Baby Silas Pictures

 View from our room in L&D 

(we've taken a picture from our room with each of our kids)

 another view from our window

 getting ready

 He's here 8lbs. 9 oz. 17.75 inches long

 Love the face

 First family photo

the traditional "going home" picture

Silas Benjamin Yancey

I was scheduled to have a c-section on April 16th when my doctor was back from Hawaii.  I kept telling him if he left then I was going to have the baby without him.  On the 11th I went in for my last checkup.  The nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and looked at my huge swollen feet.  She left the room and I could hear her giving report to the physicians assistant.  I knew I was in trouble when the PA didn't come in right away.  A few minutes later she came in and told me that my blood pressure was too high, there was protein in my urine and I had too much swelling.  She discussed this with the doctor on call and they both felt it was no longer safe for me to be pregnant.  At that point I was a bit relieved,  I was really starting to feel miserable.  I was then told that I needed to be at the hospital at 3 p.m.  to be prepped for a c-section at 4:30.  I called Ben on my way to the car and then went to my mom's house to see if she was still free for the afternoon. 
Ben and I arrived at the hospital on time and were taken to a room in labor and delivery.  I was given my lovely hospital gown and socks to put on and then I was asked a million questions.  I had an I.V. put in and slowly the clock ticked away until 4:30.  My anxiety kicked in high gear and I wanted to go home.  No such luck.  I was walked down to the operating room and got my lovely spinal block.  Then the action started.  It certainly wasn't pleasant, but I was very grateful when I heard that it was definitely a boy and he was out.  Silas Benjamin Yancey was born at 5:00 p.m. on the dot.  Ben went over to watch the nurses take care of the baby.  I heard him cry and I cried.  I was so happy he was finally here and that he was okay.  As the doctor was putting me back together Ben was able to bring the baby over for me to see.  What a sweet experience to see my baby boy.  Once I was in my room my parents brought the girls to see the baby.  They were all thrilled to see him.  Maren would say "that's my baby brudder Silas"  every time she would look at him.  The girls were in love with him too. It took me a long time before I was feeling well enough to see Silas again.  We had both hit a few bumps in the road during the first night.  He ended up in the NICU for a short time.  It wasn't until late the next morning that I was actually able to go to the nursery to hold him. He was such a sweet boy.  During the night he was able to be moved back to the well baby nursery.  In the meantime I had visited with two different pediatricians who were checking in on Silas.  The one gave me some news that our baby wasn't quite as healthy as we thought.  He could hear a heart murmur and he had pulmonary hypertension.  Silas had an echocardiogram and was put on oxygen to help take some strain off of his lungs.  Luckily his oxygen sats were good and he didn't need any monitors so he was able to stay in my room with oxygen on.  He was also able to stay in the well baby nursery that night.  The doctor also told me that he thought our baby had another medical condition  (I'll save that for another post later)  It came as a little bit of a surprise, but I wasn't shocked.  That night I read up on the internet all I could and the words from the conference talk "come what may and love it"  kept running through my mind.  I knew that Heavenly Father was mindful of us and that whatever came our way, we could deal with it and love it.  I am so grateful that Silas is here safe and sound.  We've hit some bumps in the road and there are more to come, but Silas is a sweet boy and Ben and I love him so much.  He is the perfect little caboose for our family. 

Haircuts

I bribed Addy and Sydnee to get their hair cut short again. I got tired of the fights we would have over brushing and getting all of the knots out.  I told them I would give them $10 if they cut it short.  It worked and there are no more tears or tangles. 

Dancing Queen

Sydnee turned 7 on April 7th.  She wanted to play Just Dance at her party.  Ben's office has a new club room with a giant big screen TV on the wall and so we got permission to use it for the party.  It was lots of fun!  Sydnee and her friends danced and played and ate pizza and had a great time.  There were lights that would flash along to the music and the girls loved that.  It was the perfect party for our little dancing queen.

Easter Egg Hunt

Our kids had a great time at our ward's annual Easter egg hunt.  Maren especially loved collecting prizes afterward.  She didn't want to share with her sisters.

11 years and still going strong!

General Conference

I love conference weekend. It's really hard to be able to listen with little kids, but I was still able to listen to most of the talks even over the noise and chaos. I felt like there were several talks just for me. I can't wait to read the talks and be able to get more from them. I also loved the music from the choirs. It was a nice weekend. We also love our new conference tradition, crepes for breakfast. Mmmmm, they were spectacular!

