We'll find out her 'official' weight at her 1 month appointment next week (GASP - 1 month???).

A week of firsts!

In the past week (give or take a day or two), we've had a lot of 'firsts'...

A first walk in the stroller...cut short because Big Sister was trying to gouge Little Sister's eyes out...

A first shopping trip - mommy, daddy & the girls - while the boys were at Papa & Mama's house. And a first trip to church, which I don't have a picture of.

A first 'real' bath after the umbilical stump FINALLY fell off :)

A first picture with Great-Grandpa Jack. He came to visit when she was first born, but wanted to wait to hold her.

Some tummy time, which she actually seemed to like...

A playdate with cousins, which was a lot of fun. I was alone with 8 children in my house...thank goodness 4 of them are older & great helpers!

A thumbsucker...when she's able to get it in her mouth. None of our other children sucked their thumbs. It's awfully cute...but the binky would be easier to break (in my opinion).

On Fire...

A week ago, Aaron took the 3 older kids to the farm so I could rest at home with Sophie. On their way home, they drove by a field that was being burned...and the following conversation took place.

Aaron: Look at that fire, guys.
Brecken: How did the fire start?
Aaron: The people are burning...
Brecken: There are people burning????
Aaron: No, the people aren't burning...they are burning the pasture.
Leighton: They are burning Pastor Larry????

And that, could be how rumors get started...

Out of the mouths of babes...

Since Sophie's birth, we've had a lot of comments...and questions...here are a few:

Brecken: You guys call her Sophie Grandma Maxine, but I'm just going to call her Sophie.

Brecken: How did you know she was a girl?
Me: Well, she just is...
Brecken: Does she have a 'line' like Zoe?

Leighton: When do you drink white milk?
Me: What do you mean?
Leighton: You know, it goes down your throat? And then comes out of those for Sophie. When do you drink it?

(He apparently is very observant and knows his mommy doesn't like white milk...and also has determined in order for me to have milk for Sophie...I must be drinking it)

2 boys...2 girls

I remember how excited I was to have 2 boys born 19 months apart - I immediately looked forward to them being able to experience the bond of brotherhood...that I had witnessed with my brothers & Aaron & his brothers.


I feel that exact same way about having 2 girls born 20 months apart. I am excited for Zoe & Sophie that they now to get experience that special bond between sisters.

Since we've been home...

Wow - I can't believe that Sophie is already 9 days old! Since we've been home, we've:

Had a lot of visitors


Had bilirubin checked twice...and did some sunbathing in between visits

Had a lot of awake time

And a lot of sleep time

And made some chocolate dipped marshmallows with sprinkles :)

February 28, 2011

We checked into the hospital Monday morning at 7:00am. My labor nurse happened to be a girl that I used to twirl against when I was in grade school/junior high :) It was fun chatting with her & we loved her as our nurse!

This is the birth story of Sophie Maxine, according to the notes that Aaron took. He's done this for every labor/delivery & it's been fun for me to go back and read :)

At 7:30ish - they started me on Pitocin. I was 2cm & 80% effaced. At 8:05 my Dr came to check on me, said I was a 3 & decided to break my water. At 8:30, my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart & were pretty strong.

The anesthesiologist came at 9:15 and got my epidural in place. At 9:45, I was still not feeling the effects of the epidural. The anesthesiologist bumped up the meds & also gave me some meds to keep my blood pressure up. The nurse checked me again and I was 5-6cm, so the pitocin & contractions were definitely doing what they were suppose to, but the epidural was not!

Aaron thought he was going to get off easy this delivery (and me too), but he had to do some work to help me through the contractions...and they were obviously work for me :) At 10:20, they decided to try to insert a new catheter in a different spot for the epidural. At this point, I probably should have just sucked it up, but they offered, so I took it...and if I had known we were only 20 minutes away from delivery...I may have persevered, but who knows :) This one did provide relief! At 10:29, I was at 8-9 cm, so they called my doctor! At 10:35 my doctor arrived & decided that I could push on the next contraction! After 2 contractions, and about 5 pushes, Sophie Maxine was born at 10:40am, weighing 7lbs 3oz & measuring 20.5 inches long.

It was my quickest labor by far - loved that for sure! We are so blessed. I am overwhelmed with emotion when I think about our journey - 9 years ago, February 1st, 2002, we miscarried our first pregnancy. On February 28, 2005, we were scheduled to discuss IVF with our fertility specialist, after having gone through 2 surgeries, clomid & IUI, without success. However, 2 weeks before that appointment, we discovered we were pregnant with Brecken! And now - we are blessed with our 4th little miracle on February 28th, just 6 years later :) What an amazing journey those 9 years have been for us, our relationship & our faith!