Update

So after all the contractions I had during Christmas I thought for sure this little girl would come this week.  But when I went to my doctor's appointment on Tuesday he said I hadn't changed at all from the week before!  I couldn't believe it.  He said the contractions I'd been having weren't real.  Whatever.  They definitely hurt!  And if that's not real then maybe I'll skip the real and just go for being induced like I was with Eden and Austin.  So as of right now I'm scheduled to be induced on January 6th.  I know, there's nothing special about that date but unfortunately for me my auspicious date is on a Tuesday and he only does inductions on Thursday through Sunday.  So, I decided I'd rather have this baby out sooner than think of trying to make it to my due date and then go past my due date since my contractions don't seem to do anything.

Now, here we are at New Year's Eve.  I decided that since it didn't matter if I had contractions or not that I would do whatever I wanted with my kids this week (within reason).  So we went to see Tron in 3D at the IMAX.  That was so fantastic and the kids loved it too!  We've gone out to dinner, I've run some errands and visited with friends and I'm even getting my hair done today.  I've had some strong contractions but nothing regular, figures.  The one thing that has made me truly miserable several times a day though, is this little girl.  I think she thinks she can push her way out.  She kicks and rolls and pushes on me for hours.  It has become both painful and exhausting.  I told Ryan it looks like she's not going to be a snuggler and she's definitely going to give Austin a run for his money.  I don't think any of the other kids have been this strong, or maybe I'm just a lot weaker.  I guess we'll see, unfortunately it probably won't be sooner but rather later.

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

Ryan covered the girls eyes and led them downstairs to wait with the boys until everyone was ready to see what Santa brought.

We let the kids enjoy their Santa gifts for a little bit and then had breakfast before we opened presents.  Cameron couldn't get enough of her big Fuf chair but I think no one's happiness could compare to Austins.  He told Santa a few weeks ago what he wanted for Christmas and when we asked him what it was he said, "Don't worry about it mom, Santa's got it covered."  There were a few moments of panic and some "last minute phone calls to Santa" but yep, Santa got it covered.  Austin was on cloud 9 all day!

 I love that we were able to have a "foggy Christmas Eve" and a "white Christmas".

I started a tradition last year of giving the kids code names on their presents.  I didn't appreciate them guessing what they got for Christmas or shaking packages that may not have been wrapped as well as I thought.  Their names this year were Mistletoe, Candy Cane, Jingle Bells, Frosty, and Rudolph.  Yes, there are five names.  I gave Ryan one just to throw the kids off.  It worked like a charm.  Especially when we had to wrap this "last minute change" for Jingle Bells.  Austin was so excited that morning to find out the biggest present was for him.

Eden got a great new table from Santa this year.

And we found a kid old enough to help put all these toys together!

We also have a tradition where the kids draw each other's names for a Christmas gift.  This year Austin had Cameron and he was very particular about what he got her.  He couldn't wait for her to open it and show her all the great things inside.  Cameron was more than thrilled.  She couldn't believe that Austin actually knew exactly what she wanted.  I love that these kids all know each other so well because they play together and love being around each other.

Eden wasn't really paying attention while Austin opened his gift from her but then all of the sudden he walked up and threw his arms around her.  She also picked out the perfect gift for him.  For the rest of the day he kept walking around saying, "this is the best Christmas ever!  Santa got me just what I wanted, mom and dad got me just what I wanted and Eden got me just what I wanted!"  He kept telling us how much he loved us and how happy he was.  It was awesome and so nice to see how grateful he was for what he received.  It was also a huge relief for me.

This is what Austin got in the big box from Mom and Dad.  It's a Construction House.  Our two little "handy men" put it together after lunch.

It has a roof too and all sorts of accessories that can be screwed on.  It was perfect for Austin!  Eden said she loved everything she got.  Cameron said her favorite thing was her big fluffy chair.  And Dallin said his favorite thing was Cameron's big fluffy chair but that he was happy with his gifts too.

It's always such a relief when the presents are opened and everyone is happy.  We spent the day assembling things, watching movies, and eating lots of yummy treats.  I felt so relaxed that I was surprised when we sat down to dinner and I started having strong contractions that were 3 minutes apart.  I quickly reassembled my hospital bag and told Ryan if they didn't stop in an hour we would leave.  After exactly an hour they were 5 minutes apart, then 7.  Again, I was frustrated but also relieved.  I didn't want to have this baby on Christmas and fortunately she decided to wait a little longer.

Christmas Eve

Ryan's parents came over early in the afternoon on Christmas Eve to exchange presents.  It was nice to visit with them for a little bit and the kids were excited to finally start opening some gifts.

Great minds think alike.

We always have Christmas Eve dinner with my family at my mom's house.  It's crazy trying to fit everyone together in the living room.  But this year felt cozier than in year's past.  I think because of all my family's been through it was so nice to all be gathered together.

Grandma always gives really great gifts.