Huge

Huge just about says it all. I'm feeling huge these days and I'm down to the last few weeks of pure misery. Last week was pretty hard. I went to bed on Tuesday not feeling well, I had an upset stomach. During the night I started having horrible stomach cramps. I've had a lot of stomach cramps in my life, but these were the worst that I have ever had. I figured that I had the stomach bug that was going around. Ben was sweet and stayed home Wednesday morning to get the kids off to school, but things were not good at work and he couldn't stay home. My mom jumped in and took Maren for the day. I took a Phenergan and quite literally slept all day. The cramps were so bad that all I could do was curl up in a ball and cry. Wednesday was a little better, Ben got the kids off to school and Maren and I hung out watching PBS all day. I was finally able to eat a little and drink some without wanting to die. During the night the cramps came back and all I could do was cry. I remember praying and telling Heavenly Father that I just couldn't take any more. Things settled down a little and I was able to get my kids up and off to school. I called the doctors office and waited to hear back. I then called Ben and shortly after his dad showed up to take Maren for the day. After talking to the nurse at the doctor's office I was ready to scream. I think she thought I just needed to tough it out. I should have asked for Val, my regular nurse. The nurse kept trying to convince me that I either had gas or was maybe going into labor. I don't think so! Finally she said let me talk to one of the other nurses and I'll call you back. She called back about 2 minutes later and said we think you should go to labor and delivery to be checked out. Thanks. I called Ben and jumped in the shower. We showed up around 10 and waited for a little while and then were taken to one of the patient rooms. I was hooked up to all of the monitors and was having regular contractions. Amazingly though, the stomach cramps stopped once I was all checked in. I felt a little silly, but it was a good thing I went in. I was really dehydrated. They put in an IV and gave me fluids and anti nausea medicine. After 5 needle pokes and 5 hours of monitoring I was finally told that everything was okay and I could go home. My blood pressure was high and I was sent home with the jug for the 24 hour urine test. I thought "here we go again" with the preeclampsia and the bed rest. I was able to go home and eat and drink and the cramps stayed away. Ben and I went back to the hospital the next day for some follow up monitoring. Everything looked great, the baby was doing great and my blood pressure was down. No bed rest for me, yet. I am so glad to be feeling better. I really don't like these scary moments. I will admit that I am feeling huge and uncomfortable, but I'm grateful that my baby is healthy. If I can just survive the next two weeks, then I'll get to hold my new little baby. I am so thankful for my family. They are all so good to jump in and help out. Thank you, thank you!

Spring Choir Concert

Addy had her final choir concert last Thursday. She was so excited! Addy loves to sing and she has a beautiful voice. The choir has been practicing really hard since January and they sounded great. I think my favorite song was "what a wonderful world." Addy's favorite was "Never Neverland." It was fun to see her sing her heart out. She was also excited because she got to sing for the school twice and on Friday they went on a field trip and were able to sing at the two local care centers. I am so glad she loves to sing and has been so willing to get up early for practices all year. I know she'll miss it, but it will be something for her to look forward to next year.

The Hunger Games

I loved the Hunger Games book and could hardly wait for the movie. Camille bought our tickets the day they went on sell. Our nephew Parker loved the books as well and also shared our excitement for the movie so we gave him tickets for his birthday. Camille made sure that his tickets were in a different part of the theater so we wouldn't embarrass him. Camille and I thought it would be fun to dress up as one of the characters but decided that wasn't going to work, so we painted our nails instead. We really wanted flames on our nails like in the book, but we settled for the capitol colors riveting and electrify made by China glaze. Yes, I bought the official nail polish. We had a great time and enjoyed the movie. I'm not sure I loved the movie, I'm going to have to watch it again to make sure, but it was fun to watch with Camille and Leanne. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Happy birthday to Ben!

Maren modeling Ben's new shoes

On the 21st of March Ben turned 36! He took the day off of work and we were able to spend the day together. We had lunch out and then celebrated with the kids by having grilled kabobs for dinner and rice krispie treats for dessert per Ben's request. It was a nice relaxing day. The girls and I gave Ben some new shoes and some new pans for cooking. It was fun to spend the day together and just relax and enjoy each others company. I'm so glad to have Ben as my husband, he's the best!

Oops, she did it again!

