May 2011

 Having my mom and dad stay with us was so great! My mom is super organizing...emphasis on SUPER. She is amazing. We were hard at work in my basement, rearranging and cleaning. Lucy is nursing in this picture and Talon was SO tired but I obviously already had my hands full. He just climbed right on up and made himself comfortable. He is fast asleep in this photo!

 Lucy's first bath. She did not like it!! This was the most that she had ever cried. We didn't even know she had it in her! She did get pretty dry and flaky after the bath...I think she was better off dirty!

 Our little caterpillar all dry and warm.

 Just cute....so funny!

 Lucy is not really a thumb sucker. So this was pretty random. Random enough that we took like 10 pictures of her doing it. She likes her binky when she is sleepy...not at night though. It's kind of hit or miss!

 I have been trying so hard to lose some of this annoying and ugly baby weight. This is what a lot of our meals have looked like lately. Kinda boring.

I was trying to take a picture of Talon holding Lucy. She was starting to get fussy and Hailey thought she had to come to the rescue. Poor Talon...always gets the baby taken from him!

The Easter Bunny Did Come to Our House

 Yes He did!! Even though we were a little distracted with our newest little Hecker joining our family that same week. What a fun week. It was extra fun because we had my parents visiting. There were some fun activities that our friends were doing this week but we couldn't participate because of having a brand new baby so we tried to make Easter fun while staying home the entire week!

 We had a fun (and sunny and warm) Saturday before Easter which was very unusual for April this year. Out of the three weeks that my parents were with us I think that we only had 3 sunny days! We were very happy that we could do the Easter Egg hunt outside. My dad and John hid the eggs (some with money and some with candy).

 The kids thought this was so fun!! I think that money eggs were the most exciting for them.

 I really hate all of the Easter pictures with me in them. Just being honest. I still looked 5 months pregnant. But...here is one anyways.

 Dying Easter Eggs. I was nursing Lucy and missed this entire activity.

 Sunday morning the kids are searching for their baskets. Very fun!

 We did our usual Easter Egg bash and invited our neighbors to join us. I seriously love this tradition.

What great memories we shared on this wonderful Easter.

Too fast

I have been reminded far too often that this time of being a mother of young children will go by so quickly. I see it every once in a while. Like how all of a sudden Isabella went from my crawling on her knees for months and months before she could actually walk...into a four year old who is ready to conquer the world. Or how Lucy, who just a few weeks ago could fit inside the space of a laid out burp cloth but who is now hanging over the edges. Hailey, who hated school and now it has been one WHOLE year of her loving it. And Talon, just one year ago could hardly say any words because he was tongue tied which delayed him, can now talk about almost anything.


Weeks go by where I haven't taken a picture...and every so often I get so mad at myself for not taking more videos of the kids. I know that I will miss these days so badly when they are past. I have been trying to slow down. I have been trying to not be so hurried from one activity to another and to take the time to focus on the most important things. Everyday we have a choice as to what we do...and I have a far way to go to get to what my perfect day would look like...but I am trying. While making dinner 2 weeks ago, I not only thought...but I DID take a picture of each one of my children at the very moment that I thought about doing it. Here is what they were doing:

 Lucy was sound asleep as she still often is. This is the first time that I used the Boppy for her to rest in. I haven't used it for that same purpose since this picture was taken but she does look cozy.

 Isabella was watching a cartoon. Around dinner time is when she gets really sleepy. She would take a nap every day if I would let her (but I won't because it results in her staying awake until 11pm!) Many times, while cooking dinner, I will find her asleep on the couch. All moms know that is the WORST time to be napping. Waking her up is not too pretty and then dinner time is never as relaxed so I usually try to have them doing something other than watching TV while I am cooking...but sometimes it's the best place for them to be still and quiet! Just this morning (it's 10:23 am) Isabella told me that shew wanted to take a nap and she is now sound asleep in her bed. She likes her sleep!!

 Hailey was busy doing a project. She made an oreo cookie and a duck swimming in a pond. I have a love/hate relationship with playdough. The kids love it and so it is a good activity to make them happy and it keeps them busy for a bit. It stimulates creativity. BUT it is always a mess and cleanup is never fun. Hailey however is responsible enough to clean up the mess (and not really make too big of one) by herself.

Talon is also being phased out of his nap right now. I rarely plan on him taking a nap these days. Maybe twice a week if I know we have a later night then I will have him lay down but for the most part I just keep him busy all day so that putting him to bed at night will not be too challenging (otherwise it takes a long time!) At dinnertime, he too is really tired and if given the chance will close his eyes and be asleep in seconds. SO, he is usually my helper in the kitchen so that his eyes don't have the chance to rest. He is either up on the counter next to me, standing on a stool beside me, or making a mess in the sink! This day he was helping me clean the dishes.

I am not good at taking the time to write down sweet and funny things the children say, and I am a horrible blogger. I try to figure out how to find the time to do these things because they are very important to me. I haven't figured it out yet but I can tell you that my perfect day would include time for writing down these memories. I love these kids so much. Even when they are driving me crazy, it's amazing how much love you can have for these tiny human beings.

