We are moving to Oregon!

This week has been a rollercoaster. Seth received job offers from all 3 locations he interviewed with last week. The offers from Newport, OR and Portland, OR were both great offers and our top 2 locations, so we spent the week researching the areas, pondering, praying and going back and forth between the two. Finally, we were able to come to a decision and yesterday we accepted the offer from...

Portland! 

We feel so blessed to have had options and to have this opportunity to go out on this little adventure for our family. We know that we are going where we are supposed to be and that we have had divine guidance in making this decision. It is still scary to pack up our lives and leave behind everything (and more importantly everyone) we know, but we are excited to see what Portland has in store for us!

We are especially excited to find a house with plenty of room for guests to come and stay with us...so get ready to come and visit!

i love my daddy

Seth has been out of town interviewing for the past 3 days and we are ALL so excited for him to get home tonight!

I am such a lucky girl to have a husband who is so involved in everything going on at home. He is hands-on in every aspect of our home life. He puts the kids to bed and reads them stories and makes them breakfast and plays with them when he is around. He is happy to help me vacuum the stairs or mop the floor or do the dishes (well, maybe not happy, but definitely willing) when I ask. Being on my own with the kids, I miss all those little (and big) things that he does to fill in the gaps. I think he must have been worried that I was going to have a break down while he was gone, because he has been calling to check in with me multiple times a day...or maybe he just missed us. ;)

It sounds like all of the interviews went well and we will likely have offers by next week from all of the clinics. Then we will have to actually make some big decisions, but it sounds like he is excited about whatever clinic we choose. As for me, I am just happy that we get to be together...wherever we end up!

perspective

It is funny how quickly perspective can change. Things you considered little suddenly seem so big when you have a tiny little newborn around.

Brynn has been our baby girl for almost 2 and a half years, but since Ellie joined our family, she just seems so grown up. I look at her and see a silly girl with lots of personality and opinions of her own. She has adjusted to this role as "big sister" seamlessly and with so much love. Today she got to be one of the "big kids" and go see Kung Fu Panda 2 in the theater with Grandma and Grandpa and she loved it! She is constantly making us laugh with her silly sayings and her knock knock jokes (knock knock who's there? interrupting cow interrupting cow who? moooo!) and her silly faces. She wants to dress herself and undress herself and sit on the potty and give our guests hugs and kisses before they leave and buckle her own car seat. She is so upset that she doesn't get to be in swimming lessons like the big kids and lets me know every five minutes during their lessons. And while I am so proud of her for being such a big girl, I still love it when she wraps up in her softy blanket, snuggles up in my lap or sucks her thumb because no matter how big she gets, she will always be my baby girl!

momma-snuggles

While the kids went to church with Seth on Sunday, I stayed home to snuggle with my baby girl. I set the camera up and clicked my remote every so often in hopes that I would capture a picture or two of our new everyday and just how much I love this sweet little girl. And despite the fact that I much prefer to be behind the camera (even on a good day, much less a 4 days post-partum day), I was surprised to find a few images that made my mommy heart smile.

this is as close as I think I will ever get to "bottling" that newborn baby smell

thoughts from a new {again} mommy

Ellie is 5 days old today and I am feeling...

hungry all.the.time
emotional in an i-love-life-so-much-it-overflows-right-out-of-my-tear-ducts kind of way
happy to be able to snuggle kids on my lap again
a little giddy every time I bend over and can still breathe
full of milk...ouch. How do I forget that this will happen every time I have a baby?
so happy to be able to sleep on my stomach again
smitten every time I see that cute little newborn face
the urge to squish baby cheeks all day long
still hungry...are there any more ice cream sandwiches in the freezer?
like I should avoid wearing lipstick for the next 6 months unless I want to keep wiping it off of Ellie's fuzzy little forehead
so thankful for my grown-up little boy...and my mostly grown-up girl...and my silly little girl
worried about surviving when Seth leaves for three days of out-of-state interviews this week
lots and lots of love
not so happy about the still-huge state of my post baby body

so in love with my husband
energized...and yet surprisingly content to sit back and do nothing but feel the expansion and collapse of a little chest on mine
hungry, hungry, hungry...and thirsty
skinny enough that maybe my "post-baby" wardrobe will fit and I can put away the maternity clothes...nope, sure can't...that was depressing