Dallin was taking pictures of me opening presents from my mom but they all made me feel like I looked like a beached whale.  So, I know this one doesn't show the gigantic belly but it doesn't make me as self conscious and I always love good pictures with Ryan.

I had been having so many contractions on Christmas Eve we brought my hospital bag with us just in case.  But I made it home with no grand events and no trips to the hospital, just sore and tired.

Little Lauren

My sister Breanne found these pictures I think from some of my mom's photo albums and sent them to me.  I'm not sure about the ages of all of them but just thought I'd share a little blast from the past.

My blessing day.

I always loved sitting at the counter watching my mom cook (and talking her ear off).  I guess I wasn't the only one.

I'm not sure how old I was here but I can tell it was summer time because you can see the above ground pool in the backyard behind me.  I loved swimming in it (even though Nikki always tried to drown me).  :)

I guess this is from my sixth birthday.  I'm thinking some of the colors are pretty washed out because those strawberries were definitely red once upon a time.  That was our special birthday hat and I know we had those Disney characters on more than one birthday cake.

Breanne wanted me to show Cameron that I was in plays when I was little but I'm thinking this was one of those forced elementary school performances.  I was too shy to be much of an actor.  See the kid on the front row, second from the right?  I totally had a crush on him.  I think his name was Michael.

This is a really special picture to have.  I've always remembered my baptism.  It was in July and there were several other kids being baptized at the same time.  I remember my dad baptizing me and my mom helping me change my clothes and do my hair afterwards.  I also remember sitting in the little metal chair for my confirmation.  My primary teacher gave me a wooden craft to hang up to remember the day and my primary president gave me a necklace.

I have no idea what this is from but I'll tell you an interesting story.  The room behind me was our family room.  It was pretty small so my dad had this ingenious idea to cut a hole in the wall and set the tv on a table in the garage so that all you could see from the room was the screen.  He put duct tape around it to seal it off.  (Yeah, my Dad totally invented flat screens).  Well, when I was fifteen I was trying to do my mom a favor by washing our big twelve passenger van.  I went to park it in the garage when I was done and noticed it was sticking out a little.  So, I put it in drive to move it up a few inches but didn't have my foot on the brake.  I drove through the wall and pushed that tv right into the family room!  Not good.  My mom came running out of the house bawling thinking I was dead and the house was going to fall down.  And that was the end of our flat screen tv.  The wall had to be repaired and the tv placed on a table in the room.  Sorry guys!

A Special Day

Dallin was ordained to the office of a deacon on Sunday and received the Aaronic Priesthood.  It was one of those days you can only dream about when you're holding that little boy in your arms and imagining what he will be like when he grows up.  Dallin has exceeded even my wildest dreams.  He is so kind hearted, generous, patient, and loving.  I am so proud of him.

Missing Teeth

Dallin and Eden have been losing teeth like crazy this fall.  Eden lost her top front tooth just this past Saturday.  Ryan actually had to pull it the rest of the way out because it was getting in the way of her eating.  She wasn't too happy about that.  There was definitely some crying involved.  Dallin, on the other hand, keeps having them come out with his food.  His most recent loss was last Sunday at our family caroling party.  I guess he bit into a dessert and out it came, no drama.

Eden's hoping the tooth fairy will make it through this snowstorm to get her tooth.  Because you know sometimes the tooth fairy gets held up by blizzards, or windy nights, or um, traffic.  Dallin just adds a dollar to how much I owe him (that gets more immediate results).  According to his check book he's lost 4 teeth since the end of September and I remember him losing one in July so that's 5 teeth in 5 months!  Crazy!

Snow Day!

They actually canceled school today.  From what I hear it's the first time in about 30 years that our school district has canceled school for a snow day.  Poor Eden was so sad because today was the school's annual field trip to see a holiday movie at the movie theater.  They had 11 buses lined up to take all 900 students to the movie.  It would have been Eden's first time.  The other kids are also missing their class Christmas parties.

Instead they got to spend the morning digging us out.

I think we got about 20 inches of snow in the past 24 hours.  Crazy.  It's not the most snow we've ever gotten but it did prevent anyone from getting out of their driveways in any kind of hurry.  My neighbor said it was a good thing I didn't go into labor because I wouldn't have been able to leave.  That stressed me out a little, until they were done shoveling.

Ryan and the kids worked pretty hard but I think they actually enjoyed it.

I am one shovel short so Austin had to share with Eden.  He was pretty frustrated about that and sat on this bucket in a huff.  After I took this picture he asked me if I could help him put his glove back on because he had an itch on his nose and had to take the glove off to scratch it.  Cute kid.

It finally stopped snowing by one o'clock this afternoon and Dallin and Austin were able to finish uncovering the walkway so the UPS man could make it to our front door.   I appreciated that since those last few packages are so important (the ones Ryan ordered for me).  :)

Now the kids are working on some snow caves and trying to convince the cat to play with them.  It ought to be interesting.