My goal today...make more memories!

Hailey is almost 7!!!

 It is hard to believe that Hailey is turning 7 this month. How in the world do I have a 7 year old? She has grown up so much this year. She is such a joy to have in our family. 

This girl is crazy!!!  She is always about partying (who isn't) and she is always coming up with things that she wants us to do. One of her favorite things is arts and crafts. She is always asking me to do a "project" with her. When I make a special dessert after dinner or if we plan a spontaneous activity she gets so excited and expresses herself so sweetly with a kiss for me. That's when I know she is over the top happy. Hailey is a great student...she loves school and she loves her teacher. She has gotten WAY too good at playing her (well actually MY) Nintendo DS. I bet she could beat me at almost any of the games. She loves to read and she likes to write in her journal.

She has been such an amazing helper with Lucy! Hailey cannot stand when Lucy is crying...she is trying to do her homework while keeping Lucy happy at the same time. I hope that the love that she has for her sister will last and not turn into the typical sibling love (the kind that she has with Izzie and Talon!) Hailey will hold her for as long as I'll let her and she is a pro! She is going to be a great mom someday!!!

I love this girl so much!

More of Lucy

Thank goodness for good friends who have amazing photography skills!! Otherwise I may not have any pictures of my kids! Thank you Britani for helping me with these awesome pictures!!! Lucy was 4 days old when these pictures were taken. She did NOT like to be naked...like all the way naked with her diaper off. She was okay as long as she atleast had her diaper on. Britani took a TON of pictures but Lucy was making it a little difficult to get some of the shots that we wanted. I love how these turned out though.

As a side note...I decided that I was not going to be eating sugar for the whole month of May. I then realized that my parents would still be here until today, and a huge part about having visitors is spoiling them with mounds and mounds of goodies so my plan was to start today. It's almost 4 o'clock and I haven't had a bit of sugar but I am DYING. Yes...if you need a reminder..I am a bit dramatic. But I have a sugar tooth and 20-30 extra lbs. to lose so I am wanting to succeed SO BADLY. But...this is hard. VERY HARD! I also have visitors coming at the end of May so as soon as they are here...I am off the hook again. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. "You can do this Katrina!!!"

Lucy Elizabeth

 This picture was taken on April17th, the day before Lucy's induction. I was due on April 20th. I tried everything to go into labor on my own the week before this. Jumping on the trampoline, fast walking, pineapple, and more!! As badly as I wanted to go into labor on my own...I also didn't want to be pregnant anymore and we were so excited about meeting our little girl! As far as pregnancies go...the beginning of this pregnancy was the worst out of all of them....but the end was the best! I was still very uncomfortable but nothing seemed quite as bad as in previous pregnancies. I have been going to a chiropractor for 2 months weekly, and it was wonderful!! My back is usually my biggest complaint but I felt great! I also had an inkling that this might be a smaller baby...I just didn't feel like my stomach got quite as big and I had less pain overall. Isabella was 2 and a half pounds bigger at birth and it definitely makes a big difference. The bigger the baby...the more pain...all around!

 April 18th, 2011 at 5:00 am. We were told to be at the hospital at 6 am. My parents had flown in a week earlier and so they were taking care of the other three for us! It was nice and stress free! Not a great picture...it was obviously too early!!!

 Still dark outside!! The hospital is brand new!! It opened at the end of January and it was so nice.The labor and delivery room was huge and we had large windows that looked out at Lake Erie. Too bad it was gloomy and rainy all day! We were kind of expecting the pitocin to work pretty fast and we were hoping for a baby in the early afternoon. My doctor came in at 7:15 to get me going (which I thought was pretty early...sometimes they take forever!!) He said he'd come back around lunch to break my water. The morning went slow...with not much change. I had very painful contractions almost right away. I asked for the epidural at 10am...but so did all of the other girls who were being induced that morning. The anesthesiologist ended up having to call for back-up because everyone was wanting it at the same time. I ended up being one of the last to get mine (no big deal...I could handle the contractions but was having to pee every 30 minutes and it was SO painful on top of the contractions!! I wanted the epidural so that I could have a catheter (sorry if too much info!!)  John was asked to leave while the epidural was placed ( a first) and I really wanted him there. I had no one to squeeze! It hurt...my mostly just the numbing shots. I had three of those because I could still feel too much! I hate the shots of pain that are felt down the back while it's being placed...just uncomfortable. After about an hour I could still feel too much (like the catheter being placed...ouch!) The anesthesiologist came back to see if he could help. I was so afraid that they were going to have to place it again...but he reassured me that everything had gone in nicely. My blood pressure was low so he didn't want to increase the meds but after realizing just how much I could feel he out something else in my line. Within 30 minutes I could no longer move...not a muscle. I'm not sure which was worse to me...feeling pain...or being completely immobile. I couldn't move a toe!! I also started to feel really weak and nauseous.  It took me a few hours to recover! 

