10th Anniversary Trip to San Francisco

Chris and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on April 17th. Reminiscent of our dating days, Chris had the whole thing planned and wanted to surprise me. He drove me (and Sam) to Dublin where we dropped our car off and hopped on the BART. What a great way to get into the city. We arrived in downtown San Fran and a block from our hotel...the same hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon...and he had arranged for the same room we had 10 years ago as well. What a treat! Then we dined at the Moroccan Restaurant that we fell in love with all those years ago too! What a great evening.

Here is how we set Sammy up for night. She loved her "crib."

The hotel was completely renovated with a total modern feel.

The next day we slept in til 10am and had a nice brunch and started taking a beautiful walk around the city. We climbed many hills and ended up at Pier 39 where we watched street performers and enjoyed people-watching. After a nice dinner and a trolley ride back to our hotel, we headed to the BART and made our way home.

Samantha was with us (as you can see in almost every picture) and did amazingly well. She slept practically the whole time because she was in the sling from morning til night. It was great, but we got some pretty strange looks...people were curious as to what I was carrying.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back! We decided to make the San Fran trip, with the hotel and the moroccan food an annual event. Next time...without kids :)

Happy Easter!

We had everyone over for an easter egg hunt. That is Emma and Ty as well as Dylan on the trike.

Sammy is 2 months old

Samatha is 2 months old...

OH, the trials and tribulations of being the youngest of 4!

A Weekend Away

With the help of my parents and a wonderful connection from thier friends, I was able to treat Chris to a weekend away to Carmel. Some friends of my folks offered them thier house on the coast for a weekend and, knowing that I wanted to take Chris away, they invited us along. Chris and I celebrated the completion of his Masters Degree as well as our 10th anniversary...and just, well, a much needed break from the stresses of reality. We had incredible weather and the chance to have an uninterrupted conversation. Mom and Dad watched Sammy while we went for walks and had a nice dinner, it was GREAT!

Strike a Pose!

I asked my friend, Jen Bell, if she could take some pictures of the girls now that there are 4 of them and we are complete! She did such a fantastic job and here are some of her in action. Thanks Jen!

The finished product!

The Girls get Haircuts!

Addison and Tessa have been bugging me for quite some time now to cut their hair. We had been trying to grow Addi's out to give to Locks of Love. Unfortunately it was just getting too hard to manage, so I gave in and let my mom cut her hair.

Then Tessa was begging me to cut hers too. Well, she still had baby hair. It was down to her bottom practically. This was a BIG deal for me! But I finally gave in to her too.


Here are the results:

First Month with Samantha

I can't believe it has already been 4 weeks since Sam was born! It feels like she has been in our lives so much longer than that! Here is a quick update of our first month together as a complete family:

We had Sam on a Saturday and on Sunday I underwent surgery for a tubal ligation. I wasn't prepared for the recovery and so it was pretty slow going for the first 2 weeks of being home. I was able to deliver Samantha as I had wished, which was to go completely natural with no medication. I'll admit, I'm sure glad I decided to do it this way on my 4th-and LAST- baby...the epidural is sweet relief! I'm not sure we'd be celebrating 4 babies if it had been the other way. All that to say, we had a great labor and delivery experience with the help of my doula, Bonnie Masten, my mom, Kim and Chris all in the delivery room. Everybody played a part in helping me relax and focus on the goal: delivery a very healthy baby girl.

Upon arriving home the girls had made beautiful cards and had decorated the room. I had so much help from Chris and my family. It was a bit overwhelming to go from a "quiet" room in the hospital with the only interuptions being the pesky nurse taking my temperature and pressing on my very sore tummy to 3 lively girls jumping all over and around me asking so many questions all at the same time. I couldn't think straight so Chris lovingly took them on many outings to give me some peace and rest.

Here is the sign that Addison had made for Sam. She taped it to the wall right above her crib-SO CUTE!

The other day I walked into my room and found Tessa watching over Sam. What a great big sister she is. :)

Samantha's first sponge bath was a whole family event. All the kids crowded into our little bathroom and watched as we made her all soapy and smelling good. The novely wore off pretty quickly. They only stayed for the first 5 mins...I guess it wasn't as exciting as they thought it would be.

For now we have sort of settled in to a routine and as I type this update, Sam is sleeping in the sun on a beautiful warm California afternoon....ahhh naptime. I should be sleeping too.

Thanks to all you wonderful friends and family who have prayed for us, supported us, sent gifts, made meals and watched the girls. We love you and couldn't have done this without you! Well, I guess we could have, but I wouldn't be sane typing this right now and it wouldn't have been as lovely an experience. :)