2 Weeks Later...

So much needs to be documented from the past two weeks, so I figured I better hurry and post before it turned into 3 weeks, and then I'll never catch up.

Summer couldn't have come at a more perfect time. When Beck was born he brought his big bros a new sprinkler to play outside with. They have had so much stinking fun being outside in the water. These pictures were the first day they played with this sprinkler and I laughed so hard watching them kick, jump, bounce, and play I nearly wet myself.

Brevin graduated from Kindergarten on Tuesday May 26th. He thought this was optional :) and when I informed him that it wasn't he was really nervous. I asked his teacher about it, and she told me that she thought it was because he was in the front row (Daniels genes darn it). So I tried to talk it up and we were going to make invitations and invite all of our family, but when it came right down to it, he only wanted Grandma Mary Ann to come. With a little persuasion from Jillene he agreed that she and Teagan could also come.

The graduation was so stinking cute. I lOVED the songs they sang, I was even teary eyed the whole time thinking about him getting big. I wish so much I could keep them bottled up! Brevin was scared to death the entire time. I have never even seen him that petrified. No smiles, all business...you could tell he just wanted to get it over with.

Brevin's last day of school.I have some very creative little boys, and I chalk a lot of it up to the no tv watching at our house. So Kesler comes and asks me for some wood glue. Of course there was a little curiously, but I found some for them and he and Brevin spent a good hour in the garage and the back yard. They came to find me and show me these...
In case you're wondering...they are scarecrows. And the cutest stinking scarecrows I've ever seen. They put them in the garden (one lost it's head, so that's why there's only one standing). Brevin insisted on using the props for the picture, and the tough guy face.

The next day. The boys decided they were going to catch some birds-yep, birds. They took an orange and placed some slices along the top of the fence. Then they found a hot dog roaster and some packaging tape and voila! Instant bird catcher. Unfortunately they didn't catch any birds, but a few slices did disappear.

On Memorial Day, we hesitantly went for a quick trip to Malad. The boys wanted to go fishing soooo badly, and I wanted to get some pictures of Beck with his namesake, Grandpa Farrell. So I said we'd be there first thing in the morning which I learned with a newborn and 3 children we got there about noon :)

My Grandpa was so cute with Beck. His eyes lit up as soon as we placed Beck next to him. He reached for the car seat and rocked him for a few minutes. Then he opened up his blanket and gave him a good looking over. It was adorable, and I'm so glad we made the trip. This moment alone was worth it.

Beck's first bath. He actually loved the tub. He was a little shocked initially, but settled right in. I told him he wouldn't fit into this family unless he loved the tub. Every night there's a battle over who gets to hold Beck before bed. Kesler was totally exhausted but insisted he hold his baby brother. His eyes were so heavy he couldn't take it. I told him to put his head down on the pillow and moments later he was sound asleep. Beck watched him for a few minutes and then dozed off too. I love this picture of them together.

Beck has been the most perfect baby ever! I think Bryson and I keep waiting for the goodness to wear off. We've certainly paid our dues with Brevin especially, but this is such a totally different experience. I finally understand why people like newborns! He sleeps and eats, and when he is awake, he never cries. He just looks around and listens to what's going on around him. We were even blessed with a couple of night where he slept the entire night away. CRAZY!! There was one night when he fell asleep at 8:00 and didn't wake up until 6:00 the next morning. This is totally foreign to us, but we'll take it!!

I have taken a ton of pictures of him, but I want to get his announcements finished before I post them, so here's just a taste of my perfect little chuga luga...

Three of a Kind at last...

Beck Farrell Vaughan

May 15, 2009

10 lbs

21 1/2 inches long

Okay I'm going to try to sneak in a little blog post. I haven't been really great at answering texts and phone calls...I know you're all shocked :) But I figured this is the whole purpose of a blog right? Then you only have to tell the story once and everyone can read it. So here goes...

On Thursday night I was up all night with contractions. They were bringing me up out of bed, but I knew what was happening...the same thing that has happened two other times. My body will contract and contract until I'm blue in the face, but dilating is virtually nonexistent. So I just decided I would wait until office hours and go get checked just so I would be prepared for the weekend ahead. So...long story short, I got checked by a nurse practitioner who said I was a three 75% effaced. But she thought where my contractions were so strong and close she should send be to labor and delivery. I ended up getting my water broke at 1:30 and my tiny little guy :) was born at 5:30. Everything went fairly smoothly apart from the epidural wearing off for about an hour.

Everyone watched anxiously when they placed him on the scale. The numbers just kept ticking up until it reached a perfect 10. We all laughed a little and I just smiled and said, "I knew it." The nurses only comment..."Just think what he would have been on Tuesday!"

Bryson said that as soon as he saw how big he was he didn't even have to look to see that Beck was a boy. The only thing I said, is that it just feels right for us to have 3 boys. I've said it all along. I just knew that was how it would all turn out, and I couldn't be happier.

The plus side of having a 10 lb baby is faster weight loss :) My doctor said he pretty much had a bath in amniotic fluid there was so much so he estimated that I lost atleast 20 pounds almost instantly. I still have a long ways to go, but it still felt nice to hear.



So I sent out a text that a lot of you got with one little error. I wrote 22.5 inches long and he was 21.5. I didn't even know I had done it (must have been the drugs talking) until Bryson had my phone and noticed.