I'm not sure we need a boy at our house, we have Maren who is our daredevil. She's always getting into things she shouldn't and hurting herself. Two weeks ago (March 18th) we were at my parents for dinner celebrating the March birthdays. It was already past the girls bedtime and we were getting ready to leave. We called out for Maren and she came running down the hall at full speed. She missed the entrance to the kitchen and face planted into the wall. She started screaming and was holding her forehead. It was one of those moments when I couldn't get to her fast enough. She moved her hand and blood was running everywhere. I picked her up and someone threw me a towel. I laid her on the bar and took a look and knew right away we were headed to get stitches. Grandma gave her a candy cane to suck on and she calmed right down. Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa. They took Addy and Sydnee home and put them to bed while Ben and I made a trip to the Instacare. Maren did great! She started to cry when the doctor took off the bandaid with the numbing medicine because it pulled her hair. She cried while he numbed her up with the needle, but then calmed right down. Ben and I held her hands while she got her stitches, but she held her head still and didn't have to be held down. She was so brave. She got 9 stitches, that's 3 more than the last time. Afterward the doctor gave her a token so that she could get a prize out of a machine in the lobby. She thought that was pretty cool. When we got home she ran in and told Grandma and Grandpa that "The docor fix my head!" She was quite happy. Hopefully we are done with this stuff for a while, or else we are going to have to buy her a helmet.

Finally...

my little tick about to pop

My parents gave my girls new snow boots and snow pants for Christmas. Because of the crazy winter or lack of winter we have had they really haven't been able to use them. Finally the other day it snowed enough that all 3 girls were able to wear their new snow gear. They were so excited to finally get to wear them. Addy and Sydnee wore theirs to school and when they got home, all 3 girls played in the snow for a long time. They built a snowman with Ben and made snow angels over every square inch of the lawn. Some of the pictures remind me of the movie "A Christmas Story". "Getting ready to go out in the snow was like getting ready for extended deep sea diving" and "my kid brother looked like a tick about to pop!"

I love my sister

The other day my sister came over and brought me this. I love it and I love her!

Still catching up

I'm not sure why, but I just can't seem to keep up with life right now. It couldn't be that I have 3 very busy kids and one more on the way could it? I'm heading down the home stretch with this pregnancy. It hasn't been to horrible, especially compared to Maren's pregnancy. Thankfully my blood pressure has stayed normal and at the moment there isn't a threat of bed rest. I'm getting tired of all the aches and pains and swelling, but all in all it's not horrible. I just keep telling myself that I only have to do this for a few more weeks. 32 days to be exact, but who's counting. I'm getting excited to have my little boy here, but also a little nervous. I keep hoping the nesting will kick in soon and I'll be able to get my house clean and ready. Until then, I'll just keep counting down the days until I can see my feet again and hopefully they won't jiggle when I walk!

Addy turns 9!

I can't believe that Addy is 9. It really seems like yesterday that I was at the hospital being handed a new little bundle. Addy has grown up to be such a sweet, beautiful girl. She is nice to every one around her and has lots of friends. She is thoughtful and helpful and just a great kid. I am so happy to be her mom and to have her in our family.
Addy had a friend party the day before her birthday. She wanted a spa party. She planned everything including the games, food and activities. She and her friends had a fancy lunch with sandwiches, chips and fruit and fresh lime drinks with cherries and lime slices in their glasses. The girls thought that was pretty cool. After lunch my sister and I gave the girls manicures and painted their nails. The girls loved picking out their nail polish colors and soaking their fingers in warm water. Then they decorated cupcakes, once again, a pound of sprinkles makes a cupcake fancy. Then it was time for presents. Addy had a great time and so did her friends. It was a success! I couldn't have done it without my sister Camille and Ben. Ben took Sydnee and Maren out on a special date to keep them busy. Sunday was Addy's actual birthday. We celebrated with dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Williams house. She asked for a giant cupcake for her birthday cake. Addy always seems to stretch her birthday out for days. She went shopping for her birthday and out to dinner with my parents a few days before, then she had her party, then dinner on her birthday and the next day I took her shopping to pick out a present. Then the next weekend Grandma and Grandpa Yancey took all the kids out for dinner to celebrate. I don't know how she does it every year, but somehow she does. No one else seems to be able to stretch their birthday out as much. Happy birthday to my grown up girl!

Random

My sweet visiting teacher Cathy gave me an amaryllis
back in November. It produced 3 flowers and was so pretty.

Shopping can really wear you out

Annual Fancy Nancy Party

We had our annual Fancy Nancy party back in February. It was lots of fun as usual. This was Maren's first year to attend. The girls had their outfits picked out for at least a month in advance. They were so excited. We went to Grandma Williams house for a fancy lunch. We then made sparkly snowflakes out of chenille stems (that's fancy for pipe cleaners). The girls made valentines with pretty paper and suckers and then they decorated cupcakes. Any time you add a pound of sprinkles to a cupcake, it's fancy. It's always fun to get dressed up fancy and play with Grandma and Aunt Camille. Thank you Grandma for another fun party!