Family Update

Oh my goodness, how time flies! I surely mean it too as I sit here contemplating the fact that my newest little girl is already six weeks old today! I mean, jeeeeez!

It's so weird how fast things go. Life with kids is very comparable to my mission to the Dominican Republic: every day feels like a year and every year feels like a day. Each day I seriously just fall into bed exhausted, but then I cringe when I think of Evie's FIFTH birthday in a little over a month and the fact that I had to register her for kindergarten next year. Gracious how fast they grow up and ... I get old! I still feel like I am 16, but I'm so glad I'm not. Teen years are definitely the kind of thing you only do once and, if I'd had my way, skipped all together.

Anyway, happy sixth week to Alexandra! Yay! Here are some fun thoughts, updates, and of course, pictures of our most wonderful little ones!

Evelynn: such a cutie! She's learning so much in preschool and though she's registered for local public kindergarten, we're still leaning toward homeschooling. It's one of those things that's easier to get out of than to get into, so I got her set up for next year. She can recognize letters now in her books and even spoken words catch her attention. We work on her writing of the alphabet several times a week. She's soooooo smart! She loves her brother and sisters and can't wait for another. I told her she has to be patient for a bit and just enjoy the ones she has now. She hates that idea!

Waiting for the doctor

Silly Evie moments: we were taking a van-load of stuff to our local recycling center and there was so much Evie's feet had no where to go. She looked at me in the rear view mirror and yelled happily, "it's like a slumber party with garbage!" followed by her characteristic giggle. Had me laughing for days!

Joseph: holy cow, my little boy is getting so big! He's working on his ABC's now with our flash cards and totally loving doing school with Evie at our kitchen table. We have been blessed with lots of resources thanks to Gramas and bookstores and daddy's supreme support for homeschooling so we have lots to do every day! Joseph has officially given up his pacifier. He did such a great job. The first night would've been tricky except daddy gave him a super cool glow stick as a treat for going without. Now he never needs it. It's awesome. It also looks like potty training will start ASAP. After getting my feet showered while brushing the kids teeth (and not from water), I decided I was ready to commit to the task. After that, my little boy will officially no longer be a little boy, he'll be my big boy. It's a love/hate moment.

"Cartoons from the Laundry" by JC

Funny little Joseph-isms: At nap time I fill JC's sippy with water, but one day I couldn't find it. I asked JC where it went and he looked at me and seriously said, "I ate it." I asked, "you ate it?" (you know, he's two and still learning to talk. I thought I'd mis-heard him) He looked at me and said, "yes, in tummy," and he pointed to his tubby little belly. "You ate it and it's in your tummy?" "yep, all gone" and he opened his mouth to show me there was nothing there. My mommy brain kicked in at that point, "so do you want another one or are you full?" "Full." and he laid down for his nap. I giggled all the way out of the room.

FHE on priesthood blessings

Elizabeth: goodness, she's adorable. She has the most beautiful blue eyes of the whole family and the craziest hair. I can't seem to get it out of her face for more than a few minutes, even with all the hair stuff I have. Chris calls her Feral, which I hate, but it does fit. She reminds me of a dog I had as a kid that my dad insisted couldn't see and would often chop the front of her hair. Chris threatens regularly to do the same to my little girl, so I keep a lot of clips around and make sure her hair is up when daddy's home. I also held onto her the whole time we went to the hair salon this last weekend. No one was going to touch her. I'm just not ready for her first haircut. I was, however, ready for her first visit to the dentist. She did a decent job for a kid who hates having her face touched...AT ALL! They looked and deliberated and decided she looked just fine for the time being. I was happy.

Lizzy accomplishments: she can now throw a ball and not fall down!!! I also finally got her on video walking! She took her first steps in January, but then never walked again. Drove us all nuts. Then just before Ally came she began walking more and more. At first it was from the couch to the couch, then from the couch to a parent and now she walks more than she crawls. It's so cute. She's even starting to be able to pivot without falling over. It's so fun to see little ones grow. She's also finally gotten some more teeth. Her upper jaw is almost full and she even has a few new ones on the bottom. She still eats more than her siblings, but now I'm fairly sure she won't be choking if I leave for a second.