How are the big bros doing?? Better than expected. Kesler is totally smitten and begged to take him home that night. When I told him that we couldn't he cried and cried. Brevin wasn't exactly sure. Just kind of watched from a distance. But as soon as we got home from the hospital he came and jumped on my lap and whispered in my ear "Can I hold him?" Maybe the cutest thing thus far was this morning we were getting ready to take Beck to the doctor and Kesler started to cry because he didn't want them to hurt him anymore. He had been awfully concerned with the bellybutton, tally whacker, and band aids all over the poor little fella.



His name has been beyond a long story. Never being able to settle on a boy name we were so extrememly frustrated at the hospital I thought we were going to poke our eyeballs out. We ended up putting Beck on the birth certificate and have since discussed changing it more than once, but for now he's baby Beck.

So how is Beck doing at home? Well, he is a perfect baby all day long. At about midnight, however, he changes his mind and has kept us up until 3:00 and 4:00 the past two mornings. Truthfully I haven't even minded though. I just cannot believe how much I love him. It's so crazy the spirit that comes into a home when a perfect little baby comes home. It's emotional for me to even think about. I just can't quit loving him, and kissing him, and thanking my Heavenly Father for sending him to us. I told Beck this morning how grateful I am that he picked me to be his mom, and promised him that I'll do the best that I possibly can.

Catching up...

Okay So I am not totally crazy just yet...I have no idea why I clicked publish post yesterday morning?? So for any of you who read this yesterday and it didn't make much sense without pictures...sorry.

I thought I'd better get one more post in before the big event! 8 days and counting...I have been looking forward to telling 46% of you that you were wrong :) As far as the baby goes-- last Wednesday I was dilated to a 2 and 25% effaced. My doctor said he would start me on Monday the 11th if I wanted, but I told him I'd wait until my appointment on the 13th to see how things are going first. If things are still slow he's going to "start" me on the 19th, my actual due date, because he is leaving town on the 21st for 6 days and I REFUSE to let anyone else deliver this baby. Hopefully I'll have it by then, but I know this stubborn body well enough to know better. These babies like to be overdone before they come out for some reason. The boys are to the point where they are REALLY excited...which makes me so much more excited. Kesler said the other day, "When you pop that baby out I'm going to hold him every day!" If only it were that easy :) I am dreading all of the questions my curious Brevin is going to have about how exactly that baby is going to get here. So far so good, but the after effects I'm afraid might lead to a whole lot of questions.

I know I have been kind of off the grid lately. It has been beyond crazy around here since I put the little note on my photo blog that I would be taking some time off...pictures galore!! It's been fun, but I'm definitely ready for a break. This humongous body has been having a little trouble climbing fences, rolling around on the floor, and just plain old up and downs for the last little while. So getting great pictures has been a little difficult. I'll be excited the next time I take pictures when I don't have to move my belly to the location separately from the rest of myself.

So here's some catching up...

Well, Brevin has had a little loose tooth for the past little while. I kept telling him to leave it alone until I could get their spring pictures done, and then he could pull it out. Unlucky for me, spring has had a difficult time coming and staying, and the boys were playing basketball about a week ago when Kesler whacked Brevin in the mouth. BOTH front teeth at that point were hanging by a thread. He went upstairs and got rid of one, but refused to pull the other. That one hillbilly tooth hung there for about three days, and it looked absolutely ridiculous. Not only was it just one tooth, though, it hung right in the center of his mouth. I kept telling him I couldn't look at him because he looked so stinking crazy!! But again Kesler came to the rescue by tackling him outside during a game of football and got rid of it. Now I have a toothless wonder. It has taken some getting used to, he just doesn't even look like the same kid!!

Kittens for Free!! Well, the kittens are finally to the age where it's time for them to go!! My boys are going to be heartbroken; they look forward to playing with them every day. They are pretty stinking cute, I must admit. Two of them have been spoken for, so that leaves 3 more if anyone wants them let me know :)
In primary a couple of weeks ago the they were talking about family and got to make a puppet of someone in their family. Kesler made Brevin, which was totally predictable, but I thought it was pretty dang funny when Brevin brought this home. Anyone who knows my family well would find it easy to figure out that it's Grandpa Thayne. (The beard was a dead giveaway) My kids love their Grandpa Thayne for sure. This time of year our trips to Malad are pretty darn sparse, but Grandpa Thayne doesn't let that get in the way of seeing his boys. He comes at least once a week to take the boys to McDonald's, play checkers or chess, or play the Wii. It's funny because as soon as I get the phone call that he's on his way the boys run downstairs as fast as they can and get the checkerboard set up. It's no secret that my dad and I have had our differences along the way, but I am so grateful that he has never let that get in the way of loving my kids. He has made a constant effort to be part of their lives, and it's incredible how much they recognize that. I realized and have said many times since Brevin was born that there is nothing better than knowing someone loves your kids, and nothing worse when those who are supposed to don't.

I had a really great Mother's Day. We went to church, went to the park to hit some balls, and attempted our first family fire experience. My boys (Bryson included) did a great job showering me with Mother's Day artwork, a list of all the reasons they love me, and a fire pit that I've been wanting for a long time! We learned that as much Survivor as we have taken in in the past nine years, our fire making skills are very lacking. We did, however, manage to make a few s'mores and marshmallows. The boys loved it, but constantly asked if our house was going to burn down. At the end of the day Brevin said, "Mom, this sure was a fun day." I love my husband and kids so much. I am so lucky.