One Month Old

Hudsyn Higgs

One Month Old

Our sweet miss Hudsyn is one month old today. Wow how the time has flown by! I can't believe how much she has already grown. I love her chubby little cheeks and legs! Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and keep her as tiny as she is now. They just grow up too fast. She has been such a great baby. Poor thing has about lived the past 3 weeks in her car seat. We have been so busy chasing Hunter and Hailey to ball games and tournaments. It has been so fun to follow them and cheer them on. And Hudsyn just sleeps most of the time and hardly makes a peep which has made it nice to be able to go watch them play.

The other kids can't wait each morning to get to hold her and love on her. They all love her so much and I have enjoyed watching them with her. Hunter is especially sweet with her. He was so disappointed when we found out he wasn't getting a little brother. But he LOVES his baby sister. She looks quite a bit like him and he thinks that is so cool. I think that makes up for her not being a brother. He would sit and hold her for hours if he could and loves to help out with her. He is just so sweet with her and loves to take her off just the two of them and sing to her. Too cute. The girls are great helpers too and love to hold her. I can't convince any of them to change diapers yet though. Darn!

I have so enjoyed my time being home with my family. I feel so content here surrounded by them. It has been nice to be able to take my kids where they need to be and not worry about leaving work to get them there or having someone else do it for me. We get to go to park lunch every day and play and just relax. I am trying to enjoy every minute before I have to go back to work. How nice it would be to be a stay-at-home mom again. The thought of sending the baby to daycare kills me. I have an awesome babysitter though so that makes it a little easier. Summer is going by fast so I hope to be able to enjoy what I can.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to our great daddy and awesome husband. We love you so so much!! Our primary delivered posterboard ties to each of the dads in the ward for their kids to decorate. The dads had to wear them to church today. They were all really good sports and proudly wore their ties. Ryan even got to teach sunday school proudly wearing his. (He teaches the adults.) I know the dads feel silly wearing them but the kids love to see their fathers wearing what they made for them. We are so lucky to have such a great father and husband in our home. The kids idolize their dad and love to be with him. He loves to play with them and make them laugh. Ryan is my rock. I love how he can always make me smile and laugh when I am having a bad day. He keeps me sane in my crazy moments. I have enjoyed being home with him this summer. Coaching keeps him so busy that we don't get a lot of time together. It has been fun to be together enjoying our kids and each other. I think a lot of people might go crazy being with their spouse all day every day. But I have loved every minute of it and have a deepened love for him because of it. I am so grateful for all he does for our family. We love you Daddy!

She is finally here!!

Harbor's owie. (More info below. I am having difficulty rearranging the photos.)

Our sweet little miss Hudsyn made her debut May 30, 2010 at 9:44 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 19 1/2 in long. We are so excited she has finally joined our family. She is such a precious addition and we can't get enough of her. The kids adore her and can't put her down for long. I think she is going to be one spoiled little girl.

Harbor and Hudsyn

Hailey and Hudsyn

Hunter and Hudsyn

My doctor decided to start me on Sunday. Everything was going great but we just decided I was ready if we wanted to push things along a little. (It helped that I work for him too and it made it convenient for both of us.) But I was definately ready to be done with being prenant. I had a really good pregnancy without any complications or major complaints but my body was done. I was ready. So we went into the hospital at 9 Sunday morning and got things started. Things were progressing really slowly and we knew we were going to be in for a long day. My other deliveries were pretty quick so I was hoping for this one to be as well. But it didn't end up so. Which was fine. I got my epidural in early because I was starting to get uncomfortable but also because with the others it went so fast I didn't want to not get it in time. And can I tell you it worked. My body from the waist down was so numb I could only move my one big toe just a twitch. My legs were like noodles. It was such a strange feeling. I had never been that numb with my other ones. I could at least feel the pressure with my contractions with the others but this time nothing at all. Which I have to say was nice but I liked to be able to feel a little bit. My blood pressure did go quite low from the epidural which made me very sleepy and light headed, but they put me on some oxygen and that helped. By 9 that night I was still only dialated to a 6, but the nurse said things were moving faster so we were hoping it wouldn't be too much longer. On the monitors the baby's heart rate was dropping with my contractions which meant things were going good and she was progressing down the birth canal. Her heart rate would come back up to normal with each one so that was a good sign. And my legs finally could get some movement on their own. I still didn't have any feeling in them but I could at least move them and the lower half of my body without assistance. And I felt pressure with one of the contractions. Then the baby's heart rate didn't come back up as quick as they wanted once so they were watching her to make sure it wasn't causing her stress and the monitor lost her heart rate completely. We could hear it but it wouldn't pick it up. Finally after moving me positions a little bit they got it back on only to lose it after about five minutes. That is when the choas began! Her heart rate continued to not come back up as quick as they were wanting before they lost it, so they were fiddling with the monitors to find her. The nurse called Dr Blackham who was in th ER to come put a fetal scalp monitor in. Then we heard the strangest sound. It sounded like and echo of a new, gurgly baby crying. The nurses and Ryan and I all looked at each other and then at the TV. We couldn't figure out what it was. There were no other babies in the hospital. Then we heard it again. My thoughts were, "you wouldn't hear her crying in my stomach." So the nurse pulled up the blankets and her head and shoulders were out laying on the table! We were all shocked. I had not felt anything at all. The nurse grabbed her just as Dr Blackham walked in the room. She was here! It was the easiest delivery! The nurses just couldn't believe that had happened. And we had even talked about that never happening earlier. It was quite an entrance she made. But all was well. I didn't tear at all and have not been sore at all which has made recovering so easy.
My doctor let me go home the next day after lunch. Again I think a perk with working with him. He knew I would call him if I had any problems. I did have to take her into the clinic to make sure everything was going good within two days. I took her yesterday and she is great. She had lost a few ounces, which is normal, and everything else was good.