Alexandra: so what do I say about my newest little girl? She is fantastic. If Lizzy is high maintenance than Ally is my go-with-the-flow child. Thank goodness. She sleeps really well and almost all night now. She eats very well, but doesn't freak out if her bottle is right on schedule. She's quiet and happy and very patient with her brother and sisters poking and prodding and picking her up (not a good thing that Evie does!). She's such a blessing for me specifically. I love to cuddle her and she is so good at being cuddled!

I'm not sleepy, mom!

Ally's development: she is officially a big baby. We've already changed the car seat head support to the bigger one and she's sleeping and eating so well and regular that we will be moving her into her room/crib at the end of this week. Amazing. I will have both my body and my room back within two months!!! Awesome gift for mommy, thanks Ally!

After a warm bath

Dad: is doing just fine. Loves his job, loves his new TV (thanks tax return), loves his kids, and thankfully, loves his wife. What more could a man want! He's an awesome dad, helps out when he can and makes sure his wife gets date night every week. We recently began actually planning our date nights a week in advance and wow are they fun. We've made desserts together, gone on walks around the block (no kids), worked on some projects, watched movies, and really just enjoyed being just the two of us. What a guy.

Making a St. Patrick's Day dessert

Mom: anxious to get back to exercising! I started my Yoga this week and will begin my Zumba within the next two weeks. I doubt I'll be in the gym anytime soon since none of the gym play centers take infants under 6mos, but I'll keep my eye on that one. I'm feeling great since Ally is bottle fed and sleeping at least six hours a night. I even get a bit of time to myself with my husband being the wonderful guy he is. I've read some new books, got released from two of my four callings, whew!, and made some new friends. Chris is great at that, being the Elder's Quorum Pres and all - he's always trying to fellowship and that brings new women into my social circle. Thank goodness. I have a hard time at the beginning of friendships, but I'm great at the rest!

As a family, we are happily adjusting, if not adjusted already, to our growing family. We've finally gotten a dining table (cheap and with a monetary gift from my late grampa) that fits us all and hopefully, will fit for the future little one(s) still to come. We have helped our oldest two learn to share space in their bedrooms, which probably won't change for quite a while. And we've readjusted our time and energies to get only the important things done, begin paying of huge amounts of debt, and somehow still get to play a little and save a little. We can't be responsible all the time, can we?

Playing with daddy!

Well, that is the Fosburg home. We are healthy, happy, and working hard to do good things. Loves and we'll see you again soon!

Welcome to the newest Fosburg family member!

Okay, so no, we didn't disappear! The day after the last post I was induced at the hospital. I know you're all anxious for the "report", but honestly, today is the first I've felt good enough to stay awake during "rest time."

So, our beautiful new baby girl, Alexandra Hope, was born on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, at 3:45pm ET. She was a whopping 8lbs. 14oz. and 22 in long. Yes, I'm sure and no, I have no idea where she was hiding. I do have some explanations now though as to why I was so uncomfortable the last month! Pregnancy and I usually have an unhappy relationship, but this was incredible.

It was also the first pain-free labor and delivery I had experienced. I was so relieved! Afterwards I was even more relieved! Can't believe Heavenly Father seriously thought that large a baby was coming from this small a body without help! Good thing the epidural worked this time. I've actually had it all four times, but something always happened before to make the epidural pointless. Thank goodness things worked out this time. It was a slightly strange experience though - to go from serious hatred of having babies to sleeping through the contractions to get to the pushing part. It was so odd, but I can totally see how other women end up in church the first Sunday after delivering their children. I could too, it was easy!

The hospital stay was fine, but I have to confess, I missed my little ones at home by the second day. We had so many wonderful friends stay with our kids during those few days and even more brought dinners that week. It was such a relief to know my kids were taken care of and later, that I didn't have to worry about what my family was going to eat for dinner.

It's amazing how stressful meal time can be when all you want to do is crawl into bed and stay there forever. (Eventually the epidural had to wear off!) Having a baby is still pretty hard on a body, though my back pain probably had more to do with trying to correct itself after hauling a 9lbs child for the last while. (Still working on that too).