They gradually upped the pitocin over a few hours until I reached the max which is 20. When my doctor came in to break my water (around noon) he kind of just put a little hole but I didn't lose much fluid which was unusual to me....I usually feel like I am going to float away.  The next few hours I still hadn't changed...was dilated to a 3 for hours!!! I did progress to 4 around 5 o'clock and when my doctor checked me then, my water really broke!!! I think that was all that I needed because after that things finally started moving. I don't think that my body even realized that my water had broke! I tried resting all day long but just couldn't relax. Finally at 7 o'clock I started to get sleepy and was closing my eyes when my nurse came in because babies heartbeat had dropped. This has happened with all of my induction babies (Hailey and Isabella) and I was so nervous about it happening again. John and I watched her heartbeat vigilantly all day long, praying for it to stay strong. SO, when she came in because of the drop I of course started to get nervous. She said it was probably a good sign that I was progressing in the labor. I started to feel pressure almost immediately (which was weird because I was still completely numb!) The nurse checked me and said that I was at a 9 and she said I'd be at a 10 in minutes. This whole time I am already feeling the need to push and the nurses are yelling at me to NOT PUSH. They are trying to get my doctor but can't reach him. The babies heart beat was back to normal again...and remained that way! Hallelujah!! Finally my doc comes running in) and he said he was doing a circumcision. I'm just glad he made it. In one push the baby was almost completely out but it took a second tiny push and she was born!! At 7:28 pm she arrived! I just kept saying "she is so small, she is so small!!" She is darker skinned like Hailey was (Izzy and Talon were both very fair skinned).

 First picture taken after delivery. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 inches long! She actually left the hospital at the same weight which the pediatrician told me rarely ever happens. It could have something to do with her awesome nursing skills. She is seriously amazing!! She came out "rooting" and was trying to suck on anything she could while getting weighed and footprinted. She found her hand pretty quickly.

 Just before going up to my recovery room. She nursed for 45 minutes on each side!! Marathon nurser!

 It was so nice knowing that my children were being taken care of. My parents had everything under control which made my recovery in the hospital much easier. John actually works for the hospital and his office is in the building right next to the Women's Hospital and so he was able to go back and forth from seeing patients to visiting me. It all worked out quite nicely!! He usually spends the night with me at the hospital but I really wanted him to go home in case the kids woke up at night (which Talon and Isabella both do quite frequently). I was glad that he was able to get some real rest and get showered and ready each morning. The nurses woke me up all night long and he wouldn't have gotten any sleep! I didn't get good sleep. There are always SO many different people coming into your room. I'm amazed at the variety of people. From pictures to house cleaning and temp and blood pressure checks, and lactation specialist, medical records department. My doctors, babies doctors, etc. They sure do keep you busy! If I tried napping, I would be woken up before I even had a chance to close my eyes!!!

 The kids had been planning on visiting the hospital on Monday night but since it took forever for her to be born, they had to wait until Tuesday.

 These girls were SO excited. Smiling from ear to ear!! They are still always begging to hold her and taking turns has become an hourly thing!

 Welcome Lucy!!

 The babies in our house always come with a gift for the other children. Lucy bought Hailey and Isabella a new set of baby doll accessories...pack-n-play, bouncy seat, stroller, etc.

 She brought Talon a set of Lego's...his new favorite!!

 Grandma and Grandpa!! Probably feeling a little wiped out!!!

 We left the hospital on Wednesday April 20th and by then we were SO ready to get her home! It was cold and rainy!!

The first week home has been wonderful. The weather had been yucky and so we are all a little tired of being stuck inside but it has been so nice to be together! My parents are still here for another week which has been exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, my mom and I have both been fight a cold that has us up all night coughing. We've had headaches and runny noses. My mom lost her voice for about 5 days! My throat also hurt really badly!! Between a newborn baby who is still confused about her schedule and not feeling well, I have not slept very much! My mom tries to get me to nap all day long but I have the hardest time leaving the "party" to rest! I know I'll regret not taking advantage of the sleep later! Lucy has been such a joy to have around. She is so tiny and so sweet. I always laugh when I hear other people talking about how "good" there baby is during the first week because I feel like it's hard to really tell until about 2 weeks when they are not sleeping constantly...BUT...here I go! She is such a good baby!!! She loves her binky! She has the tiniest little squeaky cry that just makes us giggle! She does sleep all day long but when she is awake...she is content. I have to tell my kids that she is off limits sometimes just so that she can learn to sleep without being held. I have planned with each of my children to get them used to taking a bottle occasionally so that I can go to a girls night here or there within the next year. SO far so good!! She gets one bottle of formula a day and has taken it with ease! I'm trying to make my life a little simpler...and this will help a ton with that!! My recovery has been the easiest one yet also...also a big benefit of having a smaller baby! I've been engorged for 5 days now...which seems like a ridiculous amount of time. It's hard to move, sleep, nurse. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! 

I go to bed at night feeling so grateful to have this family that I have been blessed with. The overwhelming joy that comes from having children and raising a family is incredible. Thank you so much for all of the love and care that we have been given during this life changing time!! We are so thankful for you and your love and support!!!