She has been such a sweet addition to have in our family. The other kids have been so great with her and can't put her down for long. It has been fun to watch all of them bond with her. They have been great helpers. And of course I love watching Ryan with her. He is such a great father and is so tender with her. I have fallen in love with him all over again. I am amazed at the love and peace a baby brings into your home. Luckily I get to have some time home for the summer with all of them and can enjoy my little family.

Harbor had a little mishap that same night when they were at my moms. She had fallen out of bed and split her head open. They are not sure what she hit, but a shelf on the wall which was holding a clay pot fell down when she hit the wall. The pot broke and we thought that might be what hit her. My mom tried to call the ER over there three times but no one answered the phone. They thought that was weird so they just bandaged it up good and cleaned her up. My parents were bringing the kids over to see me the next morning anyway so when they got there we just ran her into the ER to have it looked at. She was a brave little girl. They ended up gluing it back together but had to clean it and rough it up a little to make it bleed again for the glue to hold. She has quite a knot on her forehead.

Last day of school

It is tradition here that the kids ride their bikes to school on the last day. It is about a 5 mile ride. Hailey and Hunter had never done it before but wanted to ride this year with some of their friends. Their dad followed behind them in his truck on his way to work which I was very grateful for just to make sure they were ok. So early that morning they all met up and headed on their way. They were pretty excited. It is a big deal here to do this so the cops are always out along the road to make sure all the kids are safe. What a fun tradition. Hailey and Briley made it all the way to the school, but Brody and Hunter got a little tired and piled in the truck about a mile away. I was impressed they made it so far. I think they will be excited to do this every year now!

39 Weeks

Here I am at 39 weeks preggers! I don't have many pictures of me ever being pregnant so I thought I would get at least one this time to remember what I looked like. I can't believe it is almost over. I am excited to get baby H here but nervous at the same time. It has been almost six years since we have had a baby at our house. It will take some adjusting I think. The kids are excited as well and we are just waiting for her to come any day! I am definately ready!

Kindergarten Graduation

My baby graduated from Kindergarten. I can't believe she will be going to school all day next year. Where did the time go? Their program was so cute. They sang some cute songs and each of the kids had to recite a nursery rhyme. Harbor has learned so much this year. She is learning to read quite well and picked up very quickly on all the beginning concepts of learning. We sure are proud of our little girl! I was a little floored when they announced them as the graduating class of 2022!! That seems so far away but it really will fly by. I better take the time to enjoy every minute.

I have to admit I got a little emotional thinking how grown up she is getting. She has been the baby of the family for so long and she is just not anymore. Harbor is a joy to have in our family. If there is such a thing as a perfect child she is as close as it gets. She is so even tempered, happy, willing to help, and sweet. We just love her. She is so excited to be getting a baby sister and I can't wait to watch her become the big sister.



Graduate Harbor.

Harbor and her wonderful teacher Mrs. Brown.

Our Little Flirt

Our little Harbor is quite the girl. Never have I seen such a girly girl. She has mounds of confidence and will not hesitate to let you know she is cute. Sometimes I wonder if we need to work on some humbleness. But she really is just too darn cute in my opinion. (I know it doesn't help when we tell her she is the princess and feed her with what she loves to hear.) I do have a feeling we may have our hands full with this one. This is her converstation with Ryan the other night:

Ryan: "Harbor you are such a pretty princess."
Harbor: "I know." (big smile)
Ryan: "What's going to happen when all the boys chase you at school?"
Harbor: "They will all say, 'Hi Cutie'. Then I will say 'Hi Awesome Boys'." (all this in a very flirtatious voice and while batting her eyelashes and giving tiny little wave of her fingers)

I think we have a little flirt on our hands!

It's a....

GIRL!!!!

We are very excited to be adding another little princess to our family! I will admit we may have been hoping just a little bit for a boy to even out the numbers, but we are excited for a girl just the same. She looked healthy and that is all that matters. Hunter was a bit disappointed that he wasn't getting a little brother. But he is feeling a better about it now. Someday he will realize how much his little sisters will idolize him and will do anything for him. He makes a great big brother.

I am excited to be having another child at this point in my life with older children. I can't wait to watch them with her and develop their realtionships. It is so fun to watch them with younger kids of our friends and how sweet they are with them. They will be so much more help being older as well.

This time around has brought out many emotions. I never got moody with my other pregnancies, but this time has been very different. I have been very teary. I like to think it is from being older and realizing just how much I have in my life to be grateful for. I definately am very blessed with a wonderful husband who is very understanding and loving and great kids who I adore. I also came to the realization the other night that my girls will have sisters!! I have two great little brothers but always wished for a sister. I am very envious of those who have sisters and that special relationship. Luckily I was blessed with a wonderful sister-in-law who has filled that spot in my life. Needless to say I am beyond thrilled to watch that realtionship grow with my girls.

June 3rd is the anticipated day!! (I am hoping for May. It just makes it seem that much closer.) We can't wait to meet this new little member of our family!

P.S. We are sticking with an 'H' name. It just wouldn't be right to leave this one out and do something different from the rest. We have found 'H' names for girls are hard though. If you have any good suggestions we would love to hear them!