Corkscrew Willows!

That would be the name of the trees in the back of Chet's truck. They are branches from a job he did and you are supposed to be able to plant the branches and grow a new tree!



So daddy went to work digging some holes!

and planting some trees (he planted 4 of them).

Rylie and Owen offered some assisstance.

Well at least when she wasn't holding her baby sister!

She enjoyed hanging out outside....it was a beautiful day!

Rylie showed off some of her talents.

Evan cruised around on his bike (photo credit:Owen Farage)

Love this pic Owen captured of Katelin and Evan playing!

The princess put on her shoes herself and she didn't want to take the time to find ones that matched or even to find a shoe for her right foot.....silly girl!

Picking the berries off the cedar tree!

Posing by the first tree daddy planted.

Hmmmm......I guess Owen is supervising!

He loves his new bike, he had definitely outgrown his old one!

Gotta love this kids smile:)

Owen took this pic of daddy, not sure what he was doing....pondering his thoughts? sniffing the fresh air? watching a plane fly by? who knows with this man but it made me laugh when I saw it, one of the many reasons I love this man....he makes me laugh when he's not even trying!

And one more pic by my son....just capturing a moment....mom and dad talking, Evan cruising, bikes all ove the yard! When we bought the kids the bikes, daddy told them he doesn't want to see the bikes just thrown on the ground, they have kickstands for a reason.....well Owen listened and his is always on it's kickstand but Rylie......that girl just lets things go in one ear and out the other....see where her bike is?

And the next day....Evie helped daddy put pea gravel around the trees, he pushed his dump truck from tree to tree....too cute!

 

2 Weeks

I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks, actually 2 weeks and 2 days.....crazy! She is my little angel....just as sweet as can be!

Our first night at home and daddy finally got some good snuggle time with Kinley. It seems like whenever he was at the hospital there were either visitors or he had the kiddos with him and they were Kinley hogs so he really didn't get to hold her a lot the first few days! 

Cuddling with their baby sister on her first morning at home, they sure do love her! The big kids didn't want to go to school but they had to. How has it been adjusting to a new baby at home? It just feels like she is where she belongs, it's been a pretty easy transition for me and the kids all seem to be handling it great.....she was just meant to be a part of our family! And I have amazed my husband with my ability breastfeed one handedly while up making lunches and packing book bags!

4 days old and looking like a little angel! The pictures just don't do justice on how teeny tiny she is, I loved my chunky little babies but it's been 10 years since I had one on the smaller side (Rylie was 7lbs 4 oz and the others were all close to 8 or 9 pounds) so i'm eating up her teeny tinyness!!!!



Day 5 she woke up with gunk in her right eye so we went to the pediatricians office and she had an eye infection. It got really red and swollen but the meds cleared it up right away. She weighed in at 6lbs 8 oz. so she was up from 6lbs 3 oz when we left the hospital! 

Safe and sound in Daddy's arms....is there really any safer place to be?

Daddy giving her her first bottle, she did great with it. My babies tend to reject the bottle so i'm starting her our early like I did with Evan so she is used to taking one!

One week old and lounging in her swing!

I'm used to chunky little legs and this sweet girl has chicken legs, she also has the longest fingers and toes. Her umbilical cord stump fell off when she was 10 days old.

9 days old....love this little outfit with the leg warmers, and her beautiful bright eyes!

11 days and I can only assume she is learning to block out all the noise from those crazy kids that keep wanting to hold her and kiss her and talk to her.....all. the. time.

One day shy of 2 weeks, hanging out in her crib for the first time watching her mobile. She has a little bed next to our bed which she will sleep in some but she often ends up cuddling up with mama to sleep (and yes I keep blankets away from her and am practicing safe co sleeping so she is safe).

Rylie took this pic of her smiling....she was very proud to capture this on camera.

My amazing, beautiful kiddos.....sometimes I think I need to pinch myself, how blessed am I that all 5 of these kiddos belong to me.....Chet and I create some amazing little people!!!!!

And see how sweet they look, well........

this may be a more accurate portrayal of them!!!! Goofy and crazy and perfect!

