Monday, July 9, 2012

Before and After #2: The Kitchen

I have had the kitchen done since the fall, but didn't take pictures because there were some small details I wanted to do before I posted, but since I still haven't done them yet, I decided to just update the pictures later, so here's our before: (Awful!  Dreadfully awful!)


And the after:


I am so happy with how it turned out!  It was SO much work!  Those awful cabinets had probably not been cleaned in 20+ years, but it was all well worth it!  I even painted the countertop with a special countertop paint.  I can't wait to replace the floor and the dishwasher and stove, but it's a major improvement so far!  My wonderful sisters helped me with frame collage!  I got all the frames from Goodwill and spray painted them.  And my best friend Anne helped me paint...it took me forever to get just the right color!  I really love my kitchen!  It's perfect for me!  Right now I am getting ready to start our "homework desk" since we are about to enter the elementary school world (shocking I know!)  I will update when I get more done!  I love our home!  It's not perfect...but it's ours! :)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Cousins!

I had to share this picture because it's absolutely ADORABLE! I love my sweet little niece and nephew! I love that they are so close in age to my kids! Michael was a little pill during this photo shoot, but we still got some good ones! My sister Chelsey is quite an amazing photographer! If you live in the area, you really should have her take some pictures for you...she's amazing!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

What to do on a hot day!

 It is so hot today, so we are inside.  The boys love to play outside, so they were bummed when I told them they were stuck inside!  So we pulled out the watercolors.  I use to do painting all the time with Matthew, but Michael tends to make a huge mess!  I have to say though that Michael did a pretty good job.  Plus it killed some time while we wait for it to cool off!

And what does sweet little Kaitlyn do on a hot day?  Sleep like a little princess in an air conditioned room!  (Notice her painted toe nails?  Hey...it's my first girl!  She's got to be girly!:)

Happy Fathers Day!

We had a nice, relaxing Father's Day.  I feel like I didn't get to pamper Scott as much as I would have liked to, but he said he had a great Father's Day.  He got a barbeque which he has been wanting.  I think I was just as excited as he was!  Barbeque=Scott cooking! :)  We had dinner at my parents house which is always nice!  It was nice to be with my dad on Father's Day too!  I love you dad!
I love you Scott!  Thanks for being such a good dad!


Michael was obviously not thrilled about the picture!  He generally hates having his picture taken, but look how cute our little kiddos are (not to mention my cute husband!)
And Scott's new barbeque!  Also a good picture of our beautiful backyard!  I love all the green! :)





Sunday, May 27, 2012

Cute little Kaitlyn!

I have so many cute pictures to share of my 3 sweet kids, but I wanted to quickly post a picture of our growing beauty! She is absolutely beautiful and 100% angel! We adore her! She has gained 2 lbs and she is still such a peanut! She is starting to smile and loves to watch her brothers! They have adjusted amazingly to her...they both absolutely love her! Matthew is so good at comforting her and she smiles every time she gets a glimpse of him! Michael loves to tell her stories! Mostly about Woody, Buzz and Poppy! She just brings so much joy to our home! And I just love dolling her up! Here's a picture of her yesterday.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Kaitlyn's Birth Story and pictures

We are still in the hospital right now, but I wanted to update some pictures for our family and friends who live so far away along with her birth story before we go home. I'm excited for our whole family to be together, but I'm taking advantage being here!
On Tuesday afternoon, I started to bleed a little, so I called my doctor's office and they decided to have me go into Labor and Delivery just to check. It took sometime to get the boys together and all their stuff, just in case they needed to spend the night at my parents house. I called Scott and he left work to meet us at the hospital. I don't know if Matthew was more excited about the thought of Kaitlyn coming or about having a sleepover at Granans! About 5:30, my mom and I left for the hospital. Scott actually beat us there. My contractions were 10 minutes apart and not hard or uncomfortable at all. I really didn't think that she was going to come. They hooked me up to monitors and checked me after about an hour and I was at a 3 (1 cm more than at my dr apt the day before). My doctor was actually the one on call and she thought it would be a good idea for me to go walk for a couple hours and see if that did anything. During the 2 hours, the contractions got closer together and a little stronger, but when I got all hooked up again, they started to even stronger. My doctor asked me if I wanted to go home or stay. I knew my labor's with the boys were fast and I didn't want to take any chances, so we decided to stay and see how it went. Good thing we did because I started to dilate quickly. I wanted to go natural again and I felt even more calm about it even though I knew what was coming! It all really started about 10:15pm. They told me I could go walk if I wanted to, but I didn't feel good about that. The first hour I labored standing up because it felt better, but as the contractions got stronger, I got really weak, so laying in bed was much better. It is amazing how fast time flies when you are in pain! I knew I needed to wait until after midnight to have her because I would get an extra day in the hospital. About 11:45pm, I knew it was close and my awesome nurse could tell (even though the doctors still didn't believe me). The nurse decided to get the room ready. She had a dr come in and check me and told her to break my water. As soon as she did that, I felt so much relief! It's weird to say that I was comfortable, but I really was so much more comfortable! A few minutes later, I told my nurse that I needed to push. She called the doctor. As soon as she came in, I gave it one push and Kaitlyn's sweet little head was out and we discovered that the cord was around her neck. They told me to stop pushing (which was awful!) and they tried to unwrap it, but couldn't, so they ended up cutting it. I gave one more push and she was here at 12:32 am! She looked just like Michael when they laid her on my chest. I was instantly in LOVE! I couldn't believe she was finally here! They just let her lay there and it was wonderful! Because she came out so fast, her face was purple and bruised, but that has faded. She's absolutely perfect! She loves to nurse and is actually pretty content! Right now, she has blue eyes, but we'll see if they stay. She loves to have her hands by her face and her feet up in the air! She really couldn't be any sweeter! I am so thankful to my Father in Heaven for her health and safe arrival! I am feeling abundantly blessed!
Enjoy the pictures! I will post some more of her with the boys when I can! Matthew was so excited to come see her in the hospital. He brought her pink roses and yellow roses for mommy! Michael had to stay home because he has a runny nose, but hopefully it's just allergies! I am excited to see them all together! :)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

She is here!!!

Kaitlyn Louise Lake was born this morning at 12:32am. She's our smallest baby weighing 6lbs. 7oz and 18.5 inches long. She came very fast, so she's a little swollen and bruised, but she is doing amazing! She is so beautiful and we completely adore her! I just can't stop looking at her! I will post more later, but here's a sneak peek at our little lady!