Everyday Moments July 2016

July was spent adjusting to our new normal of 4 (!) kids.

Lots of time was spent reading to and holding Joey.

I could tell the long hospital stay had taken its toll on the kids. It was nice to have time to just sit and bond.

The Elder's Quorum had planned a lunch and hike a few days after we got home. 

Spencer (aka Super Dad), took the three oldest and planned the whole thing for the ward.

They had a good time but it was a ton of work for him.

Lucy is an amazing big sister to Joey. It's nice having big kids to help out so much.

All four kids on the day they came home from the hospital in the same onesie. The first three were 2 days old. Joey was 12 days old.

Feeling content the day after we got home.

She seems so much bigger now!

Making cookies with the kiddos.

Handsome boy.

Junior Monopoly

Joey's first outing! We went to see the floats at the preview party and then had a picnic lunch. Joey slept through it and it was so nice for me to get out of the house.

Just like she did with Eliza, Tippy loves to snuggle Joey as he nurses. It's adorable.

Playdough fun!

Brothers!

We had so many people step up and help out for so long that it was quite awhile before I made it to the grocery store! A plus to having big kids? They think it's fun to unload the cart!

Coming Home

Before we could bring Joey home, we had to prove that we knew how to work the equipment we would be taking with us - oxygen and a pulse oximeter. We stayed over in one of the family rooms and had a very interrupted night's sleep but otherwise did fine.

The next morning after his stats, he didn't gain weight like they wanted him to and the nurse showed some doubt about him coming home. This made me nervous. We had done all the videos and CPR training and everything the day before and were just so, so ready. 

Thankfully, later that morning, at Rounds, the pediatrician said he saw no reason to keep Joseph here and we could be discharged! YAY!!

It took a bit to get everything ready and together but we were so, so excited to get to take him home.

After 12 days in the hospital, on July 5th, we got to bring this handsome guy home!

We put him in the same onesie all the other kids wore when they came home too.

To celebrate, I did a bit of a photo shoot in the NICU.

I want to always remember how little he was and what this experience looked and felt like. The NICU is both a wonderful and a terrible place. Most of the nurses were great. Most of the doctors were great. Some weren't. 

There were 2 other babies in the same big room as Joey's bed. They were twins and in incubators. I don't know how old they were but they were only about 3 pounds each and their diapers were tiny. 

About a week after we got to take Joseph home, my cousin's wife had a baby and she ended up in the exact same NICU bed as Joey! Crazy! The same girls were there. I hope they are doing wonderfully now!

Everyone at the NICU tried to make it a better place to be. There were small gifts donated to the parents and snacks too. They also made each child a banner with their name on it. Joey's hangs in his room now.

I adore this picture. He looked so happy all ready for his ride out to the car!

He was tuckered out by the time we got home but everyone was so excited to see him! Welcome home, Joey!!

Everyday Moments June

A few moments from our June:

Summer means daily chores and this little one got in on the action!

Dentist appointments!

We got Sam into reading on his own by borrowing Garfield comic books from the library. They were the perfect books to keep in the car as we traveled from activity to activity.

Craziness at the soccer field! We had a crazy Saturday where we ran from cousins' baptisms to soccer to a lunch in the park.

My birthday! Key lime pie for dessert. :)

Spencer's birthday! Lucy and Spencer each got a light saber for their birthdays. Sammy already had one and the three of them got to fight it out!

Sam lost his first tooth!

One evening all three kids wanted to snuggle at the same time. I sure felt loved!

Our local library has awesome summer activities. This one was making our own rockets and shooting them up. It was a lot of fun.

Father's Day shinanigans!

We've gotten a pass to the local pool for the past few years and this year it was used a ton! Spencer really worked on teaching Lucy and Sammy how to swim and they got a ton better this year.

Couple selfie at the hospital.

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One day, during our hospital stay, the kids came to visit. Spencer took them across the street to Murray Park to spend some time exploring.