summertime, when the living easy

Wow what a summer it has been! Julius is almost two months and I am feeling great and back to normal. He is starting to smile and goo a lot. He is so adorable and such a handsome little guy. Mercedes and Thalia have been having a blast with their cousins all summer. They slept in Todd's room for a sleep over with Madi. We have been able to go to the lake several times and we were even able to go to the Keenan's cabin and try paddle boarding. Chris, Amber and Crystal were able to go on a overnight hike in CA, Point Reyes I believe. They had a great time and saw some really cool things! We are lucky enough to replace our nasty flooring into beautiful hardwood floors, with my dads skills of course. We took our family camping for the first time. I was very nervous but it went really well and the girls loved it! We went to a small campsite right off the freeway past Boreal. It was so fun with most of the family there and with a nice river right by us. Julius did great as well, only waking up once during the night. We now have one more week left of summer before I head back to school. Thanks to all the family for the great summer!

Summer time

We have had a great and buys summer so far. Julius is running at seven and a half pounds now at almost three weeks. He is a little more work than his sister but now that I am feelin healed it isn't so bad. Chris was able to take two weeks off for the baby and I was terrified for him to return, leaving me with three kids. So far it's been okay. I even ventured up to Tahoe to meet the family. The girls sure love Julius and are big helpers. They ask to hold him at every chance. Nightime is pretty typical of a newborn but he takes pretty good naps during the day so I have time to breathe and catch up. We have been pretty lucky to be able to hang out with the family often this summer. We had tried to take pictures but it's impossible to get every happy face all at once. Chris also got a promotion at work the day before we had Julius so a shout out to his hard work being recongnized!

Welcome Julius John!

We welcomed our third child and first boy on June 23 at 8:29am. He weighed 6lbs, 6oz and 18 1/2 inches long. He looks like Chris right down to his little ears. He has big wide eyes and lots of black hair. He sure is adorable but much different from my girls. He cries before his eyes are even open to let me know he is hungry and eats much more than I can remember the girls eating. He already has shown me the difference between boys and girls and I cannot wait for all the new experiences we will have with him. The surgery went well and was one of the better csections for me. I tend to have panic attacks before and during the surgery but as soon as that baby is out, everything goes great. I ended up falling asleep while they were sewing me back up, after I heard his first cry and knew all was well. My pain is also much less than the previous surgeries and I seemed to have bounced back physically and mentally much quicker. I am anxious to get past these first six weeks and back to my normal self. Thank you so much to all those who have been so much help and for all the visitors we had in the hospital. Oh yah, we decided to name hime Julius John instead of Christopher Julius in honor of my grandpa who passed away a month too soon. I'm sure he definently helped pick this little guy to come to our family.

Mercedes first dance recital

Lots to say...

Well this last month has definently been a busy one and I am so glad to have it over with. A few big things have happened. First, my grandfather passed away which we are all sad about but glad he can move onto the next life. He lived a great life and it was great to see everyone again for the weekend. Second, Chris and I finally closed on our house!! After three weeks of setbacks due to the bank's errors, we closed on the 13th. My parents were so kind to allow us to stay in their home for much longer than expected and we really appreciated all the help. I think it's the way to go for all you preggies out there. Live with your mom the last month, it was so relaxing. Thanks Mom and Dad. We celebrated Thalia's second birthday there and I was glad to get a picture with my grandparents and the family since it was only a few days before he passed away. We just had a small family party but it was nice and perfect for a two year old. School finally ended and Chris and I both escaped with good grades. I will do a seperate posting about our new house later. Mercedes finally decided she was ready to pee in the toilet and has been toilet trained ever since! We got to talk to Brent on Mothers Day and it was great to hear from him. Ryan and Shantel, us and all the girls ventured a trip to Sacramento for a day at Fairy Tale Town and then IKEA for the afternoon. It was a great trip, but spent way too much money at IKEA. We are now just trying to get everything unpacked and set up before Julius makes his arrival on the 23 at 8 am. And to save the best for last, I quit my job!

Easter Pics...

Easter and updates

So Easter was fun, but cold. Ino don't know why we are always destined for a cold easter here in Reno. We went to a friends egg hunt then did the traditional one at mom's. I am always so frustrated because I will find cute Easter dresses and have to cover them up with sweaters. And the poor girls toes were frozen. Regardless, they had fun, got lots of candy and now it is sitting on top of fridge waiting for someone to eat it. This month has been crazy and will not be slowing down anytime soon. It is the last month of school so teachers are buckling down and assigning all the last exams and projects before finals in May, so this has left Chris and I extremely busy with one thing after another. Our home is still in process of closing so we are very anxious for this Friday, the 23rd when we will close. All the inspections went well and the appraiser appraised our home at 142,000 which was the best news all month. (we are only paying 110,000). So now this week are frantically trying to clean, pack, finish school, pick paint colors and keep going to work. On top of all that little Mercedes got a sinus infection and has been cranky from that. Yesterday I thought I was feelin braxton hicks contractions but as they continued all day and were only about 5 min apart I decided that I should go get checked out. I had to call in sick at work and spent 4 hours in L & D. After multiple tests I was sent home with antibiotics for an infection that had caused my contractions. Not only did I miss work but today I am still having these wonderful contractions and nausea because they willl not go away until the medicine kicks in tomorrow.. ugghh. Regardless we have been grateful for all the help Mom has given us, I don't know what I would do without her! I will keep you posted about the move, hopefully with some pictures of our new place...