Merry Christmas!!!

I LOVE having two boys to dress the same...now if I could just get Matthew to look at me! They are just too cute! I love them so much! We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you Granin!

This post is LONG overdue, but better late than never! (My new attitude since Michael has come! :) My mom/Granin was here for two months taking care of EVERYTHING...every meal of the day, cleaning, entertaining, dressing, feeding, naps, bedtime...everything! She is the most amazing mom...something for me to aspire to! Although it was hard for me to have my mom leave, it was so much harder for Matthew! He had three meltdowns for her the day after she left and cried for her to "come home" everyday for a week. He still asks me, "When is Granin coming home?" It breaks my heart! I absolutely adore my mom...she is one of my best friends and I am so grateful to the time we had with her! Mom, we couldn't have done it without you! Michael is healthy because you came to help us and thank you just doesn't seem adequate!
I also have to say thank you to my dad who sacrificed so much to have her come! He is an amazing father...thank you dad!
We love and appreciate you both! And miss you like crazy!

Brotherly love!

Matthew is the absolute sweetest big brother! He has shown no jealousy or anything towards Michael. It's almost like, to Matthew, Michael has always been here. He loves to hold him and talk to him! When Michael cries, Matthew tries to talk to him to comfort him. It just makes my heart melt every time to see how much Matthew loves his little brother! I just know they will be great buddies!

Do you see how happy Matthew is to finally have his brother here?! So sweet! :)


This was the morning after we brought Michael home. I kept trying to help Matthew hold him and Matthew kept saying, "Mama, you go over there!" He was completely confident in himself and I was getting in their way. He actually does a very good job holding him.

Yesterday right before Matthew went to take his nap, he asked me if he could read a book to Michael. I told him that would be a great idea and asked what book he wanted to read to him. His choice was perfect...Good Night Moon. It was so sweet!

I just love my boys so much...what a blessing our children are to us! I'm the luckiest mom in the world!

Our little Jaundice baby!

On Monday night, we took Michael into the doctor for his routine appointment and discovered that he had Jaundice. He didn't even look very yellow, but a blood test confirmed that his levels were pretty high. Fortunately, our doctor let us try Phototherapy at home first...otherwise it would have been back to the NICU. He was on the lights 24 hours a day and I nursed him like crazy to try and flush the jaundice out. A nurse came to our house every day this week and drew his blood. The first 2 days of blood tests weren't too bad, but then both his heels were sore and it was torture! I felt so awful for him, but reminded myself that it was better than him being in the NICU. After 4 days, we finally got the levels down to where we could stop the blood tests and Phototherapy. I was SO happy!



The last picture was the night we decorated our Christmas tree. Michael lay there on the lights and we decorated. We had to at least help him be festive!

Picture update

Here are some picture updates on our little Michael...








Too cute! :)







Going home at last! I couldn't wait to get out of the hospital! Michael slept great, but the nurses were constantly coming in and out and I hardly slept the whole time we were there!

Meeting big brother Matthew!
When we came home, my sisters and mom had helped Matthew make a banner to welcome home Michael! (You can see it in the first picture) Matthew was a little nervous at first, but the gifts were great ice breakers! Michael gave Matthew the remote control car from Toy Story...Matthew LOVED it! Matthew was also excited to give Michael the bear he made for him! Matthew didn't want to hold him the first day, but loved to look at him and give him kisses. But the next day, he wanted to hold him and hasn't stopped asking since then! He's always telling me, "I have to go check on Michael!" It melts my heart when Matthew will whisper to Michael, "How's my little buddy?" Oh my gosh...he's the sweetest! I can't tell you how much my love for both of them has grown since I have seen the two of the interact! He's been SO great with the whole change and adores his baby brother!





We had our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday when we got home! Matthew wouldn't look at me...go figure! It was wonderful! I missed my dad so much and wish so bad that he was there, but we'll have to make up for it! :)

Here is one more picture that I forgot to post before...when they sent me to walk at the hospital, Scott had this really brainy idea that now I should push him in the wheelchair (since that's usually his job). Some of the nurses were looking at us funny, but that's my husband and I LOVE him so much!