2 weeks old! Went in for her checkup and she was weighing 7lbs 2oz (25%) 20 in. long (50%) and her head was up to 14 in (50%) from 12 3/4 inches at birth. She does have a small umbilical cord hernia but will most likely outgrow it by age 2. Other than that she is doing great. They want them back to birth weight by 2 weeks and she was above so she must be getting all she needs from breastfeeding!

Kinley loves to be held (and maybe her mama loves to hold her too, like all. the. time.) so my moby wrap has come in handy so I can get some things done all while cuddling my girl!

Yesterday was a beautiful day so Kinley got to spend some time outside while the other kids played and daddy planted some trees!

Her mama sure is in love with her newest baby girl!

Exhausted after hanging out outside.

And today I (and the whole crew....Chet and kids) went to see Jeane. She says my incision looks great and I can begin increasing my activity. My weight is just 3 lbs above my pre pregnancy weight, so now I just need to lose the extra I had when I got pregnant! And she confirmed what I thought....Kinley, most likely, would not have survived a vaginal birth. I felt my eyes tear up when she said this....there are no words for how grateful I am that there are options such as a c-section for these kind of situations. Jeane told me again that it broke her heart she couldn't VBAC me especially since I have such awesome vaginal births and have been so successful in the past. But she said her cord was short plus being wrapped around her neck so tightly that they had to untangle it from around her neck before they could deliver her. So there just wasn't enough cord for her to come down and she would have probably been strangled had we not done the c-section.....so THANK YOU to modern medicine!!!!! I go back in 4 weeks for my regular check up and I have to drink the nasty glucose drink to verify the diabetes is gone and after that I will have to be checked for diabetes every 3-5years. I will miss seeing Jeane on a regular basis.....guess i'll just have to keep having these babies.....Just Kidding!  I am so in love with little Kinley and so grateful for my 5 beautiful healthy kids....who could ask for more?!?!?

A few days in the hospital....

Since I had the c-section I had to stay 3 days instead of just 2! The first 24 hours was a bit rough because they wouldn't let me shower, stand or eat until I hit the 24 hour mark. I also had to leave in the IV and catheter until then too. Plus I was in a lot of pain so it was a little rough but I had lots of time to just look at and hold my new baby girl!

Welcome to the world Kinley!


Just a few hours old, love the little hat the nurses put on her!

A very proud Mama and Daddy!

Chet was going to bring the kiddos up to meet their sister on the day she was born but she got here much later than expected so they came up the next morning! She was in the nursery being checked out when they got there and Katelin had to go to her dental appointment before she got back in the room.

All but Katelin admiring the newest Farage kid!

My 3 brown headed kiddos!

They sure do love their new sister....it makes my heart happy!

The first picture of my 5 amazing and beautiful kids...

and our first family photo!

Grammy and Kinley.....sure do appreciate Grammy running herself ragged taking care of my kiddos while I was in the hospital.....not sure what we would do without her!

Amy and Kinley.....a big shout out to Amy for coming to the rescue twice when we needed someone to watch the kiddos. I had things all set up for the day I was supposed to be induced but when my water broke 3 days before that I wasn't prepared!

Mandy and Christopher posing with Kinley!

The Lazenby clan loving on my girl! Aunt Natty made her some really cute little tutu's!

It's always nice when Jeane comes to visit after the births of the babies, kinda get a chance to chit chat and reflect on the birth experience! I know she felt bad that I wasn't able to VBAC again but look at my beautiful healthy baby.....that's really all that matters, not how she got here!

Look at those sweet little smiles.....I sooo love her!

Ready to go home.....Daddy left work to come pick us up and take us home!

It's been 12 days since Kinley was born and she is just a perfect little angel! I am starting to feel better, it's hard not to be able to pick up the other kiddos or just do a lot of the normal everyday things. I've had about an inch of my incision that has really been bothering me but the past few days it seems to be feeling much better. I have permission to start driving again this coming week but with all my kiddos and all the stuff that has to get done.....I have driven a few times already but I think it was fine. I've pretty much quit taking all the pain meds. I've had a lot of comments from people who can't believe i'm up moving around so well after major surgery but with 5 kiddos it is kind of hard to slow down too much. It hasn't been to stressful to add a new family member, I know a lot of people find it a big adjustment but with all my babies it just felt natural when the new one came home, just like they are right where they belong!