Coming home

For those of you interested, no I never did gain any major weight, but I was super proud to have gained all that I originally lost! I got all the way to 136lbs before I delivered. That means that I gained about 25lbs during the pregnancy. That's a decent and healthy gain. Now if I could just not lose so much at the beginning, women of the world might start to like me again. At this point, I only weigh about 118lbs, which does not look fantastic on me. Everyone is so envious of the little body, but all I see is all the bones that I shouldn't be able to see. I also easily notice all the muscle mass I've lost. I can hardly lift Joseph now and he only weighs 25lbs. Seriously, how sad is that? So, as soon as I get the go ahead, I'm headed to the gym to get my muscles back. I like the flat stomach, but I'll take a little shaplier body if it means I can play with my kids more.

Anyway, enough about me, onto the KIDS!

Evelynn: loves having another baby doll in the house. Lizzy is getting too big for Evie to pretend she's a baby so Ally came at the right time for her. She's such a great help for me. I'm just learning how to do things with four and she's been so good at offering to hold Ally or to feed her. She loves it and can't get enough of her. This little one has been showered with blown hugs and kisses since Evie first laid eyes on her.

Joseph: didn't really seem to care all that much. He's interested, but in a disinterested kind of way. He notices her and gives her kisses whenever Evie does and at night after family prayer, but that's about as far as it goes. He likes to look at her, but doesn't really care one way or the other.

Elizabeth: unlike her brother, definately notices there's another child at home. She's not as thrilled as Evie either. Lizzy has gotten really clingy and in general, is not totally happy to not have all mom and dad's attention. She loves to look at Ally and has even tried to touch her, playing with the little feet. It makes her giggle when Ally pulls them away. She gets the little grin with the dimple whenever she's sitting next to a parent holding the baby. We feel that eventually she'll be really close to her sister and as long as we spend a little extra time with the two of them together, Lizzy will see that we love and adore all our children. We'll keep you posted on that one.

Alexandra: holy cow! What a different little girl. She's a total mix of the other kids and brand new at the same time. She sleeps up to 4hrs at a time and eats like a champ. (We tried breastfeeding, but it was a total failure.) With others being able to help feed her, we all get the chance to be close to the baby. She is growing really well too. My first child to start on the growth charts!!! She lost about a pound in the first couple of days (normal) and has been steadily climbing back to her birthwieght. Unlike the other Fosburg kids, she might actually make her birthweight by the end of her first month. She is so content most of the time and in the opposite vein of Lizzy's banshee wail, Ally's cry is much deeper and quieter. I don't mind getting up at 3am to feed her because I don't have a headache already from hearing her cry. It's a fantastic improvement for a mom of four little ones. Ally seems to fit so well into the mix.

So many asked me about having a fourth child. Quite a few were surprised at my willingness to have another so quickly and a number were shocked into silence at the very thought of my wanting a fifth while still carrying the fourth. But I found to my great delight and according to my expectations (that rarely happens does it?) that I have never and still don't ever regret having another. Ally is a wonderful addition to our family already. She balances out Elizabeth so well and makes Evelynn the happiest of big sisters. I think, in time, even Joseph will really like her. She seems to be that calm child, the easy going one, the relaxed one. Thank goodness! I'm so glad that Chris and I as a couple planned on a large family. They make me so happy.

Daddy's third little girl!

Hearing others comment on how good my kids are or how beautiful my family is or hearing others tell Chris how lucky he is just make me want to burst with happiness. I've never felt that way about any other undertaking in my whole life. I hate being so tired or having to sacrifice other things in life to be a mom, but I know there's nothing else to compare with the fulfillment I feel at the end of a long day when all my kids are sleeping soundly, my home is picked up (notice I didn't say clean - I'm not super woman!), my husband is relaxing on the couch after dinner and I'm just enjoying the free time. I'm so glad I didn't listen to the voices of the world that told me motherhood wasn't as amazing at it is. They were right though, it's so much better and harder and more exciting and more difficult. There's no way anyone who has not been a parent should get to voice an opinion on being one. It's so much more of everything than you can imagine.

Well, that's my plug for parenthood. It takes a lot of work, but it's so worth more than anything else you can do. I'm just really blessed to have a good husband, great family support, and the gospel of Jesus Christ to lead me and guide me in this endeavor. It's way too hard to do alone.

Hope you all are well and thank you so much for all your well-wishes and happy prayers. We have felt so loved by you all.