happy that Ellie brought the spring sunshine with her from heaven :)
motivated to capture the little pieces that make up our life right now...teeny diapers...itty bitty fingers...kisses from big sisters...endless requests to "hold baby sissy"...swimming lessons...piles of books on the coffee table...wet swimming suits on the bathroom floor
completely unmotivated to turn on the computer
content that the beauty of family outweighs all that is not good in this world

but mostly, I feel as if our family is just a little more complete. I wondered before she was born, how she would fit in with this little family of ours. Everything was so perfect it seemed...3 buddies...3 unique personalities...lots of independence...lots of helping each other...lots of fun and laughter and silliness...and lots of love. But again, a sweet new little life has filled voids I didn't know existed and multiplied love exponentially. What a beautiful blessing she is!

And right this very second, despite the emotional tears in my eyes from writing the thoughts of my mommy heart, my body and my baby are both letting me know that it is time for a feeding. I think I better grab a string cheese first...

a little Ellie photo-love

Besides the everyday paparazzi happening around here, I haven't done an actual photo shoot yet for little Ellie, but I couldn't resist sharing a few quick photos of her sweetness...

You are welcome Uncle Michael and Sarah! :)

Welcome to the World Ellie

 

Ellie Tate

Born June 1, 2011

4:35 pm 

8 lbs. 15 oz.

20.5 inches long

Each little life that joins our family brings something so sweet and so unique. Each one teaches me new lessons about love and challenges me in new ways. Each time I wonder if I can possibly love another little one as much as I love the ones that are already part of my family, and each time the answer is an overwhelming yes.

As I look at you, sweet Ellie, I see so much of Chloe, a little bit of Morgan and the tiniest bit of Brynn, but I know you will be uniquely you to your very core! I am excited to experience this life with you! To see you grow, to watch your personality emerge and to shower you with love and kisses. What a treat it is as a mother to look on as your Daddy looks at you with those adoring eyes. You have captured his heart already. And as your brother wants to hold you and never ever ever let you go...he is a good brother and you are so lucky to have him. Your sisters love you so much too....they brought you a special blankie and rattle today and they wrapped it around you so snugly and sweetly that it melted my heart! They are going to be your very best friends and you will be so glad you have them! 

Last night, you had a flood of visitors coming to see you! Grandma Becky, Grandma Colleen, Grandpa John, Uncle Stephen, Morgan, Chloe, Brynn, Grandma Denese, Grandpa Tate, Aunt Smelly, Uncle Stinky, Grandpa Mark, Grandma Char, Aunt Allison, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Jonathan. And every few seconds my phone would buzz with messages of love and congratulations from family and friends who were so glad you had arrived. What a fan club you have already!

Welcome to this world Ellie! You have a beautiful life ahead of you, a family who loves you to pieces and a Heavenly Father who loves you enough to send you here to us!

xoxoxo
Mommy

laboring

Well, despite my wishing and trying to get this little lady here before her induction date, she decided to be stubborn and wait it out!

My belly profile this morning before leaving for the hospital...so ready to get rid of the belly! I was scheduled to come in at 7:15 and they got me in the room and hooked up to everything by 8:00 am. I started the day at 3.5 cm dialated and 80% effaced, so I am hoping this labor will be a quick one.

As we suspected, the kids weren't even awake by the time I left, so Seth got the kids ready and met me at the hospital. Before they came, Morgan called me to see if baby sister was here yet...I think he is a little excited. They loved playing on my bed and eating my ice chips! My nurse probably did not like that they were playing on my bed and eating ice chips, however, because she had to keep adjusting the baby's heart rate monitor.



Then Grandma got here to take them to play at her house and we just got a call from Brynn letting us know that they are having fun and finding out what Seth wants for lunch. It is now 11:40 and they are going to give me my epidural and break my water pretty soon here, so things should get moving along! I will keep you posted!

P.S. Flavored ice chips are my new favorite! Yay!
P.P.S. In preparing for this baby, looking back at my posts from being in labor last time were super helpful and so interesting to me...thus the boring details and TMI. :)