I just have to add how grateful I am for my husband! He is so amazing and I am so lucky to be his wife! Having him by my side gives me strength to do things I never things I never thought I could! My love for him has grown so much watching him with our boys! It brings me so much joy to know that for now our family is complete...my heart is overflowing with joy!

Robert Michael Lake is here!!!

At 12:26am on Thanksgiving morning our little Michael made his appearance into the world! He is absolutely adorable and we are so THANKFUL he is here and even more THANKFUL that he is healthy! He weighed 6lbs. 12oz. and was 18 inches long...he's little, but is doing well!

Yesterday afternoon, I had some light spotting and more sporatic contractions, so we came to Labor and Delivery (for the 3rd time this week..8th time overall) to make sure everything was okay. I was dilated to 4 cm and the doctor on call was nervous to send me home, but because I was only 36 weeks, she didn't want to induce me either, so she sent us to walk around the hospital. After walking, I was dilated to 6 cm, so they admitted me. The contractions were regular, but didn't get painful until about 10:00pm. The rest went so fast I can't even believe it or really remember all the timing, but at 12:00am the contractions were really intense, so I asked for an epidural. I really wanted to do this birth natural, but I got tired and nervous. Michael had plans of his own...my water broke/exploded on it's own at 12:15am and I told the nurse I needed to push. She ran to get the doctor and she got there just in time. I told the doctor that I needed the epidural, but she told me there was no time! And she was right...I pushed for about 2-3 minutes and he was here! (The anesthesiologist showed up after Michael was here.)
He did spend about 5 hours in the NICU because he was moaning when he was breathing. Scott stayed with him and we were told that because he didn't cry hard enough when he was born that the air sacks in his lungs didn't open fully which was causing him to moan and whimper. After a few hours and a priesthood blessing, he was released and spent the day with us.
He is absolutely incredible and we are totally in love! He is a champion nurser! Once he figured out where the food was, he hasn't let go. He seems to be even more snuggly than Matthew was and has slept great! Because of the swine flu precautions, Matthew isn't allowed in the hospital to see Michael, so we are looking forward to going home tomorrow and being all together!
Scott and I can't be more thankful on this Thanksgiving day than we are for our new son and his heath and strength! We are so thankful to all our friends and family who have offered many prayers on our behalf! Thinking back over the last 13 weeks, it brings tears to my eyes to think of the countless hours of service to our family and prayers for our little Michael. The Lord has truly heard and answered our many prayers and blessed us with a sweet and healthy baby. We couldn't have picked a more appropriate birthday for our little miracle.
I will update with more pictures later, but trust me...he's perfect and adorable!

Maternity Pictures

My sisters and brother-in-law came down for Thanksgiving break and since I am STILL pregnant, my sister Chelsey took some maternity pictures for me! She is an awesome photographer! I am hoping that little Michael will come before they leave, so she can take some pictures of him and Matthew.

So here are some maternity pictures of me at 36 weeks...I can't believe I made it this far...what a blessing!















Here are some cute ones of Matthew "sword fighting" with my mom...he thinks he's Peter Pan.

And here are a couple silly pictures of my totally adorable son:


Just a side note...I was in the hospital in the middle of the night on Friday night because the contractions got 5-10 minutes apart, but since they weren't extremely painful, they sent me home. The contractions have been 10 minutes apart all weekend and I'm exhausted! Even though they aren't painful, it's still exhausting! I was dilated to 3 cm, but since I'm only 36 weeks, they won't help me along, so I have a feeling I will be in labor all week. Hopefully, I am dilating more and more. They told me not to come back until I'm in extreme pain! I've never prayed for painful contractions before I will probably regret it later (and I'm not complaining about the contractions not being painful), but come on already....let's get the real show on the road! :) I can't wait to hold my sweet son!